Rainy days=Lazy days

It's officially summertime, which means for Korea, monsoon season.

And this season has decided to start us off right away. Wednesday marked the first "official" day of summer, and it's definitely rained in some capacity, every day since. This also might have to do with the fact that a Tropical Storm Meari is currently headed up the waters on our west coast, no doubt pushing rain towards us. Or maybe not, it could just be rainy. I'm no meteorologist.

Anyway, continuing on.

Today was a particularly rainy day,
which I was glad for, because I had nothing of importance to get done. So staying home while it rained outside seemed like a perfectly good use of a Saturday. I even got to rest from working out this weekend, which is great, since my legs muscles are still sore from what I did this week.

And since it was rainy and I stayed in, I was also quite lazy. I did accomplish quite a bit of reading into my book club selection, Never Let Me Go. I'm almost finished! Which is awesome, cause I'm usually slacking on book club stuff. But I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to just sit and read today.

I also learned that staying in sort of pushed my laziness into my daily habits for the day. I didn't slack on my eating or anything, but I did realize that by 5pm, I hadn't consumed any water for the day. I mean, it's not a horrible set-back, but I have learned that I will consume water more easily when I'm out doing things. Since 5pm though, I have managed to drink 1.5L, so it wasn't a complete loss. :P

Finally, I got some more writing done today on the book of Daniel. I was able to complete the rest of chapter one. This called for a small bit of research towards the end, where I discovered that Danie's period of service in the king's court was 50 years. That's pretty awesome. I took a little more liberty with interpreting the thoughts of some of the people in the story, but I didn't change the events, so don't yell at me for 'adding or taking' from the Word of God. I don't think I did either of these things.

So, without any further rambling, I shall leave you with Daniel 1: 11-21:

Daniel wasn’t going to give up that easily though. If Ashpenaz would not let him have this, then he would find someone else who would bend to his desires. For this man of Judah was as stubborn as he was loyal to his God. And Daniel was not going to stop until he could do what he felt was right in the sight of the Lord.

There was another man placed specific over the four men of Judah, the one whom specifically gave out food and drink rations to them. If Daniel was going to achieve his goal, then he knew that this man would be the one to approach on the matter. Asking his request first of Ashpenaz might have appeared to the be the easiest way to do things, but now the men were going to have to resort to other means. Perhaps bribery, or maybe just a simple matter of outsmarting his enemy.

His approach to the guard was simple, casual in all of his mannerisms. The servant of God gave no hint as to what he was really thinking. Instead, Daniel just presented a simple test, one which he knew would interest the guard.

“I want to propose a challenge, or rather, an opportunity, if you will. Your master has ordered that we eat and drink from the King’s table. Now, while we have no doubt that it is the best in the land, we feel as if it is better suited for us not to consume of it. But I think he needs convincing. For this, I need your assistance.”

The guard was skeptical, but nodded slightly, allowing the other man to continue. “I propose a test. For ten days. Give us four men,” he gestured to the others who had accompanied him, “only vegetables to eat and water to drink, and nothing more. When the time is finished, compare our health to the that of the other men in your charge. Based on your findings, do with us however you see fit. No questions asked, we’ll accept whatever your decision is.”

While the chief of the court officials had some sort of liking to the men of Judah, this guard most definitely did not. He didn’t care to share his space and his privileges with the less superior culture. So the terms of Daniel’s test were quite welcoming to him. In addition, if the men did look worse for wear, than the guard could always blame it on them, say they had outright refused, and then stood back and watched as the king kicked the men to the streets. Then they would no longer be a problem.

Yes, he could definitely agree to this test.

The ‘testing period’ commenced, and at the end of the ten days, the men were all submitted to evaluations and tests. Surprisingly, David and his three friends were in better shape than any of the Babylonian men. This astounded, and greatly confused the guard. But he wasn’t going to question it, because that meant that he could continue to make sure these men didn’t eat what rightfully belonged to the Babylonians also training for court service. So the men of Judah continued to consume only water and vegetables for the remainder of their training.

Because of their dedication and loyalty to the True God, He not only blessed their physical stature, but their mental capabilities as well. God increased their ability to learn and understand all of the literature and knowledge that they were charged with knowing. All that the Babylonians grew up with, and learned through life, these men of God were able to understand and learn in the three years of their training. In addition, because of his determination to do what he saw as right, God granted Daniel the ability to understand all manners of dreams and visions.

When the three years of training were complete, the chief official brought all of the men before the king, to be questioned and tested, who would then judge their worthiness for service in his court. After speaking with all of the men, the king found that no one surpassed Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, in their wisdom and understanding, and in every manner of what had been done throughout their training. In fact, the king deemed them to be at least ten times better than any of the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. So enthusiastically, he welcomed them into his service.

Daniel remained their under the king’s service until the first year of King Cyrus, some fifty years later.