The Japanese have a tradition on February 14 that is much different than our American tradition.  On Valentines in Japan, the women buy the men chocolate and the men don’t have to buy anything.  

Allegedly, the Japanese version of Valentine’s Day was established  in the 1950s when a Japanese executive noticed the holiday in Europe and decided to use it to generate business for his chocolate company in Japan.  Somehow in their executive meetings, the translation of how the holiday worked… where men bought chocolate and flowers for women… got turned around and thus the promotion of the day became centered on women buying chocolate for the men in their lives.

As the tradition continued in Japan, 2 kinds of chocolate gifts became culturally entrenched in the holiday. Giri Choco, or “obligation chocolate”, is one type of chocolate that is given to men by women and Honmei Choco, or “potential winner chocolate”, is the other chocolate that is given to guys.  Giri Choco, is a cheaper, less expensive chocolate that is given to the guys  a woman has no interest in… coworkers, bosses, casual friends… you get the idea.  Honmei Choco, on the other hand, is expensive chocolate that is given to guys who a woman might have amorous feelings for…. The chocolate is often homemade and it is often accompanied by other expensive gifts. 

As I think about this holiday and the Japanese culture that has developed surrounding it, I can’t help but think about the analogy of these 2 types of chocolate to our relationships.  Do I often give a Giri Choco effort to my wife and family…. out of a sense of obligation or thoughtlessness, or am I looking to give Honmei Choco, a kind of effort that makes a difference in my wife and kids…. that leads them to be winners in life…

As a husband and a father, I have a responsibility to be a leader and encourager in my family.  If I  give Giri Choco, I don’t lead in a way that brings fulfillment and joy to my wife and kids.  If I bring Honmei Choco, I lead in a way that brings out the best in my wife and kids.  So… buy your wife and kids some chocolate this Valentines… but as you do, let them know that your commitment to them is to unlock in them the potential to be the winners God has made them to be.

Happy Valentines

————

18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.

21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

23 From there he went up to Beersheba.24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.

————-

I find deep significance and meaning in this passage because I think in many ways, each generation must go through the journey that Isaac experienced. His parents were gone, and he had to establish for himself the next phase of his life… He revisited the very places his father had settled over the years and found the wells they had dug were closed by the jealous and opportunistic Philistines.

He opened the wells again and named them the same names his father had given them…. and then, he launched into some new well projects and immediately hit trouble… Notice the 3 steps involved in Isaac finding a well that he and his herdsmen could use.

The first well riled up the Philistines and they claimed the water for themselves… Isaac named the well “Esek”… a Hebrew word for dispute…. I love how so many of the Hebrew names give meaning to an event or a place…

The second well he established brought more controversy and he named it “Sitnah”… a Hebrew word for opposition.

Finally, he dug a third well and found no opposition and named it “Rehoboth”… a Hebrew word meaning “room to live”.

Shortly after this experience, God assures Isaac that His plan that started in Abraham will live on…. and Isaac builds an altar to worship. Such is the journey of each generation… whether you have a spiritual legacy or not, each generation must find their way to the place the Isaac finally came… and the reality is, you will have dispute and opposition as you journey into your unique destiny. The results of a fallen world and the reality of a spiritual battle ensure that we will have a fight. The good news is that if we hold on and fight through and continue to journey on the destiny that God has for us, we will come to a place of “Rehoboth” and God will cause us to flourish and His blessing will be a reality in our life…

I’m not sure where you find yourself today, in your career, your relationships, or your spiritual walk… maybe you’re at the first well of opposition… or maybe you’ve moved to the second well of dispute… The good news is God has a well of “room to live” and it’s coming… When it comes, build an altar and worship him… In fact, worship along the way… Life’s a great adventure.

It struck me this morning just how much like Job’s friends I have been over the years… There’s a deep seeded belief system in so many of us that wants to explain suffering and pain in the most simple and complete way and often in the process, we blatantly yet unconsciously exhibit the very same condescending feelings to suffering people around us just as Job’s “friends” did.

The reality is that if we live long enough… pain and suffering will be part of our life journey… Is pain or suffering often a result of sinful choices? Sometimes… but to categorically place suffering in this limited perspective leaves us with a simple answer… but not an answer that can be applied in all situations. Bad things happen to good people… people who haven’t blatantly sinned or rejected God… people like you and me…

As I read the story of Job this morning, I realized that my feelings about finding the simple answer are tied to my hope that if I live good enough that bad things won’t happen to me…. and if I can explain all the bad things that happen to others around me in the box of their own personal sin and choices, then my belief can remain intact… What it really shows is my lack of compassion for people when I think this way…

Let’s strive to be a friend, a neighbor, a person, who doesn’t first look to protect our own thinking about suffering, but looks through the eyes of compassion and love and reaches a hand to help…

I’ve encouraged our Journeys small group to join this site and already this week, 7 have joined and have started using the resources… 

I recommend you go to the site now and start using the resources… 

Our group is using the Chronoogical Bible Reading Plan… You can find our group by searching using the keyword Journeys, Our church also has a group named The Assembly at Broken Arrow. This resource works well with the new spiritual growth plan that we just started as a church… let’s keep growing spiritually in this new decade…

Christmas 2009

The Simons would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.  We hope you have an amazing holiday with your family and friends as you remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior.  This Christmas season we had the joy and privilege of having Jean-nette Schwartz join our family as she continues to recover from her recent fall… We’ve adopted her in our family… and we felt it fitting to include her in our family picture this year. Merry Christmas!

Click on the link below to hear one of our families favorite Christmas songs…Barry is on flugelhorn… One last time for the holiday…

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas