Church hymns

One of my favorite things about singing hymns in my church in Japan is that every once in a while, they’re a song we sing at home too.

日本の教会に賛美はヒムを歌う。アメリカに時々同じヒムを歌う。

Today we sang “All Creatures” which I didn’t realize was a hymn. I love the words to this song though.

今日は「ものみなこぞりて」を歌った。その歌はヒムが知らなかったけど、この歌の言葉が好き。

When searching for a version to share, I found the Japanese version, too. So here's both!

探す時に英語のと日本語の見つけた！

English 英語

Japanese　日本語

ナイトdeライト

This weekend my church hosted a band for a concert on Friday night. I decided to go and I’m glad I did.

The band was ナイトdeライト (nighto de raito = light in the night). They were a lot of fun to watch and it was a lot of fun to listen to them along with a bunch of the people from church.

Here is their YouTube video:

Decorating for Christmas

Last Sunday, my church started decorating for Christmas. We started by taking the tree out and starting to try to piece it together.







It slowly got put together, each piece needing to go in a specific place, like a puzzle.



Streamers were hung from the wood panels above the windows.



Hanging garlands and making funny faces over a window.



Putting the star on top of the tree, it was always my favorite part as a child.



Another silly-faced pose . . . no wonder I get along with this church so well.



L hanging streamers.



More garland hanging, along the wood trim.



A cute smile, rather than a funny face.



Another cute smile. This is one of the little girls I claim as my church little sisters. She’s about the same age as my actual little sister.



Another one of said church sisters.







And another funny pose. Christmas-bell-boy?



Then of course, I had to get decorated here’s one of our hair.



And one of our faces.



A photo as shot by the one in the blue turtleneck.



The three of us with L sneaking in.



After all the Christmas decorations were taken out of my hair, I was given a very Japanese style hair-do.



It was loads of fun working with everyone to decorate our church for Christmas. Unfortunately with all the hair antics, I missed out on getting a shot of the outcome. I’ll try to get one next time.

Today’s drugs of choice

I have a nasty cold. I don’t really feel like blogging, but to keep in spirit with my NaNoWriMo friends, who are writing 50,000 word novels this month, I decided to blog everyday.
So today, I’ll introduce you to today’s drugs:


From left to right:

• Tea – pretty much my favorite anytime
• Mystery Japanese cold meds – take them three times a day, with meals. Or in my case once when you’ve forgotten yours at home. Likely, I’ll take them again tomorrow in the morning and at lunch time.
• Nyquil knock off – got it from a neighboring ALT who was leaving. It’s been great for sleeping through the cough that started two nights ago. Took the last two doses over the last two nights, so a new bottle tonight.
• Honey – great for stopping coughs and feels good on a sore throat.
• Ginger tea – tastes NASTY, but makes my clogged up sinuses so happy.
• And a special guest Kleenex – wouldn’t want to have a runny nose without them around.

Not pictured:

• Vicks’ vapor rub – the only way to be able to sleep if you have congestion.

Well, there you have it. Those are my best friends today. Are there any other cold remedies that might help this nastiness go away faster?

Rhythm

Today, the pastor at church chose to speak on Numbers 28-29. I wasn’t particularly excited. At first glance, this is one of the chapters where the Lord is telling the Israelites how to do sacrifices and various ceremonies. BORING! Or so I thought.

She said (well it was translated) that the Lord wanted to teach the Israelites to have a rhythm. She gave the example of a rhythm of going to bed early and getting up early, which she established as a child. Something may happen to cause her to stay up late or sleep in occasionally, but life is better when she has a rhythm.

In this passage, the Lord was trying to teach them to have rhythms that took place daily, weekly (Sabbath), monthly and festivals. Each had its purpose. Daily, to connect with the Lord and hear his purpose for our lives. Weekly, to have fellowship with other believers. Festivals to remember what he has done in our lives.

In what ways do I have rhythms that take place daily, weekly and less frequently? I can easily look at the way I spend my time and see that the daily and weekly rhythms are in my life (devotions, church and a skype Bible study are easy to see).

What about less frequently (monthly). How do I make a rhythm in my life for remembering what the Lord has done in my life? How does that look in your life? How can I build that into my life in a real way, so it actually grows me and helps me realize more and more how amazing the Lord is?