I don’t remember Japan being this humid the last time I was here. I’m not sure if it is the mountains or what, but it is HUMID. I walked to elementary school after school and now am soaking wet. I can assure you that when you start teaching a bunch of elementary kids and you have already broke a sweat, you are not going to cool down anytime soon. I’m already looking forward to an ice cold shower after work… I do enjoy jumping in the river after a long run in the hills, but these days it has rained so much that the river isn’t safe to jump into!
I finally got my visa and will be coming home July 16th. In my head, I am already there. I am thinking about what kind of pizza I want to order from Pazzos and trying to remember where I put everything that I will need when I get home. I can’t remember what I did with my keys and where my knife and other necessities have gone off to. I am sure when I get home I will ask mom where the keys are and she will know where I put them. I think I stashed them in a special spot before I left in the winter—now if I could just remember where that special spot was.
I’m excited about coming home and getting to spend a long vacation in Kentucky. I have to admit that this job is awesome in the aspect of vacation time. I get about 3 months off a year when it is all said and done, and they are paid. That’s quite a bit more time than most jobs at home! This does make me consider going the teaching route since I love to have the summers free!
I have been enjoying spending time with Nate before he goes back to KY for good. He’s been here three years and I know he’s ready to go home. Living abroad for live is for some people, but not for Nate. (or me!) I think we both enjoy the adventure, but we are ready to get home and start another one as well. I will be staying for another 6 months, and I am sure that I will miss hanging out with him on the weekends!
Michael Jackson is all over the news here, and I am sure he is at home. It’s amazing to think about what an impact he had on people around the world. My young kids here know who he is, and they have never heard of John Lennon. That ought to tell you how much his music and his personality traveled around the world. I know a ton of people are all bent out of shape about how much coverage this is getting, but they need to get over it. To many, Michael was a symbol of their youth and a reminder of good times and I think many are mourning over the loss of their youth just as much as they are mourning the King of Pop. I will always remember him as Captain EO from Disney’s EPCOT center.
Tomorrow is Michi’s birthday! Make sure you send her a note if you remember it in time. I don’t have her anything for her birthday, what a good boyfriend I am! I better dig up something on the double or I am in deep trouble! This weekend we are going to go out to a nice place in Nagoya on Saturday night, and I am sure that it won’t be cheap. Dinner will probably run us about 100$, which is pretty normal for a restaurant in downtown Nagoya! Crazy huh?
I am trying to get everything packed and ready for the trip next week. My biggest concern is cleaning my apartment and making sure I don’t leave any food behind to rot and attract more cockroaches. Living practically in the woods makes it hard to keep critters out of the apartment. I haven’t seen any more interesting animals lately, but I have been on the lookout since I heard that bears patrol the area where I run!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
I'll be home in two weeks. wow. It seems like the spring and summer have just flown by! Where did the time go? I guess when we get older that happens.
Life is good, it could always be worse. I have been blessed to have done all that I have!!!!
Can't wait to get back for grill outs and swimming at my house with mom and dad, long late nights at the apartment, and friends. I have missed it so much this time!
Life is good, it could always be worse. I have been blessed to have done all that I have!!!!
Can't wait to get back for grill outs and swimming at my house with mom and dad, long late nights at the apartment, and friends. I have missed it so much this time!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The weeks keep rolling by. I admit that I am busy and I am teaching a lot of classes here. When I was in Tahara I usually taught about 15-20 classes a week, sometimes way less. Many times it seemed like I didn’t teach much at all since I didn’t design any lesson plans in Tahara and basically was a very basic backup to the teacher.
Here in Toei, it’s a whole different ballgame. I have classes of my own, and about 20-25 each week. Of those, at least 8 are elementary school classes, which I am completely on my own. Most of my kids are great, and my only complaint with a few is that they are too excited. I don’t have the problem that some teachers in the big city have where the students don’t want to learn and sleep at their desks. My kids are pumped about getting to spend time with the foreigner, and some of the little kids don’t let me leave school without playing with them for a long time, and even then sometimes it is a fight to get away.
Of course as summer draws close and I hear (and read) about friends having fun at home I long to be back in KY. Nate has always said that there isn’t anything better in the world than a summer in KY, and I think he’s right. It will be great to be home this summer and have at least a month to relax and hang out with friends. For sure I am long overdue for some fishing, and I can guarantee that more than a few nights will be spent with the boys on the third floor talking about old times.
It rained like the dickens this morning and now it humid as can be. I walked to the elementary school from the junior high and now I am just wet with sweat. Nothing gets you into a good mood to teach some rowdy kids like being sweaty and hot. Of course schools in Japan aren’t heated or cooled, which I still believe is cruel and unusual.
I’ve been running after school in the mountains behind my apartment. So far this week I have seen two dead snakes on the road, one of which was the biggest snake I have ever seen in the wild. I am half glad that it was dead when I saw it, cause I think it could have eaten me otherwise. Near my apartment this year I have seen pheasants, quail, a weasel, a Japanese raccoon, and tons of other creepy crawlies.
I miss all of you at home and hope to be there sometime in the end of July. I have to renew my visa, which of course isn’t a process that Japan makes easy. (not that anything here is ever easy!) As soon as my new visa is in hand, I will be on the next plane home!!
Here in Toei, it’s a whole different ballgame. I have classes of my own, and about 20-25 each week. Of those, at least 8 are elementary school classes, which I am completely on my own. Most of my kids are great, and my only complaint with a few is that they are too excited. I don’t have the problem that some teachers in the big city have where the students don’t want to learn and sleep at their desks. My kids are pumped about getting to spend time with the foreigner, and some of the little kids don’t let me leave school without playing with them for a long time, and even then sometimes it is a fight to get away.
Of course as summer draws close and I hear (and read) about friends having fun at home I long to be back in KY. Nate has always said that there isn’t anything better in the world than a summer in KY, and I think he’s right. It will be great to be home this summer and have at least a month to relax and hang out with friends. For sure I am long overdue for some fishing, and I can guarantee that more than a few nights will be spent with the boys on the third floor talking about old times.
It rained like the dickens this morning and now it humid as can be. I walked to the elementary school from the junior high and now I am just wet with sweat. Nothing gets you into a good mood to teach some rowdy kids like being sweaty and hot. Of course schools in Japan aren’t heated or cooled, which I still believe is cruel and unusual.
I’ve been running after school in the mountains behind my apartment. So far this week I have seen two dead snakes on the road, one of which was the biggest snake I have ever seen in the wild. I am half glad that it was dead when I saw it, cause I think it could have eaten me otherwise. Near my apartment this year I have seen pheasants, quail, a weasel, a Japanese raccoon, and tons of other creepy crawlies.
I miss all of you at home and hope to be there sometime in the end of July. I have to renew my visa, which of course isn’t a process that Japan makes easy. (not that anything here is ever easy!) As soon as my new visa is in hand, I will be on the next plane home!!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I could speak fluently and I could say what a normal American would say back home. Today when I came to school the notoriously strict principal (at one of my elementary schools—the same guy that scolded me last week for not saying hello to him every time I arrive) ask me who the red car belonged to that was outside of my house last weekend. He also asked whom the other two people were that I was driving to Toyohashi with. I felt like telling him the car belonged to a Mr. Biznass, A Mr. Nunya Bizass to be specific. He ended his inquiry into what I was doing with my life by telling me that everyone here is watching me, and that I need to be careful. I might let it get to me, but I know that all of the other teachers in Toei can't stand this jerk—so knowing that makes him easy to ignore. I would love to let him hear it just one time though.
Everything else is Toei is going great, except for one small thing. The teachers at my junior high give me so much to eat, I am going to have to talk to them. Every day they load up my plate with a TON of food, and I can’t take it anymore. Some Japanese people think that just because I am a white foreigner that I must eat a ton. I have pointed it out to many of the other teachers that I am not any bigger than any of my Japanese teachers, and that I can't eat that much. Nevertheless, the fact that I am white trumps all other reason.
The weather is getting warmer and I am ready. I have been enjoying exercising after school and getting home in time to enjoy the sun—unlike winter here when it got dark at like 4:30PM. The only downside to the summer is that I think it now gets light here at like 4:15AM, and by that time the birds are up and going nuts each day. I like getting up each morning at like 5AM though…gives me time to ease into the day, drink my coffee, and chat on the phone before the work day begins.
Michi and I have been reading the Bible a lot together these days, and I have go to say that I am now convinced that most people, especially Christians, have no idea what the Bible really says. Even if I do think I understand what it says, when I start to break it down and explain it, I realize that I don’t know a thing about what I am trying to explain. We are plowing through John, and we are in the middle of chapter 3. If there is anyone out there who can explain what Jesus meant in John 3:18 when he said that those who don’t believe are ALREADY condemned—I’d love to hear you give it a shot. And while you are at it, go ahead and give me an explanation of the last four or five verses of John 2.
I have been listening to and reading a lot about different translations of the Bible and where our current text came from, and I am amazed by so many that can follow every word that we have in English and not even wonder about where it comes from. I admit that living in a foreign country and learning different languages makes it obvious how meanings do change with each translation. To my knowledge, when we read the Bible—we are reading text that has been translated through at least two languages. I can imagine how the meaning gets lost… Kentucky English just doesn’t translate into Japanese. You can imagine how even the smallest things are lost in translation. Think about how many ways we have to express the simple but always funny act of passing gas. Translating, “Who cut the cheese?” or “ripped a big one” into Japanese just doesn’t work.
Everything else is Toei is going great, except for one small thing. The teachers at my junior high give me so much to eat, I am going to have to talk to them. Every day they load up my plate with a TON of food, and I can’t take it anymore. Some Japanese people think that just because I am a white foreigner that I must eat a ton. I have pointed it out to many of the other teachers that I am not any bigger than any of my Japanese teachers, and that I can't eat that much. Nevertheless, the fact that I am white trumps all other reason.
The weather is getting warmer and I am ready. I have been enjoying exercising after school and getting home in time to enjoy the sun—unlike winter here when it got dark at like 4:30PM. The only downside to the summer is that I think it now gets light here at like 4:15AM, and by that time the birds are up and going nuts each day. I like getting up each morning at like 5AM though…gives me time to ease into the day, drink my coffee, and chat on the phone before the work day begins.
Michi and I have been reading the Bible a lot together these days, and I have go to say that I am now convinced that most people, especially Christians, have no idea what the Bible really says. Even if I do think I understand what it says, when I start to break it down and explain it, I realize that I don’t know a thing about what I am trying to explain. We are plowing through John, and we are in the middle of chapter 3. If there is anyone out there who can explain what Jesus meant in John 3:18 when he said that those who don’t believe are ALREADY condemned—I’d love to hear you give it a shot. And while you are at it, go ahead and give me an explanation of the last four or five verses of John 2.
I have been listening to and reading a lot about different translations of the Bible and where our current text came from, and I am amazed by so many that can follow every word that we have in English and not even wonder about where it comes from. I admit that living in a foreign country and learning different languages makes it obvious how meanings do change with each translation. To my knowledge, when we read the Bible—we are reading text that has been translated through at least two languages. I can imagine how the meaning gets lost… Kentucky English just doesn’t translate into Japanese. You can imagine how even the smallest things are lost in translation. Think about how many ways we have to express the simple but always funny act of passing gas. Translating, “Who cut the cheese?” or “ripped a big one” into Japanese just doesn’t work.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Yeah DAD!
My dad is on the far left. His group came upon a bus crash in Ecuador!!!!
http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/802405.html
Sunday, May 17, 2009
$100 Challenge
This weekend I was in Nagoya with Michi. I decide to do something that I had never done before, and something that I didn't think I ever would do. Michi wanted to go shopping, so I took her to her favorite store and told her she could shop as much as she wanted, and that I was going to walk around downtown for a while. (I get bored after being in the store for 5 minutes.)
Before I left I gave her $100 and told her that she could only buy things for herself and that the money was hers to spend on anything she wanted. She was amazed and immediately was so happy. The rest of the weekend she told me about how it made her feel so happy that I wanted to be generous to her and wanted to make her happy.
She was in the store for over an hour, and she came out empty handed. She hadn't bought a thing, but the simple fact that I was willing to sacrifice something that was mine for her, made all of the difference in the world.
Whatever $100 is worth to you, I dare you to do the same for your girl. FOR SURE, it will be the best $100 you will ever spend.
Before I left I gave her $100 and told her that she could only buy things for herself and that the money was hers to spend on anything she wanted. She was amazed and immediately was so happy. The rest of the weekend she told me about how it made her feel so happy that I wanted to be generous to her and wanted to make her happy.
She was in the store for over an hour, and she came out empty handed. She hadn't bought a thing, but the simple fact that I was willing to sacrifice something that was mine for her, made all of the difference in the world.
Whatever $100 is worth to you, I dare you to do the same for your girl. FOR SURE, it will be the best $100 you will ever spend.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The summer is almost here in full swing. The nights are getting warmer, and it seems like the birds are up and chirping at 3:30AM every morning. I woke up to a bright sky this morning and could have sworn I was late to school, but when I checked my phone I saw that it was only 4:45AM. It makes me happy when I do that though, because after that I can get the best 15-20 minutes of sleep.
School is going well the days come and go just like the ones before them. I wake up and do my morning rituals: email, read the news, shower, make my coffee, ichat with Michi, call friends and head to work. My afternoon rituals vary somewhat—usually I get home from school, check the news, run/exercise for about an hour, make dinner, eat, read/watch movies/relax, and hit the sack early. I know my life during the week sounds a bit boring, but believe me that the alone time can be nice and that I do make up for it on the weekends.
Usually I spend the weekends with friends and traveling and just about every weekend is spent with Michi. I have a room in her brother’s house that makes it real easy for me to stay in Toyohashi on the weekends. Sometimes life in her brother’s house gets a little wild with the four kids—but it is exciting.
It’s hard for me to believe that I only have about two months of school left until I will be home again for another visit. Time here passes both fast and slow. Sometimes I look at a calendar and wonder where the month went, and other times it seems like lunchtime will never get here. I do know that it seems like it was just yesterday that I was back in Japan—but in another sense it seems like forever since I have been at home relaxing. I have one sweet break lined up this summer (more than six weeks off!) and I am looking forward to making the most of it.
These days I have been reading a lot more, partly because I am trying to learn a lot and partly because I want to finish all of my books before summer so I can stock up with new ones when I am at home. Now I’m reading Sex God by Rob Bell. He says some good stuff but the way he writes and his endnotes are not to my liking. Sometimes I think he just wrote a bunch of sentences on a piece of paper, cut them out, put them in a bag and shook them, and dumped them on the table. Wherever they landed they stayed. He is full of great info and good information though.
I have two more classes to go on this Friday afternoon before I am done for the weekend. I’ve already taught two at the junior high this morning, and today I ate so much for school lunch that I need to explode or take a nap—or maybe a combination of both. Now, it’s time for me to put on my best smile, muster all of the energy that I can, and go teach some elementary school aged Japanese kids a few English words and games.
I am taking a nap after my afternoon run. For sure.
School is going well the days come and go just like the ones before them. I wake up and do my morning rituals: email, read the news, shower, make my coffee, ichat with Michi, call friends and head to work. My afternoon rituals vary somewhat—usually I get home from school, check the news, run/exercise for about an hour, make dinner, eat, read/watch movies/relax, and hit the sack early. I know my life during the week sounds a bit boring, but believe me that the alone time can be nice and that I do make up for it on the weekends.
Usually I spend the weekends with friends and traveling and just about every weekend is spent with Michi. I have a room in her brother’s house that makes it real easy for me to stay in Toyohashi on the weekends. Sometimes life in her brother’s house gets a little wild with the four kids—but it is exciting.
It’s hard for me to believe that I only have about two months of school left until I will be home again for another visit. Time here passes both fast and slow. Sometimes I look at a calendar and wonder where the month went, and other times it seems like lunchtime will never get here. I do know that it seems like it was just yesterday that I was back in Japan—but in another sense it seems like forever since I have been at home relaxing. I have one sweet break lined up this summer (more than six weeks off!) and I am looking forward to making the most of it.
These days I have been reading a lot more, partly because I am trying to learn a lot and partly because I want to finish all of my books before summer so I can stock up with new ones when I am at home. Now I’m reading Sex God by Rob Bell. He says some good stuff but the way he writes and his endnotes are not to my liking. Sometimes I think he just wrote a bunch of sentences on a piece of paper, cut them out, put them in a bag and shook them, and dumped them on the table. Wherever they landed they stayed. He is full of great info and good information though.
I have two more classes to go on this Friday afternoon before I am done for the weekend. I’ve already taught two at the junior high this morning, and today I ate so much for school lunch that I need to explode or take a nap—or maybe a combination of both. Now, it’s time for me to put on my best smile, muster all of the energy that I can, and go teach some elementary school aged Japanese kids a few English words and games.
I am taking a nap after my afternoon run. For sure.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
I often wonder “What if?” about many things in my life. I’m sure to some extent we all do. I look back on choices that I made and that I didn’t make and I wonder what my life would look like right now, if certain things had and hadn’t happened.
For sure I am not the first person to ever wonder this, nor will I be the last. But, for someone who loves KY as much as I do, it’s easy for me to sit back and try and imagine what my life would have been like if I had never left.
I first left The County in high school. Of course I had been out of the county and out of the state in the past—but that was the first time I had ever left the country. I can remember what it felt like to sit and imagine how far away from home that my friends and I were, and I remember thinking about how all of my friends at home would have loved to be there as well. I was lucky to be able to take two international trips during high school, and I was hooked.
I was lucky to meet the Summays in high school and was also lucky to attend a church where international missions, or at least mission trips, were possible. The summer after my freshman year of college I was sitting on a plane bound for post-war Bosnia—and didn’t have a clue about where I was going or what I was getting in to. After that whirlwind love at first sight trip to Bosnia—I wound up going back four more times, and each time I tried to stay longer and longer.
I came to Japan in the fall of 2006, spent a year here, went home, and now here I am again. My time here has been crazy to say the least, and I never thought I would be here teaching a school after my first year here was finished. Life is amazing.
All in all I guess I have traveled abroad on 10 separate international trips since I was 16 years old—quite a bit considering that I am 27 at this moment in time. I’m not sure how many countries I have been in—with a quick count I come up with about 20.
I say that not to brag—because for sure I have been blessed to be able to have seen as much as I have. I say that only to reinforce to myself why it is that I look at the world the way I do. I can remember being in Europe that first time and really realizing that there was a world outside of Scott County—and it was going on all the same at the same when I was back home—even if I didn’t know about it at the time. There were people like me, with friends like me, who laughed and cried like me, who loved their mom and dad like me, who talked like me and who didn't talk like me, who loved the sunshine like me, and who lived and died like me—I just had never thought about them before.
I wonder what would DH look like if he had never left Scott County—never left for any significant period of time anyway. What would he believe and where would he be? Would he be years into his chosen field? Perhaps he would be a doctor or a stockbroker or a preacher. Would he be married with children of his own? Would he have a small house somewhere in Georgetown with a mortgage and a car payment? Would he be an alcoholic who is jobless who dreams of something bigger all day? I guess we will never know.
For sure our experiences, both good and bad, make us who we are today. I wouldn't have the views that I have if I had gone another route. I can’t hear someone talk about war without thinking about the horror and damage done to Kemo’s family. I can’t talk about Muslims without thinking about Sega and Sevda and how much love they have shown me and they continue to show my friends. I can’t think about Buddhists and Japs without seeing the faces of all of my smiling and laughing kids who want the same things out of life that their American counterparts do. I can’t eat a club sandwich without thinking about that one that I had in Dublin that I’m sure I never will be able to recreate. I can’t drink a German style beer and not think about backpacking with my sister through Germany and sitting with her in the lobby of the Sunflower Hostel as we both wrote in our journals and I sipped on some Berliner Pilsner. I can’t eat a hamburger and not think about all of the amazingly tasty ones that I ate on the porch of The Summatarium in the late summer.
Where would I be if I had gone another route? What would the DH look like who walked down a different road? I don’t know—and honestly, now I don’t care too much.
I kinda like the way I’ve turned out so far.
For sure I am not the first person to ever wonder this, nor will I be the last. But, for someone who loves KY as much as I do, it’s easy for me to sit back and try and imagine what my life would have been like if I had never left.
I first left The County in high school. Of course I had been out of the county and out of the state in the past—but that was the first time I had ever left the country. I can remember what it felt like to sit and imagine how far away from home that my friends and I were, and I remember thinking about how all of my friends at home would have loved to be there as well. I was lucky to be able to take two international trips during high school, and I was hooked.
I was lucky to meet the Summays in high school and was also lucky to attend a church where international missions, or at least mission trips, were possible. The summer after my freshman year of college I was sitting on a plane bound for post-war Bosnia—and didn’t have a clue about where I was going or what I was getting in to. After that whirlwind love at first sight trip to Bosnia—I wound up going back four more times, and each time I tried to stay longer and longer.
I came to Japan in the fall of 2006, spent a year here, went home, and now here I am again. My time here has been crazy to say the least, and I never thought I would be here teaching a school after my first year here was finished. Life is amazing.
All in all I guess I have traveled abroad on 10 separate international trips since I was 16 years old—quite a bit considering that I am 27 at this moment in time. I’m not sure how many countries I have been in—with a quick count I come up with about 20.
I say that not to brag—because for sure I have been blessed to be able to have seen as much as I have. I say that only to reinforce to myself why it is that I look at the world the way I do. I can remember being in Europe that first time and really realizing that there was a world outside of Scott County—and it was going on all the same at the same when I was back home—even if I didn’t know about it at the time. There were people like me, with friends like me, who laughed and cried like me, who loved their mom and dad like me, who talked like me and who didn't talk like me, who loved the sunshine like me, and who lived and died like me—I just had never thought about them before.
I wonder what would DH look like if he had never left Scott County—never left for any significant period of time anyway. What would he believe and where would he be? Would he be years into his chosen field? Perhaps he would be a doctor or a stockbroker or a preacher. Would he be married with children of his own? Would he have a small house somewhere in Georgetown with a mortgage and a car payment? Would he be an alcoholic who is jobless who dreams of something bigger all day? I guess we will never know.
For sure our experiences, both good and bad, make us who we are today. I wouldn't have the views that I have if I had gone another route. I can’t hear someone talk about war without thinking about the horror and damage done to Kemo’s family. I can’t talk about Muslims without thinking about Sega and Sevda and how much love they have shown me and they continue to show my friends. I can’t think about Buddhists and Japs without seeing the faces of all of my smiling and laughing kids who want the same things out of life that their American counterparts do. I can’t eat a club sandwich without thinking about that one that I had in Dublin that I’m sure I never will be able to recreate. I can’t drink a German style beer and not think about backpacking with my sister through Germany and sitting with her in the lobby of the Sunflower Hostel as we both wrote in our journals and I sipped on some Berliner Pilsner. I can’t eat a hamburger and not think about all of the amazingly tasty ones that I ate on the porch of The Summatarium in the late summer.
Where would I be if I had gone another route? What would the DH look like who walked down a different road? I don’t know—and honestly, now I don’t care too much.
I kinda like the way I’ve turned out so far.
Monday, April 20, 2009
What can we do to separate our core Christian values from the human instinct of self-preservation? I guess what I am trying to ask is: Why do we as Christians feel that we have the right to safety for us and our families? The more I try to understand what Jesus really wants for us—the more I come the conclusion that our physical and emotional well-being—and that of our families—is no guarantee for those that follow Christ.
When we as a people and as a nation are attacked—we feel that we must punish the offender. When someone appears to be a threat to us—we feel that it is in our best interest to neutralize and prevent that threat. If people don’t agree with us, or our way of thinking, we feel that it is ok to tell them to “get the hell out of this country if they don’t like it.”
As Christians, do you think that we are entitled to anything—even basic security? If we are truly following God with all that we have—doesn’t that inherently require us to risk everything that we have for His sake?
Have we as Christian-Americans become so deeply rooted and attached to being American that we view what it really means to be a Christ follower in the context of what it means to be a “good American?” Shouldn’t we look at our identity as Americans and what that really means from the framework of someone who is 100% devoted to the teachings of Jesus?
When we as a people and as a nation are attacked—we feel that we must punish the offender. When someone appears to be a threat to us—we feel that it is in our best interest to neutralize and prevent that threat. If people don’t agree with us, or our way of thinking, we feel that it is ok to tell them to “get the hell out of this country if they don’t like it.”
As Christians, do you think that we are entitled to anything—even basic security? If we are truly following God with all that we have—doesn’t that inherently require us to risk everything that we have for His sake?
Have we as Christian-Americans become so deeply rooted and attached to being American that we view what it really means to be a Christ follower in the context of what it means to be a “good American?” Shouldn’t we look at our identity as Americans and what that really means from the framework of someone who is 100% devoted to the teachings of Jesus?
Monday, April 13, 2009
Had an awesome day of sunshine, riding by bike around town and down by the river while listening to Perry Noble bring the Word! Check him out if you haven't already.
This weekend was a really good renewing for the Soul. Colored Easter eggs with Michi and her family for the first time.
Cleaned off the back porch here (tiny as it may be) and got a chair set up where I can watch the sun slip down behind the mountains.
I challenge someone to sit out here with me and tell me God doesn't exist.
This weekend was a really good renewing for the Soul. Colored Easter eggs with Michi and her family for the first time.
Cleaned off the back porch here (tiny as it may be) and got a chair set up where I can watch the sun slip down behind the mountains.
I challenge someone to sit out here with me and tell me God doesn't exist.
Friday, April 10, 2009
I updated my facebook status yesterday like I do several times a day. Yesterday I was thinking about the nation of Isreal and why so many Christians feel that they and America must back Isreal in everything that they say and do. I updated my status and a debate was sparked--even if it had nothing to do with what I originally wrote about.
I do want to say that I am impressed by the way that the discussion was had with no personal attacks to people getting angry. I think that one of the main obstacles to having a good meaningful conversation these days is that people get so worked up and feel that their beliefs are being attacked--or that those with opposing views must be converted here and now! I thank all of the commenters for their insight and level headedness.
Whenever we look at an issue or formulate our opinions about something, we can only use our own experiences and background to help us mold how we feel. Without getting too existential, I do want to point out that no one can look at at topic the same way YOU do--and we all feel like our own experiences give us special insight into a situation. You cannot understand Japan in the same way that I do, nor can I understand what it means to be a single parent. Maybe with more of this attitude, we can hear others out before automatically labeling their points of view "dumb".
The issue that Kermie brought up was of course a natural extension of my original question, being, "Why do Christians feel that they must like ______?"
I do feel that for many years we as "the church" got it so wrong--and for sure we have a long way to go. For me, I have a hard time singing "God Bless the USA" and "I'm Proud to be an American!" after I read more and more about what Jesus called us to be. For sure we have done a lot to help the world---But do our good deeds in Africa cover up our failure to act during Rwanda? Can we ever weigh good deeds against the bad and come out on top? Who judges what is the end good? Is the proliferation of the US way of life good for people and the planet? These are just the tip of the iceberg...
For sure we are a generation that won't stand for the "old time religion" and one that allows us to subcribe to beliefs that don't require action or sacrifice.
But back to the start-- I will say loud and clear that I don't support Isreal any more than I support India, Pakistan, France, the UK, China, North Korea or Iran. Why do they get a free pass in a world of nuclear proliferation?
I do want to say that I am impressed by the way that the discussion was had with no personal attacks to people getting angry. I think that one of the main obstacles to having a good meaningful conversation these days is that people get so worked up and feel that their beliefs are being attacked--or that those with opposing views must be converted here and now! I thank all of the commenters for their insight and level headedness.
Whenever we look at an issue or formulate our opinions about something, we can only use our own experiences and background to help us mold how we feel. Without getting too existential, I do want to point out that no one can look at at topic the same way YOU do--and we all feel like our own experiences give us special insight into a situation. You cannot understand Japan in the same way that I do, nor can I understand what it means to be a single parent. Maybe with more of this attitude, we can hear others out before automatically labeling their points of view "dumb".
The issue that Kermie brought up was of course a natural extension of my original question, being, "Why do Christians feel that they must like ______?"
I do feel that for many years we as "the church" got it so wrong--and for sure we have a long way to go. For me, I have a hard time singing "God Bless the USA" and "I'm Proud to be an American!" after I read more and more about what Jesus called us to be. For sure we have done a lot to help the world---But do our good deeds in Africa cover up our failure to act during Rwanda? Can we ever weigh good deeds against the bad and come out on top? Who judges what is the end good? Is the proliferation of the US way of life good for people and the planet? These are just the tip of the iceberg...
For sure we are a generation that won't stand for the "old time religion" and one that allows us to subcribe to beliefs that don't require action or sacrifice.
But back to the start-- I will say loud and clear that I don't support Isreal any more than I support India, Pakistan, France, the UK, China, North Korea or Iran. Why do they get a free pass in a world of nuclear proliferation?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Some spiritual Heavyweights talking about Satan
If you haven't watched the whole thing yet, you need to--here is my favorite segment.
Content
The spring semester has started. Here in Japan we start the New Year from April, so that means that all the students have just changed grades. We graduated our old students from the Junior High in March, and we have a French bunch of first graders who started today. I had them as students when they were in elementary school as well; so most of them know me more than all of the other teachers in the school. It’s going to be a fun year for sure.
Here some of the teachers change each year as well. They move from school to school and sometimes district to district. It is nice to go to a school that I don’t frequent very often and see some familiar faces.
This weekend I have a mandatory school day on Saturday and then a mandatory teachers party with the PTA after school. The teachers’ parties are usually pretty fun and consist of me being the novelty for all of the fathers to talk US sports with and the mothers to get a change to talk to an American guy. The downside is that I have to pay $60 to attend. I don’t know about you—but I can stretch $60 pretty far in the US!!
I am getting older. I looked at pictures that Michi took of me when we were in Okinawa and one thing is for sure—I’m not as young as I used to be. I notice that my hairline is farther back, I have a double chin and that I find myself wearing the same clothes that I wore in college. How I used to be in style! Now I am content to wear the same pair of cargo shorts and t-shirts for the rest of my life. I have fallen in love with Chaco sandals. If I could wear them instead of shoes the rest of my life year round and not freeze to death—I surely would. That, or go barefoot. We went hiking in Okinawa and a guide insisted that I wear these shoes that our hotel provided. I said no way; I would stick with my sandals. He was really worried until I heard Michi tell him in Japanese, “Don’t worry about him. In America he’s from the country. He and his friends walk around without shoes all the time.” And all this time I have been trying to get rid of that Kentucky stereotype! Oh well, I guess I really do like to be barefoot.
I have been really enjoying renewed relationships with old friends. Even though I am in a remote area in a country on the other side of the world, I am pretty connected. I have been having some great spiritual talks with guys that are older than me that I really respect—Bow and Coat to name two. Never underestimate the impact that good advice can have on your life if you take the time to implement it.
The spring has brought a renewed freshness to my life. The sun on the mountains today is perhaps on of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen. There are some days here when I feel like I could board a plane and go home right away—and others where I feel like I could look at the mountains for years. I think one thing that I have learned in all of my travels is that we have the ability to be happy and content wherever we are.
Being content is one thing that I am really working on lately. I think that many people in the world, especially in the US—struggle with being really content. I sat down the other day and was thinking—really, I have everything that I want. I didn’t say that I have everything that I need, but I really do have everything that I want. I tried to really think of things that I really want—but I can’t come up with too much.
Here some of the teachers change each year as well. They move from school to school and sometimes district to district. It is nice to go to a school that I don’t frequent very often and see some familiar faces.
This weekend I have a mandatory school day on Saturday and then a mandatory teachers party with the PTA after school. The teachers’ parties are usually pretty fun and consist of me being the novelty for all of the fathers to talk US sports with and the mothers to get a change to talk to an American guy. The downside is that I have to pay $60 to attend. I don’t know about you—but I can stretch $60 pretty far in the US!!
I am getting older. I looked at pictures that Michi took of me when we were in Okinawa and one thing is for sure—I’m not as young as I used to be. I notice that my hairline is farther back, I have a double chin and that I find myself wearing the same clothes that I wore in college. How I used to be in style! Now I am content to wear the same pair of cargo shorts and t-shirts for the rest of my life. I have fallen in love with Chaco sandals. If I could wear them instead of shoes the rest of my life year round and not freeze to death—I surely would. That, or go barefoot. We went hiking in Okinawa and a guide insisted that I wear these shoes that our hotel provided. I said no way; I would stick with my sandals. He was really worried until I heard Michi tell him in Japanese, “Don’t worry about him. In America he’s from the country. He and his friends walk around without shoes all the time.” And all this time I have been trying to get rid of that Kentucky stereotype! Oh well, I guess I really do like to be barefoot.
I have been really enjoying renewed relationships with old friends. Even though I am in a remote area in a country on the other side of the world, I am pretty connected. I have been having some great spiritual talks with guys that are older than me that I really respect—Bow and Coat to name two. Never underestimate the impact that good advice can have on your life if you take the time to implement it.
The spring has brought a renewed freshness to my life. The sun on the mountains today is perhaps on of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen. There are some days here when I feel like I could board a plane and go home right away—and others where I feel like I could look at the mountains for years. I think one thing that I have learned in all of my travels is that we have the ability to be happy and content wherever we are.
Being content is one thing that I am really working on lately. I think that many people in the world, especially in the US—struggle with being really content. I sat down the other day and was thinking—really, I have everything that I want. I didn’t say that I have everything that I need, but I really do have everything that I want. I tried to really think of things that I really want—but I can’t come up with too much.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Ishigaki
I'm done with school today and I'm heading to the beach this Friday! I'll be in Ishigaki until the 31st, so if you need me, wait!
Miss everyone so much and it's hard to imagine that my 6 months are up already! I hope the next year goes by just as fast!
Miss everyone so much and it's hard to imagine that my 6 months are up already! I hope the next year goes by just as fast!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tokyo
Had a good weekend in Tokyo but am tired as can be. I must say that getting older means that I like to sleep more...or is it just that there's not much else to do in Toei?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Sunday
I got on Kentucky.com this week and was surprised to see that the vote passed to allow alcohol sales in Georgetown on Sunday. I knew that this change was bound to happen in the near future, but I didn’t think that it could happen so quickly. After reading about how the measure passed so easily, I wasn’t surprised to see that several people were opposed to the idea of selling alcohol on Sunday. What did surprise me was the reaction of some of those disappointed people, and how quickly this issue and those on either side use this issue to separate the “Christians” from the non-church going crowd.
One lady was quoted in the paper as saying the bill was a “slap in God’s face.” This kind of language is not only silly and non-Biblical, but it also creates a negative image of Believers to the non-churched in our community. If the passing of a bill is “a slap in God’s face”, then it is only naturally to assume that those who voted for the bill and those that supported it are the ones doing the slapping. Are we sending the message to Believers and non-Believers alike that allowing drinking on Sunday is not only immoral but also abhorred by God?
This issue is no doubt rooted in the old, mainly Southern view that alcohol and its consumption is not a good thing, and in fact is a sin. For years many in the church took the stance that the followers of God should never take a drink, nor associate closely with those that do. The same line of thinking that banned all alcohol sales in the United States in the 1920s (gasp!) banned the sale of alcohol in certain counties of Kentucky even until the present day. Many living in Scott County were upset when the transition was made from “dry” to “moist”--and were certain that widespread drunkenness and Tom Foolery was sure to ensue. For many, the banning of alcohol sales on Sunday was the last remnant of an old “religious” set of rules that they could cling to. Now, that old thread is gone, and many are certain that the Sunday streets will be filled with drunk drivers and wife beating is sure to increase ten fold.
I have had the blessing to travel to many places around the world starting at a young age. I’m so thankful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to see other cultures, and for the freedom I had to look at my own culture from a critical stance at times. It’s amazing to me how divisive the alcohol debate is in America, and how harmful it is to the church.
As I write about this issue, I am trying not to be too biased, but I am sure I am not doing a good job of it. It is true that I do love a good beer, and in fact, making, reviewing, researching, and talking about beer is one of my favorite hobbies. I have always loved cooking and food, and my love for beer is a natural extension of that. I am amazed by the way that grains, water, hops and yeast can combine to create a drink like beer. In fact, I agree with what a recent speaker said at Mars Hill Bible Church when he said the fermenting of grapes and their transformation into wine in the Napa Valley is no doubt a miracle that only God could have created. Before I get slammed for this, everything—of course—in moderation. Just about anything that God created can be detrimental when not consumed or used in moderation—it just seems that alcohol is always the quickest target for the Bible beaters since it’s effects are most quickly and obviously noticed. Like many, sometimes I struggle with this command of moderation, and sometimes it pertains to beer—although most of the time there are much easier and more inconspicuous ( to others at least) ways to indulge my sinful desires.
I hope that many in Georgetown can get past the past and realize that selling alcohol on Sunday is not an issue that we need to be concerned about as Followers. How can we say that selling beer on Sunday is a slap in the face of God—when there are people who are starving every day in our town? How can we talk down to those who wish to enjoy a beer at a restaurant on Sundays, when there are those in our town with no shelter any night of the week? How can we condemn anyone for enjoying a beer, when we enjoy foods and goods every day that were produced and procured in ways that enslave and impoverish people around the world?
For sure I don’t want to give the impression that big issues and problems should cause us not to stand up for right even in the smallest of issues. I guess I just don’t understand why it seems the only time “Christians” get really fired up is when the issue is about homosexuality, booze, sex, or abortion.
Can we just sit down over a Kentucky Ale and talk about it after church on Sunday?
One lady was quoted in the paper as saying the bill was a “slap in God’s face.” This kind of language is not only silly and non-Biblical, but it also creates a negative image of Believers to the non-churched in our community. If the passing of a bill is “a slap in God’s face”, then it is only naturally to assume that those who voted for the bill and those that supported it are the ones doing the slapping. Are we sending the message to Believers and non-Believers alike that allowing drinking on Sunday is not only immoral but also abhorred by God?
This issue is no doubt rooted in the old, mainly Southern view that alcohol and its consumption is not a good thing, and in fact is a sin. For years many in the church took the stance that the followers of God should never take a drink, nor associate closely with those that do. The same line of thinking that banned all alcohol sales in the United States in the 1920s (gasp!) banned the sale of alcohol in certain counties of Kentucky even until the present day. Many living in Scott County were upset when the transition was made from “dry” to “moist”--and were certain that widespread drunkenness and Tom Foolery was sure to ensue. For many, the banning of alcohol sales on Sunday was the last remnant of an old “religious” set of rules that they could cling to. Now, that old thread is gone, and many are certain that the Sunday streets will be filled with drunk drivers and wife beating is sure to increase ten fold.
I have had the blessing to travel to many places around the world starting at a young age. I’m so thankful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to see other cultures, and for the freedom I had to look at my own culture from a critical stance at times. It’s amazing to me how divisive the alcohol debate is in America, and how harmful it is to the church.
As I write about this issue, I am trying not to be too biased, but I am sure I am not doing a good job of it. It is true that I do love a good beer, and in fact, making, reviewing, researching, and talking about beer is one of my favorite hobbies. I have always loved cooking and food, and my love for beer is a natural extension of that. I am amazed by the way that grains, water, hops and yeast can combine to create a drink like beer. In fact, I agree with what a recent speaker said at Mars Hill Bible Church when he said the fermenting of grapes and their transformation into wine in the Napa Valley is no doubt a miracle that only God could have created. Before I get slammed for this, everything—of course—in moderation. Just about anything that God created can be detrimental when not consumed or used in moderation—it just seems that alcohol is always the quickest target for the Bible beaters since it’s effects are most quickly and obviously noticed. Like many, sometimes I struggle with this command of moderation, and sometimes it pertains to beer—although most of the time there are much easier and more inconspicuous ( to others at least) ways to indulge my sinful desires.
I hope that many in Georgetown can get past the past and realize that selling alcohol on Sunday is not an issue that we need to be concerned about as Followers. How can we say that selling beer on Sunday is a slap in the face of God—when there are people who are starving every day in our town? How can we talk down to those who wish to enjoy a beer at a restaurant on Sundays, when there are those in our town with no shelter any night of the week? How can we condemn anyone for enjoying a beer, when we enjoy foods and goods every day that were produced and procured in ways that enslave and impoverish people around the world?
For sure I don’t want to give the impression that big issues and problems should cause us not to stand up for right even in the smallest of issues. I guess I just don’t understand why it seems the only time “Christians” get really fired up is when the issue is about homosexuality, booze, sex, or abortion.
Can we just sit down over a Kentucky Ale and talk about it after church on Sunday?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
March
This is a small world. I met a guy I went to high school with last weekend in Nagoya. I think this weekend I might hang out with a guy I went to grad school with. The world is flat after all.
The weather is sunny today but it’s still pretty chilly outside. I am still ready for spring to hurry up and get here, no doubt. I am also ready for UK to start winning and be on top again.
I am 95% sure I will be staying in Japan for another year, unless something big happens that I’m not expecting. I still haven’t signed my contract yet, but I hope to do that soon. I do have a little time off at the end of this month, and much to the dismay of my mother I am sure, I don't think I will be coming home for a short visit. I will be coming home this summer though! I am planning on coming home for good in the summer of 2010, but we will see how it goes. I told Michi that I have to be back for the horse games, to see what all the fuss is about.
Things in Japan are going well, sometimes time flies and sometimes it seems to slow down. I can say that it still seems like I just got back in the country. I think the trip home in December made it feel like that! Of course I miss everyone at home and can’t wait until I am back there full time again, but I’m trying to do as much and learn as much as I can while I am here. I have been trying to study more Japanese and pick up as much as I can while I am here. I know that the job market isn’t likely to be the most open when I come back home, not that it was before I left!
I have been listening to a ton of podcasts these days, and I must say that I really like Bow at Crosspointe in North Carolina and Perry Noble at New Spring. I look forward to my Friday trip into Toyohashi because I get to listen to their podcasts and what they have to say. I recommend that you check them out.
I’ve been thinking about my neighbor Joe a lot these days. It seems like I dream about him several times a week. One of the hardest parts about being away from home right now is knowing that I am far away and can’t help him if he needs me. Last summer he called me when he got stuck in a hole on the back of his farm. I can’t tell you what it was like to know that Joe, one of the manliest man I will ever know, called me to help him get unstuck. I know that many of his other friends are gone, but knowing that I made the transition from boy to friend was one of the greatest days of my life. I miss him.
The weather is sunny today but it’s still pretty chilly outside. I am still ready for spring to hurry up and get here, no doubt. I am also ready for UK to start winning and be on top again.
I am 95% sure I will be staying in Japan for another year, unless something big happens that I’m not expecting. I still haven’t signed my contract yet, but I hope to do that soon. I do have a little time off at the end of this month, and much to the dismay of my mother I am sure, I don't think I will be coming home for a short visit. I will be coming home this summer though! I am planning on coming home for good in the summer of 2010, but we will see how it goes. I told Michi that I have to be back for the horse games, to see what all the fuss is about.
Things in Japan are going well, sometimes time flies and sometimes it seems to slow down. I can say that it still seems like I just got back in the country. I think the trip home in December made it feel like that! Of course I miss everyone at home and can’t wait until I am back there full time again, but I’m trying to do as much and learn as much as I can while I am here. I have been trying to study more Japanese and pick up as much as I can while I am here. I know that the job market isn’t likely to be the most open when I come back home, not that it was before I left!
I have been listening to a ton of podcasts these days, and I must say that I really like Bow at Crosspointe in North Carolina and Perry Noble at New Spring. I look forward to my Friday trip into Toyohashi because I get to listen to their podcasts and what they have to say. I recommend that you check them out.
I’ve been thinking about my neighbor Joe a lot these days. It seems like I dream about him several times a week. One of the hardest parts about being away from home right now is knowing that I am far away and can’t help him if he needs me. Last summer he called me when he got stuck in a hole on the back of his farm. I can’t tell you what it was like to know that Joe, one of the manliest man I will ever know, called me to help him get unstuck. I know that many of his other friends are gone, but knowing that I made the transition from boy to friend was one of the greatest days of my life. I miss him.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
It isn't fair
It’s a great time to be alive. Of course, I guess anyone can say that about any period in our history. I remember when I was growing up hearing about all the times when my parents and teachers were present at a pivotal moment in history. I can remember my dad telling me about where he was in class when he heard that Kennedy was shot. I remember them telling about what they thought when man walked on the moon. They were great times I am sure.
I think now about all that I have seen in my life that I will tell my kids. I can remember the wall in Berlin coming down, even if I don’t remember the events clearly. I do remember getting out of the shower and mom telling me that the nation was now at war in the Middle East. I have very, very dim memories of being really young and hearing others recall the Challenger. I remember waking up in the PHA house to Graham yelling about some planes hitting a building a New York, and then being glued to the TV for the next two days. I remember ‘Shock and Awe’ and the disaster that has ensued. I remember being at school in Toei as I watched Obama give his victory speech.
Then I think about Joe, my 92-year-old neighbor and friend, and how much he has seen. I have to remind myself that he was born during WWI, and the Titanic sank just four years before he was born. He has seen it all; from the Great Depression to whatever we are in now. What a life to live.
I’m sure the current economic troubles will pass. Maybe things won’t return to the status quo, and maybe that’s not a bad thing. If we are forced to use mass transportation and revert to being a more local oriented people, then I say that these hard times weren’t all in vain.
I have been reading and thinking a lot these days. I admit that living alone in a town where there are no other native speakers makes it easy to find solitude and peace. Add to it that my apartment is at the base of several large, looming misty mountains—and it is not hard to find alone time to contemplate. Often times my thinking isn’t consumed with the most meaningful and useful issues…
I do think a lot about Jesus and his teachings. This week I have been thinking about what it truly means to follow him, to be completely selfless, and to give everything away for him. I come from a background that doesn’t make it easy to understand or find examples of altruistic people. My inclination is to be selfish: I deserve this, I deserve that, I earned this, and I earned that.
I don't want to turn this into a political debate, but I think a lot of what drives us as American Christians not the entitlement that we think we have, but rather the idea of what is fair and earned.
Many of us balk at the idea of higher taxes and government intervention because we don’t want someone taking our money. The money that we earned is ours and no one else has the right to tell us what to do with it. We become outraged when this money, our money, could in fact be given to those who are unworthy. I didn't work all those hard hours to see my money given away. These kind of thoughts come into our heads like bullets. They don’t deserve to get any money! They haven’t worked for it! The idea of the “non-deserving” getting something that they don’t deserve infuriates us. When we see a mom who has eight children at the same time due to scientific help, and we learn that she doesn't have a job and can’t take care of them, we resent her. That’s why I only had two kids and have a steady job, because I don’t want to ask others for help!
What is this in us that drives us to separate the deserving from the unworthy? We feel that everything in this world that we have worked for and earned is ours, no one but us has can decide what to do with it.
I wonder if this is why Jesus told the Parable about the workers in the vineyard. He knew how people were, and how they still would be today. When the workers who had been working all day saw that those who had only worked a little received the same compensation, they were furious. "WHAT? How can this be? We were out here working all day and they just got here!"
I think now about all that I have seen in my life that I will tell my kids. I can remember the wall in Berlin coming down, even if I don’t remember the events clearly. I do remember getting out of the shower and mom telling me that the nation was now at war in the Middle East. I have very, very dim memories of being really young and hearing others recall the Challenger. I remember waking up in the PHA house to Graham yelling about some planes hitting a building a New York, and then being glued to the TV for the next two days. I remember ‘Shock and Awe’ and the disaster that has ensued. I remember being at school in Toei as I watched Obama give his victory speech.
Then I think about Joe, my 92-year-old neighbor and friend, and how much he has seen. I have to remind myself that he was born during WWI, and the Titanic sank just four years before he was born. He has seen it all; from the Great Depression to whatever we are in now. What a life to live.
I’m sure the current economic troubles will pass. Maybe things won’t return to the status quo, and maybe that’s not a bad thing. If we are forced to use mass transportation and revert to being a more local oriented people, then I say that these hard times weren’t all in vain.
I have been reading and thinking a lot these days. I admit that living alone in a town where there are no other native speakers makes it easy to find solitude and peace. Add to it that my apartment is at the base of several large, looming misty mountains—and it is not hard to find alone time to contemplate. Often times my thinking isn’t consumed with the most meaningful and useful issues…
I do think a lot about Jesus and his teachings. This week I have been thinking about what it truly means to follow him, to be completely selfless, and to give everything away for him. I come from a background that doesn’t make it easy to understand or find examples of altruistic people. My inclination is to be selfish: I deserve this, I deserve that, I earned this, and I earned that.
I don't want to turn this into a political debate, but I think a lot of what drives us as American Christians not the entitlement that we think we have, but rather the idea of what is fair and earned.
Many of us balk at the idea of higher taxes and government intervention because we don’t want someone taking our money. The money that we earned is ours and no one else has the right to tell us what to do with it. We become outraged when this money, our money, could in fact be given to those who are unworthy. I didn't work all those hard hours to see my money given away. These kind of thoughts come into our heads like bullets. They don’t deserve to get any money! They haven’t worked for it! The idea of the “non-deserving” getting something that they don’t deserve infuriates us. When we see a mom who has eight children at the same time due to scientific help, and we learn that she doesn't have a job and can’t take care of them, we resent her. That’s why I only had two kids and have a steady job, because I don’t want to ask others for help!
What is this in us that drives us to separate the deserving from the unworthy? We feel that everything in this world that we have worked for and earned is ours, no one but us has can decide what to do with it.
I wonder if this is why Jesus told the Parable about the workers in the vineyard. He knew how people were, and how they still would be today. When the workers who had been working all day saw that those who had only worked a little received the same compensation, they were furious. "WHAT? How can this be? We were out here working all day and they just got here!"
IT ISN’T FAIR.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Consider the coin flipped....
What do all those who called (call) a muslim have to say about the GOP's next knight in shining armor?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/23/jindal.gop/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/23/jindal.gop/index.html
Nice
I was eating dinner last night when it just hit me. I really enjoy my life and I have been so blessed. There are times when things don't go like I want them to, and its true that I am far from many of my friends and family. But life is good. I appreciate all that I have when I walk through the woods to school every morning. I like to look at the fog in the mountains and just sit and think. The world is an amazing place--I am not in a hurry to leave it.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Come Spring!
Well, February is in full swing and the time is flying here. The Japanese school year is almost over and I felt like I just got here. I am planning on staying another year here, it's crazy to think that my six month contract as about come and gone! I really am going to focus on learning more Japanese in this next year and I have some lofty goals set! Let's hope I can meet them.
I just finished reading the Ragamuffin Gospel and I started The Case for Christ this week. Mom got me a copy and Michi a copy in Japanese to read so it should be a lot of fun to talk about it together. She really likes the idea of hearing a skeptics point of view about the whole Jesus thing.
I have also become a podcast fanatic. I listen to about 10 sermons a week--Rob Bell, Mark Driscoll (ironic those two are side by side!), Bow, Dean and a few others. It's a great way to "redeem my commute." (as Mark Driscoll calls it) I look forward to listening to sermons on the train as I make my way to Toyohashi. They also make time fly when I ride my bike around in the mountains!
It's getting warmer here, we still haven't had any snow to speak of. Not much of a winter compared to you all at home! Michi and I did go snowboarding last weekend, which was a blast! She's still a lot better than me, but I am getting better quickly. I need to find a way to get my board over here asap!
This weekend we are heading to Ise to visit the most famous shrine in Japan (again!) and to find a local microbrewery there. We are going to take the ferry from Irago to Toba, so I hope the weather's great and we have a nice ride!
Hope all of you are well at home, leave me a note!
I just finished reading the Ragamuffin Gospel and I started The Case for Christ this week. Mom got me a copy and Michi a copy in Japanese to read so it should be a lot of fun to talk about it together. She really likes the idea of hearing a skeptics point of view about the whole Jesus thing.
I have also become a podcast fanatic. I listen to about 10 sermons a week--Rob Bell, Mark Driscoll (ironic those two are side by side!), Bow, Dean and a few others. It's a great way to "redeem my commute." (as Mark Driscoll calls it) I look forward to listening to sermons on the train as I make my way to Toyohashi. They also make time fly when I ride my bike around in the mountains!
It's getting warmer here, we still haven't had any snow to speak of. Not much of a winter compared to you all at home! Michi and I did go snowboarding last weekend, which was a blast! She's still a lot better than me, but I am getting better quickly. I need to find a way to get my board over here asap!
This weekend we are heading to Ise to visit the most famous shrine in Japan (again!) and to find a local microbrewery there. We are going to take the ferry from Irago to Toba, so I hope the weather's great and we have a nice ride!
Hope all of you are well at home, leave me a note!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Feb. update!
I’m done with elementary school for the week, and sometimes that is a good thing. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to teach English to kids who just want to play all day and haven’t mastered their own language yet. Today most of the last class was spent asking me if I like some sexual Japanese word that I can’t remember. Even the teacher thought it was quite funny!
My Japanese is nowhere near as good as I hoped it would be, but I am improving. I returned to Japan with a newfound motivation for studying! I have done better and hope that I can keep learning. I am at the stage where I can communicate, and it helps to see tangible results from studying. It helps living in Toei, where I have to speak to talk to just about anyone! I did have a good conversation with the man who owns the small gas station that I like to go to. He pumps my gas for me in my scooter and we talked about how Americans use cash instead of credit cards (he had heard that on TV and promptly warned me about the dangers of credit cards and debt) and how most all gas stations in America were self-service. It was only until after I left that I realized that we had this entire conversation in Japanese and I understood most of it. I try to listen as much as I can and remember what the kids teach me. Sometimes it is stuff that I can never use, or Japanese that just isn’t useful.
I had a meeting last weekend in Nagoya and our regional boss talked about how the worldwide recession was even going to affect English teachers here in Japan, and Michi’s teachers have told her the same thing. Of course we still have jobs, but raises aren’t being handed out like they used to be. It’s amazing how small the world is today. A Wall Street crash can affect life here in Toei, Japan. Everything is connected.
This weekend Michi is going to Kyoto with the teachers from her school and I have plans to hang out with Nate in Tahara. I hope we get to relax, I have been traveling the last few weekends, and will keep traveling in the next few! We are going snowboarding the 14th, maybe to Ise on the 21st, and to Takayama on the 28th. After that March is here and hopefully a friend or two coming to visit!
I think now I am finally settled into my apartment and I am getting it set up the way I like it. It actually is a pretty comfy place in the mountains; the only thing that I need is some friends around to enjoy it with! Hopefully the warmer weather will mean more people can come and visit me!
I heard all about the bad weather at home and hope all of you get power back soon! Of course, I guess if you are reading this, then you must have power☺ It’s crazy the amount of damage that the snow and ice can do when the conditions are right…
On a different note, when I moved into my apartment, there were three plants already there. One is a cactus, and now it is blooming, and has been getting ready to bloom since November. It is quite possibly the most beautiful flower that I have ever seen. I’ll try to put a picture on here soon….
Hope all of you are doing well….
My Japanese is nowhere near as good as I hoped it would be, but I am improving. I returned to Japan with a newfound motivation for studying! I have done better and hope that I can keep learning. I am at the stage where I can communicate, and it helps to see tangible results from studying. It helps living in Toei, where I have to speak to talk to just about anyone! I did have a good conversation with the man who owns the small gas station that I like to go to. He pumps my gas for me in my scooter and we talked about how Americans use cash instead of credit cards (he had heard that on TV and promptly warned me about the dangers of credit cards and debt) and how most all gas stations in America were self-service. It was only until after I left that I realized that we had this entire conversation in Japanese and I understood most of it. I try to listen as much as I can and remember what the kids teach me. Sometimes it is stuff that I can never use, or Japanese that just isn’t useful.
I had a meeting last weekend in Nagoya and our regional boss talked about how the worldwide recession was even going to affect English teachers here in Japan, and Michi’s teachers have told her the same thing. Of course we still have jobs, but raises aren’t being handed out like they used to be. It’s amazing how small the world is today. A Wall Street crash can affect life here in Toei, Japan. Everything is connected.
This weekend Michi is going to Kyoto with the teachers from her school and I have plans to hang out with Nate in Tahara. I hope we get to relax, I have been traveling the last few weekends, and will keep traveling in the next few! We are going snowboarding the 14th, maybe to Ise on the 21st, and to Takayama on the 28th. After that March is here and hopefully a friend or two coming to visit!
I think now I am finally settled into my apartment and I am getting it set up the way I like it. It actually is a pretty comfy place in the mountains; the only thing that I need is some friends around to enjoy it with! Hopefully the warmer weather will mean more people can come and visit me!
I heard all about the bad weather at home and hope all of you get power back soon! Of course, I guess if you are reading this, then you must have power☺ It’s crazy the amount of damage that the snow and ice can do when the conditions are right…
On a different note, when I moved into my apartment, there were three plants already there. One is a cactus, and now it is blooming, and has been getting ready to bloom since November. It is quite possibly the most beautiful flower that I have ever seen. I’ll try to put a picture on here soon….
Hope all of you are doing well….
Monday, January 26, 2009
Dreamed I went to Heaven....
Toei has been rather uneventful as of late! The wind howls at night and it gets cold, but inside my little room in the mountains I am surviving in style! Living in a one room apartment certainly makes me a more efficient person, and it makes me wonder about all the room I had at the apartment in Georgetown. I mean the third floor of the OK is about 10 times bigger than my apartment in Toei. I think that everyone should have to live in a small place at least once…is sure teaches you how to be organized, clean and cozy!
Last weekend Michi and I went to stay with our friends Eriko and Hiroshi in Tahara. Their house is the exact opposite of mine, and very big even by American house standards. Their house is half Japanese-style and half Western-style, and I admit that I would love to have a place like that one day. We ate some great food, Michi and Eriko enjoyed some $100 a bottle sake, and we ate strawberries that were $10 FOR ONE. I kid you not. Needless to say I get to try things here that I never would at home. It helps to have a lot of rich friends!
This weekend I have a meeting in Nagoya and will be spending the weekend in and around there. Nagoya is one of my favorite places to go, just because I have always been fascinated by the big city. Of course I get to come back to tiny Toei after the weekend, and it is amazing to contrast the two. Nagoya, with its millions of people going here and there to this shop and that shop, and Toei where at 6pm, the town is pretty much tucked in for the evening.
We have a busy couple of weekends coming up. Michi is going to Kyoto with her teachers for a school trip. Then we both are going snowboarding in Gifu the next weekend. We are planning to go back to Ise the third weekend in February, and the last weekend we have plans to go back to Takayama with friends. March brings us to the Roppongi beer festival and spring break—where I hope I have a friend or two come and visit. Needless to say the spring is going to fly by.
Some of my elementary kids found out today that I have a tattoo, which needless to say in Japan is not as accepted as it is in the states. One of the boys that I really like saw it and he told me that my secret was safe with him! Some of these kids really are great people. I wish all of you could meet them and be there when I teach class!
Speaking of tattoos in Japan, I have a friend here that has quite a few! Basically his whole body is tattooed, but you can’t see any of them when he is wearing his business attire. It does create a problem when going to onsens (Japanese hot springs). Some of them have signs written in English that say they do not allow people with tattoos. You know when you are in a small mountain town and you see signs written in English, they are meant for you!! Luckily I don’t have a big one (yet!) and a good-sized bandage can cover it. Even still, I have yet to go to the onsen in my town, and it is supposed to be very famous!
Today is a beautiful day in Toei and the mountains look amazing. After school I plan on heading to the Board of Education to pay my rent, stop by the local grocery store, and head back to my apartment for an evening of relaxing. Sometimes living here can be lonely, but sometimes it is just what the soul needs.
I am reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I love it so far. It has some really amazing insight into grace and why many cant accept it. Also, he quotes Aristotle when he said; “I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.” I have become very fond of that quote to say the least!
Of course if you know me, you know I am going to say this book has me thinking. It has me thinking about how we as Christians are not quick to neither receive nor freely give grace. Often times we have trouble forgiving ourselves, and even more trouble forgiving others.
Which brings me to the question that I have for you:
If you were to die right now and you found yourself in Heaven, I am sure you would be overjoyed. What if, when you looked around in Heaven, you saw a drunk from your town that never could hold a job, didn’t provide much for his family, and used ‘colorful’ language? What if you looked the other way and saw a woman that you knew to be more than slightly promiscuous? What if you turned around and were staring face to face with none other than Saadam Hussein?
What if Heaven was full of drunks and rapists and child molesters? What if Heaven was a place for liars and stealers and abortion doctors and saints?
How would that make you feel?
Why is it that for many of us, our reaction would be, “WHAT? WHY ARE THEY HERE? Lord, I thought you said that only good Christians who did what you said got into Heaven? Why did you let them in? They never even came to church!! He was always a drunk! He killed little kids!!!!!”
Why is that our first reaction isn’t, “Thank you God! In your infinite and obscene GRACE you sacrificed your SON to save the sinners of the world to come and live forever with you!!!”
I’m wondering about God’s obscene grace, and how it just defies all logic. I’m wondering about man’s brain and how we are so quick to judge others and limit who is in and out. I also wonder if the drunks and scoundrels and sinners really do go to Heaven. I sure pray that they do.
I love it in the book where Manning quotes Fyodor Dostoevsky when he talks about the same situation. I love it when Dostoevsky wonders if God will say to the ‘righteous’: “If I called them [the sinners and drunks and scoundrels}, it is because not one of them deserved it.”
How amazing it is to follow the God of Obscene Grace, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the Great I AM, the Prince of Peace, the God that forgives Hitler and Jerry Falwell, the God that loves me even though I don’t understand him, the God that gave us the mind to create chocolate cake and beer and the atomic bomb, the God that always was and always will be.
I’m anxious to hear your thoughts.
Last weekend Michi and I went to stay with our friends Eriko and Hiroshi in Tahara. Their house is the exact opposite of mine, and very big even by American house standards. Their house is half Japanese-style and half Western-style, and I admit that I would love to have a place like that one day. We ate some great food, Michi and Eriko enjoyed some $100 a bottle sake, and we ate strawberries that were $10 FOR ONE. I kid you not. Needless to say I get to try things here that I never would at home. It helps to have a lot of rich friends!
This weekend I have a meeting in Nagoya and will be spending the weekend in and around there. Nagoya is one of my favorite places to go, just because I have always been fascinated by the big city. Of course I get to come back to tiny Toei after the weekend, and it is amazing to contrast the two. Nagoya, with its millions of people going here and there to this shop and that shop, and Toei where at 6pm, the town is pretty much tucked in for the evening.
We have a busy couple of weekends coming up. Michi is going to Kyoto with her teachers for a school trip. Then we both are going snowboarding in Gifu the next weekend. We are planning to go back to Ise the third weekend in February, and the last weekend we have plans to go back to Takayama with friends. March brings us to the Roppongi beer festival and spring break—where I hope I have a friend or two come and visit. Needless to say the spring is going to fly by.
Some of my elementary kids found out today that I have a tattoo, which needless to say in Japan is not as accepted as it is in the states. One of the boys that I really like saw it and he told me that my secret was safe with him! Some of these kids really are great people. I wish all of you could meet them and be there when I teach class!
Speaking of tattoos in Japan, I have a friend here that has quite a few! Basically his whole body is tattooed, but you can’t see any of them when he is wearing his business attire. It does create a problem when going to onsens (Japanese hot springs). Some of them have signs written in English that say they do not allow people with tattoos. You know when you are in a small mountain town and you see signs written in English, they are meant for you!! Luckily I don’t have a big one (yet!) and a good-sized bandage can cover it. Even still, I have yet to go to the onsen in my town, and it is supposed to be very famous!
Today is a beautiful day in Toei and the mountains look amazing. After school I plan on heading to the Board of Education to pay my rent, stop by the local grocery store, and head back to my apartment for an evening of relaxing. Sometimes living here can be lonely, but sometimes it is just what the soul needs.
I am reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I love it so far. It has some really amazing insight into grace and why many cant accept it. Also, he quotes Aristotle when he said; “I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.” I have become very fond of that quote to say the least!
Of course if you know me, you know I am going to say this book has me thinking. It has me thinking about how we as Christians are not quick to neither receive nor freely give grace. Often times we have trouble forgiving ourselves, and even more trouble forgiving others.
Which brings me to the question that I have for you:
If you were to die right now and you found yourself in Heaven, I am sure you would be overjoyed. What if, when you looked around in Heaven, you saw a drunk from your town that never could hold a job, didn’t provide much for his family, and used ‘colorful’ language? What if you looked the other way and saw a woman that you knew to be more than slightly promiscuous? What if you turned around and were staring face to face with none other than Saadam Hussein?
What if Heaven was full of drunks and rapists and child molesters? What if Heaven was a place for liars and stealers and abortion doctors and saints?
How would that make you feel?
Why is it that for many of us, our reaction would be, “WHAT? WHY ARE THEY HERE? Lord, I thought you said that only good Christians who did what you said got into Heaven? Why did you let them in? They never even came to church!! He was always a drunk! He killed little kids!!!!!”
Why is that our first reaction isn’t, “Thank you God! In your infinite and obscene GRACE you sacrificed your SON to save the sinners of the world to come and live forever with you!!!”
I’m wondering about God’s obscene grace, and how it just defies all logic. I’m wondering about man’s brain and how we are so quick to judge others and limit who is in and out. I also wonder if the drunks and scoundrels and sinners really do go to Heaven. I sure pray that they do.
I love it in the book where Manning quotes Fyodor Dostoevsky when he talks about the same situation. I love it when Dostoevsky wonders if God will say to the ‘righteous’: “If I called them [the sinners and drunks and scoundrels}, it is because not one of them deserved it.”
How amazing it is to follow the God of Obscene Grace, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the Great I AM, the Prince of Peace, the God that forgives Hitler and Jerry Falwell, the God that loves me even though I don’t understand him, the God that gave us the mind to create chocolate cake and beer and the atomic bomb, the God that always was and always will be.
I’m anxious to hear your thoughts.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Time for breakfast.
I must admit that I love watching people that argue and are good at it. Or at least I love to watch people who think that they are good at it. There has always been something about me that loved to watch and take part in a debate. I loved it in class when the teacher would let us pick sides on an issue and debate. Really it didn’t matter which side I was on. Give me some time and I will try to convince you of something, even if I don't believe it at all.
In recent years I have tried to not be an argumentative person, especially about issues such as religion. I believe when Walt Witman said “Argue not concerning God”, that he was right in many ways.
Yesterday I watched every video of Ann Coulter that I could find. She fascinates me to no end. I think what really gets me excited about her is that she doesn’t actually believe everything that she says. I think she just says things that she knows will cause a stir, and make her money. The more crazy things she says and write, the more people buy her books. The more crass and rude she is on TV, the more we tune in next time when she is on. I think she is smart enough to pull it off.
Yesterday one particular video particularly captivated me. Ann started talking about the US involvement in Iraq, and how we needed to win the war and stop trying to fight a “hygienic war”. If America truly wants to win, we have to fight like we want to win. If we want to stabilize the area (at least for the present) then we must use widespread and deadly force. We someone throws a rock at you, shoot back at them. When someone throws a bomb at you, bomb three houses. When someone tries to blow up a tank, blow up a city. You get the idea.
Ann said that we cannot be worried about civilians that die. In war people die. That’s true. That’s what war is. War is killing people and trying not to be killed. So what if a few Iraqi families die? Ann said that she would rather their civilians die than our civilians. She would rather blow up an Iraqi hospital than have an American hospital blown up by terrorists. Her argument is America must stop caring about causes like Amnesty International and start caring about winning the war. More US soldiers? No. She just wants more bombs and more deadly force without worrying about collateral damage.
What stuck with me from what she said is that it is 100% true, if you look at the world from an America first worldview. If you believe that America and your identity as an American is very important, then we must defend it. We must defend it at all costs. We must give our lives and take others to defend it. In World War II we fire bombed cities in Germany and Japan because we wanted to win, and we wanted America to endure and vanquish our enemies. We weren’t worried about civilians; we were worried about winning the war at any cost.
So what changed? Has the Internet and the ability to see mutilated Iraqi children and women as well as soldiers made us lose our appetite for indiscriminate killing? Has TV and the ability to interview anyone, anywhere, anytime made us broaden our worldview? Now is it easier to put a face on your enemies? Is it harder to stomach a bomb hitting a school full of children?
For me, the reason is that now I identify with being a Follower of Jesus more than I do an American. For me, my American citizenship and the institution of America is not the most important thing. Loving others becomes the most important when we follow what Jesus told us. When he said that loving others was the second most important thing we could do, he meant those inside and outside of our borders. As Derek Webb says on his album Mockingbird, “How can I love the ones I’m supposed to kill? My enemies are men like me.”
I applaud Ann because as an American-first-person she sees what America must do. She is brutally honest and her insensitivity hurts. But she knows that as a person that puts America above all else, that is what we must do.
It’s time for Follower’s (Christians) to be just as honest. America is not more important than the second greatest commandment. War has no place in the Christian life. For the past 2000 we have tried to justify war and convert those around us by force. For the past 2000 years, it hasn’t worked. All we have succeeded in doing was killing thousands of people, and teaching generations of people from other nations that WE are the evil ones and the killers in this world. We have taken the stance that now it is un-American, unpatriotic or a waste of time to even TALK to our enemies, much less LOVE them.
Rob Bell recently took a lot of flack for attending a “multi-religion” gathering ifor breakfast n America. Christians picketed and protested the fact that it was being held. Many people on the inside thanked Rob for even choosing to show up; in the past, Christians didn’t come. Rob Bell thought about this and said that we are commanded to love the Nations, and many people won’t even sit down to breakfast with the nations.
Breakfast is served America, don't let it get cold.
In recent years I have tried to not be an argumentative person, especially about issues such as religion. I believe when Walt Witman said “Argue not concerning God”, that he was right in many ways.
Yesterday I watched every video of Ann Coulter that I could find. She fascinates me to no end. I think what really gets me excited about her is that she doesn’t actually believe everything that she says. I think she just says things that she knows will cause a stir, and make her money. The more crazy things she says and write, the more people buy her books. The more crass and rude she is on TV, the more we tune in next time when she is on. I think she is smart enough to pull it off.
Yesterday one particular video particularly captivated me. Ann started talking about the US involvement in Iraq, and how we needed to win the war and stop trying to fight a “hygienic war”. If America truly wants to win, we have to fight like we want to win. If we want to stabilize the area (at least for the present) then we must use widespread and deadly force. We someone throws a rock at you, shoot back at them. When someone throws a bomb at you, bomb three houses. When someone tries to blow up a tank, blow up a city. You get the idea.
Ann said that we cannot be worried about civilians that die. In war people die. That’s true. That’s what war is. War is killing people and trying not to be killed. So what if a few Iraqi families die? Ann said that she would rather their civilians die than our civilians. She would rather blow up an Iraqi hospital than have an American hospital blown up by terrorists. Her argument is America must stop caring about causes like Amnesty International and start caring about winning the war. More US soldiers? No. She just wants more bombs and more deadly force without worrying about collateral damage.
What stuck with me from what she said is that it is 100% true, if you look at the world from an America first worldview. If you believe that America and your identity as an American is very important, then we must defend it. We must defend it at all costs. We must give our lives and take others to defend it. In World War II we fire bombed cities in Germany and Japan because we wanted to win, and we wanted America to endure and vanquish our enemies. We weren’t worried about civilians; we were worried about winning the war at any cost.
So what changed? Has the Internet and the ability to see mutilated Iraqi children and women as well as soldiers made us lose our appetite for indiscriminate killing? Has TV and the ability to interview anyone, anywhere, anytime made us broaden our worldview? Now is it easier to put a face on your enemies? Is it harder to stomach a bomb hitting a school full of children?
For me, the reason is that now I identify with being a Follower of Jesus more than I do an American. For me, my American citizenship and the institution of America is not the most important thing. Loving others becomes the most important when we follow what Jesus told us. When he said that loving others was the second most important thing we could do, he meant those inside and outside of our borders. As Derek Webb says on his album Mockingbird, “How can I love the ones I’m supposed to kill? My enemies are men like me.”
I applaud Ann because as an American-first-person she sees what America must do. She is brutally honest and her insensitivity hurts. But she knows that as a person that puts America above all else, that is what we must do.
It’s time for Follower’s (Christians) to be just as honest. America is not more important than the second greatest commandment. War has no place in the Christian life. For the past 2000 we have tried to justify war and convert those around us by force. For the past 2000 years, it hasn’t worked. All we have succeeded in doing was killing thousands of people, and teaching generations of people from other nations that WE are the evil ones and the killers in this world. We have taken the stance that now it is un-American, unpatriotic or a waste of time to even TALK to our enemies, much less LOVE them.
Rob Bell recently took a lot of flack for attending a “multi-religion” gathering ifor breakfast n America. Christians picketed and protested the fact that it was being held. Many people on the inside thanked Rob for even choosing to show up; in the past, Christians didn’t come. Rob Bell thought about this and said that we are commanded to love the Nations, and many people won’t even sit down to breakfast with the nations.
Breakfast is served America, don't let it get cold.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
God is in the Mountains.
I was walking home today and I was looking at the mountains. I am sure that someone intended them to be the way that they are. I started thinking about God. I am pretty sure that He is a Big guy and much larger than I can imagine. Could He accept Buddhists and Muslims? Could He find a place for Jews? He made the Mountains and the Creek near my house and Love. And that makes me Hopeful.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sadie.
So I have a new niece. Sadie is her name. She is cute and I lover her more than anything else in the world. I wonder about her... How will she look back on her years as a baby? Will she remember Joe holding her with his massive hands as he looked at her and remembered Emily when she was young? Will she remember Miss Emmons sayin' "Yes Indeedy~!" like she always did when she looked into her big blue eyes? Will she remember her grannies like I remember mine? Will she love me like the uncle that always was there for her when she needed me and not just some relative that she smiles at because she knows that she is supposed to?? I hope so...becuase when I sit here in Japan, 7,000 miles away, I am thinking of her.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Back to school....
Today was my first day of work in the new year. All of my fellow teachers where excited to see me and to hear about Christmas in Kentucky. Was it cold? How was your family? What did you eat? I guess it sounds pretty exotic to hear from the foreigner who traveled around the world and back just to see his friends and family for Christmas. If they only knew! My friends in Kentucky think it is so exotic that I fly home and back to Japan just the same!
I think I am prideful in the sense that I love to be on an adventure. I enjoy meeting people and telling them that I live in Japan. What? Why? What do you do there? I could never do that.... These responses to the fact that I live across the world only help feed my ego and my pride. Somehow I think that living in another country and being unique can make up for the fact that I am 27 and have yet to think about entering a career yet.
It is becoming more and more evident to me that I don't have it all figured out. The older I get and the more that time passes the more I realize that I am kinda just wandering through this old world of ours. I'm already getting out of touch with the new music of the day. I found myself listening to oldies and old CD's when I was home and turning off the radio. I wonder if one day soon I will utter those fateful words..."How can kids listen to this crap?" The world is forgetting about me, that is for sure.
Time ticks on. It hasn't stopped for anyone yet, so I guess it is silly to expect it to stop for me.
I wonder why we have the need to have it all figured out. Our parents didn't have it all figured out, and they did alright. When they got married they didn't know how they would make it and neither did their parents.
I guess in the end all we can do is find a girl that we can love and serve and fight for her. We can find something we love to do and do it just for the enjoyment. We can work hard and answer to no one but the voice in our heads when we sleep and God when we die.
So, here's to you faith. Here's to hoping it works out. Were gonna work at it for sure, but we could use a little help along the way. You'll know where to find me.
I think I am prideful in the sense that I love to be on an adventure. I enjoy meeting people and telling them that I live in Japan. What? Why? What do you do there? I could never do that.... These responses to the fact that I live across the world only help feed my ego and my pride. Somehow I think that living in another country and being unique can make up for the fact that I am 27 and have yet to think about entering a career yet.
It is becoming more and more evident to me that I don't have it all figured out. The older I get and the more that time passes the more I realize that I am kinda just wandering through this old world of ours. I'm already getting out of touch with the new music of the day. I found myself listening to oldies and old CD's when I was home and turning off the radio. I wonder if one day soon I will utter those fateful words..."How can kids listen to this crap?" The world is forgetting about me, that is for sure.
Time ticks on. It hasn't stopped for anyone yet, so I guess it is silly to expect it to stop for me.
I wonder why we have the need to have it all figured out. Our parents didn't have it all figured out, and they did alright. When they got married they didn't know how they would make it and neither did their parents.
I guess in the end all we can do is find a girl that we can love and serve and fight for her. We can find something we love to do and do it just for the enjoyment. We can work hard and answer to no one but the voice in our heads when we sleep and God when we die.
So, here's to you faith. Here's to hoping it works out. Were gonna work at it for sure, but we could use a little help along the way. You'll know where to find me.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back to Japan!
Well, we are heading back to Japan now... Michi and I are sitting in the airport and waiting to get on the plane. Our time was short, but well spent. I wish I could have spent more time with all of you and I assure you it won't be long until I am home again! I enjoy teaching in Japan but it just isn't home! We should get back to Nagoya in about 24 hours...a long time to travel for sure! Send me emails or messages here or or on facebook, and I hope to talk to you all very soon!!!
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