Two Roads - Psalm 1

Mike was about 40 when he went to the hospital because he was having chest pains.  Doctors said he was having a pre-heart-attack.  Mike’s father and grandfather had both died of heart attacks in middle age, and Mike’s older brother had recently had a life altering heart-attack.  

Mike was an old-fashioned American man.  He liked meat and potatoes, and he didn’t care much for fruit and vegetables.  He was intimately acquainted with all the best barbecue restaurants in town, and church potlucks were his special forte.  And it all showed in his body.  His face was aged, and his belly was round.  When Mike traveled and showed people pictures of his family, people often thought his wife was one of his daughters.  Awkward!  

Mike decided that he didn’t want to follow his family tradition of mid-life heart attacks.  He wanted to see his kids get married and hold his grandchildren.  He gave up his baby-back pork ribs and fried apple pies for a new healthier way of life.  

He and his wife became students of healthy eating, and they starting taking long walks together at the end of the day.  He developed a taste for salads, fresh fruits, and even tofu - which is a big stretch for most Americans.  10 years later, Mike has lost about 50 pounds (20 kilos), and his heart is healthier than ever.  He is trim and fit, and he is enjoying his grandchildren.  Mike saw two roads for his life, and he chose the healthy path.

Psalm 1 - Sons of Korah

My friend Sarah Bean just introduced me to a really cool band called Sons of Korah.  They're 6 guys from Australia who play psalms - as in from the book of Psalms - in the Bible.  They put these prayer psalms to contemporary music in a variety of musical styles.
We're going to use this rendition of Psalm 1 in our worship service this week.


I also really like Psalm 100.

Smoking Miracle (24-7 Prayer)

From a member of KNU International English Church (in Cheonan, South Korea) who prefers to remain anonymous.

This is a smoking story, but not the kind one reads about or sees on TV.  This is about a real miracle.

Back in March, my boss told me that all foreign teachers had to get some tests done at the medical center.  My boss told me that he needed to take me to get tested March 27th.   I scheduled my time at our church's 24/7 Prayer Room for March 30th.  Then, my boss told me he only had time to take me to the medical center on March 30th (right when I was scheduled for the prayer room). I was very angry and hurt about this, but rescheduled the prayer room for Sunday.

When I came for the tests, I found out there would be a chest x-ray also.  I always get nervous about chest x-rays, but this time was extreme.  I was so nervous that I failed the blood pressure test.  

I decided to smoke before going into work and quit for 24 hours in order to really help the blood pressure results on the following day.  I figured that after the test, I would be free to smoke all I want.

I passed the blood pressure test and the chest x-ray, but something very strange happened: I suddenly lost the desire to smoke.  I also had a cold and a bad cough, which I wasn't even taking medication for.  All of this went away the same afternoon.

Then on that Saturday, I went swimming and found myself swimming very fast without even trying. My lung capacity had improved so much that I just naturally swam faster.

I have been smoking heavily since 1980!  I did not plan to quit smoking last month.  It just happened.  I feel that God worked a miracle in me. I am even more grateful to God for helping me quit and for healing my body.   All of this means even more to me, because it all happened during Holy Week before Easter and our 24/7 Prayer Week.  I have now been free of smoking for almost two months!

Korea Tip 131: English Speaking Chiropractor

If you have back pain in Korea, it can be hard to know where to go for help.  Finding a doctor who speaks English or works in familiar ways is almost impossible.
Dr. SiHo Ahn, of Cheonan, may be exactly what you need.  He is a USA licensed chiropractic doctor (from Pennsylvania), and his office is near Dujeong Station on the north side of Cheonan (1469 Dujeong-Dong). 
Check out his English website at: www.ahnchiro.com.  For directions or to make an appointment call, 1661-1230. 

Goodbye Letter #04: Kim and Paul

Dear KNU International English Church,


We have very much enjoyed been part of the church fellowship for these past eight weeks, courtesy of Daniel and Arnelle Helbling who have very kindly and willingly collected us by car to travel from Anseo-dong.

We were warmly welcomed at KNU IEC from the first day and very quickly felt part of the fellowship. This was in part due to the ‘extra-curricular’ sessions we joined in and in part to the greeting time each Sunday. It was here that we had the time to connect with individuals and learn some names. It is through learning names and then through these same lovely people being willing to stop and speak each week for a short or longer time that we felt connected.

We have discovered that as we have been on our travels with God and left our home church in the north of England for Canada, then Yeosu in South Korea, back to the UK, then returned to South Korea, that we have each time been blessed with a church that we have felt part of and has increased our joy in serving Him.

So thank you for the part you have played; especially those we know by name who warmly welcomed us each week.

Yours in Christ

Kim &  Paul

When?

When does the sun rise?

   When the first hint of light?

Always while it’s dark

   After a long, long night.

Faithfully Doubting God - Psalm 22

Most of the time, we think of faith and doubts as polar opposites.  We think of faith and doubt on a single spectrum.  We think that if we have more doubt, we have less faith, and if we have less doubt, we have more faith.

<----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Doubt                                          Faith

But that’s not what the Bible teaches.  The Bible’s perspective on doubt and faith is more like the father with a sick child who said to Jesus: “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).  Belief and unbelief are all mixed together - like overlapping ovals.  We have all these doubts of different shapes and sizes, but they can be enveloped by an even larger circle of faith.  Having doubts does not mean we don’t have faith.  Doubts can actually enlarge and enrich our faith.  True faith is not being doubt-free.  True faith is taking the leap to trust God even while the doubts are there screaming that we shouldn’t.  True faith is moving forward to follow Jesus - even if it means carrying a backpack full of doubts along the way.

Sometimes, we let our doubts drive us away from God and away from God’s people.  We can get very ashamed of our doubts.   We think, “If I was a real Christian, I wouldn’t feel like this.  If I really trusted God, I wouldn’t have these doubts.”  And so we end up hiding our true selves from other people at church and even from God in prayer.  We only say the nice things.  We only pray the nice prayers.  We stuff our doubts down.  We try to shoo them out the window of our souls.  

Here’s the thing about doubt and pain and fear.  It’s part of us.  It will always be part of us as long as we live in this broken world.  If we don’t bring God our pain and fear and doubt, then we are leaving a huge part of us in the back room of our souls.  If we don’t bring our church and our friends our pain and fear and doubt, then we are hiding huge parts of ourselves and preventing deep relationship from ever happening.  

We (as a church) and we (as Christians) have to find healthier ways of dealing with pain and doubt.  Thankfully, we have Psalm 22.  This is probably the single most famous “lament” or “doubting” Psalm in the Bible.  Listen for how it mixes together doubt and faith.  

1  My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?   Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

Goodbye Letter #03 - Arnold Tanubrata

[When people in our church move on, I ask them to write a goodbye note before they go.  I hope this will be one way to help us navigate these transitions well.]

   In 19 years as a servant of God, I never saw or met any power bigger or greater than the power of God, no matter how bigger my problems were or how bad I feel that I'm 'being cruxified' because of my loyality to Him.

   My name is Arnold Tanubrata, but I am also known as Tan Yue Liang since I am Chinese-Indonesian. My extended family originally owned a top pharmaceutical company, producing prescriptions drugs and OTC drugs and importing pharmaceutical and chemical raw materials.  However, my nuclear family was the second poorest of the families in our clan, so I considered myself as middle class of Indonesians.

   As a middle class Indonesian, I lived happily like in heaven. I received the highest education available -  from kindergarten to a posh graduate university.  However, I had friends from many backgrounds both poor and rich, including children of the unemployed, military generals, artists, and governors.  After graduation, I also got good jobs, slowly moving up from staff, to supervisor, to assistant manager, to manager, and finally to director.

   Things started to change in 2008.  I lost my job due to the global economic crises. After lost my job, my relationship with my ex-wife became worse until she cheated with another man.  I became very angry and even had a plan to have the other man killed by a professional.  My father knew all about my situation, so he suggested that I go to South Korea to work and to search for a better future there.

Depending on His Good Care - Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3 He renews my strength.
   He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.

4 Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.

5 You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.

6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 may be the single most famous chapter in the whole Bible.  Christians and nonChristians alike know and appreciate its images.  Today, I feel the burden of working with this heavy and honored text.  

However, I find some help from a preacher-scholar named James Mays.  He is the former president of the Society of Biblical Literature and the founding editor of the Interpretation commentary series.  But before his chapter on Psalm 23, he wrote, “Any interpretation seems presumptuous.  ... Why undertake to explain a psalm that ... so rightly speaks for us and interprets us?”

  If he can’t interpret this Psalm, then I am not going to even try!  

But maybe like he said, Psalm 23 actually interprets us.  Maybe, we identify with Psalm 23 on such a deep heart-level because it clearly and profoundly speaks the truth of our hearts.  So today, I don’t want to explain Psalm 23.  Instead, I want to let Psalm 23 explain us and our relationship with God.  (I’ve been really helped this week by Phillip Keller’s little book called, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, so much of what I’ll say flows out of that.)

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD.  Behind this familiar statement is a humbling truth.  If “the LORD is my shepherd,” then I am a sheep.  This sheep and Shepherd relationship explains so much about us.

First, we are owned.  I am a sheep, and I belong to God, my Shepherd.  I am not my own; I am owned.  We may not like it, but we belong to God.  That is a simple and fundamental truth of reality.  

Living in God's Overflow - Psalm 133

This week, we begin a season called “Eastertide.”  It is the season between Easter and Pentecost, and traditionally the church focuses our attention during this season on what it means to be a church.  This Eastertide, we are focusing on that most fundamental part of our existence as people of God - prayer.  Today is the first day of a seven week series on the Psalms.  We will not only preach them.  We will pray them.  We will celebrate them.  We will meditate them.  We will live them.  

To set the frame for this journey through the Psalms, today, we need to spend a little time talking about the book of Psalms as a whole.  I’m guessing that you have some questions about the Psalms - even if you haven’t exactly put them into words.

What are the Psalms?  A psalm is basically a prayer, actually a prayer song.  Some were written by individuals - like David - in response to specific situations.  Others were written for specific worship situations - like crowning a new king or pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  They are like Israel’s hymnbook, full of poetic imagery.  They were collected over hundreds of years.  They cover all kinds of topics and situations and attitudes.  They soar with amazing poetry and roll in the dirt with gritty honesty.    But the key thing to remember about the Psalms is that they are the prayer songs of the people of Israel.   

Why do Christians pray the Psalms?  Well, actually, some Christians stopped - for a while.  In Nazi Germany, the Psalms and the whole Old Testament, were considered Jewish and outdated and almost barbaric.  Thankfully, the Church at large (and minority of German Christians) rejected that view and continued in the ancient tradition of praying the psalms.

But why?  Why do we still pray these prayers that are 2-3,000 years old?  There are three basic reasons we stick with these prayers.

1. The Psalms put us in the stream of God’s interaction with people.  We return to the Psalms for the same reason we return to the old hymns (and our favorite new songs).  They connect us with the deep flow of God’s grace among God’s people.  These prayers have been recorded and preserved because generation after generation has found them helpful for connecting with God.
2. The Psalms give voice to the prayers of our hearts.  Sometimes, we just don’t know what to pray.  Other times, we have all of these feelings inside us, but we can’t quite put words to what we want to say.  Sometimes, we are actually afraid to say what we feel.  But the Psalms help us to pray our feelings.  They are raw and honest.  They go into the depths of the human experience and bring out our pains and joys and put them into words in our prayers to God.
3. The Psalms reshape the prayers of our hearts.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of those resisting German Christians in the Nazi era who stayed committed to the Psalms.  In his little book, Psalms - The Prayer Book of the Bible, he explains: “If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart. ... If we were dependent entirely on ourselves, we would probably pray only the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer. ... The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart.”  In other words, if we just pray what we feel, most of the time we’ll keep asking for “our daily bread” or all the stuff we need or want.  The Psalms stretch us beyond our selfish limited view of the world and help us see the world from the perspective of others and even from God’s perspective.

One last question: If Psalms are the people’s prayers, then how are they “the Word of God”? 

Arab Springs - Exodus 15:1-21

First read Exodus 15:1-21.

In December of 2010, Mohammed Bouazizi, a small fruit vender, borrowed about $200 (US) to buy fruit to sell in a hand cart.  City officials harassed and beat him for not having a vending permit.  Finally, when he refused to pay a bribe, they confiscated his equipment and dumped his fruit into the street.  After the local governor refused to hear his complaint, Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of corruption and oppression in Tunisia.

28 days later, after non-stop protests, Tunisia’s President Zine Ben Ali, stepped down after 23 years in power.  

9 days after that, protests began in Egypt.  It only took 18 days to dethrone Hosni Mubarek after 29 years in power.

By the time Mubarek left, protests had already begun in Yemen, Syria, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.  Within a few months the protests spread to nearly every country in the Middle East and Northern Africa. 

Together, people around the region stood up to demand their dignity and basic human rights.  Together people called for an end to corruption, abuse of power, rigged votes, and - a new word for me - kleptocracy, which means “rule by thieves.”  I remember an interview of a woman in Lybia.  The reporter was asking her if she thought the Lybian rebells would be successful.  She was adamant that they would be.  She kept saying things like, “Ghadaffi has to go,” and “This is the end of all of that.”

The Arab Spring was a tidal wave of hope and urgency that swept through nation after nation where people longed to be free.  Although, it is still underway in places like Syria and Jordan, we can see clearly that the Arab Spring has reshaped our geopolitical landscape.  They defeated their enemies by joining together in protest.  A frustrated fruit vender has toppled a tyrant and changed our world.

But this was not the first Arab Spring. 

Community Art Project: Exodus 15, Isaiah 25

This is the last installment of our community art.  If this is your first post, just scroll back through the archives to see all 8 weeks of art made by the people of KNU International English Church.  Special thanks to all the folks in Greenhouse Worship for incubating our creative worship experiences!

Isaiah 25:6-9 There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.  He will swallow up death forever!  The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.  He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people.
    The Lord has spoken!

 Exodus 15:8, 12  At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up!  The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.  You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies.

Goodbye Letter #02: Elizabeth Jancewicz

-- This was originally a post Elizabeth did on her blog, where she post lots of cool original art and updates on her adventures with her also very cool musician husband, Eric. ---

In honor of it being Palm Sunday (it has been for 17 minutes now) I am finally posting a little drawing I did weeks ago:

First off, the church that Eric and I went to when we lived in Korea was amazing. It was the KNU International English Church in Cheonan, and it still stands as one of the best churches either of us have ever had the privileged of attending. The community in the church was not only welcoming and kept a strong community within the church by getting together for lunches, but they also addressed really tough issues that a lot of churches seem to steer clear of, and they are extremely active in real help for the poor and needy. I was impressed and moved by the actions of this church during my few short months in Korea two years ago.

To add to this, Eric and I were involved with Pastor Josh Broward’s family in that Sarah, Josh’s wife, was my assistant during my first teaching job in Korea and also found me another job so that I could extend my stay; and Eric taught their young daughter piano lessons. (Eric also played piano in the worship team when he was there.)

Seriously, sometimes we think about returning to live in Korean simply because the church was really just so good.

Retro Poem #3: America

I've been thinking about this poem often during Lent, since we're preaching through Exodus.  This is one of my first poems, but I think it's also one of my favorites.

America

The land of liberty

The place where freedom reigns.

We breathe but do not live.

Self-procured captivity

Pours out slavery’s stains.

Our streets reflect the sieve.

We seek satisfaction.

Desire overtakes us.

Our master is our Self.

For him is all action.

Is there no Spartacus

To lead in rebellion?

Each morn we gladly rise

And lock mind and body

To the yoke of vile lust.

We daily live our lies

Then watch our comedy.

The truth is ne’er discussed.

The sieve is evident.

All goes in, none comes out.

A bitter tasting gall

Is the only remnant

Of our life lived without 

The joy of freedom’s hall.

God, please, free us from us.

Make me the Spartacus!

As I look back, I see that our role is not to be the Spartacus, but to follow Christ - the victorious Spartacus who sets us all free.

Stumbling Toward Victory - Exodus 12

    A train wreck.  That’s our goal today.  We’ve got three trains in action and moving toward this room.  The first train is the Passover passage - Exodus 12:1-13 - explaining the first Passover in Egypt.  The second train is the Palm Sunday passage - John 12:12-19 - explaining Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem.  The last train is more customized and personal.  It is the train of our individual lives.  Today, our goal is to guide all three of these trains into a cataclysmic collision that changes our lives.
    Each of these three trains actually carries the same theological baggage cars: wavering, death, and victory.  Looking in each car of each train will be key for crashing everything together. 

Community Art Project: Exodus 12

12:1 While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: ² “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.

It's Bigger Than We Thought ...

When God sets you free,

It's not just a "new day;" 

It's a whole new calendar.

----------

   ³ Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.

  ⁴ If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. ⁵ The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.

We Will Rejoice - Isaiah 25:6-9

One of our texts for Easter Sunday is Isaiah 25:6-9.

⁶ In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will spread a wonderful feast
    for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
    with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
⁷ There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
    the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
⁸ He will swallow up death forever!
    The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
    against his land and people.
    The Lord has spoken!

⁹ In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
    We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
    Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”

We might use this video to help proclaim this passage.




What do you think?

Retro Poem #2: Initiator

Because you chose me,
   I choose you.
Because you first loved me,
   I now love you.
Because you have always been faithful to me,
   I want to be faithful to you.
Because you rejoice in me,
   I rejoice in you.
Because you long for me,
   I long for you.
Because you will not turn from me,
   I will not turn from you.
Because you remain in me,
   I remain in you.
Because you are patient with me,
   I will be patient with you.
Because you will not force your will on me,
   I will not force my will will on you.
Because you suffer with me,
   I suffer with you.
Because you initiate,
   I respond.

(Written in 2001)

Community Art Project: Exodus 7-11

Exodus 7 (A Plague of Blood)
14 Then the LORD said to Moses ... “announce to [Pharaoh], ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him. 17 So this is what the LORD says: “I will show you that I am the LORD.”  ...
 20 ... As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood! 21 The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it... 
Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen ... 

God Plaguing Us - Exodus 7-11

   This is a long and complex passage.  You will probably have unanswered questions after I’m done talking.  That’s OK.  There is no way I can talk about everything here, so I want to make some observations that can help us understand this strange text and apply it in our lives today.   Ten observations about the ten plagues.

1. Yahweh is God of all the earth.  In the English text, any time you see the word LORD in all capital letters, that is a textual symbol that the Hebrew word used is YHWH (or Yahweh).  Yahweh is the special Hebrew name for God.  The background for the plague story is a battle of Egypt’s gods and Yahweh Israel’s God.
    Moses comes to Pharaoh and says, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go ...”  But Pharaoh responds, “And who is the LORD?  ... I don’t know him, and I won’t let Israel go.” (5:1-2).  This is the essential conflict of the plagues.  Yahweh is making himself known to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh is learning to submit to the God of all the earth. 

 

2. Yahweh wants all people to worship him.  Before the plague of the flies, God says, he is sending this plague so that “you will know that I am the LORD and that I am present even in the heart of your land” (8:22).  Before the plague of the hail, God said, “By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.  But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth...” (9:15-16).  
    God wants all people everywhere to worship him.  This was a radical concept.  Back then, each tribe or nation worshiped their own collection of gods.  The gods were regionally or topically based - the god of this area or this issue.  No god asked for everyone’s exclusive worship - only some worship from some people.  Yahweh’s claim that he is the One True God of All the Earth was - and is - radical.

The Pineapple Story

This is a video of a sermon by Otto Koning, a missionary to Papua - now part of Indonesia.  He tells the hilarious and poignant story of how God set him free from owning his pineapple garden and transformed his life and ministry in the process.  It's a little old - from the 70s - but still deeply meaningful and relevant.  (Thanks to Bruce M. for the recommendation.)

You might also be interested in the book:

Retro Poem 1: You & Me

[[I'm going to start a retro poem series - posting an occasional from my earlier years.  I thought I'd start with a simple, funny one, from my college years. ]]


You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
You, Me
It's just you and me --
Let's get married.

Magician's Nephew Review

Emma and I started the Chronicles of Narnia series.  We decided to read chronologically - probably easier for a kid.  We're both loving it.  (It's the second time around for me.) Two parts of the story really stand out to me.
1) Alsan creates Narnia by singing.  We often think of God's voice as a dry booming voice.  Lewis's singing Alsan brings out the powerful beauty of God.  I love that Lewis can do something that changes how we think about God.
2) The people who are attuned with God love Aslan and Narnia, but the people who are greedy and out of sync with God find Aslan and Narnia to be torturous.  Goodness is offensive to them.  Somehow that rings true and makes sense on a primal level.  Also - it could explain much about the coexistence of heaven and hell.  They could be the same "thing" experienced in different ways.

The Josh rating is a strong 4 Js: JJJJ.

Grace (Eventually) - Review

I love Anne Lamott.  I wish she would spend long hours relaxing on the back porch or drinking coffee at the kitchen table with our family.  She would add laughter and depth and love to every situation - and yes, by her own beautiful admission, maybe a little drama too.  But the fact that she freely admits that is part of why I love her and wish we could hang out.
Grace (Eventually) is Donnie-Miller-esque, except that Lamott wraps each chapter into a beautiful little package and - at the same time - ends chapters in intriguing little wandering phrases.  Lamott compiles a range of stories in which she has failed, succeeded, worried, shouted, cried, laughed, trusted, doubted, and loved.  The beauty of her writing is that she draws us into her life and shows us the mysterious action of God there.  In the process, she opens us to our own lives and the same mysterious action of God in us.
I've read a few books by Lamott, but this one is definitely the most "liberal."  She rails against Bush, like a wounded lover, watching her ex dance with the prom queen.  She offers positions on euthanasia and abortion, which I don't support.  However, the benefit in reading Lamott, with all of her frankness and obvious love for God and people, is not agreeing with what she says but understanding the innate humanity of her experience.  She opens my heart to people with whom I disagree, and that is worth the price of any book.  (Though this one was a gift from my friend Gina.  Thanks!)
As hinted by the title, the main point of the book is Lamott's wrestlings with her life struggles and how she finally finds grace - eventually.   Simply opening that struggle to the public is a great act of courage, and it encourages us to stay on the trail of grace even in our darkest times.  Lamott makes me want to write, and to write a lot.
While Grace (Eventually) is not as good as some of Lamott's other books, I still recommend it.  The Josh rating: JJJJ.

Israel and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Time - Exodus 6

(This is a sermon by Matt Banner, our assistant pastor.)

    One of the most famous children’s books is also one that I enjoy.  It is called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst (Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Spl Ltd edition (September 22, 2009).  In it, it tells the story of Alexander, how everything goes wrong for him.  It starts out like this:

    “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day…..I think I’ll move to Australia.”

    And things just get worse for poor Alexander.

• At breakfast, his 2 brothers, Anthony and Nick, get prizes in their cereal.  He just gets cereal.
• On the way to school, he has to sit in the middle of the car.
• At school, his teacher doesn’t like his drawing of an invisible castle.
• He sings too loud.
• He left out the number 16 when counting (who needs 16 anyway)
• His best friend leaves him to become his third best friend.

Korea Tip 130: English Counseling in Korea

Sometimes we need help.  That's OK.  It is a sign of health to reach out for the help that we need.
However, when living abroad, it can be hard to find the help that we need.  In Korea, English speaking counselors are hard to come by.
As a pastor, people sometimes ask me to recommend a good method for getting counseling here in Korea.  Unfortunately, there aren't any therapists comfortable doing counseling in Cheonan (where I live).   However, there are other options:

10 Plagues - God, gods, and nature

Next week, I'm preaching on the 10 plagues in Egypt.  I've been thinking about this video all week.

Community Art Project - Exodus 6

 ¹ Then the LORD told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”

Akeela and the Bee - Movie Review

My friend Matt has been recommending this movie for a long time.  Despite it's potentially nerdy and boring main event (a national spelling bee), Akeela and the Bee is moving and poignant, hopeful and provocative.
Akeela attends a substandard school in South Los Angeles, but she is an exceptional speller.  With encouragement from her teacher, she enters the school's spelling bee.  Her principal sees her as an opportunity to rejuvenate the school and enlists an outside expert (Samuel L. Jackson) to coach her.
As Akeela slowly studies and advances in the national spelling bee, she, her coach, her family, her school, and her broader community are slowly drawn into a beautiful process of healing.  One of the most moving bits of the movie is when the community comes together to help Akeela practice.  It really demonstrates the power of community and the power of one person to make a difference in the life of others.
This may not be Oscar worthy, but it is hands-down the best family movie I've watched in a long, long time.  The Josh rating here is a little difficult.  It barely inches into 5Js: JJJJJ - mostly because I think we should all watch it and be inspired to go and love-likewise.

Korea Tip 129: Brunch in Cheonan

As far as I know Alameda is the first restaurant in Cheonan to serve western style breakfast food.  Not to knock McDonalds, but a McMuffin can only go so far in restoring the feelings of home.
Alameda is a small, owner-chef cafe near the Galleria.  Look across the street for the Cafe Bene and keep walking in a straight line.
The atmosphere is simple-chic, and the food is very good.  The owner serves as chef, and his girlfriend is the friendly waitress.
Sarah ordered the Alameda Brunch - with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, and - oddly - a small garden salad.  Even giving it the bonus of being the only place to get Western breakfast in Cheonan, this was still a very good meal.  Everything was well prepared and well presented.
I ordered the grilled mushroom salad, and I have to say that it was the best restaurant salad I've had in Korea.  (I have to add that restaurant caveat because my sister-in-law makes a mean spinach-pecan-strawberry salad which may be the best I've ever had anywhere.)  The greens were varied and fresh.  The mushrooms were also varied and well seasoned.  There were even chunks of fresh cheese.
Even the music was great.  The only downside to Alameda is the price.  Plan on paying around 15,000 a person.  At that rate, it's a little to much to become part of our regular circuit, but when we get the hankering for pancakes, waffles, or knock-out salads, now we know where to go.

Beyond Failure - Exodus 5

He was a young man at the top of his game - a star athlete, a top scholar, tall and good looking.  Then, God called him to be a missionary.  At this point in his life, being a missionary was the farthest thing from Jerry’s mind.  He went outside to a lake to talk with God in private.  He told God the long list of reasons why he shouldn’t be a missionary.  Slowly, God answered all his objections.  

At last he had one more complaint - the heart of his worries: “God, I can’t be a missionary.  I’m no good at that kind of stuff.  I’ll fail for sure.”

Then, he felt like God answered him very clearly: “OK, then, will you fail for me?”  That was the heart of the issue.  Was he willing to be faithful to God even if it meant failing?  

That question is the first main point of our Exodus text today.  God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.  Moses and Israel put their faith in God.  They took a radical step of faith and obedience.  They went to Pharaoh and asked him to let them walk out of Egypt.

(Don’t get distracted by the details of their request.  This is an example of Middle-Eastern bargaining.  The opening offer is to go into the wilderness to worship, but hidden inside that, both Moses and Pharaoh know that Israel is really asking for freedom.)

So after taking this radical step of faith in God, we would expect God to reward their faith and to set them free.  Not exactly.  Instead of freedom, they get more oppression.

Pharaoh’s response is really shrewd here.  By making the Israelites work harder, he does three things.  First, they are now so tired they don’t have any energy to fight for change.  Second, they will now be happy simply to return to the old levels of oppression.  (At least, it was better than this!)  Third, he turns the Israelites against each other.  The Israelite foremen attack Moses and Aaron and call on God to judge against them!  Epic fail!

Sometimes faithfulness leads to failure.  Sometimes obeying God makes our lives harder.  Don’t be confused by all of the beautiful promises in the Bible.  They are true.  Being a Christian is awesome.  Following God is absolutely the best way to live.  ...  But sometimes it really sucks!  Sometimes we suffer because we do the wrong things.  Other times we suffer specifically because we do the right things.

So here is the first main point of Exodus 5.  Will you follow God even if you fail?  Will you be faithful even if it makes your life harder?  Will you value obedience over success?

Community Art Project - Exodus 5

 ¹ After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”

Korea Tip 128: Filing US Taxes

This is a guest post by David Reed.  (Thanks David!)

Taxes can be daunting, but luckily in this day and age there are several outlets for getting assistance.  Before we get started I have to tell you first and foremost, I am NOT a tax professional.  The information included in this post should not be taken as authoritative or all-inclusive.  If you have questions about your taxes or are unsure in any way contact a tax professional.  For this post I will be using the IRS information posted here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p54.pdf  All page numbers listed are from this document.

Now that the legal bit is out of the way lets get to work.  I am going to assume you have filed your taxes before in the States and understand the general process.  I will assume you know how to fill out a general 1040 or 1040EZ form using an online program (Like Turbotax) before and don’t need a step by step walk through.  The purpose of this post is to take you through the Expatriate process which is just a couple of extra steps.

First, the federal government states that there are only five different programs that they approve for doing your taxes online.  However, they don’t tell you which programs these are.  I have found two of these: Turbotax and Taxact.  I have used Turbotax in the past and found it very simple and intuitive but it costs $30 to file your state taxes.  This year I used Taxact and although it only costs about $15 to file your state taxes, it isn’t quite as intuitive as Turbotax. 

Exodus 4 - Dialog

This is a late entry to our Exodus 4 community art project.

Exo 4:13 But Moses said, "Please, Lord, send someone else."
 

DIALOG
For Your glory, Lord,
     Please, won't You send somebody else?
For I am weak and flawed and broken –
     Unfit to go for You.

I will go with you –
     Not beside you, but within you.
Where you are weak and flawed and broken,
     My glory can shine through.

Escaping Our Excuses - Exodus 4

First read Exodus 4:1-17.

    We’ve all used excuses a time or two, and sometimes they’ve even been true.  This week I scoured the internet to find some of the worst excuses of all time.  These are the top ten excuses people gave for missing work or school.
10. I'm still drunk from last night.
9. I am stuck in the blood pressure machine at the pharmacy.
8. I tried to dye my hair blonde, but it came out green!
7. I won't be able to come to work next week.  We’re trying for a baby, and the doctor     says next week is the best chance.
6. The train had a flat tire.
5. My boyfriend has a 111 degree temperature (44 celsius). 
4. I can’t come to school today because my brain is full.
3. Please excuse Henry for being late. He was stuck in the bathroom without any toilet     paper.
2.  [This one is the runner-up for being crazy but true.]  Her cat was bleeding all over the     place.  An abscess in it’s belly exploded.  But the vet really helped out and wrote     her an official excuse: “Please excuse Sheryl for being late to work today. Her cat     had a hole in it.”
1. [This one gets the grand prize for the follow-up plan.]  I was playing fetch with my     dog, and the ball took a bad hop and broke a window.  When I went to check out     the damage, I stepped on a big piece of glass and cut my foot really bad, so I     can’t work today.  ...  The trick to making this excuse stick -- he put a pebble in     my shoe for the next couple of work days to remind him to walk gingerly due to     his "stitches."

    We all have excuses.  Some are better than others, but we all have them.  Sometimes we use them to get out of work.  Sometimes we use them to make up for our failures.  Sometimes we use them to avoid God. 
    Here’s the thing about our excuses.  We think they are going to get us what we want.  But in reality, our excuses just form traps to keep us in our selfishness, irresponsibility, or unhealthy lifestyles.  If we want to really be free, we have to escape our excuses.  Our excuses keep us stuck in the status quo, but God calls us into the adventures of the unknown future.