Growing up in Japan, I learned to love sushi at a young age. It is fun to visit the different Japanese restaurants around town and compare their cuisine to see how close it comes to the authentic stuff. Last year we discovered a new Japanese restaurant: Hibachi and Sushi Super Buffet in Pelham, AL. At first, when my husband told me the name, I didn't believe him. A sushi buffet? No way! Not until I walked in, and actually saw the sushi buffet, did I believe him, then I just loaded up my plate!
Growing up, I read my fair share of the Boxcar Children books. To my knowledge, my upbringing was not compromised by this particular series of books, so when my son became of the age where he found chapter books interesting, we let him, even encouraged him, to read as many Boxcar Children mysteries as he wanted.
You know how sometimes through life, it seems like you're going along fine and then one day, very suddenly and seemingly out of the blue, you notice a change in someone? And the change isn't an admirable one? I have to say, this happened recently to me. There always seem to be "phases" or "stages" that kids go through, and as a parent, I try to look at each phase with a critical eye. Will this pass soon and leave us none the worse for wear, or is a little well-placed discipline needed to correct this? About two weeks ago, my husband and I noticed that whenever we told our son to start doing something he was supposed to do, or to stop doing something he wasn't, he would always respond with an explanation as to why he was behaving the way he was, but then he did obey after that. What was troubling was that before he obeyed, he rationalized his current behavior. (Thinking about it, isn't this something we all need to work on? God pricks our heart that we should be more something or less whatever, and immediately springing to mind are all the reasons we think it should be okay to be how we are.) Don't you hate it when a certain actor plays in a movie, but he looks exactly like a different actor, so that every time he has a scene, all you can think about is "Why didn't that other actor play in this instead?!" And whenever you think back to that movie, you can't remember who played in it? I do too. But for the movie I watched yesterday, the underpinning message would have been overwhelmed with any big-name actors.
The movie is called "To Save a Life." The story follows Jake, a successful high school senior, as he examines what's really important in life. His childhood friend Roger kills himself at school, opening up Jake's eyes to how the "losers" are treated and what needs to change in order to prevent anyone else from repeating Roger's actions. Most of the research I've done about teen depression and suicide says that the one who is depressed needs medication. That, or else the bullies need to be removed from the person's life. While I don't agree that medication should be prescribed without being 110% sure it's needed, and I do agree wholeheartedly that bullies should stop being bullies, I know for a fact that they won't. However, the one thing that will change a person's life for good is God, and this movie translated that fact so subtly that if you weren't paying attention, you would miss it, but any time you would think about it later, that's the thought you would think. Sure, friends are nice. Friends who actually like you are even better. But doesn't the Bible itself say that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother? I don't know that I would give my unequivocal stamp of approval on it for kids to watch, because even though eventually it is all condemned, it does have a little cussing (buy TV Guardian!), some drugs and drinking, and a suggestive scene. This movie was very encouraging for me because Jake sort of did what I want to do. He wrote Roger's story and his own story and put them on his social networking site. The response he got was amazing! Just knowing someone else is going through the same horrible feelings makes it not so bad. I am even more determined to get my story out there, and maybe I can save a life, too. If you have a story like this and would like to save lives by sharing it, email me and I will include it in my book. I recently started a book club with a friend who lives almost 500 miles away. And while "our" notes will remain between us, I want to include my thoughts about the books I read here.
I just finished "A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl." The title is very apropos--as Clotee learns new words, she spells them out in her diary. When she writes a word, a picture is formed in her mind, and she sees very vividly who or what that specific word stands for for her. However, when she writes the word F-R-E-D-U-M, she sees no picture. Then she learns it's spelled F-R-E-E-D-O-M, but still, no picture. Not until risking her life and volunteering to be an Underground Railroad conductor does she truly understand what the word freedom means. And then the picture in her mind is formed--it is of herself. This story made me rethink words. I have English and some Japanese, German, French, Spanish, and ASL all floating around in my brain. When I think of the word "dragonfly", I see in my mind a child's drawing of a smiling blue and green flying bug. But when I think of the word "tonbo", which is the Japanese word for dragonfly, I see myself and my siblings and our friends racing around Tenjin Park with our butterfly nets, chasing after dragonflies and butterflies. I learned about dragonflies from a picture book, but I lived tonbo in real life. No wonder Clotee had no picture of freedom until she lived it in real life. |
Who am I, you ask?
In 2006 I had a stroke, and every day my husband encourages me to use my remaining brain cells to the best of my ability. I love to organize, make crafts, and go on adventures (safe ones). I hope that through my blog posts, you will be encouraged to accept and make the best of challenges God throws at your life. Categories
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