River Walk

While Erin was riding her rocking horse the other day, Grace was walking the dog with Jiji (my husband), Baba (me) and Aunt Meimei (Mary) along the river. In our family walking is all about relationships. Its about enjoying life together. On a good day we walk together morning and evening. We've discovered that in the cold weather it helps to have a dog! But on a nice day, its not hard to set out a long the river and ENJOY God's creation. (We have a fantastic view of Mt. Iwaki.)

Grace

Independence!

She got on AND off all by herself!

Daughter #1 has been sending photos again. This time of her daughter, Erin, enjoying the rocking horse her Jiji (my husband) made.

"It's not my problem!"

Daughter #3 and I watched Spiderman while my husband was away in Gosh this evening. I think Mary must have enjoyed it - she says that now we have to watch Spiderman 2 and 3. But quite frankly... By the end I was feeling pretty depressed. I think it started when Peter Parker doesn't stop the robber - "Its not my problem." - and the robber kills Peter's uncle when he steals his car for the get away.

We had talked about (downward) church trends this morning and after my husband came home this evening we were listening to a White Horse Inn Episode on Church as Entertainment (that started with a perfectly terrifying recording of Amy Temple MacPherson) when I was interupted by one of my many daughters. We talked about her church problems.

And by the end of the day I just wanted to say "Its not my problem. What can I do about it?!" However, whenever I take that route I seem to pay - like Peter Parker.

You can see where this is going. I felt L O W.

But as we prayed tonight - perhaps Kris's greatest legacy here was the introduction of evening prayers to the Elliot household - a G K Chesterton quote came to mind."At least five times the Faith has to all appearances gone to the dogs. In each of these five cases, it was the dog that died."

Mary's Flowers - did you know that pansies smell like roses?

After that I should have gone straight to the bath but was sidetracked by Mary showing me Happy Slip videos on You Tube - pure diversion. But a somewhat happier diversion than Spiderman!

My husband, the Preacher

Today was pulpit trade. My husband preached to a congregation of 3(!) - the Pastor's wife, the Pastor's mother and the member of our own congregation who was serving as his driver - in a small town in Iwate about 2 and a half hours south of here and that Pastor preached here. It was good. But I must confess I'm rather partial to my own husband's sermons.

We have had so many English (only) speakers living with us for a few months at a time, and translating is so tedious, that I've begun writing synopses. This morning I was encouraged as I re-read last week notes which ended with this challenge:

We are no longer bound by the law but if you think you are free to sin think again! The Spirit is stricter than the law - Jesus said that even THINKING adultery was sin. BUT the Spirit enables us to do what is right.

We don't have to beat ourselves, starve ourselves (like Catholic monks). No, the Spirit helps us to live godly lives.

How?

Look at Romans 12:2 (a lesson we need to learn again and again.) To change our actions we must change our thinking.

Its not about will power. We must know and believe right things. Then the right actions will flow naturally without rules and beatings. If you are struggling with a sin you are believing/thinking wrong things and must change your thinking - not by will power but by knowledge of God.

Throw off your old thinking. Put on God's thoughts and then the right actions will flow out of that.

You stumble, you grow weary? Get up. Find your strength in God. When you repent he forgives. So draw near to Him. He loves you. He will strengthen you by His Holy Spirit.

Don't give up! Cling to Him who loves you. Live JOYFULLY!

Lord and Master

Whatever happened to the idea of Jesus as Lord and Master?

I don't like band wagons and I might not have a lot in common with Rick Warren - I'm pretty sure I never want to visit his church. However, I do like his book "The Purpose Driven Life." I read it the first time under duress - I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth - but I've willingly read it every time since because it makes this point: your life is not about you!

We live in a VERY SELFISH age - people never grow up it seems.

But that is sidetracking. A week or so ago I was reading through chapter 10 with a church member and I thought of another friend. "The very word that is needed just now!" ....or so I thought. But my friend angrily threw the book down after a page or two. Apparently Mr. Warren hit the nail on the head in the second sentence when he said "Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word 'submission.'"

I had a similiar conversation with one of the KGK alumni a few days ago. He didn't throw the book in the corner, but he does seem to have halted his reading with much the same feeling as my first friend...

I thought of this tonight as I watched the young people get high on singing. Its all very well to feel loving feelings toward God when you're singing. But can He still tell you love Him when you're watching movies, reading books, hanging out with your friends? What about when you're making decisions? In work? in love? Eating? Drinking! Do you love him then?

My newly graduated friend and I start reading together next week. Hoping for some good discussions!

I like improvements...

... as long as I am the one making them! I do NOT appreciate MS Office people improving me out of my shared address book and other favorite programs. I was entirely unhappy with them yesterday when I discovered that Rich Mail and HTML are now disassociated and so my newsletters went with no photos and no highlighting - all the layout that I had labored so long over. Poof! it just disappeared! But not in my sent box where it retained its glory - only at the other end where it was wanted.

Neither do I appreciate Geocities upgrading... They tell me its an improvement - what they forgot to tell me is why I can't find my File Manager so that I can actually use the new improved version! I spent hours Thursday and Friday and finally did something else instead.

Sigh...

So here are the photos that should have been in my newsletter.

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Yeah... its really a cell group or whatever is the lingo these days - its just a few of us meeting in Mrs. H's house. But we call it a prayer meeting to remind us of why we do it - and possibly because most of us are stubborn Tsugaru Jin, relatively unmoved by current trends

Good bye Party at Gusto

Kris almost missed his own good bye party! In a typical Elliot mishap he was left behind - I phoned my husband and reached a very bewildered Kris. "Nobody came and so I walked home. The house was empty but I heard this phone ringing in the closet." He was retrieved when my husband went back for his phone - and the party went on. Sigh... Oh well, it makes a good story!

Just in Time!

Last night we said goodbye to Kris...

Waving good bye at the bus station

And today the fall rain begain... Kris finished painting the church, our house and the shed just in time!

Kris finishing the house

We've had such good weather much of this fall. I've enjoyed the lovely warm days with blue skies but I don't think it will be very warm again for awhile - we saw the swans flying south yesterday!

God's timing again. John's been talking of painting for ever so long but Kris's determination and the blue skies co-incided this year. I don't think the church has ever been so shiny white before. Not even when it was new. :-)

Goodbye Kris

Kris left tonight on the Nocturne. The end of an era...

 

Life moves on quickly. We have a FULL weekend ahead of us and daughter # 3 is trying to hurry me off to bed because we have to be in Hirosaki tomorrow at 9. So reminiscing will have to wait.

What were we doing in Hokkaido?

We were invited by the Hokkaido OMF Japan Field Conference committee to do the children's program. And since all 4 of us love children - we naturally said "YES!"

OMF Japan in Hokkaido

Kids Program

Most of the photos are of the fun times - I guess we were too busy to take photos during the serious learning times!

These are the things we did

My husband, Mary, Kris and I all worked together on the kids program but our individual responsibilites were.... Bible teacher (my husband), mission stories and music (me), assistant (Kris) and toddlers (Mary).

John Elliot telling the kids about Daniel

The kids learned about Joseph Nishima (and his wife Yae)

... and the Kumamoto Band (rather like Daniel's band!)

Kris helped the kids with their kites, park golf

... and organized some other games, too.

Mary was often off with the toddlers.

Though a righteous man falls

My friend's youngest daughter is a budding artist and her drawings adorned their walls.

My husband liked this one!

All things work together for good...

... just doesn't feel like it when it starts.

Our daughter and her husband planned his day off to match our free time at the conference but when it rained last Wednesday the conference committee switched free afternoon to Thursday! I was NOT happy. I blamed God. Afterall, who controls the weather and the king's hearts. Sigh... I do know in theory that "All things work together for good for those who love God." But this wasn't theory... It was me watching it all go wrong.

John, Mary & Laurie Elliot with Jun, Anna & Erin Watanabe

Of course, God DID have it under control! Our good friends and colleagues stepped in and took the kids for the afternoon and we Elliots had a lovely afternoon relaxing in our room with the Watanabes - the women chatted while the men dozed.

And the next day God gave us a bonus that we never could have had without the rain and change of schedule - a visit with my very special friend (of 25 + years) Masae and her husband. After many years in Papua New Guinea they are planting a church in his home town - Fukagawa.

Mary & me with Masae and her husband Hideki Otsuba

After Long Silence...

Daughter # 1 , Anna Watanabe with her daughter Erin

Its hard to know where to begin! So I'll start with yesterday when we dropped in to visit our oldest daughter on the way home from the Hokkaido OMF Japan Field Conference. Erin is a friendly little girl and will leap into her other Grandpa's arms... but she was definitely Mommy's girl yesterday!

We need to visit more often...

I think some people are like this with church. Of course its a little uncomfortable, unnatural, because they need to visit more often.