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It’s All About Love

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When I was younger, I was embarrassed by love. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my parents and they loved me more than I knew, but whenever it came to romance, love songs, and even the word “love,” I would have nothing to do with it. I can’t say entirely why–my parents made sure I knew that at my age I had no business getting into romantic relationships, and the time when I could was so far ahead I couldn’t even imagine it. But looking back, it seems rather silly, because now I realize that love is the main purpose of my life. I may not be married or have a girlfriend, but the more I think about it, love is behind most of what I do, or at least it should be.

Why do I go to Truth For The World every day and work? Because I love the people in the world who are lost and need the gospel. Why do put in hours of study to prepare sermons and Bible classes? Because I love my Christian family and want to give them something they can learn from. Why do I take time to pick out songs and lead them in the worship assembly? Because I love the Lord and His people, and want to help us all worship Him in one mind as one body.
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Stratford-upon-Avon, England

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Church of the Holy Trinity

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Along the River Avon in eastern England lies a peaceful town called Stratford-upon-Avon, presumably given that name to distinguish is from other, less interesting Stratfords, such as Stratford, Texas. (I am joking, of course!) I got to visit this town when I was in England four years ago, and took some pictures, which I you can see in the linked photo album. Stratford-upon-Avon is best known as the hometown of William Shakespeare, and we got to visit his birthplace, as well as another house he lived in, if I remember right (I hesitate to make any definitive statements about Shakespeare since I have forgotten most of what I learned that day). We also visited the “Church of the Holy Trinity” which houses Shakespeare’s tomb, over which this interesting rhyme is placed:

Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclos猫d here.
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.

I don’t know that Shakespeare himself wrote the rhyme, but so far it has worked! Some less prestigious souls were buried outside in the churchyard, making for a very interesting place to explore indeed.

One thing I noticed in these old buildings was that the doorways were often quite low. Apparently people back then were shorter (or at least shorter than me) and they’ve even had to put a warning sign on a lintel in one house that says “Mind your head.” All this and more you can see in the photos. Enjoy!

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Living the Dream

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Samaras

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost two years since I graduated from college, packed my earthly belongings in the back of my pickup (at least the essential ones), and was transplanted in the faraway state of Georgia. This new life has had its ups and downs, and I certainly haven’t accomplished everything I would like do have done by this point, but overall it’s been pretty great.

One thing most people don’t know is that living in Gwinnett County, Georgia was a dream of mine. I’m one who often daydreams, and before I even sent in my r茅sum茅 for a job that didn’t even exist yet, I was dreaming about how cool it would be to live in this area. I was looking up potential places to live, and the nearest places to hike. I was enchanted by the thought of living somewhere where Korean is a major language, where there are numerous pine trees even in the city, and where there was a loving congregation of the Lord’s people. I thought about all the things I would do if I had a place of my own, and the new friends I would make. I loved the thought of having a job that would align with my degree, but yet be entirely dedicated to the Lord’s work. And although I certainly haven’t taken much advantage of it, one of the major selling points was knowing that the mountains were less than two hours away!

Whenever I dream of possibilities, I get excited, so it was no surprise that I thought nothing of jumping in the car and making a weekend trip down to Georgia just for an interview. And great was my joy when I was offered the job, and had two job offers to choose from! After much deliberation (I am the one who had full intentions of returning to Texas after college) I turned down the other job offer, accepted this one, and spent a full week (!) at home after graduation before pursuing my dream.

The reason I’m recounting this now is because I need a reminder. Even the most thrilling life becomes humdrum after a while, and I’ve felt down and without motivation more times than I’d like to admit. So maybe I need to renew my outlook on life, reminding myself how special my current situation truly is! There is no need to long for things that are not mine, or feel burdened by responsibilities.

God has put me in a place full of opportunities, and I’m living the dream! It’s time to take advantage of it and fully enjoy where I am in life, and I encourage you to do the same. There’s no harm in dreaming of future possibilities, but don’t do it so much that you lose sight of where you are right here, right now.

iOS: How to Change Google Maps to a Different Language than the System Setting

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Google MapsWe break from our regular programming to give you something that may or may not be useful. In fact, the main purpose of my writing this post is to help guide forlorn web wanderers who are looking for a solution to a very unique problem, now that I’ve figured it out myself.

You see, I live in the United States, where most all the street names are in English, and I use Google Maps on my iPhone 4 to give me turn-by-turn voice directions as I drive around town. However, being the multilingual person that I am, I really wanted to have my iPhone interface in a different language, namely Korean. It seemed like Google Maps could only be in the system language, which is a bummer, because there is not even a Korean voice available. However, after much tweaking, I found a solution! (Please note that I did this on a Mac, but it should work fine on Windows too.)

So how did I do it? It’s easy enough: Read More

Goodwin Cemetery

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leroyI like cemeteries. Call me morbid if you like, but there’s nothing like strolling past headstones and trying to decipher worn epitaphs to put things into perspective and remind me of my mortality. As I look at people’s names and the dates of their birth and death, I can’t help but wonder about what went in-between, and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. What happened to the two teenage brothers buried near their parents, who died within days of each other? One hundred and fifty years ago, who were the mourning people who gathered around when a woman was laid to rest below this stone vault?

On New Year’s Day I visited a cemetery that I had passed many times before as I walked to and from work. It’s located just beside one of the major highways through town, and unless commuters are particularly unobservant, I’m sure many of them see it every day. And although now it’s in a busy suburban area, it harks back to a simpler time, when the highway was just a dirt road, and the city was only a small town in the former Cherokee territory.

Although this cemetery has been kept up, mowed around, and so forth, time has certainly taken its toll. The oldest grave, from 1837, is missing the original stone, and many of the headstones lie broken and fallen despite being the last relic and often glorious monument to the person lying beneath. Read More