Uo-ta-Suraida-

That's "water slider" in katakana. On the next day, we went to an indoors pool, actually a room set aside for children waiting for their parents who enjoyed the various hot springs and baths of that resort. So the children's pool, altho' it's the type that flows around an island, is very small: no doubt, adults would find it TOO small. The drawing card for that pool is actually the slide. I think my kids used it twenty times! For it, you have to climb steps which, I found out later, lead to the top of the water slide which snakes OUTSIDE the building! It was free of charge too.

Sometimes, I wonder if we don't balk with God's sometimes-uneasy instructions, not realizing He wants us to turn our eyes from "small pool" comforts to "outside-the-building" unimaginable delights! And then some of us complain about the unexpected twists and turns encountered instead of learning to ENJOY them.

1. Unregenerate man can be satisfied with a comfortable life free of trials;
2. too many Christians think their aim is to attain strength to carry them through trials and overcome them; isn't it possible that God wants much more than that:
3. for us to learn to enjoy and revel IN them and what God can do THROUGH them?!?

An extra bonus: I have a back condition that can't take cold--even lukewarm--water so I hadn't let myself go in pools for three years; but because that pool was part of a larger hot springs complex, the water itself was very warm--I was able to go in! (Actually tho', I didn't really swim but stood in the pool while watching the kids shoot down that slide over and over again.)


Writer's comment: The above was written in 2003; my back is MUCH better now (2007), and I do participate in pool activities with my kids!

"Wrong Turn" to Children's Castle

My children and I went down to visit my sister in Saitama. The first day, we went to a "Children's Castle". When we first got off the train at Shibuya, we took a wrong turn and ended up walking around for awhile instead of going directly there. It was hot and sweaty, seemingly a mistake. And when we got to the "Castle", we went down to the basement gym only to find it wouldn't open for another 45 mins. or so, so we had to go back upstairs, altho' the children did enjoy the "rock climbing on the wall" before we went back. We went to a play center with slides and nets and tunnels, a room with computer games, another craft area where the kids worked over an hour on woodwork creation to their heart's content, etc.... When we went to the cafeteria later, we realized: that "wrong turn" and trip down to the basement had made us just late enough so that the bulk of the other mothers and children were gone for lunch when we wanted to play--the children didn't have to wait once in usually long lines--and they'd emptied the cafeteria when we got there, so we didn't have to wait one minute there either! And we got to hit the drums & play the bamboo instruments in the music room while coached by a staffer; go to the 10th floor to make personalized computer-designed placards--saw those waiting lists were often 45 mins.' long!!! Yup, even some of our "mistakes" are allowed for God's orchestration of all things to work together for our good!

"And we know that ALL things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28)

Carried Away Dancing

The Sunday School lesson was about David's dancing & Michael's seeing and belittling him. David's focus wasn't on his own dignity as king which would've dictated tame decorum; he was totally lost in GOD'S greatness! How our worship would change if we were less concerned with how our spirituality was viewed, if we were intoxicated with God Himself!

The "Hard Job" (?)

This morning, another mother and I sat in this patrol car announcing the
"Aisatsu Drive" of an organization for the Safety & Well-being of Youth. I
remember last month thinking that we had been given the hard job while the
other non-officer mothers only stood on various corners and greeted
children on their way to school. HA! God knew it would rain at least 2 of
the 4 times we'd be doing this. While others stood outside in the rain,
having to smile and greet children while holding umbrellas, this mother & I
were comfy and dry in the car--no need to say I wouldn't have traded places
with any of them! God sends us blessings, even if we don't recognize them
as such when He gives them, even when we complain when they come!

Disobedient Sacrifice

While teaching Sunday School the other morning, it came like a slap in the
face that I was being like King Saul who didn't wait for Samuel but offered
sacrifice himself--sacrifice of animals that had been taken from the
Philistines although God had told him to destroy everything--perhaps all
because he wanted the people to give him high esteem as a dependable
spiritual leader. "June, maybe you think your teaching Sunday School and
being thought of as spiritual is good; but that isn't necessarily what I
want. I want your daily obedience even in mundane and insignificant
things. Anything else is 'as the sin of witchcraft'".

1 Samuel 15:22
So Samuel said:
　　　"Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
　　　 As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
　　　 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
　　　 And to heed than the fat of rams."

Stains & Keys

I'd misplaced the house keys. I'd been praying they'd be found and had asked the Sunday School class assistant to pray with me too. Well, one day, I was distraught that my favorite slacks had gotten a little stained and couldn't be cleaned no matter how hard I scrubbed and cleaned. Grumbling my favorite pants had been ruined, I threw them in the laundry...but when the wash was done, they were completely clean! Thank You, God! And when I was changing into nightclothes later, I noticed something hard in the pocket of the rarely-worn pair of slacks--the KEYS!!! If my other pair hadn't been temporarily stained, I wouldn't have taken them off to wear this pair so wouldn't have found the keys! THANK YOU GOD! Right away, I emailed the news to the person I'd asked to pray with me. Often, God works inconveniences for our good, and we grumble about them!

No Matter How Unstable

In case you couldn't tell the past few mailings, I think I've started drowning in God's riches again; so much has been coming to me I can't keep up in writing it down! You know Junie: either at the top of the mountain or at the bottom of the ocean--sigh; an extreme creature, I am. But that's what I love about Rom. 8:28; it doesn't say "all things work out for them who love God" and leave it there, no sirree; all things are not dependent on how I HAPPEN TO BE! It goes on to say, "to them which are called according to His purpose". Rock-hard Foundation for such massive truth. All things: Dependent on the Infinite God Who called--YES! GOD works all things together for good, and my love for Him is merely the response, the evidence of, His working!

Extensions

Z2740087. That tourist visa, back in 1979-1980, I think, that year in Okinawa for thyroid problems, required frequent trips to the immigration office for renewal. Residence Permission was extended and extended and extended. "Extended" is a word I was reminded of recently.

The responsive reading for yesterday's worship service was Ps. 136, with all those "for His mercy endures forever"s. I could look back on Mother and see how God extended and extended and extended His mercy. I won't go back 19 years, which is the number of years her son's been saved, and the number of years she's had direct contact with the Gospel. When we were first married, I heard my husband witnessing to his mother over the phone, so I KNOW she's heard the Gospel many times. Even the past 2-3 years: God dowsed me with an awareness of His longing for her to be saved and escape eternal damnation as well as a desire to know the fulness of His Love--this was in 2001, to such a degree, I couldn't help but share with her, over and over, from the Word, the plan of salvation, even left a larger-print Bible at her home so we could refer to it when we talked (mine is fine-print). I thought we had real good talks plus had a better relationship! Then in 2002, she put a stop to those talks saying she didn't want to talk religion anymore and even returned the Bible/tracts I'd given her, saying she wouldn't be needing them. But it didn't matter to God that she'd rejected Him; He kept extending His mercy. She had that stroke at the end of 2004, but God said "Not yet" and preserved her life. She got better, it seemed, and that second stroke came the following year. But God said "Not yet" and preserved her life again, extending her chance to accept Him! He keeps extending and extending, Oh that one day she would turn her heart and ACCEPT His Love! But we know that man's heart is so sinful and dead, only God's working in it can implant a desire for God much less any understanding of what He says...oh how we pray that He would be merciful to her to continue to work in her heart too!

I know this letter is getting long, but can I share just one more blessing? Church yesterday. God had all sorts of goodies in it for me. Just one. At the end of the yearly business meeting, when a review was being made of the salvation decisions made last year, I realized three of them were PARENTS OF CHURCH MEMBERS, TWO OF THEM HOSPITALIZED AND UNABLE TO SPEAK, LIKE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW! God seemed to be sending me extra hope and encouragement--He is so Kind!

"Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4, NKJV)


note:
I just found this. Mother finally DID accept Christ. She was saved in June of 2006, and the Lord called her Home a few months later.

About Semantics

SEMANTICS. Remember how "Desiring God" was started off with discussion of prepositions? There can be SO MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS caused by prepositions! And EMPHASES; DOUBLE NEGATIVES; use of negatives in different languages; statements mistaken for questions and vice versa; sentences interrupted in mid-stride thus incomplete; SO MUCH can go wrong in verbal communication! God did a thorough job at the Tower of Babel. It's often taught as confusion BETWEEN languages; sometimes now I wonder if there wasn't confusion WITHIN languages too, formed when God confounded the languages. (Gen. 11:1-8)

A creative writing teacher used to say it was the writer's responsibility, not to write clearly to be understood, but to write clearly so as not to be misunderstood. Methinks I'm coming to the place where I see that as well nigh impossible. I mean, you'd have to read the entire chapter to know what the author really meant to say in one subpoint, the entire book to know what he was saying; several books to know where he's coming from;...and in the long run, you'd have to know what kind of person the author was to NOT MISUNDERSTAND him.

I think there's a thought in the forming: It is the WRITER'S RESPONSIBILITY, not to write so as not to be misunderstood, but to work in readers' lives so that understandings turn on lights (Eph. 1:18) and even misunderstandings end up working for good (Rom. 8:28). And only Sovereign GOD is that kind of Author. The human writer should know that no matter how clearly he writes--altho' it IS his responsibility to write so clearly it will be difficult to be misunderstood, so long as he's treating things of God, there WILL be misunderstanding. But it won't ever be a misunderstanding God won't be able to handle!

(I'm not putting myself in the same category here, as much of my writing is things off the top of my head, not worked with. So if I were to author a book or something, I'd do much more work on making myself clear than I do with these emails!)

Another thought just hit me: If there were something I REALLY DIDN'T WANT the reader to get a clear grasp of, I would be vague intentionally! Aren't there specifics God DOESN'T want us to get--and He would withhold no good thing from us (Ps. 84:11)--thus doesn't spell out clearly in the Bible? Why should we argue about who the 13th apostle was or who the author of Hebrews was, eschatology, what day of the week Christ was crucified, etc..., when we can be busy enjoying God (I Tim.6:17)?

Columbia Catastrophe Stuff

The below referred to the Columbia Space Shuttle accident, but I think the same truths can apply to other "tragedies" too, like the 9-11 attacks, Tsunami/Hurricane disasters, etc....


2003.2.6, JuneTSaito wrote:
>And the only time man really looks Heavenward is to blame God for calamities like space shuttle Columbia (the more I think about it, the more I realize these incidents, referred to as "tragedies", are probably God's action of Protection; but that's subject for another letter.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The end of my last letter to you hinted on the thought that what humans refer to as calamities may actually be actions of God's mercy and protection. I'd like to "expound" here...maybe "expunge" would be what you might want to do with it after you've heard it. Whatever. Here goes....

Remember Jim Berg's seminar, in which he spoke from Rom. 1, about man's heart being so toxic that, if left to itself, it would only DESTROY, and how God's greatest JUDGMENT was to let man have his own way, how in Rom. 1, God's judgment was NOT raining fire from Heaven but TURNING MAN OVER TO HIS OWN HEART? And in that video of the Silver Chalice you brought along this past Christmas vacation--the villain didn't go flying around that tower and be shot down with a bolt of lightning or something, like I'd rather imagined would happen; it didn't even take a little birdie pecking at him or anything; the foolish man actually believed himself to be God and JUMPED to his own death--not even a little push from God was needed! "Go ahead. Have it your way. I won't stop you."--if God really were to say that to man, mankind would be in real trouble; we'd keep jumping to our own death! Some may say not all people are that foolish; well, the "less foolish" of us follow our leaders, and the human heart, when given free rein, seems to run to power, haughtiness, self-sufficiency, and eventually, inevitably, ruin. The majority of mankind would take the lead from those "reining", so....

We discovered solar energy and learned how to heat our homes and water, but also how to power missiles. Laser technology gave us modern surgical techniques, granted, but also new means to sight, aim, fire.... Chemicals, electricity, telephone, automobile, audio recording, radar & sonar, TV, satellite, radioactivity, night vision, computer, nuclear energy...man HAS made leaps and bounds, but with every bound, there's been increased potential for destruction too. Maybe there is increased knowledge about medicine, fertilizer, hygiene, but there's also chemical warfare. A lot of convenience has been afforded by modern sources of power, phones, autos, recording, etc..., but tell me if there's one that hasn't been developed MUCH for use in killing too. "It's only natural," because that's the way man's heart is by nature! "If the other guy has more potent destructive force, well, I've got to protect myself" True, but that's just because we're still on earth where sin reins. Call it reasoning in circles. That'll all be gone in Heaven. There'll be perpetual "healing of the nations" there!

With new knowledge of genetics, man claims to have "cloned" human beings. Advances in space travel is shifting its focus from the moon to planets, actual transportation in space, unknown frontiers. Already there are people working on making this new technology work to advantage in weapons and warfare. Who KNOWS what kind of consequences would result if man were left unchecked? This is an exaggeration:

"The enemy nation thinks they can wipe us out because now they have the technology to get through our forcefields; well, we'll beam our country's leaders to genetic capsules and revive them after the smoke clears, andsurprise, surpise, the enemy will see they haven't managed even ONE strategic casualty--and they won't be able to do anything NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THEY TRY because attacks will automatically initiate escape procedures. And they won't be able to destroy our ability to regenerate because the the capsules will be operated from the base we have on a top-secret planet which will activate the regeneration-reconstruction sequence of the nation's geological-biological-architectural form to its former state...for us, "war" is no longer synonymous with "destruction"; we are indestructible, immortal, truly independent entities!"

Just an imaginary scenario, but just to say man's "advances" seem to be bent to "ways of greater efficiency in destruction". Star Trek (TNG, I think) says man will evolve out of its violent ways to become a better man, but I can't see how that can possibly be anywhere near scientific in seeing the direction man has taken all history. If man were getting less destructive with greater development, I can kinda see how that might be a possibility for the future, but.... The "existence of evil in a world of good intentions" only says to me how sinful man has been implanted with a knowledge of potential for good...and technological attainment hasn't seemed to fill that void--the Bible says only God can fill it, and I think the history of mankind has more than supported that claim.

God's "Stop; you're going to hurt yourself." is probably only one aspect of things like what happened to the Columbia. I'd call that an act of God, but an act of MERCY, not JUDGMENT by any means! Wouldn't "judgment" be more like the way man is allowed to run to homosexuality, violence, materialism--and do it comfortably? When God decides to "step out of our way", we naturally end up going the way of AIDS, bitterness, confusion, crippling, murder, loneliness, distrust, shallow love, weakened capacity to really enjoy...and as long as people are at ease, no one looks up at God "blaming" Him for the destruction He's allowing us to wreak in our own lives.

"Don't you see what you're doing to yourselves? Stop! Look up here and listen to what I have to offer!" God sometimes steps in with things like the Los Angeles earthquake, Columbine High, 9-11.... Is that not an act of LOVE? And most Christians say things like: God didn't cause the evil; He just ALLOWED it for a greater good, and we need to trust His purpose. As if to say the incident was blameworthy, that God needs to be defended, and in the process, the Christian individual is praised for his unshakable faith!

Someone is walking into the street, Provi sees a car approaching; He dives at the person and knocks him back over to the side of the road so the car goes speeding by without hitting the person. But when he gets up, he says to Provi, "That HURT! Why'd you slam into me like that?" And Chris, standing nearby, says spiritually, "He didn't CAUSE the hurt; He just ALLOWED it for a greater good. We can't understand it, but we must be strong and believe in Him!" Wait a minute. Why does Provi's "pain-inflicting action" have to be justified, excused? Shouldn't that man be THANKING him for saving his life?

I'm not sure about sending this letter. Much of it sounds very much like what I can't endorse: using human reasoning to validate claims of truth in scripture rather than letting God tell me how things are and aligning myself to those declarations. Well, let me interject: this letter gives some of the thoughts that came AS A RESULT of first admitting the Sovereignty and Goodness of God; they weren't the REASON I believed, ok? I remember hearing once that we finite human beings can't read the Bible and tell God what the right way to run the universe is.

The Bible talks about beholding the goodness AND severity of God. But it also says it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. It's when we bow the head to God and say, okay, I don't understand but WILL accept what You say as true that He lets us see truth and see how good it really is. We don't say I'll accept IF I UNDERSTAND AND APPROVE. We say I'll accept AND THEN YOU MAY LET ME UNDERSTAND AND APPROVE.

June, shut up. Satan is having a good time letting me spend bogs of time writing about abstract concepts--he knows one of my biggest weak points is my analytical bent, and I give him too much free playtime in my mind! I'm going to send this now and ask God to let it get lost in cyberspace or something if He doesn't want it sent...or,...God may allow all my letters to get through and let you hear all sorts of Junie's errors to drive home the truth that only God is truly reliable!

Being Out of Control

1) Tubing Down the Rapids

Several of the things I was going to relate had to do with being out of control. "Tubing Down the Rapids" was a youth activity the summer after my freshman year in college. I wrote my Mom about it. It wasn't really "rapids", just a rough creek in the woods, actually shallow enough to wade in. A raft for the rapids would've looked out of place there, I think. "Rapids" just sounded more exciting, I guess, for whoever gave the title to the youth group activity. And we didn't shoot the whitewater in a raft or canoe, wearing lifejackets & helmets; rather, we sat in inner tubes from large truck tires. We let the water take us downstream, and we kicked away from boulders along the way. Actually, I kinda remember I preferred deeper water, because shallow water HURT if my bottom hit the bottom of the creek! We had barbecued hot dogs at the end of the activity. I guess when my Mom read the description in my letter to her, it sounded MUCH more threatening than it really was, because she forbad me from ever doing that again! (I haven't heard of any youth groups going tubing down rapids since then, have you?) Well, since then, I decided I'd make sure make sure whoever's in charge of excursions knows about my epilepsy--I think I did then too but can't concretely remember.

You are so right. Being "out of control" is what made that activity fun! Being sloshed around, bounced from place to place and turning around this way and that way to the whim of the water was great! I remember lots of "Whee"s and "Whoop"s and "Wow"s, lots of squeals and shouts...but there were never grimaces of endurance!


2) Wave-Riding on the Outrigger

The other incident was on my younger sister's birthday in '74, I think. We were in Hawaii on the way to furlough in the U.S., supposed to leave the next day, so all our things were packed. We were going to enjoy a leisurely day at home...when one of our aunts came over and asked my Mom if she could take "the girls" out. My Mom told her no swimming because all our clothes had been packed, and only what we needed for our plane trip the next day was out. My Aunt said ok, she was going to take us to the Waikiki Area, but not to swim. She knew about my epilepsy too--several other cousins in Hawaii also have it.

Well, she took us to Waikiki, but to do something we'd not be able to do at other beaches: go for an outrigger ride. You know those Hawaiian canoes, with the beam alongside for balance--when you paid for a ride, they let you lock up your bracelet, pendant, glasses, wallet,etc..., valuables, so they won't get ruined by the saltwater of the ride. And we were told to take off our zoris (you know, those rubber slippers) & throw them into the bottom of the canoe. Before getting on, my older sister asked my aunt if she should take off her watch.

"Oh no, you won't get that wet." So she took off her zoris and tossed them into the canoe before getting in herself.

The canoe was large. My sisters, myself, my aunt and her daughter, plus 6 beach boys on the outrigger staff all got in. One of them, the leader, called out when to paddle, when to change sides, when to lift the paddles out of the water, etc....

We went out to the waves where the surfers were, turned the canoe around to face the shore. When a big wave came, the leader--he sat facing the waves, tho' we could only see the front--would call out for us to start paddling, and we'd manuever the outrigger to glide in FRONT OF the wave. He'd shout out to stop paddling and lift the paddles into the canoe; and we'd actually RIDE the WAVE like those surfers do, with the wind & spray in our faces--talk about exhilarating! We did that a few times, and went out for one last ride. I LOVE outrigger rides, mostly because you get to ride the waves like the surfers do--but don't have to worry about the wet spill at the end.

So I thought.

We decided to choose a really big wave for our last one and let some other smaller ones go by. When we saw the one we wanted, we poised ourselves and paddled like crazy at the leader's signal. But he kept yelling, "Faster! Faster!" and then, "It's gonna break!"

Sploooooosh! When I opened my eyes, the outrigger was floating IN water, and our zoris were floating by us, the water up to our waists! The timing had been just fractions off, putting our canoe right UNDER the breaking wave instead of to the side & FRONT of it! We were told to get out of the canoe, hold onto the side poles, while the water was bailed out. 2 of them did that, while another made sure it didn't tip over--outriggers don't SINK, but they CAN flip over (our getting out & hanging onto the side beams added weight to make that practically impossible, tho'). 2 others swam around where we were, making sure we were all right.

It didn't occur to me until MUCH LATER that my aunt didn't go out to the spot where my older sister was (she didn't even know how to swim) or where my younger sister was (being the youngest of us three, she would've easily been the most easily frightened) but over to ME. She held onto the pole with her right arm and supported me and her daughter Lisa between us with her left.

Several surfers started jeering, telling the leader he had mistimed the ride, needling him by saying the customers had the right to sue the beach, etc... And my aunt began worrying about the possibility of a wave stealing one of the surfboards, twirling it up into the air and letting it come down on our heads. Well, the water got bailed, we all got back into the canoe, paddled back to shore, no one was hurt, and we'd had a great time...as a matter of fact, I kinda remember being out on that pole and going WHOOOAAAHHH whenever a wave came...my cousin Lisa and I giggled with every swell. I think God gave us that extra bit of fun.

Back on the beach, we realized ONE zori had been lost, and of course, my sister's watch...well, she held it up to show my aunt its now-drenched condition, giggling, "Oh no, you won't get THAT wet."

Several things:
1. When out on that pole waiting for the water to be bailed out, my younger sister says she found herself quoting, "I have offered thee death and life; therefore choose life". I don't think that's a birthday she'll ever forget!

2. When we were going home, we were trying to think up ways to tell our Mom what happened without telling her what happened--do you know what I'm saying here? We weren't supposed to go swimming and get wet, but we were DRENCHED! Our cousin piped up, "Tell her we sweat a lot." (!)

3. This hit me much later: My aunt worried about ME because she knew about my epilepsy. She'd told my Mom that she would look after me. No doubt, when we had that "accident", one of her first thoughts was that she HAD to make sure nothing happened to me! My sisters, well, she let the other outrigger staff look after them; June she couldn't take her eyes off. And of course, her daughter. So she stayed with US.

If I didn't have epilepsy, she might've worried about her daughter, but she probably would've let the outrigger people look after me too! Things that may seem like negatives to us may be God's way of guaranteeing us added protection!

"For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." (Lam. 3:33)

He doesn't do ANYthing for nothing!

(If you WANT to look, also Prov. 10:22, Ps. 84:11b, Jas. 1:17 came to mind.)

Yup, being "out of control" often affords us more thrill and more protection in it!