Merry Christmas!

I pray the silence and anticipation in your journey to Christmas has brought joy and peace.

Benediction

(from Jane Rubietta, Finding the Messiah)

Dear one,

The angels' song 

Is the same today

As in the field

That long-ago dark night.

I still bring peace,

And favor rests upon 

All with whom I am pleased.

And you, you!

With you I am well pleased.

Believe that, please,

And be willing to punch out 

From your day job

And your night shift

And come to Me.

Because I came in Christ,

Through Christ,

Peace, peace and favor,

For you,

For the world.

come, now.

Sing with Me...

Here is a bonus song, for fun!  Merry Christmas!  Click here.

Week 4 Day 5

Merry Christmas!

Listen to Peace Has Come by clicking on the title.

Week 3 Day 6

I chose the song "Breath of Heaven" for this week.  I liked this version because of the scenes from the movie "The Nativity Story."  This song talks of the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but also, of Mary's journey of heart, too.  Enjoy!

This is absolutely beautiful! The same song in Spanish.   If you have time, give this one a listen, too.

Week 2 Day 6

This week's song is a lovely piano piece.  I remember listening to this album at my parents' when I was younger and enjoying the beauty and simplicity.

Pour a cup of tea or coffee, sit in a quiet place, and take a listen to George Winston, Peace.

Click here to listen when you are ready. 

Week 1 Day 6

O Come Emmanuel is one of my favorite Christmas carols.  I really like this version.

I can feel the anticipation in the lyrics of this song as the author recalls the promises of who Messiah will be and is.

Click on the title to hear the song:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel

A little review

As I was preparing for my most recent newsletter, which will be coming out soon, I was looking through pictures from the last quarter.  I set aside several to use in my newsletter, however, I didn't have enough room.  So, I thought I'd share some here...

Our friend Shoppi sharing at our Ladies' Lunch 

Even Mrs. Naka's granddaughter enjoyed the dessert!

Origami fun- every other month at the nursing home behind our church

AGC rehearsal- Can you find me?!

At our most recent Live Gospel Cafe I got stuck in the office for the first half.
It was fun to listen from behind the singers.
This is one of the ladies who sang.
It was a beautiful night of praise.

During spring break we had a youth retreat at the newest JBC church.
Some of the youth even led the worship time.  Fun times!

Easter Sushi!!!

Yuri has returned!

Merry Unexpected Christmas!

Christmas day is almost over here in Japan.  It has been a great day!  A completely unexpected day.  Actually, a completely unexpected week!

Sunday was an unexpected when I received a message that my coworker was not feeling well.  By 1PM it was obvious that he was not going to be able to make it to church that afternoon.  Thankfully, we had already planned the themes for advent Sundays, so planning a message in a couple of hours was not quite as difficult.  Everyone at church was understanding and helpful.  We had a good time studying about joy in the story of Jesus' birth.

Monday morning dawned with a snow squall and another not quite as unexpected message.  Influenza had taken down two more of the members of my coworkers' family, putting the count at 3.  I continued with my day off as usual which included tea time with a friend.  God prepared both of our hearts and she offered as I asked her to play piano for our Christmas Eve service at church!

With that unexpected challenge cleared, I was ready to begin preparing for the service on Tuesday.  I spent the day at church, reading, preparing, checking out the programs from the last couple of years, and enjoying delving into the Christmas story again.  My friend came to get the music and help me check the Japanese on the power point.  We had another good time of fellowship.


Unexpectedly, I had just enough cookies left at home to take to my morning exercise friends at the park on Christmas eve morning.  It was fun to see their faces and hear the "Merry Christmas" responses.


Our Christmas eve service was beautiful and full of joy.  I am so grateful for our church, the lovely people, and the wonderful celebration of our Savior's birth.

Following the service, my piano-playing friend came over and spent the night.  We enjoyed fellowship late into the night and basically all day today.  What a blessing to have a friend with whom I can spend a day sitting at the table, chatting, snacking, laughing, crying, and sharing words of wisdom.  An unexpected Christmas was just what I needed!


(Although, I missed hanging out with the Ewing family and look forward to our belated celebration!)

Every Year

Every year when I do my month of Thanksgiving Anointed Gospel Choir makes the list.  Since they have become part of my family (See this post for last month's comment on AGC), I guess that merits a spot!

This evening we had a karaoke party.  Around half of the members were able to attend.  We had a great time singing and eating together with lots of laughter!

Music is definitely a great mood changer!  I wasn't in a bad mood before I went, but I feel even more uplifted after our time together.  I was exhausted from a long day, however, feel refreshed after singing with these friends.

I am thankful for AGC and the way our lives have intersected.  I am looking forward to more fun times together!

A Word and A Song

 I love when we get to host ladies' lunches at our church.  Trying to break into conversations to start the testimony part of the program is always a challenge.  Even having the big blonde girl standing up front does not always get everyone's attention!

Today our friend, Kyoko, shared her testimony.  It was neat to hear how God put pieces of the puzzle together for her as she traveled through the ups and downs of life, leading her, ultimately, to Himself. So amazing how He does that!  She also sang a song for us, "You Raise Me Up."  She sang the first verse in English and then sang in Japanese.  I had never heard it in Japanese before and was really moved by the lyrics.



This afternoon was a blessed time of fellowship.  I loved hearing the chatter, watching the shared tears fall, and witnessing encouragement between friends.

Florida Adventures, Part 2

On Sunday I got to attend church with my friend's entire family.  They each had a role in the service.  It was a beautiful time of worship!
日曜日に友達とご家族と一緒に教会に行きました。礼拝に皆がそれぞれの役割ごあった。美しい礼拝でした。

The church had beautiful stained glass windows around the sanctuary.
礼拝堂に綺麗なステンドグラスがあった。

Susan, Phoebe, and Jesse were all part of the music team.
スサン、フェービ、ジェシーが賛美チームだった。

Jon was preaching and had a baby dedication.
ジャンがメッセージも赤ちゃんを神様に授ける式もしました。（日本語で何を言うかわからない。）

We had donuts for breakfast and Cuban food for lunch.
ドーナッツの朝ごはんとキューバ料理の昼ご飯を食べた。

Susan is my American Coco.  スサンが私のアメリカでのココです！

Amazing Friends

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for all of my friends.  I have had such a great time over the past few weeks getting together for dinners, tea times, singing, just one more time before go on Home Assignment.
私の友達は素晴らしいです。説明できないほどに神様に感謝しています。最近、アメリカに行く前に、たくさんの友達と食事やお茶の時間や歌うために集まってくれました。
皆さん、ありがとう！これは足りない言葉ですが、心から感謝しています。

Learning about Sakai City with former students

Bagel Breakfast Bunch

Potluck Party!

Kyoto Friends

Missionary Fellowship Prayer Warriors

Sakamoto Family and Yuri

Coco Doco Cocoro

Coco Doco Cocoro

USJ with USJ friends

Missionary Family

Takoyaki Party-my neighbors are professionals!

Thursdays at Seattle's Best

AGC Sisters and Brother

AGC

The Music Goes On...

On January 19th we hosted another Live Gospel Cafe.  This time our guest was Yoko Matsuoka.  She also invited her friend and protege, Rei Ogasawara.  Maki played keyboard for them and Seki san ran sound.
It was a night filled with Spirit-filled music, inspiring testimonies, and sweet fellowship-and, of course, food!  We also found out that we can get A LOT of people crammed into our church.  During the concert I had to go out into the hall and take a picture through the window to get a picture of the performers!  We are not complaining about the standing room only situation!

Rehearsal-oh, and Flat Stanley is visiting again!

The boys have fun with Stanley

Stanley is getting hungry looking at all the food!

Stanley meets Rei.

A picture through the window

Some of the guests enjoying the music.

Everyone getting into the music

Picture from sitting on the floor in front.

Oh, we forgot to take a group picture with everyone.

Thank you, Jesus, for music!  What a blessing!