Our Saturday was all about images. Here are three from our day:

Image 1: Orange Carved Images:
Next Wednesday, October 31st, our community children’s club is going trick-or-treating. The difference between the American custom and what we are doing is: the moms on the committee (me and 4 others) have bought all the treats and will deliver the treats ahead of time to five different homes in the community. Then our children will go in groups to the five homes to “trick or treat.”
In preparation for this, each child was asked to decorate a plain white bag for collecting the treats. So, yesterday morning, Annie and Owen and I did a “project.” (Anything with paint, markers, or glue is considered a project – announcing a project brings great joy in our home!) We carved out two pieces of potato to make into a jack-o-lantern shape, and dipped them into paint and then onto our white bags. We made a few extra for our friends the Thomson kids, who we will see tomorrow for a separate Halloween celebration. It was a successful project morning: I was able to get the orange paint off of the tablecloth and the floor where it spilled. (successful project in my book = lots of smiles PLUS no permanent damage to the house).

Image 2: Gold Carved Images:

In the afternoon, Eric came home from his men’s English class and we decided to go on several errands, and ended the afternoon driving around Sanda’s Aono dam to look at the leaves changing colors. It is still a bit early, but the golden harvest colors were beautiful.

Across from the lake, we ended up turning around in front of a Buddhist temple that we often see from afar, featuring two LARGE gold Buddhas overlooking the valley. Up close, we couldn’t help but chuckle at the very large smiling Buddha in front of us. It seemed so out of place in this beautiful landscape…

The smiling Buddha is used in various Buddhist and New Age sects representing the desire by those who visit for prosperity. He is always depicted with a bald head, wide smile, big belly, and clutching a purse. In Japan, the statue is called hotei.

Image 3: Images from Heaven
Yesterday morning we woke up to a phone text message telling us that our annual church picnic was cancelled because of rain. Off and on all morning was cloudy, and then suddenly bursts of showers that spewed out and felt like the world was ending. Three minutes later, the sun fought its way through the clouds. It was the craziest weather — certainly not the day for a picnic. But a great reminder about what is real.
Pumpkins are fun — see an orange carved pumpkin and I smell apple cider and conjure up memories of dressing up with my sisters to go out and get treats. The smiling Buddha — popular today with Feng Shui fans, but merely an empty shell reflecting the whim of its human creator. But the rain pouring from the heavens… lightning suddenly filling the sky… these are tangible images that reflect the creativity, the beauty, the reality of our Creator God, the Lord of the Harvest.

(Jeremiah 51)
16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

17 “Every man is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
His images are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.

18 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.

19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the tribe of his inheritance—
the LORD Almighty is his name.