Another South Korean hostage was killed yesterday. Today, Shim Sung-min, who was twenty-nine years old and preparing to go to graduate school, is present with the Lord.

Again, I have wept for his family. Again, I have asked myself, where's my faith?

While I have never met a single one of the hostages or their families, this, for whatever reason, has hit me very hard.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands."

Running, running, running...

That's what I've been doing lately. At first my runs were not fun. I didn't realize just how out of running shape I was! But now, I feel like I'm running long and strong. My training schedule had me run 7 miles today and I decided to romp through this great trail that takes me through the woods and, praise God, away from cars. I did the very same run last week effortlessly, but today I was struggling. The humidity is insane and perhaps my lack of a balanced breakfast (namely, two lemon cream cheese cupcakes that I made yesterday...what???) hurt me a little. Around mile five, my tongue was plastered to the top of my mouth and I was hallucinating about pools of fresh water. The rancid, brown river beside the trail was beginning to tempt me. Once I finally plodded to my car, I downed a liter of water from my Nalgene. I've really got to start eating and hydrating better. On a side note...have any of you tried any of the energy gels on the market? Successfully? Without throwing up? I bought several to experiment with and just tried a strawberry-banana Power Gel. Though it did give me more energy towards the end of a long run, it was foul. Please let me know if you've been pleased with any.

You are all probably quite aware of the South Korean hostage situation in Afghanistan. I'll be completely honest in saying that all of this has really shaken me. I have been brought my to my knees in prayer. I have cried for the family of the 42-year-old pastor, Bae Hyung-kyu who was killed. Just this morning I sat staring at a picture of his smiling face on Yahoo News and wept for him--but only for a second--and then God gently reminded me that to be absent from the body is to be present with God. Glory to God, my South Korean brother is quite alright.

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

So Bae Hyung-kyu, thank you for having sufficient courage.

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

This my prayer for the hostages.

Please remember to pray for Bae Hyung-kyu's widow, Kim Hee-yeon and the rest of his family and church. You know, all the South Korean Christians that I have met have always astounded me with their faith and the boldness with which they would share the gospel. I'm pretty certain that they are singing songs to their Father and pouring themselves out in prayer right now. Let's remember to do the same.