A break in the kingdom...and a break in SBS

Whew!
I can't begin to describe the state of exhaustion I was in when I handed in my work for 1&2 Chronicles and made my way to a local restaurant for a celebratory burger with some friends. SBS is 2/3 finished and we've made it through history to the fall of Israel and Judah into exile.

I've been fascinated that even though I've read through the Bible a few times before, there's still more and more that I am discovering I never knew. The kings were a fascinating study....what I'm realizing over and over in the Old Testament is that God is faithful to his promises, men are not, and yet God shows them his mercy. That, in a sentence is what really stands out to me.

And I used to look at the Old Testament and deep down in my heart I thought, wow, God's kind of vindictive and mean. He lays out rules and then punishes people for breaking them. But I'm realizing, especially since the book of Deuteronomy that God is like a parent...he gives people the option to choose the higher way. He puts structure and rules in place for our good. He punishes people when they disobey, for their good and they should know the good way to live. God gives us choice, and depending on our choices, God either disciplines us or blesses us. We would call this good parenting, and I don't know why we fault God for this. My view of the character of God is definitely deepening.

BREAK TIME
Our break started out with a typhoon here. I have never experienced one before so it was a new experience. The whole city shut down and there weren't many people to be found on the streets. In Asia, that makes it feel like a ghost town outside! Some of us decided to make paper airplanes and shoot them off the roof of our seventh floor apartment in the middle of the gusts of wind. I have never enjoyed paper airplanes so much!! Some of them we watched fly around for literally a few minutes. Amazing!

I was so tired, I've spent most of the last week sleeping, reading, knitting (I found a craft store in Taipei!!!!!) and enjoying friends here in small groups. Last break we did so much stuff in large groups that I was exhausted by the time class started again. Tomorrow morning we will be diving into Proverbs and I feel much more refreshed.

I hope to post some photos from our evening last night when we honored our SBS staff. It was such a delightful time....and a great excuse to dress up and look great! I MC'd the evening so didn't take may photos myself. So, when I steal some from friends, I'll post them.