World Cup

I have learned something new about myself this last couple of weeks. I've learned that i love soccer. OK maybe love is a strong word I love the World Cup and like soccer a lot. I mean i still have to get over the flopping and the fact that you can tie. But overall soccer is starting to grow on me. Which is weird because i have always respected soccer players but I really never liked soccer. Not enough action, too much finesse and you can tie. I mean serious its so stupid to have a sport that can go on for 2 hours and then end with no winner. Seems like a waste but I digress.

The best hypothesis for my new love for soccer is that I am watching it with passionate people. I mean over here in Korea every game is like a national holiday. I watched a game with about a million crazy Koreans last week and since then I have been hooked. I have been staying up all night watching games and getting into every game. But that got me thinking how passion is contagious. Its hard to be around somebody that is passionate about anything and not have an opinion or become passionate yourself. I have always thought of myself as a passionate person. I mean i take my opinion very seriously and I dont mind anyone else knowing it. Anyone that knows me know how passionate I am about sports and my friends and my family. And there have been many times in my life that my passions have rubbed off on other people and that is a cool feeling honestly.

Keep that thought..... The other day I was listening to a sermon from Francis Chan and he told this story about a man who said he was hit by a semi truck. Chan was saying "are you sure you got hit by a truck. I dont see any broken bones. you sure dont look like you have been hit by a truck how are you still functioning" The guy said to Chan thats how a lot of Christians live. We say we have been hit by a truck say the Holy Spirit or an encounter with the Lord. But somehow we look exactly the same.

I know for me this has happened many times. I have this crazy experience and instead of living out of passion I live out of political correctness and fear of man and wanting to look cool or normal. But what if just for once in my (our) lives we live out of the passion that we say we have. How contagious would that be. Passion is maybe the most contagious thing that I have encountered from people besides Love. When you are around passion it is hard to not be affected somehow. Later in the sermon Chan said in order to encourage we have to have courage. Courage to live in the Lord and Follow his lead. That really spoke to me because when the Lord puts something in my heart to do for someone or even for myself there is a natural fear that comes up or some kind of embarrassment ( I know that I am the only one) to actually be obedient. But I (we) need courage to encourage and i (we) need to have courage to live our passion daily and to start infecting the ones around us with what everybody needs THE LOVE OF THE LORD

So its kind of weird but everytime I watch soccer I get a little motivated to love and encourage someone. SO FIND YOUR PASSION AND LIVE YOUR PASSION

grocery shopping

So this last week has been a good week for a few reasons. First reason is that I finally started to settle into my place. I have a little routine and even have a new leather couch that was very pleasant surprise. The next is that I think I have finally gotten over my honeymoon phase with Korea. You know when things stop being so amazing because its new and you start trying to process how it is going to affect your life and where you fit into everything. Its been great. But the biggest thing is that I am learning is to be present here in Korea. I am starting to realize how my life will be here and instead of thinking about how things are back home and what I am missing there. I am starting to invest here in my work, friends and myself.

So was I was grocery shopping the other day and something hit me. I AM GROCERY SHOPPING IN KOREA. That doesnt seem like much but let me continue the story. This became a big deal when after an hour I leave the grocery store and I realized that I only bought four things. Yes I said it I spent an hour in the grocery story buying only four things. But in my defense I had no idea where things were and even when i got to the right aisle where the thing I was looking for was. I had to make sure it was the right kind. (Let me tell you anchovy vinagerrete is really different from italian dressing) After finding one thing I had to do it all over again. Back to being in the present. As I was leaving the store I started to get frustrated and asking these questions "What am I doing here", "Did I really just spend an hour looking for italian dressing and salt" "Where the heck is wal-mart" (yes i even asked for wal mart, that should show the severity of the situation) But it was so funny because the very next thought was "hey this is Korea and that was kind of fun"

All that to say that God loves when we are in the present with him. He loves when we are truly present when we are at one moment doing the best we can with that moment and spending it with him. As I was shopping I was listening to a worship mix on my ipod. I wasnt really in too much of a hurry and I was just walking around the grocery store with the Lord looking for italian dressing, salt, paper towels and orange juice. Yeah it was kind of frustrating not knowing where things were or even what they were but at the same time I was there. Like I am here right now. I know people who are constantly looking for the next thing. The next adventure the next story even the next girlfriend/boyfriend. What are we going to do next weekend? I used to be one of those people and at times I still am. But I am trying to be that person that enjoys the little things because God has slowed me down to see the little things.

In Exodus Moses was talking to a burning bush (if it wasnt for sunday school you would think it was a bad trip) and God told him to go to Egypt and free His people. Then Moses asked the question I think all of us would ask "Who do I say sent me, What is your name??" and the Lord so graciously said with authority "I am who I am , say I AM sent me" That to me is awesome the Lord said he is the I AM which is a present tense being. He didnt say I will or I was he said I AM. Thats the Lord that is inviting us to do something.

I'm sure the other day as I walked around with the Lord in the grocery store some being in heaven asked Him what he was doing and he said "I AM walking around the grocery store with Greg watching him try to act out what salt is to a little Korean lady and laughing at him"

So my challenge to you is to be a PRESENT BEING with your family, friends and God.

What's next

So I have been in Korea for a little over a week and things are going great. I am meeting new people, finding quality relationships, living on my own for the first time in my life and its kind of funny I am kind of a freak about certain things.
I never realized that I like having things in order. part of me thinks that I am just coping with leaving home by trying to control everything and keep it orderly. Or maybe I have turned into the little guy that my mom has been begging since I started making messes. I mean I pick up after myself and do my laundry, iron, grocery shop and even have all of my dvd's in alphabetical order.
So life is going pretty good. I mean its almost like things are going too good. It has been a crazy transition and without a few setbacks it has been pretty fluid and seamless. That is what scares me honestly. The fact that things are going so good, I mean maybe I am just weird but I have expected something to go wrong. Something to be wrong with my visa, something to be wrong with my apartment, job,people something. But things have been great. I am really blessed. So I was thinking I know its only been one week and I have a long time here and a long journey ahead of me but when is the floor gonna drop and when am I going to get hit in the face with reality.

This morning I was talking with a dear friend and she said, "maybe things will really just be this good, you just got out of a hard season and maybe its time for an easy season." It was so good to hear that because honestly for me it seems like life is dealing with one bad season after the other and God lets us have glimpses of peace and ease every once in a while. But what if God has something in store for me that will last. I was hanging with a new friend the other day and I was talking to her about life verses and I asked if she had one and she said no. I told her I had like 4 and she was impressed (an added bonus). But I was telling her that I look at life verses like promises that the Lord has specifically spoken to me. The bible is full of promises but my life verses are almost like God wrote them for me specifically. So one of my biggest life verses is NUMBERS 6:24-26 The Priestly blessing is what is called in my Bible. But Lloyd always says it to us at the end of church. "May the Lord bless you and keep you and be gracious to you, May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." That is exactly how I have felt the last few months of this journey. That the Lords hand and blessing is all over it. So what if the floor never drops out, what if I am happy. What if I find love and it actually sticks, what if I actually do a good job at my job, what if i get rewarded for doing a good job. what if people really do love me in spite of my lack and what if my dreams could come true.

So when I think about what's next I think about what is the next problem I am going to have to handle but what if God is having me think of how to handle the next blessing he has for me.

So.....
MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU, MAY THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE TO SHINE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU,MAY THE LORD TURN HIS FACE TOWARD YOU AND GIVE YOU PEACE