I love me some Fridays

     Well this week the G20 summit is town here in Seoul. The streets have been lined all week with riot police and long police buses blockading certain areas of the city. You'd think that with all of that excitement, I would blog about this. But no, this entry is about something much more close to my heart. Something that I think that many more people could relate to. Yes it's about God's most wonderful day, Friday. Yes folks, it is Friday. Since the dawn of man, humans have logged in long weeks only to get to that one sweet prize, Friday. I can imagine how Adam must have felt after God cursed him to go to work for the rest of his days. Fridays were probably a time for him when he felt some resemblance of the life that he once had in the Garden. He could rest and enjoy the life that God had given him. Sad to say however, there are so many people today who do not and dare I say can not enjoy their Fridays, let the weekend.

    These poor souls are either forced to work or voluntarily choose to work through the time that God has set aside for us to catch our breaths. Well, NOT ME!!!  I love me some Friday's. The sheer anticipation of not having to get up at the crack of down is enough to make one just feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Watching the clock inch ever closer to 3:00P.M. causes a sensation of excitement to grow inside like no other. Okay, okay, maybe I am overdoing it a little. But you gotta admit it, Friday's are just wonderful!

William Mcdowell: I Give Myself Away

Another one of my favorite worship songs: William Mcdowell's "I Give Myself Away".

My Facebook Finale!

     Well I did it. I said I was going to do it and I did it. Yep, it took a lot of courage and willpower but I have done what so many others have not been able to gather up enough mental fortitude to do. I deactivated my Facebook account! Yes, I announced some weeks ago that I was going to do this and yesterday I made it a reality.  In hindsight I find it strange that I could miss something that I only used for a few months, so much.  Last night was tough as I was going through withdrawal symptoms thinking about all of the free Family Feud episodes that I was missing out on.  I thought about the feeling I would get of shear excitement when I saw one of the little red boxes at the top of the screen which alerted me that I had a new message or friend request. Well all of that is over, at least temporarily. Now I am faced with the daunting challenge of trying to find something to fill the void that has been left in my soul that was once filled by the most mundane "news feeds".  All in all I know that it was a good decision because it seemed to take up so much of my time. So for now I say goodbye my love, my dear, Facebook.

NEW ARRIVAL!!!

     For the last week of my life I have been on cloud nine. All due to the arrival of my first child and new baby daughter! It seemed like it took forever for her to get her. From almost day one my wife has to endure several complication, scares, and even being separated from me since July. Well I have to say that it all is very much worth it. In honor of my mother, who passed away last year, we decided to name her Janet. All of the nurses kept asking us the same question over and over, "why such a big name for such a little person?" So I had several opportunities to explain why. That whole day is one that I will never ever forget. I have to give a huge shout out to Facebook, yes I said Facebook.  Facebook was the first place that my wife sent me a message saying that her parent's were taking her to the hospital.  As I getting ready to call home via Skype, yes Skype, I was filled with nervousness and excitment. Nervousness because I knew that my wife had had issues before and that she was still about 4 weeks early! The nervousness was not enough however to kill my excitement as I thought about the possibility of being able to finally see, smell, and hold the little person that we had been waiting for. In a matter of about an hour's time my wife had given birth through emergency c-section.
     With the help of the staff at my job, THANKS SOOOO MUCH, I was able to find, secure, and be on a flight that very same day. Twenty-four hours later I was walking through the door of my wife's hospital room! What a whirlwind! When I arrived, I learned that my wife had been put completely to sleep and hadn't been afforded the tradition of being able to hold her new baby moments after she arrived. Instead, we both were taken to the NICU where we met her for the first time together. She was sooo small, which was really a shock because she looked so big in the picture that my mother-in-law had sent me to "tide me over'.  I have to say that she is the most beautiful baby that I have ever seen, I am probably biased however. All in all, help me welcome baby Janet into the world:

Born: October 12, 2010
Weight: 5lbs 14 oz

 The following is one of my favorite worship songs!!!! Enjoy.

In Christ Alone

Teaching: Korean Style

     Hello it's me again. I'm sitting here in my classroom reflecting on a conversation that I just had with a group of students from one of my classes about a group project that I assigned them. A couple of years ago when I first started teaching in an alternative school, no one would have ever been able to convince me that I would be in Korea one day teaching kids in a private school. But, here I am! I can't help but to wonder what God has planned for my life at this stage when I consider the steps that it has taken me to get here: a)Started teaching four years ago at an alternative school b)started teaching 2 years ago at a regular middle school c)teaching at a very expensive private school in Korea. Do you see my point? This experience has been very eye opening for me. In some ways I can see why the American school system just does not produce the type of students that Asian schools seem to pump. On the other hand I can see how if one tried to institute a lot of the methods that Asian people use to teach, that it wouldn't work in America any way.  The kids here are amazing to say the least. At first glance they seem like your typical middle school students. I quickly learned however that there are those who would do just about anything to ensure that there grades are satisfactory, even to the point of sheer and utter annoyance of the teacher....lol!  I have never had students who will email me at all, let alone email me late at night to ask about assignments. That certainly was not the case at my first job where I had days where whole classes would be absent!

     Being a private school of this caliber I have to admit that the kids are a lot more down to earth than I expected them to be. They are very respectful.....going so far as to send me apology emails for any misbehavior on their part. In the states misbehavior would only be answered with....well.....more misbehavior to say the least. I have to say that I was already a fan of uniforms in school, but being here just accentuates the need that I see for this idea. Sitting here typing this, I am trying to recall one conversation that I have heard which reflects the teenage obsession with fashion. I simply can not. This is quite different to me when I think about the fact that in the American schools that I taught in, fashion was the cause of much aggravation for many a teacher, myself included. Although I am sure these students are very much into fashion, it doesn't seem to overshadow the school day. Don't get me wrong, every child isn't the model of the typical Asian stereotype. But even in those cases, they are still probably light-years ahead of the average American public school student.

Culture & What It Means to Me

Me and one of the performer from Mexico

Well today I had the opportunity to attend the Seoul Drum Festival with two of my friends here in Seoul. The Festival is a month long event that culminates at the end of the month with a parade and a competition. Groups from around Korea and the World come to showcase traditional as well as contemporary drum performances. Most of them incorporate dance and other things as well. Watching the event reminded me of how much I enjoy studying and learning about other cultures. In South Georgia, one does not run into many other cultures very often as you would expect. It has been a breath of fresh air to see these people in native garb(spelling?)....doing what they do best. I couldn't help but to think about the fact that God created all of these people....with their different languages, music, etc. It reminds of the scripture in Revelations 7:9-10; "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Enjoy the videos by clicking the link below!

My Korean Experience