On September 25th, I started a 20 session in-depth study on the Song of Songs, written by Mike Bickle from IHOP. He provides all 20 studies in PDF format for free, here

May you open up the secret places of your heart and spirit to the deep searchings of the Holy Spirit, who exposes all things that you might grow up into Him who is the Head. This will require long and loving meditation on this portion of Scripture (Song of Songs) with an open and honest heart before God. Pray that He will draw you after Himself until you are made fully willing to run with Him into full obedience.

I’ve been realizing how difficult it is to really love people the way God does. It’s a lesson I’ve been wrestling with this entire year. People are so broken and fallen, and even when they see good, they don’t respond in love. Keep us humble, Lord, that in our search after your heart, we would not become proud but people who will seek to go even lower. Perhaps you’re showing me how difficult it is to love in one instance so that I might see the incredible depths to which you love.

Draw us away!

My first Chuseok spent in Korea was quite a memorable one. I am currently living with a homestay family, who treats me like a daughter and sister. Our eventful weekend began on a rainy Friday afternoon after my classes ended, when my host family took me to the 5 Day Market in Jeju City. It was like an outdoor department store with everything you can imagine: clothing, underwear, machetes, shoes, hair products, blankets, food, pork, 반찬, and pets, among others. We admired the two baby hamsters we bought there while snacking on ddukbokki and odeng.







We had a relaxing Saturday morning around the house and decided to visit some nearby museums. We visited the O'Sulloc Green Tea museum, as well as the World Automobile Museum (자동차 박물관). We had a lot of fun ordering green tea ice cream, posing next to the shiny cars, and gawking at how expensive the toy cars were in the gift shop. When we returned home, I had my first experience making Songpyun. With the help of our grandmother, we were able to knead the dough into the well-known crescent-shaped rice cakes. The fragrance of the Songpyun steaming in the kitchen was wonderful. We ended our evening with a flour fight, chasing and throwing flour into each other's faces and cleaned up a very worthwhile mess.







The morning of Chuseok, we rose very early and walked to several relatives' houses with gifts. I have celebrated Chuseok in America with my extended family every year but usually, my relatives all gather at one house, cook together, and spend time together all day. In Korea, I learned that individual families stay home to prepare lots of food, and other relatives come one family at a time to eat traditional Korean food, such as 미역국 and a variety of fruits and 떡. We traveled to almost four different houses in the span of 9 hours and had a meal at each. My host mother and I decided that we would start dieting together after Chuseok.



In the late afternoon, we arrived at my host mother's parents' house (외할머니) in 북천. It had been cloudy and rainy all day, yet I wanted to explore the village so my family went for a walk toward the ocean. This town was my host mother's hometown, so we visited her elementary school, and the ocean that she used to be so familiar with. On the way, I noticed many cars parked at each house. I thought to myself, many people truly have much to be thankful for on this day, being with so many loved ones. We walked around the piers and lighthouses, watching the boats coming in and out of the harbor, and catching 꽃개s and 보말. After another meal of 미역국, we went out to a 노래방 called Beach Vikini and sang our hearts out to the Korean pop songs that I've become so familiar with living with 3 children. I actually got a bruise on my hand from playing the tambourine so hard. We played well and slept well that evening.








On Monday morning, the last day of our holiday, we drove to the nearby DaeMyung Resort to use their Sauna facilities. I've really come to love the saunas in Korea, despite the still fairly new concept of a public bathhouse. We left our grandparents' home and went to Lotte Mart to do some shopping and watch the new comedy, 울학교 E.T. The movie was completely sold out and hilarious. I seem to make small mental notes whenever I notice something different from the way things are in America. The popcorn and soda sizes were so much smaller, and had less butter. I appreciate that Korea's food culture is so much healthier than America. Also, the movie seats were assigned numbers, which was a first for me. We all loved the movie, and on the way out, my host father spontaneously decided that we were going to the photo studio. So just the way we were, we walked in, and 25 shots and 2 hours later, we went home with our professional family photo. We spent a lot of money that day. I came home with my stomach satisfied, and my heart full of many things to be thankful for. I am truly blessed with such an awesome family that treats me like their own. Just when I think that I couldn't get any closer to them, I find myself liking each family member more and really coming to love their Jeju dialect and culture more than before.