The 365 Project - Day 108

Today was it!!!!!! This was the last day of finals for all of campus, and the feeling seemed to be like pins and needles. I was exempt from my final, yet I still got up and went to class, expecting that I should be there to sign a paper or something that even allowed me to be exempt at all. I come to find that I had done well on the work in my Church History Class. I got a B+ on the paper you guys read on my blog, I couldn't be happier with it.

The picture was the result of going out with a friend, we went to the movies to see FURRY VENGANCE, which was absolutely hysterical. You would like that movie, this poster however is a preview of Shrek 4EVER AFTER, which looks like it could be the funniest one yet.

No flashdevo today...sorry :(

GRACE AND PEACE!

The 365 Project - Day 107

Another great day in Louisville as I count down til graduation, which by the way, I got my cap and gown this afternoon. They just arrived from the Herff Jones people and all the seniors had to go to the bookstore to pick them up. So I am really, really graduating. Also, I was sifting through the absolutely essential things and had come to find that I am developing this hoarder persona. I have so much stuff in my room, I had to think twice about what I really, really needed, rather than do I really want this?
So tomorrow, I think I will be going down to some stores and selling all of my unnecessary things so I can officially begin the moving out process.

Today was a great day for me. I had always said that at some point this year, I would go to a park for a picnic. Reality is, I have done that twice. Once with the Ferraras right after I got out of the hospital, and then the second time was today with a group of fellow Boyce Students i probably won't see again for a very long time. I thought we would have gone to Waterfront, and we ended up going into Cherokee Park. I was reminded by this girl Laura, that because of Derby, the downtown area would be packed and there probably would be a chance that there wouldn't be a place for us to sit. So Cherokee became the unanimous decision. The creek was beautiful I had blankets lying out on the floor, I bought a sandwich from Jimmy Johns (probably best chain-restaurant sandwich I have ever had), and we had a good time. I took my shoes off and even walked in the creek, which was freezing cold. But it was so nice. God's creation was being shown to us, and I was dwelling on this that is the best place to be, hands down.

1 MORE WEEK UNTIL GRADUATION...

FLASHDEVO

Nehemiah 3

We get to the part in the story where you see the reconstruction of Jerusalem has actually begun at this point, and the various locations of the city are drawn out in detail through the gates of the city. This chapter described the people in the city of Jerusalem making their different repairs on the certain places that meant the most to them. It wasn't just this select group of people from Persia who were making this endeavor to repair the city. The chapter makes mention of goldsmiths and merchants who were also present in helping to rebuild the city. I find it amazing that even through trials, God's people were people with a will to do the right thing, they were determined, and they were obedient.

GRACE AND PEACE!

My New Toys

As requested by a friend who made a comment on my previous posts, I will mention some cool things that happened to me. I was over at the Ferrara's house on Sunday afternoon, and Victor gives me his Nintendo DS Lite, that he hasn't used in a long time. So, I had been playing Pokemon games with a group of friends here at Boyce, and wanted to buy one of the games so, I got a card in the mail from my Uncle Ben out in Austin, and got $20 inside, so I go to Target and buy Pokemon HeartGold version. As a veteran to the Pokemon games, this one seems the same, however, the grand difference is that there is so much better styles for 3D in this version of the game, and the story line has changed dramatically (but it is still the same as the Game Boy versions of 10 years ago) I can still remember being a freshman in high school and getting the Gold Version! Wow, that means I am really old. Anyway, this is Ho-oh, the Pokemon on the cover of the gold version and heart gold version. In Japanese Ho-oh is the word for phoenix, and this depiction of what a phoenix would look like is just beautiful. He is one of my favorites (can't compare to Dragonite though, that is my favorite Pokemon period)

A History of Japanese Missions

Church History II Research Paper
by Joel Freeman




FRANCIS XAVIER, JESUIT MISSIONARY TO JAPAN

As promised, here is my paper I wrote for class. It looks a lot better stapled together, double spaced, and with the SBTS Style format attached...




Personal Prologue

Having myself sensed a calling from God to go to Japan, I felt it was necessary for me to write about the ministry toward which God is leading me. I served for a summer as an intern with the IMB-Tokyo team. There were several missionaries working throughout the metro Tokyo area, working among a demographic of some 33 million people. As evident in the paper during the 1600s, the population of the entire country was just 20 million. The entire population of Japan in the 1600s is less than what the city of Tokyo is today! I worked in Hachioji city (a ward of the city) west of the central Tokyo area, where probably close to a million people live and work. On average, my team (of six) encountered several hundred people on a daily basis that were passing through the main train station. Through the efforts of our relationship-building evangelism, we were able to see one man come to Christ. His name was Itsuro Oka, and I had the extreme privilege of being able to lead him to the Lord as well as to baptize him during the summer of 2009. It was through this very experience that I came to understand that the work that God had called me to do was something that I could not turn away from, and I have decided that my life’s purpose is to be serving Christ in Japan.

I chose to write this paper, because if one sees the changes in Japan’s population, from 20 million to now 127 million, this drastic jump causes significant impact issues. The people that are intending to reach the Japanese people, it may seem like a ripple in the ocean, but God used that in such a mighty way, and I am grateful. Before I begin this paper, I open with a quote from the late Southern Baptist missionary to Japan, Edwin Dozier (1908-1969):

Future missions work in Japan will have aspects to deal with that former missionaries have never known. But the old problem of sin and the need of a Saviour remains ever the same. I pray that your messages may be filled with the word of God – for it will prove to be the power of god to the salvation of souls. How earnestly I do pray for you that every attitude, every word may be that of a humble follower of the Saviour of the world.

I feel that writing this paper was necessary because I have an obligation to know where it is that this desire has come from, as well as where I am going with this ministry.


Introduction

Missions in general began with Jesus’ charge to his disciples in Matthew 28 and Acts 1:8. They followed this commandment until it took their lives by martyrdom. Countless people throughout the Roman Empire gave their lives to Christ and thus attempted to spread the gospel to anyone who would listen, with fruitful results. Throughout history, the goal of the church as a whole was to spread the message “to the ends of the earth”. Specifically, what did that mean for people in Japan? As a present missionary-in-training, I feel it is important to learn the details of what brought the gospel to the country where I am called, and how it is working today.

It is unbelievable to think that the Gospel in Japan could be seen as a wave; but truly, that is how anything significant starts. Japan had lived in a state of darkness before any variety of “Christianity” saw entrance. During the boom of the Age of Exploration, Portuguese missionaries had made their way to Japan in 1549. Leading this movement was the Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier. He is well known in Roman Catholicism as one of the greatest missionaries that ever lived. Through a period of almost 100 years of civil wars headed by peasants, and revolts led by samurais, Japan was seeking help, and the European “gaijins” (Japanese word for foreigners) could provide them with weapons and supplies. At first, these missionaries received a warm welcome from Emperor Daimyo Nobunaga, seeing that the Western world had brought their ways to Japan, and that the change would bring out the best of the Japanese people, as their culture shines upon hospitality to gaijins.

This mindset changed quickly when a Spanish galleon came to Japan. In 1596, the San Felipe had shipwrecked off the coast, and the Emperor had ordered all of their goods be confiscated. When the Spanish sailors were questioned by the Japanese government about their activities, the captain of the ship told the officials as a means to frighten them, that the Spanish were conquering lands because of the Catholic missionaries that had reached to the far corners of the world. Word of this got to the royal palace, and the retribution was swift. Fearing that the Spanish had come to Japan as an attempt to convert the people and conquer the land, Emperor Hideyoshi ordered 26 believers to be executed. They marched to their deaths from Kyoto all the way to Nagasaki, nearly 1000 kilometers in distance.


The Shift to Evangelical Missions

Japan today is a very closed minded, tradition-oriented nation. Culture plays a significant part of who the people are as Japanese. Their pride is in who they are, and who they were. Ancestor worship is prevalent, and the Japanese are not very observant when it comes to the topic of “religion”. Christianity in today’s Japan does have the freedom to exist as a legitimate religion however, Japan has a very extensive history of dealing with “cults” (numbering more than 180,000 total, as of 2009) and because of this, Christianity can often times be confused for these cults, making evangelism a challenging endeavor.

As of 2010, Japan’s religious break down would look something like this: “Less than 1% of 127 million people would call themselves ‘Evangelical Christians’ (meaning you would have to find 200 people to find 1 person that was a believer in Jesus)” , the rest of the breakdown would be divided between Buddhism and Shintoism, which share very similar characteristics. Both see the worship of nature, and of ancestors, placing the title of “deity” on just about anything. Modern temples will show things such as trees or rocks with ropes around them, signifying the presence of a spirit. The Jesuit movement may have started the moving of the Holy Spirit in Japan, but later on, in the 19th and 20th centuries, do things get serious as the Southern Baptist Convention begins to move in.

Today’s Southern Baptist Convention has become increasingly diligent in the spread of global and domestic missions. This move proved to be monumental because the task of evangelizing such a country as Japan (still today) has proven to be a colossal challenge. This came as a result of a report made during the biannual meeting of the SBC in 1855, in which, “enquiries were made about entering Japan”, and led to the eventual idea that missions were needed and the Foreign Mission Board made the decision to enter the country in 1859, as the Foreign Mission Board’s fifth nation as a mission field (Parker 10).



Origins of the Baptist Tradition in Japan

It would take more than 300 years before Japan would see a form of Christianity that included Christ and his sufficient grace in its center, rather than works. Because of the massive persecution the “church” faced from the emperor, Christianity was not what it was meant to be. The 19th Century Southern Baptist Convention brought great change to the nation of Japan. Considering (as seen) that the majority of the “Christian” experience that Japan had seen was coming from Roman Catholic and Jesuit influences as a somewhat “dead” form of Christianity, the change was a vital part of what Japanese Evangelical Christianity would become as it is now in 2010, and it had started some 120 years prior.

Two missionary families appointed by the Foreign Mission Board; the Gobles and the Browns started the first known Baptist church in Japan in Yokohama on March 2, 1873. Jonathan Goble withdrew from the church due to issues of violence against one of his Japanese assistants and against his wife. He remained in Japan as a freelance until the death of his wife in 1882.

Following the presence of the Jesuits (some 300 plus years ago), the emperors had placed bans on the spread of “westernized” religion, forcing the missionaries to remain in foreign settlements in Nagasaki, Kanagawa, and Yokohama. These early missionaries focused heavily on language study, scripture translation, English teaching, medical work, and discreet evangelism among the educated samurai with the aid of Chinese Bibles and tracts.

The Dozier Family

The Dozier family represents well the subject of Japanese missions, the point of this paper. Their work for the gospel holds part of the most changing events in Japan during the 20th century, and how it would affect the ministry of the Foreign Mission Board into the 21st century.

Following World War II, the Doziers had to leave Japan for their safety, but eventually chose to return there. On October 29, 1946, five and a half years after their departure, Edwin Dozier wrote this in his diary:


As we set foot on Japanese soil tomorrow the sense of utter inadequacy overwhelms me. Still we hear him say, “Go – and I will go with you.” This consciousness of his presence and leadership is the only power that does fortify me and give me determination to do my best, praying God that I may ever be within his will.


The Dozier family had been in Japan since their Foreign Mission Board appointment
in September 1906. Edwin’s parents Maude and Charles Kelsey Dozier were entering Japan during the end of the Emperor Meiji’s Reign of Enlightenment (which instituted both political and social reforms between 1868 and 1912). Their home served as an office, school, and church as Maude and Kelsey gathered friends and neighbors for cooking classes, English conversation, Bible classes, prayer meetings, and worship services. Kelsey also was responsible for helping to see the start of Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan, which saw its first class in 1916. This was done under extreme pressure as Christian schools in Japan were forced to meet very high standards by the government. Originally this school was a junior high school for boys, and became a university in 1949 after the establishment of the separate junior and senior high school system in Japan.

Parents must realize that their influences on their children could be used for God’s glory; and in this case, it made a deep impact on the life of Edwin Dozier, as countless people became believers under him. Edwin Dozier and his wife Mary Ellen spread their ministry throughout Japan, and even further than that, spent several years in Hawaii during World War II. Whaley’s book makes mention of him hearing gunfire and seeing the fighting during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not knowing what to do about their situation of being forced to evacuate Japan, the Doziers put their faith into action and prayed that God would help them get back to Japan somehow. In 1945, the Foreign Mission Board held a conference in New York after the war had ended to assess the immediate needs that Japan had; considering it was the recipient of two nuclear blasts. 6 people were sent to the country for this task (185). None of these people were Baptists, and it would be another year before the Doziers would return. However, good news was to follow. Chaplain Henry E. Austin of the U.S. Navy, returned the United States and reported to the Doziers that there were 21 churches that made contact; 11 of them had the buildings destroyed by bombs and fire during the war; but no one died! God spared people’s lives so that the Gospel thrived.

Modern Missions

Although the Dozier family was among several families that had been in the southern portion of Japan serving with the Foreign Mission Board, the country saw ministry developing in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. Because of the affects of the nuclear bombs and the severe damage inflicted by other aerial raids, post World War II Japan did not industrialize until after 1956. This included the spread of the railway system, and the eventual development of the Shinkansen (Japanese word for “bullet train”), that made travel easier, during the 1960s.

Edwin Dozier and his family saw the start of a major Baptist church in Japan; Izumi Baptist Church in Setagaya (Tokyo ward) on November 29, 1959. Originally this church was known as Keisen Baptist Church after it had been meeting in the Dozier’s home since 1949, and had a kindergarten ministry. This church played a principal part in the ministry that is done in Japan to this day, because Dozier had the vision that Japanese believers would be the ones leading their own people to Christ, and that is what happened after this church began. All of the pastors of this church that Dozier family helped start are Japanese believers. Today, Rev. Niichirou Tanaka assumes the role of the church’s seventh pastor, fulfilling Dozier’s dream to see Japanese nationals running churches.

Japan had begun to develop trends in entertainment, technology, and eventually became the economic superpower that it is today. Its boom in the technological industry immerged in the 1970s, following alliances made between the Soviet Union and China. Technology has served a great tool in Tokyo as it is a way for people to meet, through text messaging, cell phones, and Internet communication. Tokyo today has 33 million people, and through the efforts of these past missionaries as well as the ones that currently serve on the field, Japan is being reached for the Gospel. During the summer of 2009, (in which I served) there were more than 400 volunteers that served with IMB-Free Greater Tokyo program. In years past, they have seen these results:

· 2006 – around 220 volunteers; 8 initial decisions for Christ
· 2007 – around 179 volunteers; 20 initial decisions for Christ
· 2008 – around 400 volunteers; near 70 initial decisions for Christ.

Conclusion

Japan still needs workers to come and serve the very lost people. The task is a great one, and modern ministry has to be done with a sense of contextualization. Japan has changed dramatically since the age of the Jesuits, and today; Japan’s religious freedom has made it easy for people to enter the country as workers for the Gospel. People are going along through millennia of instilled traditions that have blinded them from understanding the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Japan is littered with cults, idols, and false religions that cannot save people from the grips of Satan, and save them from hell. It is my earnest prayer that if someone is to read this paper, they see that there still is great need, and will come to the throne in prayer and ask that God reveal to them what they should do. I pray that they will go to Japan and make a difference for the Kingdom.

Works Mentioned in the Paper:

Books

Parker, F. Calvin. Southern Baptist Missions in Japan: A Centennial History: Published by author, 1989.

Whaley, Lois. Edwin Dozier of Japan: Man of the Way. Birmingham: Woman’s Missionary Union, 1983.

Internet Articles

Kilkenny, Niall. “The Jesuits in Japan,” accessed 26 March 2010; available from http://www.reformation.org/jesuits-in-japan.html; Internet.

Seinan Gakuin University. “About SGU”, accessed 15 April 2010; available from http://www.seinan-gu.ac.jp/eng/aboutsgu/index.html; Internet.

Japan-Guide “Shinkansen (Japanese Bullet Train)”, accessed 15 April 2010; available from http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html; Internet.

“Izumi Baptist Church Homepage”, accessed 15 April 2010; available from http://www.k2.dion.ne.jp/~izumibc/english.htm; Internet.

“FGT2” The International Mission Board, Tokyo, accessed 26 March 2010; available from http://www.imbtokyo.org/domit/fgt2.html; Internet.

The University of Michigan Japanese Animation Group. “Anime Project History and Culture”, accessed 15 April 2010; available from http://www.umich.edu/~anime/history_japan.html; Internet.

Multimedia Resources

Brents, Buddy quoted in IMB Tokyo 2008 prod. The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 90 min., 2008, DVD.

The 365 Project - Day 106

Packing! This is the main thing I have been doing since the majority of my exams are finished. These Chinese Fu Dog bookends were a killer find. I wanted them for the longest time, and I saw them at Barnes and Noble. Trouble was, I was not about to pay $40 for them there. I went out the Simpsonville flea market, just east of Louisville; and found the exact same bookends for $10. An important lesson is to be learned here. Look for the best price before spending your money.

I still have my church history final, which will be my exempt status as a senior, and I am praying for God's sovereignty to be shown to me as my professor reads through my paper on Japanese missions. I won't put the paper on the computer until after finals are over with, so you guys have the chance to read it, but be excited for it, it was a great paper, and I was happy with the way it turned out.

FLASHDEVO

Nehemiah 2 (the shift to the Israelites)

Now you can see in this chapter that Nehemiah is a servant in the court of Artaxerxes I, and here he is the cup bearer. The king notices his sadness and asks him what's wrong, and Nehemiah explains the situation back home in Jerusalem, and asked if he could go out there. The king agrees, and even sends him with supplies. This chapter points out what it is like because when the city fell, other people thought they could lay claim to the city, and God was telling them that they had to stay the course and rebuild the walls to say that God was sovereign in everything, and he will see the city's completion. I am anxious to read on, and see how the story unfolds.

GRACE AND PEACE!

The 365 Project - Day 105 (Today's Picture and News)

Finally, finally, finally, I have posted all of my pictures and explained about them. Now I can get down to business and write a lengthy post about today's events, not last week's, or the week before that, I can actually put today's news up.

Today's picture is reminding me so much of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. I was over at the library when I wrote that post "personal revival" with my friend Justin Nettles, and we saw this flower outside the library, and it was a lone rose, much like the magical one from the movie. I will definitely be using my camera from now on, because I can certainly get better quality with a camera as a opposed to my phone.

Because of finals week, I am in the middle of a crunch. Made the final corrections on a paper I will be turning in tomorrow to the teacher. I hope that it is enough to secure my grade, but there's no going back now. So I turn everything over to the Lord, his will be done, not mine.

After taking 2 finals today, I drove down to the Southend of Louisville to have some dinner with my good friends, The Ferraras. They were the people who stuck by me the most while I was in the hospital (and I know they'r reading this ;) ) so I speak the truth. They have treated me like I was a part of their family, and I am forever grateful for that. They had me at their house for meals, and we watched movies on 2 different nights. On Sunday we watched AVATAR, and tonight we watched SHERLOCK HOLMES. So I have had the best time with them, and they will be at my graduation.

FLASHDEVO

Nehemiah Introduction (Chapter 1)

We all know about how the people of Israel were dragged out of their homeland and to the land of Persia and Babylon, so this chapter talks about what happened when Nehemiah prayed that God would allow restoration for his people. In a way, I feel like I am Nehemiah, because I am asking for restoration of my own soul. I have been through so much, health wise, I feel like I need to start things over again, and to let God be in control of my life. I am interested to see how this book will draw out. We started studying Nehemiah in Bible Study this past Saturday and since then, I have been so curious about what happens in the story of how the walls of Jerusalem will get rebuilt, so for now, I will just have to wait and see.

GRACE AND PEACE!
GOODNIGHT!

The 365 Project - Days 100-104

The Spring Flowers in full bloom outside of the Carver Building at Boyce. I love the contrast of color in this picture between Red and White.



I have played THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME so many times, that I have this scene forever stuck in my memory. After link beats the fire temple, the shroud of darkness is lifted off of Death Mountain, and disappears into the sky, almost the same way as this aurora is moving over the iceland volcano that has been causing so many problems in Europe...BEAUTIFUL AND EERIE!!!!!




Our topic of discussion in lifegroup on saturday was Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. I am going to make a shift in my quiet time to start reading Nehemiah.




The only decent picture of me from Spring Banquet 2010, which I actually didn't care for all that much, the after party on the other hand, that turned out great...



My new dream car (well, my second car after a honda element), I was drooling over the 2010 Mustang GT at a ford dealer, while my 2003 Ford Taurus was getting an oil change. I wish I could have just taken this car instead of my own. Someday :(

The 365 Project - Days 95-99

A great shot of me and my mom when we went out to dinner the night before she left to go to Michigan. This was at Cheesecake factory in Louisville...



The dinner i had the second day out of the hospital. Great salmon, great company, and something about fuel injector to light a grill with steaks???? Apparently I haven't been taking enough drugs...



Going back to one of my favorite coffee places for the first time since I don't know when, sitting and drinking rubios tea flavored with blueberry, absoultely great. Sunergos is a great coffee place. Period.



The only thing you can do is just chill and watch TV so I was watching family guy while in the hospital...



The biggest event of the year in Louisville and how do I spend it? Stuck in a hosptial bed, waiting to get checked out for some heart trouble. This was taken last year (I think) of the downtown area when the fireworks come!

The Update on the 365 Project, Pictures Days 90-94

A mysterious individual put this sticker "MADE IN ISRAEL" on my door. I absolutely loved this. This was the day that I started to feel the chest pains before I went to the hospital that Saturday...



Here is a picture of Francis Xavier, the Jesuit Missionary who went to Japan to evangelize. I wrote about him in my Japanese missions paper...



Took a picture of the Louisville skyline on I-65 as I was stuck in Rush Hour traffic...


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As I am walking back over to the dorms from dinner, I see these flowers, which the sun seemed to amplify their color. This is outside of Norton Hall at Southern Seminary.




Here is my last dorm meeting I attended, since I missed the actual last one because of being in the hospital...

A personal revival

I'm sure you are all wondering by now, what has happened to me. I haven't posted anything in almost 2 weeks, and I have a good reason. I was in the hospital for a freak virus induced heart attack. I have no underlying health issues, and out of the blue on Saturday April 17th, I was admitted to Baptist East Hospital here in Louisville for chest pains. It has been a slow recovery, but I feel that God is stirring in my life in some way. I had no complications or health issues attached to the heart attack, I am just recovering, and am on some meds for it. Overall, I have come to find that God has blessed me with so many people who just prove that they care. I am so thankful for that.

I have been thinking about what God is doing through all of this, and I got an answer from God about the callings on my life. This may sound so weird but bear with me. I am getting into the shower this past Sunday, and as I look down on the floor, I see a puddle of water, and the light reflects on it. The puddle looked like the map of Japan. I feel like God is telling me not to give up on my dream. And yesterday (Monday) I had a meeting with the church planting director in Seattle, and I will be planning to come up in the summer of 2011 to serve in Seattle and get my feet wet for serving Japanese people. God is still moving in my life and now that college will soon be ending, more and more doors of opportunity will be thrown open...

Right now, I am in the middle of finishing up my final exams, and soon I will resume the 365 Project. You will have to see a page with just the pictures in it, because I have fallen so far behind, but not to worry, you will get caught up. If you would like to see most of the pictures I have taken, you can see them on my twitter page.

www.twitter.com/JDF_113085

I may post my Japanese Missions Paper online once it is finished so you guys can read it, so be on the lookout for that. It will be my very LAST paper I write in college.

I will write again later this week, after my finals start to wind down. Graduation is 10 days away!!!!!!!!!! :D

GRACE AND PEACE.

The 365 Project - Days 88/89 (Saturday and Sunday)

I am truly hoping that the internet gets fixed soon. It drives me insane that everyone everywhere is seeing me do what I do, and there is no privacy to write without people seeing me. I am sitting in my history class contemplating the future. This weekend was miserable and i wish I could just live it over again. I did virtually nothing. I did, however; start the final reading project in my Great Books Class, reading stuff from Edgar Allen Poe, and also, getting my Reading Summaries finished for my ancient near east history class...

Our professor is going over all of the details for our final exam, reviewing names and dates. This is the easier of my history classes, so I am hoping that our professor for Church History II would create a study guide for the final instead of saying "study everything" He told us after our last test that he would have a study guide, but really, I will believe that when I see it.

Here's the pictures, another sunset, driving back from Panera Bread for dinner, and then the gate at the Prysbeterian Seminary during the day, absolutely beautiful with the flowers covering it.




FLASHDEVO

Ephesians 5/6

I finally finished Ephesians, I was proud of myself for getting it done, and now I can move into Philippians, and keep going with my whole plan for the year. The ending of the book, it always closes with a final greeting (because it is written by Paul), but the entire book focused a great deal on the role of Grace in salvation, How it is not from ourselves, and how we must rely on our salvation to see that we have Freedom in Christ...

GRACE AND PEACE!
Look for Day 90 later today...

Pictures....83/84/85/86/87

You can see how my pictures shift, I was with my friend Dustin on Monday when I went on the tour at Southwestern...I took pictures of a pair of shoes I desperately wished i could buy...Never in my size....and a picture of the seats of my flight to Louisville, while I was stuck on the ground...and finally a poster for my inspiration. The saddest of these pictures is of the tureen (a soup dish). It is blue and white porcelain I found on sale at Cracker Barrel. I wanted these blue and white cannistars for my apartment I would have gotten when I moved to Fort Worth, but after touring the apartment grounds on Monday, I am seriously doubting if I would move into an apartment at all, and instead live in the dorms, so this picture serves as a remnant of a dream.

Okay at first, I was just going to take pictures and then add them to my facebook profile or something, but that is not what has ended up happening here. On the 2nd day of my blog, I was watching Julie and Julia. In the movie, Julie Powell blogs her way through Julia Child's cookbook, and cooks each and every recipe in it. I have said I would try to do that someday, get a cookbook and blog through it, but now I am in the middle of a photo project of blogging about the pictures I take, truly awesome. I just wanted everyone to see my inspiration for having a "365 Project"



Again, GRACE AND PEACE!

The 365 Project - Days 83-84-85-86-87 -Before the Pictures...

I am going to come right out and say it. The internet is failing...

In my dorm room, I used to be able to connect to the internet easily, but my theory is that someone who was operating the network that I usually linked up to, they are still on their break, and I just cannot connect to them anymore, so I moved to another location to post this. I am back from Austin, and now I have what Gandalf the White said in Lord of the Rings "The Deep Breath before the Plunge". Three weeks of torture, three weeks to finish, three weeks to prove that I can finish strong. I had been depressed tonight, because I was under so much pressure about graduation. Invitations are pouring into the mail about receptions, and events that involve me as a senior, but with my past track record in classes, I am getting worried about passing my finals and actually graduating, but that will not happen; because I will not allow it to happen. Not in the slightest. I am even multi-tasking and working on homework right now.

Anyway, tonight, I will be catching up with my Scripture reading, so be on the lookout for that. I want there to be more posts, so I will experiment with something. Blog about the day in one post, pictures in the next, and then some review of Scripture and a Spurgeon devotional....

Test Run commencing in 3...2....1...
GRACE AND PEACE!!!!

The Post-Easter Post (365 Project – Days 80-81-82) HAPPY EASTER

I don’t purposely intend to ignore the obligation I have created for myself in posting things to my blog. But keep in mind, I am on vacation. This is my Spring Break, and I am away from school. Away from the familiar spot of being able to post to the blog on a constant basis, and I only have access to the internet as my brother's phone will allow me to have, so this is how it will have to be for right now. At least from my pictures you can get a glimpse into what I've been up to in Austin. There were chickens moving around my uncle's house. His neighbors own them, and these chickens will keep coming around and just dig up holes trying to find worms. We haven't found any eggs yet, but that would be a plus, since they grace us with their presence and messes of dirt piles they leave all over the property.

You've seen the first picture on my facebook profile, but one day I went out to lunch with my brother and cousin in downtown Austin, and I went to the state capitol to take some pictures. It's a great place. Wish I could have gone on the tour though...

Today's picture was from the dinner my family had together for Easter. It was a great time. I hadn't seen some of these relatives in a while, and just being able to connect with them was awesome. This is me with my brother, cousins, and grandparents. Hope you guys enjoy them.

*FLASHDEVO

I am midway through the book of Ephesians. I thought for a while that I was still in Galatians, but then I realized that I had past that book ages ago, and kept on trucking through all of the books that I was going to read. I still have to finish this, finish writing some papers and write 3 more 2-page summaries for my ANE History class. So needless to say, I was getting distracted. I still have a lot of things i have to finish...

I just read through Ephesians 1-4...

In these books, Paul reprises a lot of his message to the churches in Galatia and Corinth in how they must constantly be devoted to God. Ephesians 2:8-9 plays a crucial part in my family history. Those verses were taught during the bible study where my mom accepted the Lord in 1982. I was greatly inspired to just sit back and remember some of these things as they happen. How God has them all in his control. Just wonderful.

MANY BLESSINGS AND HAPPY EASTER
HE HAS RISEN!!!!!!

GRACE AND PEACE!

The 365 Project - Day 75-76-77-78-79

Here it is! Time for what is now recorded in my blog as the biggest post yet. 5 days worth of pictures!!!!!! This is also important for a location change, because I left for Spring Break yesterday (March 31, and now I'm in Austin, Texas visiting family)

Day 75



My crazy schemes at studying for a big history exam I had right before I left for Texas. This was also the second day of my record 3 days of Taco Bell for dinner. I was almost heading for the Super Size Me lifestyle. But I would get too tired of that really quickly.

Day 76



This picture will always get me excited because it reminds me of Japan and how the seasons change and how I get to be a part of seeing the changes while I still live in Kentucky. Luckily there will be season changes in Texas too.

Day 77





If I had my actual digital camera on me, I would have been able to get this sunset a little bit better. The phone camera just doesn't do it any justice, since the quality is so poor. But there was just a great array of red colors behind the downtown Louisville area, and it was an incredible sight to see.

Day 78



As I made my way through the Memphis airport on my way to Austin, I came across something I was dying to try. Real Memphis style BBQ, and plus its owned by the Neely family, that amazing family that's on food network. I had a BBQ Turkey dinner, and I must say, if you ever go to Memphis, Kansas City, or anywhere in Texas, you will find great BBQ.

Day 79 - the first day in Austin!!!!!



I should have waiting until the view had improved a little bit, but here is a view of the start of the Capitol of Texas highway, coming from Leander where my uncle lives, going out towards the Mexican Restaurant where I ate lunch today with my brother Brian. It was an amazing ride, it felt a lot like being in Tuscany.

There won't be a FLASHDEVO today because I have fallen behind with the book of Ephesians, and I want to get caught up. So be patient, it is coming soon...