PIZZA FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR

Pizza for Christmas? Well...it's not really a sin, is it?

That's what we decided to do this year. For health reasons, I've had to stay indoors most of the time the past few months, and Joyce offered to come over instead of our family having to go out anywhere. And my son, who likes pizza but despises vegetables or having his picture taken, was so into getting his serving of pizza that Kinya managed to get him in the picture frame...see?

Joyce added Karaage (Japanese fried chicken bits) & breaded cheese sticks (sides from the pizza establishment), as well as beverages, and church folk sent pie and banana cake. She'd sent up pet bottles of beverages earlier, and Keima had been bought some of his favorite potato chips to go along with his pizza. So we were all set.

We thanked the Lord for giving us what He'd given us--and I was praying silently especially the ability to even get together, because I know I myself was really afraid last week when I got feverish about how I would be feeling on Christmas day, if I would be up to any family feasting festivity. But see the calendar? On the 25th, God made sure I was able to fully enjoy this Special Day of remembering the way He bent down to make a way of reconciliation for man.

After eating--we thought there would be pizza leftover for Joyce to take downstairs, but Keima finished it all--we read a few verses of scripture and thought about how God does that for us, often making even what we think as our lowliness to be the very things through which He makes His glory known. Joyce's original idea was for us to read through the Japanese translation of You Are Special, but I wanted to stick to the birth of Jesus, so we decided to re-read the familiar Lk. 2:7-12:

It was, after all, the "lowly shepherds" that would've been the quickest to pick up how God sent His Son to be the Spotless Sacrifice Lamb for the sins of the world.  Bethlehem's Shepherds were the ones who checked male newborn lambs, and as sign of approval for sacrifice offerings, wrapped them in SWADDLING CLOTHS to prevent possible bruises/scratches before sacrifice, then carefully laid them in a MANGER! (That's why the angel said these two factors were signs to the shepherds: they knew what they meant!) Human infant care was very different; but this was standard treatment of the unblemished Lamb.

Is it any wonder the shepherds knew where to go--to the place where newborn of sheep were set aside for sacrifice. As Bethlehem is prophesied in Mic.5:2; they were familiar with the prophesies of Mic.4:8 concerning Migdal Eder (Tower of the Flock), just north of it. Many of the lambs born there were taken to Jerusalem. The angel's pronouncement had told them one of the manger occupants, tho' wrapped in swaddling cloths, would be the long-awaited One Who would bring peace to men on earth.

The shepherds got it. And they went; saw the Christchild; and probably told everyone they met on the street about what they'd seen. But the people just looked back at them and shook their heads, like they were "forgivable" since most shepherds were "uneducated, poor folk" anyway. And most of the time, we do not hear about how the shepherds found a Special, Spotless Sacrificial Lamb in swaddling cloths lying in a manger.

The only part we hear is the story about a baby in swaddling cloths lying in a manger in a stable. It sounds the same, it really does.

MABUNE NO NAKANI

"Away In a Manger" was written in English, but I found out this year that "Mabune no Nakani" (In a Manger) was written originally in Japanese. When the congregation sang it, the pastor wrote it out in Romaji (Romanized reading of Japanese) so English-readers could sing along too. Isn't it awesome the God of all creation bent down to redeem humanity...of any tongue or tribe?

And any type of musical instrument too. For Sunday morning's special music, the youngest handbell player missed her cue for when she was to come in. But no problem; the choir just kept playing on Joyce's direction, and she came in the next time around. 

The sacrifice of praise Sunday was offered by guitar, ukulele, and handbells as well as singing. But as can be seen by the photograph, all is possible because we are meeting at the foot of the cross (you can barely see the symbol of one there). The Japanese writing on the plaque is the verse: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Jesus--the One Who became the Son of man for us that He might be the Door for us to Eternal Life...yes, that little baby in the manger at the beginning of the post! (For those of you who have been following since my last blog, that picture was done last year for a friend who asked for a simple drawing of "baby in manger" for children at an orphanage.)

Even as an Infinite God filled a wooden cradle with Love 2000 years ago, may He peer down into your life and fill your heart with Love today. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

SEEING CLEARLY

A masterpiece's value is in the central picture, not in its surrounding edges; who sees a wonderful painting and discusses just the background?

For the LAMB Who is in the midst of the throne" (Rev. 7:17) Most people see only the horrific judgments framing Revelations, but reviewing the book, I heard Rev. 7:17 described as "seeing the rest of the book clearly with your glasses on".  

Joyce and I went to an optician yesterday, and I got fitted for a new pair of glasses. The very first thing I noticed was that I could see clearest the very center. Since it's a gradual bifocal, it was made to be able to see up close then gradually change to a lens enabling seeing distances. I couldn't have  judged the worth of the lens by how things looked around the edge alone.

(Yes, there is a small shop nearby where I got a pair of reading glasses for doing deskwork, but I need this new pair for sighting birds at distances and seeing carp and turtles in the creek. Otherwise, the only way I can do that is by using the glasses with the missing nose guard!)

DELIVERED

"I just got a call from Yoshitaka Ishikawa, and he's bringing over Shikwasa from his yard for us," my sister e-mailed me from downstairs.

DELIVERED VITAMINS - He brought over a bagful of the luscious Okinawa lime, packed full of vitamin C. I decided to add its juices to my mug of Hibiscus tea and found the pairing perfect! I've had plain Shikwasa drink and Hibiscus-Shikwasa tea since, squeezing over two dozen little limes!

God had them sent a few days ago, while I was strong enough to putter around the kitchen to drink the nutrition I needed, knowing this morning I'd find myself downed with low-grade fever.

DELIVERED SAFETY -

A little over two months ago, that Shikwasa, you may remember, was in a plastic bottle, had come out of a vending machine; God used it when I needed to hold down swelling.

Oh...another "delivered":

DELIVERED SOULS - I forgot to mention: the man in the white slacks next to my Mom in the photo representing the church believers in the photo posted on Dec. 12 is the father of the person who brought me the Shikwasas in this post! Yoshitaka was a little boy then. He came to Sunday School, Camps, Teen Picnics, got saved and became one of my Sunday School teachers, went on evangelistic teams, to Bible School, has pastored for several decades now.

Yes, that's Yoshitaka today, and yes, those drinks in front of Joyce and me include the drink Shikwasa. It's the one smack dab in the center, with the green label.

SAFE THUNDER

I know I just posted about my memory work in Revelation, but I couldn't refrain...

"and there were voices, and thunderclaps, and lightnings, and an earthquake." 

What could those voices be saying before all those scary things mentioned in Rev.8:5?

Well, I imagined angels couldn't refrain--rather like me, at the beginning of this post--from slipping in the words: "Children of God, LOOK! Your Loving Heavenly FATHER has been watching all the evil you have had to endure! He saw what was being done to His truth, to His world, and He is putting an end to it!"

I can imagine one angel's voice assuring His own; another voice declaring an Omnipotent Sovereign's Perfect Justice; still another commanding all nature to yield to its Creator; finally, a joyful voice ringing out a call to see what God does...

Actually all that is extra, I realized. JUST ONE WHISPER from GOD of: "HOW DARE YOU!" would be enough to make anything get out of the way.

When I was a little girl, I remember learning the lyrics to the hymn: "How Great Thou Art". The teacher reminded us, whenever we're in a thunderstorm and "hear the rolling thunder", to think of our powerful Heavenly Father.

Some people don't want to see God's all-powerful side; they prefer a God Who is soft, always accepting, forgiving. Maybe it's been songleaders like this, but I've always felt safe with a FATHER-GOD whose voice is like thunder (but makes Himself slave to lambs like me), Who one day no one will dare stop when He make all things right.

REVELATION: UNTIL HE MAKES IT ALL BETTER

"Hold on a minute!" I shouted to my friend Aino as she was about to leave; "is it OK to have Kinya take a pic of us before you go?" I ran back into the bedroom to get my camera and set the flash, handing it to my husband, rushing to the front door where my friend was. "Kinya, would you get pics of us, but first check the flash..."

OOPS! And here we are again, ready this time!

Think I should've just posted the first photo? No; I should've just kept taking it until I was satisfied, right?

That's something I remember Itsuko Shimabukuro, one of the ladies in our church mentioned, as having been taught as the way to read the Word. Sometimes, we can read scripture and have no idea what it's saying. Tell God you can't understand and go back and read it again, asking the Holy Spirit for help, she was told. Sometimes it's just picking up something you missed the first time so you can "see the light." But if even reading it twice doesn't help, pray you still don't get it, and read it again, repeating the same thing expectantly until God shows you. "He will, and then it will be so clear and you will see it has been sitting there all along;" she'd said. That sounded like she'd experienced it, so I decided to do it too.

One of the things Aino and I talked about was recent readings in Revelation. Yeah, I know. It's a rather scary and difficult book, so we'd pretty much avoided looking at it. But it's like Itsuko said in the above paragraph. In a perusal reading, Revelation may look that way. But I've found God can speak through it until it feels like Psalms sometimes! May I share an excerpt from my journal again?

"having a golden censer; . . . that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints on the golden altar " (Rev. 8:3)

As I mentioned to my friend the other day, God uses gold to show incorruptible, permanent substance; He was saying: YOUR prayers are HEARD and ARE IMPORTANT, haven't been shelved to be forgotten. The petitions are significant, and believe Me, I will do something about them.

I'm leaving my journal and getting back to my blog post again. I'm thinking before, the book of Revelation seemed to be a textbook of Bible prophecy of end times with date lines and symbolism and complicated things to learn and memorize. . . I thought it was a book for smart people who studied the Bible. But this time going through the book, I'm not studying it. (After all, I'm not going to be quizzed, graded for my acquisition of knowledge of its content, am I?) This time around, I've decided to try to listen to the Father as He leans over His Creation and says, "Just Wait a little longer, until I make it all better."

P.S: (I found a little bonus from my Heavenly Daddy. I feel he understood from eternity past how many humans wouldn't be able to wait for Revelation 21:4 to read, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes", so He put it in chapter 7:17 "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." We have a tender God Who longs for us to keep hoping!)

THE SPIDER...IS IN KINGS' PALACES (Prov. 30:28)

This is an excerpt from this morning's journal ... 

"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." (Ps. 27:4)

I remembered those early mornings in Iwatsuki I went down to the church building. I picked up the key when nobody was there, let myself in, and walked around the sanctuary. Time stopped as I prayed and sang out loud knowing NO ONE would hear me. And I sat sideways on any chair along the wall, putting my feet up on the chairs, reading my Bible and writing my journal.

I saw that tiny jumping spider at that time, God telling me about how Jesus came into the world to lovingly die for and save His lost creation--would I do that for a condemned bunch of spiders who, if I sent my child to rescue, in their form, KILLED him? I knew I'd just crush them. But when I shared this with a friend, she said it was a little different because they had the imprint of God on their souls to begin with; they weren't just spiders. (?) I must confess I don't understand the heart of God, but my human heart would find that insufficient to merit mercy for what they had done to my son! Anyway...

Returning to "those mornings in the church chapel"...isn't that what God wants His child to do every morning with Him? To close the door of her room and heart to the world, to have exclusive "Father-and-me" time? To shut the eye and with the heart, lean back against the wall and lift up feet on chairs in an empty, quiet room and pray and sing?

The Psalmist said, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice." (Ps. 55:17)

Let's make no mistake about it. When someone does this 3 times a day, it is NOT that PERSON we should focus on as being "anointed" in any special way.

He is only one of the little spiders who has realized there is a GOD Who for some reason loves him and has chosen to be merciful to him--just a spider!

BROKEN FRIEND

Today is 2 months since my 5:30 a.m. mishap. Can I post about another "broken" friend I saw on one of my walks down the creek?

I quickly snapped a picture of a little brown butterfly with white markings...but noticed it had met with mischief on its right wing.

When I zoomed in on it, I realized they were  bright blue-white spots (you can see it's been attacked on the tail end). Be patient, the butterfly seemed to say; even if you are a little out of order temporarily; just keep brightening the corner where you are with whatever hue the Creator endowed you as best you can...even if it takes over 2 months to recover!

People may think I am making a big jump, but it's not unrelated. I remember when Daddy was broken. We were in the middle of our Okinawa work, and God used my parents to plant 4 churches: Uken, Shuri, Ishikawa, Ishigaki. Daddy was running around as the go-between for missionaries and native people, believers and unbelieving family, U.S. military and Okinawan civilians.

But he got close to a health breakdown necessitating an emergency furlough. I was actually too little to remember this; have only a foggy memory of it. God brought us back to Okinawa to finish the work He began. Here's a picture of our family years later (Joyce is already in college), when starting another work anew and canvassing the neighborhood with self-introductory brochures.

Some people think God can't use dirty vessels. God can use dirty vessels, broken vessels, anything that has repented, offered itself up to fully to Him. The cleaning and mending is for God, not man, to do.

I've probably told you a million times about one of our ladies (front right) whose son (white T-shirt, under cross) is the present pastor of the church. Daddy (did you find him? He's in front in traditional kimono garb, like the other elderly folk on that day!) prayed so hard for a man to step in the pulpit!

I get sidetracked so easily. I need to wrap this up, or it'll never get posted.

THIS OL' MAN, HE PLAYED ONE...

Today's is just a fun photo story, from our most recent walk. We were about to go home when Kinya noticed two cormorants came flying to the creek. I'm sure they saw us on the bridge, because we were there before they came, but one of them seemed to be quoting a whole bunch of silly unconnected things. Listen:

1 One flew over the cuckoo's nest,

2 Two swam under the bridge...

3 Wait...swam...what?

4 This ol' man came rolling home!

MEANDERING

For this post, instead of boring you with things that to me were absolute thrilling treats for my eyes, I'll narrate with some memoirs I found recently of my Dad.

The first is from Joyce: "Daddy taught me how to cross the street...He took my hand and walked across with me, teaching me to look both directions first. Back and forth, back and forth. Then he said, 'Now you do it yourself.'... After watching me do it a few times, he announced I was ready. Thank you, Daddy."

This next one is from Janice, in Minnesota: "My jr. high years...I remember when you went over the words of "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Cleanse Me" with us. It made an impact on me that Christianity was not just a game but something to take seriously."

I had to insert a note about some of the pics. Altho' the egret and coot of the Tengan River regularly show up on my walks, they probably never came when Daddy swam there. When I was little, I always thought why bother with growing flowers when you can get this much color just planting bushes? I told Kinya they were among my favorites. Don't you think they're pretty?

On one of our most recent walks, Kinya and I noticed a path along the river away from the main road--we weren't sure where it led--but my legs were strong enough to walk on uneven ground, and we had plenty of time, so decided to see where it went. I got to be friends with a brown butterfly and a colorful grasshopper, plus we found a handy shortcut.

Sometimes, venturing out of comfort zones can yield unexpected blessings, yes? 

AM I CLOSER TO AN EEL OR A SNAKE？

Look," Kinya said, pointed to a slithering thing swimming in the river; "looks like an Unagi (Japanese Eel);" Larger ones, farmed commercially, are cuisine in Japan. I have seen old drawings of chefs nailing the heads of these large eels to a cutting board and masterfully preparing them for dishes.

Jesus too, before He was nailed to the Cross, had prayed, "Not my will, but Thine be done." And then what did that consecration look like? The next day, He kept His mouth shut while human wills framed, shamed, condemned Him to the Cross. And it wasn't like He was defenseless. He could've called ten thousand angels to vindicate Himself if He wanted; but He'd decided He would drink the cup His Father gave Him (Jn. 18:11), so didn't resist.

He wasn't like the Snake that raises its head to defend itself and strike out at its predators.

I realize most Christians who claim to be seeking the will of God are like that--I am like that. If any human being falsely accuses me, or I feel offended, boy am I quick to speak up for myself, to stand up for my rights! I "love God"? Ha! I forget about God the moment someone offends me--I love myself way more!

I will be Snakey June (I'm speaking, of course, of the natural man)...until Glory. But because Jesus drank up all my Father's wrath against my "snakey-sinfulness", when I repent, I can know Infinite Love and Grace that declares me accepted in the Beloved--I will never fully comprehend this; I just have to say, hallelujah, what a Savior!

MISSING THE HAWK, FINDING THE EAGLE

"Rats; I just missed it!" I thought. Kinya saw a Sparrow Hawk perching on a telephone pole, and excitedly told me about it. But  just as I clicked the shutter of my camera, the bird decided to take flight. It had been a clear shot, probably would've been my best picture of a Sparrow Hawk if it had stayed still for me...oh well.

On the way home, I thought I saw it again, so I snapped several pics of it. But when I went to edit the photos, I realized it was a completely different bird: not the sparrow hawk, but a juvenile eagle. In 2019, this Ryukyu Crested Serpent Eagle had neared extinction, so was put under strict protective measures and is no longer considered one of the endangered species.

Some readers have already beat me to the thought. Our Loving Heavenly Father sometimes puts strict measures in our lives we want to buck against, but they're often there for our protection. It also hit me if I had succeeded in my first attempt to photograph the Sparrow Hawk, I probably wouldn't have tried to take the second picture, so wouldn't have noticed the Crested Serpent Eagle.

God's sovereignty often makes me marvel: how He rules with quiet protection, yes, and sometimes how He causes intentional accidents.

PLANTS PSST

In my last post, I mentioned I take walks letting my being fill up on the life outside. Well, the most recent trips out, of course, my biggest reason was to get exercise for my knees, and I'm sure it made Kinya happy to see I was more steady on my feet on the stairs than before...and he didn't have to worry if I could make it across the street when the light changed. We walked to the place where I fell. It's pretty close but felt so far that morning! How I thank God for His protection every inch of the way...it was before 6, AND NO ONE ELSE WAS AROUND! 

But getting back to our walk...one of the first things I saw when we got to the riverside was NOT happy life, but stumps where trees used to be. There's no way to stop progress, I thought. Construction was underway; the river, eroded now into a deeper gulley, was having greenery replaced with concrete walls, and the highway widened. I wouldn't be able to see my little birdie friends anymore.

The natural orchid tree had been cut down; I could see the pink flowering tokkuri tree had been felled; I wondered how much longer I'd be able to see my favorite delicate scarlet spider hibiscus, and looked over at the bushes near the highway. At least the red-orange flowers there--they are all over the island--would continue blooming, even if all the other flowers were gone, I thot.

"Can we help?" I heard a small voice, but didn't know where it came from, then saw some tiny field flowers atop a bush at my feet. "Water doesn't have to travel as far to get from our roots to reach our blooms;" they smiled..I think.

Right. Just stay close to the Source of Life. I took a snapshot of those bright faces shining up at me before continuing the walk with Kinya.

WHY...WHAT IN THE WORLD？！

The other day, Kinya and I took a walk. Maybe a reader can help me out with this.  At the corner, in front of the post office, I noticed the plant that had...embedded? itself onto the tree in the front and had begun growing wildly. What was it?! (I walked around to the other side of the plant and took another picture, but no matter how you look at it, it looks strange, so I'm not sure it helps.)

Some people think I take walks just because I'm a wildlife fanatic. To be sure, I love outdoor beauty, and critters have a hold of my heart in a peculiar way humans don't. But that is just "bait". I know this body has to be kept moving, and if left to myself, I would rather stay indoors to read, do things on the computer, draw...and be perfectly content in a sedentary lifestyle.... So I tell myself I WANT to go outside and stretch my legs, fill my lungs with delicious air, get an eyeful of satisfying light and motion, find and interact with other living things. My Heavenly Father has set all those things around me, knowing I'll be happier if I enjoyed them. (Yup, He formed even that funny-looking plant.)

It's not up to me to figure out why life is the way it is; why other people are the way they are; even why I am the way I am.

I just need to get out on my walks. Walks of exercise yes, and walks of simple obedience, walks called "trust and obey".

When I do, I'll find I'll be happier, healthier, stronger, and much more in love with God and life. And I daresay I think I'll be wanting to go on more walks too.