Blah Blah Blog

small disobedience

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:07:51 -0000

In Naaman's story, there is another person that got my attention. That is this young servant of Elisha. He was always with Elisha, seeing God work in miraculous ways. But what he did was so unfortunate, but we could easily find ourselves having the same mindset.
When he saw Naaman came back to give Elisha lots of expensive gifts and Elisha refusing them, he went after Naaman and lied and got things for himself from Naaman. When he was discovered by Elisha, he got leprosy and generational curse.
Would you have done that? Would you at least be tempted? I might have.
When he was reasoning to himself, he said,"the Lord lives". He was trying to justify that if God knows, He should not mind. He thought that Elisha should have taken the gifts.
I bet he was also thinking, "I am not hurting anyone." Many times, we are tempted to think this way. I am not being totally good, but I am not hurting anyone. That is a very dangerous w...

Small obedience

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 02:46:37 -0000

Some of you who know the story of Naaman might feel it's hard to relate to the story, but there is 2 people in this story that is so relatable. At least I do.
First one is this girl servant of Naaman's wife. She is a captive from Israel who mentioned that Naaman could get healed. Then Naaman asked his king to write to the king of Samaria and Naaman went to see Elisha and he got healed.
This girl was separated from her family, forced to live in a foreign land. She could have been bitter. She could have rejoiced at her captive master for having this terrible, incurable disease. But she wanted him to be healed and spoke up. Talking about loving your enemy!
Her small obedience influenced the nations, changed a man's life and family. I could guess her situation got a lot better. All the idols were removed and her master worshiped her God.
You might be in a situation at work or school or in a family that you feel misjudged, mistreated. God does send people into the world of unfairness, not to...

What's wrong with the brother?

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:21:12 -0000

Continuing in prodigal son story, I want to talk about the guy's brother.
Living with the father, having all the blessing, working for the father, why was he not satisfied? Why couldn't he celabrate the great event of his brother finally coming home? More than that, what has he being doing all this time?
My guess is that he was "with the father", but not really "with the father". What I mean is that he was busy working and not knowing the father's heart. The father was always thinking about blessing the children including this brother, as he was waiting for the lost son.
This brother was, I think, working very hard to gain acceptance from the father. He didn't understand that he was loved just as he was. He didn't know that he could ask the father for things. He thought he had to earn it.
I sure do identify with him.
I could imagine the father sitting at the porch waiting for the lost son. I think that the brother s...

Don't stay in the pig pen

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 11:04:57 -0000

I was meditating on the prodigal son story. I can identify with most of the people mentioned in the story, the son, his brother, father, even the pigs.
Pig pen is an interesting place in this story. Jewish people don't eat pig so there should not be any place like that there. This son was in the land of pig eaters.
He was far, far away from where he should be. Unlike the story of 99 sheep and one lost sheep, God didn't go look for him. Because this son was not lost. He knew where his home was.
He chose to leave his father's house and lived for himself. The end is this disgusting place. The land without God, hope, and good food. He was living in the place which is opposite from the kingdom of God. He had nothing like righteousness, peace and joy.

When people are like him, it won't help to make them comfortable where they are. We must remind them that they don't have to stay miserable and they can come home to ...

Past is passed

Fri, 8 May 2009 12:53:27 -0000

I will have an opportunity to talk about anything soon so I started thinking about the issue of "past."
I guess the word past comes from passed, but sometimes, our past is still very much alive and not gone at all. And is that bad or sometimes good?
What happened to us in the past connects us to people and God. For example, you were born to a family so you are now a member of the family. You have decided to follow God at one point, that you are now connected to God.
What happened in the past is very important and you need that connection. Imagine having a disease that you cannot remember the past. You would feel very lonely.
On the other hand, there are things that happened to us that affect us in the negative way. A traumatic event could really mess up our lives.
So how do we hang on to good connections in life and break away from the negative affect of our past?
1. Accept the true identity as a child of God2. Be forgiven.3. Forgive.
4. Let God renew your mind5. Receive the new l...

Anger angle

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:34:44 -0000

To be angry is sometimes a good thing. I was angry the other day for some reason, at someone. When I realized, the kitchen was very clean.
Anger gives you the extra power. I don't know what happens in the brain when you are angry but I imagine there is some kind of hormone that shoots out.
If you are angry at the right thing or person (usually the devil) you will accomplish good things. In that case, you should really let it out!
If you are angry at the wrong thing or wrong person (usually your spouse), you will accomplish nothing, but hurt relationships, take away your peace, sometimes make you sick.
I learned a few things about anger that helps me.
1. Anger is a secondary emotion. There has to be an underlining emotion that was not dealt with like; sadness, unfairness, loneliness, injustice etc.
2. Anger is energy to change. When you are angry, you feel the situation is not right. You have to do something to change it.
3. Anger does not understand the conce...

Self pity pit

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:22:17 -0000

Oh boy! It's all around us. I can see people having self pity. I have been observing for a while what it does to people. The scary thing is that you don't notice it when it's in you. And it is so hard to admit it!!
This lady was very depressed. She did not know what's wrong. She went to her pastor's wife."It might be self pity.""Mm-mm, I don't think so."
That lady is me 2 years ago. I can now see how much I felt sorry for myself.
Men have it, women have it, adults have it, kids have it, non Christian have it, Christians have it, church members have it, church leaders have it, married people have it, single people have it.
What self pity does to you is to put you into a pit. Beacause it is....1. the opposite of self confidence.2. refusing to be comforted by God.3. comparing with others4. wrong value system.5. the opposite of thankfulness6. not accepting the acceptance of God.7. refusing to forgive8. blaming your problem on others9. focusing on the past10. the devil's trap
Recently I ...

Irresponsible Prayer

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:19:41 -0000

When I pray for people, I try very very hard to be irresponsible. When I feel responsible, things don't go well at all.

My daughter wanted a pair of gloves for Christmas. I prayed with her for that. Then I felt responsible. So I got her a pair for Christmas. But she got from someone else a great pair and a hat, too.

God was responsible to answer her prayer. I shouldn't have.

If we feel responsible to build up faith in other people, that means we don't believe God can do it. We need to let God take the responsibility of answering our prayer.

Asking is our business and answering the prayer is not our business. That means we don't control the situation at all. That might be the hardest thing to overcome.

It's spring! Time for something bitter.

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:09:02 -0000

Spring time in Japan, we eat strange food. One is Fukinoto. It is a flower stalk of a butterbur. It is bitter. I like it tempura-ed.
The reason we eat bitter things in spring is to detox our bodies from all that we accumulated during the winter months. Well, that's what I heard. I don't know if that's true but it does seem right to eat those.
I could never understood as a child why people eat bitter things on purpose. I remember the first time I tasted bitter gourd. My father said it was good. I said "bitter is bad. "
When bitter things happen in life, we can do one of two things. Either we stuff it down or use it to bring new life. What I mean is that if we stuff it down, it will stay and becomes bitter root. Or we can process it and use it to cleanse ourselves.
If we are honest before God, we can see that bitter things help us understand what is wrong with our relationship with God. When the time like that comes, it means new season is coming, new life is starting in ...

What are you carrying?

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 13:12:00 -0000

Somebody I know had a bad habit. He borrowed pens and accidnetally kept those. I would find pens I don't recognize in his jackets. One time, he had a pen that had a sticker that said, "This pen was stolen from Dr. Peterson's office." Who in the world is Dr. Peterson? Till this day I don't know.
I figure that he lost as many pens as he stole.
Anyway I was thinking that sometimes we carry things that are not ours. I am talking spiritually.
1. Other's responsibilities.   If you are burned out, chances are that you are carrying someone else's responsibilities. Maybe you should let your son be late for work and reap the consequence rather than you wake him up by yelling at him.
2. Un forgiveness   When you are carrying un-forgiveness, you are carrying judgement against guilt that should be carried by God and was punished on the cross. Un forgiveness is a very very heavy burden to carry. Somehow I know.
3. Other's problems   Bible says to carry each other's burden but that does...

About kids

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 00:38:57 -0000

Not many people have the privilege of having grown in church all their lives, especially in Japan, especially up to now. I am one of them. No, I am not a pastor's kid. I am a daughter of a church going family.
That helped me understand things as I co-pastor a church. 1. Kids get hurt by adults' hypocrisy than anything else.   Well, let's face it. All Christian parents have acted different at church and at home at some point. So what to do? Be real for kid's sake if not for yourself.
2.Kids understand about God's presence a lot more than adults expect.   When a child says he/she saw Jesus or saw an angel, don't ignore, make it light or don't be jealous. That builds their life-long faith and should minister to to you. I had an opportunity to see that last week. Jesus is calling children to His lap even now.
3. Kids can be used by God.   They are not just waiting to grow up. Kids can receive anything from God, they can believe anything with their whole heart and they ca...

Mercer Valentine's day tradition (Repost)

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:23:30 -0000

American and Japanese have two very different ideas about this day. In America, guys give girls candies and roses and stuff.

In Japan...Well, I heard about this guy who owned a big chocolate company. He saw a hollywood movie. He was so shocked to see a lady confessing love to a man. That was unthinkable in the culture back then. Girls must wait.

So he decided one day in whole year should be the day that girls can confess their love to guys, by giving chocolate.

That caught slowly but now that's what is done here. And March 14th, men would give white chocolate back to girls if they like them. Girls must wait but only for a month.

Knowing that, my husband expect something from me. Knowing American custom I expect something from him.

That's why we don't have any chocolate on Valentine's day.

Truth will give you peace

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:01:41 -0000

Four American and Japanese pastors' wives and I were running around frantically. We were in panic. We, at least I was afraid for our lives.

About 5 years ago, us pastors' wives decided to look for bargain, particularly for pearls. We heard that this shopping center had great pearls section for great price. When we got there I was amazed at the sight. There are all kinds of shops in the mall, and way inside, there they were: pearls, pearls, pearls and some more pearls. Pearls hanging like curtains, in display cases like toys. We went crazy. After a while, I was almost dizzy, but never had so much fun shopping in my life!!

Then it happened. Well, actually we didn't know what happened. We just heard a loud commotion from somewhere, sounded like people were running, shouting. I was thinking, "Bomb? Terrorist? Fire?.... Well, we have to get out of here. But which way is the exit?"

During this ca ...

perfect or real

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:14:46 -0000

Most restaurants I go to have plants, green plants. I often check to see if those are real or not. How do I do it? I look for blemishes. If the plant doesn't have any brown spot, any discolored part on leaves, then it is fake.
Some people look so perfect. Some try to look perfect. They, I guess, hide their shortcomings. But it is hard to get to know them. They somehow are not so open, not so fun to be around with.
I am fortunate to be surrounded by real people. No pretending. We get to laugh about mistakes we make. It is easy to ask them to pray for things.
But I noticed that I get worried about things when I feel the pressure to pe perfect. Most of those times, actually I am the one who is pressuring myself.
My prayer for myself today, is that God would help me to be real. Fake "me" cannot do much for God, because there is no life in fakeness.
I determine today to be real enough to m...

Money! #2

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:01:27 -0000

My son really loved money.
He ate a quarter when he was 2. He was taken to a hospital and got an X-ray. Fortunately the coin was in his stomach, not in any other place that would be dangerous. It appeared in his diaper a few-days later.
Love of money is a root of all evil. That's what the Bible says but why do we get tempted to hold on to money, I wonder.

Maybe we forget sometimes that money is a tool, like a hammer. You need a hammer for pounding nails. It would be pretty silly to love hammers so much that you start collecting bunch of them, hiding them, bragging how many you have, etc.

And you get so afraid to be in the situation for many nails to be pounded and no hammer around.
God promised that He will equip those He sends. In other words, when God wants you to do something, he will give you the tool for the task.
We need to trust God for giving us money when we need it. When we know the purpose of money, we will be free from love of money or fear of not having enough...

Sea of forgetfulness

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:21:49 -0000

God knows everything.God is love.God is holy.
Those are the truth.So how can he not remember our sin?
I am not a theologian but I have a theory.
Around this time of the year, people go to parties called, "Bonenkai" which means "party to forget the year." One who knows God might say, "We should remember what God has done, not forget the year." Yet, I would like to be able to forget all the mistakes and things I shouldn't have done. I also hope God would forget those things.
I looked and there is no mention of sea of forgetfulness in the Bible as a phrase. This concept is from two different scriptures.
Anyway, my theory is that this sea of forgetfulness is the actual hell. God hates sin so He made a place to put all the things He doesn't want to remember. He never ever created hell to hurt us. He just didn't like sin.
Sad thing is that people choose to be stuck with sin.
So at the end of this year, and always, I want to be repenting to take sin to the cross and let God throw tha...

Merry Christmas Eve!

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:40:34 -0000

Christmas is quite big in Japan. That's what people say. But is it so? On Christmas day, all the decorations in stores are put away. Everything turns toward the new year celebration.
Christmas eve is huge. That is the day that fathers come home with Christmas cake with strawberries. That is the day that all the singles get excited to have parties or go on dates. Kids go to bed anxiously tonight hoping to find a new and expensive toys by the futon next morning.
Tonight we will have Eve service at church for the first time. I hope people who come will really know Jesus who came for us, and to us and staying in our hearts if we let Him. I hope that we become closer to Him.
People might forget after tonight and go to work as usual. But Emmanuel will be here with us.
So Merry Christmas Eve to you all.

The greatest translator

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:20:55 -0000

I do a lot of interpreting. Most Sundays, I am the translator and finally I am pretty comfortable doing it at least translating for my husband.
It is an interesting task. When I started doing it, I read a book about translating. This guy is a simultaneous translator for important conferences. He says that there are 3 important ability that involves translating.
1. Ability to understand the spoken (written) language. You have to understand what the person is trying to communicate. 2. Ability to express. Understanding is not enough. You have to be able to convey what the speaker (writer) is saying to the audience (reader)3.Ability to retain This one only applies to spoken translating. You have to remember what was said. I have a hard time on this one sometimes. I just can't remember all that was said.
Another aspect of translating that is very important is culture. You have to know both cultures. I heard a hero interview of a baseball player right after a game...

Run masters, run!

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:39:29 -0000

In Japanese every month has a name. December is "Shiwasu" and it means "masters run." December is the busiest season of the year for Japanese. There is new-year cards to write, year-end thanks presents to send, parties to plan and attend, prepare for new years, house to clean and decorate, bills to pay etc.
Other times, I guess, masters tell the students to do everything not doing anything themselves. But in December, wow, even masters are so busy that they have to run!!
So if you are not a master, you really have to run around. The question is why in the world am I sitting and writing blog? The answer is I am letting my husband do the Christmas cards.

Money!!

Mon, 8 Dec 2008 03:16:34 -0000

My son's first word was "money." I think he was trying to say "mommy."
Is money a dirty word? Is money bad thing to pursue? I was confused about that and was very much frustrated about the whole issue. Then I decided to really tell God about my frustration.
What happened was that He made me realize something I never anticipated. It is that money is love. Don't get me wrong. I know that love of money is a baaaaaaaaaaad thing. I mean that money is a love language.
You spend money for things that you love. If you love your kids you don't think twice to give them money or buy things for them. If you love how you look, you spend your money on clothes. We do love different things and that's not wrong but we have to have priority in how much we love what.
Another thing is about money is that it is relationship. To give and recieve is the heart of relationship. When we give offering to God, we do because we want to give to God. I confess that I had given to God out of obligati...

14 signs you are having a bad day

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:39:06 -0000

I got this in a mail. So cute. This kind of things make my

Only in Japan

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:30:28 -0000

Two totally different but very Japanesy pix. First one, I say we try hard. What's funny is that this is in the US Navy base. The second one, this is rice field art. Red rice and white rice design. This site (http://byokan-sunday.haru.gs/2007/09/post_30.html) shows the progress and more rice-field art.

Almost Christmas

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:03:39 -0000

Every year about this time, I remember I could crochet. Small ones take less than 10 minutes to make, bigger ones about 30. Some are already stiffened with corn starch. To order these send me 20 dollars for a small one, 40 for the big one...... No. there are not for sale. Wait, I sold some to Alishea. I gave her a

queen of the night

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 12:20:09 -0000

I was visiting my parents again for a week. They had this flower that blooms only once a year just for a few hours at night. Gekkabijin is the Japanese name. Yahoo dictionary says it's a queen of the night. My mother had the pot in the living room and the day after it bloomed, she put it away somewhere outside. Ray said it reminded him of the Shop of Horrors. I thought it was beautiful.

Our church site

Fri, 5 Oct 2007 14:26:26 -0000

clicking once in a while helps in google rating, Ray

Good bye party for Angelita

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:08:44 -0000

I had a great excuse to have ladies from our church over and learn how to cook Philippino food. There were so much food. I should buy a bigger pot for next