Weekend away at the coast

We got a surprise weekend away, so we headed down to the southern coast from us, to a town called Shirahama.

This is the view of the amusement park and safari park from our hotel.

Yummy snails- a popular cuisine...

This is what we were waiting to see- some rugged bluffs, and untouched coastline.  So refreshing, but COLD!!!

Besides being cold, the weather was stunning.  The clouds were spectacular and the air was so clean...

We got a special treat by visiting an onsen (hot spring) that was set right on the beach with the waves crashing up right before us.  Though they separate the sexes (everyone goes nude), Ray and I got to soak our cold bodies in HOT water, while watching the waves break and the clouds roll above us.  Quite an experience!!

Shirahama is an "onsen" town, meaning it is known for its natural hot springs.  As you walk around town, it is common to see these foot baths, where a passerby can stop to soak his feet in the hot water.

These large cement triangles are a VERY common sight throughout Japan.  As hideous as they are, the Japan government has somehow managed to place these retaining structures on every beach or body of water we've yet seen.  They believe they prevent erosion.  I think they just tatter the landscape...

The next few photos are of Shirahama beach.  This white sand beach is obviously beautiful.  I was surprised to learn, however, that the sand was actually shipped in from Australia!  During the summer the beach is PACKED.  We were delighted to visit during the winter months where we had the run of the place to ourselves...

Tidepooling and shell hunting....

Oysters...

Our beautiful shell bounty.  Many of the shells I could identify, including gorgeous cowry and scallop shells.  The delightful find were the mini abalone shells- so cool!

This was a very special weekend away.  We didn't realize how much we missed the salt water air of the ocean!

Finally- VIDEO!!

I have now posted new videos for the post "Can't Keep Him Down", the game where Ray had 33 points and played so well vs. Rizing Fukuoka.  Please scroll back to that post and check it out!

Musings...

It's Sunday night and Ray should be getting home from Okinawa in about two hours.  I'm so eager to wrap my arms around him and welcome him home...

I've been inspired all weekend, and hope that this blog is the place to express some of this inspiration.  The source of these urges of joy and passion, creativity and energy are all commonly tied to God, He being the source of all that is good.  In heartache and struggle, I've found there is the looming joy of victory.  Even in death, Christ gave us the option of Life.  Ah, there is too much to rejoice.

Here in Japan I've had more free time on my hands than I ever have in my life.  I've mentioned this earlier in the blog on several occasions because it is a profound newness in my life, and it has been not only a huge blessing of this experience abroad, but also a huge struggle.  I've noticed that it takes a distinct effort and discipline on my part in how I choose to deal with this "time".  It can all too easily be wasted, thrown away, discarded to TV or internet, or bad moods and wasteful thinking. (Anything in excess is waste).  Time is valuable.  We are given short moments that equal our life and it is up to us what we make of them.  The discipline needed to manage too much time, is no different than the discipline needed to make time in a busy schedule.  It's all based on choice.  I choose- with utter intent and ambition- to make beauty out of the moments I'm given.  Or at least I want to.  There's too much worth living for.

I think of all the beautiful people I'm blessed to know... and how they, with their simple lives, choose to be joyful, which in turn blesses others in a profound way.  What ministry that is!!  In the absence of words, bless others with your life!  I think this is Jesus' hope for mankind, that we would find joy in loving one another, and thus contagiously pass it on.  Without joy, we lack life.  And the world needs more people who are truly living!

Game 1 vs. Ryukyu Golden Kings

VICTORY!!!!!!

Lakes win 85-72 at their home (Okinawa)

The Kings are 1st in the league with their ONLY TWO LOSSES coming from the Lake Stars!  

Ready to see another win tomorrow!!

Hey all!

Sitting here on this Saturday evening, waiting to watch Ray's game online in an hour.  He's playing in Okinawa this weekend, versus the Golden Kings who are undefeated except one loss to the Lake Stars!  I am so eager for a great game!

I took the above picture to show off the wonderful hat that Katie made for me while she was here.  She learned how to crochet and this was her first project- impressive, eh?  It's been getting SO cold here.  Snow flurries fall nearly every day, but nothing has been sticking.  It's been absolutely gorgeous out recently, with a bright sun during the day and breathtaking sunsets in the afternoon, followed by clear skies full of stars.  I feel blessed to be able to witness such beauty each day. 

It's always crazy to have Ray gone.  I find I do a lot of inner communicating with my thoughts.  I also am able to catch up with quite a few people.  Today I found out that 3 separate friends are pregnant, and another friend is getting married this summer!  Fun homecoming news!

Well.... just wanted to post on life.  We love and miss each of you more each day.  Send your love Ray's way as he battles it out on the court tonight and tomorrow.  I will post the results soon!!

Cant Keep Him Down!!!

I haven't uploaded video yet... but I will post a couple pics from this last weekend of games.  Though the Lakes fought through 2 TOUGH games, they came away with losses this weekend.  On Sunday, the Lake Stars fought for the win, going into overtime... but lost by 3 points at the end.  The upside is, our Schafer boy scored 33 points, had 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists.  His biggest game ever!!  He is still rivaling for that 1st spot in the league for scoring percentage.  WOW!

They are headed to Okinawa this weekend.  The "Golden Kings" are undefeated except for one loss to the Lake Stars at home.  They are eager to fight for another win this weekend!!

Just Monkey Business..

For Katie's last day in town, we headed to Ray's and my favorite area of Kyoto, called Arashiyama.

It's a gorgeous part of town, sparsely populated, and has a beautiful river running through it.  We love to come here to watch the heron and cranes on the river.

But today, we had other business, monkey business.

At the top of the mountain there is a monkey park.  The monkeys aren't in cages- they kind of own the mountain, fence free. There is only one "cage" that humans can walk into if they want to feed the crazy beasts (monkeys get a bit aggressive when they're eating!!).  Needless to say, it was an awesome experience, unrivaled by any other monkey parks I've been to (ummm, that would be none).  My favorite part was watching them groom each other.  They would sit in twos and one monkey would comb through the other monkey's hair while he literally would begin falling asleep.  Hilarious!

Grooming time.

This is my favorite - HAHA!!  Sorry it's sideways....

Been there, done that...

It's like a little dream come true, finally being able to see and touch the HUGE wind tower that looms at the far side of the lake from us.  Some days Ray will perch on the lake's edge, eyes set on the distant tower, and count how many time it rotates- "Wow, it's really cookin' today," he'd say...

Well, with the access of a car (with Bob and Sanae), we drove to see the wind tower, and made our big boy's dream a reality.  It was pretty cool to see.  The tower alone cost 3 million, but it provides electricity for an entire community.  Ray and I would like to work towards doing something like this (but on a MUCH smaller scale) for our own house someday.  It just makes sense.

Looking at 2009 in Japan...

Our neighbors, Bob and Sanae spent the day with us, and took us up to a big temple near our house to share with us a ritual that nearly all Japanese people partake in, to bring in the New Year.

This is Ishiyamadera Temple.  It's gorgeous, and nearly 1500 years old.

This man is tying his written prayer to a tree.  In this Buddhist sect, there are many gods, and the Japanese people go to the temples at the beginning the new year to pray and make "wishes" for the coming year.  The temples are usually packed...

Each year, the head religious officials pick a random number to represent the number of times the ceremonial bell must be rung to clear one of their sins.  This year, each individual must ring the bell 108 times, to repent of their 108 sins...

This is a statue of a god.  The people are touching the statue, and then wiping their bodies with the "spirit" of the god...

In order to make a prayer, light a candle, or even enter the temple, one must pay.  This was an interesting object of discussion for Ray and I.  People were paying on average 12 yen, or around $10 for each written prayer or ceremonial bell ringing.  These were coins stuck into the side of an old building...

Needless to say, the experience was very interesting, cultural and eye opening.  It was so good for us to see and compare rituals from our own country to this one.  The differences are countless, but some similarities still stand.  It made for good, deep conversations and a bit of prayer and reflection of our own....

New Years Hike...

Took Katie and Ray up above the lake today to one of my favorite hiking areas.  Started out late in the day, so couldn't gain too much elevation, but the views were incredible and we even got a few flurries to float down on us.  Nice sights...

Sunset was gorgeous...