Saturday, June 14, 2008

Eagles



But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
and they shall walk and not faint

Isaiah 40:31

I had coffee with a friend the other day. We are still getting to know each other and I love spending time with her ... she is a lady of grace and wisdom with a lot of depth. I come away from our conversations sparked and encouraged! This past week, we were sharing some life stories, and I shared about my experiences of this past year. She talked about travelling lightly and i was reminded of one of the threads that God spoke to me about in Cambodia. Eagles.

I think I referred to the Isaiah scripture in a previous blog but I can't find it so let me rehash it here.

When we first read this scripture, we have an image of strength. Perhaps you can picture an eagle flapping it's wings, soaring higher and higher. When we break down this scripture, we get a completely different image. Let's look at some of the key words.

Wait
this comes from the hebrew word "Qavah" which means, "to look for, lie in wait for, linger for, look eagerly for."

Renew
Comes from "Chalaph" - meaning "to pass through, change, sprout again."

Mount Up
Comes from "alah" - meaning "ascend, go up, meet, visit, spring up, grow, shoot forth"

The eagle is a bird that understands renewal. My friend talked about travelling lightly. She talked about how sometimes she stops and just clears herself of all the clutter. As she shared this, I thought about the incredible renewal process eagles go through. I researched this and found some very inspiring stories ... most on Christian threads! But, as I researched deeper, I found out that these are encouraging stories but urban myths. Eagles do not completely withdraw and pull all their feathers out, beat off their beaks and talons. However, this does not deny the power of the moult. Juvenile eagles are actually larger than adults. However, they go through a continual moulting process where they lose feathers and become more streamlined. This makes them more efficient in flight. Here is a thought ... in order to fly high, we need to be unencumbered. We need to be continually transformed. Romans 12:2 talks about being transformed by the renewing of our minds. When you look at the scripture, it is an ongoing thing. Like the eagle moult, our renewing is an ongoing process. It is part of growth.

Another amazing thing about eagles are their eyes. They are birds of vision. They see with great clarity and in full colour. Do we? Or are we black and white?! Eagles have two centres of focus. They can see forwards and sideways at the same time. There is a lesson for us there. When travelling through life, observing all that goes on around us, we need to keep our eyes forward and fixed on Christ as well. For blinking, they also have an inner eyelid called a nictitating membrane. Every three or four seconds, the nictitating membrane slides across the eye from front to back, wiping dirt and dust from the cornea. Because the membrane is translucent, the eagle can see even while it is over the eye. These birds constantly clear their vision. Are we allowing things to cloud ours?

The eagle searches for storms, it rides the updrafts and rises above them. Could it do this by beating its wings? No ... it just holds them open, catches the updrafts that accompany storms and rises, higher and higher, soaring above. It knows how to wait for the updrafts ... it lingers for them. It looks for them.

We see eagles as powerful, strong birds. They soar on great heights. Think about this: the strength of the eagle is not in it's ability to flap its wings and fly high. It's strength is that it knows how to hold it's wings out and soar. It's strength is that it is a bird of vision. And ... it travels lightly.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Ground Control to Major Tom ...




Hi all

Just a quick note ... I am alive ... am out there somewhere ...

It has been an intense few weeks as we wrap up the school year ... I have been struggling with my drugs - so VERY tired ... it's about surviving the day at the moment which has not left a lot of time for much else.

Through all the major farewells (lots of those when working internationally) ... nearly done with reports (I write over 400 and then print everyones ... just the final print to go) ... nearly done with building the image for my computer lab ... travel arrangements nearly all in place ...

Very exciting things that have happened ... the new iphone is out! YAH ... I want one of those puppies ... but I might wait one more generation ... GREAT price! ... Our group (Chicks With Picks) recorded on the weekend ... rush job due to lack of time but we have recorded Ruby's song and another fun one that I wrote ...

Thinking ... not been a lot of time for anything much but surviving lately ... but I do have a blog post brewing ...

What has to happen this week? It's Tuesday ... so ... I need to travel to Itaewon and pick up a bunch of tailored shirts for my friends Dad ... I need to get to the post office and post Maggies birthday box (Bought her a very cool little case that has metallic corners and then is pink with glitter ... filled it with disgusting pink and glittery princess things ... as a 5 year old princess she should love it!!!) ... We have leavers assembly today ... I print report finals tomorrow (whole day job normally) ... have a haircut ... album cover to finish and print ... final mixes to listen to on the album ... a leaving coffee with a friend ... costco run (*thats a 4 hour marathon in Korea) to buy Hippos (moisture sucking things to stuff all through my house so the high humidity does not cause mould while away in the summer) ... wallpaper samples to check and decide on for my penpal coming from England (new teachers coming to Seoul get paired with old ones to help with transition ...) ... haircut ... going to Blue Man Group (the night before I fly ... I tell you, I HATE packing and will do anything to avoid it ... Blue Man Group is a great way to avoid) ... coffee with another friend ... bosses end of year evaluation ... write reflections and goals before the evaluation ... job list to make for my adjumonie (the cleaner over summer) ... clean out my office ... return overdue library books ... photocopy relevant travel sections ... final staff lunch and farewell ... sort out money and change currency ... finalise San Antonio hotel and airport arrangements ... laundry ... packing ...

Somewhere in the midst of this ... I continue to TEACH! We work a full day on Saturday and on Sunday ... I leave for Greece! Yah ... so what are my summer plans?

Fly to Greece with my friend Leslie ... we are going to Athens, Santorini and Rhodes. Fly back to Korea and the next day, fly to San Francisco. One night (and I have my shopping worked out ... as well a taking my camera down to play with the pelicans!) ... and then back to the airport to go to San Antonio where I have a technology conference for a few days. Following the conference, I am heading to Wisconsin for several weeks with my friends Jeff and Nicole (normally I stay with them in Phoenix). I then head back to Korea late July, have a couple of days downtime and then head down to Singapore for 3 days and New Zealand for 12 days. This will bring me back to Korea in mid August.

I am hanging out for my holiday ... and in no order these are the things I am excited about ...
Exploring a new country with a friend ...
Ocean and the beach ...
Seeing family ...
the beach ...
Seeing friends ...
the beach ...
great photography opportunities ...
the beach and water ...
great conversations ...
SHOPPING (Korea is no fun for shopping ... but the USA ... is shoe heaven for size 11 feet!) ...
Eating ...
New Zealand landscape ...
My beach ...

Oh ... and did I mention ... THE BEACH?!

ROLL ON SUMMER!