Like a Yo-yo

         Have you ever felt like your life is like a yo-yo? Like you keep going up and down, up and down. One day you're feeling great, the next you're feeling depressed. One day you're full of faith and joy, the next day you feel like a truck ran over you in the night. One day you can feel God and hear what He's saying, the next day you can't sense anything.

         I saw some more in the yo-yo concept a few years ago. Not only do we go up and down like a yo-yo, but we're directly connected to someone by the string. I pictured God holding us. No matter how low I feel, or how distant God seems, I remember that God's holding onto me, I'm connected to His hand. It's almost like God allows us to go down and have a taste of the earth, then with His infinite wisdom He pulls us back up at just the right time into His hand, refreshes us, and restores us. Full of faith and joy again we can minister once more to the people. No matter how long the string is, no matter how far we feel from God, He's always holding us, our safe place is in His hand. It's an incomplete analogy, but it's helped me many times. He said He'd never leave us or forsake us. We're always connected to Him!

Grass Morals

Be thankful for your own grass.  Let's stop being jealous of our neighbors' grass.

Watch this little video we made a few days ago.  Enjoy! =)

Merry Christmas!

     Merry (late) Christmas everyone!  Christmas may be over, but the true heart of Christmas is for any day of the year.

     Sometimes I feel that Christmas Day is the main event, the thing we plan for a month in advance, then we count the days till it arrives.  But before I hardly know it Christmas is over and it's easy to feel like "that's it?".  I think that Christmas is not about the day itself, but about Jesus and our relationship with Him.  Out of that relationship then we give love to family and friends. 
       I find it easy to forget to say "Hi!" to Jesus in the midst of the busy Christmas season.  To wish Him "Happy Birthday!" or to ask Him what He's thinking.  I'm so thankful for what God's done in this past year and what He is going to do in the next.  Let's not forget to thank Jesus for all He's done for us!

   Last night while worshiping together at home I wrote this little poem about Christmas.

Christmas...

What is Christmas about? 

The presents and stockings, 

The turkey dinner, games, and fun,

Friends, and family 'talkings'?

Is the value in what we get, 

what we do, how we act?

Is Christmas for us or others?

Is it about what we have or lack?

Christmas shouldn't be about us, 

our wants or our needs. 

It's about Jesus who rescued us

and planted faith 'n' love as seeds.

He's the one who satisfies life, 

who renews the weary soul. 

His Love is what brought Christmas, 

So Love should be our goal. 

In Love He came to earth, 

a defenseless baby boy.

To save the people, the world,

to restore our love and joy. 

Because of Love He came

and made a way for each.

In a hopeless world of darkness

Love He came to teach. 

Christmas is about Jesus

in thanks for what He did.

For paying for our sins, 

For coming as a little kid. 

Christmas is His birthday.

How did the focus get on us?

We should ask how to show Him

our love and thankfulness.

A time to seek His face. 

A time to love 'n' help others.

A time to give and bless

our siblings, fathers, and mothers.

Friend and strangers should feel

love and generosity flow.

Christmas is a time to love, 

and let everybody know. 

Turkey, presents, traditions.

Beside the point they are,

if we don't love Jesus

and others near and far! 

Let's not be self-centered,

but focused on Him we love.

Full of thanks for what we have,

Looking for things from above! 

Merry Christmas!!!

Hiking Videos!

We went hiking yesterday in the woods surrounding our town!  It was such a beautiful day!  So inspiring for pictures!  I took a ton of pictures but I have to wait until I have some time to upload them.  Videos are faster so here's a glimpse! 

These are of three locations that we like to visit when hiking.  Samurai Mountain (really just a hill), the Lake (very small for a lake), and Suicide Point (definitely dangerous!).

Wish I could go hiking with you sometime!  Enjoy!

(sorry that the sound is cut off at first! =] )

Light Displays!

Us with friends (and the crowd)!

      On Saturday (the tenth) after a fun Christmas party we went out to see the Luminarie in Kobe.  The city set up a bunch of light displays for the last couple weeks.  There were tons of people and it was easy to get separated as we walked.  Instead of walking the whole length of the displays we came from the end of it and saw the final lights.  It was quite pretty!

Tiffy and Mom (a little dark) =P

   What I thought was even more fun, however, was I got to see the eclipse of moon for the first time ever!  About 9:30 PM as we were leaving the Luminarie we looked up and noticed that the moon was beginning to get smaller!  The left side of it was starting to disappear!  As we walked back to our car we continually glanced up to get an update on the moon.  We were not disappointed.  Each time it was noticeably smaller!  As Mom drove us home we girls would look out the window periodically throughout the hour drive.  It was quite thrilling to see the moon literally disappear before our eyes as the earth, sun, and moon came into alignment.  We were worried that it would be gone by the time we got home and we would miss the final glow disappear, but we pulled into a Lawson's parking lot before 11 PM and watched the last 5-10 minutes.  The bright glow on the lower right side of the moon grew smaller and smaller.  Finally it was gone all together!  It was not completely black, it simply remained a dull brown.  Like a pancake in the sky. =)

    It was so beautiful! And amazing of God to plan such a 'light display' on a night that we'd be up to see it.  Not only that, it was an amazingly clear night, hardly a cloud in the sky.  We could see so many stars!  (I wish I knew my constellations better!)  Thank you God for your timing and the beauty of your creation!

A picture of the moon off the internet.  So pretty!

Creating Creative Creations!

Graham Cracker City!

    Yesterday we made Graham Cracker houses (a variation of Ginger Bread houses)!!  About eleven in the morning we began preparations.  Clearing the table we laid work spaces.  Tiffy and Jenny split the various candies into bowls, while I began making the frosting/glue.  Tiffy helped me finish up the 'glue' and soon we were ready to begin creating.  We started designing our house about noon.  Mom read to us from Around the World in 80 Days, as we girls carefully put up walls, gluing them together with the thick frosting.

Mom's church with open doors!

    I worked until 3:00 and finally got the structure of my house built.  Tiffy and Jenny finished earlier than me so Tiffy read and Mom could began her building.  Jenny started decorating her roof with candies.  At 3:00 we stopped and made some lunch.  After playing a game during lunch we continued our projects into the evening.  At some point Mom put on some hotdogs for those who were hungry. Then we continued designing.  Before I knew it, it was 8:00 and I hadn't eaten dinner!  We were so enthralled by our creations that we ate when we came to a stopping place, then quickly returned to stick on a few more candies.  I enjoyed building a garden with a Jelly Bean "stone" pathway, candy cane fence, and a marshmallow tree.
     Mom built a church with a real bell hanging in its belfry, a roof lined with many candies, two large candy cane hearts framing the inviting entryway, and a giant Christmas tree standing regally beside it.

Tiffy's. See the snowman!

    Tiffy made an two story house with a balcony on the second floor, and candy canes arch for the entrance to her yard.

Jenny's home!

     Jenny designed a cute one story house open to view, with a comfy looking bed, an intricately designed roof, and a garden with Skittle cabbages and carrots.

     I made a three story building, with a brick roof and chimney from Red Vines, real windows, and a shed beside the main house.

My house - it looks like it's leaning...hmm!

   It was so fun making the Graham Cracker houses that I was up past ten o'clock (late for me) designing and cleaning up.  Tiffy and Mom continued till about eleven o'clock putting on their final touches.

Me with my house!

Now our creations are sitting on a shelf in our dinning room, and we have enjoyed looking at them.  It's been seven years since we last made Graham Cracker houses, so it was a little hard to remember how to do it.  Jenny was so tiny last time that she wouldn't remember anything about it, while Tiffy was pretty little.  I'm glad I got to do it again and I'm sure the girls enjoyed the experience as much as I did!  Who knows, maybe we'll get to make Graham Cracker houses again before another seven years go by!  I hope so!! =)

Christmas Decor

The shepherd with his sheep pointing to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.

     It's DECEMBER!!  I can hardly believe it!  And Christmas is nearly here!   We have already set up our Christmas decorations which is fantastic to have done.  Today, the first day of December, we had a cold wind so it actually felt like winter.  I'm glad that we have most our outdoor decorating finished!  Yay!     
     Inside the house we have our real Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, while seven stuffed snowmen stand by our clock representing us seven children.  Our living room has a holiday look with the furniture arranged as we always have it for Christmas.  The most popular place in the house these days is directly in front of the heater, a spot occupied nearly all morning by one of us girls.

     In front of our house stands a shepherd boy pointing.  Pointing to a scene on our second story balcony of a young couple with a new baby.  Three wise men or kings are slowly (extremely slowly!) making their way towards Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, carrying their gifts.  A sign in front of Mary and Joseph states "Iesu wa Ai" or Jesus is Love.  Today we just placed a shining star above the 'stable' and so our Nativity scene is completed.

The kings marching. You can only see two here!

    Now for seven years we've put up this display, and before that we had just the Mary and Joseph part.  Even since Mom and Dad first moved to Japan we've tried to put up some sort of Nativity scene.  Our neighbors and many of the people in the town often comment about our lovely arrangement.  Once we even had a lady from an Osaka Gas company stop by and ask if we were going to put up those Christmas decorations again.  I'm sure that the neighbors don't know what the Nativity symbolizes, but even just having it up has made many stop and wonder.  Perhaps some day it will help open a door in their hearts to find out the true meaning behind Christmas!

Fun with Kids

Don't you just love that face? That's what makes English classes all worth it.

  Kidswow English

    Yesterday, after finishing school, we rushed off to teach English.  When we arrived at the town's pavilion two of our girls were already outside playing.  Quickly my dad, Tiffy, and I unloaded our numerous bags of teaching supplies, and entered the building to set up for classes.  Tiffy slid the heavy curtains aside.  I flipped on the lights.  Dad began rearranging the tables and chairs to be more suited to teaching.  
    Our two little charges, both about six years old, ran in to try to get 'rides' as we slid the tables into their places.  As soon as the fun was over they danced out of the room again to use the remaining ten minutes before class to play outside.  Our third student arrived and pulled out a few toys.  She set up the makeshift Air Hockey game that we use on occasion.  With a foam toys for 'mallets', a poker chip as the puck, and two tables slid together to make the "frictionless" Air Hockey table, we began.  Normally the students don't really know how to play Air Hockey, thus I have to take it easy so that they have a chance.  Generally I try to keep the scores as even as possible without showing that I'm missing their shots on purpose.  But this little girl was different.  She knew how to play and was intent on winning.  I was amazed that we were keeping neck and neck and I was actually playing hard.  We were even until some lucky shots brought her to ten while I was still at eight.  With actual competition I enjoyed the game immensely!  

                                                                                     Our class in 2010!

   Four o'clock came so we gathered our flock together and began the class.  Once all our students had arrived we brought them together to teach them a Christmas song: We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  They got a start on it, so hopefully in the few weeks before our annual Christmas party they'll have it memorized.  After we taught several more lessons we went on to picture Bingo, a fun way to review lessons.  Then I set up a few Test Try games. The concept of Test Try games is to have any kind of activity (throw a ball through a hoop, ring toss, roll a ball and knock down something...) then the teacher takes a set of flashcards.  Each child comes up and says several flashcards (the Test), then goes on to Try the game.  Yesterday I set up two activities so that the kids could choose which one they wanted to try. 
    Our first class soon ended.  There were ten minutes for the kids to say goodbye and leave and for the next group to say arrive and say hi.  While the kids left and arrived Dad, Tiffy, and I quickly set up for a second classes.  In the second hour we have two groups of kids, I teach one with Tiffy and Dad teaches the other.  When we asked if they knew the Christmas song that we introduced last week, they said yes.  Soon the room we filled with voices as they sung We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  My second class with four delightful girls whizzed by with lots of fun and laughs.  We reviewed lessons, introduced new material, played a test try game, and at the very end we combined both my class and Dad's to teach them the "Gloria" part of Angels We Have Heard on High.
    A little before six o'clock we were packing up and the kids were saying goodbye.  We lingered outside the pavilion a little to give the kids a couple more hugs and friendly pokes before we hopped into the car and drove home.  Yesterday I had a lot of fun with all those little kids, and look forward to being a part of their lives again next week. 

Kanata and Kota in our backyard.

Arisa, one of 'my' girls

                                         Several of the kids playing in our backyard during our summer's kid's parties

Station Panic

     Japan's train system is usually extremely punctual.  You can rely on the trains and subways to get you to where you need to go.  But on November 5th I was coming home with my sister from Rokko Island (about an hour drive from our house).  We stepped off the Rokko liner, hurried through the ticket gates, and around the corner.  Immediately I knew that something was wrong.  There were lines of people in the normally small peaceful station.  Japanese was blaring out of loud speakers.  People were talking, grumbling, and looking around anxiously.  Everyone seemed to have a cellphone, and was either talking to someone or texting them.  I looked on the sign which normally posts the times of the upcoming trains.  It was blank.
   "There must have been an accident."  I murmured to my sister.  Carried along for a moment by the confusion in the atmosphere, I could feel panic trying to grab a hold of me.  Then I thought of an alternate route to get home so I knew we'd be fine.  I worked my way up to the ticket gates where a train conductor was explaining the situation in Japanese.
   "Are there any trains?" I asked a lady next to me as we sought the attention of the train conductor.
   "I don't know." she replied. "I'm going to ask."
    Seeing that the train man was rather flooded with curious and anxious people seeking information, I backed out of the way to consult my sister about our plan of action.  A moment later the lady I had questioned returned saying,
   "There's a train on the track. You're going to Sanomiya, right?"
   "No," I responded, "I need to get to Amagasaki." (the opposite direction)
   "Oh, then you should ask the man," she gestured toward the train conductor.
    Thus encouraged, I made my way to the train man and asked if there were trains going to Amagasaki.  He replied that there was one sitting on the track.  I turned to tell my sister that we could still use this train line.   We quickly bought our tickets and hopped on the waiting train.  The loudspeakers were still blaring and I only caught some of what they said.  People were patiently sitting in the train or standing on the platform. I tried to read my book, but the atmosphere was too tense.  I tried to listen to what was being said through the speakers but I kept missing the announcements.  I wondered what had happened, and how long we would have to wait.  I was curious about how the staff handled the situation, so I sat in the train watching what went on around me.  Finally, after sitting in the train for about ten minutes with no sign that we would be leaving soon, I turned to a kindly looking Japanese lady sitting beside me.
   "What happened?" I asked, "Was it an accident?"  She nodded.
   "Where?" I wanted to know. She told me the name of the station.  We'd be passing it on the way to Amagasaki so my sister and I wondering if we'd see some smashed up train with ambulances hurrying people to the hospital.
   After perhaps twenty minutes the train finally got under way.  We passed town after town and the people packed in, relieved that there was at last a train.  When we arrived at the station where the accident had been, we saw nothing unusual, nothing noteworthy.  The weren't people hurrying about, nor a train flipped onto it's back, nor a dented platform.  The train pulled away and we wondered what kind of accident it was.
   At Amagasaki we changed trains and headed towards Sanda.  When we arrived we checked the bus schedule.  Seeing that it would be about a half an hour wait we wandered to McDonald's for lunch.
   There to our delight we met one of our friends who said she'd give us a ride home.  Thus we avoided the bus ride and the twenty minute trek in the rain.

   We arrived home from our adventure on the generally reliable train system a little wet, a little tired, and still curious about what happened.

Glowing Mountains

       Japan.  A land of many hills, many houses, and many people.  Japan.  A beautiful land, a place full of temples and shrines, castles and kimonos, traditions, customs, and intricate etiquette.

        Autumn in Japan is one of my favorite seasons!  The trees are turning colors, displaying their full beauty, before shedding their leaves for the winter.  The mountains are brimming with the brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds of the trees.  The weather cools down from the humid sticky summer, to bring a refreshing break before the winter wind blows in from Siberia.
    Fall is the perfect time to take hiking expeditions and explore new paths in the numerous tree-covered hills.  Recently I went on a hike on an old train route no longer in use.  The air was delightful, the scenery was gorgeous, the route led us through tunnels, over bridges, and winds along a beautiful river.  The Japanese maple trees were just beginning to change colors.  I enjoyed the sound of the river as we hiked.  At times there was a roar as the water fell over rocks and made tiny waterfalls.

    Walking through the tunnels I was amazed at how narrow they were!  I would have thought that for a train the tunnels would need to be as wide as the ones for cars.  But I suppose with trains being fixed to a track, train tunnels need not have nearly as much room as ones for cars.  I so enjoyed the hike in God's creation, and a chance to hangout with friends.

 

    Truly autumn is one of my favorite times of year.  I'm kind of sad as the weather is beginning to turn cold. But winter has many fun things about it too! So as one season slips into the next I have mixed feelings.