Good news!

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
...
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.  “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”      (Mark 1.1, 14-15)

I recently sat in a coffee shop studying Mark 1.1-15 with a few friends.  One of our main takeaways from this passage is that we have good news. 

Try saying that with different emphases:

WE have good news!

We HAVE good news!

We have GOOD news!

We have good NEWS!

One of the girls mused, "When I have good news, I tell everyone about it."

When was the last time you had good news? 
    You found a great recipe or restaurant?
          You found a great deal? 
               Someone gave you a special gift? 
                    You found a solution to a tough problem in your life?
                         You finally reached a goal you'd been working towards?

Did you tell anyone?  When I have news like that, I tell everyone I talk with.  

Yet, in the mundane things of daily life, I'm a "glass is half-empty" type of person.  There's really no way to be "glass is half-empty," though, about the good news about Jesus the Messiah. 

I have good news! 

How can I live more in line with the earth-shattering, life-changing fact that I have good news?  That is my meditation and prayer this morning. 

1000 Gifts, Vol. 4, #62

631.  rabbits eating clover in our backyard

632.  large orange moon rising over cornfields on a midnight blue sky

633.  unseasonably cool days {like a vacation from summer!}

634.  open windows & curtains fluttering in the breeze

635.  rare 5.45 AM breakfast together {before early morning hog-loading}

636.  room transformation {pictures coming soon}...

637.  and inspiration for another room transformation

638.  friends whose travel plans lead them down an interstate near us :)

639.  the unexpected & very providential opportunity to speak Japanese a few hours a week

640.  the privilege of sharing life with others {both their joys & their challenges}

Do you know where your passport is?

When I lived overseas, I always knew where my passport was ~ and when it expired.  (I also kept a list of a few other people's passport & visa expiration dates, but that's another story for another day.) 

Friends kept their passports in prime real estate, so they could grab them in haste in case of an emergency (natural disaster, etc.).  Even their children knew where the passsports were.

Nowadays I have to think twice to remember where we keep our passports, and, if not for the fact that I got a new one (with my married name) a few months after we were married, I would have no clue when it expires.

If you've ever lived with a constant awareness of your passport, you'll enjoy this vignette:

Out to lunch with my passport

(click title to read article) 

The land of few street signs

In an update from missionaries preparing to go to Japan:

Everyday things will be exponentially more difficult, e.g., it will be a struggle as we learn to read street signs.

Surprise!  There will be few street signs.

Just another example of how our assumptions shape the way we think.

Wonder what assumptions I have about how my day today will unfold ...

Mountains ~ to go

Our family hosted a family reunion this summer.  Traditionally at this reunion the host family has had some sort of gift for all those in attendance.  Once it was a t-shirt from that state.  Another time it was a piece of pottery from a local kiln. 

Ours became a Tennessee Sampler, with a gift tag shaped like a quilt square, and items that helped everyone take the mountains home with them ~ to California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia, and New York.

gift bag

The message on the gift bag tag was an original poem, referencing some of the items in the sampler.

gift bag tag

Each bag contained a magnet,

Blue Ridge Mountains magnet (the top one: panoramic with clouds) on our fridge

and a set of beautiful notecards,

framed note cards

as well as a (highly recommended) CD of music by a local guitar-maker.

We also included a Tennessee product: Goo Goo Clusters!

What is the most creative gift bag you've been part of putting together?

Toasters

An expat living in Japan recently posted on Facebook that every time he toasts bread or a bagel, he almost always burns it  in the fish grill. [Click here & here for images.]

Four years after I returned to the U.S., I still burn toast in the toaster!

The smoke alarm hasn't gone off as much recently from my toasting esapades, but whenever I fry eggs, I usually have to quick! grab the broom and lift it up to the ceiling to turn the smoke alarm off!

What sets the smoke alarm off in your home?

On buying a car in Japan

(Found while going through old documents on my computer...)

So, I’m to give Mr. S the money on Saturday,

     and tomorrow I plan to go to the city office

          and get a paper proving that my seal is officially my seal,

               and go to the regional police office and pick up a paper

                    to apply for an official parking space. 

Then I need to get our landlord to stamp her seal on it,

     and I need to measure our parking space,
 
          and also draw a map of our neighborhood, etc,

               before actually filing my application. 

Then the police will come

     and verify whether or not there is legally enough space for my vehicle

          to be registered to park in this location. 

And then I will have to spend almost a day going to the car office

     to change the title.  
 
Then I can reactivate my car insurance.  

     (Hopefully I can reactivate it at the low rate I was paying previously,

          b/c I had had a year without any accidents.)


How many steps was that? How many different offices?