Have you run out of rice? お米、足りてる?

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English Transcript coming soon...
This week's song🎧

What is your staple food? What do you rely on to keep you alive and well each day?あなたの主食は何ですか?何を頼りに毎日を元気に過ごしていますか?

“Bless Your Mind” Podcast hosted by Isis Berns.
Generously created by the local Japan, Hokkaido radio station AIR-G’ 80.4FM
Isis is a volunteer pastor with her husband Johannes Berns at a local Christian church in Hokkaido, Lifehouse Sapporo. 
 
カナダ出身のIsis Bernsが、日曜日の朝に癒しと祝福を送るPodcast優しいバイリンガルで楽しく英語に親しむことができます。北海道のラジオ局AIR-G’ 80.4 FMから配信しています。

“There’s no rice left in Japan!” The media around the world was going wild with this news. I went to the supermarket to buy rice and didn’t see any, so I asked my husband to get some on the way home from work. He said “I can’t, there’s no rice left in Japan.” And I laughed thinking, ‘Haha, nice joke.’ Like, there’s no way that’s possible, right? But it was true!!

Just to be clear, the convenience stores and the schools and the restaurants still had rice. Just people who wanted to buy rice in supermarkets were in trouble for a few days. I actually got rice already again, from my local supermarket. And the new harvest is coming in very soon, here in Hokkaido. So we’re good. Thank God!

But a lot of people panicked when rice ran out here in Japan. It’s the staple food! I was shocked too! But I was also so encouraged to hear from neighbors and friends, asking “do you need rice? I know a farmer that has some… I can share some of mine with you!” Wonderfully kind. I love Japan!

But it was interesting to see everyone’s reactions. “No rice! What do we do? We can’t survive!” It reminded me of this Bible verse:

“Man does not live on bread alone.” Matthew 4:4

Essentially that means, people need more than material things to truly live.  形のあるものだけでは生きて行けないです。You can have all the money in the world, and still be miserable. You can eat all the good food in the world, and still think it tastes awful, if your mental health is in a bad place.

What would you do if the one thing you relied on to survive just vanished from your life? Think about it… what sustains you? What are you eating? What gives you that strength to liven? Rice, your job, a person, a family member or friend, or your finances? Well, what would happen if that disappeared, would you panic?

We need to make sure whatever sustains us, is something that never disappears. Think about what you can hold on to that lasts beyond materialism. Make that what sustains you. For example: Faith, hope and love. And the strongest of these is love. Nobody can steal those from you.

What do you live on? What gives you your strength? Let’s try to rely on things that last forever. And let that give you the power to keep living.

And this is for Christians listening: I’ve been a christian for over a decade now. Before becoming a Christian, I’ve tried relying on money, on relationships, and on my work. They all changed or broke, and I was torn apart each time that happened. Then I decided to rely on God. He never breaks, He never leaves, he never disappoints. He’s with me through all the ups and downs, and pulls me up to a better place!

People ask me sometimes, why are you still okay, even through hard times? My reply is, God is my bread. God is my rice. If I lost everything, I can still survive, because I know that nobody can take my true staple food, my faith, away! And that gives me hope, joy, and freedom each day. Bread alone cannot do that.

Though, I do love good croissants and Hokkaido rice! 😉

The song for this week is:

“The Hunger” by Fireflight. A female singer Christian rock band from Florida, USA.

This song dives into the hunger for God and the deep craving to know Him more, to be spiritually fulfilled. The powerful lyrics and driving rock sound make it a great anthem for this theme. It’s from a few years ago, but it’s really fun to listen to.

HUNGERは気持ちの問題だよ

“You can’t make the hunger disappear
Do you want to spend your whole life jaded?”
「その飢えを消すことはできない
一生、心が”何か失っている気持ち”のままで過ごしたいの?

Stuck in a rut that you created
自分で作り出したマンネリにはまったまま

Why don’t you break the cycle?
Let love win.”
そのサイクルを断ち切って、
愛に勝たせてみない?」

Let me know what you thought about today’s episode. Send a message! I love hearing from you, let’s keep living life together.

I hope this could Bless Your Mind.