No Greater Love

I do not desire applause of men

Or fame or that my name be known

But my greatest prayer is that the Lord's

Amazing love is always shown

I'm brought low in humbleness

And Jesus Christ is raised

I will shine His light to all

So that his name is praised

I have nothing good that I can boast

But I boast in Jesus' blood

I boast in the cross on which he died

For my sins and for the world

I am free, a treasured child

Through his perfect grace

Mercy undeserved I know

Jesus took my place

Though I may be laughed at, mocked, and scorned

I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ

I will do the things He asks of me

Even if for Him I die

For the world is dead to me

Once it had my love

Now I serve the greatest King

My heart belongs to God

One day I will stand before His throne

Laying down the crowns I won

When I've breathed my last I'll join him there

My time on earth will soon be done

Glory waits where I will see

My name written down

Written in His precious blood

No greater love was shown

Bye, Bye Baby Love

Well, my sweet baby puppy Pete went a the land of infinite kibbles today. Pete was 10.5 and was having neurological problems/heart mummur/arthritis/gum disease...it was time for my baby to go. I will miss him a lot. My wittle snuggly bunny. Sleepy snuggly love bucket. I really miss you, baby.

In other news. Today during church it snowed and so we'll have a late start to school tomorrow. That's fun! I can sleep in a bit and get a bit more done at school as report cards are coming up soon.

We took the upper elementary on a field trip to the outdoor skating rink at City Hall. It took us from 9am-3pm to get there, skate for an hour and a half, get lunch at McDonalds, and get back. 31 students, 3 teachers, but no broken bones, cut off fingers, or any other ailments. The kids loved it, and so did the teachers. ;)

Yesterday, a bunch of the teachers and others from church got together and went iceskating at City Hall. The rink was PACKED, but it was a blast. We arrived at 3:30ish, but because there were so many people, we had to wait from until 5:30, so we went to a coffee shop to wait in its warmth. Smart. After we got all rosy cheeked from skating in the f-r-i-g-i-d air, we went to Pastor's house and had pizza and chicken and talked and laughed until quite late (for a church night!) It was really awesome to be able to spend time with good friends with God honoring conversation and have some fun.

My students are memorizing the countries and capitals of South America, and one new girl with lower English kept saying "when is Gramma." I couldn't figure out what she was talking about until she came up to my desk with a paper. On the paper was written VENEZUELA. Ahhhhh!! When is Gramma=Venezuela. Teaching in Asia is never dull.

Each week a different student leads the morning pledge to the Christian flag and to the Bible. A couple weeks ago it was a new student's turn. The students hold the flag and Bible and instruct the other students to stand up, salute, and pledge. This student said, "Stand, salute, play." Even I had a hard time containing my laughter (but did so for the good of the students.)

My future plans are flying a little high up in the air right now, and I'm enjoying flying along. It's such a...relief that I'm not getting worried or fearful. I know that comes from God working in my heart. It's His plan, not mine. It'll work out. I just want to serve Him and see people know Him and have their lives made new.

As per usual, I wrote poems. Here they are!

1.Trusting His unchanging love

We walk by faith and not by sight

Led by Jesus' faithful love

On our journey to eternal life

Following our faithful guide

Through the dark or through the light

Come what may we still will hide

In the shelter of His love

With our sword, the Word of God

Sharp and ready for the foe

Clad in righteous armor strong

Onward in His victory go

As we walk and spread the word

Of salvation free and true

Never cease to shout his name

Till each life has been made new

We won't rest until He calls

Us to sit at His dear feet

There we'll sing oh holy Lord

Praise Him for eternity

2. I hold the things of earth and know

That they're not mine to call my own

For treasures die and fade away

I'm waiting that perfect place

There no more tears will ever fall

And no more death there we will know

But perfect we'll forever be

We'll praise the King around His throne

This body longs for no more pain

To follow sin never again

And there in glory we will see

In Heaven no sin can ever be

In Heaven the sun will never shine

For Jesus Christ will be the light

We'll worship God so perfectly

There when our faith becomes our sight

Forever we will live in love

And praise the Lamb around His throne

And death will be forever dead

Eternal life we'll know alone

3. If I should follow you

I must give it all away

All the things that pull me back

To the world

If I should follow you

I must say my last goodbye

To the ones I love the most

Only you

Only you can satisfy

Lord you're more precious than my life

And you've called me to a dying world

I will go and spread your love

If I should follow you

I must face temptation strong

I must fight against the wrong

For the truth

If I should follow you

I should follow you to death

I must praise you with each breath

All I am

Only you can satisfy

Lord you're more precious than my life

And you've called me to a dying world

I will go and spread your love

I will follow

4. What good have I

That you'd see past my sin

To a heart that needs your grace

Though undeserved

I am so weak

But Lord your are my strength

And you gave it all for me

You set me free

So I will thank you, Lord

And I will trust your Word

I'm no longer what I used to be

For I've been made brand new

I'm a child of a holy King

I've been bought into a home of grace

And this vile imperfect sinner

Will praise you

What hope had I

I had wandered away

Down a path leading to sin

But in your grace

You took this lamb

And brought me to your fold

And in love you rescued me

From certain death

So I will thank you, Lord

And I will trust your Word

I'm no longer what I used to be

For I've been made brand new

I'm a child of a holy King

I've been bought into a home of grace

And this vile imperfect sinner

Will praise you

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live. In your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:3-4

Peace.

No Sweeter Name

This gift is mine not of myself

For I am worthless on my own

Grace undeserved I have received

And mercy sweet I have been shown

The greatest love has bought my soul

Though I should be condemned to die

So I might sing the freedom song

My Jesus bought me with His life

Sing, sing His praise forever

Glorify his awesome name

Because of God my only Savior

My sinful life is truly changed

He chose me though I was in sin

A rebel, lost, I’d turned away

With open arms He washed me clean

And now I know no sweeter name

Than Jesus Christ, the one I need

For nothing else can satisfy

This world and sin is dead to me

And in my God I am alive

Sing, sing His praise forever

Glorify his awesome name

Because of God my only Savior

My sinful life is truly changed

So In Love

It's ALMOST Friday. :) Hooray for Fridays! They win. This week has felt slightly longer than normal, but I haven't died yet.

I decided that my class will do China for international day. We went to work making paper lanterns, coloring flags, and researching information for our presentation. Today I decided to make a paper dragon. I found a site with a pretty stellar looking dragon face and attempted to copy it. I worked on it for about 20 minutes and proudly displayed it to my kids. As I held it up, one boy raised his hand and asked:

"Is that a cow?"

"No, it's a horse." Replied one girl.

They stared at it.

"Oh! It's a dragon!" One boy made me very happy. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was slightly recognizable. I was later informed that the only reason he guessed it was because we're working on China things. Wonderful...it sort of does look like a cow with fangs eating grass with turkey feet coming out of its head. Sort of.

We were reviewing for a Science test, and the teams had to work together to say the correct answer. If they got the answer right, they got a chance to throw a ball into a basket for team points. Whoever answered the question was the thrower. One boy was particularly good at throwing, so the kids who knew the answer told it to him and told him to say it. Now, he's new and his English is surely but slowly improving. One boy whispered the answer: humidity. The new boy pointed at me and yelled: HUMILITY! Hmm....

Today I had to take the kids to Taekwondo and make sure they behaved. Now, I'm not a fan of blood or cuts or anything medical related, but today was a day of testing for me. I sit down as the kids begin doing TKD with the teacher, and one of the boys sitting near me says, "Ms. Janke! BLOOD!" I glance over and a cut on his leg is bleeding. I told him to stand up and go to the bathroom to clean it up, and as he did, the blood dripped onto the floor. Of course all the girls are screaming and the boys are laughing while I'm frantically searching for tissue trying to remain calm. I found tissue in the bathroom and came back into the room. All of a sudden I hear, "Ms. Janke NO!" I stopped dead in my tracks right next to a drop of blood. I barely missed it. After that fiasco was over and done, I was sitting peacefully while the children learned. Next thing I know, a bare toe is shoved in my face. "Ms. Janke, my toe exploded!" Pus was oozing from a blister. I attempted not to gag while I tried to figure out what was wrong with her toe. "It really hurts." She said. Yes, yes, I'm sure it does. We got it bandaged up and cleaned, and that was the end of my medical escapades today. And I didn't even faint. :)

Someone who is a humble servant is great in the eyes of God. I've been talking to my students about pride because we've had some pride issues in our class. I told the students that when you accomplish something such as an A+ on a test or straight A's or you win a music competition or make the honor roll or anything that is an accomplishment for you, it is so important to give the glory to God. If you are proud and take the glory for yourself, God is not being glorified and you already have your reward of people's eyes on you but you miss out in Heaven where it really counts. Being great isn't doing things to get people's attention or having money or power. Being great is being humble and serving others. In and of ourselves, we are nothing. If God's given you gifts and talents, use those to bless someone else. This is something that I often forget and fail to do, but I pray that I can become more humble and serve others everyday.

I've been thinking a lot about China lately and all the people there who don't know Christ. I flew over China on the way back to Korea and saw little villages nestled into the mountains. How many of those people have never left their village and have never heard someone tell them about Jesus? I'm sure so many. We need to tell tell tell until the whole world knows.

No wealth, no home, no love, no hope

The faces of the lost, alone

They search for peace, for joy, for shelter

And find just darkness

For they've never heard of a man named Jesus

Who can rescue them from all their pain

And give the life and hope of Heaven

The king who died so they might be saved

I've walked their roads, I've seen their lives

The walls they've built, no comfort there

I have the news and I must tell it

Till all have heard and know

That there's a man, our Savior Jesus

Who died for them, for all their sins

Who offers peace through grace and mercy

The King who died so they might be saved

I'll tell of Jesus till all the world has heard

A friend said to me today: "You know when you're so in love with someone that you just want to talk about them all the time? Well, I just want to talk about Jesus all the time." I've been thinking the same thing lately. I know what it's like to be in love, but this love with Jesus is so much better. He's been patient with this slow learner, but I know I've grown more like Him in these last few years. I never want to be satisfied with my spiritual state. I want to keep growing and falling more in love with Him.

I'm so excited for the future! Moving back to Canada for a short time, and then who knows where God will take me. I'm open to whatever He wants. I don't want it to be a matter of where I go for God, but rather how I serve Him where I am. I know He's faithful. It's not even a question. He'll show me where He needs me, and I just pray that I'm always willing to serve Him.

Peace.

Bless His Name

In this I boast that Jesus Christ

Became a perfect sacrifice

For all my sins he gave his life

That I might live

This is my joy that He, my God

Would see this one so vile and still

Would love with pure, unfailing love

And call me His

Oh bless His name, praise, praise our God

Bow at His feet in adoration

Sing to the Lord, the worthy One

Who is our hope and our salvation

The King of all, the Lord of Lords

I call my Father and my friend

Though I've no worth, He saw my need

And rescued me

He is my strength, my song, my peace

My comfort, and enough for me

If all I have is just my God

I have it all

Oh bless His name, praise, praise our God

Bow at His feet in adoration

Sing to the Lord, the worthy One

Who is our hope and our salvation

God, Thank You

God,

Thank you for every breath

For every heartbeat

For every mountain and valley

Through which you guide my feet

For the trials that you send

And the peace that comes with them

For love that I am shown

For family and for friends

Thank you for storms and for calm

For sunsets and for rain

For smiles and for tears

And for the happiness and pain

Thank you for your grace

For my freedom by your mercy

That you are quite enough

And everything I need

And thank you for your love

You love me though I sin

Thank you for forgiveness

And perfect peace within

Though it will take forever

Before my thanks will end

Thanks for being God

My Savior, Master, Friend

11:11 1/11/11

Have I ever mentioned that I love my job? God has been so good in
giving it to me. Oh, yes, there are the times when I want to strangle
myself, but there are more times when I want to tear up and when I'm
so joyful. Little ways that they grow and amaze me and how I can see
that God handpicked this position for me. I'm so thankful that I can freely speak of my awesome amazing God. It's a huge responsibility, though. I have these kids for 7+ hours a day and I have to constantly ask God for help so that I can be an example of Him to them the whole time, 5 days a week. I mess up...a lot...but God gives grace...a lot. More than a lot. Copious
amounts!! More than that actually...but you get the picture.

So, lately...oh yes, that part. The long awaited, much anticipated,
greatly desired Christmas break has come...and gone. That's right, big
schocker that time continues to move on. We're all bundled in our
coats, sweaters, scarves, tights, and leg warmers over here in frigid
Seoul. Snow and ice are piled up in every corner and on the streets,
and the clouds threaten to dump more. Several days of post-break
school have passed, and one of the first questions asked by the first
student to enter the class was "when is spring break?" I have to admit
that the question did cross my mind at one point when I was dealing
with the ever dreaded jet lag insomnia.

Christmas break was wonderful and relaxing! It started with an 8 day
trip to warm Taipei. The weather cooled down considerably over the course of the week, and that made Christmas day feel a bit more realistic. Christmas dinner consisted of rice (in Asia? You never would have though) lean beef, and ice cream. There was no snow, tree, or lights,
but there were presents and much laughter. I toured an...interesting...Science museum, explored using the free transportation system which is actually quite extensive (aka my feet), climbed a mountain in the pitch black of night, met many interesting people, rode a glass-floored gondola a million miles up in the air over the side of a mountain and thought I would die because it was blowing in the wind but lived to tell the tale, and got much needed rest. Christmas night I slept
for only 30 minutes in order to try to force my body to adapt to North
American time. It worked! The jet lag in America was minimal which is
unusual. Now I know how to work the jet lag system.

The wedding...simply scrumptious! A wedding fit for a queen. The
bride was radiant and happy, and all the hours of cutting, gluing,
tying, hanging, folding, lightning, draping, cleaning, sprucing, and
twirling paid off. The theme was snow flakes and a winter wonderland.
As the maid of honor (I was tickled pink that she asked me!) I was to
give a speech. Though I thought I would pass out or worse...I didn't
die! People enjoyed it, I didn't speak too fast, and I didn't tell my
life story (which sister is always cautioning me not to do.) the
atmosphere and food was wonderous.

Seeing family was probably the best part. Although too short, it was
worth the money, long trip, and loss of sleep. More than worth it!
Just getting to hug my parents and laughing for hours with my brother and
sisters. A-mazing!!! I wished time could slow waaaay down or stop, but God gives grace. Absence really really truly does make the heart grow fonder. That is the truth. I just keep reminding myself that in Heaven we'll be able to catch up and never have to stop catching up.

So my life is taking some curves. Next year, unless God changes my
course, I won't be in Seoul. Instead I'll be back in Canada preparing
to raise support to go to China. The more I dwell on this, the more
elated I become. I grew up in a valley, and I've seen towering snow
covered mountains. This task is bigger. Bigger than Everest. But
didn't my massively larger God say that even tiny faith can
move mountains? Yep. So, here I go, hand in hand with my ALL powerful
God. Yes, folks, He's UNSTOPABLE. Told it can't be done? Many times.
Reminded about how impossible it seems? That too. Cautioned that it
won't be easy? Oh yes. Reminded of God's amazing power, will, and
promises every time I open His word? Let me tell you that this trumps
all negative thoughts. I get butterflies just thinking about the final
product. Just thinking about going with God all the way without fear (well, maybe some) and fighting until the job is done. But whether or not this will
actually happen, my ultimate goal is to glorify God and to see Him
exalted, myself humbled, and souls saved. I'm prepared to fall...many
times. And I'm sure that I'll get angry, frustrated, lonely, worried,
but I know that each time I sin God will be there ready to forgive and
to remind me who he is. I'm very excited for the hard times to come because I know that they'll turn out amazing. If you can't open the lock, take the door off the hinges.

God was very good in 2010, and He will continue to be good in 2011. I'm happy that I can look back and see how He's added more pieces to the puzzle so I can see a bit more of the bigger picture. I'll keep those answered prayers and fulfilled promises in my heart so that I can remember them in the future and remind myself that He is always faithful. He will always be my strength, my real joy, my complete peace, my best friend, all I need and all I want.

I'm posting this at 11:11 on 1/11/11 just for fun.

A song I wrote recently.  I suppose it's not a song because it has no melody.

I have seen the mountains
Towering high
I have Felt the fire
Tasted the dark
I have heard the sin bound
Crying out
I have heard my Jesus
Bidding me follow him

To the places none will go
To the homes of poor and broken souls
Through the valley and the dark
Kept by his love, held by his hand
Somewhere far from all I know
In his footsteps I will surely go
This my only goal my greatest prize
To see Jesus glorified, to see souls saved from the fire

It will take sacrifice
My very life
Though I'll sin and stumble
He wil forgive
He'll give grace through it all
Helping me fight
I will continue on
Follow God all my life

Psalm 40:16+17

"But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation say continually "Great is the Lord." As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought of me. You are my help and my deliverer, do not delay, oh my God!"

Psalm 37:23+24

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in His way. Though he fall he shall not be cast headlong for the Lord upholds his hand."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of flory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
James 1:14
 "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works. Can that faith save him?" 
1 Peter 4:12-14
"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as tough something strange were happening to you, but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."
James 1:12
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him."
Revelation 22:4
"They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads."
There are just some verses that I have read and that have impacted me lately.  If I wrote all of them, however, it would take too long.  My students are almost finished memorizing Psalm 139, and I have been memorizing it with them.  I chose this Psalm because it is full of amazing verses of praise to God and truths about Him.  
It is time to retire.  Peace.