Weekend Greetings (dec 1, 2006)

Sunrise on November 30 here in Munakata, Japan ⎯ Clouds do have silver linings that bring hope to each new day. Darkness cannot overcome the power of the rising SON. Each sunrise is a physical manifestation and declaration of the first command God spoke:  “Let there be light.” Sunrises are the declaration of the resurrection of the Son […]

Weekend Greetings (nov 9, 2006)

Meet Sadayuki Yamada, a real, live shoemaker. He is one of only two shoemakers in the 1 million plus metropolis of Kita Kyushu City in the north part of our island. I have driven by his tiny shop many times on my way home. The shop has always looked so intriguing (the store sign is an […]

Weekend Greetings (jul 8, 2006)

Meet Bokuden Matsuda, who not only writes calligraphy, but teaches classes in his condominium-office-atelier in the over one million population metropolis of Fukuoka City as well. He is also known for his unusual abstract pieces of art and sculptures. Last weekend, I went to spend some time with this well-known Japanese calligrapher/artist in his private studio here in […]

Weekend Greetings (jun 6, 2006)

Just dropping by to “bug” you!  The rainy season is set to begin this coming Thursday. That means I’ll get my hedge trimming done just in time before the rains set in, probably for the next 4 or 5 weeks. It’s the season no one likes best. The muggy heat is draining and can even affect a person’s emotions, […]

Weekend Greetings (may 12, 2006)

It’s getting warmer. Just yesterday in the south Pacific, Typhoon #1 showed up. No chance of it coming near Japan though. It’ll go through the Philippines and on over to southeast Asia. Rather early I think, but… the weather all around the world is changing. I believe the strange weather is directly related to what Luke wrote […]

Weekend Greetings (apr 22,2006)

The Suzuki Cattle Farm in our city sends forth a very pungent smell about 4:30 every afternoon. Even though we’re several kilometers away from the farm, the smell literally reeks (emits a strong offensive smell) in our neighborhood. The farm raises Black Angus cattle and sends them to the slaughterhouse when they mature. I can imagine what it’s like […]

Weekend Greetings (mar 31, 2006)

Last Sunday morning when it was time to print the weekly bulletin, I had a very hard time trying to decide what picture to use on the front page. Since it’s spring, I thought a nice budding flower or some cherry blossoms would be nice, but I just couldn’t decide what to do.  As I […]

Weekend Greetings (mar 17, 2006)

Spring in Japan is the beginning of the “Wedding Season.” From February through May I will have performed somewhere in the area of about 60 weddings, the most being as many as 4 or 5 in a day. The wonderful thing about this is that probably 95 percent of the people who attend the ceremonies in […]

Weekend Greetings (feb 16, 2006)

Can you remember any graces you memorized as a kid and said at the dinner table? I can. It was probably in the first or second grade that we learned it and all the kids in class said it in unison just before devouring our lunches:  “Bless this food of which we take, and make […]

Weekend Greetings (feb 3, 2006)

I just read in the news that Western Union, the company that began in the mid-1840’s has stopped sending telegrams. Hard to imagine no more telegrams to announce the birth of a baby, the death of a family member or an “I love you!” on Valentine’s Day from a lover. In their day, telegrams expressed the […]