it's less than a week until children's day in korea. here's a tribute to my students.



"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."
--James Baldwin








"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance."
-- Franklin P. Adams

a bag of milk please!

today i poured myself a bowl of honey nut cheerios. i proceeded to open the fridge and grab hold of the plastic bottle of milk.



i twisted the cap open. as i did, little white flakes of crusted milk that congealed between the spout and cap, fell into my bowl of cheerios. i was perturbed!

but what was i to do? get one of those cartons of milk.



have you ever tried to open those things? the initial opening of the tab is easily done. however, the next step is always more difficult then it needs to be. i can never just pull the corner out. i always manage to split the cardboard where it's not meant to be split, causing frustration and a mangled pouring nozzle. and there is no guarantee of a "flake-free" pour. when a milk container requires constant folding and unfolding of a tab near the opening, there is always a risk of flake build up.

i guess what i'm saying is that i miss milk in a bag.



although the milk in a bag requires a set up <click to view set up>that appears to be a hassle to the untrained american, i much prefer it to the other options.

no white crusties! no frustrating and confusing tabs! no mangled pouring nozzle! no opening and closing required! a perfect pour every time!

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A student at Virginia Tech massacred at least 30 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, cutting down his victims before the university could grasp what was happening.

when i first read this, i was flooded with many emotions. the following was my thought process of this tragedy:

i was shocked.

"didn't this just happen in amish country? columbine? this can't be happening again? can it?"

i was angry.

"why don't they prohibit handguns in the states? what is a handgun? it serves one purpose. to kill people. if only he didn't have access to them."

"why didn't the university handle it in a more appropriate manner? he killed 2 people...hung around the campus for 2 hours...then killed 30 more? how could the university not do a better job informing and evacuating the students?"

"where were the authorities? the police?"

"who is this guy? how selfish is he? you hate life. you hate yourself. but did you have to kill so many? couldn't you just have killed yourself (what an awful thought)."

"bullies! why did you have to pick on him? your relentless mockery and bullying caused this? are you happy? look what you've done."

i felt fear.

"i teach. if it could happen there, couldn't it happen anywhere? is one of my students capable of doing this?"

i felt obligated.

"what about his family? his friends? why couldn't they have told him he was loved? i must do a better job listening to people. so many people are hurting and struggling. i need to tell my family and friends they're loved. i need to reach out to new people. what if my one loving word or action could prevent a tragedy."

i felt sad.

"there are 33 family's missing a member today. there are thousands missing a friend."

i felt hopeless.

"there's so much tragedy. will it ever end? will things ever get better?"

i felt hope.

"look at 9/11. columbine. people rallied together. people prayed. people thought about life and death, and realized how short life is. people started thinking about God. people didn't take each other for granted. people didn't take life for granted."

i felt ashamed.

"i felt ashamed because i felt these things... shock, anger, fear, sadness, hopelessness. honest feelings they may be, but signs that i'm not trusting God is in control. i know He's in control. but i try to force my rationale and my solutions to all these problems."

i felt victory.

"i prayed about it, let go of my control, and gave it to God, trusting He will work it out according to His glory, will, and timing."

please pray for the victims friends and families.

here's a poem i wrote a while back called...

doctor, doctor

doctor, doctor
my heart hurts
in case the scenario gets any worse
take this stethoscope and put it in your ears
put it on my heart and tell me what you hear

immorality, impurity
idolatry, jealousy
to gratify this creature
to indulge the sinful nature

does it beat with hatred and rage?
pumping the things that make me a slave
living contrary to the Spirit
shackled you will not inherit
the kingdom
the freedom
from these
dissensions, discord, and envy

some medicine
some fruit
can you hear?
are the blockages all clear?
love, joy, peace
no longer fear
now it's self control, kindness, patience
and a right relationship between doctor and patient

doctor, doctor
what do you prescribe?
the sinful nature crucified

(Galatians 5:16-25)

My Celebrity Look-A-Likes

my heart will go on

if anyone has ever left home for a significant amount of time, you know that after that said time you start to miss home. you especially miss your family and friends. and you start to miss the little niceities of your home country, that when you lived there, you often took for granted. things like concerts, sporting events, tim hortons, hockey night in canada, rickards red, coffee crisp, and poutine to name a few.

but when you start living in another country, you gradually start to make a new home (not that you forget where you came from or forget about your loved ones). you start eating different foods, meeting different people, seeing different landscapes, trying different activities. and as you get used to your new environment, your heart goes on, so to speak.

one such activity that i have picked up here that i probably never would have picked up at home is guitar. approximately 2 months ago i found a guitar in the trash. since then, i have been playing everyday. and although i make frequent mistakes with chords and i find that strumming is very difficult at times, i love to play.

even though i love where i'm at now, there are times when i do miss home. so i thought that i would tell you that i miss y'all and play you a good ole canadian song with applicable lyrics. a song by the worst canadian artist of all time...

ha, ha. enjoy...

injustice and compassion

why is there so much injustice in this world?

very recently i have been thinking about the injustices we face as a human race. these thoughts came flooding to me by way of a documentary called "invisible children". the movie shows how the rebel group in uganda is abducting children old enough to carry a gun. they take them to the jungle and train them to be killers. they desensitize them by torturing and killing in the most brutal ways. they are threatened with death if they try to escape.

i think of aids and how it is ravishing africa and leaving millions dead. i think of how over half of the world's population lives in poverty. i think about human trafficking and selling children into the sex slave industry. i think about war and the people who want nothing to do with it and yet because of location can't escape it. i think about how unfair life seems.

so where does the fault lie? is it God that causes the pain, suffering, and injustice that is going on? or are we to blame?

it's very easy for us to blame others. we say, "it's not my fault. i'm not doing these things, so i'm not responsible for them. those guilty should pay for their crimes." or we choose to blame God. we say, "if God is so good and just, why does He allow these types of injustices to happen?" but do we ever blame ourselves?

what about us? let's look into our hearts. Jesus said, "for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." this is what is referred to as the sinful nature. if our hearts are capable of these things, then is a father capable of raping his child? is a man capable of murdering another man because his nose is a different shape? is a man capable of strapping on a bomb and walking into a crowded place?

yes, these things are happening. yes, the people who commit these acts are deplorable. yes, we are capable of such evil. but we are also capable of good. those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature and live by the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:19-25).

so if we are capable of this fruit then why does it seem like we are not seeing progress? i believe it is because, although we are capable of good, we do not act. we have the means to do something, but choose to shift blame rather than take action.

we internally take inventory and justify ourselves by comparing ourselves to others. we say, "i don't kill. i don't rape. i'm not a prostitute. i don't do drugs. i'm a good person." but we don't help the sick. we don't love the poor. we don't reach out to those in need. we show no compassion to those who need it most. where is the compassion? why don't we act?

because we have the sinful nature. because we shift the blame to others or to God. because we just don't act. because we are not informed. because we are so overwhelmed by the injustice and say, "i'm just one person, what can i do?"

all excuses. yes, you are just one. but here's what one can do...

what if you gave one dollar to provide medicine to the sick?
what if you spent one hour volunteering to help the community?
what if you said one loving word to someone in need?
what if you sacrificed one possession to help the poor?
what if you offered one day to spend with a child that had no family?
what if you helped build one well so a tribe could have clean water?
what if you told one person about Jesus?

now what if i did the same? and you and me became we!

it starts with one. it can become many. there is hope.

it takes one person right now to do one thing for one other to affect change for many for a lifetime. will you be that one?

please read isaiah 58:6-12. it is God's Word. it is the inspiration for writing this post.

i taught a kindy class for two months. what did they learn? watch and find out.

it's finally my turn to get on board with this whole blog thing. i just got a laptop and an internet connection. no more excuses. let's start the insanity.