Quotes from the book "Kingdom Conflict" by J. Stowell

Part I

1. Life is not made by the dreams we dream but by the choices we make.
2. Never look at the temptation. Always look beyond it and see the tempter.
3. When it comes to sin, what you see is not what you get.
4. Sin is Satan's graffiti on the wall of God's creation.
5. ...all of sin - all of our spiritual failure- begins with this thing called self.
6. Self-styled religion was Satan's first attack on the kingdom of Christ. (Cain didn't mind worshiping and serving God. He just wanted to do it on his own terms).
7. Intermarriage is the very scheme Satan uses to dilute the strength of God's work and to diffuse the power of His Spirit in this generation as well as generations to come. (Gen. 6)

Thanksgiving

This American holiday is not well-known here in Japan. Some even thought that this has something to do with Halloween. So I thought of giving my Saturday adult class a lesson on Thanksgiving on November 28th.

We discussed the history and traditions of this holiday. They learned about the lives of the pilgrims and native Indians; the traditional Thanksgiving dinner menu; the Thanksgiving football games; Macy's Thanksgiving parade and the usual decors and table centerpieces for this holiday.

More importantly, they learned to share about the things they are thankful for. The class chaplains who handle the Bible time explained why we thank God for what He has done in our lives.

The lesson ended with a special Thanksgiving prayer.

Then it was time for sampling the Thanksgiving lunch menu: roast turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin pie for dessert. Yum...all prepared for us by the church Fureai cafe staff.

We want to do this again next year... could this be the start of our Thanksgiving tradition here? I hope so.