The Power of Prayer

In the last year or so, Candi and I have asked several things of God. We hoped to be stationed in South Dakota to be near family - he said "No." We prayed that I would be stationed anywhere but Korea (because Candi and the kids could not come with) - he said "No." I've prayed (for the last two years) that a friend's coworker would be healed of cancer and turn to Jesus as savior - "No." and "No." We prayed for our friend's newborn to live despite difficult circumstances. This one seemed like a no brainer for God, but he said "No."

Why in the world do we keep praying? There's seemingly no stopping the disappointments. Do I continue to pray because the "Yes" responses outnumber the "No"? It seems "good" things happen regardless of whether we pray or not.

I have plenty of reasons for continuing to pray daily, bringing things to God that are important to me and to others. The biggest cause for continued prayer is corrected spiritual vision. We usually suffer from myopia (near-sightedness). We see the bad and the good, and call the event bad or good. Then we move on. However, God says that if we hang around long enough we'll see Him use the bad to bring good in the end. For example, Candi and I are hanging in there to see what God does after this Korea event is over.

I say "corrected" vision, because if we're all honest our vision is messed up. God has to fix it and we have to be patient enough for Him to make us some good glasses. As I get more comfortable wearing them, I keep them on more often and so I have better "vision" more often.

You could also say that we need to have a "bigger picture" on life, but that just doesn't sound quite right.

I wonder if the glasses that I have will be replaced with even better ones down the road.

I wonder if those new glasses are covered under the new Health Care bill.

We've Got to See the Smaller Picture

I often hear, "You've got to see the Bigger Picture." 

We're encouraged to have a Big Picture when dealing with investing,  when wondering why we have to file TPS reports, when completing household chores, or trying to solve Health Care problems.  We everyday citizens are told we don't understand the complexity of situations in Washington, so we can't form good opinions on issues - alas, we have no Big Picture.

I'd like to throw a thought out about all of this.  I believe our pursuit of the Big Picture is killing us.

Television, radio, and the internet can give us a very Big Picture.  I can know of heartache and suffering, and "evils" done, by literally people all over the world.  And, I don't know about you, but I react to it all with outrage, frustration, or despair.  And I think something should be done about it all. 

But what do I do about it?  What can I do about it?  Most of the time, the answer is "very little" to both questions.  So, what good is my Big Picture doing me?

All the while, other questions - full of more possibilities - go unnoticed.  What do I do about the suffering in my neighborhood?  What can I be doing about heartache in my own house - if I notice it at all?  What should I be doing about the evil in me?  I can do very much about these, but first I need a Smaller Picture - to see what's going on around and in me.

Unfortunately (or not), I don't think we can have both.  I believe the picture we have grows from our priorities.  I've found if I love the goings on of the world, my picture will be Big; my time will be spent making it Big.  And I've found that if I love my family, love God, and love those I actually interact with daily, I will want a small picture; my time will be spent making it Small.

Which picture do you want?

"Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,

     But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth."
                    Proverbs 17:24

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 
     And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
                    Proverbs 9:10

I'll give you this.  There is one Guy that does well with the Big Picture.

The 12th Day of Mustache March, in the Year of Our Lord 2010

It's been a tough nine days and several others have fallen by the wayside, succumbing to the desire to "quench the moustache's fire".  I've grown an odd attachment to it - haven't come up with a name yet.  Can you help me out Eskue?

Me and my moustache hangin' out.

Adios Amigo

In the news is a suspended tower controller from Kennedy Airport.  He brought his kids to work with him, one each of two days and let them issue take-off and frequency switch instructions.  He and the supervisor at the time are now suspended.  Should they be?  I don't know the answer to that, but frankly I'm impressed with his son.  He sounded as confident as any controller I've ever heard.  The pilots obviously didn't sound upset.  What do you think?

You can read the story and listen to the transmissions here.

It's Just You and Me, Pal

We will fight.  You will lose.  My Kung Fu is good.

Three Little Monkeys Jumping...

I really enjoy putting up the pictures that Nori takes when we don't know she has the camera.  Usually it has been some very cute dog pictures or a completely laid out Polly Pocket scene.  I have no recollection of this event.  Surprises are great.  I'm just glad there's no sign of Wyatt here.

The 3rd Day of Mustache March, in the Year of Our Lord 2010

It's that time of year again.  That time when men can stop fighting their upper lip and just let nature take its course.

Es Possible?

My current location of Gunsan City, South Korea has about 100,000 people in it, I believe.  That's quite a bit different that when my friend was station here in 1957.  And the city officials are apparently doing a great job of expanding and bringing in business.

One of the first things I saw (after the first week of rain, I mean) from the tower was a gray line on the sea's horizon.  It was explained to me that the city built a 20 mile seawall (one of the largest in the world) and then started pumping out the trapped seawater.  Proposals for the future land mass have ranged from farmland to industrial, tourist, and environmental development to another airport (which Gunsan would need in order to attract big business and tourism).

Unfortunately, the base officials have rejected a request to fly international flights into Kunsan Air Base due to security risks.  But even if Gunsan managed to build another airport within the "reclaimed" sea-land it would seriously impact the training and mission here.  It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. 

Meanwhile, the beach just outside the base fence line grows bigger.

You can see the our airfield south east of the largest resevoir in the top half of the picture.

Some more information can be found here and here.

There's More to Korea Than the Base

Well, I finally left the base last Saturday.  We went to the famed "Beef on a Leaf."  Honestly, it deserves its fame.  We also went to the local superstore.  It was three floors of shopping silliness.  As one of my fellow adventurers explained, Lottemart (pronounced "lot-A-mart") is like Target (vs. Walmart which would be called E Mart here).  So that explains the upper class merchandise below.

                                              Aaaaah, massage chairs.  Now they massage your feet, too!

Daniel-son, when crane technique done right, no can defend.

Sumo Schplumo

My family has always been very creative with gifts. This year was no exception. I got an awesome deck of card - awesome because my picture is on every card. I also got a halogen-light head lamp which will blind me (or those around me) if I'm not careful. I think the most anticipated present (because of it's laugh-ability) is a sumo costume. Thank you Lisa and anyone else that provided input on this one.

The kids loved this.

A Fine Farewell

Simply put, we had a crowd of people over today for a goodbye (and kind of birthday party - there were lots of treats on hand). Thank you Hart family, Aunt Judy, Allerton family, Biel family, Dusek Family (missed you, Michelle), and Ross family. To make things simpler Candi decided on hot dogs and side dishes. To make things more complicated I decided to make "gourmet" hot dogs. We had tangy, Southwest, Seattle-style, the Works, and cheesy dogs.

How could I have forgotten to grill the onions!

We had a great time! Once again, I thank the Lord for our trampoline. I couldn't have asked for a better time of family and friends before I leave. Everything that was important to me was there today (except for those unable to come) - thank you all.

A Fine Idea part 3

Wyatt and I went out last Thursday. When asked what he wanted to do he said Walmart (to look at toys), Target (same pursuit), Walmart again (you guessed it) and Dunkin Doughnuts. Candi suggested the Children's Museum downtown and Wyatt liked it. We spent a couple hours there and then proceeded with a miniature version of his original plan.
That's Storm Shadow at Toys-R-Us. What are the chances?

A Fine Idea pt 2

Christian chose Rocks-n-Ropes and dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. I'm always amazed at Christian's athleticism (knowing his dad's physical prowess ;-) ) and rock climbing to him is pretty natural. We of course took the truck and went to eat meat at the Texas Roadhouse. Sweet day.

Quote of the Day

Who can say that they are master of the their, and not the other way around? I think everyone wishes they had more time available. I identify with fathers that want to do great work at their professions, spend time with their children, be a great husband and friend to their wives, and serve God where He directs.

I feel my anxiety level rise just writing that list. I started a book recently that has really helped me become a better user of "my" time called Redeeming the Time written by Steven Maxwell. This is one passage on what Steve has to say about our activities.

"The Lord could have built a boat for Noah prior to the flood as opposed to it taking Noah up to a hundred years to build it. When He sent the children of Israel into Canaan, He could have wiped out the nations ahead of them. He didn't. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He first asked some men to remove the stone, but He could have spoken a word and had it go flying off into the air. The Lord doesn't need our efforts. Nonetheless, He required them. As James 2:26 says, "... faith without works is dead..."

A Fine Idea

The kids came up with a great idea about a month ago. With my pending departure, they decided that I would spend one day with each of the kids doing whatever they wanted, one day with Candi, and then on the fifth day we would go to Mt. Lemmon and stay in a cabin for the night.

Today was day 1 with Nori. We went to the new pottery place called Color Me Mine at the Park Place Mall. We had a really great time picking out the right piece, deciding on colors, and discussing the ice cream that would be eaten afterward, for the greater good.

Here are the pre-kiln pics.

I'm not sure about the cabin thing...