MEPHIBOSHETH

 MEPHIBOSHETH. That was a mouthful. But once learned, I couldn't forget it.

It's the name of Jonathan's son. (You know, David's good friend.) When news of King Saul's and his son Jonathan's being killed in battle reached the palace, Mephibosheth's nurse panicked and decided to run away with Jonathan's baby. Why? Well, in those days, whenever a new king sat on the throne, all possible threats to the crown were eliminated.

  

Everyone knew David was the next king, meaning Jonathan's baby would be executed. In her hurry, the nurse dropped the child before managing to smuggle him out. By the time David found Mephibosheth, he'd grown up crippled in both feet.

Mephibosheth expected to be killed when discovered, found himself invited to dine instead at the king's table--a result of a promise David had made with Jonathon decades earlier. Then he was given property as well as assigned a servant to manage it. Mephibosheth couldn't believe the favor King David extended him; royalty usually despised the handicapped, and he had in fact seen himself as a dead dog.

Years later, an uprising occurs, and the depth of Mephibosheth's gratitude fully shows itself. The king had been temporarily driven from the castle and was leaving the city when met by Mephibosheth’s servant, who slanders him, saying:

Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem; for he said,“Today shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father.”(2 Sam. 16:3)

At this news, all property once given Mephibosheth is declared the servant's.

However, when the tide turns and the King is able to return to Jerusalem, he finds Mephibosheth at the outskirts of the city not having washed or changed since the day David fled the palace--it'd been such a heart-wrenching ordeal for him. Clearly such a man could not have been planning the taking over of the country!

But it was Mephibosheth's words that got to me.

When David saw he had been wrong in taking the other servant's words at face value so said they  could divide the property in half, the natural human response would've been: “Only Half?”

After all, It had been ALL his before the FALSE accusation and WRONG judgment on David’s part, right? But no. Mephibosheth said, “Oh, LET HIM KEEP IT ALL--THAT DOES NOT MATTER! I'M JUST GLAD YOU'RE BACK SAFE AND SOUND!” I think I wanted to cry when I read that.

“Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord. The king, is come again in peace unto his own house.” (2 Sam. 19:30)

~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Recently, I was thinking about how Heaven isn't that real to a lot of people anymore. But even to Christians who find it real, in order to talk about it, we often speak of the following: our new, sinless hearts; the restored, unbroken world; how sin-suffering-parting-death will be no more; perfect love and light will be for eternity, etc...(I am starting to get giddy.)

But that's a bit like the “property” Mephibosheth said he wasn't as interested in as the KING that came back to Jerusalem.

It hit me: would I be just as quick to find myself saying naturally; FORGET ALL THAT: I JUST WANT TO SEE JESUS! 

Fanny Crosby wrote a song that says, “Take the World, but Give Me Jesus”. I wonder if it should be retitled, “MEPHIBOSHETH 2”(I mean, I know technically, he didn't even know the Name of Jesus at the time, but...)

Rev. 13:18 WISDOM LITERATURE? REVELATION?

Scripture is often journaled FIRST, and sometimes, I think something might be worth posting online. This time, I'm going to start typing HERE without journaling. Because I've stepped out of order. I've actually started into memory work in Revelation 14, so should be journaling what I see there, but...

"Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding" it says at the beginning of (Rev. 13:18), sounding to me more like a collection of wisdom maxims than a book of scary prophecy.

Several years ago, I remember I started reading the book of Revelation thinking the writings of Solomon, may've been among the wisest reading that could've been done in the Old Testament days; then this New Testament book, written by the "Apostle of Love," showed God's fulfilment of all Solomon taught.

"...understanding count the number of the beast" Oh; so this is Revelation, that scary book after all! But what's this? I read on.

"for it is the number of a man" And it went on to show how the number of this scary red dragon with this mortal wound on its head was actually a man!

I could stop at the end of chapter 13, I suppose. I mean, I've memorized chapter 22 already too. so there would be only 8 chapters left (and there are invisible flying things all around me whispering into my ears it wouldn't hurt to take a recess from scripture memory!) Would my readers concur?

• I think the Spirit tells me to finish, NOW.
• The enemy and his forces just do NOT want weaknesses, losses, etc, talked about, and that's what most of the rest of the book of Revelation shows.
• It's not really that difficult when read devotionally and the Holy Spirit is asked to be Guide and Interpreter, Teacher through its reading.

Go, girlie (that's what Mommy sometimes called me.)

LET'S JUST PRAISE HIM TOGETHER

Today's post is a stringing together of some well-known verses that came to me recently:

 

"This is the day that the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad."

(Ps.118:24)

I'd told a friend if God implants a desire that is not ungodly, JUST RUN with it, thanking God for it, not needing to feel guilty or feeling a need to fight it. Moments later, I wondered if God wasn't sending me the same message, and I'd been crying inwardly about my numerous fictional writings that were "just plain secular" or of my artwork that may be "just plain" pretty or cute or interesting to look at. Say...can't I rejoice and be glad in them too?

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge." (Ps. 19:1,2)

I was standing back and letting the full impact of beauty hit me as awe settled over me like dew: Creator God is the One Who came up with all this, and He can put together oh so much more! He has "siphoned off" an amount He knows we are capable of perceiving and enjoying, even like that person at the Iwatsuki park who had that water-ladling contraption for his pet doggie, who could lap up one tongue swish at a time. He calls these amounts "days", and provides sunup and sundown day by day, without fail, all our lives.

A dear friend once told me how we can be taken aback by how wonderful even our BROKEN WORLD is; do we dare imagine what it will be when He redeems it to be the beauty He originally intended, the Life and Love He meant it to house?!

I just realized too, that altho' the first few words of Ps. 19 may've echoed the psalmist's awe at beholding VISUAL beauty in God's Perfect Creation, its last verse can echo his prayer in WRITTEN Praise of Him as well. Music and journaling can also apply!

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." 

(Ps. 19:14)

Drawn pictures, written stories, recorded journals, composed music...Such a joy-giving, mighty, yet gentle God and so worthy to be praised...Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Hey, wasn't there a verse like that? (Ps. 150:6!)

DEM "GANGSTERS" ARE A GLOBAL PROBLEM

Silly post today.

My sister Joyce returned from her few months of furlough in the U.S. this week and had to air out her apartment downstairs, also told me she needed to kill some spiders who had taken up residence while she was gone.

We had a different problem upstairs. You may remember in a post in May, I mentioned a cockroach infestation. Specialty traps had pretty much taken care of that, and I was happy. I've made my peace with most living things, but mosquitos and roaches are still two creatures I have a hard time feeling even neutral about.

Anyway, yesterday, I spotted a huge one on the ceiling and called Kinya. He swiped at then finished it off with one of those fly swatters, and sprayed it dead, then discarded it for me. Whew.

When waking from a nap today, I "composed" the following jingle. To those who know the song "La Cucaracha" (The Cockroach), you might enjoy it more; those who read Spanish might understand and wrinkle up your brow. The rest of you...well, you'll just put up with me?  Dedicated Christians do things that make a difference to the world, wouldn't spend time doing innocuous stuff like this!

                            KINYA, EL HOMBRE

                            La cucaracha, la cucaracha

                            Ya no puede caminar

                            Porque no puede, porque no vida

                            El hombre ya terminando.

About 15 years ago, I wrote a post about killing gangster spider and roaches named "Gray", "Brown", and "Shiny". Maybe when these pesky things turn up in your lives, you might remember to pray for your missionaries; they're all over the world too!

YE OLDE WHITE BOARD

I found a photo of something I used everyday 2 years ago.

This white board got used so much...it's something I got at the 100 yen shop (dollar store?), so after awhile, even erasing and cleaning solvents didn't work, and the background, especially top part of the board where I wrote most, got rather dirty. Recently, I had Kinya pick me up another one.

The one he came back with is the SAME DIMENTIONS, just not as rounded in the corners as the old one. It almost looks like the old and new one are a set, although they were bought a decade apart (I think God did that for me.)!

Something in me couldn't bear to throw away the old white board, so I decided to use it as a sort of "lid" on which I wrote Rev. 1:3, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is at hand." I said to myself, I wouldn't need to erase that board anyway. Besides, those words would help keep me memorizing.

Maybe even when it seems we are old and unable to do the work we used to do all the time before, God could keep using us to help encourage others? ... J

WOWWWww!yipes, it was titled

For those who have hung around since the Iwatsuki Pond, do you remember this excerpt? (Aug.17, 2024)

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One early morning I saw a crow at Lower Bridge admiring a swimming grasshopper.

I can't swim, he told the crow; I misjudged and jumped into the pond.  

Sometimes Mr. Crow, the spring in my hind legs scares me.

Yup; we're to boast GOD's strength and protection. I know I usually do a great job of getting in hot water if I were left to my own devices! And am I grateful then to find lily pads of grace to help in time of need! He is always watching our foolhardy ways.

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God let me find this just in time.

After finishing our family missions book in English then writing personal memoirs in Japanese, I'd been posting quite a bit of my journaling in Revelation...and, thrilled to see their positive reception, kept putting them up.

 

There is nothing wrong in that, I realize; it is just that I have GOT TO REMEMBER: TIME WITH THE LORD COMES FIRST!  PERIOD! Please--pray I keep it there! If I lose sight of this, I too can "overspring" and find myself making a splash of pride larger than I know how to handle.

RANA'S MESSAGE IS IN ENGLISH--YES!

Remember Saaya, the Bible School graduate that went to Bangladesh Nov. '25 ("Okay God, Do Your Thing" Nov. 14 post)? They finally returned to Japan for a few months of deputation...and the doctor told her she needed to get bed rest and take care of her pregnancy (baby's due next month!) Saaya has been reading all the things I've written in Japanese about growing up as an MK through joining BMM, giving me encouragement and prayer all along the way.

June and Saaya

I got a real thrill out of reading how God worked in my life for 30 years, yet I gotta say I got tired all along the way and wanted to cut it short. I finally finished 172 pages of my Japanese testimony-diary (thru' first years with BMM and marriage to Kinya) and felt mentally ready to crash.

The Second Point

For the Sunday worship service message this past weekend, Pastor Nishino's wife is expecting her first little one also, and he asked the Rana, Saaya's husband, a newly ordained minister, to preach for him for a while.

Rana Biswas did have an interpreter to put things into Japanese for most of his hearers, but for me, the treat was that he gave the sermon in English! Most people figure I understand Japanese so don't give it that much thought, but it still is slightly mentally more tiring. It was 100% restful to be able to listen through the entire morning sermon and not have to exert myself mentally at all, just kind of let it slide in effortlessly--thank You so much God.

I have a box   　　　I’m not worthy

The message talked about the alabaster box being broken and expensive spikenard oil being poured on Jesus' head as an expression of love for Him. (Mk. 14:3) 

What a waste         Even half this money

I realize that's what this incident is supposed to point to. But I felt this week, it was the other way around: God Himself had anointed my soul with much-needed Balm!

"Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over" (Ps. 23:5)

UNTIL WE DIE, WE'RE IMMORTAL

"Are you okay?" some concerned friends asked after hearing about some of the typhoon damage over the news.

"As long as I stay indoors, I don't even know about what kind of damage was caused by the storm," I replied; "Okinawa has about 4 typhoons a year."

I told you about how, as a child, I often illustrated my parents' missionary prayer letters so once inadvertently drew my mom as an elephant climbing a ladder securing the home before a storm approached Okinawa.

I've blogged posts about our family's move when the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation fiasco of 2011 resulted in our family's evacuation from Fukushima and move just north of Tokyo.

But recently, I was reading about my freshman year in a college chapel, when a tornado hit the upper corner of the amphitorium, and I saw the far walls--they'd looked solid to me before--begin waving like drapery. I have never to this day seen anything like that. There was rushing wind (sound like a thousand freight trains) on the other side of that wall. Memory is foggy.

I'm pretty sure someone on Security interrupted the speaker and announced over the speaker how we were all to leave our seats in orderly fashion and go back to our dorms, down to the basement. Leaders checked attendance and safety while we sat there and sang choruses until things quieted down.

I still remember two roommates who were personality opposites. The emotionally charged one, when leaving the building, seeing a large corner of the building that had been lifted and then deposited nearby, decided the end of the world had come. She screamed WE'REGOINGTODIEWE'REGOINGTODIE and frantically wrapped herself around one of the entrance poles. Her roommate, cool as a cucumber, peeled her off and walked her back to the dorm, where she sat trembling, wet (it was raining), and speechless for a while.

Our leader and remarked how it seemed Linda had brought in Susan, "bless her heart" (she always said that), like a poor drenched puppy.

I don't know if it'll be by Typhoon, Tsunami, or Tornado, but we ARE going to die some day. Susan was kinda right there. But Daddy used to say until God wants to take us to Heaven, we can't die. Until then, we are immortal. J

THE WAY GOD BLINKS AND ANSWERS PRAYER

I just had to post this. I wanted to whip off a few things about something during my college years. For Christmas Vacation my junior year, I was riding a station wagon going from our school in South Carolina out to California, a 3-day trip. Here are some things about that trip:

I don't know how we did it, but there were 6 of us and our luggage packed onto that station wagon. At school every night, for 15 mins. before lights out, 3 rooms got together for prayer; so we decided to do something similar before we konked out, just while the car was in motion (and of course, the driver stayed awake afterwards too!) We didn't realize it, but one person in that group thought we were batty; she wasn't a Christian and couldn't image why anyone would want to pray when we were no longer under the campus rules and required to do so! She was gloriously saved that Holiday Season, and on the way back to school, when we hit a patch of ice and went into a spin, she says her first thought was, "I'm ready to go now." The car ended up off the road but we stayed in God's protection.

We called ourselves the Christmas Gang. We didn't know that was going to happen, but I think it was a result of our praying together every night and joking together every day for three days (THAT'S close fellowship!) We got together in the University Snack Shop and celebrated birthdays, prayed for tests and interviews, and this group supported me when I had health problems and had to leave school. Special prayer bonds, campus brothers and sisters grew out of this group too. Matters of prayer begun then continued for decades, in fact...

The person I rode shotgun for became my campus brother; and I remember facing the dawning of a new day over the dashboard while enjoying cool mornings with the Lord. The spiral index card-memo notebook I used had written in it "THE MISSION'S JAPANESE BIBLE SCHOOL" its leader, faculty, financial advisor, even janitorial staff. One of the other men on the car saw the cards and commented, "I like the way you pray."

Now over 45 years later, I am talking with a missionary to Bangladesh, a person who graduated from Grace Baptist Bible School, the way God answered those prayers.

Yes, these are memories from college days...mere blinks in the life of God. Thank you for letting me share them with you.

YESTERDAY'S POST

Let me explain about Yesterday’s post.

I just finished putting the Japanese manuscript into digitalized format, so my mind has been full of God's amazing faithfulness, and seeing so many things fall into place those thirty years (I'm speaking of matters that He had been working on for generations before that too!)

The photograph from Daddy's hospital window had me, I remember, thinking of Heaven. It had been taken an early morning after Joyce and I had taken turns watching him through the night one summer when his I.V. lines had to be watched, and the sky turned from pitch black to hints of gray to these brilliant flaming golds and pinks. And Daddy had told me how he yearned for Heaven. We'd sung melodies together in the hospital room--but one day we know it will be in 4000-part harmony.

The lower photo is of the Namiki property up in mainland Japan I flew up to after my time of helping out in Okinawa was completed. We moved for road construction, and our house was torn down; this is a pic of the empty plot. I remembered; in asking us to move, the city paid for washer-dryer, 3 air conditioners, and 3 months' rent in our future apartment: yes, if He would choose to surprise us with things like this on earth, HE HAS DWELLINGS PREPARED FOR HIS OWN IN HEAVEN for sure!

So...yesterday's post wasn't "just" a reading in Revelation with photos unrelated to life. Speaking of which, the drawing above is of me with Daddy in his last nursing home, and my sister Janice said it was a very good liking of Daddy. (The stuffed panda was her gift!)

Thoughts from reading the ending of Rev. 13:6

Part of journal entry:

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." (Rev. 13:6) 

The child of God sees God's dwelling and those who have gone on before in ways pretty distinct and impossible to understand for the natural mind. The contemporary "utopia" is merely a mental reference point, not actual place, to those who do not know God; while I can stay secure because I know it is.

I've heard people say of a deceased loved one, "he lives on in our hearts." Yes, but there should be more! "We can meet again." Yes, but there should be even more than that! There should be anticipation of surety of joining up with them when spirits are pure, will not misunderstand, hurt, reject, kill in any way, but will accept, listen, love, and work together to praise God together. That is filled with anticipation, and "let's just wait until we meet again" just doesn't do it!

It is not just how a person lives when everything is honky dory that matters. It is how a person lives when he sees he may be approaching the gates of his eternal abode. And the measuring rod, to me, is not so much about what a person says about the living ones around him (anyone can put up a good front) but how does he feel about meeting them again in the afterlife? Would he be able to look them in the eye? Or would he be rushing into their arms for a long-sought-for embrace?

God's tabernacle. Would he be saying, "So this place really existed..."? or would he plop down all happy relief and weary, laying down arms, looking for the Lord of the Manor, though the body would no longer able to move, heart and eyes longing to see HIM?

IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL WHEN WE SEE JESUS!

ARMOR BEARER THOUGHTS (from I Samuel)

Actually, the entire below post was deleted once and then rewritten...I guess God would've let me forget whatever He knew was unnecessary and let me recall that which was okay to be communicated, so... here 'tis. My three "armor-bearer friends" below thought the article was worth transmitting.

1. GOLIATH's Armor Bearer "one bearing a shield went before him" (I Sam. 17:7) What stays with me about this story is not Goliath or even David, who felled him, but his father. The king, impressed with the shepherd boy's bravery, asked, "Whose stripling is this lad?" I'd love it if people's first reaction to incredible encounters in my life were to wonder about My Heavenly Father.

2. JONATHAN's Armor Bearer "Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said unto the young man that bore his armor, Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side...for there is no restraint for the LORD to save...the LORD saved Israel that day" (I Sam. 14:1,6,23) It's not so much the battle as what happened afterwards. The people should've been thanking God for the victory but barely saved Jonathan's life from King Saul's misplaced judgement.

3. SAUL's Armor Bearer "Then said Saul unto his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it...his armor bearer would not" (I Sam. 31:4) We see when this record of Saul's death (even his closest soldier could not bear to kill him) reached David, he mourned for him. Christians often think they are unblameworthy if they do not retaliate when wronged, if they do not get angry or take matters into their own hands. But do they ask God to cleanse their hearts such that when misfortune strikes offenders, the reaction would be to grieve for them?

NOT SO LONG AGO

I realized the other day the room was beginning to look normal to me, whereas when we first moved here, I remember saying I had to take down all those pictures off the walls so the place wouldn't like a photo museum, more like a home. But those thoughts haven't crossed my mind the past year or so.

Moving down to Okinawa...was the end of August 2024, so almost TWO YEARS AGO?! Wow.

Several months before that had been my trip Stateside, then several months before that, I'd been visiting here in Okinawa. At that time, I had no idea I'd be back here to LIVE!

The day before my sisters and I left the Izena island two years ago after our week's visit with our cousin, an elderly neighbor had come over with a bag of specialty island rice for us. And in following months, Rumiko told me the Lord gave her a good, long talk with that friend.

She and her husband moved right after that, but we know the God Who feeds the fowl of the air follows and cares for her too.

Last night, I had the urge to pray for a young Christian we met at another small island our cousin grew up on. I found the blog post dated Feb. 2024: "We stopped at an inviting building wondering if we might pick up something to eat, then found it wasn't a cafe but were delighted to learn they were Christians...!"

(That's Wakana on the left in the light jacket.)

So I prayed for Wakana until God seemed to tell me it was okay to stop praying, mostly that she would take her eyes off herself and let the Lord fight--the battle was won only when it was HIS, but it was already won if she let Him do the fighting.

I wonder if God'll let me see again, on earth, Wakana, or that dear Izena Grandma?

FLEEING & FEELING, REV. 12

"The woman FLED into the wilderness," it says in Rev. 12:6. I shared with some friends today about this passage. I hadn't realized how many characters in the Bible actually fled. Because I've berated myself in being such a big chicken, a coward, running away. I hear about people facing dangers so bravely...I know I probably wouldn't do that. I'd be looking for EXITS out of the room and using any energy to figure out the most efficient way to use them.

Sometimes I feel as Brave as a Worm...

But wait. Bible characters? Jacob fled from Esau's wrath. Joseph fled from Potipher's wife. Moses fled from "murderer!" David fled from Saul's men. Elijah fled from Jezebel. Jeremiah fled from Jonathan the scribe. Joseph and Mary fled from Herod. Paul fled from the Pharisees. And yes, the Woman in Revelation 12 fled from the Dragon.

And what I saw, in the phrase right after the comma after the information that she ran was what blew me away: "where she had a place PREPARED BY GOD"! I still remember the time Jesus defended a woman, "Leave her alone; she's MINE." (When she was criticized for extravagant use of oil.) I thought then, I'd love someone to think of me like that. A heartbeat later, I realized SOMEONE does! 

And then this verse affected me in the same way: GOD HAD TAKEN SPECIAL PAINS to prepare a special place out in the wilderness for a loved one HE KNEW would come running out there and would need a shelter! The God of the Universe gave the woman V.I.P. treatment!

Readied Room

He didn't call her a coward. He caught up the infant she'd given birth to (v.5); made sure His bride would be nourished 'til fully recuperated (v.6); and told Michael the archangel to get the servants under him to confront and expel any threatening renegades unhappy with God or heaven (vs.7-9).

Some people would say the woman of Revelation 12 is Israel, and the prophecy there is not for all. This is true. We cannot "claim" these promises to be ours accurately. But...

There was a Gentile mother who, when Jesus looked at her and told her He'd come to give bread to the Jews, and it would be wrong to take bread away from the children to which they were intended and give it to the puppies, she responded by saying even they'd be happy with the crumbs under the table. I am thinking the God who'd receive a mother in the wilderness--who'd run away from a dragon--and not call her a coward would be large-hearted enough to allow her to have a puppy, and whisper to those feeding the woman to make sure her bread is the extra crumbly type. Even Boaz told his reapers to allow handfuls of barley to fall for Ruth to glean, didn't he? Can we not hope for our Lord to be at least as gracious as a human lord?

Again, after reading these few verse and thinking these thoughts, I found myself saying, "Hey--I'm not supposed to be feeling this way. I'm reading in Revelation, not Psalms."

MCC - where Ron Sisco taught Revelation

One of the friends I was talking with was the person I had to thank most for giving me real desire to look at the book again. Ron Sisco, a retired missionary and interim leader-pastor of the English department of a church up in mainland Japan I fellowshipped at 10 years ago, preached through studies in Revelation, and his messages then got me interested. They were recorded then posted on the church website several years later. I've listened to them repeatedly since. He'd emphasized then the blessing that comes along with its reading. A lot of people avoid it, he said, because Revelation looks scary-difficult.

Maybe I'm a bit strange, but if it's not being studied, I think it feels kinda good.

GREAT RED DRAGONfly

Whew. I've typed my handwritten Japanese memoirs into 112 pages of digital text, and I'm tired. They'd been written in pencil on inexpensive notebook paper about 45 years ago, with the hope much of it would fade away, but most of it lasted, altho' now I have to strain a bit to read it. But I'm going follow the example of our first century church leaders, and "come aside and rest awhile," okay? (I almost wrote: "come apart and rest awhile"; It IS the KJV, but it can give the wrong idea--in this instance, maybe the right description...Mk.6:31)

I happened to find this picture among my things. It was sketched in 2023 when I was looking at the pond and saw a Brilliant Goldfish looking at a branch poking up from the water. A Strong-looking Turtle swimming nearby happened to be examining the same stick too, so when he turned his head to the side, the two were staring at each other. I saw them glaring at each other, neither refusing to turn away or back down. oh-oh.

After a while, it looked like we were going to have a fight to see who was the King of the Pond. A bright crimson dragonfly alit at the top of the branch above the water, looking almost like he would referee the fight. Just then, it started to rain, and everything melted away. It actually looked to me that's what they all wanted.

The name of the "referee?" I happen to be memorizing in Rev. 12, and the Great Red Dragon appears there. Poetic License. I told you I'm taking a break. This happens when my mind is kind of relaxed.

But it does get me upset that people call little insects that have wings and long tails "dragonflies", and because you can detect them in a short bandwidth of electromagnetic waves, they call them "reality"; whereas if you believe in Creation, Adam and Eve, Angels and "Great Red Dragons", things that may actually exist but human eyes can't detect them, people then look at you cross-eyed and say you believe in "fairy tales".

BICYCLE

The following is from another one of my blogs called, "Why Should It Change?" in which I've posted old devotionals I shared with Daddy way back from 2001. Many of these were posted on this "Come into an MK's Kitchen" blog back then. Since I was reading about this time period (The occurrence written about happened during the 1967 furlough in Warren, Michigan), and I know I won't be writing about this in Japanese, so maybe those who haven't read about it before would enjoy doing so now, and those of you who have seen it would be large-hearted enough to smile along with us anyway? Thank you.

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The time I learned to ride a bicycle (3rd grade), we lived next to a huge parking lot that was a paradise to ride around in. I remember one afternoon, on my bicycle on the sidewalk about to turn the corner and come home, my “mental computer” jammed. I saw a post man—there was no e-mail; we wrote letters back then—walking in my direction. If I turned the corner, I would run straight into him. I COULDN’T!!! My brain froze. Instead of turning the handle, I let the bicycle plow on straight ahead…into the car parked at the curb!

Bonk. (Good thing my child’s bicycle wasn’t going very fast anyway.) The bicycle’s rubber wheels hit the car’s metal fenders, spilling me onto the grass. The mailman came running, questions flying.

“What are you doing? Are you all right? What happened?” 

“I…I saw you…I was going to turn the corner…But if I did, I knew I would run into you, and I didn’t want to do that, so I didn’t know what to do and so kept going straight” (like the time I stayed on the bus and went all the way to the terminal!) 

“Why didn’t you just put on the brakes?”

“I…yeah…uh…I didn’t think about it.” I didn’t know what to say, really.

I think he saw I wasn’t hurt (except my silly pride) and sent me back home reminding me to use the brakes next time. I can’t remember too clearly. That’s a memory I don’t often think about, try to forget, actually; don’t really know why I’m sharing it with you. Perhaps it’s to show if God can choose things this foolish to serve Him and to glorify himself—all He asks is that we say, okay God, YOU DO YOUR THING, because I’ve proven I can make a mess doing mine.

I AIN'T NO SNAKE

It's not only the snake that speaks with a forked tongue. Humans do too. That is, I heard myself doing it today...kinda. Some friends were asking me about my writing, and I found myself first asking for prayer that I wouldn't get discouraged because I knew sometimes I found myself reading about the years of work, and finding myself feeling tired and bitter at the fruitlessness or thanklessness of it...

But the very next moment, I found myself talking about realizing, since I was writing about what I'd seen in a LIFETIME, it included some of these exciting, interesting things:

• I'd seen the Mr. and Mrs. Taba, my missionary parents' first converts, bring their son Takashi to summer camp as a little boy (I was in kindergarten then).
• 
  He didn't become a Christian tho'; in fact, strayed from church and got on the wrong side of the law, ended up in jail, where my Dad visited him. But one night when Takashi despaired of life, he remembered the story of the Cross and Jesus reminded him He gave His life for him--he was saved then.
• He gained electrician certification in prison; which enabled him later to help in the construction of many churches. Our Gushikawa Baptist Church in Tairagawa was among his first projects. Mommy got to see it before she went HOME.
• 
  Takashi did much children's work until an injury from a fall put him in bed (he couldn't move or speak), after which his wife took care of him for his dying years, returning to their workplace for several more years even after that.
• 
  His wife? God "happened to" have someone PERFECT for him. Just when the Tabas came to our first church was when Grampa Nagata (my Mom's uncle who came from Hawaii to help my parents) led to Christ my second cousin--yes, Rumiko. So there are pictures of her at summer camp around that time too, but alas, she strayed from church a good while.
• But to make a long story short, she came back when Grampa Nagata died; and she graduated from Bible School when Takashi got out of prison. There is so much more to this Boaz and Ruth story, but we won't go into that.

It's just that I realized, while talking, God had shown me so many things I should be thankful for having been allowed to see.

And I was feeling sorry for myself for having had to do so much hard work--HA! Silly girl. They do say snakes have wisdom, I think, and I ain't no snake...is that an excuse?

TRUST ME; I'M YOUR FATHER

A friend told me about a post I'd written last year on another blog...I'd completely forgotten about this story, and I thought it might be worth re-posting an excerpt here, so:

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TRUST ME; I'M YOUR FATHER

There was one program about an orphan who'd grown up thinking her parents had been killed in a fire. A wealthy butler-type man finds her, seems to fool her into thinking he may be her father who actually escaped the fire, seems to frame her for his master's murder after which he becomes filthy rich, and she is thrown into jail. The police smell something funny and discover the murder was committed by the man claiming to be her father, and he is executed, she is given fortune rightfully hers.

The VERY END of the program has a surprise. THAT BUTLER WAS ACTUALLY HER REAL FATHER, WANTING HER BEST, AND HE HAD POSED TO FRAME HER AND BE EXECUTED, KNOWING SHE WOULD END UP WITH FORTUNE BECAUSE OF IT! Long story simplified.

Murder and framing are by no means right and noble, and this is not an attempt to justify either. But it got me thinking. Sometimes God may ACT like He's "framing us" because He loves us so much He is willing to be HATED for what He does for us! At the end of the story, the main character recalls the butler's words to her: "Trust me; I'm your father." He hadn't been saying that just to fool her; he really meant it. We need to remember always too to trust God; He's our Father!

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust him" (Job 13:15a)

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. (Ps. 103:13)

NOT INSIGNIFICANT...

I thought it was rather insignificant. A conversation I'd had with my cousin, well, I wasn't very good in my Japanese either, so I didn't think it was worth posting about so was going to skip the incident and looked for the next thing to show online readers.

ANSWER IT JUNE!

But the next morning, when my cellphone rang, somehow, the Holy Spirit nudged me something strong like I had to pick up right away, didn't dare let it go to the answering machine. When I picked up, it was the cousin I'd just been reading about.

It felt like God was underlining and putting everything she said in all caps.

That conversation was almost 50 years ago? I'll share excerpts from it:

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I'd opened my Bible to a favorite Psalm and taken it to my saved but deeply depressed cousin, saying to her in my poor Japanese (I hadn't gone to language school yet): "This scripture helps me. When I look at myself, I get depressed. Because I'm a sinner, of course I'm very bad." Was she understanding what I was trying to say? "But when I look up at God like this, I am helped." That was the best I could do then.

But at that time, Rumiko had looked down at the Bible and began reading the words of Psalm 42. Tears fell from her eyes, and she whispered, "This is really good," as she left the room, still reading. "Have you ever wanted to go to Bible School?" I mused out loud, seeing the way she loved the Word.

7-year-old Rumiko

Grampa Nagata, who died several years earlier, had led Rumiko to Christ when she was a little girl. Altho' he died brokenhearted because she had drifted far from God, she'd come back and began changing from barely surviving to living abundantly. Soon Rumiko found herself fulfilling Grampa's dream and...going to Bible School!

Rumiko helping my mom and her sisters

In this week's phone call, Rumiko said the one thing she remembers about that talk 50 years ago was my asking, "Rumiko, have you thought about Bible School?" She says that's when she started really thinking about it. That talk was insignificant, I thought; you never know what God can use.

WHAT HAPPENED TO KITTY？

What happened to Kitty?

Well, you may remember in my June 11 post, the letter referred to my skin sensitivity to mosquitos bites, some scarring into appearance of whip welts. I found out flea bites had a similar effect, and as soon as I saw the heat flaring under my skin, I nearly panicked I would see again what I thought I'd gotten away from when we moved out of that termite-infested house....

Right about then, that Kitty heard its former owners calling and went back, it seemed, because it simply vanished. (That's the explanation Kinya gives me, but I have this feeling HE had a big part in making sure it found its way home, when he saw my fleabite reaction.)

At any rate, a month after the leaving of the cat and of the unwelcome little visitors it brought with it...my ankles look MUCH better, and I am surprised at how good I feel about it all.

I thought I wanted a stray cat. But I realize God knew better. Sometimes we think we want something, but when we don't get it, it's probably because God knows better?

(For me, right now, honestly, I think I'd be much too busy writing to spend time with Kitty, and God knew this would be happening.)

WHO TEACHETH LIKE GOD

This is one I debated about posting in Japanese but decided against, so it's going here. I've done almost 90 pages in a Japanese book so have little time left over to do any posting on this blog! It was the other way around when I was working in English!

Wait...where is that story I decided not to use? Hm. Well, it's a simple one, and it goes like this:

At school, a Christian one started for children of missionary parents, you may remember, I was hearing all sorts of Bible stories. One I understood very well was about Achan and his stolen images.

In family devotions, we'd just been reading the verse, "Be sure your sins will find you out."  (Num. 32:23) From one incident, I learned that verse as, "BEWARE your sins will find you out."

I'd stolen ten pennies in the morning and stacked them up under my pillow--no one ever looked there--and went off to school. That day, for some reason, Mommy came into the room for a talk; sat down on my bed and lifted the pillow onto her lap to talk, exposing the small copper pillar.

Achan's God had found me out!

My mind jammed, and I felt sick. I remember the feeling in my stomach. I wanted to throw that money away. I don't think getting candy with stolen money would've been worth it at all. In fact, from that day on, the thought of acquiring ANYTHING unrightfully never appealed to me.

Some people chuckle about how impressionable children's minds are. Maybe, but I thank God that He in wisdom works with even that in ways men cannot.

How did Job put it?  "Who teacheth like God?" (Job 36:22)