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LIJ Episode Lives Update

Being Happy

What things make you happy? When you landed the new job you wanted? When you moved into your dream house or when you got into the college that you wanted? Maybe you started that relationship with the person of your dreams? Or maybe you’re one of the lucky people out there who have won the lottery. Or you finally reached retirement. We as humans have a funny way of getting excited and happy about things that ironically cause us much heartache, stress and insomnia in the future.

A good job is a blessing, but even the best jobs will cause stress at some point. And even the best relationships have difficulties — a bad relationship is full of them. And sometimes the things that make us sad: a heart-wrenching breakup, losing a job or even just being quarantined, can actually end up being good for us in the end. Ironic, isn’t it?

My point is this: true happiness is not found in the circumstances of life. These things are fleeting moments that come and go — good moments and bad ones. True happiness is mental state of being thankful for the people and blessings already in our lives today. When you are thankful and content, you are happy.

This doesn’t mean you don’t long for better things in your life. Desiring these things is a powerful force to better yourself, but it means you don’t waste energy focusing on what life would be like if you had those things.

For example, today we all sat down and had lunch together: Ruth made her famous pizza! I was so happy! We talked about our dream house: a big place where we can have people over and each person has space for their things. A nice kitchen and garden for mommy and a nice studio for daddy. A big yard for the kids to play in and have a dog. They are already praying that God gives us the right place! But we don’t focus on what we don’t have. We are thankful for where we do live — we have a beautiful view, a great location, wonderful neighbors, a quite street, a nice little garden, and the list goes on.

Most of all, each and every person in our family knows the love of God personally. They know that not only do daddy and mommy love them, but most importantly God loves them and calls them his children. Do you know that? Knowing the love of the Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ is the key to having lasting, meaningful happiness (which we call joy) that goes beyond any circumstance. But you don’t have to wait until you’re a Christian to start becoming happy — you can become happier by just finding one thing in your life that you’re thankful for and start to thank Jesus for it. Just see what it does to your attitude. We call this worship, and it can change your life.

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LIJ Episode Lives Videos

TGIF

This Friday — Good Friday — marks our 50th episode of Life in Japan! It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the milestone of 50 episodes, but here we are, and what better way to celebrate than on Good Friday, the day we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross 2,000 years ago to restore our relationship with the Heavenly Father and bring us life, joy, peace and so many other blessings. We would not be the happy people we are today without God’s love, the love of Jesus, in us.

The message of Good Friday and Easter weekend is one that resounds throughout the ages, and it never loses its power. With everything in today’s world out of whack, only the power of God operating in us can bring things back together as they should be. Is your life perfect? Then you don’t need God. But if you’re like me, you realize that you are far from perfect. It’s not our strength that God is attracted to — it’s our weakness. Because when we realize we are weak, He is there to be strong for us. And in God, anything is possible. God bless you this Easter Weekend! May the love of God abound to you more and more.

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LIJ Episode Lives Videos

Amazing Kansai

When life serves you lemons, make lemonade. That’s exactly what we did with the shutdown of schools and many public areas and attractions here in Japan due to Corona virus. After the initial shutdown went into affect, the prices of hotels (especially in Kansai) dropped very low. While there was a lot of things understandably closed due to the virus, there were many things that were still open and safe under the proper precautions. So we ventured out on a surprise trip to Kansai to learn more about this beautiful country where we live.

Kansai is an area to the west south-west of Tokyo that is known for its bustling metropolis of Osaka, beautiful spaces of Nara where you can feed the deer, or the ancient city of Kyoto that’s full of history. Home to Nintendo, Universal Studios Japan and tons of historical Japanese historical buildings, Kansai is a must-visit place to visit in Japan if you want to learn all about this beautiful country. Although most spaces were closed, we were still able to see a lot in the few days we had. Enjoy the latest episode of Life in Japan.

Since our return from Kansai, America too has since clamped down hard to try to stop Corona in its tracks, taking further measures by closing restaurants and keeping people quarantined as much as possible. Meetings at larger than 10 people are highly discouraged. My father said he has never seen anything like it. Japan reacted a number of weeks earlier by cancelling schools and encouraging people to work from home as much as possible. In the case of Japan, we are still able to get together and travel, but everything is done with health in mind. Our meetings are being live-streamed and done online. Another advantage in Japan is that there is a minimal amount of physical contact (shaking hands, hugging and kissing are not social norms). Our prayers are with all of the people and countries fighting a common enemy so that life can move on.

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LIJ Episode Lives Videos

Hope Blossoms

One of my favorite parts of living in Japan is how the Plum Blossoms announce the imminent arrival of spring each and every winter. It doesn’t matter how cold, long or full of viruses the winter is — spring is always around the corner. This year we are especially grateful for this reminder, as we can use all the help we can get to see Corona virus put in check and things be able to go back to normal. Are you thankful for the arrival of Spring this year? Enjoy the latest episode of Life in Japan.

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LIJ Episode Lives Videos

Corona Scare

Late last evening the news came out: Prime Minister Abe asked for the shutdown of all public schools up until the new school year (beginning of April). Up until now Japan was on alert regarding the Corona virus. The news called for much more concern everywhere. Lines for stores backed up before opening hours. Toilet paper, soap and masks were all sold out. The governor of the norther prefecture of Hokkaido asked all residents to stay indoors this weekend. It’s serious.

This morning as we told the girls they may not be finishing their 4th grade year, they were anything but sad. For kids who don’t know better, it’s like a vacation in March, usually one of the busiest times of the year.

With the olympics coming up, this may be a good decision for the health of all of the kids here in Japan. The travelers quarantined on the Diamond Princess for several days have since been released and let back into society. These potential carriers of the virus have everyone on high alert for future signs of infections. The problem is that there is no easy way to get tested for Corona virus infection in Japan. The hospitals are not equipped to test everyone who wants to be tested. So the number of cases may be much higher than what is being reported for the simple fact that most people don’t have access to the test.

This weekend we are preparing our Paz Church services to be streamed online, so that people can watch from the confines of their own homes. I will be speaking about security and assurance in times of uncertainty, and if you’d like to join the livestream, visit us at https://paz.church/japan/.