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The Rebirth of a Blog

Many people are probably wondering why this Blog has finally started to come alive. There are multiple reasons. One reason is I have found that journaling my thoughts and my life develops a healthy habit of introspection. Oftentimes I am caught up with life and the daily activities that it requires that I forget to take a time-out and reflect on how God has been blessing my life. Another reason I have decided to make frequent updates is to connect to those people I care about. Living here in the suburbs of Chicago by myself, I've failed to update those around me about what is going on in my life. Sometimes even my own parents don't know what I'm up to. Keeping a Blog updated will foster the communication that I can't do through phone calls alone. Thank you to all those people who have encouraged me to continue with this habit. It will be hard with the semester duties picking up, but I will daily update all on the Internet about the many ways God is blessing me.

Here are some more pictures of food. Pastor John (JFK/목사님) was kind enough to buy us poor 전도사님's some great Octopus and Bacon Dinner (오삼불고기). Pastor Sam (Just another Jundo) did all the serving. I sat back and ate the great food. Great times with great people!

Coffee and Tea

This week is International Coffee/Tea Week. That means each country and nation is represented in the International Student Office with traditional snacks and beverages of their home countries. Although I am technically an American citizen, I have been the victim of a lot of Korean events. I say victim because older students here have been pressuring me to wear the traditional Korean garb, the hanbok (한복), at the event to represent all Korean males. So I took on the modeling job (unfortunately it was an unpaid position) and made the most of the time. Here are some pictures below:

The Party Zone

 

Trying to act like a suave model =)

I wish I could grow an afro!

The Other "Volunteer"

It was a fun experience. It was probably the second time I wore this type of clothing. I made sure I took some photos to show all my fans out there on the Internet. Let me know what you think of my modeling and if you think I have potential. Thanks!

PAP

The Adventures of Seminary

Classes over 3 hours long should be illegal... After our History of Christianity class, my roommate and I (David), went to the gym to get our bodies some much needed physical exercise after a long spring break. (Both of us pretty much sat on our butt and kept eating food this whole past week). So after all the vigorous workouts in the gym, trying to burn all those excess calories we see when we look in the mirror, we decided that we were pretty hungry as well...

So I suggested we start making some healthy bean-paste soup, otherwise known as 된장찌개. David is a real pro at cooking this sort of stuff, so I asked him for some tips. I eventually figured it out and you can see the finished product below picture.

Healthy Bean Paste Soup

Also David realized he brought some left over ground-beef from a few weeks ago (maybe three weeks???).

Traditional Korean Dog Food 

A More Aerial View of the Concoction

Please pray for us as we both ate it and will go to Hebrew class tomorrow morning. We both love to live on the edge!

Also we try to be very figure-friendly when making our rice. As you can see, we added brown rice and black beans to add some much needed fiber into our diet. Enjoy the pics from just another Monday in Seminary.

Thank You Cuckoo!

Rice for Men; or as David would say, "Real Men Eat Rice Like This!"

PAP

The Beauty of Technology

Last time I wrote here that technology has a way of bringing about so much noise that we oftentimes forget God is out there. I may have even sounded like an Amish apologist... However, after much time spent researching important tools for spiritual formation, I have come to the conclusion that technology can either be used for good or for bad.

Recently I have come across YouVersion.com. It's a site that syncs with your Ipod and tells you how you are doing with your Bible reading plan. You can even have accountability partners to check on the people you know. Its a very cool application that I hope to share with my kids in Youth Group.

So pretty much this blog is another reminder to me and everybody out there that you need to buy an Iphone. Wait a little longer and you may be able to get the Iphone 5.

Lent and Youth Ministry

I've resurrected my blog now that I am on Spring Break and I began a weeklong media fast with my Youth Group. For the past couple of days I have been abstaining from Facebook, television, and games. I've had a few lapses however... (There is a new game called Tiny Wings on the ipod touch that keeps me addicted. I haven't played it for a couple of days because the ipod ran out of batteries, but I'm going to try my hardest not to play it.)

We are doing this fast as a Youth Group because Lent is here. If you haven't noticed, Ash Wednesday (3/9) came and now we are getting ready for Easter. Now I'm not all about liturgical calendars and all, but I think a lot of us can learn from past church traditions that have shaped Christians for hundreds of years. According to wikipedia, Lent is simply a time to sacrifice for Jesus. Whether that sacrifice is shown through old school fasting or media fasting is not important. What is important, I believe is that we practice the denial of ourselves in order to be more in-tune with our Maker and Creator.

The past couple of weeks we have been talking about how to figure out God's Will for our lives? A lot of us have different problems, difficulties, and worries. But when it comes to this crucial question, most of us ask it one time or another. I've been pounding away at Scripture that teaches us we need to be changed inwardly to know we are doing God's will. In other words, you need to have God's desires and His heart to know God's will. It's a challenging message whether you are a teenager or been a Christian for over 10 years. Starting this fast as a church has also taught me some practical ways we can determine God's will.

When I started this media-fast on Wednesday, I honestly didn't think it would be too hard. My Facebook account is only used when I am bored, I watch TV shows on Hulu also when I have free time, and the rest of the other free periods I would play Tiny Wings on my ipod. I'm not much of a music listener either, unless its Christian rap or J S Bach, so I haven't had trouble with that. But after about the third day, I could really feel myself struggling to stay away from these things.

Oftentimes, we don't remember how engulfed we are into technology and media. If none of us had computers, Ipods, Iphones, Xbox 360s, PS3, etc, we would experience a totally different world. In the moments I have had this week without many of the time-filling websites, games, and TV shows, I've noticed that much of our time is spent on hobbies and entertainment. Entertainment is something that has almost become the god of our age. Two weeks ago, I spoke about worship and what it means in Romans 12:1-2. I explained that worship is expressing the worth of something whether it is my words, singing, or actions. A lot of times, we forget that our actions speak more loudly than our words when it comes to true worship. I am guilty of it just as much as the next guy. And I'm not condemning everyone for doing Facebook and watching movies; but when we give an honest and fair assessment of our lives, do we see someone who is expressing the true worth that God deserves?

My answer is no. I have fallen short. Thank God I have a Savior who is not only capable of washing away my sins but also able to create in me a desire to worship Him in all areas in my life. I think I may adopt this media-fast to some degree into my lifestyle...