Having a Thankful heart

In this season of thanksgiving, I find myself realizing I have so much to be thankful for much like my favorite song we sang at Praise Community Church 感謝の心 "Thankful Heart".  Often it's so easy to overlook blessings. When things go good, we become accustomed to it and almost desensitized.

It reminds me of my first year in Japan. We were celebrating Tanabata (it's a huge summer festival especially in Sendai where I lived). At the end of the festival, there are fireworks. Well in this year particularly, Sendai went through a tragedy in the form of an Earthquake, tsunami, not to mention a nuclear meltdown down the road (several miles). So many people were lost and so many tears were shed in this area. Through this, Sendai endured and reached this celebratory festival. I say all this to reach my small point...we had fireworks for literally an hour and a half!!

 I'm not just talking random fireworks but grand finale style fireworks. Most people that have never experienced this would think wow that's amazing. But after about 30 minutes you start feeling desensitized to the amazingly beautiful display going on overhead. You start going to the bathroom, getting food, having conversations with friends all but ignoring the abundant work of cosmic art above your head.

When things are in abundance, it's so easy to forget about thankfulness. How often am I simply thankful for water? How often am I thankful for air that passes though my body as I sit here? It's so easy to be blinded by blessings or start to expect them as one of those "unalienable rights" our founding fathers talked about.

Yet when I find myself lost at sea yearning for freshwater to drink and spot a random case of Aquafina floating in the distance, I'm two stepping my thanks and praising Jesus as it comes closer.

It is through these moments that I continually need to humble myself before the LORD and simply be thankful for his grace.

For several years, I have felt so lost which is partially why I moved to Japan in the first place. Wondering why everyone around me seems so settled and life seems to just flow for them. Yet for me, I felt alone, lost and wondering what my place in this world was. It was through these moment that I felt Him saying stop worry you are exactly where you need to be.

There have been so many things I have second guessed or things I wish I had done differently that it's easy to get caught up in the pain of hindsight and not see the beauty beyond the fog ahead.

I sit here in my apartment ahead of my first Thanksgiving in America in 5 years, ready to celebrate it with people I never knew existed months ago. I vividly remember wondering and worrying about moving to Texas thinking that I had completely gone crazy deciding to move here. Yet I can look back at so many moments and things in the few months I have been here and simply say "WOW".

It's so easy to be caught up in the fear of the unknown but today I choose to be thankful for the journey He has put me on. It's crazy to look at the adventures and the things I've been blessed to experience and share with people. I'm thankful for His grace in those moments of fear and panic that pull me away. His steadfast hand keeps pushing me forward into these situations that I embrace building up the amazing journey that is life.


“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭117:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Kansha no Kokoro 感謝の心

Updates "Jesus is amazing Y'all"

Ok so I have yet to naturally say the words "y'all" without throwing a "yeeha" or "there's a snake in my boots" reference but I have slowly gotten accustomed to this world I now live in. One day in particular, I was walking into Wal-Mart  (forgive me its convenient) wearing a sweatshirt and thought man its getting cold. I looked at the temperature...80 degrees. 80 in Michigan, I would be at the beach with an ice cold beverage singing Kumbaya. On top of that along with several hundred dollars, my license plate now says Texas on it. I'm really just missing a pair of cowboy boots and nice Ford pick-up truck.

As I get used to my surroundings, I've been reflecting on the journey  God has brought me through in life, growing up in Michigan to randomly move to Japan after graduating, a devastating Earthquake, 4 years in a foreign culture and randomly resting myself here in Abilene, Texas. Honestly, its still hard for me to believe that I took this job here without ever even setting foot in Texas. I vividly remember a conversation with my brother, Ryan, last March before I left Japan wondering where life will lead us to at the same time next year. It seems to be the journey I don't foresee is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

The greatest growth I have felt within me even often at the cost of my pride and desires at times has been in the direction of the LORD.  Please don't read the last sentence as me being prideful thinking I am so great but truly amazed at His renewal that has etched its way into me. Often Jesus was found through the trials, earthquakes, loneliness,  and anxiety but always consistently, patiently waiting for me to just simply say "Here's my life Lord and let your will be done." Unfortunately, pride gets its way in front of that statement thinking I deserve something else when foolishly I realize that there is really nothing else better than a relationship with Him. I mean this apart from politics, religion and how your neighbor thinks you should believe...a real genuine place. It reminds me of this song "You have me" by Gungor.  Check it out if you haven't heard it.

If you find yourself extremely bored, you can see the transition God brought through my blog in which my first post in Japan in 2011 was "Day 1: Man These Toilets are Awesome!" and somewhere through the sarcasm and random posts I found myself writing about my pursuit of God. My whole point here is that God has taken me on a journey in this life and will continue to take me further along in that journey and I pray that my pursuits in life lead me closer to a stronger relationship with Him and truly be a man of Christ and not just somebody who talks about it. In recognizing this, I made the decision that this Sunday I will be Baptized. This in noway takes away from my Christian pursuits before this baptism but holds firm that ground I walk on as this journey of life continues to shine as I outwardly celebrate through baptism the faith that has been built up within me. I pray that this step helps me to continue to walk on the water that is belief. I could definitely use prayers as this is only but a step in life God has called me to. 

Outsourced in the Country of Texas

Well its been a long time since I posted anything on here. For a while, I thought I'd stop but enjoy randomly coming back and reading it like a journal that friends and family can see if they want.

TRANSITION:

Its been a lot of transition in this whole moving back to America. For the first month or so it was really hard. Japan kind of became what I knew and America was like this foreign land. I actually kind of liked not being able to understand what others around me were saying for the past 4 years. It makes things a little more peaceful.

I took some time to travel right before coming home as an extended layover style ticket which I felt was super smart and cost me next to nothing. I flew from Tokyo to Atlanta to Orlando to Grand Rapids all for about the same price as flying to Michigan.

Luckily, though it wasn't easy coming home, I had so many people that stepped up and just helped me out without thinking twice about it. Its hard to have to humble yourself for a month or two after living on your own in a different culture for the past 4 years. Yet, there were so many people who opened their homes to me. I felt truly blessed and was able to accomplish something I longed for while in Japan. That was to spend quality time with great people I missed the last 4 years.

"So you lived in Japan for 4 years? Why did you leave? You're moving to Abilene, Texas from Michigan? Why don't you just teach in Michigan?"

I've heard a million different spins to these questions pretty much every time I meet somebody. I've tried to think of some interesting answers. But the truth is really simple, It is time and the move just kind of felt right.

Coming home, I really had no clue what I wanted to do. Should I go back to school? Should I move to a new country? Should I teach or try something else new?

Just to have a glimpse of my thought process here are job offers/opportunities that appeared out of thin air that I turned down for different reasons: teach in Korea, teach in Egypt, work for AAA travel agency, work for a traveling health program for kids, teach in Dubai, teach in Korea again (they must really need teachers). Honestly, coming home I didn't truly know I wanted to be an elementary teacher. But I thought it was worth pursuing. I also knew that I wanted to get outside of my hometown and live in a new place. So I applied all over the place for teaching jobs pretty much haphazardly looking for good schools in areas as well as international education opportunities. I also strongly believe its not what you know but you know in pursuing a job so I reached out to friends that were teachers in other states.

 Low and behold there was a teaching opportunity in Abilene, Texas. I should mention I knew very little to nothing about this area before I applied.  I just knew it was in Texas and had friends that went to college there. That's honestly it. But I did research the school and the area a little bit as I found out I got an interview (I'm not that crazy). The interview went well enough that I got the job a few days later. I took the weekend to think about it but I never found myself passing it up. So that brings me to sitting here in Abilene preparing for the new school year as a 4th grade Science and Social Studies teacher.

I'm slowly trying to figure out my classroom while at the same time trying to figure out why they have these roads that ride parallel to the highway everywhere and what exactly is in the green dip sauce at the grocery store. It's a lot to take in and a new adventure for sure. I could definitely use prayers in this transition and settling down here in this country they call Texas. I'll update y'all soon! 

Things I've Learned Living as a Bachelor

I wrote this a couple years ago but never posted it.

Before moving to Japan, I've always lived with roommates, family etc. There's always been someone around. In that absence at the end of the day,  you discover a lot about yourself and how to function. Here's a few random things I've learned in the two years I've lived alone.

1.Dishes suck! No matter how many times I tell myself I'm going to wash my dishes right after I use them, they inevitably sit in their own filth until it smells like a baby crawled over to your sink and threw its diapers down your drain.

2. There are many very useful household items that can serve other purposes when you can't find a clean one (see above):

•  The handle of a spoon or fork makes a great knife. Not only can you eat your cereal but you can butter your toast with the same utensil.  
• Speaking of cereal, if its round and holds milk, it can be a bowl. Also, if it can be a bowl it can be a cup. 
• Chairs make great clothing racks. If you got a Japanese closet like me there is not enough space for hangers. 

3. There is a reason your mom separates your lights from your darks. Trust me. I have enough brownish, faded dark shirts or greyish white shirts to realize this. Yet I still throw it all in together and hoping the laundry fairy will magically wash them separately. Also, bleach isn't that scary.

4. Check expiration dates when you shop. Usually they put things that will expire soon toward the front of the shelf when you can have a whole extra week before it smells bad in your fridge if you dig for the back ones. (Don't forget to check expiration dates before you eat the food too.)

... now the real stuff

5. You get to discover who you are not who people think you are. Its really easy to get caught up in what people think about you and trying to portray yourself in a way that makes you fit with what people want you to be like. But when you are living alone, you can see your real side both good and bad. Sometimes you will discover that you are good at things. Sometimes you realize how lazy you really are. 

6. You get to grow. So often when I get caught up in other peoples perception of me. I get used to being what others think of me than who I really am. But when you find out what you're like when no one is watching you can start to grow on your own. For example, if you are lazy and out of shape. If you can get yourself motivated to run without anybody telling you to, then you will actually do it consistently.