tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-367828522012-02-05T19:27:08.517+09:00thoughts and tales of a sojourner in korea.mruttersonnoreply@blogger.comBlogger491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-43598374825040484372011-08-09T21:41:00.000+09:002011-08-09T21:41:50.128+09:00

A question to those who find this post. Prayer is a powerful thing. Having a prayer answered is a tangible demonstration for us of the real, active, working power of God in our lives. God has recently answered a number of my prayers. I'm confident that He has been granting my requests which are made according to His will for a long time, but I haven't really been paying attention so they have

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-49663740131088001402011-08-09T09:47:00.001+09:002011-08-09T21:42:46.022+09:00

The Jump of a Lifetime Those of you who know me personally, know how passionate I am about a particular hobby of mine. That hobby is cliff-jumping. I love it. I love the total experience of not just jumping off cliffs, but also the experience of discovering new places and being able to appreciate the beauty of some relatively unknown places in Korea. The activity is more than just jumping.

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-50506612611426850692011-04-30T18:24:00.002+09:002011-04-30T18:24:59.001+09:00

The Burning Scarecrow There’s something that bothers me. It doesn’t bother me terribly, but I find it a little frustrating. There’s this man, made completely out of straw, who I’m constantly running into. The poor guy is always being set on fire by people I talk to. It’s embarrassing, really. I don’t know why people feel so comfortable to set straw men ablaze right in front of me, but it

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-67258416468099992222011-03-31T11:12:00.000+09:002011-03-31T11:12:23.563+09:00

Love in the Void God is love. What a wonderful statement. The fact that we serve a loving God is such a comforting, praiseworthy truth. It’s something that we take solace in during difficult times. Love is such an overwhelming concept that even those outside of the Christian faith recognize its value. All we need is love. Change the world with love. People look for love, desire it. We

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-55503922671997001132011-03-31T10:04:00.000+09:002011-03-31T10:04:39.556+09:00

To those of you who read this blog regularly (all 3 of you), I'd like to write a note of apology for taking such a long hiatus. I've had a month of transitioning here in March. I've begun 2 new jobs which require a good portion of my time, and my responsibilities at home have also required a little more of a concentrated effort. For these reasons, I've been unable to produce anything this

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-70662863789792004372011-02-28T17:53:00.000+09:002011-02-28T17:53:33.242+09:00

Question About Job As I laid out earlier in my post titled ‘On Formats,’ I will be using this section of my blog to address questions posed to me by readers, or writing about other miscellaneous subjects. It so happens that I received a question from an anonymous reader regarding the book of Job. I was debating whether or not to address the question, since it comes anonymously and I’m not

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-74685836085459829422011-02-14T11:07:00.000+09:002011-02-14T11:08:35.672+09:00

Service! I’ve lived in Korea for over six years now. Time has just flown right by. I never expected I would live here for so long. Yet here I am. I’m practically a citizen! With time spent living in a foreign land, cultural differences often disappear from the memory. What once stood out in my mind as strange practices by the Korean people are often now taken for granted as cultural norms

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-48024853966577745282011-02-08T15:51:00.002+09:002011-02-08T15:53:46.493+09:00

The Calling of God / Ambition When I was younger, I had all kinds of aspirations for my life. My ambitions seemed to be limited to whatever had my attention at the moment. Now I was a hockey player, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to its first Stanley Cup since 1967 (I still sometimes fantasize about this, sadly). Now I was a fireman saving people from blazing buildings of death. The things

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-14952139299630490402011-02-02T16:56:00.003+09:002011-02-02T16:58:22.144+09:00

The Suffering Man In 2011, I’ve decided along with my wife to read through the Bible in a year. We’ve implemented a plan that takes us through the Bible chronologically. We’ll see how it goes and if it’s easier to see the plan of God in the world by doing it this way. I’ve never attempted to read the Bible this way before, and I’m hoping that God blesses us in this. The first book we read

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-62543336858654266982011-02-02T16:56:00.001+09:002011-02-02T16:56:34.950+09:00

Another year of living, another year of learning. 2011 is here, and with it comes a new format for my blog. Instead of just giving a hodge-podge of random musings and ponderings, I’ve decided to try and focus it a little more. To do this, I’m going to create four sections of writings. Since there are roughly 4 weeks in every month, I’ll write for one section each week. The sections will be

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-66579975128677782652010-11-22T10:17:00.000+09:002010-11-22T10:18:19.727+09:00

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for a celebration. A lot of things have happened this year, but this may overshadow them all. There may just be no newsworthy stories as big as this one. What is this ‘news of news,’ you ask? Well, none other than the official post that brings this year’s blog entries to the highest number of any previous year! That’s right boys and girls, this post is my 12th

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-18813215011644689062010-11-18T10:14:00.003+09:002010-11-18T10:18:09.589+09:00

I’m a big believer in communication. I feel quite strongly that the key to any good relationship is quality communication. Quality communication is entirely dependent on truth and honesty. You can’t have a good relationship with someone you don’t trust. Period. That’s why I’ve learned to place a high value on the integrity of my words; because they will end up being the measuring stick by

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-32901441087756497152010-11-01T14:01:00.001+09:002010-11-01T14:01:23.955+09:00

This morning I felt one of the greatest joys a father could ever feel. My daughter… cried. I know, I know. It’s cruel to take pleasure in something that causes your child pain, but, it really did warm my heart. I guess I should also explain why she cried. She cried because I was leaving. After hugging her in the morning and spending a little bit of time with her, it was time for me to go.

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-91180020865773110342010-10-11T11:10:00.010+09:002010-10-11T12:35:42.562+09:00

My little girl turned one not too long ago. We finally finished celebrating yesterday. We had 4 separate parties for her. The first came in August with my mother’s side of the family. She wasn’t even 11 months yet at that point. She had her very own cake made for her, but didn’t really dig into it like everyone was hoping. She just tenderly touched the cake, inspecting it to see what it

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-49494457830244589642010-08-31T15:53:00.002+09:002010-08-31T15:57:42.549+09:00

The break is officially over. I’m back working again, back ‘into the swing of things,’ by which I assume means back into the usual routines of my daily life. You may have noticed that just after I said I was going to try and blog about once a week, I suddenly stopped posting blogs. I was going on vacation and decided that entailed everything in my normal life, including writing. It was a much

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-18409350870533006222010-07-05T13:44:00.001+09:002010-07-05T13:44:47.994+09:00

There have been many different minor issues floating through my head lately. None of these has really taken up a significant amount of time, I’ve only thought about them in passing. There has not been a major issue that has taken up my time as of late, and that’s probably because I’ve just been too lazy to put in the time to think through an issue to completion. Only having minor, passing

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-60386017091996095842010-06-28T09:56:00.001+09:002010-06-28T09:57:38.304+09:00

This last week was a doozy. I found myself so discouraged by the end of the week, I literally just wanted to leave my life behind, sever all connections and live alone with my family in the woods somewhere. Every now and then I have this kind of desire. I grow so frustrated - hurt is probably a better word - by the people around me that I wish I could just start a new life somewhere else. But

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-33081572783561054112010-06-25T15:05:00.001+09:002010-06-25T15:05:51.208+09:00

So I’ve set a goal for myself to write a blog once a week. It’s not really a firm resolution, rather just a loose ideal I’d like to maintain. I wouldn’t be particularly crushed if I were to miss a week or two here or there. The problem is though, as with most things, when I began to make small excuses here or there to not do something I’ve previously decided I want to do, it often leads to

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-80654359692076291782010-06-07T11:36:00.001+09:002010-06-07T11:39:23.834+09:00

I had to think for a couple seconds about the title of this blog. I wanted to highlight the need for patience, prayer and humility, but titles with those concepts just wouldn’t adequately describe the purpose of this entry. The truth is, I want this blog to be an adequate reminder of an attitude and practice that I want to maintain in my life. I figured the title should reflect the attitude

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-21425751727448524482010-05-31T08:57:00.005+09:002010-05-31T09:41:49.224+09:00

It seems it's been a while since I've really written about a subject with the intention of finding an answer. I don't just mean posted on this blog, but actually taken the time to really think over and meditate on a subject. I've thought about things, true, but I just haven't really been searching for answers. I think I've just been enjoying the process of thought. Certain philosophies have

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-76202138561316859952010-05-20T15:49:00.003+09:002010-05-20T15:51:35.909+09:00

Sometimes things happen to me or I witness things and just chuckle about them to myself. I don’t tell anyone about them. I’ve been thinking that it’s kind of sad that I don’t tell anyone, because sometimes they’re funny little anecdotes or interesting stories that add some colour to my life’s story. I thought I’d just write about them and post them on my blog. That way they’re recorded, so I

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-17131788317990695682010-04-26T16:06:00.002+09:002010-04-26T16:09:48.554+09:00

I’ve been a Christian for a long time, and the majority of that time has seemed to be a little, shall we say, flat. I’ve often marvelled at the descriptions of power that surround the early Church in the New Testament. I’ve often asked myself the question, ‘why don’t you see power like that in your own life?’ We’re certainly told that belief in the Gospel brings with it an incredible power to

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-72051872699643750422009-09-30T07:32:00.004+09:002009-09-30T07:55:51.141+09:00

We went into the hospital on September 28th at around 8:00. After checking into the hospital, your dad took the car back home and rode back in a taxi. Your mom was surprised that I was able to call the taxi to our house. Luckily, I knew just enough Korean at that point to order a taxi. After I arrived at the hospital, we waited till about 11:30 when a nurse gave your mom something that was

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-12092395312216385662009-04-26T00:52:00.002+09:002009-04-26T00:55:51.952+09:00

When we hear the phrase ‘enemies of God,’ what sorts of people come into mind? I called a few people from ICC this week and asked them. Their answers were all pretty much the same: an unbeliever, someone who isn’t saved, someone who lives in unbelief. Other answers included Satan and the demons. We could also include satanists, atheists, murderers, rapists, child molesters and a whole slough

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-79618708974730847672009-03-16T09:19:00.002+09:002009-03-16T10:03:15.610+09:00

because my wife is pregnant with our first child. Most of you probably already know this. I'm writing to sort of put some of my feelings about this in word form, so as to reference it in the future (therefore this post is more therapeutic for myself, rather than meant for everyone else). I definitely have very clear and distinct emotions after learning the news. I've been overwhelmed with

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-92178685276696099152008-12-27T14:45:00.001+09:002008-12-27T14:46:23.978+09:00

At the request of my wife who can't always hear me when I preach, I've decided to record my sermons and publish them as a podcast. You can click the link at the top left page of this blog in order to go to my page. Hope you enjoy it.

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-70647356649194486442008-08-29T15:26:00.002+09:002008-08-29T15:37:38.089+09:00

God is dead. So the famed Nihilistic philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said. In the wake of God’s death, many men tried to replace Him with various atheistic philosophies of life - and failed. When God died, we lost our sense of right and wrong and no longer knew up from down, or if there really even is an up or down. We became unchained from objective truth and were left floating aimlessly in

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-42640399892013151302008-07-23T10:45:00.002+09:002008-07-23T10:51:59.434+09:00

In my 20 some years of being a Christian, one thing that I’ve learned about myself is that the way I think about the world around me seems to be entirely different from the rest of society. Outside of the Church it’s very hard for me to find someone who looks at things with the same perspective that I do. In my younger years I was confronted on every side with people who wanted to change my

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-53539643438578966532008-07-23T10:27:00.003+09:002008-07-23T10:44:16.897+09:00

Well, to my one reader I'd like to say I'm sorry it's been so long since I've last posted. I've been terribly busy. I had my wedding ceremony on May 31, spent my honeymoon in a private resort in the Philippines, and have been getting used to married life. I'd like to begin this post by saying praise the Lord for He is good. Last night a friend of Eunji's came to believe in Christ for his

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-45648409450537459702008-05-15T18:07:00.003+09:002008-05-15T19:44:35.055+09:00

Because so many people were wondering, I've decided to finally write and clarify my current situation. There has been much confusion as to whether or not I'm married, who I married, when I got married, why I got married, etc. I truly do apologize to those of you who are close to me, and who I have left in the dark concerning my life, with the excuse of being busy. As C.S. Lewis said "Be sure

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-61773782634752276422008-05-04T17:28:00.002+09:002008-05-04T17:32:19.898+09:00

Eunji's Pastor to my parents: "I want to eat your family"

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-60515804910977475442008-01-22T23:15:00.002+09:002008-01-22T23:25:06.316+09:00

I'm getting married...... . . . . . to this girl. . . ... ...... .. |. . . . . .. ...... |. . . . . .. ...... |. . . . . .. ...... \/(the one in the glasses)Yay!

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-86506015564047609492007-12-07T10:26:00.000+09:002007-12-07T10:55:24.973+09:00

This past November, my grandmother passed away. I had the opportunity to share some words about her at her funeral. I've decided to post them here on my blog... I’m thankful for the opportunity to share a few words about my grandmother, Effie Dureno. As I was trying to think about what to say about my grandma, the question kept nagging at me: how do you say a few short words about

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-40382339234082239512007-12-07T10:00:00.001+09:002007-12-07T10:00:46.376+09:00

In the first session, we talked about our need to interact with our culture, and the role of apologetics in evangelism. We discussed the situation we find ourselves in today and talked about how it is somewhat necessary today to engage in a sort of pre-evangelism. I also said that the goal of this weekend is to provide us with a few simple arguments in defense of the Faith. In this session, we

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-14781264965865724322007-12-07T09:55:00.000+09:002007-12-07T09:59:54.749+09:00

During the middle of November, our church held a retreat which was focused on apologetics and evangelism. I've decided to post the transcripts for three of these messages here on my blog. Comments are more than welcome.Session 1 - Apologetics/Evangelism In preparing for this weekend’s messages, I was challenged with thinking of a topic which holds relevant to our church today and which fits

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-67876837818202689132007-10-23T17:11:00.000+09:002007-10-23T17:12:29.532+09:00

Well, it's been a while, and a lot has happened in my life. I've come back from a great summer at home with family and friends, to a situation I wasn't expecting back in Geoje. My life has changed a lot here in Geoje. This place is no longer the sanctuary and refuge that it once was for me. I had used this place previously to escape into myself; to relax and avoid the pressure and pace of

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-59515368260723882222007-05-20T19:43:00.000+09:002007-05-21T08:19:11.375+09:00

May 19th, 2007 I sit here on what looks to be one of 4 final weekends here in Geoje-do. I sit here knowing that I made a good first (last) weekend of it. At first when it really hit me that I might really be finished here, I grew pretty sad. I love it here. The island is beautiful, the church is great, the alone time is wonderful, and the job is more than I can ever expect to have again.

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-5147023425619330792007-04-02T17:43:00.000+09:002007-04-02T17:48:27.055+09:00

I went to Seoul 2 weeks ago, and saw some old friends. Had a good time skating with Evan and Johnny T, and was able to catch up with some friends that I hadn't seen in a year or more. I could relate a dozen different stories about the trip, but I won't. Instead I'll share with you one observation that I had on my bus ride there...3/23/07On the bus ride into seoul, there was an older couple

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-86601204620852629102007-03-21T07:26:00.001+09:002007-03-21T07:26:03.072+09:00

Click to Play Just a video for my sis

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-48705357065327934922007-03-19T10:20:00.000+09:002007-03-19T11:32:53.559+09:00

After being in Korea for more than 2 years now, I would have thought that there was not a whole lot left to experience. The past few months have shown me to be incredibly wrong. Although I could write about several different things, the past weekend should suffice. The weekend was full of friends. Friends are a good thing to have. They make the experiences we have that much better. Eunji

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-66675767294474845872007-03-19T09:54:00.000+09:002007-03-19T10:19:50.342+09:00

Here it is... finally. I've taken a long hiatus from writing, taking the opportunity to establish myself somewhat in my daily life. Taking the opportunity to sort out all of my previous hang-ups about church while working to establish a church here in Okpo. It's been a time for quiet reflection, and hectic activity. Since my last written post, I've gone back to Canada to visit with my family

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-16301570951020302592007-03-12T10:26:00.001+09:002007-03-12T10:26:00.698+09:00

Click to Play Scrub boarding

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-10380363955496581092007-01-26T11:46:00.001+09:002007-01-26T11:46:07.184+09:00

Click to Play This is just a little tribute to my friends and family. The seemingly inconsequential things that we do every day are the really important things that we ought to cherish and not take for granted. Every smile, every motion of the hand, every loving word should be taken in and remembered. Thanks to those who make my life so special.

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-1164853653986480952006-11-30T11:25:00.000+09:002006-11-30T11:28:30.716+09:00

This place is growing colder as the sun is slowly setting. My shadow grows longer with every minute that the sun sets. The closer the sun is to disappearing, the bigger a shadow I cast. Indeed the impact I have on the world is a dark, obscure blackness. I am nothing but an obstacle to the sun. My mark on the world grows larger, the more the sun sets, but should it finally set I would be

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-1163499345208323482006-11-14T19:14:00.000+09:002006-11-14T21:40:28.803+09:00

11/11/06 This past week has been one of exceptional spiritual dryness for me. I had no desire to be in communion with God. I had no desire to do anything but veg out. When Jaynie told me no one had signed up to speak and asked me to do the message, I felt entirely disinclined to do it, and even felt as though I would be hypocritical in doing it. This was a false sense of shame at my

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-1162865635134086912006-11-07T11:13:00.000+09:002006-11-07T11:13:55.143+09:00

miss ya brother!

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-1162728686302669182006-11-05T20:48:00.000+09:002006-11-05T21:11:26.313+09:00

If (God's) help is not a metaphor, neither are (His) commands. If (He) can answer when you call, then (He) can speak without your asking. If you can go to (Him), (He) can come to you. - C.S. LewisThere is nothing certain, nothing except the nothingness of everything that is incomprehensible to me, and the greatness of something incomprehensible but all-important! -Leo Tolstoy It’s been nearly

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-1162212132444972302006-10-30T21:35:00.000+09:002006-10-30T21:42:12.456+09:00

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36782852.post-1162120667027324822006-10-30T20:30:00.000+09:002006-10-30T20:37:22.376+09:00

North Korea is threatening to bomb the world with nukes. Bush is doing what he can to annihilate the idea of democracy. Stephen Harper is eating a hot dog. I am keeping aloof from the goings-on of the world, and exploring the little island which God has in His grace planted me. This weekend Johnny T and Aussie Jon came and visited me. I picked them up at about 3am on Saturday from the bus

mruttersonnoreply@blogger.com1