What Was I Thinking?

This picture of a little Korean boy with pizza sauce on his face and a bright red heart painted on his cheek speaks to me. He is a picture of all of us who are God's adopted sons and daughters. Yes, we mess up, but God has His heart set on us, and that is never going to change. Because we are in Jesus Christ, God the Father says to us, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." I am loved and I am accepted by God, and I am pleasing in His sight because of my position in Christ, not because I haven't messed up. This is the message that we have been hearing for the last nine weeks or so here in Seoul, Korea - the message of God's grace and the Finished Work gospel. I have needed to hear these messages as much as any of the other people in the church. Having heard the message for about forty years, now I am preaching and teaching the message and living it, I hope. The eyes of the little boy in this picture seem to say, "Who are you and why are ...

My English Bible Study birthday cake at the hospital I have titled this blog Happy Birthdays with an "S" because last week I celebrated my birthday here in Korea several times. Actually, my birthday celebration began more than a week before my birthday when I received this birthday card from my parents. Believe me, it means a lot to receive a card or a letter delivered in the mail when you are living in another country. Other than a flyer from Costco that arrives every two or three months (which I can't read since all the text is in Korean), the once-in-a-great-while card or letter from someone back home is a real treat. Yes, an email is nice, but there's something about holding a piece of paper that has traveled thousands of miles over many days that is special, especially when you see somebody's handwritten message inside. Whoever organizes the periodic sending of a card from people at GGWO in Baltimore gets a big, "THANK YOU!" from me. (If I k...

All I can say is, "It's been a while." For five weeks I was living in China helping friends establish a school there. At one point last spring, I was the person who was going to move to China and be the principal of this school which would be for Chinese elementary and middle school students and any students from any other nationalities who want to learn or to improve their English. But God had other plans, so here I am in South Korea for another year serving the wonderful people of the Grace Mission Church in Seoul. I returned to Korea in mid-July and two weeks later I was on a flight to China with two suitcases, one filled with textbooks for the school and the other filled with my clothes. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon to discover that the keys to my Airbnb rental were unavailable and that I would have to find another accommodation for the foreseeable future. I ended up staying in a hotel for three nights before I can could into my Airbnb place for the next seven ...

My feet are back on Korean soil or sidewalk outside the airport... The summer is flying by and I have flew back to Korea on July 13 arriving July 14 due to crossing the International Date Line which puts me 13-14 hours ahead of my friends and family on the East Coast of America, depending on the time of year. As I begin writing this on Friday morning, my parents are getting sleepy and thinking about going to bed on Thursday night. When we talk online, one of us is usually eating breakfast, since my breakfast lines up with their evening at home or my evening at home matches up with their breakfast time. Afternoon here is sleeping time there and afternoon there is sleeping time here. Sometimes I have things I want to tell them, but I have to wait until they are awake to call them. I am grateful for the technology that allows us to bridge the great distance between us. As I was riding in the car with my parents on Wednesday morning to Logan Airport in Boston, I was thinking about ho...

My last blog entry was written in South Korea. Today I am writing from Scarborough, Maine, my stateside home. Last night it rained hard and today the skies are gray. It has been three days since I returned from attending the Greater Grace International Convention in Baltimore, Maryland where I met friends I haven't seen since last June and stayed with my brother and his family. I went to Baltimore hoping to hear from God about His future plans for me, and I got an answer. Since my last blog, I have spoken at the Pastor Bob White's Grace Bible Church in Gorham, Maine, at Pastor Peter Vreeland's church in Pinhook, Maine, at the 75 State Street Independent and Assisted Living community in Portland, Maine, and at Barbara "Mutha" Shorette's monthly Bible study in Dresden, Maine. Each time was a blessing for me, since I was able to see the people who have been praying for me and supporting me on the mission field. It seemed that everyone had heard ...