Meet Nozomu Tamari, 72, of Munakata City, Japan. He has been practicing the ancient art of Japanese archery for the past 25 years. At Munakata’s Hashougu Shrine, Tamari-san takes aim in a late-afternoon practice session of what is now called “an art,” but was used in the everyday lives of the Samurai in ancient Japan to protect against an […]

Passing through a bookstore at the Anchorage International Airport last month, I saw the book “god is not Great ⎯ How Religion Poisons Everything” by Christopher Hitchens. It was shelved to the left of that which is right, “Heaven Is Real ⎯ Lessons on Earthly Joy from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven” by Don Piper and […]

Adam & Eve . . . “then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”  There is a big fig tree at the foot of the hill near our house here in Japan. Every time I drive by it I’m […]

Rice paddies in the higher altitudes of Kyushu have been flooded and planted with rice seedlings this month in Japan, just before the annual rainy season begins in early June. Last week while driving home from the eastern part of the island, we saw this lady taking a break from her work of planting rice […]

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⎯ John 3:8 NKJV Wind is the ultimate expression of freedom and liberty. We have been set FREE from sin! Christians are God’s strategically placed windsocks […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]