The Land of the Rising Sun

Some memories from 14 days spent by myself in the Land of the Rising Sun:

Japan is a beautiful land, full of lovely, heartfelt people. I stayed in an AirBnb in Tama-shi, West Tokyo, about 45-60 minutes from the busy Shinjuku station. It was part of my sabbatical (2 months graciously given me by Southbay as a time for rest and spiritual recharging). I had a few plans made ahead of time, but mostly I just wanted to be open to learning and where God would lead me. I was hoping to that God would be teaching me about Himself and what He is doing in Japan.

Spring in Japan is all about Sakura (cherry blossom) season. These beautiful blossoms represent not only a season but also the heart of the people. During the short sakura season, you find it everywhere. Everyone is talking about them and what stage they are at, every store is selling something made with sakura, and they decorate every train station or main attraction. And they truly are “sugoi” (incredible) when they are in full-bloom. I got to experience Hanami (picnicking under the sakura) and an afternoon walking tour around the neighborhood and down by the river with my AirBnb hosts under the shade of these ethereal blossoms.

Later, we spent some time in a park (famous location from Whisper of the Heart, screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki) with the wind blowing the blossoms all around us.

Famous location of the library from Whisper of the Heart

Hanami with Satoshi-san and Hitomi-san

Besides that, here are some other memories that I will cherish:

• Sitting at my low table listening to the 5:00pm "Go home, children" music that they play everyday, while studying Japanese and playing ukulele 
• Eating lunch with a graduate who found God in college, and hearing her speak of the beautiful story He has woven in her life 
• Foot-bathing (ashiyu) at Kosatsu Hot Springs (a famous onsen supposed to cure every sickness but love sickness!) 

Famous Kosatsu Onsen

• Eating home-cooked kakina (“the taste of spring”) with Moeka and smelling the sunny spring air through the open door at her family’s office 
• Stopping under the glorious sakura garden in the mountains next to a train embankment over a rushing stream 

With Moeka and her mother in the sakura park

• The sakura “snowing” (hanafubuki) all around me after church on Easter Sunday 

A rare whole blossom fallen amid the "snow" 

• Long rambles and chasing the sunset in Tama-shi (I never got a full view of it) 

The Parthenon in Tama Center

• Buying my first ice cream and communicating in half-Japanese, half-English with the convenience store cashier

And here are a few more pictures:

Dinner at an old-style soba restaurant

My first taste of oden

Stirring the waters (Yumomi) at Kosatsu

Jamming to "Country Roads" at the home of Satoshi-san and Hitomi-san

Night-time sakura (yozakura) down by Keiō Tama-Center station 

Speaking Japanese:
I studied Japanese before I left, and everyday during those two weeks, but found it really hard to actually use what I’d learned beyond a super basic level. Here are the words I actually used daily:

• Excuse me 
• Thank you 
• Do you speak English? 
• Can I use a credit card? 
• Do you have __________? 
• Where is _________?

The hardest things were:

• Being lonely for my family and remembering that God is caring for them so I don't need to worry 
• Understanding supermarkets 
• Being scared of running out of battery (phone or wifi) when far from my apartment 
• Finding an unobstructed view of the sunset 
• Not being able to eat anywhere I want when I’m starving (Japanese people sit down to eat, and don't eat on public transportation. Sometimes finding a bench is harder than you would think!)

Along with those, here are some other things I learned about:

• Caffeine free (カフェインゼロ) tea 
• Hamburg 
• How to use sumimasen (すみません) for everything (excuse me, sorry, thank you, I’m ready to order) 
• Proper train etiquette (This is totally a thing; they even have pamphlets in the airport express explaining this) 
• That lots of people don’t speak English at all (esp out of central Tokyo) so I had to be really brave and make a fool of myself lots of times 
• What cashiers are saying to when you try to pay? (Do you have a point card? Do you want a bag? One payment or two? Do you need chopsticks?) 
• I can get tired of convenience store onigiri! (I actually craved Chinese food) 
• How happy I can be to see a Seven Eleven

Overall, it was really a journey of self-discovery as much as God-discovery. I was reminded who I am and what I love doing, as opposed to what I mostly do for others. 2 weeks of not forcing myself to get up for others and cook, clean or run errands for others, and mostly feeling the permission to do things on my own schedule were wonderful. But I also was reminded of the gift of my family that God has given me, and the stage of life that I’m in now. Thank God for his gift, and for showing me how and where He is working in Japan.

Rats in the Cellar

Awhile ago, I subscribed to get a daily devotional email from Bible Gateway. I'm not very good with reading daily emails (although I get far too many "dailies" in my junk email inbox from Cost Plus, Max Studio, and Joanne's Fabrics, just to name a few).

But the C.S. Lewis one is different. Almost every day, I feel a sense of excitement and anticipation when I open this email. His words, whether quotes from the beloved Narnia series, words of wisdom from Mere Christianity, or his heartfelt musings on pain after the death of his wife, all challenge and renew my faith.

Here's my email from a few days ago:

"We begin to notice, besides our particular sinful acts, our sinfulness; begin to be alarmed not only about what we do, but about what we are. This may sound rather difficult, so I will try to make it clear from my own case. When I come to my evening prayers and try to reckon up the sins of the day, nine times out of ten the most obvious one is some sin against charity; I have sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed. And the excuse that immediately springs to my mind is that the provocation was so sudden and unexpected; I was caught off my guard, I had not time to collect myself. Now that may be an extenuating circumstance as regards those particular acts: they would obviously be worse if they had been deliberate and premeditated. On the other hand, surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light." ~ C.S. Lewis (from Mere Christianity)

Growing up, I had a fairly high opinion of myself. I knew I was a Christian, and I also knew that I was free of some of the more obviously egregious (to teenagers) sins such as murder, pre-marital sex and drug use. In my eyes, this made me pretty good with God. Sure, when friends asked, "You're so good, you don't have any sins," I would modestly explain that I still struggled with pride, gossip or fights with my parents, but even I didn't really believe those sins were that bad. (Nor was I struggling that hard.) In fact, in high school, I adopted the nickname "Angelchild" that one of my friends had given me, and continued to take pride in how pure and like and angel I was.

It's funny growing up in the church. I think that many who come to know Christ later in life have a more realistic view of just how terribly depraved we all really are without Jesus. But for those of us who grew up basically following the rules, we may not get a true picture of the blackness of sin until we grow older - and then only if we are truly honest and allow God to reveal it to us. As the years have passed, I have seen myself more and more 'in the light' - I've realized how often I have "sulked or snapped or sneered or snubbed or stormed." And, while it might be more comforting to believe that I am safe from the truly terrible sins others struggle with, that in itself is a lie from the enemy, trying to deceive me that I am alright, that I don't really need a Savior.

But those rats keep on hiding in the cellars of our souls. And it is these rats in the cellar (or if you want to be more practical, cockroaches in our church storage room), that really keep me from holiness - not the obvious sins which everyone else would judge me for. The only way to catch and kill the vermin is to continually come to Jesus in honesty and humility and confess my sin. And He will continue the purification process in me which started at my conversion.

No, I'm not an Angelchild. But I am a child of God, and hopefully one day I will look like Him.

How was your day?

How was your day?

Some years ago, I learned the power of these simple words... from one of my youth. I would meet her after school and we'd chat about everything from boys to God. Unlike many of the teens I encounter, she wouldn't just talk about herself, she wanted to know what was going on with me. 

"So, how was your day?" she'd ask conversationally, her arms full of school projects. "By the way, thanks for picking me up."

It was refreshing. A sudden open invitation to say whatever I wanted to about my day and know that someone was listening and interested. And since knowing her, I have used those words many times -- in my marriage, with my youth kids (you usually have to be more specific with them else they will just say "fine") and with friends. I find them amazingly disarming. They imply a level of care that most people are not used to hearing in their busy lives. People are even more willing to open up and share when you follow them up their response with, "Oh yeah, how do you feel about that?"

Try them sometime. You might be surprised how the simple words open up a pathway for friendship and conversation. 

Reflections for the New Year

It's always the same - the year draws to a close, and suddenly, you are conscious of how little you've achieved this year, or how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. For some, there may be a sense of optimism that the new year will turn out differently, but deep down, you wonder if anything will really change. Am I even capable of change? I ask myself frequently, the older I get. 

Actually, I gave up making New Year's Resolutions a long time ago. The last one I can remember was to learn to play gospel keyboard. That must have been nearly 10 years ago, and I know I'm no closer than before. But each year, there are the faint hopes that I will actually use my gym membership, clean out my filing cabinet, take care of those pesky financial decisions I've been putting off... and change my maiden name.

Well, I may have given up on Resolutions, but something I value more and more is the chance to pray and reflect over the past year. I always discover something about myself and God's work in my life. One year, I kept my reflection sheet in my wallet all year, and it helped me stick to the desires I had to improve my relationships whom I had listed.

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to lead our student leadership team in a similar reflection time. It was following the end of a hard school semester and emotions ran high. But having the chance to share hopes and disappointments is a special part of Christian community and the discussion brought us closer.

I'd like to share the reflection questions, in hopes that you too can allow God to speak to you about your past year.

1. Take your time listing out every major memory/experience you had in 2013. (I used my Google planner/Facebook to help me with these)

2. a) What were some themes from your year? Or another way to put it: What did you spend a lot of time thinking about?
b) What actions did you take as a result of these thoughts?

3. a) What is something good you did this year?
b) What is something bad you did this year? ("good" and "bad" are subjective, not moral or legal terms)

4. What relationship in your life would you like to change? What would you like it to look like? What steps do you need to take to help it get there? 

5. a) How have your parents disappointed you? (you could use other family members/spouse instead)
b) How have you disappointed your parents?

6. a) How has God disappointed you?
b) How have you disappointed God?

7. Spend some time to share some of your thoughts with your community and pray for one another. 

Merry Christmas! - Great Joy to All People

Merry Christmas!

It's been good to have a few days off this week. Our music studio is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I took some extra days off at church, so I haven't been spending much time with anyone except family.

In fact, I think the only non-family interactions I had with in the last 2 days were service-people from the various stores I visited to shop for last-minute gifts. I always have to think at the end, whether I should say, "Have a good day!" or "Merry Christmas!" I mean, so many people are afraid of not being politically correct (myself included, unfortunately) that I always assume that others will avoid the "C"- word.

Actually, this year, I was pleasantly surprised. Seems like every cashier or worker wished me a Merry Christmas before I even said anything. It heartened me to continue on wishing people Merry Christmas whether they celebrate it or not, because, Christmas IS a big deal, to all, whether they believe that or not.

The angel of the Lord told the shepherds,

"I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, 

the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"

Luke 2:10-11

Great joy to all people is hard to believe because there are so many people who don't find joy in even the concept of a Christmas which centers on Santa Claus and gift-giving, let alone a Christmas whose real meaning is God coming to earth to save mankind. It's hard to believe even for Christians... our hearts are so jaded and filled with trash during this season: greed for more stuff, materialism, addictions or over-indulgences, frustrations in our family relationships, self-loathing or desire to impress others... 

I've been forgetting to keep Jesus the Savior as my central focus and thus struggling with some of these this week. When that happens, I even lose enjoyment in the good things (like time spent with loved ones, beautiful lights on my tree, and homemade raspberry crumble bars) since I become so obsessed with the "trash". 

Well... there's no secret formula to put things back in perspective. No self-help book, no guru advice needed. All I really need to do is resolutely fix my eyes on Jesus (thereby taking my eyes off the trash), and slowly but surely I get the attitude pick-up that I need. And then the joy in the good things comes back. 

Try taking out the trash with me: turn off the TV, stop complaining or thinking bad thoughts about that family member, put down the extra cookie or beer, bite your tongue before issuing a cutting retort. And instead, we'll spend some time singing a worship song or maybe re-reading a part of the Christmas story in Luke. Combine it with an honest prayer of confession. And in the end, we will find our hearts start to be cleaned from the unrest and all the garbage.

The angel's words "great joy to all people" referred to God's ultimate plan to save the world from sin. But that starts in each of our own lives as we turn to him and ask him for that joy, giving up the dingy and battered hearts which we already own and to which we cling so stubbornly. For us, it might be a constant battle, but deep down, we know that God has already won it for us. Great joy is ours for the taking... we just have to keep reaching to Him for it. 

Hostess: The first face we see

As part of my job, I design the flow of our worship service, including scheduling everyone involved. One of the very important jobs is person who introduces the service, or in non-church terms, the MC. At Southbay, we call them Hostesses - we've chosen to have mainly women fill this role, since we mostly have men preaching and it's nice to see a variety of faces up there.

Recently, one of our hostesses brought up some good questions which really made me think through the "whys" and "hows" behind hosting. Here are some of my answers to those questions... feel free to add your thoughts.


1. What's the real purpose of hosting for Sunday Worship?

The purpose is to create a clear "flow" so that the congregation and newcomers will understand what is happening next. Also, as a hostess, you are the "face" of the church. Most people feel they cannot relate to a pastor, but they see an ordinary person up there being warm, friendly and welcoming them and they get a feel for how our church is.


2. Are there any techniques you recommend to begin the worship? 

To begin the worship, the purpose of the host should be to gather people's attention and focus it on God (aka "call to worship")

I have seen some different techniques from hosts that I think are helpful in different ways. For example, reading a very short Scriptural "call to worship" (For example, Psalm (95:1, 95:2 or 95:6, Psalm 66:1, etc.)
OR
Relating to some current event (say we are in mourning for something or happy about something)
OR
Relating to today's theme. For example, our current sermon series is on Hope. You could say something like, "Good morning everyone. In this month's sermon series, we have been hearing about the Hope that Jesus gives us. Let's stand and worship Him, and remind our hearts to be hopeful." Something like that.

Just from a Google search, I found an eHowarticle with some helpful tips at the end (from an unnamed eHow contributor):

Greet the congregation with a smile and a confident movement toward worship rather than a bland 'Good morning.' The first words should be more than casual greetings...this is a worship service.

Project your voice with breath support from the diaphragm and speak with a smile.

Raise the arms and turn up the palms in a welcoming gesture during your last sentence of invitation to worship.

Calls to worship are not long affairs. Avoid the long winded introduction.

If you are reading a call to worship avoid the reading voice with its downturned towns and predictable rhythms. Practice reading the call to worship well enough that it lives and breathes.

Don't think you can avoid the call to worship. Whatever is spoken first (outside of song) in a service is the call to worship. So craft it well.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5359076_perform-call-worship.html#ixzz2lhv6ybbB


3. What are some ways to welcome newcomers without asking them to stand up to make them feel uncomfortable?

As a background, we don't have newcomers stand up in our congregation. Too often, that makes people feel like there's a lot of unwanted attention. But we do have a greeting time part-way through the service and many hostesses encourage people to talk with those they don't know. 

Also as a host, you can invite newcomers to our post-service snack/mingle time, saying something like, "If you are new this Sunday, we would love to get to know you, and the best time for that is to join us upstairs for food and conversation right after service."

Please feel free to add your own ideas.

Have a great Thanksgiving week!

God on our side

The Psalms are full of quotes about having The Lord on our side. Now, I'm sure that imagery means a lot to those who are actually fighting a war...  but what about those of us who are civilians and whose Great Challenges consist of fighting a stubborn zit, or trying to hold our tongues when someone says something that makes us bristle?

A few weeks ago, I was lying in bed, trying to shake a bout of sickness. It was in this state of forced reflection and stillness that I have been reminded of the Enemy we all face - and the great Grace of God who is on our side.

That day, I had planned two appointments to meet with youth. Then I got sick. Not the type of sick where you sniffle a bit, but don't notice most of the time. It was the full-out lying-on-your-back-in-bed-because-else-you'll-have-a-splitting-headache type. Instead of calling up the kids to cancel like I should have done, I instead planned to suffer through it, martyr-like. It's my own twisted sense of reasoning: I hate it when people cancel on me, so I never want to be the one who cancels on someone else.

Well, that's when God stepped in. I checked my Facebook to confirm plans to meet up with the first one - and found she had cancelled due to other school plans. Normally this would have made me frustrated, but I gratefully accepted it this time.

Then, around 12pm, I received a phone call from the other one, calling on his lunch break: Hello. Do you still want to meet up today or do it another day?

For a split second, I thought about keeping stubbornly to our previous plans, like a soldier who has been dismissed but doggedly stays at his post. Then, common sense won out.

Me: Um, actually, I'm really sick right now. Can we meet up next week?

He readily agreed, and God's Grace won out over my stubborn pride.

See, the Enemy doesn't always show up in obviously evil ways such as child prostitution or bullying. Most often, we encounter sin's temptation in the self-sufficient attitude or the snarky remarks we make to loved ones. These are the battles we all face everyday. And The Lord is on our side. He is there whispering a gentle reminder to hold our tongues, or giving us a way to remain patient under criticism, or, in my case, providing a way that I didn't have to let anyone down by cancelling appointments, but still enabling me to get the rest I needed. Small things that could be coincidences... but then again... maybe they aren't.

Let's all look for ways that He is on our side today.

I'm Sorry

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to graciously forgive someone when they have already said those magic words: "I'm sorry"?

Recently, I had a humbling interaction with a client. She let me know late that her daughter would not be attending an event which we had be preparing for over the past six weeks. I sent back a rather severe email letting her know that she should have informed me earlier.

After sending the email, I had a fit of conscience. That is, God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me that I should have been nicer. I regretted using such a strong reprimand, but since the email had already been sent I couldn't do much about it.

Later that day, I received a reply. The woman began her email, "I'm really sorry about the poor communication on my side." She went on to say that her mother had been sick all year and that she had not been able to commit to anything else since she was spending all her time taking care of her mom.

Imagine what a jerk I felt when I read that. She not only took responsibility, but she had a very good excuse for her actions which entreated my compassion. I sent her back a very gracious reply, letting her know that it was okay, that I understood, that I should have confirmed with her earlier, and I wound up saying that I would pray for her and her mother.

But as I stepped away from the computer, I was very disturbed to examine my heart. Yes, I had quickly forgiven this woman after she had admitted her fault and offered to make amends. But it was her apology which had made me feel like I could be magnanimous. I felt like the Royal Ruler who had been Justly Offended, and she was the Poor Serf kneeling before me in abject humiliation - it was easy to forgive her, with a wave of my lordly hand!

But what if she had been defensive, blaming me instead for the poor communication? Would I then have pushed away the guilt I felt for treating her somewhat harshly? Would I have been able to admit my own poor communication? I'm not sure, and I'm glad I didn't have to find out. But it wasn't a pretty sight to look deep into my own motives and realize that they're not always as pure as I would like to believe.

Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 

I just finished watching The Bible series on the History channel. Great series. It summarizes the stories of the whole Bible into a few hours. But what I appreciated most was seeing the story of Jesus come to life. Finally I had a picture of what Isaiah meant when he said about Jesus: "He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief..." (Isaiah 53:3). In the last moments of His life, Jesus asked His Father to forgive those who had mocked him, spit on him, crucified him. Even though they had never admitted their guilt or shown any remorse.

I find it really hard to wrap my mind that kind of love. A totally selfless love which does not receive and yet keeps on giving itself totally. And yet it seems to me that if I could let go of needing to hear others' contrition, I might be able to feel a little more remorse myself. Then I would truly understand what my salvation cost my Lord.

Oh Lord. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Even when they don't say, "I'm sorry."

How teens show love

I got my first job as Youth Director in 2010. Before that, I was a youth counselor, youth intern, whatever you want to call it. No one really cared what my title was; all it meant was that I hadn't graduated seminary yet. When I became a Youth Director, suddenly, it felt like a big deal.

The most noticeably cushy part of the job, admittedly, was the big shiny gold nameplate by my office door:

My Name

Youth Director

For the first few weeks, it felt good to walk past my door and glance at it. Surely, such an imposing nameplate meant that I was a Very Important Person, a person of whom to Take Note, a person whom all the youth would assuredly Respect and Love. 

Until one day. 

It was late on a Sunday afternoon. I had been doing some work at my desk after church, and the youth had been playing around outside the office door. I knew they were probably up to something, but I've learned sometimes it's better to pretend to be deaf if you don't want to be disturbed. I finally wrapped up and went outside. The kids had long finished and gone downstairs, and as I turned to shut and lock my door, I glanced as a matter of habit, at my precious nameplate. 

Only now, it didn't read "Youth Director." It read:

Youth Dictator

All my carefully-built illusions of being a Very Important Person came crashing down in an instant. I wasn't a hero, a beloved leader to my subjects... I didn't inspire Respect and Love. I didn't have their undivided admiration. In that moment, I saw myself how they saw me: a dictator. Sigh. 

*   *   *

Well, the dictator thing went dormant for awhile. But dormant doesn't mean dead. The following year, on Counselor Appreciation Day, they made me a big red flag with a yellow Communist symbol on it. They hung it up on the youth room (I must remember to take that down before newcomers doubt the affiliation of our church).

This past summer, we went on a week-long mission trip to Idaho. During the first day on the road, we stopped to relax at a river, and most of the kids went wading and swimming. I remember asking one of my co-leaders, "Am I being too strict?" (This was after forbidding them to cliff-dive and, incidentally, right before one of them sliced her foot open in the river). "Nooo..." he replied hesitantly, "You're just... protective..." 

Well, I tried to lighten up a bit after that, but it was no use. Shortly afterward on the trip, I somehow acquired the nickname: Mama Stalin. And groan as I might, it stuck.

*   *   *

Fast-forward to a few weeks ago. My commissioning ceremony as a youth minister, a very big and exciting deal in my professional life. My parents were there, my in-laws were there, and several of my good friends came to cheer and support me. It was a very special ceremony and I felt loved and cared for. After the service, we were getting ready to be seated at the luncheon, when my beloved kids come up and present me with this:

[picture of the whole board]

[zoom in on tasks for the day]

Ah well. Nothing like kids for taking you down a peg or two. And looking at that noticeboard, I finally shrugged and gave up. I was fighting the nickname because I didn't want to be seen as ridiculous. But I finally realized... the very fact that I'd been given the nickname meant they loved me. I just needed to learn to recognize it as love. 

*   *   *

I was reminded once more this past week. Wanting to show my student leaders how much I care about them, I mailed them some encouragement notes. On Friday, at youth group, one of them approached me. 

Student: Hey Joni, guess what?

Me: What?

Student: Today, my mom told me to go outside and get the mail. Then, just as I did, I saw a big guy open our mailbox and grab it all! I thought about chasing him, but I saw how big he was and decided against it. 

Me: Hm, sorry, that sucks. 

Student: Well, Joni. I did see there was this blue envelope sticking out of the pile... too bad that guy stole all our mail. I hope it wasn't anything IMPORTANT.

Me: (finally catching on) Ohh... yeah, no... probably not. :)

You learn not to fight back. Just smile and say, "You're welcome." 

Because, in their language, that's their way of saying thanks. 

The Tenants

There's an interesting thing about God's Word. It was written to tell God's story, but though many of the events have already happened, God still uses it to speak to us today.

I recently re-read The Parable of the Tenants from Matthew 21:33-46. It's an engaging story which tells of the man who rented out his vineyard to some tenants. When it came time to harvest the grapes, he sent messengers to ask the tenants for his share of the crop. But they refused to give him the fruit and beat and killed all his messengers. The owner only had one way to gain control of his vineyard. He sent his own son, since who could disrespect the man's son himself? But the tenants said to one another, "Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance." So they killed even the owner's son. Enraged, the owner came and avenged his son and rented his vineyard to other tenants who would give him his rightful share at harvest time.

The context and meaning of the story is pretty clear. Jesus is indicting the religious people of the time who failed to produce spiritual fruit -- they failed to worship God and offer up their lives to him, instead planning to kill God's own son. Jesus was saying that God would cut off all the religious people who thought they were his children and instead welcome newcomers into his family.

But how about this passage's application to us today?

I grew up in church, going to Sunday School every week. I knew all the books of the Bible in order, and if you asked me about any character in the Bible, I could tell you his or her story. I knew who Jesus was and why he came to earth and died. But in a sense, I was just like these tenants of the vineyard. I was lazy. I wanted the inheritance of "getting into heaven" but I didn't want to do the hard work of producing fruit in my life. Though I claimed to worship God's Son Jesus, did I recognize him when he came into my life and wanted to change me? Though I claimed to be a Jesus-follower, I was probably more like the religious people whom he condemned.

Jesus says that "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

Do we Christians think enough about the opportunity that we already have to be God's children? Or do we take it for granted? Are we excited about talking to Jesus, learning from him, growing to be more like him? Or do we just go through the motions that we have come to know and be comfortable with: going to church, saying the right words, pretending that we read the Bible and pray...?

I have teens in my youth group who look just like I did as a teenager: going through the motions, so sure of heaven that they don't think about how they will serve God on earth. But I also have teens who realize what an amazing opportunity God has given them; they are excited, they are searching for God, they are grabbing for any opportunity possible to know more about him, and it is these students who will really experience God working in them in a personal way.

And you...? Which one are you? Are you the old tenant who gets thrown out of the vineyard or will you be the one who will produce fruit?

I love my job

I'm fortunate enough to love my job. Both my jobs. Most people can't say that.

As a youth minister, I love watching teenagers fall more in love with Jesus and find their own faith and desire to serve him. I am always delighted at that moment when they do or say something which makes me know that Jesus is becoming real for them and they're excited about him.

Also, as a singer and teacher of singing, I get the joy of watching students develop their voices and grow more confident about themselves in the process.

Mondays are my day off, a little time to rest and unwind before the week starts afresh. Here are some of the thoughts that go through my head on Mondays and all the week after that...