"______________ is 'in a realtionship'."

My dealing with Facebook, for the most part, has been limited to something not unlike infrequently checking an email account, but a lot of people go bonkers on this website. They play games, conduct scavenger hunts, reconnect with old friends, chat with new friends, post pictures of themselves and others, 'tagging' other Facebook users in the process, and otherwise generally share their lives with others. Me? I take an occassional quiz, if challenged to do so by a friend. I've played Space Wars, Army Fight, Pirates vs. Ninjas, and Jedi vs. Sith. I even tackled the Oregon Trail and watched a few of my friends die along the way in strange ways, until it became painfully monotonous.

But one thing that kind of always struck me as interesting is how one's "realtionship status" changes from time to time. Couples that I know had been married for quite some time began showing up as, "______ is now married to ______." And to further confuse, every once in a while the nebulous, "_______ is now 'in a relationship'," shows up. What does that mean...'in a relationship'?" I imagine that, more often than not, it means that the person has a new boyfriend or girlfriend, or that they're dating someone new. But is that the extent of our understanding of what a being in a relationship means? I certainly hope not.

This week has been our Spiritual Emphasis Week at International Christian School-Uijongbu. The theme of the week is "Relationships". We've been talking every day about how important the relationships are in which we participate. Monday, I brought a message based in I John 1-2 about how we only have two kinds relationships in our lives: our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with others. I John 1 deals primarily with our relationship with God. I found it fitting that John was led to begin the book by talking about our relationship with God, since the worth of all other relationships in which we engage is determined by the strength or weakness of our relationship with God. The first part of I John 2 talks about how our relationships with others effect our relationship with God.

Throughout both chapters the word "fellowship" is used to describe both kinds of relationships. But this word 'fellowship' involves more than just a casual agreement to get along with one another. It is a much more powerful and life-changing thing that compels us to spend our time with the other participant in such a way so that each one is consumed with the edification of the other. As I Corinthians 13 tells us, it is a relationship that isn't selfish, rude, or judgemental. It is rather a relationship that is devoted to edifying and building up the other.

This is why it is so important to choose wisely the friends with which we spend our time. Do you realize that 'time' is the one thing that when you give it away, it is eternally gone? This is what makes time the most precious commodity of all. More money can be made. More products can be produced and obtained. But with time, once it's gone, you don't get it back and you can't make any more of it. So, when we choose to spend our time with those who are the enemies of God, it is impossible to have a healthy relationship with God because when we do so, we are edifying and building up those things that war against Him. Conversely, when we choose to put our relationship with God first, and make it's good health our priority, the other relationships in which we engage will be fruitful and edifying to Christ's kingdom and children.

I just wanted to share this with you all because it is something with which God has recently challenged me. Relationships are the most important thing of our existence. Christ put relationships in high priority during His time here on earth as an example for the rest of us. Just as Christ did, we should have a healthy realtionship with God the Father as our highest priority so that the other relationships God puts into our lives will accomplish His plan for us.

By way of update, not much news here since the last message. However, I was able to exchange an email with Pastor Rushing, and he assures me that preparations on the Martinez end are going well. The house for rent that he mentioned as being a strong possibility is indeed so, and is being kept as a back-up plan. The church's leadership is looking into purchasing a home rather than renting because the monthly cost of both is currently so similar. So, praise the Lord for His providence of the rental, and PRAY as the church leadership discuss the pros and cons of possibly purchasing a home.

As a reminder, next Thursday is our Purity Seminar here at ICS-Uijongbu. It is an all-day event during which classes are suspended in order to talk frankly about a Biblical perspective of sexuality. Please continue to PRAY that God will impress upon the hearts and minds of these young adults the importance of sexual purity.

Our numbers at youth group have been low recently. The spring semester at school is a completely chaotic one, filled with many sports events, school plays, and various other extra-curricular activities. Please PRAY that the students will not put God on the back burner.
Soccer season has begun, and we have our first game this Saturday, a friendly match with our sister school in Seoul. Please PRAY that our players will do the absolute best that they can. A couple of praises concerning soccer is that: 1)our MVP from last year is recovering well from the slipped disc in his back, and will probably be able to join the team in about two weeks; and 2)our starting goalie has had the stitches removed from his leg and began practicing this week earlier than expected. PRAY for them as their bodies continue to heal. Their names are Caleb(1) and Michael(2).

Finally, continue to PRAY that God will guide in all the details and preparations for our transition to California. We know that He will guide, but He still desires us to daily put our faith and trust in Him, as He is daily faithful. Well, that's about all for now. Thanks so much for all you prayer and support.

In His Service,
Sam.

Uniform Designs Look Good...

Well, the uniform people got back to us today with what they have come up with for the designs of our uniforms, and I must say that I am pleased. They did a tremendous job following our directions, and the uniforms have turned out exactly the way we were hoping.


Check them out:


Not only have they done a good job designing our uniforms, they also re-tooled and cleaned-up our logo:


Until Next Time...Sam.

The Storm Begins...

Well, the storm that was on the horizon is now directly overhead, and we've hunkered down for the long haul. Soccer season officially began on Monday, and will run until Saturday, April 25th. That's 2hr. practices or multi-hour trips for games everyday except Sundays for 9 out of the next 10 weeks (Praise the Lord for Spring Break!). And that's in addition to the normal workloads of teaching, preparing Sunday school lessons, youth group devotionals, and the added workload of preparing for our move to California. So, as you can probably surmise, calling this a storm isn't a stretch. The coming months will not be easy, but Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do it, as long as our rest and trust is in Him. So, PRAY that we will indeed put our trust in, and find our strength in, Him.

I got our new uniforms ordered yesterday, and the company making them said they would be in next Thursday at the latest. Our first game is next Saturday, so we're cutting it a bit close. The uniform makers are usually pretty good about sticking to the time-frames they give. So, everything should work out well. The assistant coach and I picked-out FC Barcelona-style uniforms for our away jerseys and EPL Middlesborough-style uniforms for our home jerseys. We did everything online or over the phone, so right now I'm a little worried that something will be messed up when the uniforms arrive. The office worker that helped me with translation and everything is really good, though, so I hope that they turn out as good as we wanted. Our team has taken a lot of hits in the off-season. We had 3 senior starters last year, and 2 of them were our defensive wings, and the other was a mid-fielder. Our MVP from last year, who is a senior this year and was most likely going to be our team captain, is currently undergoing traction therapy for a slipped disc in his back, and will miss at least 3 weeks of the season. Our starting goalie cut up his leg on some razor wire bad enough to need stitches and won't be able to practice until late next week. And 3 other players from last year have been told by their parents that they can't play for academic reasons. So, that's no less than 8 players that we had last year that we don't have now (that's a third of the team roster). We are the defending champs this year, a role with which we are not familiar. I think we surprised everyone last year, but that will not be the case this year. The other teams will be gunning for us for sure. There are some bright spots, though. A few players from two years ago that weren't able to play last year have returned, and a few new students have signed-up and exhibited some promising potential. These new players are just needing to become familiar with our team's structure, and as we continue to practice and play together, I'm sure they will fall into the positions we need them to fill quite nicely. They are already showing a decent level of teamwork after just 3 days of practice. PRAY that Coach Lowell and I will have the wisdom necessary to draw them together as much as possible next week before our first game.

My younger son, David, is performing in a school play this evening. He has a minor speaking role in a play called "Nic at Night", a modern re-telling of the Biblical account of Nicodemus' meeting with Jesus in John 3. It has a strong Gospel message weaved into it, and our school chaplain will be sharing a salvation-based devotional after the play. There will be many unsaved parents and siblings there. Please PRAY that hearts will be drawn to Christ through the message of the play and devotional, and that souls will be won.

Next week is our Spiritual Emphasis Week at school. We have chapel services every day instead of just on Wednesday. The theme of the week is 'relationships'. We have a pastor from teh Philippines coming in to speak to the students on Wednesday through Friday, and Mr. Lowell and I are scheduled to speak on Monday and Tuesday. I will be bringing a message on sin's effect on relationships on Monday, and Mr. Lowell will be talking about friendships on Tuesday. PRAY that we will be used of God to impart the message that He has for the students, and that we will see meaningful and permanent changes in their lives.

The following week, on Thursday, March 5th, we will be conducting our annual Purity Seminar at school. This is when we split the boys from the girls, and high-schoolers from the middle-schoolers, and talk about Biblical perspectives concerning sexual matters. This year proves to have some interesting and needful topics. I will be bringing a workshop following up on a video we will share with the high school boys about three different aspects of love found in the Old Testament. Please PRAY that God's Holy Spirit will have complete freedom in the hearts and minds of the messengers and students alike that day.

Not much else is going on here. I haven't heard much word of any new developments in Martinez, but by and large, I assume that no news is good news for the time being. Continue to PRAY that God will provide the right living accomodations for my family and I, as I believe that Pastor Rushing is still looking at different places. And continue to PRAY that God will keep preparing our hearts and minds, and that of the congregation of Bethany Baptist, for our new ministry there.

In His Service,

Sam.

A Calm Before the Storm...

I think we have entered the proverbial calm before the storm in our transition back to the United States. Nothing much is going on in our neck of the woods. We're simply in a holding pattern in many different aspects. Moving companies won't come to give us an estimate until the end of March or the beginning of April. Pastor Rushing is running down some leads concerning housing. In fact, he told me on Friday that he was going to look at no less than 5 houses on Saturday. Still, though, it's rather early in the 'game' to be able to nail down a lot of details.

I have begun Spanish language lessons with our high-school principal once a week. One possible ministry in Martinez will be an outreach to the Latino community. So, I'm going to try and learn as much as I can before we leave, and then continue to study once we get there.

Michael and Dulcy are doing well home-schooling. Michael's grades have picked up in all of his subjects, and he continues to improve. So, we are thinking that he is simply a one-on-one learner who's too easily distracted in a classroom environment.

I'd like to praise the Lord for all the church members from Bethany Baptist Church who have been communicating so much with Dulcy through Facebook. She has remarked many times how comfortable she already feels with our new church home, and how much it already feels like a family.

Things around here are about to kick into high-gear, though. Soccer season for our school begins next Monday, and I'm the head coach. We had sign-ups last Thursday and Friday, during which we had 23 make their mark, and our first meeting is tomorrow. The season will only last about 2.5 months, but we'll play close to 14 games in the regular season. And then there's a two-day tournament that ends the season. So, it's a whirlwind to say the least, especially considering that it's in addition to all our regular school responsibilities. And once the season is over, we will be very close to the end of the school year and our departure.

So, just a few things for everyone to keep in your prayers:
Pray that we will be able to find a reliable and inexpensive shipping company for our belongings.
Pray that we will have wisdom deciding what to take back with us.
Pray that God will lead Pastor Rushing to the right housing accomodations for our family, both financially and spatially.
Pray that I will be able to stay on top of my school responsibilities and transition planning during the soccer season.
Pray that Dulcy and Michael will continue to do a tremendous job home-schooling.
Pray that my brain will be a sponge during my Spanish lessons.
Please continue to pray for my family in San Antonio, Texas, with the passing of my Aunt Beth.
Please pray for Skip Byars, a deacon at Bethany Baptist Church, whose wife passed away last week.
Please continue to pray for Pastor David Richardson of Uijongbu Community Church who suffered a stroke 2 weeks ago and is continuing to improve.

And that's about it for now, I think. If any of you would like to support our transition financially, you can send your support to the following places, and we will get it:

The Healey's
c/o International Christian School
P.O. Box 23
Uijongbu, South Korea, 480-600
(This is the school's address. If you send support to this address, please make checks payable to 'ICS-Uijongbu' with our name on the "memo" line.)

The Healey's
c/o Bethany Baptist Church
5850 Alhambra Ave.
Martinez, CA 94553-5703
(This is the church's address. If you send support to this address, please make checks payable to 'Bethany Baptist Church' with our name on the "memo" line.)

In His Service,
Sam.

Put Him in the game...

More often than not, when people brag they are doing so on their own behalf and for their own furtherance. As such, I try not to be one to brag, but sometimes you just can't help yourself. Thankfully, though, this isn't one of those times when I'm trying to make myself look good, or even just better. This is one of those times when I can seriously and sincerely say that I had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the greatness of which I am about to brag.

You know, sometimes, we think we have to do everything ourselves...kind of like God gave us the ability to do some things so that He wouldn't have to help us as much or some such thought. I used to think that way. I used to think that God only helps those who help themselves. But then I slowly began to realize that without God's help, I'm helpless. The more I tried to things on my own, the more I failed. The more I tried to keep God on the bench, the more I was defeated.

You see, God isn't that member of the team that should be coming off the bench. He's that member that should never come out of the game. In fact, when we pull him out of the game, because He never pulls Himself out, we immediately begin to slide into defeat. And we think it's because we aren't working hard enough, or because we aren't praying enough. In reality, we are defeated because we tried to take the place of absolute greatness. Think of it, if we were in a pick-up game of basketball, and Michael Jordan was on our team, would we put him on the bench? Or what if we were in a pick-up game of hockey, and Wayne Gretzky was on our side, would we have him sit and watch? I don't mean to elevate these individuals to a level that they don't deserve, but the idea is clear. It's illogical, if not down-right stupid, to take someone who is so completely capable of doing a better job than us out of the game just so that we can get in there and try to do it ourselves.

You know, when Dulcy and I first began to think of transitioning back to the United States, our minds were filled with "what-if's". What if we can't afford plane tickets? What if we can't afford a good enough car? What if we can't afford a good enough place to live? What if...What if...What if...etc., etc., etc. We were failing to see the goodness of God. We were failing to realize that God was pleading, indeed He was screaming, "PUT ME IN THE GAME!!! TRUST ME!!! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!!!"

Well, in the month since we decided to trust God with our future, He hasn't ceased to amaze! Remember those "what-if's"? God has provided plane tickets for my entire family back to the US for only $2400...that's for no less than five people. God has provided a car for our family at no charge to us through one of His obedient saints. It's the one pictured above...a 2001 Cadillac STS with only 60,000 miles on it. A far cry from the clunker I was probably going to end up purchasing. And the pastor with which we are going to join in the ministry has said that he thinks he has a 4-bedroom, 2-bath house for us to rent for a good price when we arrive. Would you like to know the extent of our involvement in any of this? Simple acceptance. We didn't have to lift a finger, except to type in our information for the plane tickets. Everything just plopped in our laps.

If God is sitting on your bench, put Him in the game. He wants to win it for you so that you may glorify Him in your victory. He will not impose His greatness. But He will exercise it as soon as you put Him in the game.

Our God Reigns!!!