I find that when it’s Thanksgiving and I’m actually home with my family here in America there’s little that can top the feeling of joy I have for that alone.  I’ve not spent too many Christmases or Thanksgivings alone and out of country but I have spent enough of them to know it gives you a whole new perspective.  I remember being the Philippines in a little village where they were preparing a meal after I had some meetings.  Dog was on the menu and it was our Thanksgiving time here in the states.  I was glad just to have some people I could be with doing something special on the day…I think I would have much rather had turkey on the menu for sure!  I have spent Christmas abroad a few more times.  I remember in India we didn’t even have a Christmas tree…just a paper creation meant to look like a tree.  The pastor invited some people in to make a huge cauldron of sweets.  Cashew nut balls!  They were so good that I ate several and got about as sick as I can ever remember being.  We bought several huge firecrackers later to celebrate the New Year.  It was pure magic but what do I appreciate the most now?  Being with a family of my own celebrating it the old fashioned way here at home.  We had a fun time with turkey bingo last night and many of the people had their kids come home for the holidays…yes, life is good.  I think of our soldiers that are not able to come home today and the families that have to do without the simple joys of life.  Beyond the food, beyond the comforts of these things we think of when it comes to Thanksgiving is that which will not give up, not surrender to despair and bitterness and will remain grateful to God no matter what knowing our best days are still ahead.  I pray we all have our portion of that!  I feel grateful for all the blessings God has provided.  Friends old and new, family and above all God and all He has done for us.

Well, I thought I’d continue with some shots of Japan, big surprise.  but it’s something different…imagine if you were without friends or family in a foreign land, would you still be thankful for today?  One of the greatest joys I’ve known is being able to travel with my family now , I don’t sit in airports feeling lonely and far from all I know anymore…even if my son is too tired to communicate nor do I walk alone in crowds of people I don’t know, my daughter holds my hand .  I don’t enter a new country feeling like I have to face everything alone .  Now my little girl helps me break the ice and make new friends .  My little girl is brave and willing to do this with me .  My little girl ministers to others and doesn’t even realize just how much it means to me .  My family remains the best mission team I’ve ever traveled with .  Kazu and Anna became some of the best friends we’ve ever met and who was in the middle of that do you suppose ?  She may be only a little girl but she’s a soldier none the less !  Breaking ground with our friends wasn’t nearly so difficult thanks to the kids .  Kazu was a very great person to have met, he’s funny, kind, and extremely thoughtful but the kids made it easy to hang around with he and his wife Anna right away .  I’m so thankful for these whom the Lord has given me.  I think of the strange sites I’ve seen and always in the middle of it something beautiful grows .  God always has someone there to make me love it so much .  It’s not just the food and fellowship , now it’s the blessings that I bring with me too .  These kids are born missionaries!  Looking at my pictures I know I’ve not done anything that could earn such a blessing …this is the unmerited favor of the Lord and I’m so very thankful for that!  Every country has it’s beauty there’s always something that shows God is doing something there but the fruit of all that’s beautiful comes from what God is doing inside you .  Can you imagine shopping for Thanksgiving here ?  Where would you even begin ?  The flowers are wonderful but you can’t eat them .  The stores are like nothing we’re used to here so how would you celebrate Thanksgiving?  Would you find a friend in the local barbecue salesman ?  Or  just feel alone and a stranger in a strange land?  I know we think often of beauty as an external thing .  Something you can look at with the natural eye and appreciate .  Something which may even smell great but I tell you it’s not necessarily an orderly garden or something you can hold in your hand .  Beauty is more than skin deep…I see God’s handiwork as I look at my daughters but like in this picture, it’s not the flower that makes her beautiful, she and the flower enhance each other.  God does this as only He can.  It doesn’t matter where you are celebrating Thanksgiving today or what’s on the menu and it’s not even who you are with but that you are thankful for what you’ve got.  Don’t get me wrong, I love food as much as the next guy , I love my family and making new friends but above all I choose to remember God who has given me all of this and I’m thankful, oh so thankful for it all .  It doesn’t matter where I find myself and even as grateful as I am that I don’t travel alone for the most part anymore , I truly have the best traveling companions in the world but before they ever came on the scene there was a friend who was always with me that sticks closer than a brother and His name is Christ.  Because He is here there is more to everything I see more beauty wherever I turn and though I may be physically alone at times I still have that friend there who never leaves me nor forsakes me .  I know that every rose has it’s thorn but for now I see only the blossom of God’s blessing and I’m thankful ever so thankful for the sweetness of His blessings today .

I was listening to this song

I love where it talks about how there’s no luck in a four leaf clover or strength in a unicorn…these things are illusions.  I think of the things I’ve relied on in the past which have failed but in the end I find myself not lamenting on the failures or what could have been rather I find repeatedly a grateful heart to the one person who’s never left me nor forsaken me nor ever failed in any way no matter how difficult things have been.  I speak of Christ of course.  I can’t even think of the blessings in this life without knowing He’s been the source for it all.  No, there’s no strength in the natural things in this life but there’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother…that friend is surely Christ.  Why say all of this?  Well, my day started out with something that I don’t like to do much:  go to the Sheriff’s office to get my concealed weapon permit renewed.  I absolutely hate going down there…it never fails, I end up nervous and feeling like some kind of criminal or something…the Sheriff leads me back through the already old and somewhat dilapidated office to a back room which looks sort of like an interrogation room.  The bright side is I don’t have to go through all the processing I did before so it’s a fairly quick thing now.  The whole experience leaves me sort of ruffled and to make matters worse the construction down there made me have to park several blocks away…yuck!  I came away gloomy but then I started to think of how things not going my way creates sort of a tunnel vision…there’s no strength in these things, there was a shooting near our church…it’s a very rough neighborhood…there’s no strength in that but there is strength in God…how thankful I am that no matter what all I have to do is come home to my family and I see open evidence of the love of God for me…how grateful I am for the strength in these things!

  I have some more pictures of Japan to share today…these pictures really touch me, these are from Love’s perspective..she has an eye for our family and so there’s plenty of pictures with us in them…some make me smile others bring a tear to my eye…could the kids have been that young?  It’s only been a few years…how have they grown so much?  First off I’d like to show some of the ever present anime that you can everywhere in Japan…advertisements , magazines, comic books…anime is everywhere!  Now that I mention advertisements let me show a picture of this one for cell phones…it looks like these are all coming through the toll gate at a trains station …cute.  I love Tokyo so very much but what I love more is times with my family spent there .   I think of that utterly perfect weather I have to say it warms me up and then there’s the food which I really like too .  Lovely has learned to read some Japanese so this time we can enter little places like this and order .  Last time we tried to order we ended up with a rather funny story to tell instead.  My wife tried to ask for tempura shrimp(ebi) but instead mistakenly inquired asking for tempura hebi…the man looked terribly disgusted and said in Japanese that he had nothing to do with such things….notice how close those two words appear?  The problem is they may sound similar but the first one means shrimp while the second means snake!  LOL!  We still laugh about that to this day!  I remember we came home and were rather angry at the man’s rude response but when we related the story to my mother in law she couldn’t stop laughing…she then informed us of what we actually asked for!  Ah, good times!  Visiting Shibuya once…you always get an eyeful there.  You will encounter a lot but this time there was something that I found rather…well, exceptional on the weird scale !  Do you know what that sign says?  Free ham!  Want some?  LOL!  Other times he would hang dried squid around his neck and change signs.  This one still didn’t offer a deal I was willing to take him up on …I guess some people don’t mind taking him up on his offer!  Japanese books are read the opposite of ours…it made me wish I could read their language .  The traffic and sheer weight of humanity really didn’t bother me…it fascinated me..I don’t see that many people in our little town here in Montana…not even during rush hour !  I always feel that the Japanese are the best at presenting their products , I never tire of the fake food displays and amazing menus .  The stores beckon with their displays and even if I am not interested in their wares I love their style and the unique flair everything has .  I think that their language is exquisite in it’s delicate intricacy so often I found that I enjoyed taking pictures of things for that alone .  We also visited the place that was all about electronics…don’t even ask me to spell that!  Here’s a picture of me with the kids there .  Sometimes we found photo opportunities at unexpected times and places…these kids were playing on the route we took walking back to my mother in law’s house…just too good to pass up !  Did I mention there’s a lot of people in Tokyo ?  No seriously, I mean a lot of people !  We walked along here and found a relatively quiet area and much to our delight a wedding procession began !  Lovely and I acted like paparazzi but they didn’t seem to mind !  What a family !  It wasn’t just one but two weddings so we got to see a lot!  Such wonderful kimonos and such a smart looking couple .  It was an amazing thing to witness and somehow felt like both the ancient and the modern together as one beautiful don’t you think ?  We just loved the kimonos !  Where else in the world can you see things like this ?  We went with our friends that lived next door to my mother in law …I’m glad they were patient because we just soaked it all in.  Here comes the bride !  Look at the dress this lady had !  Some things make you feel blessed just to see such a thing… .  I never thought I’d leave America…small town America and see this…wow!  Gabby was small enough then to have a bucket bath at mom’s house …my gosh, always the charmer!  I walk to the ends of the world with that little girl…well, I guess I pretty much have !  Have you ever heard of the fancy Japanese toilets?  Some of those things make you feel like the captain of a starship!  Look at this toilet control panel !  There are some Japanese delights that I miss more than others .  Mochi is one such delight …ah yeah baby bring ‘em on !  They are so good!  I miss other things too .  I miss seeing the kids take in the wonder of it all .  Seeing it with my eyes is great but seeing it through theirs ?  Well, that’s nothing short of touching the face of God .  I love the city , I love the Tokyo Tower , I love the parks with things that are so strange to me even though I know the way the truth and the life I know there are so many that don’t and that gives me drive for the mission at hand…it’s not all sight seeing.  I love showing the mission field to my family like this .  Such amazing structures , such strange places The shrine here I felt very strong spiritual activity…if there are places that are haunted this place surely was …there were pinwheels that turned with no wind…I didn’t like it and we had to walk through there after visiting the Tokyo tower late at night…it was way creepy.  The view from the tower was breath taking …notice the grave yard far below .  My mom got to see it with us on our second trip .  We all wondered at the spectacle of Tokyo all around us .  Gabby felt the need to shop before we left …yep, she’s the daughter of her mother!  We walked back toward the haunted shrine…the tower was magnificent to see at night !  We did have meetings there…here we are with one of the churches groups we ministered to …no, the kids, Lovely and I aren’t in this pic…my mother in law is at the right in the back there.  Whew!  Time to end this one for this week!  God has been very, good to us and shown us many things, it never hurts to remind ourselves that He can do the impossible…He is our strength and our shield!  Have a blessed day!

Exciting title huh?  I betcha thought wow, this is going to be one of those deep blogs that leave me with insight to the meaning of life right?  Well, no, I’m actually referring to the weather we’ve got right now.  Lovely and I walked and when we started it was just a light mist but before we got very far it turned into a very persistent heavy and wet snow.  Veteran’s Day was yesterday of course and I can’t go on without saying something about that.  I’ve mentioned on some of my comments on people’s blogs about how sobering it’s been to me to know actual combat vets that are younger than I am.  I’ve seen these young men grow up…one I actually went to school with.  Now I see these young men who have seen actual combat and I just wonder how this could be.  The sacrifice of these young people astounds me and it’s so close to home…literally.  I have a subscription to the DoD’s website and therefore get updates of the pictures from the various military operations going on throughout the world to help me keep my mind on our troops.  It’s sad how we can forget just what the cost of freedom is.  I don’t care how you’ve served or where you’ve served…if you’ve served you’ve done something I deeply admire.  I’ve heard how these people don’t like being thought of as heroes but I pray they forgive me if I think that’s exactly what they are.  God bless you all!  I have a little video clip that you may or may not like.  I’ve not seen it used anywhere so I’ll include it here: 

Well, what else to do on a blustery and cold day before I have to go down to the church and record guitar tracks?  We’ve been plagued with technical issues thus far...nothing new there.  I guess I’ll put some more pictures of Japan..yes, that’s it, how unique for me LOL!  These are all my shots this time, none of them are Lovelies.  These are very springy in appearance though it wasn’t spring, still the weather was glorious.  If you like flowers you’ll love Japan I think , even the simple gardens and simple flowers have effort put into them that make them exceptional .  We would walk down the street and just revel in the beautiful colors , the bible mentions how we shouldn’t be concerned because if God clothes flowers like this how much more would he care for us?  That’s the Joe translation…not perfect but I’m sure you get the idea.  God is quite the artist you know ?  I found a lot that was artistic not just the flowers but the colorful markets .  I like how neither nature nor modern things seemed to clash .  I could be enjoying nature and not feel jarred from the wonder of it by saying hello to our favorite barbecue man ...yes, we bought him a Yankees hat..he mentioned he liked them so we got him an official hat...don’t be a hater!  LOL!  Perhaps some more flowers will calm you down !  Aren’t these wonderful ?  These grains were so perfect, I just had to take a picture of them .  If you have a photographic bone in your body it will be tickled in Japan, I guarantee it !  Most of these flowers and plants we saw on our walks to and from the train station from my mother in law’s house .  I think if I could garden like this I’d be in seventh heaven however in many of my gardening adventures the flowers would be dead if not for Lovely .  Surely if there were a little garden path to heaven it would look like this !  All of this beauty then there was a graveyard we walked by every day too with these to mark various graves .  They reminded me of giant pop sickle sticks!

One day we found ourselves with some time to visit a rose garden.  It was a steep climb to the garden but once there the view made it all worth it .  The varieties were amazing and not a single plant was disappointing so my shutter started clicking and didn’t stop for viturally the whole time we were there with some macros thrown in .  Every rose has it’s thorn I guess but with flowers like these it’s pretty hard to focus on the thorns .  Somehow it felt quite surreal ..can’t you imagine the cards painting the flowers red ?  Red and white weren’t the only colors however in fact, this yellow was really quite glorious .  Gabby made a friend here .  The little girl was wearing a hat because she decided to cut her own hair !  Gabby’s pink matched these wonderful blooms .  On the way out of the garden I got these three macro shots , and this .  At the top of the hill looking down provided a wonderful shot of Tokyo ...truth is it remains my favorite big city .  We walked home and again I was clicking away and the rain began to fall but I didn’t mind one bit !  These neighborhoods are so amazing to me..so very different from Montana !  Here even the sewer covers are artistic !  All the gardens are so nice .  The smallest apartment has a flower garden and there’s sort of a zaniness that tickles my funny bone too , I don’t think I’ll be buying one of those hats anytime soon!  It’s easy to recognize that this isn’t Montana at all .  I kept looking at signs and it took me a bit to realize no matter how hard I look I won’t be able to read it !  Nature provides a language all can understand , only God could design like this .  He doesn’t need pen or paper to make art and you don’t need to go to a museum or art gallery to appreciate what He’s made it’s all right there waiting for an eye that appreciate what He’s done .  My mother in law was amazed at these pictures because though it was not far from her house she never paid that much attention to it but for us it was all so exotic that we always looked forward to walking out the door to see what was out there .  I’m so glad that I was able to share in this with my family and thrilled I can share it with you now!  God bless you!

You know I had enough pictures to squeeze out one more entry on Europe but I feel the need to move on from it.  I give God all the glory for doing the wonderful things He has done on that trip and since but it’s time to move on.  The struggle with the flu has been a demoralizing thing on many levels but I refuse to believe the twisted perspective sickness brings.  It’s like blinders on a horse that narrows everything and increases selfishness.  If you really want to get past the limits of infirmity and personal problems you’ve got to look to God and other people out there and force your perspective to broaden again.  There’s no healing in selfishness or help in self pity.  I’ve been reading in the word of God about the ten lepers that Jesus healed in Luke chapter seventeen.  The ten lepers went along their way to show themselves to the priests that they’d been healed and one of them noticed that he’d been healed and came back to Jesus to thank him for the healing…one out of ten returned.  Jesus asked where the others were but of course they went their way.  I feel it’s so important to remain outward thinking.  Ever looking for reasons to give glory to God.  Christianity i not about manipulating God like some kind of lawyer seeking loopholes in the law to win a big case rather it’s about a loving relationship between child and Father.  Whole ministries are built on loopholes it seems whether that be healing, deliverance or prosperity but I feel that the strength of the church is found in righteousness that Christ provides opening the door to relationship with God via Jesus Christ.  Christ is and ever will be the way the truth and the life, the door to heaven and key to our relationship with the Father.  Church should not be founded on scare tactics and guilt trips to keep people giving and attending church.  Rather we should be united in our desire to please God, to worship Him and give Him all the credit He deserves.

I’m going to continue with my pictures from Japan at this time because that’s the last of all the pictures that I have from abroad.  It still gives me hope to return to other nations and as beautiful as things have been…there’s better things still in the future! Tokyo itself is a daunting city in size and scope, you could lose yourself here for years and not see it all but some things you should not miss.  China town in Japan?  Absolutely !  I had to go and see what Chinatown in Yokohama was all about !  There are fantastic restaurants galore and so many sights and sounds that have a flavor all their own .  I’m a chestnut lover from way back so you can imagine my thrill to find vendors selling big bags of chestnuts !  There are also plenty of comforts from home LOL!  I had to sample some coffee you know…just to make sure it was okay …mmm, yep, just fine!  I don’t know what these students were doing in China town at this hour…I’m sure they weren’t playing hooky..no of course not !  Maybe they wanted to check out the fantastic dumplings that are available …I first tried these in the Philippines and love them still…Lovely was thrilled to see them available.  You can see that they have all sorts of meats inside…nothing weird trust me …just look at how beautiful these steamed treats are !  Call me a sap but I never had the heart to ride in these …I figure I’ve got two good legs so why should I make someone cart me around?  The store fronts filled me with wonder and Gabby felt that she should go native to fit in .  The streets were so much fun to just take in as you walk along at your own pace .  I had to smile at the name of this restaurant …Tung Fat?  LOL, you’ve got to be kidding!  If you really get tired you can stop and receive a street side message…yes, it’s true !  That was our friend Annabelle receiving…a face message?  Even Gabby, road weary and sleep felt it was time for a bit of relaxation .  she expected the best and I think she got it !  We were pretty hungry at this point.  Everywhere you look there are advertisements for various dishes…not on a menu but in realistic plastic displays …does this one look spicy enough for you ?  Just look at these food joints !  Danielle and I were enjoying the perfect weather and the whole time in general .  Here’s some more fake food shots …a wide variety .  Finally we found a place to enjoy the food up close and personal …yum!  We made new friends wherever we went…I really love the Japanese people .  I can hardly believe how young the kids looked on that trip !  Finally it was time to head out of China Town .  Exploring the city was such fun to us hat it didn’t seem that we got tired easily .  Even Gabby did very well likely that was in part because she made friends wherever she went and she liked to sample the various treats that were in Japan too.  She also liked to make friends with the pigeons !  She didn’t know there were so many friendly children in the world before either !  Finally we came upon a park that had some unique things to see …it was near the harborso we could watch the ships come and go  .  You must understand such things are a novelty when you come from land locked states such as our own !  Ah the Japanese and their rules …goodness…it makes you wonder what you can do!  We passed a puppet museum but we didn’t go inside…rather we took a picture or two of the unique sculptures outside .  We then moved on to see the delightful flowers that abound everywhere …the Japanese take great pride in their gardens and every season seems to have one floral delight or another .  We also enjoyed witnessing the schools with the children with various uniforms or just matching hats .  There were always various activities that these kids were involved with so it wasn’t unusual to see them lined up heading out to one exciting destination or another …that kid in the back is mining for something in his nose I think….  They often let us know they were delighted to see us .  You might notice that I’m in some of these pictures…this is because these are all Lovely’s photos .  Gabby and Danielle…two peas in a pod , I love ‘em so much whether coming or going .  Danielle seemed to really bond with her little sister on this trip and that really blessed me .  Look, did you think Madeline was European?  Are you sure ?  I seem to be contemplating something here…think happy thoughts Joe !  We visited a school and they allowed us to sit in on some of the classes…the principle was very gracious to us as were the teachers…one of whom was a visiting teacher from America .  There were many times on the way home it was tempting to pick a flower or two but we behaved ourselves .  More students in such cute uniforms .  The last picture of the day is this nest with chicks that were likely about to fly the coop …they’re pretty darn cute don’t you think?  Have a blessed rest of the week my friends!

PS, I don't think anyone ever checks out my front page with the music so I'll put this here should you be interested...I don't like everything from this band but this song is getting a lot of time on my i-pod these days .