So, why am I awake at 1am? Because I can't sleep. I took a nap today because I was so tired and felt so rotten, so now I can't sleep (but the headache seems a little better). I'm afraid I'm getting the kids' cold because I have developed a sore throat today. Talk about great timing.
During my insomnia I watched a show about North Korea while I was knitting. The show was on National Geographic if you want to see if you can catch it another time. I was very interested because they had a doctor (not sure what nationality, but looked Asian and spoke excellent English) who went there to do cataract surgery. The team had to take all their own equipment and a generator (because North Korean cities have frequent blackouts). In 10 days time, the surgeon did cataract surgery on 1000 people. What I thought was most interesting, though, was how the people reacted after the bandages were removed and they could see again. They didn't thank the doctor or the team that came to help. They bowed before pictures of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sun (I think I have the names right - they are the current and previous dictators of North Korea) and thanked "The Great Leader" for their recoveries. How crazy!! If they lived in a developed country, like South Korea, They would have doctors and facilities in the country for this kind of work. The surgeries weren't fancy - it was basic cataract surgery.
Watching something like this is exactly what is needed to help us remember the freedom that we have in our country, not to mention our incredible standard of living. (North Korea lost about 3 million people due to famine in the 1990s - despite lots of outside aid.) It is also a stark reminder to pray for Christians in North Korea. This show did not discuss persecution of Christians, but it was very clear that the population is expected to worship the "Great Leader". That can't bode well for Christians. So, I will intensify my prayers for the unreached peoples of the world.
On a similar note, my sister in law gave me an excellent book called, "Voices of the Faithful" by Beth Moore. It is organized into daily stories from missionaries around the world. Some are amazing stories of miracles to protect the missionaries. Others show how God uses seemingly bad circumstances for our good. Others show the Gospel at work in transforming people's lives. I highly recommend this.
We have started doing evening Bible reading in addition to our morning Bible study. We started it because I have been doing things like The Case for Faith for kids and Money Matters for Teens along with Bible reading. Now, at night, we read The Daily Bible for Kids which has a portion of Scripture along with some questions for discussion (which we may or may not use). Next week, when we start Core 6, we will start their Bible curriculum, which looks to be excellent. It is a 36 week survey of the Bible. The first couple of chapters are about the canon and the organization of the Bible. Then, after that, they go through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. I think it is going to be great. We also work on C's Awana during the day. We have started doing it together which gives L another chance to review those verses (since she's too old for Awana).
What occurred to me today was the verse Deuteronomy 6:4-8 4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." I realized that we are now reading Scripture and talking about God's commands and plan for our lives "when we lie down and when we get up". The two verses that follow this talk about binding them to our foreheads and tying them on our hands - where the Orthodox Jews take the command for making phylacteries. In any case, this Scripture in Deuteronomy is so important in reminding us to teach our children about the Lord. It says to "impress" these commandments on our children. Taking them to Sunday School isn't enough. We are commanded to make sure our kids are exposed to Scripture. What they do with it is between them and God, but as long as they live with us, we are required to continue to study Scripture with our families.
Well, I think I'm finally tired enough to sleep. More later.
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