Father, make us faithful as Joseph of Arimethea, make us loving as the two Marys, make us as bold as Peter, make us as beloved as John, make us as thoughtful as Thomas in this Resurrection season.
Thank you for the Resurrection, both Your Son's, and our own future resurrection that your Son's promises. Thank you for the Passion, the passiveness with which the Christ suffered, and by which He was proven righteous.
Your Kingdom come, this weekend, to the lives of so many people around the world. Your Kingdom come, this weekend, in a new way to your old followers. Your kingdom come, this weekend, to the entire creation, that all may shout your praise, that we may all worship you with in-breathing and out-breathing, with movement, with stillness, with speech, action, and thought.
So many people fight against Your Kingdom, both leaders and followers. Show them Your way, the better way, the best way, much better than power, than power plays, than gossip, bitterness, anger, deceit, pride, hatred. Your way is the way of Love, unconditional. Forgiving love, forgetting love, graceful love, but just love, and how that may be is hard for us to grasp, to say the least, but both your peace and love surpass our understanding. Nevertheless, teach it to us, show us to use it, make us constantly ask, "What should that look like in our life and the lives around us?" and not just spout out generic, abstract, useless jargon like, "Put your life in His," or "Let Him speak to you," or "Trust in Him." Teach us to flesh out those statements, to know what they look like, to know how to do them, not just how to say them.
As my friend was saying last night, show us the power of the Spirit. What is that power? What great things can you do for us, and how can we take that blessing and bless others? Don't let us forget that blessings come to us so that we may bless others. Abraham was blessed, so that the whole world would be blessed through him and his Seed. We need blessings in our lives, so many of Your Church have lost what they should never have lost. Bless them, hold them close, and show them the better way. Much better than the angels, than the tabernacle, than the priests of Levi. We need that power of Your Spirit, we must have it or we will die away. When we get it, when we see it, make sure we know what it is and how to use it for the benefit of others, brothers and sisters, and antichrists. For Your mercy falls on the just and the unjust, same as the rain, so let the blessings you give us be funneled to the just and unjust, that the just may have more blessings, ad infinitum, and that the unjust may find Your Kingdom.
Give us mercy and love for the things we hate. Help us so that our lives may be a reflection of You, so that everyone, both Your Church and others, can be blessed in what they see and that, in that blessing, they may move more fully into Your Kingdom.
Our Father, our dad, protector, provider, our friend, Who is not bound by this world, but above and beyond it, yet very near nevertheless, beside us in fact, Your very name is holy, special, and wonderful. We want Your Kingdom to have the same power here on earth as it does in Your heavens. Not only in the greater world, but in our lives, in our hearts, and in our homes, so that what You want to happen, that which is best, can happen every day, hour, minute and second. Give us what we need to get by, and if we are spoiled then teach us humility; if You have blessed us with abundance then show us that we need to bless others with it, lest it be taken away because we were poor stewards. Forgive us, as You have promised, and in so doing show us how to forgive; bless that we may bless, forgive that we may forgive, love that we may love. You know how weak we are, and You know our strengths better than we will ever know. Please, please, please keep us from evil, from temptation, but as we drag ourselves toward it despite You, give us strength to resist, supporting friends and family to help, humility to admit wrongdoing, and grace to accept punishment. We don't need to worry because it is Your Kingdom, not Obama's, or Kim Jeong-Il's, or Mao's, not our own, our mother's or father's, no one's but Yours. You have the power, the glory. As it was and is, so shall it be, forever and forever, world without end. Amen and amen.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
I'm home!
I am home, safe and sound. The flghts weren't bad, though there was a SCREAMING baby on the long flight. Touched down about 15 minutes early in Charleston and 9 friends were there to meet me. Good friends, good times.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Lots to say...I think
It's been quite a while, sorry. The past 3-4 months I've been terrible at communicating with you guys. There are still two emails in my inbox from late Dec/early Jan.... I've just been in a funky mood. Well, today I woke up at noon (sorta early for me), felt great, and decided to update and post pics.
First, I went to the 63 building. It's Korea's tallest building. It was built in 1985, and at that time was the largest building outside of North America. It was built for the 1988 Summer Olympics. It has an aquarium, over 90 stores, numerous restaurants (including a European bistro on the 59th floor), wax museum, Imax Theater, etc. Here're the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/63Building#.
The ski trip to the east coast got cancelled. Instead, I went to a nearby one by myself. It took like 2 hours to get there because of bus transfers and traffic, but I only snowboarded for a couple of hours anyway cuz I suck much worse than I used to. The place I went to had only a handful of runs and is generally regarded with derision by my friends, but I don't care cuz it's close, and I suck. Anyway, here're pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/YangjiPineResort#.
I went to China during the first week of February to see John and Lindsey. It was crazy fun getting to see them again, and making a new friend, Erin. We went to a couple of parks, a zoo, ate at a lot of different restaurants, painted the town red (but then we remembered that's the commie color, so then we painted it white and blue), watched a few movies, tasted some tea, bought lots of tea, etc, etc, etc. One of those "etcs" is me leaving a chunk of toe flesh in an escalator. Pretty gruesome, but I'll never run up a down escalator in sandals again. When I got back to Korea, people asked me if I went to a doctor in China, and I just laughed. I wanted to keep my toe, not have it infected and later amputated. Here're the pics (not of the toe, of a park, zoo, and temple): http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/ParkTempleAndZoo#.
I got new prescriptions in my glasses, so my eyesight is fine now. I didn't remember this, but Grace told me that when I first went back in August, they said that my eyesight had gotten a tiny bit worse, but that eyedrops would probably help it and cost less. All I remember is them saying to use eyedrops. The eye doctor was amazingly cheap and efficient. First, let me tell you that there is one on every second corner, I swear. I walked into one, told them my problem, they administered an eye test, examined my glasses, then made me new lenses to fit into my current frames, all in less than an hour-and-a-half and for less than $70. I feel like a freaking hawk now. To quote Brian Regan, "I just had my prescription changed over 6 years. You ever wait that long? Then you get new lenses and you're like, 'Man, I coulda been seeing things." How could instantly improved vision not be on the top of your to-do list. 'Ehhh, I'll see tomorrow.'"
I've only got 5 more days of teaching left! I'm excited about not working. People've asked me if I'm excited about going home, and I guess it just hasn't hit me. It will when I'm on the plane, but right now all I'm thinking about it packing, selling crap, moving to Grace's house, vacation, then packing again and traveling for 25 hours....
For those of you who don't know, my plans are the following: finish work on Friday the 26th. Move to Grace's house on Saturday. Hang out with her and a few friends all week, doing touristy stuff. Fly out on Saturday morning at 10:30 local time. Get to Tokyo at 12:25 local time, 7 hour layover, then arrive at DFW at 3:35pm local time. 3 hour layover, then arrive in Charleston at 9:45pm local time. Because of the time change, all this happens on Saturday, March 6th. I will take off at 10:30am and land at 9:45pm, but it will take 25 hours. I will live in Charleston at Nick's house for the week, then move to Myrtle Beach for a few months or maybe through the summer. The timing will be difficult on that because I need a job, and I want to ultimately live in Charleston, so I can't wait until after the summer to get a job in Charleston.
I guess I did have a lot to say. I'd like to say I'll update this regularly again, but with my current track record I really don't have much faith in that statement. I've also been wondering what to do with this blog when I get back, since the name of it is, after all, "Jason in Seoul."
First, I went to the 63 building. It's Korea's tallest building. It was built in 1985, and at that time was the largest building outside of North America. It was built for the 1988 Summer Olympics. It has an aquarium, over 90 stores, numerous restaurants (including a European bistro on the 59th floor), wax museum, Imax Theater, etc. Here're the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/63Building#.
The ski trip to the east coast got cancelled. Instead, I went to a nearby one by myself. It took like 2 hours to get there because of bus transfers and traffic, but I only snowboarded for a couple of hours anyway cuz I suck much worse than I used to. The place I went to had only a handful of runs and is generally regarded with derision by my friends, but I don't care cuz it's close, and I suck. Anyway, here're pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/YangjiPineResort#.
I went to China during the first week of February to see John and Lindsey. It was crazy fun getting to see them again, and making a new friend, Erin. We went to a couple of parks, a zoo, ate at a lot of different restaurants, painted the town red (but then we remembered that's the commie color, so then we painted it white and blue), watched a few movies, tasted some tea, bought lots of tea, etc, etc, etc. One of those "etcs" is me leaving a chunk of toe flesh in an escalator. Pretty gruesome, but I'll never run up a down escalator in sandals again. When I got back to Korea, people asked me if I went to a doctor in China, and I just laughed. I wanted to keep my toe, not have it infected and later amputated. Here're the pics (not of the toe, of a park, zoo, and temple): http://picasaweb.google.com/jmphry/ParkTempleAndZoo#.
I got new prescriptions in my glasses, so my eyesight is fine now. I didn't remember this, but Grace told me that when I first went back in August, they said that my eyesight had gotten a tiny bit worse, but that eyedrops would probably help it and cost less. All I remember is them saying to use eyedrops. The eye doctor was amazingly cheap and efficient. First, let me tell you that there is one on every second corner, I swear. I walked into one, told them my problem, they administered an eye test, examined my glasses, then made me new lenses to fit into my current frames, all in less than an hour-and-a-half and for less than $70. I feel like a freaking hawk now. To quote Brian Regan, "I just had my prescription changed over 6 years. You ever wait that long? Then you get new lenses and you're like, 'Man, I coulda been seeing things." How could instantly improved vision not be on the top of your to-do list. 'Ehhh, I'll see tomorrow.'"
I've only got 5 more days of teaching left! I'm excited about not working. People've asked me if I'm excited about going home, and I guess it just hasn't hit me. It will when I'm on the plane, but right now all I'm thinking about it packing, selling crap, moving to Grace's house, vacation, then packing again and traveling for 25 hours....
For those of you who don't know, my plans are the following: finish work on Friday the 26th. Move to Grace's house on Saturday. Hang out with her and a few friends all week, doing touristy stuff. Fly out on Saturday morning at 10:30 local time. Get to Tokyo at 12:25 local time, 7 hour layover, then arrive at DFW at 3:35pm local time. 3 hour layover, then arrive in Charleston at 9:45pm local time. Because of the time change, all this happens on Saturday, March 6th. I will take off at 10:30am and land at 9:45pm, but it will take 25 hours. I will live in Charleston at Nick's house for the week, then move to Myrtle Beach for a few months or maybe through the summer. The timing will be difficult on that because I need a job, and I want to ultimately live in Charleston, so I can't wait until after the summer to get a job in Charleston.
I guess I did have a lot to say. I'd like to say I'll update this regularly again, but with my current track record I really don't have much faith in that statement. I've also been wondering what to do with this blog when I get back, since the name of it is, after all, "Jason in Seoul."
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Quick Update
It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted, and I've done a fair bit in that time, but for now I'll just give a brief rundown and fill in some details later.
On both Xmas eve and New Year's Eve, my friend and I went into Itaewon (the foreign center of Seoul and therefore the sleaziest, dirtiest part, relatively speaking of course. Basically, it feels like America, haha) to a club, then to a bar. Quite the way to celebrate the eve of our Lord's birth, I know.
We got 3-day weekends for Xmas and New Year's, which was nice, though longer would've been nicer. Then, we had a snow day yesterday, making our 3-day New Year's weekend into a 4-day. However, we will be making that day up on a Saturday :( I tried to make snowmen with the snow but I couldn't get it to pack tight :(:(
I went to the 63 building, which is Korea's tallest building and yes, it's 63 stories tall. I will post pictures from that soon, though I had to delete a lot of almost-good photos. It was at night and difficult to get a non-blurry shot, as well as minimize the reflections in the window.
The threat of overtime is over, there weren't enough students interested so I won't be going into the office 3 hours early during this month, YEEHAW!
Today I got my visa for China; now I need to get a ticket. I'm trying to go directly through China Southern Airline's website in hopes of saving some money, but that might prove to be too complicated.
I think my eyesight is getting worse. I had some problems with it in late summer and got prescribed eye drops which seemed to fix the problem at first, but over time proved less and less effective. Now I've come to realize that if I look through my glasses at an angle more extreme than just straight-on, it improves my vision, which seems to indicate that I need stronger lenses.
I am signed up to go snowboarding on the east coast, where the best mountains are, this Saturday. The cost might be a lot, like around $300 for everything for one day. That seems really steep so I'm hoping there was a miscommunication, but probably not. Oh well, I'll foot that bill once, while I'm here, for the experience, and because I haven't been in years.
And the most depressing of news: I no longer regard snow, that thing which draws out words such as pure, clean, beautiful, which is forever intoned in the phrase "pure as the wind-driven snow," I no longer regard it as such. I have seen it dirtied, trampled on, mixed with grease and grime, thrown onto bystanders by speeding cars, unwantedly sticking to shoes, making black puddles on floors. I have tasted the Korean snow, and far from pure, it tastes like dirt. Dirt...
On both Xmas eve and New Year's Eve, my friend and I went into Itaewon (the foreign center of Seoul and therefore the sleaziest, dirtiest part, relatively speaking of course. Basically, it feels like America, haha) to a club, then to a bar. Quite the way to celebrate the eve of our Lord's birth, I know.
We got 3-day weekends for Xmas and New Year's, which was nice, though longer would've been nicer. Then, we had a snow day yesterday, making our 3-day New Year's weekend into a 4-day. However, we will be making that day up on a Saturday :( I tried to make snowmen with the snow but I couldn't get it to pack tight :(:(
I went to the 63 building, which is Korea's tallest building and yes, it's 63 stories tall. I will post pictures from that soon, though I had to delete a lot of almost-good photos. It was at night and difficult to get a non-blurry shot, as well as minimize the reflections in the window.
The threat of overtime is over, there weren't enough students interested so I won't be going into the office 3 hours early during this month, YEEHAW!
Today I got my visa for China; now I need to get a ticket. I'm trying to go directly through China Southern Airline's website in hopes of saving some money, but that might prove to be too complicated.
I think my eyesight is getting worse. I had some problems with it in late summer and got prescribed eye drops which seemed to fix the problem at first, but over time proved less and less effective. Now I've come to realize that if I look through my glasses at an angle more extreme than just straight-on, it improves my vision, which seems to indicate that I need stronger lenses.
I am signed up to go snowboarding on the east coast, where the best mountains are, this Saturday. The cost might be a lot, like around $300 for everything for one day. That seems really steep so I'm hoping there was a miscommunication, but probably not. Oh well, I'll foot that bill once, while I'm here, for the experience, and because I haven't been in years.
And the most depressing of news: I no longer regard snow, that thing which draws out words such as pure, clean, beautiful, which is forever intoned in the phrase "pure as the wind-driven snow," I no longer regard it as such. I have seen it dirtied, trampled on, mixed with grease and grime, thrown onto bystanders by speeding cars, unwantedly sticking to shoes, making black puddles on floors. I have tasted the Korean snow, and far from pure, it tastes like dirt. Dirt...
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