Thanksgiving

This one has been an interesting one. I actually had four Thanksgiving dinners this year. And this is not counting the leftovers. I only had to eat the left overs from two of the four.

 And coming back to Maryland has been really pleasant. I have met a plethora of critters and enjoyed the first Christmas parade I have seen in seven years. It was cold, but I made daddy take me...and some hot cocoa.

 I have also been eating very well, even without all the TG style dinners. I have had Sushi, Italian, Habatchi, American Diner breakfast, Bourbon chicken, Mediterranean Pasta, British Pudding, and those are just off the top of my head. I just love the variety of food that you find in America. BUT, the price is so high to eat out here...and sometimes I just miss sticky rice and seaweed. And yes...even Kimchi.

 Anyway, I figured I would share some photos from here in the glorious MD:

There was a fairly young litter of kittens at my Aunt's house.  They were about five weeks old.  And I am fully convinced that an adorable kitten can melt the heart of any hardened dictator in the world.

Needless to say, I spent a good deal of time loving on these little guys.

There are so many critter's at my Dad's house.  We have five goats, two dogs, one cat, two snakes, and about twenty rats (for the snakes).   I got to play with them all.

Later we picked up some hay for the goats.  I was the best hay baler in Fugg boots the world has ever seen.  :-P

And my friend Laura who was able to celebrate the season with us, enjoyed spending quality time loving on the baby goats.

On The Road Again

So...It is really hard to type this, because I am on the road. Literally. The joy of technology means that I can update this blog with one fat finger jabbing at all the wrong keys on my smartphone. Anyway...we are somewhere on the Ohio turnpike heading to Maryland. I am looking forward to spending the holidays with family, especially since I haven't seen most of them since the Easter before last. I also am looking forward to seeing a good friend of mine who will join us for Thanksgiving. But alas..there are 10 more hours of road and violin music separating me from home. (Listening to the Dubliners te he he.)

Adjusting

Coming home was a little harder than I thought it would be.

Usually when people see me for the first time since I've been back, they awkwardly ask, "How was Korea?".  And inside I am thinking, "How in the world do I explain the past year of struggle, failings, growth, success, healing, and faith, in a 30 second answer that will keep their attention?"  I equally as awkwardly respond, "Good".  And if there is an additional awkward silence to follow...I will add, "It was a growing experience."  The next question that everyone asks is, "I bet it's good to be home, huh?"  And for a while I would just lie and say, "Sure."

Don't get me wrong.  I wasn't fully lying.  I am very happy to be with my family.  I guess the lying part comes from me not knowing what is home.  I built a home in Korea.  But it seems like most folks here view Korea as the enemy.  The thing that drove Caroline to depression, sin, and anger towards God.  BUT that is only half the story.  Did they miss the redemption part?  It's the BEST part!  They fail to see the growth.  They fail to remember that God called me there in the first place.

I think of this quote from Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian writer.  He says, "There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them.  But they are there for a reason .  Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there."  

That really makes me think of a verse I read the other day:  "All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others .  When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."   2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Note the bold part.  I made it bold because it stood out to me.  I cannot comfort others unless I understand and have experienced comfort.  And this I cannot do until I have suffered.  Some may not like this...but it is the way it is.

ANYWAY, with this said.  I am very happy to have spent a year in Korea.  I am very confused in this time of transition.  BUT I am very glad to be with family and friends.  I swear, you guys have been the most patient, kind, helpful, and persistently loving people.  You go above and beyond to help me adjust to being back.  To quote one more person, "Encouragement from any source is like a drop of rain upon a parched desert.   Thanks to all the many others who rained on me when I needed it, even when I foolishly thought I didn't." ~ Claire Gillian

I love you guys.

*Home~Sweet~Home*

Making Pies with the Pumpkin from the Garden

Being back home is nice once I learned to rest.  I listened to a good podcast from my Korean Church.  It was called, "The Key to this Season."  What I got from it for me is, the key to this season is relationship.  This is growing in God and loving the people around me.

I guess I just fail at resting.  Personally, I always have to be doing something productive or I freak out.  BUT, rest doesn't mean not doing anything.  Rest doesn't mean being unproductive.  Rest is just a different form of productivity.

My mother and I were talking the other day and we both built this analogy that I really think is from God.  When I went to Korea, I was just a little sapling.  The hard winds battered me about, and the hot sun shown down on me heavily.  Life was hard.  But that adversity made me grow.  A LOT.  My bark soon protected me from the wind, and the sun made my leaves flourish.  I grew in such a short time from a sapling into a great tree.

Now that I am back home, my growing feels like it has stopped.  At first I didn't know how to handle this.  But I was reminded that I am not in the adversity which grew me upward.  I am in this season of rest.  This is not the time for growing up, but for growing in.  This is a season for building sap.  Storing the good things of God deep within me so that I can face the next harsh season.  Who knows what season is coming; a hard winter, a drought?  I don't know, and for that I am thankful for this season of rest to grow and store what I need for the next season.

On a more practical note, I have purchased my airfare to go to my new job this coming January.  A good deal came that I couldn't pass up.  So, even though I haven't signed the contract yet, it looks like I am heading to North Carolina after the holidays.  Also, I have been the baking queen these past few days.  I guess that's the part of me that missed an oven this past year.  Also the part of me that has to be productive...  :-P  Oh well...I am trying to rest, with pie.  :-)

Pumpkin Lemon Glazed Delights

New Beginings

I chose the title of this blog while washing dishes at my mom's house in Ohio.  I stood there with soapy hands soliciting ideas from my mom as she called out hilarious sci-fi themed blog names from the couch.  Then it came to me... "The Never-Ending Journey".  This Journey can apply to all parts of my life.  This can be literal journeys/trips that I take, it can be my journey with God, or it can be the journey through life.

At this moment I am in the middle of some big changes in my life.  I have just returned from teaching abroad for a year, and I have two months of family time before I start my new job teaching science in North Carolina.

So for now...this is my journey.

My Goodbye party with the Church Family in Korea