Ok, so I am not a pro at blogging but at least I am trying. I am up pretty early this morning after eating too much black bean soup with an ungirth of rice. Yeah, I have been experimenting with beans and such that our friends (thank you Houston peoples) sent us for eatins.
Last night, I invited a Japanese friend and her baby to come over and try this soup. Happily, they accepted and even had a bowl of the dyeing Black Bean soup. [I say that because all the vegetables were completely black after I finished cooking the soup...still tasted good though]. Kei is quite adorable, I must say and if I had any idea how to post pics by myself, I would do it but I don't and he has grown so much since Thanksgiving, which is the last time we took good pics of him and his family. He turned 1 in January, I think. I like to watch him dance, walk and just about anything except cry at our Christmas lights...he doesn't like them! And I love his curly black hair and big beautiful eyes. K and T (his parents) must be really proud!
Other Blogs
Since I have been up so early, I thought I'd look at other peoples blogs a while just to see what they write about. It's really quite interesting actually to see what is going on in friends' and strangers' lives alike...they definitely write (mostly) about what they are passionate about. And they SEEM to be organized in this neat 'box' of their likes, dislikes, current readings, blogreadings, intellectual-magnet-sites, daily life and traveling. It could also be just certain people's blogs I checked out too. Also, it could be they write random things sometimes when they aren't sure how to harness their thoughts into bite-sizeable ideas.
Friends
So, I have been thinking a bit about friends back home and what they are doing and how they are doing. Yesterday I purposefully left Skype on and one of my friends from Dallas called me at 5:30AM Kikai time (which is not too early for me on weekdays). I picked up the phone and muttered a scratchy a 'moshi, moshi' [hello expression for phone in Japanese]. She felt bad to call me, but honestly, I wasn't bothered so much by it. I just got up and started my day and He gave me enough energy to make it through the day; always does.
So, if any friends read this blog entry, give me a call. If I am awake enough, I will talk to ya. Miss you guys.
Kikai Rain
So, it rains a lot these days but for some reason, I haven't been affected like a lot of people are affected by rain. I like rain, for the most part, and it reminds me of Oklahoma except not. There are no thunderstorms in Kikai and I really can't remember if I have ever seen lightening here or not. Rain in Kikai can be of varying degrees of intensity and direction depending on the wind. One time during a typhoon, Alan and I went walking (just a short distance) to the post office and back. Ok, I know, it was dangerous with the needled-rain and whipping wind and bending tropical trees but I was JUST curious and terribly bored to stay inside all day. I am thinking now since the rainy season hasn't even started and it is already quite a wet spring, I should really invest in some good goulash (just joking; goloshes)! So, as I stated before and was so easily sidetracked, I like rain in general but I do prefer summer rains to any other season. I also prefer hard rains to soft ones and of course, something warm to drink and a good book to read and/or an inviting journal to fill up. Alan next to me is an added bonus.
A Bit Disturbed
I found out that our neighboring island to the west of us [about 3 hours by ferry and 10 minutes by plane]also is run amuck with cults except they have one in particular that is much more well known. I won't mention which cult it is but I will say that it is quite disturbing to actually KNOW there numbers are growing over there-and all over the world. As a bright, young man told me, 'people don't just go out trying to find a lie or be deceived'. I haven't done any 'jogging' in my little head about this specific situation but I will start by doing a bit of heart-to-heart with Him so as to get some ideas. Signing off for now from rainy Kikai.
2 comments:
I'm guessing you're speaking of Amami Oshima.
It's not uncommon for cults to spring up on islands like that. Seems like I've visited many islands where there was at least talk of that sort of thing among the locals.
Kinda scary. But then the word "cult" has scary connotations.
If they're not hurting anyone and they promote peace (many do) then good for them.
If they're doing bad things I would hope the authorities would step in.
Indeed I am speaking of Amamioshima. Good thinking! You must be well-connected w/ the cultural/social news of Japan. Much better than I anyway. :-)
I endeavor not to use the term "cult" just whenever someone pops up I don't agree w/ or something like that. "Cult" does indeed have specific connotations, and Mormons fulfill at least the minimum requirements, namely:
1) Founded by a particularly charismatic leader who believed himself to have secret knowledge unavailable to most people;
2) Uses twisted interpretations of the source-religion's teachings/sacred texts on which to base its own belief set;
3) An inordinate emphasis on salvation by one's own efforts and on overbearing oversight of members' personal holiness;
4) Uses "love-bombing" and other psychological/sociological methods to pull people in and to manipulate them away from leaving, to extents that can prove to be almost stalking.
So, yes, they are dangerous in those regards. One could, however, come away thinking that they are not "hurting" anyone, so let's pursue that for a moment.
May I ask on what basis you have decided that promoting peace and "not hurting people" is morally preferable to promoting war and hurting people? I asked you in private interaction what your beliefs were, and your answer revealed at least that you are not an orthodox Christian, so how did you come to know what is good and bad?
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