Well, I finally hit Oarai's Sun Beach [latitude: 36.29077703961915
longitude: 140.5613136291504] and tried my best to learn to surf. I really would have benefited from a teacher, but I read up on the internet and gave it the old college try. I actually kind of stood up a couple of times, but the waves were super mushy and not really powerful enough for me to learn on easily. There were a couple of super-pro veterans out there who could ride even the tiniest and mushiest wave all the way in, but most were in the boat with me... suffering from low-power blues.
I certainly had a good time, though. Blake, Jesus, and I spend the whole day on the beach (we left at 6:30 from their place in Omiya) and I forgot to reapply the sunscreen on my head, so I got a wee bit toasted on the noggin.
We're having a big beach party this Monday, which i am super stoked about. Wish you could all be there!
--
Josh <{><
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Earthquake Update
Ok, so everyone who really loves me seems to be worried that my body is currently decomposing under a smoldering pile of rubble in the wake of the big quake (hey that rhymed), but as evidence to the contrary I present the existence of this blog. I am, in fact, alive.
On my birthday,I climbed Mount Nantai (a couple of thousand meters) with Steve, Blake, and Yvonne. Pictures should be on the way.
One more class between me and SUMMER BREAK... well, one more class and a dumb company meeting in Hitachi, but I like my boss and co-workers, so I'm just lying to myself and saying that its a voluntary social call.
Props go to Eddie Carley for sending me a painted coconut from Hawaii, even though it cost him $37 to get it to me. Eddie, you, my main man, are a thoughtful friend.
Double props go to Grams and Dad&Mom for getting me blog-specific presents in the form of T-shirts regarding the dangers of nocturnal-ursine-mid-arborial maulings. (being attacked by a bear while camping)
I'm 24 now, so if anybody wants to know what that's like, just be 23 and then change the number you write in boxes on forms for your age.
Now 25 on the other hand... low insurance rates and renting of sports cars for the weekend here I come.
Christ Keep You All
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Oh no, not another one of THOSE blogs...
I'm following footprints through the woods
Made by someone of my size,
With just my gate, my weight, my mood,
Who travels in a circling path.
I follow a fool who walks in circles.
I wonder if he knows his way,
If he's aware he's got a tail,
Or if I follow one who's lost
And thinks that he's alone.
I searched to find
Only to find
That when I search
I find the things
I've changed and made
Along the way.
My friend was right.
The narrow and untraveled path is better.
purpose
That's arguably the most important question with regards to human existence. You can't deduce it through method or logic because its premisies are beyond the system, and you can't create it with imaginiation, because if its real then its bigger than you. But we all want to know what it is. That leaves two other methods of learning of which I know...discovery or revelation.
Purpose isn't really a thing, so to speak. Its not like a rock that you can stub your toe on... or maybe it is. When you hit a rock you are filled with a sudden, and very noticeable, knowledge. Pain fills your consciousness and your brain does its work of survival very well, so it latches onto this new awareness to preserve you as best it can. But then, there are other ways of discovering. When you have been working in a carpentry shop for hours on a Saturday afternoon you generate about a metric ton of sawdust-- if you like using the lathe as much as I do. When you make the first shave into the leg of pine, your while face is filled with the smell and the taste of connifer sap. Its pungent and sweet and touched with bitter, but it washes over you and is gone. You have absorbed the smell and grown accustomed to it. So you work for several more hours making a table or a baseball bat or a walking stick or a wedding cross. When you step out of the shop, you are hit with a new smell for the first time in hours. Maybe its the garbage pile next to the woodshop, or a field of wildflowers, or fresh asphalt being laid by city workers. Either way, your smell is reset, and the next time you lean your head down or brush your face with your sleeve, you realize that your shirt is SOAKED with the pungent scent of sawdust. But it happened gradually, so you didn't even notice it.
I think that's how I've discovered purpose, for the most part. All of a sudden, even though its already been there for years... just soaking into my tastebuds and clothes so slowly I didn't even notice, but so deeply I'll never be able to get it out. All it took was a wash of some OTHER scent to reset me and let me taste the old anew.
So, sometimes revelation is like a new smell that puts years of previous revelation into perspective.
But, as my mom says, insight doesn't lead to change. My dad sent me a magnet that says something like, "Life isn't about discovering yourself, its about creating yourself." Which is very nearly true. My only alteration would be that Christ is recreating me day by day.
Made by someone of my size,
With just my gate, my weight, my mood,
Who travels in a circling path.
I follow a fool who walks in circles.
I wonder if he knows his way,
If he's aware he's got a tail,
Or if I follow one who's lost
And thinks that he's alone.
I searched to find
Only to find
That when I search
I find the things
I've changed and made
Along the way.
My friend was right.
The narrow and untraveled path is better.
purpose
That's arguably the most important question with regards to human existence. You can't deduce it through method or logic because its premisies are beyond the system, and you can't create it with imaginiation, because if its real then its bigger than you. But we all want to know what it is. That leaves two other methods of learning of which I know...discovery or revelation.
Purpose isn't really a thing, so to speak. Its not like a rock that you can stub your toe on... or maybe it is. When you hit a rock you are filled with a sudden, and very noticeable, knowledge. Pain fills your consciousness and your brain does its work of survival very well, so it latches onto this new awareness to preserve you as best it can. But then, there are other ways of discovering. When you have been working in a carpentry shop for hours on a Saturday afternoon you generate about a metric ton of sawdust-- if you like using the lathe as much as I do. When you make the first shave into the leg of pine, your while face is filled with the smell and the taste of connifer sap. Its pungent and sweet and touched with bitter, but it washes over you and is gone. You have absorbed the smell and grown accustomed to it. So you work for several more hours making a table or a baseball bat or a walking stick or a wedding cross. When you step out of the shop, you are hit with a new smell for the first time in hours. Maybe its the garbage pile next to the woodshop, or a field of wildflowers, or fresh asphalt being laid by city workers. Either way, your smell is reset, and the next time you lean your head down or brush your face with your sleeve, you realize that your shirt is SOAKED with the pungent scent of sawdust. But it happened gradually, so you didn't even notice it.
I think that's how I've discovered purpose, for the most part. All of a sudden, even though its already been there for years... just soaking into my tastebuds and clothes so slowly I didn't even notice, but so deeply I'll never be able to get it out. All it took was a wash of some OTHER scent to reset me and let me taste the old anew.
So, sometimes revelation is like a new smell that puts years of previous revelation into perspective.
But, as my mom says, insight doesn't lead to change. My dad sent me a magnet that says something like, "Life isn't about discovering yourself, its about creating yourself." Which is very nearly true. My only alteration would be that Christ is recreating me day by day.
Japan'll be the end o' me
This year, for the first time EVER in my short but patriotic American life, I did not celebrate the fourth of July.
I went to a barbeque where a bunch of Latino's living in Japan get together and eat and dance and jaw. So, it was like celebrating the fourth in Miami or South Texas, in that I got my "gratuitous gorging on grilled meats and casseroles" on, but it just wasn't the same. I attribute this mostly to the fact that I was a late-comer, and so I entirely missed the watermelon stash. Its not the same without my favorite sugar water diahretic.
I did, however, spend a couple of hours babysitting Toshiro, who is 2 years old, and doesn't know if he's Japanese or Latino. He's Japino... or was it Latinese? I don't know. Anyway, I taught him 5 English words in an hour or so. I know this because I heard him use all of them multiple times. Sharp guy.
Summer break is coming up! I'm really stoked about learning to surf at Chiba and Yokohama. Apparently, there are several very respectable spots for surfing. Who knew!
Oh yeah, back to the "Japan will be the end of me" thing. Yesterday I was teaching at one of my elementary schools. Now, when they build things in Japan, they don't build for a height range of 5' something to almost 7', they build for a much more midgetish society. Like, under 4' to 6'. 6' being significantly on the tall side. HA. But, this is hard to get used to. I'm accustomed to being able to walk through hallways without hitting the ceilings and door jams. (At least, I think that's how you use the word door jam.) So, I'm looking down in my bag for the schedule and suddenly I feel this crippling force flood through my body, I realize I'm going down, and then realize that I had no time or ability to do anything about it because I'm already on my butt with my legs sprawled out in front of me. After a few seconds, when the world is no longer black, I realize that as my head was turned down, DOWN, mind you, a few inches lower than if I had been standing fully upright, I slammed the top of my head into a kind of purposeless door way in the middle of the hall. There is no door attatched to it. Oh, no. Just a random booby trap for tall unsuspecting gaijin (foreigners). I have a very large knott.
So, if I survive Japan, I'll be a much stronger person... who may or may not have a short-term memory capacity by the end of it.
I went to a barbeque where a bunch of Latino's living in Japan get together and eat and dance and jaw. So, it was like celebrating the fourth in Miami or South Texas, in that I got my "gratuitous gorging on grilled meats and casseroles" on, but it just wasn't the same. I attribute this mostly to the fact that I was a late-comer, and so I entirely missed the watermelon stash. Its not the same without my favorite sugar water diahretic.
I did, however, spend a couple of hours babysitting Toshiro, who is 2 years old, and doesn't know if he's Japanese or Latino. He's Japino... or was it Latinese? I don't know. Anyway, I taught him 5 English words in an hour or so. I know this because I heard him use all of them multiple times. Sharp guy.
Summer break is coming up! I'm really stoked about learning to surf at Chiba and Yokohama. Apparently, there are several very respectable spots for surfing. Who knew!
Oh yeah, back to the "Japan will be the end of me" thing. Yesterday I was teaching at one of my elementary schools. Now, when they build things in Japan, they don't build for a height range of 5' something to almost 7', they build for a much more midgetish society. Like, under 4' to 6'. 6' being significantly on the tall side. HA. But, this is hard to get used to. I'm accustomed to being able to walk through hallways without hitting the ceilings and door jams. (At least, I think that's how you use the word door jam.) So, I'm looking down in my bag for the schedule and suddenly I feel this crippling force flood through my body, I realize I'm going down, and then realize that I had no time or ability to do anything about it because I'm already on my butt with my legs sprawled out in front of me. After a few seconds, when the world is no longer black, I realize that as my head was turned down, DOWN, mind you, a few inches lower than if I had been standing fully upright, I slammed the top of my head into a kind of purposeless door way in the middle of the hall. There is no door attatched to it. Oh, no. Just a random booby trap for tall unsuspecting gaijin (foreigners). I have a very large knott.
So, if I survive Japan, I'll be a much stronger person... who may or may not have a short-term memory capacity by the end of it.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Celebrity
I will now be wearing a T-shirt that says, "It's ok to stare. I'm kind of a big deal in Japan."
As if my natural charisma and jua de vive weren't enough, I will now have to work double time to fend of the babes and paparazzi because, that's right, my celebrity status is sealed-- I'm on film.
Of course, this film will probably sit in a box in an office storage room for about 22 years until an old janitor throws it out because a new company took over the suite, but until then, my fame is out there... somewhere. Yes, yes, this was actually a performance review by my parent company, Interac. Basically, they just want to film me and make sure that I don't absolutely wretchedly stink at my job. (Don't worry, I didn't beat any of the kids too hard today, so I think it'll be fine.)
It went pretty well, except for the 30 seconds of crash and burn when the English teachers (yes, there were two Japanese nationals who are English teachers in the room) randomly sprung a new activity on me that was none too easy for the kids to follow. So, they point at the earth, throw a parachute at me and shove me out of the plane. At this point, I'm thinking it would be a good idea to put the parachute on and figure out how to keep this activity from splattering like a rotten tomatoe on Fozzie's face. (Sorry, I'm mixing my metaphors with dead horses teeth that haven't hatched yet.) Eventually, through a combination of the English teachers realizing the immanent crash-burn status of the class (which is being filmed in all its gorey detial) and walking down the isles practically doing the activity for the kids, and me grabbing the reigns from up front and pantomiming the whole thing so that everyone can understand without actually comprehending English) we managed to salvage the situation in under 30 seconds. Let me just say, that's a long time when 35 students are looking at you with not just blank visage, but clearly fuddled and confused faces.
Confusion is an ugly beast. As soon as it has a foot in the door, its in. And then, it just barges through everywhere, destroying all processing centers and cutting off all memory banks... and then it spreads... to other students. Once one kid gives any sign of being flustered, its like free licence for all nearby students to similarly wave the French Battle Flag.
You have to nip that in the bud and keep them looking at you. Whatever you do, you can't let them settle into the fact that they don't get it. You have to grab them by the soul through the eye sockets and keep 'em going.
I think I was a field lieutenant in Nam in a former life.
So, that's the breaks in the teaching biz. Its a fine line between dancing bear and puppet master. Maybe the utter brilliance of it is that they think they're being entertained, but really, I'm twisting their minds into learning English beneath the radar of their wills. Mwa ha ha ha. Its so nefariously Machiavellian that it just might work. They're aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive. Aliiiiiiiiiive with Eeeeeeeeeeeenglish I tell you. Eeeeeengliiiiiiish! A ha ha ha. Mwa ha ha ha ha.
I'm going insane here. Somebody please mail me a ticket before I become one of them. I feel it spreading.... the... yellow.... feavvvvvvvvvvv c
As if my natural charisma and jua de vive weren't enough, I will now have to work double time to fend of the babes and paparazzi because, that's right, my celebrity status is sealed-- I'm on film.
Of course, this film will probably sit in a box in an office storage room for about 22 years until an old janitor throws it out because a new company took over the suite, but until then, my fame is out there... somewhere. Yes, yes, this was actually a performance review by my parent company, Interac. Basically, they just want to film me and make sure that I don't absolutely wretchedly stink at my job. (Don't worry, I didn't beat any of the kids too hard today, so I think it'll be fine.)
It went pretty well, except for the 30 seconds of crash and burn when the English teachers (yes, there were two Japanese nationals who are English teachers in the room) randomly sprung a new activity on me that was none too easy for the kids to follow. So, they point at the earth, throw a parachute at me and shove me out of the plane. At this point, I'm thinking it would be a good idea to put the parachute on and figure out how to keep this activity from splattering like a rotten tomatoe on Fozzie's face. (Sorry, I'm mixing my metaphors with dead horses teeth that haven't hatched yet.) Eventually, through a combination of the English teachers realizing the immanent crash-burn status of the class (which is being filmed in all its gorey detial) and walking down the isles practically doing the activity for the kids, and me grabbing the reigns from up front and pantomiming the whole thing so that everyone can understand without actually comprehending English) we managed to salvage the situation in under 30 seconds. Let me just say, that's a long time when 35 students are looking at you with not just blank visage, but clearly fuddled and confused faces.
Confusion is an ugly beast. As soon as it has a foot in the door, its in. And then, it just barges through everywhere, destroying all processing centers and cutting off all memory banks... and then it spreads... to other students. Once one kid gives any sign of being flustered, its like free licence for all nearby students to similarly wave the French Battle Flag.
You have to nip that in the bud and keep them looking at you. Whatever you do, you can't let them settle into the fact that they don't get it. You have to grab them by the soul through the eye sockets and keep 'em going.
I think I was a field lieutenant in Nam in a former life.
So, that's the breaks in the teaching biz. Its a fine line between dancing bear and puppet master. Maybe the utter brilliance of it is that they think they're being entertained, but really, I'm twisting their minds into learning English beneath the radar of their wills. Mwa ha ha ha. Its so nefariously Machiavellian that it just might work. They're aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive. Aliiiiiiiiiive with Eeeeeeeeeeeenglish I tell you. Eeeeeengliiiiiiish! A ha ha ha. Mwa ha ha ha ha.
I'm going insane here. Somebody please mail me a ticket before I become one of them. I feel it spreading.... the... yellow.... feavvvvvvvvvvv c
Monday, July 2, 2007
A rebuttal and a reflection
My favorite person to talk to about spiritual matters is Marshall Derks. He has no qualms with laying into what he perceives as inerrancies, and always brings a hearty, sincere perspective to the inspection of matters of faith. Recently he pointed out something in Paul's work that he felt was inconsistent, and this was my reply.
I really hope Marshall comes to know Christ as I know him. I love him as a friend and would love, even more, to have him as a Brother.
He's getting married, by the way! "Congradulations", if you ever read this, man!
So, this was my part of the discussion:
Well, that's an interesting highlight of an errancy in Paul's work... it does sound contradictory, on a certain level, that Jesus forgives people's sins before He has been ressurected, whereas Paul says very bluntly that without the ressurecion that there is no forgiveness... but I think that what Paul was saying is that no one can be forgiven at any point in history withouth Christ's act of atonement, but because He came in the middle of time, men at all times can receive forgiveness because God delayed judgement in the days before the Messiah through forebearance (that is from Isaiah). Then after Christ, He can impart the righteousness that His Son earned by absorbing sin into Himself and destroying it in the grave. Then, we, the lucky few who live after these wondrous things, are able to receive the Holy Spirit Himself. Because Christ has finished the work of canceling sin, He can even come upon men and women and the human heart becomes the very tabernacle of God, and this very presence of the Holy Spirit is, in fact, the life of God returning into man. What happens on the day that Christ returns-- when the dead are raised and both the living and the dead in Christ are clothed in new and glorious flesh, is merely the more complete work of what the Holy Spirit is already doing.
And, yes, I agree about the prosititute who bathes Christ's feet with spikenard. She is forgiven because of her love. And I think this is the answer to the question of faith vs. action. Do you remember the passage in 2 Corinthians where Paul says that prophecy, knowledge, even faith will pass away? I think that what he means there is that all things in this world are in a transitory state. We are commanded to DO many things... but only for a time. NOW, it is important to have faith, because it is the hour of darkness when man still lives under the cloudy veil of the flesh, though no longer under the veil of the old Law which condemned. That was, quite literally, sundered by the Messiah at the hour of crufixion. We are commanded to prophecy and to do acts of service unto widows and orphans, edifying one another and spreading the good news that God is Love and in Him is Light that can purge the darkness of the world and our own hearts... but again, even this will pass away, because God Himself will BE our light once every knee bows and every tongue confesses. There will be no more need for Prophecy, because Christ will make all things clear. We will no longer need to comfort the sorrowful, because Christ will wipe away every tear. No one will be sick, none will hunger, there will be a tree whose leaves will be the therapy of the very nations... and yes I do believe that. If not absolutely literally then I do at least believe that something that litereally executes this metaphorical role will be in the new Zion when God comes down to earth and reforges it as His dwelling place among men.
So, the answer to the debate between faith and action is this. Neither. Its love. Love believes all, AND bears all. You must love Him, or you will have faith in an idea. You don't need an idea to save you. You need a real Messiah... more real than you, because your sin has effaced your very personhood. Its hard to swallow, but without forgiveness and purification, you are not even worthy of being treated as a person according to Paul. You are an object of wrath.
So, which is more important, to perform or to believe. Both, if they are healthy, are the doings of love. They are like breathing and circulation. It does you no good to do one without the other. In a way they are the same thing- the cycling of oxygen and carbon dioxide through your body. Carbon Dioxide is by no means a bad thing. You woud die without it. Its just that you need to take one of these in consistently, and you need to send one out consistently. You need to believe within the bounds of your own heart... in the world of your will... at the seat of your desires, but you also need to transcend your consciousness and puncture the very walls of your heart... be pierced at heart with love... so that the faith that was poured into by God can be poured back out before His throne and upon His children. Its a beautiful cycle. More beautiful than Krebbs or Photosynthesis or meiosis or mitosis or the water cycle or even ocean waves. It is THE cycle. Worship. It is what the world does when it does as it should. It worships. Even the rocks cry out.
What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
