BLUE FOREST SOAPBOX

Faith

2011-12-09T00:29:00.002+09:00

As my daughter in law was commenting last week on how not many people and churches commit to support missionaries monthly nowadays she wrote, "I often read Hebrews 11, and I always look at my daughter Faith and remind myself about what Faith is."

Yuko & Luke Elliot with Grace, Faith and Judah

The Elliot Express

What I'm reading this week

2011-09-20T13:22:00.001+09:00

How has it come about that we use the highly emotive word "stagnation", with all its malodorous andmalarial overtones, for what other ages would have called "permanence"? - C. S. Lewis

I've been reading Kenneth Myers - a strenuous read but a goldmine! I liked the above quote from C.S.Lewis's "De Decriptione Temporum" so much that I tracked down the lecture in its entirety. (Lewis's lecture can be downloaded at Community Books.)

Take time to smell the roses!

2011-09-06T00:06:00.003+09:00

We had another tea party today. Daughter # 4 and I planned it around a (rose) garden theme and my sister came with her two daughters. (Daughter # 3 would have joined us - but she was hospitalized last Tuesday with late pregnancy hyper-tension.)

Ghent & Elliot Women

Ginger Bread & Earl Grey Citrous

We played something like the "Ungame" (with a garden theme). As we shared garden memories my sister told us about a very special rose bush she used to stop and look at on her way to the super market. She reminded us to "Take time to smell the roses!" That's why we do tea parties!

Why I want an un-cool church

2011-09-03T22:50:00.006+09:00

I want a church that includes fussy kids, old liturgy, bad sound, weird congregants, and… brace yourself… painfully amateur “special music” now and then.

Why?

Well, for one thing, when the gospel story is accompanied by a fog machine and light show, I always get this creeped-out feeling like someone’s trying to sell me something. It’s as though we’re all compensating for the fact that Christianity’s not good enough to stand on its own so we’re adding snacks.

I’m not sure how this blog caught my attention. I’ve never never heard of Rachel Held Evans. Maybe it was the title – “Blessed are the un-cool”. It certainly wasn’t the first paragraph because I’d never heard of “Mumford and Sons” either!

But for some reason I started reading – and I was hooked by the second paragraph! (Quoted above.)

You might want to read the whole thing: Blessed are the un-cool

I like her final paragraph: We’re all un-cool. We’re all in need of a Savior. So let’s cut the crap, pull the plug, and have us some distracting church services… the kind where Jesus would fit right in.

Their own little world

2011-08-29T22:54:00.003+09:00

“...let it be remembered that most men live in a world of their own, and that in that limited circle alone are they ambitious for distinction and applause. Thus, cases of injustice, and oppression, and tyranny, and the most extravagant bigotry, are in constant occurrence among us every day. It is the custom to trumpet forth much wonder and astonishment at the chief actors therein setting at defiance so completely the opinion of the world; but there is no greater fallacy; it is precisely because it is precisely because they do consult the opinion of their own little world that such things take place at all, and strike the great world dumb with amazement.”

- Charles Dickens, “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"

Around the Table

2011-07-11T11:40:00.002+09:00

Saturday night we had quite a crowd around the supper table - my favorite kind of crowd! There's nothing quite like a diverse (at least 6 ethnic backgrounds this time) crowd of young people and lots of serious (and not so serious) discussion.

寂しい！

2011-07-04T23:23:00.003+09:00

I can't imagine life without trees! And I didn't want to imagine life without "the tree"...

But the power company didn't give us a choice, so last Friday my husband went to work.

It looks a bit bare out front now... But a lot sunnier.

And my husband says that, once the retaining wall is fixed, we can put in a shorter tree.

Happy Birthday, John Elliot!

2011-07-03T23:32:00.003+09:00

Today I was reminded of the line's Jehoachim Neander's hymn "Praise to the Lord": Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been, Granted in what He ordaineth?
I have a good husband - one I probably wouldn't have chosen without a little (a great deal of ?) help from my friends and relations - but who turned out to be what I desired. I am so grateful for what God ordained.

Favorite pastimes

2011-06-19T00:01:00.009+09:00

Our family is a family that reads together
... or listens to Audio Books together!

In the last year, Daughter # 4 and I have downloaded all sorts of books but of late we’ve listened to a prodigious lot of Charles Dickens and G.K. Chesterton. On the way back from Karuizawa we listened to the “Man Who Knew Too Much." But it’s his “Eugenics and Other Evils” that has me hooked just now. I love his wit!

“One is a means and the other an end; they are in different mental worlds. Leaving the complications of the human breakfast-table out of account, in an elemental sense, the egg only exists to produce the chicken. But the chicken does not exist only in order to produce another egg.” - G.K.Chesterton, “What's Wrong With the World”

OMF Video - 2011 Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami

2011-04-19T10:24:00.003+09:00

Some of our OMF colleagues put together a video portraying the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster.

OMF Kanto/Tohoku Earthquake from Mike McGinty on Vimeo.

It's not as informational as my husband's reports - its more image based and meant to stir your heart to prayer. We hope you'll take 5 minutes to sit down and view it prayerfully.

I'm staying, too!

2011-04-13T22:48:00.007+09:00

I must confess I've been having a really hard time with foreign news coverage of all the recent (tragic) events in Japan.

But tonight I finally found this article by David McNeill. Their country may be shattered, but their spirit is unbroken (The link will probably stop working in a few days - so read it soon.)

I love the final paragraph! It goes like this:

Above all, what will stay with me after these communities are rebuilt, the Fukushima plant is encased in its concrete coffin and the iodine, caesium and plutonium has stopped seeping from its bowels, is the way Japanese people carried themselves during this crisis. I'm thinking now of the smiles I saw around Iwate, of the many old people and children in the prefecture who shoved food into my hands and told ME to keep going. I think these qualities are social, not genetic, built up over generations, and possibly stronger in the northeast where life has traditionally been harsher. But whatever the reason, it works. And I'm staying.

Even then...

2011-03-31T16:16:00.004+09:00

When I was in 8th Grade my English teacher, Mrs. Gleason, gave me a small volume of poems entitled: "SILENT FLOWERS: A New Collection of Japanese Haiku Poems." I love that little book and its poems. My daughters, born and raised in Japanese schools, claim that haiku "just don't work" in English. But these poems - though perhaps different than the originals - still speak to me. One of my favorites through the years has been this haiku of Issa's:

A world of grief and pain: Flowers bloom; Even then...

I often make a trip to Takayama in Miyagi Prefecture during the spring vacation. These photos were taken by a student friend in April 2008.

The beach there was hard hit by "the tsunami." My friend, who watched from her home high on the cliff, said it was actually 3 incredibly large tsunami - and then the water just kept sloshing for next several days. Many of our friends lost their cars, their homes, their possessions, their businesses.... Yes, there is grief and pain. But as I listen to this friend and others I realize that "flowers bloom; even then!"

The inequities of life

2011-03-22T17:20:00.004+09:00

When our children were small one oft repeated piece of Elliot wisdom was, "Life isn't fair, Princess." And truly it isn't.

Life is good, but not fair - we don't all get the same cards! Some people get good cards and play them well, some people get good cards and play them badly. And truthfully, some people get bad cards which they may play badly... or they may play them well and win afterall.

My husband is down in Iwate again. In one of his earlier reports he said, "The eeriest thing is the abrupt line between the totally destroyed and the completely untouched. How will people process this? Half the town lost everything, the rest 'got off easy'; at least, it must seem so to the locals... "

Tsunami Damage Along the Iwate Coastline

Last week my husband wrote up some reflections:

P is for Panic - don't!

Yesterday he wrote Back to the Seaside and the photos above were taken to accompany that report. Looking at the photos one wants to echo his final question: "Who will clean up this colossal mess?"

And how will people process it? Will they play these "bad" cards well?

Don't be afraid

2011-03-15T00:58:00.005+09:00

Takayama, Shichigahama - now devastated by the recent tsunami

Why do people like to scare each other?

When something bad happens people like to talk about it and, to be honest, I do, too! But yesterday as the conversation around the table at church started getting dismal I was very conscious of the fact that there is a point of diminishing returns... I tried to introduce a bit of optimism into the conversation by sharing the Bible verses that have been comforting me. But almost as soon as I finished my sentence someone (whom I thought should know better) took it right back to the dark side. Sigh...

Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler. Jeremiah 51:46

God IS in control. We don’t have to scare ourselves with every dark speculation.

I will not fear

2011-03-11T21:10:00.002+09:00

I should be going to bed soon... Well, actually my usual bedtime is in three hours. But its dark and cold and bed would probably be more comfortable! But no one wants to sleep after an earthquake. At least not in my house!

We ate dinner by candlelight and tried to play a game (Cranium) but we kept wondering about this friend and that and when Daughter # 1 phoned with the news that was/is the worst earthquake in Japan’s recorded history (I’m not sure how they measure that... ) we gave up.

At that point we gave up and my husband went out and got the generator so we make contact with the outside world. A little... not much phone service!

I’ve been meaning to memorize Psalm 46 for a long time.

PSALM 46:2 Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

What chidren learn...

2011-03-11T09:14:00.003+09:00

This morning we received an email from Daughter # 1 that sent her father into fits of laughter for at least 5 minutes.

Kye annoying his big sister

The text accompanying the 2 photos was a quote from her frustrated daughter:

"Mommy! I scolded Kye. I don't have any patience! Kye takes my patience away!"

Conformity of Thinking

2011-03-09T00:13:00.002+09:00

"Just as iron filings are drawn to the strongest magnet, so minds weakened by a loss of truth are drawn to the most powerful positions."

- Os Guinness

You Must Not Quit

2011-02-16T14:42:00.004+09:00

An old classmate posted part of “You Must Not Quit” in her FB status the other day. It really resonated so I looked up the rest – well, to be honest a friend googled it for me – and the full text is:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst, that you must not quit.

- C. W. Longenecker

I love that last bit: “It may be near when it seems so far; So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit. It’s when things seem worst, that you cannot quit!”

I think of all I might have lost and I realize it was WORTH IT!

We need a new family photo!

(This is half of us at Mary's wedding last fall.)

I look at what might still be lost – and I keep going!

Ajigasawa Gospel Church

For my daughters - and all daughters

2011-02-11T18:37:00.000+09:00

But Not Through Me

2011-02-11T16:28:00.003+09:00

Last week I began re-reading a book by one of my favorite authors.

I'd forgotten how good it was. A few of the thoughts that really struck me were:

“The truth shall set you free” may be the most popular university motto across the Western world, but while the text still adorns the walls, the truth no longer animates the minds. (p.11)
Of the two, the postmodern view is unquestionably the more dangerous today – not because it is postmodern, but because it is current. (p.15)
If we live in truth and become people of truth, our primary responsibility will be evident – ourselves. Our overarching life-task will be clear – to seek the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth. And the one effective stand that no one can take from us will be certain – as Solzhenitsyn declared in his Nobel address, “Let the lie come into the world, even dominate the world, but not through me.” (p.19)
- Os Guinness, "Time for Truth"

I like that last paragraph!

How important to realize that"If we live in truth and become people of truth, our primary responsibility will be evident – ourselves."

And how important to determine in our own hearts: 'Let the lie come into the world, even dominate the world, but not through me.”

Winter reading... and rereading

2011-02-01T10:21:00.002+09:00

I reread Maxine Hancock's "The Forever Principle" last week. It was good!
"The old women are bolder than the rest. You couldn't turn them bad. They believe in God." Solzhenitsyn

Is there snow?!

2011-01-15T20:50:00.001+09:00

Our Little Girl in the Snow

The other day an old friend asked about the snow. A few hours later Daughter #1 sent these photos of her own daughter playing in Sapporo park. Yes, we have snow!

Dog to the Rescue

A little chilly!

2011-01-15T20:48:00.002+09:00

Newly married Daughter #3 sent us this photo last week. Apparently she heard her husband snorting with laughter and when she went to investigate she found the laundry had frozen on the line - in the house! A few days later she sent a photo of the water frozen in the cat's dish. We have a little more insulation than they do - they're renting an old farm house - but even here I sometimes feel a little chilly working upstairs.

I love this Old Testament blessing:

"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and
be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."
- Numbers 6:24-26

To be honest, in the middle of a January/February I want to FEEL His face shining on me!

Some of my favorite photos

2011-01-11T14:21:00.003+09:00

Nathan Elliot Smith

I’ve been thinking about God as a refuge and looking up verses about it ever since I quoted this one yesterday.

PR 14:26 He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,
and for his children it will be a refuge.

Not all of us have parents who fear the Lord. Some of the (now grown-up) children I have in my heart came from fear-full homes. Even for children from “Christian homes” there may come a day when they need to remember”:

PS 27:10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

I love this photo!

It reminds me of these verses in Isaiah:

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...”

Having nursed 5 babies my instinctive reply is a snorted “No way! A baby at the breast can’t be ignored!” And that’s the point – a mother’s love (even when she’s frustrated) is pretty strong but God’s is so much stronger.

And now I remember something else – a baby demands love. Maybe when we don’t “feel” God’s love it’s because we aren’t nuzzling up like a baby and looking for it - where we’re likely to find it!

A new little boy for Jesus

2011-01-08T13:16:00.001+09:00

Today I am a happy lady! Daughter #2 gave birth to her first child today, a son, Nathan Elliot

I wish I was in this picture!

Every time a baby is born I think of these words in Deuteronomy.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

If Nathan's parents follow this advice I think he'll find this proverb true: He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.

How will we celebrate?

2010-12-27T12:39:00.001+09:00

20th Wedding Anniversary (1995)

This year we will celebrate as we so often do – at Aomori Living English Camp .

Camp - circa 2002

Of course, later in January we’ll go out – dinner for two – and take our annual “Marriage Check-up” over coffee and dessert.

35 years good years

2010-12-27T12:16:00.004+09:00

Last night my husband and I watched a movie about our generation. It was a movie I would not recommend to you - but it WAS cause for reflection.

I am so glad that I did not engage in the free living that so many of my friends engaged in.

I am so glad that I had a grandfather who showed us by word and deed that building family relationships was way, way more important - and satisfying - than pursuing our own selfish interests.

I am not sorry that I married young and stayed married.

Today is our 35^th wedding anniversary and, quite frankly, I am happier than ever.

To all my young (and old) friends I pass on this good advice of Solomon’s:

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart. _{Proverbs 3:3}

A mother (in-law)'s good advice

2010-12-22T15:07:00.005+09:00

Last night I was chatting cheerfully with a daughter (who this time shall remain not only nameless but numberless) when the conversation suddenly took a gloomier turn as she wondered aloud whether certain friends of the family find her unpleasant.

I passed on my mother-in-law’s philosophy concerning human relationships. This can be summed up in her synopsis of a TV program she once watched about mothers-in-law.

One insightful mother-in-law said she wasn’t going to waste her time worrying about what her daughter-in-law thought about her because she figured that if you just concentrate on loving people as they are, sooner or later they will respond favorably. This is a good philosophy.

My wonderful mother-in-law

So my advice to my daughter last night and to everyone - men and women, young and old - is:

Don’t try to figure out what people think of you
- just smile big and love them as they are.

Comfort Zones

2010-12-20T10:33:00.002+09:00

The problems I’ve been experiencing with my right hand since the summer reminds me that foolishly ignoring signals of discomfort and pushing on with an uncomfortable activity may lead to sad (and chronic) consequences.

Yet, paradoxically, it’s sometimes good to explore the edges of our comfort zone and push the edges out a little.

We have some good reasons for not accepting teams and this week I remembered what they were. However, I was also glad that we laid those reasons aside this time - for other good reasons.

This week the team from Galilee Bible Presby terian Church in Singapore enriched our lives and blessed us in many ways. I hope we also blessed them!

The team from Galilean Bible-Presbyterian Church

I hope to see these people again!

My talented niece

2010-12-13T23:25:00.005+09:00

Mary asked her cousin Naomi to do the decorating for the wedding - on a shoestring - and she did one bang up job! I imagine she had some coaching on the side (from her mother) and I know she had some help (from her brother and also a friend or two) but we were impressed.

See if you can find the rabbits :-)

The picture Naomi used for the welcome board was drawn for Mary by one of her Sunday School Students at Takayama this summer.

Mary's Wedding - Naomi's photos

2010-12-13T23:21:00.004+09:00

Naomi's Album

(click on photo)

Messiah - the music we love

2010-12-07T23:03:00.002+09:00

Our youngest daughter phoned her sister this morning and discovered that the honeymooners will be back in time for Messiah after all I am so glad! (I did wonder how they could bear to miss it.)

Handel's "Messiah" in Hirosaki

Friday, December 10, 2010 at 6:30 PM

in the Bunka Kaikan (across from the park)

Witnesses

2010-11-29T20:15:00.004+09:00

On Saturday Daughter # 3 and her young man made their vows "before God and these witnesses." The witnesses were a pretty special lot of people.

From Renee's album (I'm glad our friends carry cameras!)

Over the years we have often talked about the importance of a wedding as right of passage and how doing things in the wrong order kind of screws up the significance. Daughter # 3 did things in the right order and it really did make the wedding extra special.She has always said you can see the look of anticipation on the faces and it did seem she was right. Anyway she was shiningly beautiful and he was so cute... nervous and happy. I think my favorite moment was when she took his hands and whispered "大丈夫!"

Yesterday - a beginning

2010-11-28T09:50:00.003+09:00

Yesterday Daughter # 3 was married at 2 pm and gone by 4 pm. By 8 pm we'd pretty well cleaned up - except for a lot of forgotten dishes and furoshiki. (The reception was just a simple Dessert Potluck in the church. )

Then we crashed a little - listened to Daughter # 4's birthday album "The Best of Rolf Harris"- and went to bed. For us the day was an ending: The end of all that tension building up to the wedding. The end of life with Mary. Well, not entirely they'll be living in the next town and attending the same church! But there'll be no more everyday with Mary.

Mary getting ready for the wedding

Of course, for the happy couple its a beginning. The beginning of a lifelong partnership. And we trust the verses read in the ceremony will prove true.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

As my brother-in-law pointed out, the 3rd strand in the cord is God. With God the strand of their marriage will endure.

Our favorite photo studio

2010-11-23T00:30:00.001+09:00

Daughter #3 and her fiancé had a photo shoot today at Iwakawa's studio in Goshogawara: Deux L'Attente.

Yoshiya and Mary

I was impressed!

Audio Books - listen while you work

2010-11-12T10:59:00.003+09:00

Under the influence of Daughters 3 & 4 I’ve been listening to audio books lately. I started with some P.G. Wodehouse they downloaded from http://librivox.org/ But last night I branched out and downloaded G.K.Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy” to listen to while I worked on Daughter # 3’s wedding dress.

Pattern for "the dress"

The book is not quite what I expected – but it’s good! Of course sitting in an easy chair with the book in my hands savoring every sentence would be even better. But that’s not an option open to me this busy November. So I'll listen while I work.

Who was G.K. Chesterton?

2010-11-12T10:53:00.002+09:00

Today as I started to download Chesterton’s “Heretics” at Librivox I found this excellent little biography:

The Author Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England on the 29th of May, 1874. Though he considered himself a mere “rollicking journalist,” he was actually a prolific and gifted writer in virtually every area of literature.

A man of strong opinions and enormously talented at defending them, his exuberant personality nevertheless allowed him to maintain warm friendships with people–such as George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells–with whom he vehemently disagreed. Chesterton had no difficulty standing up for what he believed. He was one of the few journalists to oppose the Boer War. His 1922 “Eugenics and Other Evils” attacked what was at that time the most progressive of all ideas, the idea that the human race could and should breed a superior version of itself. In the Nazi experience, history demonstrated the wisdom of his once “reactionary” views.

Chesterton wrote several works of Christian apologetics, the best known of which are “Othodoxy”, “Heretics”, and “The Everlasting Man”.

- Summary from Project Gutenberg

Safety in Family

2010-11-11T22:51:00.002+09:00

I could just leave the summer behind without comment but somehow I’m reluctant to do that. And yet it turns out I’m still not ready to speak either.

So I’ll post a photo from the summer and talk about today.

The Trepal Family (or some of it) July 2010

Daughter # 3 is getting married this month and I’m making her dress. And we hope – perhaps vainly – to take a home assignment January – March. So this semester I’m only taking one class at the university: Japanese Women’s Literature. Today we watched a movie about a darker side of Japanese culture in the early 1900’s and I had enough to say in the subsequent discussion that one of my classmates (a young man from China) cornered me after class, “I don’t understand... “ I don’t either. But I do know that whether its North America, Japan or anywhere at all there’s nothing like a strong family connection to keep a young man or woman from all kinds of trouble.

My New York slum born Grandfather knew that.

I'm Back

2010-11-06T09:59:00.002+09:00

おかえりー

Daughter # 1 sent these photos this morning with the comment "Welcome home." Her husband was away with work, but he's back home again now. :-)

I've been away, too. First I really was away - USA, Sendai, Hong Kong. But in recent months I've been here in Aji... just thinking. But I'm back now. It's time to write about all the things I've been thinking about.

Back on the job

2010-09-27T23:29:00.005+09:00

I returned from 3 weeks in Hong Kong full of ideas - but they’ve all gone out the window! At least for the moment. Its a little crazy around here. My husband is in high gear with renovations, budgets ...all to be finished in time for a mad dash to Canada in mid-October. Meanwhile Daughter # 4 has turned the house upside down fall cleaning. She’s also organizing Daughter # 3's wedding.

Maybe my ideas will come back to me. I hope so. But at the moment my life is VERY busy. And I’m back on the job.

2010 KGK Fall Retreat

Sacrifices that don't please

2010-08-28T10:13:00.002+09:00

Beware of the sacrifice of family

on the altar of service.

Beware of the sacrifice of (quality) time alone with God

on the altar of busyness.

Beware of the sacrifice of the Word of God

on the altar of experience.

Beware of the sacrifice of holiness

on the altar of giftedness.

Beware of the sacrifice of integrity

on the altar of money.

- Ajith Fernando

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 5:8

Congratulations Daughter # 3

2010-08-02T13:02:00.001+09:00

Mary and Yoshiya's Engagement Ceremony

July 25, 2010

The Sentence They Have Passed Upon Themselves

2010-07-29T16:37:00.003+09:00

One of the (only two) Christian albums I ever listen to...

A mighty storm is rising
A darkness in the land
But surely this must be a light
To those who understand
That all the prisoners of this Hope
Are about to be set free
As in one lightning moment
A familiar face at last they see

(Chorus:)
Who can abide the Day of His Coming?
Who can withstand the final Call?
If you do not stand by faith
You will not stand at all
You will not stand at all

The Valley of Decision
Begins to overflow
With some confused, bewildered
And some who seem to know
That this sad separation
Was their choice so they can tell
He simply speaks the sentence
That they have passed upon themselves

(Chorus)

Surely this must be our God
Behold the One we trusted in
He has come at last to save us
He has forgotten all our sin

(Chorus)

I like this song of Michael Card – probably because it reminds me of Handel’s “Messiah”: the Bass Air “But who may abide the day of his coming” followed by the Chorus “ And he shall purify”.

But Michael Card’s song has its own virtues. I especially like the second verse. That line “He simply speaks the sentence that they have passed upon themselves” sums up what Jesus told Nicodemus (in John 3) so perfectly.

Inconsistencies

2010-07-24T13:14:00.002+09:00

“Funny how everyone WANTS to go to heaven...provided they do not have to believe, think, say or do anything the Bible says... “ Friend’s FB status

HOME

2010-07-23T10:34:00.002+09:00

Last night I stayed in the Tokyo Guest Home. How often I have thanked God for the OMF Guest Homes in Tokyo and Toronto - and for the gracious hosts and hostesses who minister us there!

An inconvenience rightly considered

2010-07-22T00:14:00.002+09:00

G.K. Chesterton apparently once wrote:

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”

A worthy philosophy! I’ve been sitting in the cafeteria at JFK contemplating last night’s “adventure” ... The bus left Binghampton 50 minutes late – and 50 minutes after they closed the bus station! - putting me in Port Authority at 1 am. There were no buses from Port Authority at that hour. The policemen were not friendly and the taxi drivers were over friendly but I went with a pleasant Egyptian who showed me all his beautiful photos of the NYC while we drove. Terminal # 3 is closed at 2 am but I joined a few others in a small waiting room and caught a few winks on the floor before 4 am when passengers started lining up for the early morning flights.

But I’m alive and well and have had many interesting conversations. I’m sure this is an adventure! J

Not where I breathe, but where I love

2010-07-06T00:10:00.002+09:00

" ... not where I breathe, but where I love, I live." Robert Southwell

I'm reading John Stott's book "Why am a Christian" just now and somehow these lines from Robert Southwell's poet really struck me. Perhaps because tomorrow I'm heading "home" to Eastford, Connecticut.

(I do love Ajigasawa, too!)

Happy Birthday, Mary!

2010-06-29T16:12:00.003+09:00

27th Birthday Party for Daughter # 3

When Mary's father chose her name he named her for his great-grandmother, Mary Elliot.

The name comes from Marah which means bitter and our Mary is NOT bitter. But as I often remind her, Marah is also the place where the bitter water was made sweet when Moses threw in a tree (per God's instructions.) And God took the bitterness from my life the year she was born.

See "No terrible fires or orphan shacks, but... "

Conference

2010-06-29T15:45:00.002+09:00

Daughter #1 and her husband always try to come for a day whenever we have a conference in Hokkaido. But this year her husband was in Australia so she opted to attend the whole conference with both her children. And since Daughter # 3 is helping us with church in Ajigasawa she came as well.

Can you find us?!

(Daughter #3 has her sister's son and Daughter #1 is holding her own daughter.)

ただいま！

2010-06-28T13:36:00.003+09:00

Husband with Daughter # 1's son, Kye

We're back from Hokkaido and back online. (This is what my husband did at the Conference!)

Sunday School Picnic

2010-06-21T01:46:00.002+09:00

Picnic in Hirosaki Park

今日の遊び...

2010-06-10T10:15:00.005+09:00

The other day Daughter # 1 sent the following email and photos:

今日頂いた歩行器と、ハサミ遊びの結果帽子にされてしまった元ボールとで『学校ごっこ』らしい。姉さん、しきりに「宿題、宿題」と言っています(笑)

Erin Watanabe playing teacher

Kye Watanabe playing student

Just in case you don't recognize the hat... 1rst graders in Japan must wear little yellow hats. So apparently Big Sister made him one with a yellow ball and a pair of scissors. (It was unclear whether she got permission before or after the first incision of the scissors!)

Daughter # 1 also played teacher and actually taught Daughter # 2 to read! Or perhaps Daughter # 2 just absorbed it during the game.

Here in Japan much is made of the upper classman role and I think this role is important in the Christian life as well:

Let us run the race not only for the prize.
But as those who've gone before us.
Let us leave to those behind us.
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.
- Steve Green

To all my daughters and daughters in the Lord

2010-06-10T00:28:00.004+09:00

I don’t know who Clementine Paddleford is/was, but I like what she had to say about wishbones and backbones! Let me pass on her advice to you:
Never grow a wishbone, daughter
where your backbone ought to be.

Ajigasawa Peony Festival

2010-06-02T12:59:00.001+09:00

Conversation about Kye

2010-06-01T23:20:00.003+09:00

Today we received the following mail from Daughter # 1:

Mommy: 'Hey! Do you think he's moving forward？!'
Erin: 'No. He's just bumping his head.'
Kye: 'Ayyyyyeeee!!!'

Kye

Perhaps that's how some people view those of us working in country churches. But, just like Kye will crawl AND walk one of these days, I believe God will plant His church here in Ajigasawa. Just look what He's done so far! Even if no one else is impressed, I am.

God's Good Advice

2010-05-25T00:08:00.005+09:00

I was rereading Reader's Digest "Quotable Quotes" tonight...

Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can't make them all yourself.
It reminded me of this passage in Corinthians where we're told 'don't do such and such like so and so and such and such happened' and then goes on to say:
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did... No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
I have (more than) one friend who can't seem to learn from others' experience. But look how much grief it can spare us!

Judah 基　Elliot

2010-05-20T23:41:00.006+09:00

Here is a photo Judah for anyone/everyone who has been waiting.

Judah 基（Motoi)

( I didn't mean to make it so big - but I'm not going to do it over now!)

And here is a short slideshow for anyone with a few minutes.

I should write up a number of things I've been thinking about... but this week has been SO full.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Born today... Judah 基

2010-05-17T23:17:00.003+09:00

We've been waiting for good news... and it finally came tonight just as we were stepping out the door for the evening.

Luke & Yuko Elliot with Faith and Grace

Our son's son, Judah 基 (Motoi) Elliot, made his entrance into the world at about 3 AM, May 17, 2010. They had just moved into a larger apartment on Thursday, so he was born in their new apartment (home delivery) and weighed in at 4312 grams.

(Still waiting for photos... )

Building Foundations

2010-05-17T00:24:00.001+09:00

Confession brings reconciliation

2010-05-10T16:39:00.002+09:00

Yesterday afternoon I got involved in a serious discussion of sin and forgiveness... starting with a discussion of Holiness doctrine and fasting. The conversation was long, intense - and probably not over yet! So I was particularly struck with the newsletter from my home church (in Eastford, Connecticut) this afternoon.

I hope one of my daughters will translate this bit for me into Japanese!

2. Confess sin. Confession brings reconciliation. Stop and read that again. Confession brings reconciliation. Ask yourself why God wants confession of sin. He desires confession because he desires intimacy. Sin violates intimacy with our loving God. So out of love God says, let’s bring it out of the dark and into the light and get honest about it. We are not to deny it but confess it. You might say, “But I’ve had to confess this so many times before.” OK – then confess it again, and again and again and again if you must, but never give up on working towards deeper intimacy with the Lord. If the junk keeps working itself back into the closets of your life, then just keep throwing it out again. Just don’t ever take the attitude that you are satisfied with it accumulating more and more! God promises that as many times as you confess, He is prepared to forgive and purify.

Confession brings reconciliation. That deserves caps: CONFESSION BRINGS RECONCILIATION.

The part my young friends don’t seem to understand is that God “desires confession because he desires intimacy.” ... Somehow I think this is really going to tax my Japanese fluency level!

Cherry Blossoms

2010-05-05T23:35:00.000+09:00

A Kind Man!

2010-05-02T22:58:00.006+09:00

My husband bought me flowers tonight. He got to the cash register just before me. (I was buying yoghurt drink.) The young cashier asked if it was an anniversary or something. I said "No, my husband loves me." I think she was impressed.

I like talking with the cashiers. I've already told several of her colleagues that they should marry kind men. :-) (This isn't the first time my husband has bought me flowers while I'm shopping there.)

Definitely marry a kind man!

Here we go again...

2010-05-02T10:02:00.003+09:00

...with cherry blossom season and the feeling that there's just too much busy-ness ...I'm back to the same "sermon" again!

But really, “What is life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare... A POOR LIFE THIS, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare!”

Cherry Blossom tree by front gate at Hirosaki U.

So then, let’s take a little time to stand and stare!

LEISURE

What is life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when wood we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like stars at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

- William Henry Davies

I'm rich

2010-04-27T13:25:00.010+09:00

We’ve had lots of good news lately... not the least of which was our son’s appointment as Residence Don at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. It seems a good fit.

Son with daughters 美信 Faith and　恵真Grace

But the news that made my day was when his wife wrote to say: The other day, Wycliffe College had a time to give many different unique awards to people at Wycliffe, and our Grace and Faith got the award of "Best attendance of Chapel" !! - But I think this award actually goes to Luke, because he put so much effort into teaching them how important and wonderful it is to attend the chapel and to participate in the service/worship. So I was VERY proud of them receiving this award.

Most people don’t think a child can sit through... let alone enjoy(!) even one service on Sunday morning. But these children attend not only two worship services every Sunday but also chapel every day, morning and evening.

Because my father thought like my son, I too learned as a child that it was both important and WONDERFUL to attend and participate in (adult) worship services. Now I am rich with beautiful memories of those (many) services I attended as a child.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,

"Let us go to the house of the LORD." Ps 122:1

Looking from the right angle

2010-04-27T11:56:00.005+09:00

My (youngest) sister likes to say its all about perspective. And truly I think she's right...

Elliots and Ghents - Bethany's Birthday

Her favorite story - or at least the one she has often told me to illustrate this point - is about the young people in Goshogawara Church years ago putting on concerts. After pulling off one roaring success they encountered technical problems in their second concert. As tempers frayed the audience became uneasy. How much better, she likes to say, to have given up their ideal of a 2nd roaring success and met their problems with good cheer.

I like the old proverb about black clouds and silver linings. Or as one of my favorite hymns suggest... when feeling tempest tossed, count your blessings!

Perspective

2010-04-27T00:58:00.002+09:00

Years ago our creative children took this photo of their sisters... Daughter # 3 balancing appears to be balancing Daughter #2 on the palm of her hand. What was really happening?

It's all about perspective...

Does Jesus care?

2010-04-21T23:24:00.003+09:00

Yes! He cares!

“ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Pet. 5:7

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress
And the way grows weary and long?

Refrain :Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near? Refrain

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long? Refrain

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks,
Is it aught to Him? Does He see? Refrain

- Frank Graeff

I will sing to the LORD all my life

2010-04-20T23:25:00.002+09:00

I will sing to the LORD all my life;I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. - Psalm 104:33

Tonight a friend is staying over. We stayed up late talking about music and pulled out all the hymnbooks. I also introduced her to two good links for finding and learning new hymns are The Cyber Hymnal and MIDI音楽　1382曲集.

I love Sundays!

2010-04-16T23:39:00.005+09:00

I love Sundays. I think I have always loved Sundays except for one brief period when we first came to Japan and I was too culture shocked to love anything!

And what I love best of all about Sundays are old-fashioned Sunday night church services with their informality and camaraderie. The Sunday night service at Hirosaki Fukuin Church may lack polish and it probably feels a little lame to first timers from big and wonderful modern churches... but I'd rather be here!

Hirosaki Fukuin Church (just below Hirosaki University)

I really appreciate my husband's sermons. He usually speaks - in English - at the 5:30 pm Service. However, this week there's a guest speaker (also good) from Nebraska, and a Japanese translation.(So go ahead and bring your non-English speaking friends.) There's a supper after the service (every Sunday) for anyone who can stay.

If wishes were horses...

2010-04-14T16:32:00.006+09:00

If wishes were horses beggars would ride... And I would be going to Daughter # 4's Thesis Exhibition next week!

Sarah Elliot's BFA thesis exhibition, "Together", explores aspects of human interaction through small-scale, figurative ceramic sculpture. Her figures congregate around a variety of tables, which represent scenarios individuals may interact in. She uses the tables to symbolize the communication and time spent developing relationships, while attempting to capture the unique and fleeting quality these encounters possess through the dynamics between the various figures.

An evening reception with refreshments will be held Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM.

Exhibition Hours: 2 - 6 PM Daily

Interactive walk

2010-04-11T23:33:00.006+09:00

A few weeks ago I revisited Faith Comes By Hearing (where they offer 508 Audio Scripture recordings in 443 languages) and this ad for their December podcasts caught my eye.

What would happen if you listened for 31 days to the wisest sayings in the world and heard the most inspirational words ever written? Would you have a changed heart? A new direction? Spiritual revival? For 31 days, listen to a chapter a day of insight from the book of Proverbs and hear Psalms that will stir and move your heart in passion for God.

I downloaded immediately and have been listening for the last 11 mornings.

Can you see my dog? :-)

I usually go out walking while I listen because they're right... the Psalms they've chosen really do stir my soul and move my heart! I can't seem to listen in silence. I find myself interacting... praying along with them or interjecting my own feelings. (The dog doesn't mind at all - but I'd be embarrassed if anyone else heard me. :-)

What would happen if YOU listened for 31 days? I wish all my friends and relations would take up this dare!

Oil plugs and horseshoe nails...

2010-04-05T06:57:00.002+09:00

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

I had to pick up husband and daughter in 鹿角 after I got home from English Fellowship last night. I didn't even make it in the door before they called

They had started down to Takayama (for spring executive meeting) right after the evening service, but an hour down the freeway the plug fell out of the oil tank on the truck and the engine burnt out. He's kicking himself to death because he's the one that changed the oil and therefore didn't put the plug in right... AND he's missing his meeting today because I had to come home to take someone to the airport this morning and therefore couldn't drive them on to Takayama... sigh...

Christ is Risen!

2010-04-04T14:52:00.003+09:00

This morning Daughter # 3 greeted us: "Christ has risen!" Just as I used to greet the children every Easter morning. And just as my father greeted us years ago. Only in those days we called to each other in Greek: "Christos Aneste!" "Alethos Aneste!"

Lent/Easter in Ajigasawa 2010

Good Friday

2010-04-02T21:21:00.002+09:00

Tonight we remembered...

One foot in front of the other

2010-03-30T17:35:00.002+09:00

This is how I'll finally master the Toyo Kanji

... putting one foot in front of the other

day after day

- until I eventually get there!

The Best of Dickens

2010-03-24T22:33:00.004+09:00

Husband reading to us... from our well-worn Dickens

We started "A Tale of Two Cities" again the other day. I wonder how many times I've read this book, both alone and with family. I first encountered the story in an educational comic book when I was ten or so. Who could resist such a beginning as this?!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

I gave up comic books directly and went for the gold!

Two Retreats

2010-03-21T23:43:00.003+09:00

Last week I attended the KGK (IFES) Spring Retreat for University students: about 60 students from various universities throughout northeastern Japan gathered at the Tohoku University Seminar Center in Ozaki City just outside of Sendai. (Actually, it didn't look like a city to me! And it wasn't exactly my idea of "close" to Sendai!)

The theme was FOUNDATION: 岩だぬきの人生設計に学ぶ bouncing off Proverbs 30:26 ".... coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags."

It was so good and, to be honest, I enjoyed it more than the Women in Ministry Retreat in Karuizawa two weeks before. That was nice, too. But it always takes me awhile to get used to a group of women.

Women in Ministry Retreat 2010 Karuizawa

That Wal-Mart baby movie (again)...

2010-03-15T19:29:00.012+09:00

My husband and son Skype a fair bit these days... First the girls ask to be shown every cat in our house. There are 4 cats. Then they spend the duration showing us every book in their living room! (The men calmly talk around the children's "meowing" and hurtling bodies. )

Books! We all love books! 33 years later my mother still talks about how I cried when my 6 month old son wouldn't pay attention when I read to him. But he's been reading ever since - in fact, I'm quite sure he even read to his 6 month old babies in their turn!

Faith and Emma with recent favorites

And that's what was wrong with the Wal-Mart baby movie. The second time through I realized there were no books! That is all wrong.

Novalee looked around her at a room filled with books. Books stacked in the corners, standing on her dresser, crammed into her headboard, pushed into a bookcase. And in the library, Forney's library, there were more. More books... more stories... more poems. And suddenly, Novalee knew - knew what she hadn't known before. She wasn't who she had been. She would never again be who she was before.
- from "Where The Heart Is" by Billie Letts

Our lives can change with every breath we take

2010-03-13T15:22:00.004+09:00

My husband has been talking for several years about what he calls the "Wal-Mart Baby" movie so I finally watched it a couple of weeks ago. It was good! Then I borrowed the book from a friend. (Its actually called "Where the Heart is.") The book was better. Way better!

Last week we we watched the movie again. What a contrast! This time it felt like one of those 30 second bunny movies. (My husband's favorite is "Titanic in 30 Seconds".) Ridiculous! All of my favorite parts were missing. Except this scene:

"But Novalee, what am I going to say to [my children] when they ask me why this happened to them? What will I say?"

"Tell them that our lives can change with every breath we take. Lord, we both know that. Tell them to let go of what's gone because men like Roger Briscoe never win. And tell them to hold on like hell to what they've got - each other, and a mother who would die for them, and almost did."

... "Then tell them we've all got meanness in us... "

.... "But tell them we have some goodness in us, too. And the only thing worth living for is the good. That's why we've got to make sure we pass it on."

Simple pleasures

2010-03-13T15:02:00.001+09:00

Daughter #3 with our colleague and friend, Angela

Today Angela came and after dinner we put on a pot of herb tea and she pulled out some cookies. Just simple pleasure.

Erin Watanabe with her Daddy

We had a slightly fancier table two weeks ago when Daughter # 1 was here with her family. She wanted to introduce her baby to my sister's family so we invited them all to tea.

Savor the Moment

2010-03-11T16:46:00.004+09:00

Yesterday Daughter #3 and I ventured out in the snow for an appointment at the Hirosaki Hokkensho. We got rather lost, were escorted there by a very kind policeman and by the time we finished with our appointment it was dusk. Along the river we paused to watch the ducks with their heads tucked under their wings reminding of us of our cats when they try to hide their noses from the cold.

I tried to shoot a photo with my phone - I'm not sure why I didn't think of the camera in my backpack! - but of course it was much too dark and I couldn't find the zoom... And then my daughter reprimanded, me, "Forget the camera. Just savor the moment!"

Yes, savor the moment.

It makes me think of William Henry Davies' poem Leisure:

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

What's a grandfather for?!

2010-03-08T00:48:00.002+09:00

Our son moved to Canada with his family last fall and my husband has really been missing his monthly visits to Kazamaura ... and all that "Grandpa time"!

But he had some "Grandpa time" last week with his other grandchildren.

With Erin Watanabe

Everyone loves a baby!

2010-03-08T00:30:00.002+09:00

Daughter # 3 with her sister's little son, Kye

Especially Aunt Mary! (Although I think she might have had some stiffer competition if her sisters had been home!)

Every night

2010-03-08T00:25:00.002+09:00

Well... almost every night we pray together with whoever is in the house. We've always had family devotions in the morning and my husband and I have probably always prayed briefly before drifting off to sleep. But one of our long term house guests decided to introduce evening prayers to our family life. We've been ending the day that way ever since.

Sunday Night

2010-03-08T00:21:00.005+09:00

Daughter # 1 with her husband and baby boy

I love Sundays. But I think I've always loved Sunday evening services best of all. I loved them so much as a child that I tried to reproduce them for my children. It meant a late night - I figured it was worth it. So I was very happy when Daughter # 1 - with her little ones in tow! - decided to join us last Sunday night at the English Fellowship in Hirosaki Fukuin Church.

Daddy Time

2010-02-25T23:12:00.002+09:00

Daughter #1 is coming this weekend! This time her husband is coming with her, so it will be a pretty short visit. But short is better than not at all!

Erin and Kye with Daddy

The road winds back

2010-02-17T11:53:00.005+09:00

Yesterday I received an invitation to a Book Writing Workshop to be held on Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2010 in Hong Kong. I was recommended... I still have a note I received a few years ago (from the director who recommended me for the workshop) telling me that I MUST write a book.

Not that I hadn't thought of it myself. Truth to tell, it had actually been my dream ever since I was a little girl. I filled diaries, I wrote letters. I bought my first computer (and this is my 5th computer) to write a book.

But somehow I took a different road. (Was it because I got cold feet?) One that wound away.... Is that road now winding back?

Let everyone and everything be exactly what it is

2010-02-11T23:56:00.003+09:00

True spokespeople for Christ need no special advantage and seek none... Let everyone and everything on the world stage be exactly what it is. Let all voices be fairly heard.
- Dallas Willard, "Knowing Christ Today"

A thousand miles of kanji...

2010-02-09T00:19:00.004+09:00

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

Today I finished the last assignment/exam of the semester. During the 6 weeks between semesters I hope to implement my latest plan to master the joyo kanji this year - reading middle school textbooks with longsuffering Daughter # 3, who is fortunately a great fan of both Japanese textbooks and her parents' further language development!

The Great Wall - March 1989

Sigh... It seems like I've begun this journey so many times! But perhaps if I keep putting one foot in front of the other, and picking myself up and going on when I fall...

ダディもお疲れです

2010-01-24T22:43:00.003+09:00

Daughter #1's (good) husband with their son

Live courageously - go against the flow

2010-01-24T16:01:00.006+09:00

In our fast-paced society it is easy to live in reaction mode and never really ponder why we do what we do. It takes a lot of effort and strength of character to go against the flow. It takes courage and perseverance to make choices that are not the prevailing view. People need encouragement to live confidently in the calling God has on their life. Our culture (and even the church) promotes busyness, drivenness, and trying to do things that God has not specifically called us as individuals to do. My hope is to be a supportive friend to others on the journey. - Sallie

I would suggest you read the whole of the article Two Talent Living . I liked what A Quiet Simple Life had to say in the context of music so much that I bookmarked it. Consequently I've been back several times... and I have to say this article is one that I think should be required reading for every missionary - no, EVERY Christian!

Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost for His Highest, "The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance." - Sallie

The Elliot Humor

2010-01-17T23:00:00.004+09:00

We Elliots love all sorts of humor, but are particularly addicted to comedy of manners. We read the first two chapters of Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" (yet again) during tea time tonight...
It was, as always, highly amusing!

Daughter # 3 reading Northanger Abbey to us

The Double Minded Person...

2010-01-17T16:04:00.005+09:00

Dallas Willard says, "The 'double minded' person is someone with a reality problem." ... I know a number of the these people!

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
James 1:5-8

Of James 1:5-8 Willard says, "What is going on here? Is it that God is simply punishing people for having doubts? Is he saying, 'Naughty, naughty! I will give you nothing'? That hardly fits with the picture here of God as generous and unreproachful.... I suggest that the problem is not on the giving side, but on the receiving side. Because the 'double-minded' are, as we say, 'on again, off again,' they are not able to receive what they are asking for."

From BLUE FOREST SOAPBOX

If you feel like God isn't answering your prayers for help, then I suggest you go out, buy yourself a copy of this book and read the rest of the chapter. (Your friends have probably already tried to tell you what your problem is... but perhaps it will be easier to swallow if you read it in a book.)

What we believe governs what we do!

2010-01-17T00:40:00.006+09:00

Dallas Willard concerning the importance of worldview: What we assume to be real and what we assume to be valuable will govern our attitudes and our actions. Period. And usually without thinking. But most people do not realize that they have a worldview, and it is usually one that is borrowed, in bits and pieces, from the social environment in which we are reared. It may not even be self-consistent.
- "Knowing Christ Today"

Our stubborn cat - reality eventually caught up with her!

I repeat: WHAT WE ASSUME TO BE REAL AND WHAT WE ASSUME TO BE VALUABLE WILL GOVERN OUR ATTITUDES AND OUR ACTIONS.

... and very often is NOT consistent with either reality or what we say we believe.

Staying young

2010-01-14T01:40:00.004+09:00

Tonight I came across these photos of Young Camp that Pastor O. gave me last fall. (He wanted me to make a slide set to show at the Thanksgiving Day Camp.)

ACC Young Camp, August 2009

I loved raising children ... especially teenagers. So I'm always glad to help with Young Camp even though its a bit of a stretch coming as it does just before or after English Camp.

The choicest gift of Heaven

2010-01-14T01:07:00.004+09:00

Today in class we talked about joking in a foreign language. Something like "You're pretty smart if you can do it..." "Well, I guess I'm not very smart, I'm not good with jokes..." "Oh, that's because you're just a very serious person...."

I've been thinking about this ever since because I don't think I'm very serious person!

I may not get jokes, but I can laugh at myself and I don't think there's a day that doesn't find me laughing. In the darkest hours of my adult life I think I've always found something bright - and amusing.

I doubt that I was born this way - I certainly don't remember being like this as a child. In fact, in old family photos I'm often pouting while the rest of the family smiles widely. So I've always thought it was something learned... My mother told me that I was the key to my own happiness and my father quoted Proverbs like "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine but broken spirit drieth the bones." But probably this wouldn't have dented me in the least if our family hadn't laughed so much together. Deep-bellied laughs that really were medicinal.

4 people who know how to laugh - and do!

Learned behaviour or not... I'm sure Jane Austen has it right when she calls that elasticity of mind that chooses to be comforted "the choicest gift of heaven."

That elasticity of mind

2010-01-14T00:41:00.005+09:00

I finally finished Jane Austen's "Persuasion" and started that excellent Dallas Willard book, "Knowing Christ Today". But before I leave Jane Austen behind I want share this insight into the nature of happiness:

Yet, in spite of all this, Anne had reason to believe that [her friend] had moments only of languor and depression, to hours of occupation and enjoyment. How could it be? -- She watched --observed--reflected--and finally determined that this was not a case of fortitude or of resignation only. --A submissive spirit might be patient, a strong understanding would supply resolution, but here was something more; here was that elasticity of mind, that disposition to be comforted, that power of turning readily from evil to good, and of finding employment which carried her out of herself, which was from Nature alone. It was the choicest gift of Heaven...
Jane Austen, "Persuasion"

How I wish some of my friends had "that elasticity of mind, that disposition to be comforted, that power of turning readily from evil to good, and of finding employment which carried her out of herself"! Their lives would be so much happier!

The Last Day of Vacation

2010-01-07T22:57:00.003+09:00

Today was the last day of my winter vacation - I have a class tomorrow.

Elliot-Ghent annual New Year Tea

We made a lot of memories... but I'll be glad to be back to a routine.

Raising children who love church

2010-01-07T18:21:00.004+09:00

I always love watching Ogawa Son #3 when he gets his chance to be "big brother"... with 2 brothers and a sister above him and a very independently minded little sister, it doesn't happen very often! But at the snow camp he got his chance.

Ogawa Son #3 with Hamada Son #2

At first I just thought it was really cute to see him with his arm around the little fellow and their heads bent together...

In the front row... Ogawa Son # 1 with Hamada Son #1

But when the speaker mentioned how well the children were paying attention to his rather long messages... I realized that this is how children come to love church.

When the big kids take care of the little kids

Snow Camp - worth it!

2010-01-06T18:38:00.004+09:00

I was strung tighter than a rubber band by the second day of Snow Camp... but once supper was over and I'd had a good hot bath, I relaxed and realized that I'd been having a good time all along with everyone else. I think they were all pretty relaxed from the beginning with good food, good messages, good fun...

Snow Camp at Aomori Christian Center, January 3-5th

The fact that we had no teens - when we were used to having mostly teens! - and so many small children at first gave the impression that there weren't as many people as usual. But there were actually twenty-one of us. One family had never been to an ACC camp and they left full of vision for what a blessing an interchurch camp can be - that alone would have been worth it all. But there was also a lot of bonding going on with long (and important) talks among the adults and everyone (except the mothers - they were having a break!) playing hard with the children.

We ended with one last burst of camaraderie as we pushed all the non-4wd cars up the drive and waved good bye.