Encouraging writing news

Lots of news on the writing front for me in the last week.

1. I found out that a story of mine about our early days in Tokyo in the midst of a typhoon will be included in a compilation book about God's faithfulness being published by our mission next year to celebrate our 150th anniversary. This will be the first book I've ever been published in! Yay.
2. They also asked me for another story. Bad timing, but I'm seeing what I can do.
3. Another article of mine is being published by OMF Australia in a training manual for home side support teams. You might have seen an earlier version of it here on my blog, it is about missionaries and loneliness.
4. Another publication (Thrive) is also interested in publishing a version of that article about loneliness. I'm waiting to hear back from them.
5. I've received a "we're considering publishing your meditation" email from The Upper Room (this is a paying market that is published in 100 countries in 35 languages). That's definitely hopeful!
6. I've also signed up to go to a Christian Writer's Conference in Australia in October. My first ever face-to-face Writer's Conference. 

So while I haven't been doing much writing of my own recently, it seems as though some things I've written a while ago are still moving forward towards publication. Wonderful!

Plus we're moving closer to getting the 31 Days of Prayer for Japan publication out. A few more details to sort, but it should be out in August. Keep an eye here and I'll tell you how you can get a copy.

Exciting! To have all this information come to my attention within a few days is just plain encouraging. God knows!

More goodbyes and tears

Interesting day so far today.

CAJ community
I started with a prayer meeting I have been attending regularly over the last four years and semi regularly over the last few months: the CAJ Friday morning community prayer meeting. It was a pleasure to gather with other parents (some of whom have become good friends) and pray for our students, teacher, and the school in general. 

I cried. It started when I shared briefly how many things we have to thank and praise God for over these last four years and how he's piling it on just now as we step out in faith to go to Australia for a year. I didn't have time to list any, but it was enough. 

Then I cried as people prayed for those going through transition and specifically for our family. I had trouble getting my words out as I prayed for all those saying goodbyes (pretty much everyone who knows anyone in the missionary community). And especially for the best friend of my youngest son whose mum sent me a message yesterday afternoon saying her son had been in tears because his friend was leaving. Ouch! She tempered the pain by reminding us both that the relationships we cry over saying farewells are not to be missed. They are the best friendships!

My coffee buddy, Sharon, and I enjoying a giggle at the OMF
conference in March.

Coffee shop rendezvous
After the prayer meeting I caught a couple of trains to a cafe I've heard about, but never visited. It is a ministry run by some Aussie friends of ours in TEAM (not SEND as I originally wrote). SonRise Cafe. I met another Aussie, a newish OMF missionary there for coffee. Great times getting to know one another, telling our stories, and enjoying the pleasant, quiet atmosphere (we were the only customers at the time).

Lunch "date" with my 15 y.o.
I finally got home after 1pm and walked through a heavy downpour to our house. So glad I wore my gum boots today. Yes it was cool enough. About 20 degrees Celsius today, after 35 last weekend!

My son was home, he's on exam schedule (actually "Culminating Assessment" schedule), which means he's only allowed to be at school when he has a class activity scheduled. He was home for lunch and we had an enjoyable time, just the two of us, chatting over lunch. I love his humour these days! One-on-ones are fun.

Tonight's "Commencement Exercises"
Yes, tonight we get to trespass on the sacred ground of American graduation ceremonies. They pull out some fabulous vocabulary. "Commencement Exercises" = "Graduation Ceremony". (See here for some other vocab. and first impressions of the event.)

The boys love to go for the food. There is quite a banquet put on (reception) after the event for everyone who attends. I'm not feeding us a lot for tea tonight.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, and I've got work to do before the boys come home in just over an house. Bye!

June Reflection: Hebrews 12:1-3

This is getting harder, doing this every month. Perhaps I should have picked a larger passage?

With less than four weeks left before we leave, I feel like we're headed into the centre of a tropical storm or an hourglass. We're gradually laying off responsibilities and moving towards the very defined goal of moving to Australia for a year. In the middle there (29th June for a very few days) there will be a quiet spot with almost nothing to do and no responsibilities except be ourselves and get ourselves on and off a plane. Then gradually the speed will pick up again, more responsibilities, more in our schedule.

In the midst of that I've stopped this morning to look at Hebrews 12:1-3 again.

The details on this flower are amazing. Though I get
overwhelmed, at times, by the details of our transition
I know the God who made this flower. If He cares so
much as to give this temporary flower all this detailed
beauty, I can trust Him to help me with all the details
in my family's life. Indeed I stand amazed at how things are
falling into place and can hardly not talk about it!

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The below passage caught my eye this month. It has a similar meaning, but a different author. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The Message version of the same passage:

16-18 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

I don't feel as though I'm going through particularly hard times, not compared to what Paul, the author, went through, nor many people in the world at this time. However, on the other hand, what we're doing isn't easy.

We're spending a lot of time on sorting out details. Details about this house, the house and furniture in Australia, the details about our jobs here, details about speaking opportunities in Australia, details about school here, and school there. Argghhh. Details aren't my brightest spot (despite being an editor).

It is good to keep some perspective by remembering that the things that bother us now, that we must attend to now, are only temporary things. That what we're really doing is aimed towards things that we can't see, that will last forever.

That doesn't excuse me from attending to the details, however. But it does give me hope. Jesus didn't get discouraged by the ugly details of living on this imperfect earth. Well, maybe he did, just a bit. But he didn't give up pursuing His goal of providing a way for salvation of all who believe in Him.

So, though I'm weary and at times want to give up and run away to hide in the "eye of the storm" between countries, I will follow Jesus' example. I will persevere through the ugly bits for the sake of the goal, of glorifying Him and encouraging others to do so also.

Rainy Season: the joys and the woes.

It is officially rainy season now in Tokyo (or maybe tomorrow). That doesn't mean that it rains all the time, which confused us when we first moved to Tokyo. Here is a good explanation:

The rainy season is caused by the collision of cold northerly and warm southerly air masses, which results in a relatively stable bad weather front over the
Japanese archipelago for several weeks. . . . During the rainy season it does not rain every day. In fact, Tokyo registers only an average of 12 rainy days in June, while 120 hours of sunshine are recorded. As for the amount of rainfall, it varies from days with intensive downpours to other days with occasional sprinkles. (From here.)

Why I don't like the Rainy Season:

• It is a little gloomy. You rarely see the sun.
• It can be hard to get clothes dry.
• Everything feels a little damp.
• Somehow I can't get my footwear right. It is too hot to wear gum boots, but my summer sandals get slimy when wet. Rubber thongs (Aussie for flip-flops) are too casual in many instances.

Why I love the Rainy Season:

• It is the only time of year when the temperatures are pleasant, yet the weather is stable. The other times of year the temperatures are stable are at the extremes: winter and summer.
• The light brings out the best of the greens and the colours in flowers.
• Hydrangeas are amazing at this time of year.
• The clouds hold back the blistering heat of summer just a bit longer.

I wrote another post about this time of year three years ago here.

Life, a world congress, and a trampoline

Today the boys are hanging around at home. It is the day that the CAJ seniors do the presentation of a very large assignment (actually a collection of assignments) they've been working on all year. 

Senior comprehensives, a year-long culminating event that is fully integrated into senior classes (Bible, English, social studies), requires seniors to select an issue, analyze it, apply a Biblical perspective to it, and generate an action plan for it that is personal, Biblical, and viable.

It is so important that they've given the rest of the students the day off today so that the all teachers can be involved in grading the presentations. Middle and high schoolers have to attend a couple of presentations too, preparation for when they themselves are seniors.

Needless to say, there'll be some nervous, then very relieved seniors today!

Life in our house over the next couple of weeks
I've had a taste of what next week, after school finishes, is going to hold, though: me trying to plough through work on the computer with frequent interruptions from boys. I wish I could work at night when they're in bed. It's not that I can't, but I don't produce good work at that time. Neither is it healthy as I have trouble getting to sleep when I do work late.

But that's the way it will be. The boys finish school next Tuesday at noon. The next 24 hrs will be a bit of a write-off as our eldest has his official friends-birthday party sleepover. Not sure how many 14-16 year olds are going to come, but our house will be hopping (thankfully they're not all boys, though only boys will sleep over).

Our middle son will probably have a couple of friends over in the days following that. This is one way of them saying goodbye to their good buddies.

So, though I have still a couple of weeks of work in various projects before I can abandon most of it and concentrate on moving house, they're going to be choppy at best in terms of getting things done. It might be that serious editing and other work has to happen after they're in bed. Regardless, I'm handing the magazine over on the 16th/17th.

David will probably finish work on about the 13th, so at least he'll be around after that, at least most of the time. His head is full of hand-over tasks too.

Occupational Therapy Congress

The opening ceremony will be here!

One of the things I've been doing this morning has been checking out the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress in Yokohama that I'm attending from the 17th to the 21st. It is mind boggling. I think upwards of 800 therapists are presenting over the four days! I was searching the tiny print of the programmes, trying to find possible sessions to attend. 

It is going to be a serious shock to the system. I haven't been to an OT conference since I was 22! I don't know anyone else who's going, but perhaps I'll be surprised. Actually I wonder if it is mainly people who are presenting who are going? But probably not, as the opening ceremony is in a hall that can hold 5,000 people! But having a conference like this just "down the road" (it will take me a couple of hours on trains to get there) was too good an opportunity to miss, even if I am an OT who's largely "on ice" at present. One of the interesting things will be hopefully meeting Japanese Occupational Therapists, and also hearing of some of the OT work that's been going on in the wake of the tsunami/earthquake disaster.

31 Days of Prayer for Japan booklet
I'm also excited because I've been looking at the draft proofs of the 31 Days of Prayer for Japan booklet. It looks great. We're proofreading it this week. I'm also preparing marketing information for OMF offices around the world. Wow! Never done that before. It is such perfect timing. I'll be able to hold it in my hand as we talk to churches and say, "I did this!"

God's blessings overflowing all over us
The other thing I'm excited about it counting up all the things that God has provided for us so far in this journey of faith to go on home assignment. But that is another entire post. Today's latest, however, is a trampoline! I can't tell you how many times in the last 15 years of parenting that I've longed for a trampoline in the backyard.

It doesn't matter what we're called

A couple of months back we read a good devotion in Our Daily Bread (March 15).

Here or there, we need to focus on others,
not ourselves.

It reminded us that title we hold us not important. Our role is to strengthen the faith of Gods people (see Eph 4:11-16). So, as we come back to Australia it isn't so important that we have the label "missionary" or "in full-time ministry", but that we keep our minds fixed on the overall role that we have as Christians. We can do that in Australia, we can do that here. 

We can also do it by letting Australians and Japanese people see how God has worked in and through our lives as we live as his servants. This is a good antidote to any pride that might rise up in us because of the title that our job comes with.

Lord, please use me as Your instrument to touch others' lives. Help me not to be concerned about what title I hold but instead that my life might show others Your grace (quote from ODB).

It's what Jesus wants that matters

Here's a rare guest appearance by my husband. He wrote something I thought worth passing on to you on his Facebook page today, in response to this post on John Piper's blog (by Jon Bloom).

I love this paragraph by Jon: 

David working with some students.

If we choose the Pearl [ed: that is Jesus], we hear in Judas’s objection the world’s appraisal of us. They watch as we pour our valuable time, intellects, money, youth, financial futures, and vocations out on Jesus’s feet. They watch them puddle in the bowls of churches, mission fields, orphanages, and homes where children are raised and careers are lost. And what they see is foolish waste. Expect their rebuke, not their respect.

Unfortunately we hear this not just from non-Christians, but Christians within the missionary community in Japan. Not rebukes, but softer than that: "it's such a pity". They wonder why we're wasting our time and apparently our ministry by going on home assignment.

This is what David wrote this morning:

Facing a year of telling people about mission. Is what I do with my time worth it?Facing a year of putting down my current role for another one. Is it the best thing to do?"All for Jesus, I surrender" are the words I keep remembering. My year in Australia is what Jesus wants, I am convinced. So it will be worth it and and it is the best thing to do, because it is what he thinks that matters.