Bin With a Mission

Rubbish Bin aka Trash Can


Seen outside a nearby convenience store: behold, a trash can ("bin" to Brits) with a mission to save the earth.
Well, actually, we trash-tossers are being exhorted to save the earth.
Does recycling save more energy than it takes? Debatable and debated question.
God wants us to take care of the earth. I mean, He's given us only one, so we'd better. What is interesting is that , although many say they are doing their best to recycle, no one is too keen on cutting back on consumption, which is the most effective way to reduce the pressure we are putting on our only home in time/space.
Fortunately, there is a more permanent home promised to us, through the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; an eternal home in Heaven. In the end this earth will be destroyed and made anew.
BUT- that's God's job, in God's time. In the meanwhile, let's be careful of the current one.

Artificial Airheadedness

Hats off to my nephew, Aaron Ghent, for his unsung role as projectionist at the English Worship Service in Itayanagi. Weekly he wrestles with the computer phenomenon to be known henceforth as "artificial airheadedness". Even as experts around the world strive to produce artificial intelligence, computers are proving their ability to mess up all on their own. Carefully prepared song lyrics on Power Points have a tendency to rearrange themselves onto the next page, automatically. Doubtless programers will hasten to assure me that the fault lies with the operator, but I can't help feeling that in the virtual world, as in the real one, it will prove much easier to get it wrong than to get it right.

Home Again

Maybe this blog should be called "snow fixation", or something. As we winged our way home from Chiba this morning, I looked out the window at the increasingly large patches of white below with increasing dread. Last week the Tokyo area was "snowed in" - 9 cm (3 1/2 inches); no kidding. I saw a guy across from where we were staying clearing snow with a BROOM. Sheesh.
Our associate John Orme was in Ajigasawa clearing snow for us for the 2 weeks we were away, so we had only a bit of tidying up to do when I got home- 2 hours. And we have to clear the rooves next week, or gamble on light snowfall for the next 2 months,or have faith in our 2 buildings to hold up more snow than I have seen since we built them 10 years ago.
Global warming, no doubt. Well, spring is coming. I love spring, and you can't have a meaningful spring without a meaningful winter, so this spring should be REALLY great. Unfortunately, we will be in Canada then. Presumably Canada will have spring this year, too, but having suffered the surplus all winter, I'd like to be here just to see it melt. Meanwhile we spend hours shifting all this white stuff that is just going to go away by itself eventually.

Setting Records

October 16 was my last post. Uh- is anyone still out there? So far, that's a record time lapse between posts for me.
We have had record snowfall in Ajigasawa this December, but that won't fly as an excuse, because this year I have a short-termer to help me, AND the old snowblower from the camp in Aomori.
Right now, I'm at a seminar in Chiba (near Tokyo) to prepare for our 3 month home assignment starting in April. Home assignment used to be called "furlough", but some of our jargon pundits thought that sounded too much like a holiday (which it is NOT), so we got a (typically ponderous) replacement name for it a few years ago. This term has been a record 6 years. It was supposed to be 3, but a lot of stuff has happened these past 6 years (4 college graduations, 3 weddings in 2 years, etc.), so we contented ourselves with a total of 4 short trips to North America in that time. I don't think that's a record, but it's close.
Our mother church in Goshogawara has been without a pastor for 9 years- anybody top that? We have a candidate for the post from April, and are hoping it will happen this time, because I'm preaching twice or 3 times every Sunday, and THAT'S a record I don't care to hold.
Records are interesting, but can be overdone. Last summer I saw a T-shirt that said "Second Place Is First Loser" Not a very good attitude for a "sportsman", in the traditional sense of the word. Striving for excellence is good, but not if it means you have your boot in the other guy's face.
However, I will try not to break my own length-of-silence record on this blog.


My Little Helpers