My Favorite Place March 31, 2020

All over Facebook I have seen the challenge to post a picture of a place I’ve visited without me actually in the picture…no description, just a picture.  At first, this challenge seemed daunting to me because I have been to a lot of really amazing places and seen so many amazing things.  Because I have a tendency to always want to pick the “right” thing or make the “exact right” choice, I didn’t really know how I could possibly choose one picture.

Denali in fall

Yellowstone in May

Jeju Island, South Korea

Singapore in December

Great Wall of China

Hawaii in spring

Texas in spring

Caesarea Maritima

En Gedi, Israel

The Jordan River

See?  Lots of amazing places.  But as I contemplated more and more which picture I would choose, another image came to mind.  While it is not the most amazing place I have ever seen with my eyes, it is absolutely the most amazing place I’ve seen with my heart.

1st century Jewish tomb

Yes, an empty tomb.  This place is not the most visually stunning place I’ve visited; however, of all the places I’ve been, the empty tomb has been the most life-changing.  When I visited the empty tomb, many years ago, I found forgiveness, redemption, hope, peace, and love.  When God created man, He knew that I would mess up, yet He had a plan in mind – and in motion – from the very beginning to redeem me back to Himself…to live in harmony with Him and with others.  That plan included the sacrifice of His one and only perfect Son, Jesus Christ.  When Jesus died on the cross to release me from the bonds of slavery to sin, He made the way for redemption and restored harmony and fellowship between God and me.  When He defeated death, though, by leaving that tomb empty, He made the way for that harmony and fellowship to extend into eternity.  During this season, take the time to ask yourself a couple of questions.  Have you been to the empty tomb?  Have you experienced the beauty ~ the forgiveness and peace ~ found there?  If you haven’t ever visited, now would be a great time to make plans to go.  And if you need a tour guide, I’d be happy to help.

Missing Heaven December 23, 2019

Twenty years ago on this day, my father-in-law, J Dennis, died.  He was thoughtful, funny, loving, and so much more.  He and I had good times ribbing each other in one way or another, and he really loved that I insisted on calling him “Pops”.  I think he often responded with “I’ll ‘Pops’ you.”  I have been thinking of him and missing him quite a bit over the last few weeks, probably because the 20-year mark was coming but also because of my son, Joseph.

One of my favorite pictures with J at our wedding

J reading Hop on Pop to Mary

Joseph is a quick-witted, one-liner, really fun kind of guy with a heart of gold and a strong love for the Lord…an all-around great kid (and that’s not just his mother talking…other people say so, too 😉 ).  We’ve been celebrating some major accomplishments for him this year … he received his college acceptance letter to his #1 choice, became a National Merit Commended Scholar, and achieved an amazing score on his ACT which earned him a major scholarship from that same #1 choice.  He just turned 18 years old, drives J’s old truck, and insists on taking “Jacie”     (named for his Pappaw — J Calvin)    to college because “Mom!  A man and his truck cannot be separated like that.”  I have not been able to help but think  how J has missed so much!  He would have been so proud of Joseph and all that he has accomplished, but more than that, he would have LOVED how much Joseph loves the Lord.  He would have ADORED Joseph’s personality, so much like his own, his humor, and his wit, and I believe they would have been like two peas in a pod — heaven help us!

As I was contemplating all of these things during Sunday morning’s run, I reached out to the Lord in a moment of grief, “Lord, he’s missed so much!  He would have been so proud and loved these kids with everything he had.”  And the Holy Spirit answered … in a surprising, yet gentle way, “No, it is not he who has missed so much.  It is you.  He has spent the last 20 years in the presence of God face to face.  You are the one who has missed out on what he’s had.”

Now, I’m not trying to say anything about hurrying to get to heaven or about ignoring a moment of fresh grief (even 20 years later), but I am saying that in that moment, the Spirit reminded me that while I am on this earth, in this life, I am missing out on the life that awaits me.  And in that moment, I felt comforted.  If given the opportunity, I would not really want J to come back.  Sure, in my selfishness, I would love to see him and hug him and talk to him one more time, but in my heart, I would NEVER want him to leave the physical presence of the Savior.  I would never ask him to make that choice, and I know that he is not missing ONE.SINGLE.IMPORTANT.THING because he is with God.

And that thought led me to something else … That is exactly what Jesus did.  He left the presence of God the Father to come for me, to come for you, to come for all of us.  We think of this every Christmas … the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes who came to take away the sin of the world.  But do we really think about it?  I’m not just thinking about what he came to do … yes, the horrible death on the cross to pay for our sins and yes, the resurrection that makes the story complete…but the very first act…the very first thing that Jesus did to love me was to leave all of heaven behind.  And this Christmas, it overwhelms me all over again.

As I sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” this season, I pray that I truly recognize and understand the height and the depth of what that means.  Jesus … left it all behind … to come and be God with me.

Running Lesson #1 — I hate buzzwords/phrases April 23, 2019

but sometimes they get the job done.  You know what I mean … words like relevant, authentic, outside the box, synergy.  Ugh!  I really don’t like to get caught up in the most fashionable language of the day when plain, old words will do the trick; however, in my quest to reach 1,000, I tripped (not literally, thank goodness) over one of these phrases that really helped me obtain victory.

BE INTENTIONAL

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, when I decided to try to reach 1,000 miles in a year, I had to calculate what my running would look like week-to-week and month-to-month.  I figured out that I would need to run 20 miles per week to achieve 1,040 miles.  After the first few months, I was easily accomplishing that goal, so I bumped myself up to trying to run 100 miles per month.  I knew that would put me well over 1,000 but would also give me a little leeway in case of emergency, illness, or injury.  While this plan worked, it was the Sunday morning look at the week ahead, the daily decisions, that made things challenging.

I preferred getting more than half of my miles for the week completed by Wednesday so that I could “play around” with the rest of the schedule, but some Mondays (my long run days) were rainy.  Some Mondays I simply didn’t feel like a long run.  Some Mondays were holidays, and why couldn’t I take a holiday, too?  On these days, I would need to shift my long run to Tuesday.  But Tuesday is the day my friend, Katie, walked with me after my run.  She had to start at 6:30 a.m.  If I wanted to get my long run in on Tuesdays, I would have to start at 4:00 a.m.!   And on and on the Sunday planning went … every . single . Sunday.

BE INTENTIONAL

I did just that with my weekly/daily planning.  I knew that if I did not plan carefully, I would be struggling to make up for the lost miles at the end of the week…or even worse on Saturday or Sunday before church only to burn my rest days.  I learned a lot about planning and being purposeful in calendaring my runs.  If I had not learned this lesson, I don’t think my outcome would have been as successful.   But I also learned about planning and being purposeful spiritually.

BE INTENTIONAL

My relationship with the Lord does not just happen randomly.  Like intentionally planning my run schedule every week, I must be intentional when I plan time with God every week and every day.  I cannot put off time with Him on Monday and hope to “catch up” on Thursday.  I won’t have what it takes to finish strong and be ready for the next day or the next.

So where and when should I be intentional?

1) Intentional prayer time — King David wrote a song about his intentional time with God, saying, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”  The Bible says that Jesus went out regularly to pray.  Luke 6:12 says, “During those days He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God,” and Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  This habit of early morning prayer drew them closer to the Father and set them on a course for daily success.

2)  Intentional fellowship (oops! church buzzword) Intentional friendship and association with those who share the same interests —  One HUGE motivation to completing my running challenge was the constant support and encouragement from family and friends.  Scott and I often ran together, and as I mentioned earlier, my friend Katie became my cool-down walking partner more often than not.  Without someone saying, “YOU CAN DO IT!”, I’m not sure the outcome would have been the same.   Hebrews 10:24 tells us that we must do the same for each other spiritually.  “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

3)  Intentional Bible study — During the course of the year, while I did not subscribe to running magazines, I did read articles about how to train better, what strength training to do to improve my runs, how to avoid injuries.  Becoming more knowledgeable about running and learning to recognize how running was affecting my body and what I could do to affect my running helped in ways that I probably don’t even realize.  In the same way,  the Bible describes this kind of devotion by a man named Ezra.  Ezra 7 says, “the gracious hand of his God was on him.  For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.”  I want to be like Ezra and like the early church who “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

Just like I did not accidentally complete 20+ miles every week in 2018, none of these activities —  prayer, fellowship, and Bible study — happen by accident.  As I look ahead each day, each week, each month, I need to BE INTENTIONAL in how I walk (or run) with the Lord.  The success of the outcome depends on it!

BE INTENTIONAL —  Come near to God and He will come near to you.   James 4:8

 

 

 

I Am Not a Natural April 2, 2019

I am not a natural runner.  In fact, years ago while I was playing tennis my freshman year of high school, I complained so much about running that my coach required me to write a 3-5 page paper on why running is good for physical conditioning for all athletic activities.  (insert eye roll)  I also remember that same year, at the end of the season, going to the tennis banquet where the seniors would “will” to the other players different tennis gifts, such as ‘the ability to hit the first serve every time’.  Do you know what they all “willed” to me?  Their leftover excuses to get out of running at the end of practice.  Seriously, I am not a natural runner.  I don’t have a runner’s body.  I don’t have a runner’s breathing.  I don’t have a runner’s grace.

But off and on throughout my adult life, I have tried to give running a go. (Off and on being the key words in that statement.)  It seems like a pretty simple way to exercise, doesn’t require a lot of equipment, and could help with physical, as well as emotional/mental, well-being.  About 13 years ago, when Scott began working toward becoming a chaplain in the military, I really tried to run with him as an encouragement to getting ready for the Army Physical Fitness Test.  Before he left for CHBOLC (CHaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course), we ran a 5K together…the longest distance I had ever run!  I was SO proud of myself, finishing with a pace less than a 12-minute mile!  In the years since then, I have had a love/hate relationship with running.  I love the exercise, but I hate the run.  I never felt like I was progressing, in distance or in speed, but I have kept at it, not necessarily with success but at least with some amount of perseverance…until 2017 that is…when something strange happened.

Back up a year to 2016 … While we were in Korea, a friend of mine asked if I would run a ½ marathon with her in the fall of 2016 (we never did), so I started “training” to be able to do this long distance run.  I had a plan developed by SmartCoach (no longer functioning without a paid subscription) and began following the plan regularly.  I had a running buddy/encourager and felt like I was on my way to breaking through the infamous “runner’s wall.”  Not so.  The first 3 months of training were geared toward getting me ready for a 10K in June (which I had actually completed successfully in Alaska in 2013) and I felt pretty good about my progress; however, when race day arrived, I felt as if I had never run before.  I could hardly breathe; I felt like I was running through molasses, and embarrassingly, I ended up walking the last 2 miles of the 6.2-mile race.  I was devastated to say the least.  I am not a quitter, and I really try not to fail.  But fail I did … at least in that attempt to run the 10K.

After that disastrous day and after finding out that the friend who originally invited me to try for the ½ marathon wasn’t planning to do it after all, I basically quit running and finished our last 6 months in Korea walking…granted, I was walking everywhere, but I was only walking.  When we arrived at Fort Hood in late December, Scott was still doing his regular runs, and while we were staying in the hotel on post, he noticed a running track just across the street and asked me to join him.  Here we go again (SMH)!  I did go out for a run with him, completed the 2-mile loop and was huffing and puffing my way back to the hotel room while he ran 2 more 2-mile loops (show off!).  A few weeks later, we moved into our new Fort Hood home, and two days later, Scott left to go to Alabama for a 3-month school.  While he was gone, I thought I would go back to the beginning.  I would start running again to try to help him out.  My plan was to find some 2 and 3-mile routes that he could run regularly when he returned in April, getting to know our neighborhood in the meantime.  At first, I ran Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I was mapping out 2-mile runs and then one day in February, decided to see “how far is the chapel from here?”.   Turns out it is 1.5 miles to a good turn-around spot.  A week after that, I wanted to know how far it was to that track near the hotel…it’s a little over 2 miles from my house…so a 4-mile out and back.  A week after that, I decided to run to that track and then instead of turning around and coming home, I turned right and made my way home a different way.  When I got home and checked the route, I had run 7 miles!  Unbelievable!  I was tired, but I wasn’t dying.  I wasn’t even exhausted.  I was, however, SO PROUD of myself!  It was the best feeling!  I wasn’t really trying to go 7 miles.  I wasn’t even using an GPS/app to track the miles.  I only figured out how far I had gone when I got home and mapped it out on the computer.  The next week, I ran 8 miles on Monday…and the next week, I ran 9.  I had broken through the wall!  Throughout 2017, I ended up running four ½ marathons…one on the first Monday of each month, May, June, July, and August!  Words cannot even describe the feeling I have thinking about this transformation.  I truly believe the only thing that could explain it is God!  He did something with my body and my brain that made everything finally kick into place.

At the end of 2017, I decided to actually set a goal for 2018.  With a load of determination, I set my goal at 1,000 miles.  Remember the title of this thing?  I am not a natural runner.  1,000 miles?  I had worked for years to be able to run at all, and after just one year of any sort of successful attempt at running, I was going to shoot for 1,000 miles?  Really?  Yes, really.  I set out a plan of how many miles I would have to complete each week and decided where I would be able to give myself grace (I counted the 100 miles of hiking in Israel…not technically running, but 100 miles hiking in the wilderness of Israel? Grace…).

With this plan and these goals in mind, on January 2, 2018, I set out on my journey to 1,000 miles.  On October 14, I completed the journey!  

By December 31, 2018, I had logged 1,248 miles!  Unbelievable to a non-running girl like me!  But throughout the year, as I clocked mile after mile, it wasn’t the success of reaching those goals that kept me going.  It was all the lessons I was learning along the way, lessons about running and lessons about life.

So over the next few weeks, I am planning to share with you these lessons.  My prayer is that they will encourage and inspire you as you run (or walk) your own journey.

 

He who climbs Mt. Fuji … August 26, 2016

“…is a wise man.  He who climbs it twice is a fool.”      Old Japanese saying

Truer words were never spoken, but we did it!  We climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji just in time for a stunning sunrise!  And I am so thankful that we did.  What an amazing experience!  Several people have asked for details of our trip, so I thought I would narrate the photos of what climbing Mt. Fuji is really like.

Our goal…to conquer that mountain

We started at the 5th station around 2:00p.m. on Sunday afternoon.  What you don’t see in this photo are all of the other people lined up with their cameras taking pictures of the American family starting their hike.  Yes, you read that right….several Asian tourists were taking photos of us having our photo taken.

We were on our way…with hundreds, possibly thousands, of our closest friends.  The entire climb up the mountain is done with a line of people extending as far you can see up the mountain with a trail of people following all the way down behind you.

 On our hike, we had at least two groups who were part of tours.  The lady in the purple hat behind me was the tour guide for her group.  We would pass each other back and forth all the way to the top.  They would take a break, and we would pass them.  We would take a break, and they would catch up with us again.  We met several people that way and talked with them as we traded places along the trail.  One group of guys was from Italy;  one father and son were Japanese, but after noticing Joseph’s shirt, he told us how much he loves Texas!    He spent 3 months in Amarillo working and then spent some time in Corpus Christi.  He also let us know that he really likes the Texas Rangers.  My kind of trail friend!   When we got to the top, everyone congratulated others they had met along the way…these strangers that for a moment had accomplished something together.  It is a small world after all.

The trail itself varies the entire way.  Some areas are similar to groomed trails with wooden planks set like stairs.  Other areas are nothing but loose lava rock while still other areas are actual rock-climbing sections.

            

The trail has dozens of switchbacks, guiding from one mountain station to another.  Drinks, snacks, and sometimes restroom facilities are available … for a fee, of course.  The restrooms were usually 2000 yen or about $2.00 per visit.

Reaching the next mountain station was always a great feeling!  This particular station had a cool entrance gate.  You can see the difference in the cloud cover while we were on the way up compared to when we arrived.

Mary was holding onto her hat by the time we got there.

 

The other really cool thing about each station is the stamp you get on your walking stick.  Each station has its own “brand.”  As you ascend, you purchase, for about 3000 yen, the brand to be burned into your stick so that by the time you reach the summit, you have an awesome souvenir full of different stamps of Mt. Fuji.

The brand guys at the 3100 meter station saw me eating a tortilla and asked if it was naan.  I tried to explain about Mexican tortillas and asked if they wanted to try some.  Both of them took a bite and then decided to brand the rest of the tortilla for us.

 

Another major milestone on our journey

Although we started our hike at the tree line, the scenery was lovely throughout.  I spotted a natural heart of rocks and even fireweed, which brought back such wonderful memories of our time in Alaska.

      

I especially loved being above the line of clouds.  Several times throughout the trip, clouds would roll in around us, swirl, and finally settle in below.  It made for beautiful pictures…or maybe it’s just the girl. 🙂

I included this picture just because I love it.

  At around 7:30 p.m. we made it to our overnight mountain hut, the Fujisan Hotel.  (They use the term “hotel” very loosely.)  We were treated to a dinner of meatloaf patty, rice, Asian style “hot dogs”, and curry.  We were so hungry that it tasted divine!  After dinner, we were shown to our loft-style sleeping quarters upstairs, complete with wooden planks and sloped ceilings.   We literally slept shoulder to shoulder 12 people across.  Now do the math…we are a family of 4.  Scott’s exact words were “Joseph…men on the outside…girls on the inside.”  Needless to say, we did not get a good night’s rest.  The man on the other side of Joseph had a son who was sleep-talking/yelling.  The man on the other side of Scott was having trouble breathing, so he was sucking on oxygen for quite a while.  The people below us were snoring so loudly that I could feel the vibrations through my pillow.

 

Up at 2:00 a.m., we had a quick breakfast and were on our way to the summit.  Again, we got into a long line of people to make our way to the top.  For this part of the climb, we sometimes stood in the line for what seemed as long as 10 minutes before moving forward.

The cloudy hike on Sunday made me a little nervous about whether we would actually get to see the sunrise Monday morning.  When we lay down on Sunday night, I whispered a prayer:  Lord, please take care of the clouds.  I just want to see the beauty of the sky.  The next morning, as Mary and I made our way outside, we looked up to see a completely clear, gorgeous sky filled with what must be millions and millions of stars…something we haven’t been able to see since living in Korea.  She and I both marveled at the beauty that God had laid before us.  I sang quietly to myself ~

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!

A first glimpse of dawn

The moment finally arrived at  4:53 a.m., and it was worth every step of the journey!

We stayed at the summit for about an hour, peeking into the crater which did have some snow and this rainbow.  I also got my kiss 🙂  After God so wonderfully cleared the sky for an amazing sunrise, the clouds began to roll back in and make a layer both above and below the sun.  It was pretty spectacular!

 

The journey back down the mountain was nothing exciting.  In fact, it was quite painful to the knees.  The trail down is a different path than the one coming up and is nothing but loose gravel rock, not fun for trying to keep your footing.  We made it, though, in about 3 hours.

  

Later in the week, I decided to treat myself to an old-fashioned chocolate shake, and getting a seat in first class on the way home made our knees feel fine.

   

There are so many spiritual applications that can be made in comparison to climbing a mountain.  Instead of doing that here, I will just leave with Scripture.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.  Psalm 121

 

 

My Under Armour Soapbox August 16, 2016

A few disclaimers before I step on my soapbox.

1)  I love the Olympics!  I love watching the Olympics, learning about the athletes, cheering for Team USA, really anything Olympics-related.  I even watched a little badminton this year.

2)  I think Michael Phelps is amazing!  I watch all of his races, cheer very loudly  scream at the TV believing that my cheering will push him to victory and usually always get choked up when he wins which, as we all know, is very often. 🙂

3)  I really like the new Under Armour commercial featuring Michael.  He is a phenomenal athlete, and the commercial shows a level of hard work and dedication rarely seen, but… 

(Soapbox mount)

I have a huge problem with the tag line.  Rule Yourself.  This slogan and others like it (Nike’s “Just Do It”, Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong”, or even “follow your heart” … just to name a few) are in direct conflict with the way God calls us to live, yet it is so easy to buy into the “catchiness” of these ads because they are fun and make us feel like we can do anything.  The problem is that doing anything has consequences.  

Under Armour and Nike would have us believe that we can and should be in charge of our own lives, but Judges 21:25 says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”  The Israelites were “ruling themselves” and “just doing it” (evil) in the eyes of the Lord.  Their mindset led to captivity and hardship for individuals as well as for the nation.  Maybe we as believers today should take note…ruling ourselves and just doing it bring difficulty.

Lance Armsrong would have us believe that we should Live Strong when 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 tell us that by living weak, Christ’s power will be made perfect in us and then we will live strong.  I would much rather have the power of Christ perfected in me than rely on my own strength and abilities.  I know myself too well to believe otherwise.

Follow your heart … ahhh … sweet, romantic Hallmark advice.  What Hallmark forgets to tell us is “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”  (Jeremiah 17:9)  Instead of Hallmark’s wisdom, we should “above all else, guard [our] heart,  for everything [we] do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)  

Now I am not saying that I am going to boycott Under Armour or Nike.  I am not saying that I am going to quit exercising and pushing myself to achieve goals,  and I am certainly not planning to stop watching Hallmark movies.  What I am saying, though, is that as a follower of Christ, I need to be sensitive to the messages I hear and see.  I will be inundated with this new Under Armour motto…in magazines, on billboards, on TV … it’s even a top trender on Facebook.    I must make sure that I do not buy into the way of the culture that sounds so enticing.  I must be careful not to allow this not-so-subtle message to change my belief system.  After all, it didn’t take long for five little words to change everything … “You will be like God.” (Genesis 3:5)  

(Soapbox dismount)

I love gymnastics, too.

JeJu Island and Mysterious Road May 31, 2016

Joseph and I spent a week last summer visiting Jeju Island with a family from chapel.  We had a great time exploring this beautiful area of South Korea.  It was misty and wet most of the week, but we were still able to enjoy our time.  

Jusangjeolli Cliff

gorgeous Jeju waterfall

The landscape all around Jeju is just beautiful…lush and green.

Yongduam Rock (Dragon’s Head Rock)

So thankful for the Dutcher family who allowed us to join their family getaway while Scott and Mary were working.  Min Hee planned everything for us, took care of our accommodations, and even hired a driver for the week.  What a blessing!

The Dutcher Family

We did quite a bit of hiking throughout the week, finding some out of the way spots as well as the main tourist attractions.

along the 1100 Altitude Wetland Discovery Trail

along the Olle Trail

at the coffee shop on the Olle Trail

Seopjikoji Lighthouse

on the way to the lighthouse

One day, we stopped at a locals only area on the waterfront.  A lady had a “restaurant”  set up right on the water.  She went out, grabbed some food, and prepared it for anyone who wanted to eat it.  I do not consider myself a germaphobe, but if I were even thinking about becoming one, this experience would have pushed me over the edge.

the sea squirt kitchen

sea squirt (YUCK) – a very chewy, fishy-flavored fruit gusher.  There is a reason is it called “squirt”, and I could have chewed and chewed for hours with no progress. I finally just had to swallow — my pride and the sea squirt.

black pig BBQ – a staple on Jeju

 

We were able to hike up Hallasan, Jeju’s dormant crater volcano.  The scenery was amazing on the way up, unfortunately, however, the crater was covered in clouds when we reached the top, so we couldn’t see into the crater itself.

 

view from Hallasan

We also enjoyed touring the Jeju Alive Museum where we became part of each scene.  We had a great time being silly!

One morning, we decided to go to Marado Island situated off the southern end of South Korea.  We took a ferry from Jeju to Marado, but just before we got on the boat, my phone sent this alert.

Monsoon Warning

Of course, I can pronounce these words, but I have no idea what they mean.  I asked my friend, Min Hee, and she said, “It’s a monsoon warning, but we already have our ferry tickets.  Let’s go!”  OH MY!  I felt like Jonah!  We did reach the island safely (only by the grace of God) and were given 30 minutes to make it around the island.  The ferry captain said, “This is our one and only supply run to the island for the next few days due to the weather.  If you aren’t back on the ferry in 30 minutes,  you will wait out the storm here.”  No, thank you. We were back on with 10 minutes to spare.  Thankfully, the trip back to Jeju was much better.

Marado Island

Even with the storm, though, the island boasted lovely scenery.

Marado Island in a monsoon warning

southernmost tip of South Korea

The day before we came back to Daegu, we made our way to Udo Island to spend a few hours at the beach.  It was a great way to end our vacation.

Udo Island

 

To wrap up, let me tell you a story about Mysterious Road.

Jeju boasts “The Jeju Mysterious Road,” also known as Dokkaebi Road,  which lies on a hill at the foot of a mountain, and connects two major highways on Jejudo Island. This road is “mysterious” because objects appear to be rolling UPHILL even though you can see that it is going DOWNHILL!

Mysterious Road

See?  The road behind me appears to be headed downhill and then back up again in the distance, but when we rolled a bottle of water “down the hill”, it actually rolled “up”.

I decided to determine if I could figure out the truth of the road.  Sure enough, as I scanned the horizon, I noticed the tilt of the landscape versus the tilt of the road.  It was all an optical illusion!  I went further to find out if my body would respond to the truth or if my eyes would deceive my body.  I decided to run “down” the road and then back “up” again.  Sure enough, as I ran “downhill”, I felt my heart rate climb and my legs kick into gear to push myself as if I were headed uphill.  When I turned around to come back “up” to the car, my body adjusted and performed as if I were headed down a hill.  My body responded to the truth of the situation even though my eyes deceived me.

It is the same principle in our walk in this world.  The world is full of deception!  Truth, like Mysterious Road, is skewed, and people, all too often, rely on what their eyes tell them or, more accurately, what their hearts tell them.  The Bible says “the heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable.” (Jeremiah 17:9) It is so important that we keep our eyes and our hearts on THE TRUTH, the person of Jesus Christ, so that we are not deceived by the illusions of this world!

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  

John 14: 15-17 goes on to say, “If you love Me, you will keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.”

John 16:13 tells us, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.”

When responding to the Sadducees and their questions about the resurrection, Jesus responded to them saying, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God?” (Mark 12:24)

I pray that I would always be focused on THE Truth, Jesus Christ, and that I would have the belt of truth buckled around my waist.  I pray that I will continue to learn the Scriptures and hide His Word in my heart so that I am not deceived!  And friends, I pray the same for you.

My favorite picture of the week

 

 

Daegaya Experience Festival April 30, 2016

About 3 months after we arrived in Korea, we had the opportunity to attend the Daegaya Experience Festival.  Daegaya (42-562 A.D.) was a nation that inhabited the Gyeongsangnam-do province of Korea around the 4th Century.  We learned all about the history of this dynasty, touring a museum as well as tombs of the leaders of the old empire.

The Dennis family, ruling in the Daegaya Dynasty

a short skit performed throughout the day…if only we could have understood anything they were saying

traditional tea ceremony in the Daegaya culture

The people of this area created the Gayageum (a twelve-stringed traditional Korean harp) and played a large role in establishing the culture of music. This lady played very well, and I really enjoyed the unique melodies.

homes in 4th century Korea

Joseph hanging out with a Daegaya warrior

In the afternoon, we watched a performance about the history of this area.  We could not understand the words, but the meaning was clear.  The warriors were answering a call to arms to defend their region although Daegaya fell to the armies of the Silla Dynasty under General Kim Isabu in 562 AD.

       

 

Touring the tomb, we saw relics and even bones of those who were buried here.  In some of the tombs, there was evidence of more than one body.  We learned that when a leader died, one of the servants would volunteer to be killed as well so that he could care for the ruler in the afterlife.  Some of these servants were between 12 and 17 years old!

  

        

On a lighter note … Because it was an all-day festival, we had to find a place to eat lunch.  There were many, many food vendors set up.  We were very new to Korea and had not yet learned much about the language or types of food.  We decided we would just have to “go for it,” trying to find something that looked and smelled somewhat appealing.  We chose a tent where lots of people were eating and knew that the busiest places must be the best.  After looking over the entirely-written-in-Hangul (Korean) menu, Mary decided to use her translator app to try to at least figure out something that we might recognize.  Here was one of our options:

I don’t remember what we actually ordered, but I’m pretty sure I don’t really want to know!

 

I know, I know…. April 23, 2016

I have done a really poor job of keeping everyone updated on what’s been going on in Korea…what it’s like to live here…what adventures we’re having.  Several friends and family are anxious to hear about our trip to China, but I think I should go back a little and catch everyone up in chronological order.

Soon after we arrived in Korea, we were invited to participate in a program called Korean American Friendship Circle, sponsored by the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command located here in Area IV, Daegu.  This program provides an opportunity for an American family, together with a Korean family, to sponsor 6-8 university students  in order to share a variety of American and Korean cultural experiences.  We met together every other week for about 3-4 months and really enjoyed our time.

Our kick-off events included a nice Friday dinner at the Evergreen Club on Camp Walker, followed by a Saturday afternoon of food and games.  We taught our group a little bit about American football while they taught us how Koreans choose teams.

Our other American culture events included a taco bar/family game night, a trip to the bowling alley, complete with American pizza, and a night of line-dancing with hamburgers, hotdogs, and s’mores.  We had a blast!

Bo Ram, Mina, and Hyeong Seob enjoying pizza

  Cotton-Eyed Joe

  Chicken Dance

 Cha Cha Slide

The students planned Korean events for us as well, including a trip to E-World, an amusement park located here in Daegu, and a trip to the Samsung Lions baseball game.  At the baseball game, we learned that every player on the team has his own song/chant, and there is always entertainment…dancers, cheerleaders, mascots.  Everyone also brings his own snacks and drinks to the game.  We had a great time, and I think the students enjoyed their traditional American baseball snack bags filled with a bottle of root beer, sunflower seeds, bubble gum, Cracker Jacks, and peanuts.  We tried their ice milk with beans and fruit dessert, but I think I’ll just stick with soft serve in a baseball cap.

All in all, we had a wonderful time getting to know these students as well as our Korean family.  In fact, one of our students spent the last nine months at the University of Nebraska and will be back in Korea next month.  We are looking forward to having her for dinner to hear all about her year abroad.

We signed up to do another iteration of Korean American Friendship Circle and met our new group a few weeks ago.  We are planning to go to a Lantern Festival with them next week, and then we are hosting a Fiesta! on May 6.  Looking forward to new friendships with them as well.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to participate in this program.  It has been a blessing to make connections with students and other Korean families as we share our lives together.  Hopefully, we have made a difference in their lives as well.

Home Sweet Apartment — Korean Style May 27, 2015

Several friends and family have asked about our “house” in Korea.  I am finally updating everyone with a photo tour.  I had a little help making it more interesting.  Have fun playing “Where’s Waldo Joseph?” (The last 3 pictures are not part of the game.  Don’t hurt yourself trying to find him. 🙂 )

The hallway to our apartment — elevators on the right — front door open on the far end

Front door —
Notice the doorbell is actually a camera/intercom system, and the front door has a keyless entry.

The Entry Room — The closets on the right are shoe shelves.

Through the entry door

Looking back toward the entry

Opposite the boot shelf — A perfect place for my Pinterest project — The dining room is on the other side of this wall.

The Living Room — wall art by Joseph (Cherry Blossoms at Night)  and Mary Dennis (Cherry Blossom Sunrise) — Mary’s bedroom is just on the other side of this wall.

Living Room — The wall behind the TV is marble.  Joseph’s room shares this wall.

Enclosed Balcony area off the living room

Extension of the balcony area — Behind the curtain is another space we are using for storage.  There is a clothes drying rack which raises and lowers with the push of a button, complete with drying fan, as well as access to a very small outdoor storage space.

Hallway turning right from the entry area — Joseph’s room is on the left. The main bathroom is on the right. The master bedroom is at the end of the hallway.

Joseph’s room — Joseph’s door opens into the hallway.  The opposite wall is sliding glass doors to the extended balcony area where the drying rack is.  All of our bedroom furniture, with the exception of the beds and Mary’s bookshelf, is on loan from the Army.

The Main Bathroom — There are actually three sections to this bathroom.  The sink area is open to the hall.

The Potty Room

The Shower Room

The Master Bedroom — Unfortunately, we have very little storage space, so the enclosed balcony in our room is being used for Army gear, Christmas decorations, and the home decor that EVERY article I read about coming to Korea insisted I bring so that the house would feel like home. Too bad the walls are all wallpaper-covered concrete or marble. Anything seen on the walls is very lightweight and is attached with velcro command strips.

Another view of the master bedroom

Master Bedroom

Master Bath with garden jet tub

Master Bath

Master Bath Shower

Master Bath Potty with bidet and built-in TV/radio and intercom system — When someone rings up to our apartment, the bathroom system plays “It’s a Small World.”  Quite a shock the first time it started playing!

Master Closet — no complaints here 🙂

The Dining Room — Located on the other side of the wall with my Pinterest project. This table and chairs are on loan from the Army.

The Kitchen

The Tiny Oven — Koreans do not use ovens when cooking, but many of the newer apartments have ovens, albeit very small ones. A 9X13 pan is the largest that will fit, and we actually have a convection oven/microwave combo. It has been a challenge to figure out how to bake things properly.

The Frig — The open doors are the built-in refrigerator/freezer; however, it does not hold very many items … certainly not enough milk for our family. We have turned off this frig, use it for a baking cabinet, and borrowed a regular refrigerator from the Army. The closed doors to the right of the regular frig are for the pantry shelves. The skinny doors to the left of the frig are actually one, tall, pull-out cabinet.

The Utility Room (or Stinky Kitchen) — To the right of the kitchen and just to the left of the baking cabinet … The front load washer comes with the apartment as well as the stainless kimchi keeper just to its right. We have turned off the kimchi keeper and borrowed a dryer from the Army. On the counter above the washer is another cook-top used for Korean cooking/frying. I do not use it and instead use this area for kitchen/cleaning storage.

The Recycling Station in the Utility Room — Koreans are serious about recycling. We sort all of our trash into 8 different categories: paper, soft plastic/vinyl, hard plastic, styrofoam, metal, glass, food, and general. We are required to weigh and pay for the food scraps and must purchase special bags for the general trash. A recycling center is provided on the ground level of our building, so it’s easy to just take everything down a couple of times a week.

The School Room — Located at the opposite end of the apartment from the master bedroom

Balcony Area in School Room — We use this balcony as a closet for school supplies, games, wrapping paper, sewing machine, etc.  The wall behind the black bookshelf is shared with Mary’s bedroom.

Closets — Other than the master closet, this bedroom has the only clothes closet in the house. Mary uses the right side; Joseph uses the left. Because this is a common room, we haven’t had any arguments about needing to get in to get clothes.

Mary’s Room — Mary’s bedroom is the only one without a balcony area. She chose this room, even though it is small, because she has a great view…and she doesn’t have to store anything. Smart girl!

Reading on the balcony

Our view of the sunrise

And finally … Scott gave me this sign for our first Christmas in 1993. I have kept it in one of my holiday decor boxes for sentimental reasons all these years. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined using it again 22 years later in South Korea! What an adventure!