Subway

Today I had lunch at Subway, and since I started to write about Subway a few days ago, I thought I would go ahead and finish up and post what I was writing…

 

I have to admit that I just laughed the hardest I have in several weeks… at a new Subway commercial (New to me, at least)…

It’s got folks all over eating Subway sandwiches, and their pants are busting open, buttons flying everywhere! I know, not exactly a new idea, but just so funny. Guys are falling out of chairs onto the floor and everything. Oh, I just laughed so hard. J Maybe it’s only because Subway tastes so delicious that I am amused by it, but I find it both delicious and funny… wonderful!

 

Pizza Hut is my other favorite place to eat… actually, Pizza Hut beats out Subway, slightly. What about you?? What are some of your favorite places to eat?

 

Welome the New Year with a Smile!

It’s that time again! Did you have a good Christmas and New Year? Tell me what special plans you had…

 

I have had my share of good laughs and smiles recently… Most thanks to 3 wonderful coworkers being stuck in the car with me for 15 hours twice in the last week… Here goes nothing…

 

‘Happy Helga’ takes the cake… and all the beer, too. Nothing like ’99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ to pass the time… no, we were not drinking. You wouldn’t have known it if you were watching us though!

John reaching over to pat me on the shoulder and me jumping in fear because I didn’t trust him.

Me dropping my camera on the tile floor and making a fool of myself. This would not make me smile if it had been my nice camera. Thankfully, it was not.

Liz pretending like she wasn’t part of the ‘problem’ in the car.

Liz walking to the parking lot from the rest stop and thinking the car had been stolen. There was only one car in the parking lot, and it was ours.

Me going to the bathroom at another rest stop in the FREEZING cold and returning to find the car ‘missing’. Good friends don’t secretly hide the car from others, right John?

Many, many great spiritual conversations. I came home with my tank full!

Having food thrown at me. Peas and rice, no less. And no, it wasn’t like wedding rice, haha.

Talking to TONS of people who want to serve the Lord overseas… especially in Japan.

And finally, my nephew and niece laying with me on the couch. Too much fun!

 

There was other stuff, but once again, I failed to keep a list, so I can’t remember it all. I laughed so hard this past week though… a real blessing!

 

Winter Wonderland!

Words can hardly describe how much I love this snow! I am so thankful I came back to the States last week in time for this… Probably most of the world has heard on the news how the nation’s capital got it’s biggest December snow in history this weekend. We ended up with close to 20 inches – not too shabby! J I know those of you up north think we are wimps, though J But it is so beautiful, so I thought I would take some pictures of my parents’ house and my grandfather’s farm and post them for the whole world to see… So beautiful! I just love it.

 

And, of course, Merry Christmas to you all! The One who came as a babe to bring us salvation has also washed us that we would be whiter than snow. Enjoy it today!

Just like old times...

I have so much to be thankful for! Seriously, sometimes I just stop and wonder why God has blessed me so much… certainly I have done nothing to deserve it.

First, before leaving Japan…

We went bowling with some friends and it was so much fun! And, I won. J Hillary’s bragging made me smile, too. Then we got to see Masuyuki’s iphone… and the Star Wars application he had on it. You swing it around and it makes a light saber noise. Oh, and you can turn it into a piano or drum set… I was trying to have a serious conversation, and Masuyuki was just beating away on the drums… I couldn’t help but laugh.

Another great thing was having everyone send me off, and them all sharing some very nice things about me. It was really touching to have so many nice things said J

Christmas presents make me smile too – socks and truffles and a CD, and other stuff too. And little notes to let you know someone cares. Ahhh…

 

Coming back to America, there have been tons of unexpected things to make me smile… Many of them having to do with the familiarity of returning to my parents’ farm…

On that first morning, after only 3 hours of sleep, I was wide awake and got to see the sunrise light up the leafless trees in the forest behind the open field. There were a couple of bluebirds that were just so beautiful, and then some squirrels play fighting on the porch out back. I have missed the squirrels, and snow, in Japan.

But tomorrow we get SNOW! We are supposed to get a whole foot, and I am super thrilled… My first snow in 4 years… ah, I love it!

More smiling stuff… I came across some old picture albums and was reminded of many fun times with good friends from high school and college. Sometimes a bit sad too that I’ve lost contact with some of them too, though.

 

Today at the hospital my brother Randy decided that since he’s going to lose his hair anyway, he would go ahead and cut it off. But not all of it… J The result – his very first Mohawk. Amazing. The best part… his boss was visiting and joined in the fun, and got his own hair cut into a Mohawk. And his hair isn’t going to fall out in the next few weeks! What love…

 

Finally, a special verse from a special friend… Psalm 16:8 – I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken.

 

Please let me know what has made you smile this week J

Another two weeks have passed...

Does anyone else find the security words (that aren’t quite real words) that you have to type in to post comments on blogger amusing? Sometimes I look at it and just sort of wonder what word ‘they’ were actually thinking of…

 

Had a really fun night tonight bowling and at yakuniku (the kind of place where you cook your own meet). Really liked the cow tongue, and tried intestines for the first time. Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad. Wouldn’t want it every day though! Bowling was fun too, but we could only get in one game before we got kicked out because the lanes were reserved for some kind of tournament or something. It was fun though. Oh yeah, and I won.

 

Yesterday was great too! Hillary and I went shopping (not too successful) and saw some Christmas lights at the station, did a few random things and then in the evening had a little surprise fondue party. So yummy – big smiles there… and lots of fun talking and playing Dutch Blitz with the Reisters, too.

 

Dutch Blitz and Spoons and other card games and ‘family’ games definitely make my ‘smile list’… Fun times with friends is always good.

People asking for help makes me smile, too (usually!)…

We all passed our Japanese tests… that gets a big smile!

Other smiles include…

A student playing on his iphone touch (or whatever that’s called) during English class. He’s 35.

Thinking about spending the first Christmas in 4 years with my family!

Warm hugs and warm drinks (it’s cold out!)…

Crossing things off the to-do list.

Friends who make to-do lists of things they’ve already done just so they can cross them all off. I wonder, do you put ‘cross of my to-do list’ on your to-do list??

Students interacting and listening well during our Bible studies. And taking books out of the church library.

 

I’ll be heading back to MD in… 10 days! Excited to spend Christmas at with my family, at the same time sad to leave people here at my second home. December 15^th is the day! I arrive at Dulles at 11:59pm! J

Hopefully I’ll see many of you soon after…

Bobby

The Amazing Smile List

This time instead of posting about random smile events (because I failed to keep a list) I’m just going to talk about two things…

First, having elementary school class photos posted on Facebook! Oh my goodness, did this bring back memories and so many smiles and laughs. So crazy! But it’s hilarious that even though it is so embarrassing, or perhaps because it is so embarrassing, everyone is commenting with all these old memories from our elementary days! I’m absolutely loving it… so much fun J

 

Second is today. Had a wonderful day, full of tons and tons of smiles. Spent the entire day with great friends – went with Hillary to Shimonoseki to visit Taka and Aki. What a blast! Cracked up making fun of Taka’s pronunciation of ‘bus’… love their little girl Mika – absolutely adorable! She wouldn’t take her eyes off me at first… and it wasn’t because she liked me! Taka randomly asked ‘What’s the stupidest thing we did in seminary?’ and I answered without a half-second hesitation, ‘Boxing!’ WHAT were we thinking?? Oh, so many good laughs.

 

What is it about reminiscing about old times that makes us feel so good – even when the memories are embarrassing?! How crazy is that? How wonderful to have such memories though. Love it. Absolutely love it.

 

I said two, but here’s a third… Unconditional love and forgiveness. Amazing that God provides them for us, and even gives people here on earth special grace to administer those to others in times of need. Absolutely amazing. I am a blessed man.

Can't keep up with all the smiles...

Somehow the days and even weeks just slip right on by, and it takes me forever to sit down and write… and even though it’s been over 2 weeks since my last smile post, I have (somewhat) been keeping a list, and so I really don’t have an excuse for not posting. In any case, I hope you find some of the following enjoyable… I sure did!

 

In the last 2+ weeks, I smiles and laughed and was just in general happy when…

 

I got to relive the old days of playful banter with Taka… oh, the joys of friendship! What a blessing from God!!

I cleaned my bathroom. I am not really crazy about the cleaning part, but the end result is absolutely worth it. This goes for the rest of the house, too. Definitely makes me happy.

Someone choked when told that I would give them a ride home. Is my driving really that bad??

I got dried persimmons as a gift from an English student… they are good!

I scratched a bunch of stuff off my to-do list at once. (I’m not one of those who writes down things that I’ve already completed, just to scratch them off, though!)

I had a picnic and a nice drive with a good friend.

 

I went on a little trip last week, and had some good laughs with my friends, Colby and Theresa…

Colby falling asleep so quickly in the car. I think it’s a gift.

Seeing Mt. Fuji made me happy… it is so cool!

Finding out a friend from seminary is having another baby!

Theresa offered me an old waffle 6+ times, seriously.

Picture of superman holding up the church… and a little boy wearing a superman shirt and camo pants.

Getting hit in the face by someone’s water when they popped open the top on their sport bottle!

 

It’s the little things in life that bring the biggest joy J