Christmas Story

This week I thought I would do the terribly un-politically correct thing and explain to my kids why Christmas is called CHRIST-mas and what the meaning of the tree is- and strangely enough I didn't really have a clue how I would explain it till I started; I give the Spirit credit.

It started out with a question: What is Christmas about?

I got the same answers in almost every class, they went something like this....

Santa

Snow

Presents

Tree

Snowman

Rudolf

After that I explain that Christ-mas is when some celebrate Jesus' birthday. Then I ask if they know who Jesus is, or Yesu as they know him, and ask where he was born. Most of them think a house and then I draw a crude drawing of a 'barn' where animals live and say Jesus was born there. Then I draw a 'fancy' little tree and ask what is on top, and they all pretty much know it's a star. Only in one class did I get a kid who was like "Santa," and he said it twice like it was most certainly the real answer even though I had said a star.

So why the star? Well, as it turns out there was a star over baby Jesus.

And what goes under the tree?- Gifts

But why?

Well, Jesus was a gift, so we exchange gifts to think about Jesus.

At this point, when I have drawn my arrows (see image below) most of the kids do an "ah!"

for their understanding. Then we proceed to color christmas tree cards or manger scenes.

What is particularly interesting is a number of my older students had already made up their minds that they do not like or believe in Jesus. It hurt my heart when one of my favorite students said "I hate Jesus," but hopefully every time they open a Christmas gift now the Lord reminds them it is because of Jesus, and maybe one day they will look up who he is and the whole story and not hate Jesus.

I have been reading a Bible study and it talks about the state of man without God; without the Holy spirit, and when I felt hostility from the kids I immediately thought about it.

But the man who isn't a Christian (or 'in the Spirit' in other versions) can't understand and can't accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him, because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means

(1 Corinthians 2:14 TLB)

On the other hand, I did find out quite easily who of my students are from Christian families because they knew about Yesu and the story. They all got quite excited and were really cute about it. I am pretty sure some of them even told more of the story when we were coloring, and some I think got slack for believing in Jesus as well; nothing overly mean, but some teasing.

Luckily there is good news; that is what those angels proclaimed thousands of years ago. Jesus was a gift and if we choose Him, His Spirit gives us understanding and salvation.

But this Christmas I hope I can remember this prayer Jesus had for us as he prepared to head to the cross....

"My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father- That just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are - I in them and you in me, all being perfeted into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me."

John 17:21-23 NLT

Near unbelievable! God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. That is why Jesus came those 2000 years ago and willingly took on the most disgusting thing to him, the thing that was the opposite of his character and one thing that could separate Him from his Father, sin. It died with him and he conquered it in his resurrection.

That is the Gift we remember this year and pray that the world accepts it that we may be one.

Stephen and I in Pictures

2006 time in Japan

2007 Peter's track meet

2008

Beat making.

An awful quarry experience where Stephen considered selling me for eternal quarry privileges...thankfully he didn't.

This is how I felt for 2 hours while being hit on by a 30 yr. old good-ol'-boy

2009 Last hang out with Susanna

Fall 2009

Susanna home for Christmas!

Formal Dinner with friends who all knew Stephen liked me and didn't tell me but rather just tried to always put us together.....tricksters.

2010 Valentines Brinner together :)

Watching David do his thing for Acoustic Cafe

Visiting Bomar :)

Dollywood visit

Engagement Day- the only picture of us haha

Bibimbop

Scootin'

First time meeting FUSED!

Out and about
Hiking
Buying wedding bands

Birthday party!

Dinner with John and Hyo Jung

Tall scary clown, but friendly

Halloween!

First make-out....well it would've been had we been able to find each others mouths.

Getting lost in the middle of Seoul in the woods :)

Famous.

A Flash to Christmases Past

2006

The Fam

2007

It'd be really nice to have that girls night with gingerbread houses eh Sus?

Ah the lovely dancing of an Alco-holiday party.

2008

Young life fun.

The beginning of Rock band.

Mr. Darcy. He is missed.

So is Papa.

He is so cute, the one in gray....how did I not know I would marry him two years later?

Oh yeah.....that's why I didn't know.

Miss this.

2009

Sweet brother.

Sweet Friends.

And I still didn't know....but I hoped.

The J-oy of Fighting

I often sit at home thinking how boring facebook is and wonder how I spend so much time on it.

This has resulted in me reading more, but it seems my choice of books is very limited. One of my students gave me a 'Gossip Girl' book and I am embarrassed to say I have read some of it, although I admit when I stopped reading I wonder if I really should continue, I mean I don't like a single one of the characters, they are all trash and the way it is written is like a mix of a high school boy and a fashion-blogger. As I am writing this I feel I'm convincing myself to stop reading, but it's such easy entertainment.....I guess I could practice some korean. Maja. Or cut hundreds more circles for an event that happens to take place in less than four weeks!!!!!

If you have not taught Korean children you may not know this, but Korean kids fight all the time. The girls and boys are always getting out of their seats to hit each other. If they knew enough english I would tease them for flirting, but alas I only see them once a week and therefore they do not understand what flirting is.

At my school are two computers for the kids use. Usually they are used to do their online homework which requires them to record dialogues for me to listen to and critique. (yippee) However, there are a few students who use the computers to play games. One student in particular is very bad and always plays games when other kids need to work. Well this one student, let's call him J, was not on a computer but made another student quit his work before he was done by pirating the mouse and aborting all the work he had done. Needless to say the other student, E, was very upset. He got mad and stormed out to tell a teacher who came in to find J about to get on a game. We told him he had to do work if he was on the computer and so he did.

Soon after E got on a computer, after a lil girl was busted for gaming (a taking-care-of-your-puppy-game, and it was quite the squirming battle to get her off of it). J said something to E and E grabbed J's hair with his left hand and swung his right hand down on J's head. I grabbed E's right hand to stop the hitting just in time to see him use his left hand holding J's hair as stability for when he kneed J in the head. I finally got him to stop and J for the first time ever I saw kinda cry and E really cried as I took him out of the room. Still J is such a pain it was almost relieving to see someone discipline him for his bad behavior in a way he actually responds to (he certainly doesn't care about verbal reprimands).

All this to say, there is proof that those taekwondo lessons are paying off, at least for some of the kids.