Food

I definitely believe that the good things of this world point forward to something else. While many things are good and created by God to be enjoyed, like Ecclesiastes points out turning these good things into god things is vanity and surely to disappoint. But one thing Ecclesiastes does command is for us to go enjoy the good things that God has given us, such as our spouses or our food.

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

(Ecclesiastes 9:7 ESV)

And I think this points forward to the amazing riches and treasures we have in heaven, the least of these being the messianic supper prophesied in Revelations.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

(Revelation 19:9 ESV)

The heavenly riches that we will enjoy through our adoption as sons of the living God are amazing and something I think that even though I have only understood an iota of how deep and lavish the riches of our adoption are, I'm already amazed at how wonderful a gift it is.

And so as someone who enjoys food, I just want to share that I can't wait for what heavenly feast awaits us for partaking already in the bread of life!

So this post is about food. Knowing that while these things were good, the best is yet to come. And also people have asked me what I've been eating.

This is a konbu nigiri. I've been eating a ton of different nigiri. Nigiri means rice ball and it's probably been my most common meal.

The super market near our apartment often has really good sales on stuff that they didn't sell earlier that day since they need to sell it before it goes bad. Thus I've been eating some pretty good things that otherwise would probably be a little too pricy. This is an unagi bento or eel box lunch!

Nagoya is famous for cafes and coffee shops. Most of them have free morning sets, meaning that by just ordering a coffee you get a small free breakfast like a boiled egg and toast. This is Komeda which is famous in Nagoya (though not that great in my opinion =P)

This is my favorite ramen shop in Japan, Ippudou. I was so glad to find one in Nagoya since last time I had it was when I was studying abroad in Kyoto. Definitely was a great meal =)

This is okonomiyaki. It's a specialty of Japan and it's sort of like a savory pancake made from egg and batter and filled with savory things like meat. It's really quite good though it looks unusual.

I also am really fond of inari sushi. It's sushi wrapped with this sweet tofu shell. I eat it a lot and I also get it on sale from the supermarket.
I also have been cooking! This is something I made. It's black cod (gindara in Japanese) and I marinated it in miso sauce and served it ontop of some chazuke (rice tea porridge) and topped it with some wakame (seaweed) salad.
Japan also has the best bakeries I think. On par or better than Paris. I bought this bread for breakfast one day.
My roommate and I really like this Indian place that is about a 10-15 minute bike ride away. The owner came all the way from India to Japan for the purpose of starting an Indian restaurant. Their broccoli rice is amazing and they have free second helpings!

Japanese curry is also probably my favorite type of curry. There's a chain called CoCoIchiban that is near our house and it's definitely great for an affordable but delicious and filling meal.

Yoshinoya is also a very popular chain in Japan. It's basically fast food beef bowls. I'd take this over McDonalds any day though. Like McDonalds not the healthiest for you though. =P
But on the other hand some people are eating super healthy! This missionary is pretty amazing. He makes himself a smoothie for dinner and breakfast and puts crazy healthy things in it. This one has a whole head of broccoli and sticks of celery and grapes and many other fruits and veggies. This is only half his smoothie actually. It takes two really big cups to gulp down. Pretty intense.

Nagoya is also famous for kishimen, which is a flat type of noodles. I got this at a food court.

Okay, I hope now that I've whet your appetites you're excited to come do missions in Japan!?!

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Matthew 8:10-12 ESV)