11.28.07 - it's beginning to look a lot . . .

like christmas. in the states, there's a transformation that happens right after thanksgiving. in japan, they don't celebrate thanksgiving. so once it hits the end of nov, lights and christmas decorations just start popping up all over. it's kind of sad not being around all the traditional thanksgiving festivities, but it's nice that in a city like tokyo, i can still find glimpses of "thanksgiving".

i found a restaurant serving an american-style thanksgiving dinner (turkey is actually pretty hard to find in japan), so after work on thursday, yuka and i went down there to partake of turkey w/ all the fixin's. turkey w/ gravy, cornbread stuffing, candied yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. it was yummy, and i felt like i was back in the states. woot!

since thanksgiving isn't celebrated in japan, neither is "black friday". i celebrated in my own way by taking trips to the factory outlets on friday & saturday. yeah... it just wasn't the same as the craziness and bargain hunting that happens in the states. oh well, it was good times none the less.

the weekend was filled with good times & good food with good friends. so despite being in a country that doesn't celebrate thanksgiving, i was able to enjoy the spirit of the holiday. and for that, i am truly thankful. i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving as well. christmas is right around the corner... it's coming way too fast if you ask me!

boy was it hard coming back to work on monday. i hope you all have a blessed week!

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better than
casey corum

your love is better than all things
your love is better than all things
and i don't have the strength of words
to tell you truly how i feel

your love is better than life
your love is better than life
and i don't have the strength of words
to tell you truly how i feel

my god, you are the only one
for me, the only one for me
my god, your love is better than
all other loves
and now you're drawing me
and i just want to be
closer to you

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11.21.07 - thankful | 感謝

there's so much i have to be thankful for. i couldn't possibly list them all here. most of all, i'm thankful that i am loved by a god who extends his grace to us. i'm constantly trying to make sense of why things happen. but i am reminded that i cannot fully understand why god does certain things. his plans for us stretch beyond our understanding, and i want to be ok with that. questioning his purposes means that we are trying to make god fit into our world. i think god wants us to try and search for answers, and seek purpose. because ultimately, it leads us to him. but, i want to be a person striving to live in his world, and not my own. i can sit here and try to make sense of everything that's been going on around me... the good and the bad. but the truth is, there's a point at which i just have to trust that there is a reason... even if i may never know it.

there have been many wonderful things happening in my life recently. and through it all, god's timing has been the key in everything. i'm so thankful for this new adventure that god is taking me on. it's uncharted territory for me, but i'm really excited about what is happening. thank you for being a part of this journey. よろしくね！

i hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving!

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one thing
darlene zschech (hillsong)

one thing i desire
one thing i seek
to gaze upon Your beauty
your majesty

god of my salvation
lifter of my head
teach me how to live o lord
your righteousness

so i pray to you
so i pray to you

lord your name
is higher than the heavens
lord your name
is higher than all created things
higher than hope
higher than dreams
the name of the lord

in the days of trouble
you cover me
in the secret place of refuge
lord i will sing

i will seek Your face
call upon your name jesus
all i want is you jesus

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11.14.07 - 元気だよ〜

this year is flying by way too fast... since they don't celebrate thanksgiving in japan, christmas decorations are already going up all over town. guh... it's too early for christmas decorations!

anyways, sorry i don't have much to say this week (or the last). doesn't mean there isn't anything going on though. it's quite the contrary. i just have a lot of stuff to process through... but don't worry, everything's swell!

ヾ(＾∇＾)

[ update 11.16.07 ] - uploaded pics from last weekend, checkitoutyo ->

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hosanna
brook fraser (hillsong)

i see the king of glory
coming down the clouds with fire
the whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
i see his love and mercy
washing over all our sin
the people sing, the people sing

hosanna, hosanna
hosanna in the highest

i see a generation
rising up to take the place
with selfless faith, with selfless faith
i see a new revival
staring as we pray and seek
we're on our knees, we're on our knees

heal my heart and make it clean
open up my eyes to the things unseen
show me how to love like you have loved me
break my heart for what is yours
everything i am for your kingdom's cause
as i walk from earth into eternity

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talk to me |

11.01.07 - opportunities

there's countless times i've prayed for god to give me strength / patience / courage / etc. but it wasn't till i got to japan that i fully started to realize what that involves. there were quite a few times that i felt overwhelmed & challenged, and i prayed for patience and courage. last week was one of those times.

in my preperations for the dcat conference, i found myself thinking, "what did i get myself into?" when i was asked to help lead worship, of course i was happy help out. it's such a privilege and joy for me to serve with my new hope japan ohana, and i was really looking forward to it. well, as the conference drew closer, my mind got a little cluttered with all sorts of stuff. i was busy with work and went to guadalajara, mexico on a business trip... for 5 days... talk about added clutter in an already hectic schedule!

also, i found out that i was going to be taken out of my comfort zone... big time. there are certain things that i've grown used to. one is leading worship with my guitar. well, this time, i was asked to lead without my guitar. this was my first time leading worship w/o my guitar, and i felt naked... like i didn't know what to do. another area i'm not completely comfortable with is leading in japanese. i've been doing it, but it's still something that i struggle with. and the third thing, i'm completely uncomfortable memorizing songs and lyrics. so the whole time, i was thinking...

ok god, lemme get this straight... you want me to:
1) lead worship (ok, no prob here)
2) lead in japanese (hey, i do it on a regular basis, so... not too big a deal)
3) learn new harmonies (again, not one of my strengths, but do-able)
4) sing a special number, most of which solo ( well, i 've also done this in the past too, but i'm starting to get a little overwhelmed, and my confidence is starting to wither)
5) do all this without my guitar (ok, now i'm getting worried and scared. my confidence is creeping away)
6) memorize everything (now, i'm in panic mode, totally overwhelmed / terrified, and my confidence had hidden under a rock somewhere)

everyone was really engouraging. saying, "you'll be fine", "i know you can do it", "just have fun". and i appreciated the confidence people had in me. but at the same time, all i could think was... do you really understand how hard all this is for me? i was comforted in knowing that god is in control, but the human side of me was scared to death. it all peaked thursday night... the night before dcat started. i had done everything i could to prepare for dcat, but i still was feeling insecure. there was nothing else i could do, so i prayed and started to worship. this calmed my heart, and i felt like god was telling me to relax. so i decided to watch a movie, and i popped in the "evan almighty" dvd. i wasn't prepared for it, but i felt convicted by a message in the movie. i felt like god was speaking to me specifically through these words:

let me ask you something... if someone prays for patience, you think god gives them patience? or does he give them the opportunity to be patient?

if he prayed for courage, does god give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous?

if someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think god zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

[ youtube clip ]

in my time here in japan, i've continually prayed for challenges... new experiences that allow me to grow. and god has done exactly that. he doesn't just snap his finger and make me grow... he gives me challenges where i can learn about myself and about him. on a small scale, i was worried about dcat. but what i realized was that god has placed a challenge before me. not to break me or humiliate me, but for me to have confidence in knowing who he is, and having joy in serving him. when we pray for the things like patience, love, joy, peace, etc., it's not like one second we don't have it, and then all of the sudden god grants it to us. as christians, when our hearts are filled with the holy spirit, we are given the ability to grow the fruits of the spirit. all too often, it's so easy for us to forget that, and we need to be reminded that we can be confident in our faith because we have god with us. when i pray for god to help me memorize lyrics, does he magically place them in my brain where i can remember them? no... but i try my best to do what i can, knowing that my best is what he desires of me. he gives me an opportunity, not to show me how capable i am, but to show me that in my weaknesses, he shows his strength. and it's in that opportunity, that i can be confident in knowing that god is molding me into the person he wants me to become. he doesn't make desicions for us, but when we seek him and follow him, our choices align with his desires for us.

as humans, it's natural for us to feel scared, lonely, confused, unsettled, overwhelmed, etc... yet god gives us opportunities to trust in our faith, trust in his abilities, and to grow those fruits. i don't know how much of this makes sense, and i don't know how much of this you agree with... but it's one aspect of my relationship with god that i am really growing in.

blessings this week!

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