This blog will likely be changed again sometime. I'm starting a seperate blog called In His Name. Should update with more frequency. Will start big. Watch for fireworks.
Taylor
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Why? Part 2
Hey. Currently putting songs on my external hard drive so I can leave my cds behind, listening to the EA conference at E3, and thinking more about my reasons for going to South Korea.
The reason I'll highlight today is more if a driving force than money. Truthfully, money is pretty far down. This one, however, is not. This one is important. I feel called.
For about 10 years now I've felt the constant need to leave my own country for another. I ignored it for a time, but God wouldn't let me forever. I felt a drive to not only leave my country, but to go to Asia. It's a drive that consumed my thoughts, and I came to accept God was in it. The time is now right, and I have to go.
God has a plan for me and my wife as He does for everyone. For this season that plan means going to South Korea. I may not know why (I have a lot of guesses), but that doesn't matter. I know He does. He hasn't lead me wrong in the past, and I know He won't now. If He wants me to live half way across the world for a year than I will. I have to. He's done so much for me. More than I can imagine or explain. I cannot refuse Him.
I know following without knowing why I'm going sounds crazy to many. It's a little crazy to me. Despite that I know it's the right thing to do thanks to the scriptures:
"He who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:38
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I! Send me!" Isaiah 6:8
I must follow the Lord where He wants me to go if I am to be worthy of Him. Isaiah didn't know what the Lord wanted him to do. He just knew the Lord needed someone to do it. That's how I want to be. I don't need to know exactly what God has in store for me. He wants someone to go. I want to be one that shouts, "Here am I, Lord! Send me!" Sometimes you have to accept the assignment before the Lord will tell you what it is. He has revealed some of reasons to me, but not the entire picture. Those reasons will be discussed in a different post. For now I leave you with reason #2. I am called. The Lord wants me to to go, and I will go. This is the only reason there really needs to be.
Taylor K.
The reason I'll highlight today is more if a driving force than money. Truthfully, money is pretty far down. This one, however, is not. This one is important. I feel called.
For about 10 years now I've felt the constant need to leave my own country for another. I ignored it for a time, but God wouldn't let me forever. I felt a drive to not only leave my country, but to go to Asia. It's a drive that consumed my thoughts, and I came to accept God was in it. The time is now right, and I have to go.
God has a plan for me and my wife as He does for everyone. For this season that plan means going to South Korea. I may not know why (I have a lot of guesses), but that doesn't matter. I know He does. He hasn't lead me wrong in the past, and I know He won't now. If He wants me to live half way across the world for a year than I will. I have to. He's done so much for me. More than I can imagine or explain. I cannot refuse Him.
I know following without knowing why I'm going sounds crazy to many. It's a little crazy to me. Despite that I know it's the right thing to do thanks to the scriptures:
"He who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:38
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I! Send me!" Isaiah 6:8
I must follow the Lord where He wants me to go if I am to be worthy of Him. Isaiah didn't know what the Lord wanted him to do. He just knew the Lord needed someone to do it. That's how I want to be. I don't need to know exactly what God has in store for me. He wants someone to go. I want to be one that shouts, "Here am I, Lord! Send me!" Sometimes you have to accept the assignment before the Lord will tell you what it is. He has revealed some of reasons to me, but not the entire picture. Those reasons will be discussed in a different post. For now I leave you with reason #2. I am called. The Lord wants me to to go, and I will go. This is the only reason there really needs to be.
Taylor K.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Why? part 1
As I prepare to go to South Korea I often get asked why I'm doing this. I usually give some quick response, but really it's nearly impossible for me to lay out all the different motivations I have for doing this. There are so many vastly different reasons.
To start everyone should know I put a lot of thought into this. A LOT. I am not someone who just jumps into things. I think things out, and weigh the many pros and cons. When thinking about the pros and cons of this the pros well outweighed the cons.
One obvious motivation all understand is money. Since getting married my wife and I have had a very difficult time getting our hands on any, and had a harder time keeping it when we got it. Through moving at least once every year, to car repairs, to bills, bills, and more bills financial security has regularly escaped us. There's a reason we've spent the past year living with first my wife's parents, and then my parents. We couldn't find work that would enable us to keep doing it on our own. A lot of people are in this situation (especially people in their 20s like us).
There are few long term solutions to this problem, and even less short term. The long term solution we decided on is going back to school. It's what I definitely feel called to do, and my wife feels called in that direction as well. I'm likely to go to seminary, and that is cheaper than most schools, but not always. In order to go back to school without taking out tons of money in student loans to go on top of the student loans we're already paying off we need some financial stability. Teaching in South Korea for a year will make that possible. Living rent free with no gas bill for a year makes it pretty easy to save some money.
So there's one reason. There's really no better way to gain the financial stability we need. Even if there was, however, we'd still probably do this thanks to the countless other reasons. Reasons I will soon spell out in other post.
Taylor K.
To start everyone should know I put a lot of thought into this. A LOT. I am not someone who just jumps into things. I think things out, and weigh the many pros and cons. When thinking about the pros and cons of this the pros well outweighed the cons.
One obvious motivation all understand is money. Since getting married my wife and I have had a very difficult time getting our hands on any, and had a harder time keeping it when we got it. Through moving at least once every year, to car repairs, to bills, bills, and more bills financial security has regularly escaped us. There's a reason we've spent the past year living with first my wife's parents, and then my parents. We couldn't find work that would enable us to keep doing it on our own. A lot of people are in this situation (especially people in their 20s like us).
There are few long term solutions to this problem, and even less short term. The long term solution we decided on is going back to school. It's what I definitely feel called to do, and my wife feels called in that direction as well. I'm likely to go to seminary, and that is cheaper than most schools, but not always. In order to go back to school without taking out tons of money in student loans to go on top of the student loans we're already paying off we need some financial stability. Teaching in South Korea for a year will make that possible. Living rent free with no gas bill for a year makes it pretty easy to save some money.
So there's one reason. There's really no better way to gain the financial stability we need. Even if there was, however, we'd still probably do this thanks to the countless other reasons. Reasons I will soon spell out in other post.
Taylor K.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A Bold New Direction
Hello all! Been a little over a year, but it's time for things to get moving. I'm moving to Daegu, South Korea to teach English for a year at the end of this month. I am doing this with my beautiful wife, and am very excited for this opportunity. I have a million reasons for doing this, and I hope to write a post explaining the reasons very soon. One primary reason is I really believe I am following the Lord's will for me life. I feel He is sending me, and I must go. I am happy to.
Anyway, I hope this will be extremely enjoyable to read for everyone. I know very little about South Korea, and that's why I think this will be useful. You'll all learn about this country that's half way around the world as I do. Hope this will be fun. Hope I don't stumble into North Korea.
Taylor K.
Anyway, I hope this will be extremely enjoyable to read for everyone. I know very little about South Korea, and that's why I think this will be useful. You'll all learn about this country that's half way around the world as I do. Hope this will be fun. Hope I don't stumble into North Korea.
Taylor K.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Is the future here already?
Here's an update for anyone. The new and improved blog plan is still underway, but it's gotten side tracked by other priorities. What's happened is I got two totally unrelated book ideas I felt the need to write. That takes priority over doing the work I need to for the blog. I should finish with one or the other within a month or so (I'm over half way through with one), and when I do I'll get back to doing more stuff for this. I've done some of the work, and decided some important things, but more planning is still needed.
Here's hoping the next update will be a "change coming soon" update.
Taylor
Here's hoping the next update will be a "change coming soon" update.
Taylor
Monday, December 22, 2008
Into the future
Hey anyone who may be reading. This is just to let anyone know that I have not forgotten about this. In fact I have big plans and changes I intend to implement in 2009. A lot of work has gone into developing this plan. I think it's good, and I don't think there's another blogger out there who will be covering the same subject matter as I will. Servant Writer will go, and be replaced. The blog will still be writing related, but there will be another over arching theme to it. I want updates to be regular, and that means a lot of prep work on my part. This could take a few months, but it will be cool if I manage to pull it off. I'll post a more precise explanation sometime, but don't want to until I'm sure exactly how the blog is going to work. Here's hoping it will be good.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Taylor
Have a Merry Christmas.
Taylor
Friday, November 14, 2008
Michael Crichton
In the midst of the Presidential campaign many people missed an important piece of news. Michael Crichton died battling cancer. I’m not too sure what type of cancer, or exactly what age he was, but this is huge to me in so many ways.
I was part of the generation of children who grew up on JURASSIC PARK, a book Michael Crichton wrote. I remember being so excited to see that movie, and loving every single moment of it. Crichton introduced the world to the Velociraptor, and gave virtually every person a new favorite dinosaur. Sure, Spielberg helped, but the movie wouldn’t have been made without the wildly popular book. In my senior seminar class for my English major I was required to make a list of books I thought were new classics. I put JURASSIC PARK on that list, and I meant it. It’s an amazing book that inspired an amazing movie. I saw JURASSIC PARK so many times, and it inspired me.
There are so many other bestsellers he had, so many other great books with great movies based upon them, and a great TV show he created called ER that has stayed on the air for quite a while, but Jurassic Park sticks out to me the most. That and THE LOST WORLD that followed it mean the most to me. Most forget about THE LOST WORLD because the movie was just okay, but I would not say the same thing for the book. I read that when I was in sixth grade, and loved it. If the movie had been based on the book more I would have loved it just as much. Those stories were amazing for very simple reasons. Everyone loves dinosaurs. Michael Crichton realized that, and really just wrote a book based on “what if dinosaurs were in our world?” What a simple, brilliant concept. It did so well not just because kids loved it, but because everybody loved it.
As a writer I truthfully owe a lot to him. I know I’ve revealed very little about VALDEN’S HEIR, the book I’ve written, but it’s his success with JURASSIC PARK reminds me everyday that it’s a great concept. Dinosaurs play a very large role in VALDEN’S HEIR. Michael Crichton’s success with the JURASSIC PARK series is one of the main things I can point to as a reminder that people love dinosaurs. Books with dinosaurs can be huge. I may not have ever written VALDEN’S HEIR or gotten the original idea that inspired the entire series based in the world of VALDEN’S HEIR without JURASSIC PARK. I would have kept my love of dinosaurs a secret passion, and might never have realized that I could use them quite successfully as a writer. I owe that knowledge largely to Michael Crichton, and if I am ever lucky enough to be published I will not forget that debt.
So, I may not have written the most eloquent eulogy that anyone can. I may not have gone into the finer points of his career, and life. I’m sure others have and will, but that’s not really what I was trying to do. I wanted to be simple because a simple, brilliant concept is the reason I first loved Michael Crichton. He was an amazing writer with a beautiful imagination. His loss is a blow to all of us who desire to take readers on a journey to strange yet familiar places filled with exotic creatures. He will be missed.
Taylor
I was part of the generation of children who grew up on JURASSIC PARK, a book Michael Crichton wrote. I remember being so excited to see that movie, and loving every single moment of it. Crichton introduced the world to the Velociraptor, and gave virtually every person a new favorite dinosaur. Sure, Spielberg helped, but the movie wouldn’t have been made without the wildly popular book. In my senior seminar class for my English major I was required to make a list of books I thought were new classics. I put JURASSIC PARK on that list, and I meant it. It’s an amazing book that inspired an amazing movie. I saw JURASSIC PARK so many times, and it inspired me.
There are so many other bestsellers he had, so many other great books with great movies based upon them, and a great TV show he created called ER that has stayed on the air for quite a while, but Jurassic Park sticks out to me the most. That and THE LOST WORLD that followed it mean the most to me. Most forget about THE LOST WORLD because the movie was just okay, but I would not say the same thing for the book. I read that when I was in sixth grade, and loved it. If the movie had been based on the book more I would have loved it just as much. Those stories were amazing for very simple reasons. Everyone loves dinosaurs. Michael Crichton realized that, and really just wrote a book based on “what if dinosaurs were in our world?” What a simple, brilliant concept. It did so well not just because kids loved it, but because everybody loved it.
As a writer I truthfully owe a lot to him. I know I’ve revealed very little about VALDEN’S HEIR, the book I’ve written, but it’s his success with JURASSIC PARK reminds me everyday that it’s a great concept. Dinosaurs play a very large role in VALDEN’S HEIR. Michael Crichton’s success with the JURASSIC PARK series is one of the main things I can point to as a reminder that people love dinosaurs. Books with dinosaurs can be huge. I may not have ever written VALDEN’S HEIR or gotten the original idea that inspired the entire series based in the world of VALDEN’S HEIR without JURASSIC PARK. I would have kept my love of dinosaurs a secret passion, and might never have realized that I could use them quite successfully as a writer. I owe that knowledge largely to Michael Crichton, and if I am ever lucky enough to be published I will not forget that debt.
So, I may not have written the most eloquent eulogy that anyone can. I may not have gone into the finer points of his career, and life. I’m sure others have and will, but that’s not really what I was trying to do. I wanted to be simple because a simple, brilliant concept is the reason I first loved Michael Crichton. He was an amazing writer with a beautiful imagination. His loss is a blow to all of us who desire to take readers on a journey to strange yet familiar places filled with exotic creatures. He will be missed.
Taylor
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