As we drove home to Goshogawara from Misawa last night, a two hours trip in pouring rain on dark mountain roads, I looked over at Tom, who was at the wheel of our rented silver Honda minivan, and felt overwhelmed by happiness and love for him. It is so wonderful to finally be together as a family!

Our church, though this particular plant is still fledgling in nature, is filled with people who love the Lord. The pastor and his wife, Martin and Ruth Ghent, are gentle, humble, and kind. They visibly make the most of every opportunity to share the gospel with those around them, and have several outreach events going on over the course of any given day of the week. The Ghents are clear in teaching God’s word. A number of non-Believers regularly attend various church and outreach events - something not too common in the States. The Ghents are not merely teachers of the word, but “doers” of the word, as seen in James 1.

December 2nd marked the six week anniversary of my surgery. I am feeling stronger than I have in a long time. I am very thankful to have relief of the unpleasant symptoms of the grapefruit sized uterine tumor! I no longer feel 13 weeks pregnant all the time, for one! Thank you to all of those who prayed, made meals, helped with childcare, and encouraged our family while I was healing!

Although I do not know the details of Tom’s job, he seems to be happy and satisfied with work when he comes home each day.

On Sunday mornings, two ladies and I have been meeting for Bible study at a local coffee shop. We are studying the book of John using Pastor Piper’s sermons as a guide. (If you’re reading this and are interested in participating, please feel free to listen along with us and let me know your thoughts!)

Our new house is quite large - nearly three times the size of our house in PA - and we’re excited to use it for God’s glory. The plan is to have church here next Sunday night!!

The answer to the question “how are you guys doing?” is very, very well. Our hearts are happy and we very content!

Those things being said, Japan, especially this more rural area (unlike in semi-westernized Tokyo), is very different.

Here are a few of the changes we are getting used to:

-Driving on the left side of the road.
-Driving on roads that are neither ploughed nor salted, despite inclement weather (ever road is covered in black ice this time of year, as they do not salt the roads - possibly due to damage the run-off salt does the to rice fields). Oftentimes, there are 50ft. drops on either sides of the narrow roads, with no guardrails!
-Seven trash categories to be sorted and picked up on particular days of the week - at a collection stop down the road
-Houses do not have built in heating systems (ours has the exception of heated floor in three of the rooms - kitchen, living room, and a little dressing area outside of the bathroom). Rooms are heated with kerosene space heaters, most of which have to be turned off at night due to fumes. Those rooms that are not heated with a space heater are VERY cold. At night, when it is especially cold, I can see my breath in the hallways and bathrooms.
-As a result of the heating situation, those children not sharing futons with other children have stove-warmed metal hot water bottles, covered in fabric pouches, to help keep their toes warm at night.
-We have futons on the floor instead of beds. Tom and I have separate, single futons, pushed next to each other, but always seeming to scoot apart. We’re used to snuggling, so I feel so far away from him and I don’t rest as peacefully!
-Sliding paper doors that easily tear
-Fish, fish and more fish! Put it this way, the prizes for some of the video games here are snack-packs of whole, dried fish!
-No shower - just a little faucet to wash with - before getting in the tub, which is only for soaking
-No clothes dryer. Clothing only dries in the room with the larger heater, the living room
-No shoes in the house
-Tatami mat floors - soft on the feet, but tricky to clean!!
-Peanut butter, bread and sour cream are in short supply
-Shopping carts that are only big enough for the little plastic baskets - you push baskets around in the cart, then lift the basket out at checkout
-Tinier fruits and veggies. Think bell peppers the size of kiwis!
-Time difference of 14 hours ahead of Pennsylvania time
-Outgoing mail must be taken to the post office - the mailman only comes if something is to be delivered.
-Quail eggs
-Two burner gas stove with 6″ x 10″ fish broiler - no oven
-”Squatting toilets”, which give some of our children such anxiety that one of them has had two BM accidents within two days!!

…and do have to mention the language barrier??

The arrival of or belongings from the states has been delayed - something about the ship itself - and we are awaiting information. We are still living out of suitcases, with no furniture, with the exception of futon mattresses, to boot.

The point is that, while we are quite happy, there are many changes to get used to - and all at once!

Please know that we are well. Rejoice with us that we are together as a family and have much love for one another, and have our physical needs and spiritual needs met. Keep us in prayer as we go through these adjustments, and as we seek to be a light to those around us.

Two particular physical need to pray over:
1. Our car situation. Our rental car is due back tomorrow, but leasing a car has proven to be more complicated than originally thought, and may take another few weeks. Please pray that our transportation needs will be met in the mean time! Carpooling always provides for interesting conversation and a captive audience
2. Shipment of household goods. Although it’s just “stuff” - it would be super-cool to have the children’s toys, snow suits and winter gear, and our kitchen items!

(A slightly different version of this post appears at NolanChart.com )

The government’s plan to fix the financial crisis? Buy the bad assets.

Last night, an emergency Capitol Hill meeting was called to address the nation’s financial crisis.

One theory behind this solution is that by cutting financial institutions free from the mortgages in default, banks will be free to make investments and loan money out to get businesses and individuals back on their feet.

You can’t make this stuff up! But, apparently it can be pulled from thin air.

Where will our drowning-in-debt government find the money to make this purchase? It’s simply not there. This burden is going to be reshuffled to the taxpayer by way of inflation - because even in 2008, even though “green” investments are en vogue, we still can’t grow money from trees. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The money has to come from somewhere.

Even scarier than inflation, this bad assets solution requires the unconstitutional nationalization of financial institutions. I wonder if the act of Congress will include an amendment? How will Congress legally get away with this otherwise? It will be an entertaining song and dance for sure - the opening act to a muddy Presidential election.
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I guess we’re having quiche for dinner!

Leah’s Surprise Quiche Recipe
(Created 9/17 with ingredients on hand!)

6 eggs - no shells!
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
4 slices of American cheese
3/4 c. sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp McCormick Italian seasoning

Pate Brisee , made according to the directions (you can freeze half of the dough or halve the recipe. Either way is a morally acceptable decision). Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees to set.

Blend together all ingredients (except for the Pate Brisse:) ). Pour into baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (AP) — Zach Dunlap says he feels “pretty good,” four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant.

Dunlap was pronounced dead November 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.

As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.

Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead. Asked if he would have wanted to get up and shake them and say he’s alive, Dunlap responded: “Probably would have been a broken window that went out.”

His father, Doug, said he saw the results of the brain scan. “There was no activity at all, no blood flow at all.”

read more | digg story

There was a considerable about of buzz tonight saying that Ron Paul would make the announcement that he would be dropping out of the race, and even some about a possible third party run.

Yet neither rumor, so far, has proven to be true.

While Paul did say the campaign was winding down, he still encouraged people to vote for him and still hoped to win as many delegates as possible.

In the video, he plugged some grass roots efforts as well as his newest book The Revolution: A Manifesto.

Watch this clip so you know what Paul said, lest you only hear it elsewhere in sound bites and with spin:

As sad as I was to hear about the Northern Illinois University shooting, it didn’t come as a surprise.

If you think anti-gun legislation is working, take a look at this wikipedia entry listing school shootings in recent history. Remember the Nickel Mines Amish School shooting? There have been eight school shootings since then! Needless to say, this heinous crime is no stranger to the evening news.

Clearly, there must be something to deter these shootings from happening.

As you think about solutions, ask yourself this: If a would-be shooter knew that fellow classmates were armed, how likely would they be to go on a shooting rampage?

Not very likely.

Part of the sick thrill seems to be killing those who are helplessly unarmed. As if the idea of, “I’m hurting. I want to die. My life is so disgusting and I can’t think of a positive legacy so why not take the lives of innocent people and go out with a bang? At least I’ll be in the history books for something” is all the license they need. Such reasoning forces me to make contributions to the cuss jar. Let’s give these murders (and no, Ms. Baty, Steven Kazmierczak was not a “victim, too”) something to fear more than dying an unknown.

Keep in mind that the shooters need not necessarily be killed. They could be disarmed by a non-fatal shot or could be intimidated by the drawn weapons of gun-carrying students into dropping their weapon and standing down.

Here’s a current story with a sidebar on the current legislation regarding concealed weapons on campus.

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Dinner this evening will be at Pietro’s Prime in West Chester, PA.

As I preview the menu from home, everything looks quite scrumptious!

All steaks at Pietro’s are served with a choice of one of the sauces listed below.
Click on the name of each sauce for a recipe to make your own version:

Béarnaise

bā-är-ˌnāz (sounds like the word “bear”)
Etymology: French béarnaise, feminine of béarnais of Béarn, France
Date: 1877
: a sauce of egg yolks and butter flavored with shallots, wine, vinegar, and seasonings

Hollandaise
hä-lən-ˈdāz
Etymology: French sauce hollandaise, literally, Dutch sauce
Date: 1907
: a rich sauce made basically of butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice or vinegar

Demi Glace
de-mē glass
Etymology: French, half cooking stock, literally, half-ice
Date: 1900
: a highly concentrated reduced brown sauce often used as a base for other sauces

Au Poivre
ō-ˈpwäv
Etymology: French, with pepper
Date: 1953
: prepared or served with a generous amount of usually coarsely ground black pepper steak au poivre

It looks like Béarnaise sauce has been around the longest!

I hope these sauce ideas inspire you the next time you serve steak - or, in a pinch, you can always sprinkle with blue cheese… unless you’re Susan Whimsy, of course

BTW, you might like to know that the word “Saucy” predates all of the sauces above:

\ˈsȯ-sē, ˈsa-\
Date: 1508
1: served with or having the consistency of sauce
2 a: impertinently bold and impudent b: amusingly forward and flippant : irrepressible3: smart trim a saucy little hat

This is a comment from PJ in our Ron Paul meetup:

We were encouraged by the many, many RP supporters we saw there, along with the prominent RP signs and banners. Also encouraging was that we saw only one little, hand-made “Grassroots for Huckabee” sign and only one Thompson sign (I missed that one). RP was among the legislators who took a few minutes at the podium, and he was the only presidential candidate there.

Article from a Michigan paper:

Ron Paul gets Roe nod
by Press wire services
Wednesday January 23, 2008, 9:19 AM

AP PhotoThe doctor is in: Ron Paul used his medical background to argue against abortion Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Ronald Reagan and other Republican presidents have addressed the thousands of abortion opponents who annually march from the National Mall to the Supreme Court in remembrance of the court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

The event has not always been a draw to GOP presidential hopefuls, but Tuesday’s pre-march rally on the 35th anniversary of the landmark ruling had one notable exception: Ron Paul.

Among people holding up more typical “Defend life” and “Stop abortion” signs, some held banners in support of the Texas congressman, a libertarian with an anti-war bent.

Paul was among about a half-dozen lawmakers who spoke at the two-hour rally, and he cited his credentials as an obstetrician who has delivered 4,000 babies.

“The debate over when life begins should not be a debate. Let me assure you: All life begins at conception,” he said.

Paul also scored a right-to-life coup of sorts by claiming the endorsement of the Roe in Roe v. Wade — Norma McCorvey, who won the case for abortion rights but has since changed her stand. She runs the Crossing Over Ministry, formerly called Roe No More.

“He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it,” McCorvey said in a press release from the Paul campaign. “He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn.

“After taking all of the presidential candidates into consideration, it is obvious that Ron Paul is the only one that doesn’t just talk the talk,” McCorvey said.
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From Reason Magazine:

“Jane Roe” Endorses Ron Paul
David Weigel | January 22, 2008, 11:52am

About an hour ago Norma McCorvey, a.k.a “Jane Roe” from the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, formally endorsed Ron Paul at the Phoenix Park hotel in Washington. Why didn’t she endorse a frontrunner like Mike Huckabee? Thank the grassroots: She saw a newspaper ad in Nevada, bought by Paul supporters, using the analogy of the frog and the pot of boiling water to demonstrate what was happening to America. “It touched my heart.” That was three weeks ago, and McCorvey keynoted a pro-life Paul rally in Nevada on January 12th, but the campaign made the official announcement today before Paul spoke at the March for Life. McCorvey:

I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v Wade. Ron Paul doesn’t just talk about being pro-life, he acts on it. His voting record truly is impeccable and he undoubtedly understands our constitutional republic and the inalienable right to life for all. Ron Paul is the prime author of H.R. 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v. Wade. As the signor of the affidavit that legalized abortion 35 years ago I appreciate Ron Paul’s action to restore protection for the unborn. Ron Paul has also authored H.R. 1094 in Congress, which seeks to define life as beginning at conception. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it. He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn.

Paul took questions from a tiny audience of press and local supporters after elucidating his abortion views. Roe was wrongly decided; federal courts need to be taken out of the loop on abortion law to let states make their own laws. A constitutional amendment would be “a tedious solution; it takes a long time.” Pro-lifers need to make this possible, in public opinion, before lawmakers move. “The ultimate test of the right to life movement is how we change attitudes on this.”

McCorvey was frustrated at the lack of attention her original Reno endorsement got, but she was lighthearted today. “When you’re president,” she asked Paul, “can I stay over at the White House?”

“Anytime,” Paul said. The supporters in the back of the room cracked up.

“I’ll take the Lincoln Bedroom,” said McCorvey.