雪のように白い

 

雪のように白い

冬です。私は冬が好きです。寒いです。でも、私は火にのためにありがたいです。  この朝、私は窓を見た。雪が見えます！ブーツを履きました。セーターを履きました。コートを着ました。外に出ました。雪を見た！地面は白です。木は白いです。雪が好きです。それは美しいです。それは清潔です。それは私に神について考えるします。私は悪いです。でも、神は許します。私の心は黒いです。彼はそれを白します。雪のように白い。神、許してくれてありがとうございます。神、雪ありがとうございます。

[Pronunciation]

Yuki no yō ni shiroi

Fuyu desu. Watashi wa fuyu ga sukidesu. Samui desu. Demo, watashi wa hi no tame ni arigatai desu. Kono asa, watashi wa mado o mita. Yuki ga miemasu! Būtsu o hakimashita. Sētā o hakimashita. Kōto o kimashita. Soto ni demashita. Yuki o mita! Jimen wa shirodesu. Ki wa shiroidesu. Yuki ga sukidesu. Sore wa utsukushī desu. Sore wa seiketsu desu. Sore wa watashi ni kami ni tsuite kangaeru shimasu. Watashi wa waruidesu. Demo, Kami wa yurushimasu. Watashi no kokoro wa kuroidesu. Kare wa sore o shiro shimasu. Yuki no yō ni shiroi. Kamisama, yuki arigatōgozaimasu. Kami, yurushite kurete arigatōgozaimasu. Kamisama, yuki arigatōgozaimasu.

[English]

White as Snow

It is Winter. I like Winter. It is cold. But, I am thankful for the fire. This morning, I look out the window. I saw snow! I put on boots. I put on a sweater. I put on a coat. I went outside. There is snow! The ground is white. The trees are white. I love snow. It is beautiful. It is clean. It makes me think of God. I am bad. But, God forgives. My heart is black. He makes it white. White as snow. God loves me! I love God! God, thank you for snow!

[New Japanese words/concepts]

ありがたい - arigatai - thankful

ブーツ - Būtsu - boots (note: boots, sweater, and coat written in katakana because they are English words. They aren't part of traditional Japanese dress because many places in Japan don't get much snow--except the mountains of course, where skiing is very popular today! :-) 

セーター - Sētā - sweater

コート - Kōto - coat

履く- haku - To wear/put on (past is hakimashita)

出る - deru - to exit/go out (past is demashita)

地面 - Jimen - the ground

清潔 -  seiketsu - clean/pure

考える - kangaeru - to think

許す - yurusu - to forgive (another form is "yurushite kurete", or "forgiving"--I still need to figure out the "-te" form of verbs)

心 -  kokoro - heart (as in mind, heart, spirit)

~ ~ ~

The Encounter (the lesson)

Snow is so fleeting. We don't get snow very much where I live, so it is always a highlight for me. Something to look forward to that brings some beauty to the cold, wet, Winter. I'm so glad God created snow! It is so beautiful! These are some of the thoughts I had this morning when I woke up to find a lovely blanket of snow on everything outside! And yet, by the time I got home from work... it was all melted away. But I think it is because it comes and goes so quickly, so silently, that I am so grateful for it. It reminds me again to focus on what I can appreciate and learn from every moment--every encounter--in life. 

Just as in many places in Japan, the nation of Israel (where much of the history recorded in the Bible took place) doesn't get a lot of snow. But today God brought to my mind some of the few verses that mention snow...

Job 38:22 "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,"

~ Snow truly is a treasure! Every single snowflake is different--showing the infinite imagination of their designer, God. And yet the most beautiful snowflake can melt in a moment. This makes it hard for us to study them. Even if we could, the best scientists and engineers couldn't possibly come up with or even duplicate so many intricate patterns! This is what God reminds Job of with his rhetorical question "hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow"? In other words, God's understanding was infinitely beyond Jobs in understanding. Which was important, considering his situation (read the book of Job)!

Proverbs 31:21 "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet."

~ When I saw the snow on the lawn this morning, I didn't worry about whether my family would freeze today. I'm thankful that God has blessed us with a roof over our head, firewood to heat the house, and blankets and warm clothes to keep us warm. I say GOD provided these things--which He did!--but He uses people to bring His blessings about. For example, He provided me with a job so that I can pay the rent, He provided me with friends who shared their firewood with us, and He provided me with a mother who took the time to teach me skills such as how to spend money wisely, shop at the right stores, and sew or knit clothes and blankets for my family! This verse reminds me that I can be a "virtuous woman" (Proverbs 31:10) by putting the blessings God sends my way to use so that I can care for my loved ones. 

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

~ I love this promise! God is not an angry tyrant who cannot be reasoned with. He is a loving Father, always ready to hear from us if we will go to Him in prayer! As an analogy, this verse describes our sins as being the color red (scarlet or crimson). Red like blood. It reminds us of the blood that Jesus shed for us when He died on the cross to take the punishment we deserved for our sins. When we ask for His forgiveness, He takes those blood-red sins and washes them "white as snow"! In other words, He wipes our record clean, as though we had never sinned. If you have asked Jesus to save you (as I did as a 7-year-old girl), then when God looks at your record... He doesn't see any of the bad things you've done. He sees a clean slate. White as snow!

助かります！

助かります！ 

私は7歳でした。私は教会にいました。教会が好きです。聖書物語は楽しいです！でも、それらはただの物語です。ある日...教師が質問を聞きました。「あなたは助けましたいましたか？」私は何を知りましたか？私は悪いです。神は良いです。イエスは死にました。 イエスは再び生きました。それらの物語 は知りました。 私は何を知る必要がありましたか？イエスは私のために死にました。私はイエスに私を聞くに助ける必要があります。私は先生と一緒に 祈りました。今、助かります！神、ありがとうございます！

[Pronunciation]

Tasukarimasu! 

Watashi wa shichi-sai deshita. Watashi wa kyōkai ni imashita. Kyōkai ga sukidesu. Seisho monogatari wa tanoshī desu! Demo, sorera wa tada no monogataridesu. Aru hi... Kyōshi ga shitsumon o shimashita. "Anata wa tasukemashita imashita ka?" Watashi wa nani o shirimashita ka? Watashi wa waruidesu. Kami wa yoidesu. Iesu wa shinimashita. Iesu wa futatabi ikimashita. Sorera no monogatari wa shirimashita. Watashi wa nani o shiru hitsuyō ga arimashita ka? Iesu wa watashi no tame ni shinimashita. Watashi wa iesu ni watashi o tasukeru ni kiku hitsuyō ga arimasu. Watashi wa sensei to issho ni inorimashita. Ima, tasukarimasu! Kami, arigatōgozaimasu!

[English]

I am saved!

I was seven years old. I was at church. I like church. Bible stories are fun! But they were just stories. One day... the teacher asked a question. "Are you saved?" What did I know? I am bad. God is good. Jesus died. Jesus lived again. I knew the stories. What did I need to do?  Jesus died for me. I need to ask Jesus to save me. I prayed with the teacher. Now I am saved! Thank you God!

[New Japanese words/concepts I learned writing this]

歳 - sai - counter for years of age

いました - imashita - past tense of the verb "imasu" (to be)

物語 - Monogatari - stories

それら - sorera - "they" used for inanimate objects, while "karera" is for people

聞く - kiku - means "to listen", but more often is used to mean "to ask" (past is kikimashita)

助ける - Tasukeru - "to save" (past is tasukemashita)

知る- Shiru - "to know" (past is shirimashita) [still need to study -te form of verbs... should it be "shitte imashita"?]

死ぬ - Shinu - to die (past is shinimashita)

再び - again [put before the verb that was done again]

必要 - hitsuyō - need

のために - no tame ni - this phrase means "for", as in "for the sake of"

~ ~ ~

One of the most important verses in the Bible is John 3:16. It sums up the Gospel in a nutshell and explains how to be saved. That means to have God forgive your sins and save your soul from the penalty of your sin, which is death. From reading Romans 3:23 we are reminded that "all have sinned." That means we have all done bad things. Because of that disobedience to the laws God made for His Creation (for their own protection!), we find that the punishment of those sins is separation from God and His people by death. Not just the death of our bodies, but an eternal separation from God in a place called Hell. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death." "But" that verse goes on to say "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"! That's the good news! Because in Romans 5:8 we find that God loves us SO much, that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, gave up His own life and was crucified (hung on a cross--a very cruel form of execution devised by the Romans) over 2,000 years ago. He died for every single soul that will ever live on this earth. He died for YOU and ME. He died in our place, so that we don't have to! He paid for our sins so that we can be forgiven and allowed into Heaven when our souls leave this world! And the best part is that Jesus rose to life again three days after His death, to prove to all the world that He has power over death. Power over sin. Power over everything that would keep us from that abundant, eternal life with God in Heaven! That is why I was so excited the day I got saved! You see, this amazing gift of eternal life is offered to EVERY person He created. Whether we live in America, Japan, or the International Space Station! But God loves us SO much that He would never force a gift on us that we refuse to take. So He offers us a choice. Do nothing, ignore God's gift, and die with no hope of getting into heaven. OR we can choose to simply accept His gift! How do we do that? Simply talk to God in prayer and let Him know that we want to ask forgiveness for our sins, and want Him to save us from facing the punishment that we deserve for them because we believe that Jesus died for those sins. That's it! We may not feel any different afterwards (like when it happened to me), but we can claim His promise and KNOW that He DID save us! In Romans 10:13 He promised that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That is what it means to be saved! Acts 16:31, says "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Simply believe and ask to be saved! I did it when I was 7 years old. You can do it today! If you already have, remember and cherish that moment. 

Remember the Japanese saying "One Life, One Encounter"? We have one life to live here on earth. That short life is our one opportunity to ask Him to save our soul. The choice that we make--to reject or accept His gift--will determine where we will spend eternity! It only takes one encounter with Jesus to secure a place in heaven forever with Him! It is the work of a moment...one small prayer that is soon over. But that one moment; that one decision... is the most important encounter you will ever have in your life! Also, not only does Jesus want to take you to heaven, but your first encounter with Jesus is just the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Him that will make the rest of your life here on earth abundantly wonderful! 

So if you never read another verse from the Bible, at least learn this one verse and make it's truth a part of your life--for now and all of eternity! Here it is...

English: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

Japanese: 神はそのひとり子を賜わったほどに、この世を愛して下さった。それは御子を信じる者がひとりも滅びないで、永遠の命を得るためである。ヨハネ3:16

Kanji Used:

神 – God

子 – Son / Child

賜 – Give

世 – World

愛 – Love

御子 – God’s Son

信 – Faith

者 – Person / Someone of that nature

滅びる – To perish / die / be destroyed

永遠 – Eternity

命 – Life

得 – To profit or to gain.

Japanese translation of verse from https://languagelearningcouple.com/2015/07/08/bible-japanese-john-316-furigana-hiragana-bible/ 

一期一会

 

一期一会  or “One life, one encounter” is an old Japanese saying that basically means that every experience in life is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter and we should cherish each moment because we only get it once. 

I have always been fascinated by Japan and long to go there someday--partly because I have relatives who live there! So I have been attempting to teach myself Japanese for a while now, and I discovered that one of the best tools was to start keeping a journal. This started with very simple sentences...and hasn't progressed much beyond that. :-D  But I am getting a lot more comfortable with basic vocabulary and sentence structure! So I thought it might be fun to make a blog as another place where I can practice writing Japanese. While at first this will be just for me, I also thought that if anyone else does see this it may be some help in their journey of learning Japanese, as I will include new concepts as I learn them. [I know I will make lots of mistakes, so if anyone reading this knows Japanese...feel free to laugh or correct me.] But if nothing else, I hope or at least be of some encouragement to us all to remember the moments in our life that made a difference. 

I chose the name 一期一会 (pronounced "Ichi-go ichi-e​")  because I want to focus each post on describing a moment of my life. Particularly moments where I learned something or was able to apply something that I learned from reading a book (one of my favorite things to do), most important of which would be the Bible. Isaiah 55:8-11 says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." From that I learn that, even though God's understanding and ways are so much higher than ours we will never fully understand them... we can still learn His ways and live our life as He created us to! Full of enjoyment of the beautiful world He made and with a purpose more special than any high aspiration of men. How can we do this? Because God wrote everything down in His book! He recorded His thoughts in such a beautiful, descriptive, and caring way, as a father would teach His child. And with every word we read, He teaches us through His Holy Spirit that lives inside of every born-again Christian. And He promises that His Word will not return "void." That means that we will not read the Bible and be left empty. Unless we choose to. If we ignore it's truths we will walk away empty, or "void" of anything that could help us in our life. But He is there to help us take the truth of His words and make it a part of our daily lives! When I read the Bible with an open heart to let Him change me... then all of the sudden I see Him everywhere! In every moment, every little encounter, every simple household item, every flower, every raindrop... and every moment becomes special. Because as Jesus said in John 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 

So here I go! Ready to learn something new! An new language, to better appreciate the land, people, and culture of another part of this world God created. And every day a new lesson for how I can live my life more abundantly through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour! 

神のご加護がありますように kami no gokago ha arimasu youni (May God bless you!)