This was my family on Sunday with their masks off! We were trying to get a family shot for a church project. The boys had some fun with it since we were near the swings. And my husband is kind of smiling here... 

I have to admit, I like my schedule right now. I teach in the mornings. I organize and plan in the afternoons. And I just sit and encourage little boys in the evenings. It has been much easier and I am thankful!

The other night when we were getting ready for bed some cute things happened. We were having our usual story time, which takes anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. Aidan started it as we were reading Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch. 

"I hear Daddy eating ramyun! I want some!"

"I don't think so, Aidan. I think Daddy said 'Amen'!" I was trying to keep him in the bedroom, so I said, "I'll go check."

Daddy was seated in front of the television. There was no ramyun in sight!

"Aidan, there is no ramyun. You need to go to sleep!"

"I smell it! I want some!"

He came out to an empty kitchen and no spicy smells from anywhere!

"There's no ramyun! I am so disappointed." He looked completely dejected, but he did go to sleep five minutes later.

Jordan had memorized a Bible Verse and was quoting it five minutes earlier while we were reading stories. When I was finished the story, I had him read it in Korean. The child reads super fast! He read it aloud at a ridiculously fast pace and I laughed hysterically at the mistakes he was making!

He just smiled and said, "I love you Mom! I have to read! Here I go!" 

And there went the freight train! He was a blur and he was incredibly quick with it! He did lie down and breath shortly after he did that!

_____________

The quiet hour is not that quiet.

Justin likes to come in just as everyone is sleepy and tease and tickle his brothers. 

It can get incredibly loud as I hear giggles coming from the bedroom. I usually smile at this part of the evening.

It is astounding how this always turns into wrestling. It's when I hear screaming that I come into the bedroom. I pretend I am angry, and end up telling Justin to leave.

We pray before we go to sleep. This seems to be the sign for everyone to calm down and stop talking.

That's usually when I cuddle Jordan while he squirms and try to catch a few ZZs. 

I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety. Psalm 4:8 (CSB)

When is your quiet hour? ;)

This month there was relief from CoVid 19. The boys have gone back to school. My husband has gone back to work. Everyone is being careful to not get infected.

Just as spirits were beginning to rise, I watched the video of George Floyd being killed by the police. I looked at my children differently that night. I was thankful for their lives. I was thankful for the fact that we are very far removed from what is going on. I was just thankful.

I was also a little disturbed. The boys and my hubby carried on as usual. I was disturbed because it seems like I was the only person who was thinking about George Floyd. I was also thinking about Breanna and the myriad of other names that we should know but the memories have faded.

I was more than a little curious about race relations when I was a teenager. My mother had encouraged me to read To Kill a Mockingbird. I remember being enraptured by that world. I also read Cry the Beloved Country, a novel about apartheid in South Africa that was just as beautiful and poignant as To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Justin and I had a conversation about George Floyd and it went something like this:

"You are blessed Justin."
"Why?"
"You look Caucasian."
"I suppose I do. No yellow here!"

God bless that child for making jokes.

Aidan looked at the TV screen carefully. He took it in with his eyes. They flickered and he scrunched his nose. He didn't say anything. 

Jordan was not in the room when the rest of us saw the video. He was playing a game somewhere. I am not sure he would have understood that the officer had been on the man's neck for nine minutes. He probably would have thought it was a video game of some kind. 

We turned off the screens for a while. We turned them back on and saw all the demonstrations that were taking place all over the world. 

The following week KOTESOL, a non-profit for English teachers, put out a statement saying that black lives do matter. I was a little stunned, but thought it was good that people were being supportive of what was going on in the U.S..

Was the situation accentuated by CoVid 19? I think the fact that so many people were at home has made it a reality. 

It rocked my world. Why wouldn't it rock somebody else's?

In the end, I pray. 

I ask the kids to pray.

Everything about 2020 has been disturbing. 

It started with classes I was taking.

Then it was CoVid 19.

Then it was 19 hours teaching a week while taking a class online.

Then it was George Floyd. 

Then it was a CoVid 19 scare. 

I pray for change.

I pray in the morning. 

I pray during the day.

I pray at night.

I pray for my family.

I pray for people who are living in poverty.

I pray for people who need a little assistance.

I pray for black lives.

I pray for leaders.

I thank God for all the good, small things around me.

I pray to God for all the terrible, horrible things that I know need change. 

I pray.

I pray for Justin, Aidan, and Jordan. 

Praying is starting to feel like breathing.

And that is really what I want you to know.

Love and justice are trying to breathe.

Amen. 

Things are calming down here in South Korea in regards to the virus. A number of schools will be going back to the in-class format. I have absolutely loved this time with the boys, but it is time for a change. There is just way too much down-time in their daily routine.

What is their daily routine?

For Justin - He gets up a little before 8:00, hugs his father, gives me a hug, has a shower, eats breakfast, and then spends the morning online. Around 12:30 he sheepishly comes out from the study room, asks about lunch, makes a few jokes using an accent (he has many), and eats noodles.  After lunch, he sits in front of the computer for a few more hours, wanders into another room to take a nap or play a game for about an hour, and then wanders back. In the evenings, he is playing games, giving me a hard time, or just joking around with his father.

For Aidan - This child absolutely hates getting up in the morning. The wake up call starts at 7:45 and lasts until 8:15 or 8:30. I usually have to come back to wake him up about 3 times. He will sit down, eat breakfast, and enjoy his morning if he has had enough sleep. He is online with his teacher by 8:50 and offline by 9:20. He will do whatever it is the teacher asked him to do, and then wanders off to play games. He won't come for lunch until he is called. After lunch, he is off to Study Room. He usually plays outside for a few hours in the afternoon. He is also playing computer games in the evening. 

I should add that Aidan is the child who enjoys attention from the teacher the most. He would be considered the teacher's pet and he can turn on the charm in regards to this. He is not so charming if his food is cold or if you bother him or ask him to do something during a game. 

For Jordan - He is the first one up after me. He is actually pretty good at eating, getting dressed, washing his face and hands, and brushing his teeth. He is in a hurry so he can go play computer games before school starts. He is online by 9:00 am and he is done by 9:30 as well. He is then back to the computer games for the rest of the morning. He is a pickiest eater in the house. He wants to eat cereal, noodles, and rice and soup. He has quite a few preferences in terms of what kind of soup he likes which drives me crazy. In the afternoons, he goes to piano and plays outside. Sometimes he goes to play soccer in the soccer field beside his elementary school. 

A recent addition to the routine is to write in Korean and English diaries in the evening. Both Aidan and Jordan are able to churn out about ten sentences in Korean and two or three in English. I also love reading books to them in the evenings, but they do not seem to love this as much as I do. I am hoping to add handwriting to this little routine in the evenings, but we will see how things go.

Weekends, of course, are a little less stressful for my husband and myself. The boys are to help with cleaning up on Saturday mornings and then they are free to do what they want for the rest of the day. Sunday has turned into the most social day with church in the morning, a rather lazy afternoon, and our Sunday night family prayer meeting. 

What is your family doing? How have you passed the time during the quarantine?

Last night we all went out to see a comet that Justin was talking about during the day. It was kind of fun to listen to him get so excited about something way up in the sky. So, I decided to take the kids out with their masks on and look at the beautiful stars that night.

At 8:50 we were all out the door with our masks on. We climbed up the hill to get a good look at the sky. The lights from the apartment complex do not allow for much star-gazing, or comet-gazing, to occur. It took a few minutes for everyone's eyes to adjust to the change in the light. I believe I stumbled over little Jordan. Aidan and I danced while we were up on the pathway. I kept thinking it would all be very romantic if this was not the time that the Corona Virus had everyone scared!

Justin took over explaining about the big dipper and how the comet was easily seen from the big dipper. As I looked up I did manage to see something big dipper like in the wrong section of the sky. I was looking west and I did manage to see two stars that were blinking more than usual. Justin was just staring at the sky looking very confused. 

"Mom the comet is easily seen if we look north." 

I looked north but didn't see anything. I was just generally sweeping over the sky trying to see anything. Aidan and Jordan were playing with each other in the dark. 

We did manage to enjoy the stars that night! It was fun to get everyone out of the house and enjoy a little bit of spring weather in the dark. 

___________

In other news, Justin is having trouble with staying in the house. He actually said he wants to go to school! (Music to this mother's and teacher's ears!) He gets up in the morning, has a shower, eats breakfast, and then sits at his study desk and actually studies until around lunch time. After lunch he disappear into his break zone and he doesn't return until around 3:00. Then he studies math or English until it is supper time. At supper, he tells a little about what he is learning. He then helps with the dishes, does whatever chores need to be done and then studies again. 

Aidan and Jordan are just plain bored. They get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and play computer games for most of the day. If they aren't playing a game, they are watching a screen, which is definitely not the best thing they could do with their time. We do read in the evenings which helps a little with this. 

Myself? I am so busy with teaching online and dealing with another class I'm taking that I am barely thinking about the Corona Virus. The class is called Second Language Acquisition and the professor wants a paper and a presentation in two weeks. Hmmmm. This is a great distraction and it is focusing my time. 

Can we say that everyone is struggling? Yes, we can. Except for maybe my husband. He actually did a little dance the other night in the living room. 

"I don't have to go to school! I don't have to go to school!" Aidan and Jordan were both so floored by this that they actually joined his little dance. I just laughed. 

​What are you doing? How are you coping with this virus? Are you staying inside? Let me know.

It's been a while since I posted here. I got a little busy with work and classes these past eight weeks. Just as I was finishing the Christian history class the Corona Virus scare was beginning. It's in full force now, if you haven't heard the news. The boys and I are enduring a self-induced quarantine that started at the end of last week. I FEEL like we have been inside for days!!!

It's not true but I definitely feel this way. The news is full of doomsday stories. The number of people with the virus has increased from less than one hundred to over a thousand people over the last five days and the general fear is rather incredible. 

On Saturday, my husband's student postponed our meet-up for the second time since this started. On Sunday we did not go to church. Instead we held a service in the house.

It was actually fun. My husband led the worship. The last song was Go Tell It on a Mountain. The boys remembered the song from two years ago and got into it with some side by side clapping. I read scripture. Justin preached on Genesis 1. Hansung and I were both trying terribly hard not to laugh while he was doing it. I prayed for us, gave announcements (the kitchen is closed), asked about birthdays and newcomers, and then our little service ended.

In the evening we had a prayer service, which was also a little bit fun. Jordan thanked God for no one catching the virus and about eight other things. Aidan was grinning with his closed eyes when he thanked for God for no Sunday School. Justin thanked God for the opportunity to preach that morning, which was kind of fun. 

Other activities during this break have been down at the reservoir when it is not raining. There is a board walk around the reservoir that takes a couple of hours to complete. It would have been great, and just the kind of thing I like to do, if it was not for my right foot. I must have pinched a nerve because it hurt on Sunday afternoon and it hurt today when we went. 

The boys had a Foosball tournament the other day. I played and was beaten by Aidan who really does have some good moves. Who knew at the age of ten that he would be so good at making the ball spin? Excellent plays by Justin and Jordan as they played against each other. But it was Daddy who won the tournament. 

The other general routine is waking up, meals, playing on devices, a handful of lesson from the brave souls who have decided not to close their doors, and long naps. 

For those of you in Korea, I hope you are safe, warm, and sane from all of this. For those of you elsewhere, I hope you are safe, warm, and sane.

My son Justin is pictured above. He is working with the sound team at church most Sundays.

There is a Bible Verse about hard work that is worth mentioning. “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Proverbs 13:4

It may be difficult to teach children the value of discipline and hard and work, but it does have its rewards! 

Justin, my eldest son, came home from school last week with two awards. It was a pleasant surprise for this parent! He and his friends got a bronze medal for an English project where they interview yours truly about Sejong High School. The other project was more individual. He received a silver medal for creating an anti-smoking poster. Apparently, my child’s artistic talents are starting to blossom! And Daddy rewarded him with fried chicken as a late night snack.

The English project that he and his friends won for was something! I remember the day they interviewed me. I was simply asked to say, “Tell me about your school, Justin! I want to learn about your school!” It was one of those days where I had many small things to do and I was a little annoyed because it was an unusual request. The rest of the video is Justin and his friend walking around school showing anyone who was watching the video the buildings. The English was quite good even if my initial question was more than a little awkward!

Jordan also did some great work at school. He and his classmates put together a multicultural show for parents last Wednesday morning. They all prepared little dance numbers! Jordan was wearing a Chinese traditional hat and I was genuinely wondering what they were going to do before they started dancing to ‘Kung Fu Fighting’. His friends and he were reasonably coordinated as they performed it and the parents broke out into laughter when they heard the song. 

The other song that the whole class performed was ‘Jumbo’. It’s an African song that has a Korean counterpart. While they were performing I understood why I had heard him humming the song so many times at home. While they were doing it, I could hear many of them singing. And, of course, they broke out into hysterical laughter when it was all done! I commend the teacher for pushing all those second-graders to perform so well. I will remember that day for a long time!

Aidan and Jordan go to Taekwondo every night at 7:00. When they have worked hard, the teacher gives them tickets. These tickets are 10 points, 50 points, and 100 points. Aidan was pleased as pie to receive a ticket for 50 points last week. It was the same night that they all received chicken from Daddy so all was well with the world!

Hard work and perseverance are difficult things to teach. Each boy was able to show some aspect of perseverance last week and I was very proud of them all!

“A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Proverbs 13: 4

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Advent begins on Sunday. They boys looks forward to the little chocolate gifts in the Advent Calendar but I look forward to the read-alouds!

My family will be reading Ann Voskamp's The Wonder of the Greatest Gift along with other holiday favorites. This year I will wrap up books for them to choose, two or three, and we will read that book in the evening. We will light candles, read The Wonder of the Greatest Gift, hang an ornament on the tree, and read the book they have chosen. I look forward to this bonding time with the boys!

____

For those of you who are curious, there has been a delay with the book I’m publishing. The Giver: The Life of Jesus and the Book of Acts (Fifty Sermons for Children) will be published in January. I am still very excited about the book!  I hope you will be too! 

​The month of October has been full of activities for the Kim Clan. Some of the activities have been planned and some of them have just happened. The picture above shows an impromptu Sunday outing to a park. One of many autumn adventures. Let’s get started.

Let’s start with the youngest. Jordan loves to play dakchee. It’s a game where you slam down a piece of plastic that is oddly shaped like a Korean cartoon character onto another cartoon character and do what you can to make the one on the bottom jump. If you do make it jump you win that dakchee. It’s a skilled game that the boys here love to play. And it’s a great tragedy when you lose one to another player.

Jordan went out on last Sunday after church with one dakchee. He came back with sixteen dakchee! His brothers congratulated him on this amazing feat. It proved that he can do something very well.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
​Ecclesiastes 9:10

This is the same child who cries when he doesn’t want to memorize a Bible verse or he doesn’t feel like brushing his teeth and tries to trick me. But he is able to do something wholeheartedly.

Aidan is a truth-teller. 

The other day he looked up from what he was doing, smiled, and exclaimed, “Mommy, you have white hair!” 

“Yes, I know. Your mother is getting old!”

He considered that for a moment and then said, “Age is only a number!”

I was a little dumbfounded by this and made a plan to fix my hair shortly after that.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

That is Aidan. He works on being charming, but sometimes he is still very “honest” about what he thinks. 

Justin is also rather charming. Last weekend he asked me to help him with a school project which did turn out well. His friend had called and asked if I would be the “glue” to their promotional video for Sejong Boys High School. I saw “glue” because his friend decided I was going to be the start and the end of the video. I was supposed to ask about their school and how things got done. 

I was actually in the middle of something else when Justin asked me, and I didn’t seem overly pleased with the idea behind it. I actually got a little upset. 

“Mom, why are you upset?”

”I’m working on something else Justin!” 

“It will only take five minutes.”

”Okay, Justin.”

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

I did help him that day. Five minutes turned into twenty five minutes with the “help” of his friend. I also know he was doing damage control between myself and his friend.

The boys are getting on well but dining room table is always loud. They are slowly learning that a soft answer turns away wrath.
​

This is the month my book comes out! It's entitled The Giver: The Life of Christ and the Book of Acts. I'll be posting in the next couple of weeks. Be sure to click on the link.

Sleep is a precious commodity for those who are blessed enough to get it. We are having trouble sleeping with the change in the weather and some cute things have conspired with my little people.

Jordan is one of those who just does not want to get out of bed! And then he does not want to get up in the morning! What a way to be but we had a cute encounter the other day. I was waking him up and I said, "Jordan, it is time to get out of bed!"

He cracked open one eye and smiled at me, "Just one hug," he said drowsily.

I, of course, bent down and gave him hug. "Just one kiss," he said as I was starting to stand up.

"Alright. One kiss and then you have to get up!" I said. 

And he did get up that morning after the one kiss and the one hug!

Justin is not as fortunate as Jordan or Aidan. He goes to bed around 12:00 or 12:30. I am hoping he is doing his best work between 9:00 and 12:00 when I don't see him. 

I wake Justin up at 7:00 every morning after I have had a shower. It's a similar thing every morning.

"Mom, five more minutes."

"Sure, I'll come back in five." I then proceed to get Aidan's and Jordan's clothes which takes up about two minutes. Then I go back into the room and wake him up again. He hasn't really caught on! 

Aidan is the kid who has really similar sleep habits to me.  He likes to cuddle before he falls asleep. And then he falls into a deep sleep and doesn't wake up until early the next morning. He then goes to the washroom and then crawls back into bed with a bit of a flourish. He will sleep until I wake him up.

​My husband is the odd one out. He sleeps whenever he wants to. He has no problem taking a two hour nap in the middle of the day! He won't go to sleep until 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning and then he wakes up at 6:00 or 7:00. How is that possible for one person to function on 5 or 6 hours of sleep? He does and it remains a mystery. It's a Korean mystery that I just don't quite understand!

Myself? I sleep. I've had a few exceptional nights where I have gone to bed quite early. I'm thankful that I have a late start of Monday morning and I was able to sleep for on Monday from eight until 10. I was also able to repeat this on Wednesday. 

I love those little boys and I love the big boy too! There is a lot of love and a lot of sleep that goes on in the name of peace.

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Oh Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 6:8

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I have a project that I have been working on! It's a book of sermons for children. It covers the life of Jesus and the Book of Acts, and I would love for you to be a part of the book launch! I will post an amazon link to the book when it is published and you can click on the link and download it! 

Aren't they cute? 

School began last week and I am thanking the Lord for the good teachers and administrators who are working hard to positively influence Justin, Aidan, and Jordan. I was thrilled to be home with them for a while and I am thrilled that they are back at school.

We are back in the swing of things with piano, Taekwondo, and study room as well. (For those of you who are reading this and are not in Korea, study room is an after school program where students in grades 4 to 6 go over study materials that they need to pass their grades) This has given my husband and myself some much needed quiet time. By this, I mean we are sleeping!

This morning my husband slept until about 11:00 because he went to a funeral last night. He was tired from the funeral and I was tired just from life!

We celebrated our anniversary a little early (next week!) by going to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. We had a lovely meal and I absolutely love the warm bread with the whipped butter! The bread melts in your mouth as you eat it! 

I had a second serving of bread at a friend's place this afternoon. Eugene took a baguette and spread a little butter on each slice along with garlic salt. She then baked the bread in the oven for about five minutes. Her daughters and I happily ate this amazing snack for about fifteen minutes!

My husband just sat down on the couch and happily ate the last pastry. I asked for half and he looked at me like I was crazy. He gave half about a minute later. 

Needless to say, this was a bread day.

Jesus said he was, "The Bread of life". Have you ever wondered what he meant by that?

He was born in the House of Bread, Bethlehem. Bread is a symbol of spiritual sustenance. He directs to two feeding miracles. One with two five and five loaves which results in 12 baskets of leftovers. With the second feeding miracle, there are 7 baskets of leftovers. 

In John 6:35 Jesus explains plainly, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again, and no one who believes in Me will be thirsty again."

His ministry culminates in the Last Supper when he holds up a piece of bread and say, "This is my body. The bread that will sustain you will be broken. And after it's broke, it will feed everyone who believes. Take it, and eat it." Everything that has bee taught up to that point about manna was a foreshadowing of the Messiah. 

This rabbi wanted to fill your mind with the goodness of God. 

He wanted you to taste, see, and experience that the Lord is good. 

He is the bread of life so you can taste, see and experience that the Lord is good. 

By the way, the boys ate the bread this afternoon. They enjoyed it with mango butter. I just kept thinking about Jesus and bread. 

 

The boys and I are on vacation! Last week, we went to Elior Camp in Tae-an. This is fairly close to the beach which is great except that it rained a little too much! But the boys enjoyed playing with their friends and I enjoyed listening to sermons related to being children of God. 

Children of God was the theme of this camp. I was in charge of the Bible verses that needed to be memorized before meals. Four days of memorizing verses for breakfast, lunch, and supper does take it's toll on people. Near the end of the last day, the Koreans were more than a little weary from everything and I did extend some grace their way. They were just required to read those verses. It's biblical to give grace, don't you think?

As I meditated on the verses, the theme of suffering kept appearing. After we have suffered a little while, we will enjoy the fellowship and grace that Christ extends and become children of God. We are children of God.

It was good to see old faces and I enjoyed the new people I met. We went swimming on the second day out in the ocean. I remember I was having trouble going completely under water. I was a child playing in front of my maker. I remember taking a nap that afternoon. It was only about twenty minutes but it felt good. I felt like I was being taken care of. God was there. I walked home with two African students. One was from Swaziland and the other was from South Africa. I loved listening to their accented as they compared notes on what had gone on that afternoon. The one was giving the other a hard time about finding a boyfriend. "My mother said that I should study. Don't look around for boys. You can look for a boy back home!" I remembering things that they were just so young and full of life. Children of God.

I taught a short lesson on Zaccheus to the children. They were running around and screaming quite a bit, including Aidan and Jordan! I was trying to teach them a song about Zaccheus and how much he had changed. He did a 180 turn around. That short tax collector was changed by that encounter with Jesus up in the tree. He went from bad to good. He was darkness and became light. He stopped stealing money and probably returned quite a bit of it. Zaccheus was a child of God. 

We wandered in the sand-dunes the following day before it rained. We were dressed in white so it was easy to spot everyone. Jordan, of course, slowed right down until we were close to being dead last. I remember seeing pockets of white and looking out over the ocean. It really was amazing. I had this great picture of what the Red Sea must have looked like right after the big miracle where the waters parted. We then started moving through 'the wilderness'. Sand-dunes just covered the area and I was paying attention to all the flowers that were popping up everywhere. 'The wilderness' really was beautiful. And right on the edge of the sand-dunes were trees. A forest of trees to get lost in. It was a lovely hour where I felt like an Israelite. We wandered, we walked, we enjoyed, we complained. We did everything the Israelites did. 

I also remember the drinks the ladies bought immediately following this. It had started to rain just as we finished and I remember thinking that it was just interesting timing. As we tucked into a small convenience store, the ladies went looking for ice coffee and drinks for the children. Very thirsty children of God. 

This was the theme for the week extending all the way into Sunday night's prayer time. (We pray together as a family every Sunday around 8:00 pm!). Jordan thanked God for lemonade after the English Sunday School was finished! He also thanked God for his brothers and his mom and Dad. Aidan was a little more serious in thanking God for lemonade and lunch. Please notice the L's in that last sentence. He also was thanked God for family and prayed for mommy and daddy. Justin also thanked God for his shoes! And he prayed for God's blessing on our family. 

They are a mischievous bunch but they are my family and I love them all, including that the big one! (Yes, Daddy!) We are all children of God.