<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Word of God Japan]]></title><description><![CDATA[Serving the people of Japan while helping increase access to FREE Bible resources.]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:57:54 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Waiting Was Never Waisted]]></title><description><![CDATA[It is 9:52 PM. We are planted firmly at American Airlines, luggage stacked like a small village around us, three children sprawled across chairs, and not a single desk worker in sight. Apparently, the security and ticket agents were scheduled to stay until 10:00… maybe 10:30. They left at “surprise.” And so here we are — me, Nathan, Jonathan, and our three little travelers — the only family camping overnight in the airport. Our flight doesn’t depart until 5:00–5:30 AM. We have officially...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/waiting-was-never-waisted</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a3d40bfb8a3199f3449588</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2026 06:01:43 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Across the Sea of His Faithfulness: A Family Guided by Grace]]></title><description><![CDATA[There are moments in life when you realize you are standing inside a prayer you once whispered in exhaustion. Nathan (35) and I (35), with Eva (13), Enoch (5), sweet Serenity nearly one, and Jonathan (37) — Nathan’s steadfast childhood friend — have long dreamed of going overseas. Not simply to see new places, but to encounter the beauty of what many call the “Oriental cultures,” to sit among people different from us, and to tell them about the hope of Jesus Christ. For years, that dream felt...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/across-the-sea-of-his-faithfulness-a-family-guided-by-grace</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a35785fb8a3199f344642d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 21:03:48 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Faith Over Fear]]></title><description><![CDATA[Foundation: Trusting God in Protection, Provision, and His Perfect Will “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” — Proverbs 3:5–6 There comes a point in life when faith is no longer poetic — it becomes survival. It becomes breath. It becomes the anchor that holds you when the winds do not merely blow, but rage. For me, trusting the Lord has not been theoretical. It has been forged in fire...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/faith-over-fear</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a2cfc1fb8a3199f3442bc3</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 11:22:18 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Raised Between Faiths]]></title><description><![CDATA[I was raised between incense and inquiry. Between ritual and searching. Between devotion and distance. My mother, Linda, was a devout Catholic raised in South Philadelphia, wrapped in strong Irish familial ties. Two sisters. Two brothers. Aunt Cheryl, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Chuck, and Uncle Tommy. Faith was tradition. Loyalty was bloodline. Endurance was inherited. My father, Andrew, was raised differently. Where my mother knew structure, my father knew exploration. Where she inherited certainty,...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/raised-between-faiths</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a24b5efb8a3199f344125a</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:03:16 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Order, Not Fear: Choosing Covenant Over Contingency]]></title><description><![CDATA[There was a season when voices around me spoke more loudly than Scripture. Practical voices. Protective voices. Well-meaning voices. “Have a separate bank account.” “Prepare in case he leaves.” “Protect yourself first.” The advice sounded wise. It sounded strong. It sounded independent. Fear often disguises itself as wisdom. Marriage, however, was never designed to be built on contingency plans. Covenant does not flourish in the soil of suspicion. When I stood before God and vowed...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/order-not-fear-choosing-covenant-over-contingency</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a23712fb8a3199f34408fb</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:30:31 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Quiet Power of Honor: Raising Children Who Reflect It]]></title><description><![CDATA[am often asked how my children are “so good.” The question usually carries a tone of surprise, sometimes admiration, occasionally curiosity. I understand what people are noticing. They see respect in their tone. They see obedience in their response. They see restraint where chaos is common. The answer is simple. Discipline. Not harshness. Not control. Not perfection. Discipline. Hebrews 12:11 tells us plainly, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/the-quiet-power-of-honor-raising-children-who-reflect-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a23651fb8a3199f34408c5</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:27:15 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dust, Daughters, and the Mirror: Choosing Eternity Over Youth]]></title><description><![CDATA[Motherhood changes a woman quietly at first. Softness replaces sharpness. Sleepless nights trace themselves beneath attentive eyes. Stretch marks write stories across once-unmarked skin. The mirror becomes both witness and critic. Culture whispers its solutions almost immediately—restore, refine, erase, enhance. Youth is marketed as virtue. Aging is treated like failure. The temptation does not always shout. It glimmers. Living in a world saturated with beauty treatments, injectables,...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/dust-daughters-and-the-mirror-choosing-eternity-over-youth</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a2359dfb8a3199f344086a</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:24:39 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Strength in the Hollow: A Wife and Mother’s Journey from Mountains to Missoon]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is a particular loneliness that accompanies chronic illness. Autoimmune disease does not arrive loudly with a single diagnosis and a tidy treatment plan. It lingers, shifts, flares, quiets, then rises again. It inhabits the body like an uninvited tenant, rearranging strength, stamina, and expectation without permission. Marriage continues. Motherhood continues. Laundry continues. Faith must continue. I once lived beneath the vast skies of Colorado Springs , where mountains stood like...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/strength-in-the-hollow-a-wife-and-mother-s-journey-from-mountains-to-missoon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a23462fb8a3199f344080b</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:21:03 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Provision Requires Humility]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is something deeply vulnerable about needing help. Not wanting it. Not offering it. But needing it. Whether financially, physically, or mentally — asking can feel like exposure. It presses against pride. It confronts independence. It whispers lies like, “You should be stronger than this.” But Scripture tells a different story. “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” — James 4:6 Sometimes the breakthrough does not come through striving harder. It comes through bowing...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/when-provision-requires-humility</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a1e413fb8a3199f343e384</guid><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:36:52 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sanctified By the Storm]]></title><description><![CDATA[Grateful for the Storm There was a time I prayed for the storm to pass. Now I thank God for the storm itself. Because every wind that shook us only revealed what could not be shaken. “Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” — Hebrews 12:28 Time and time again we have walked through thunderclouds together — hand in hand, sometimes trembling, sometimes weary — but never alone. Marriage is not strengthened in ease. It is strengthened in endurance. “Many are the...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/sanctified-by-the-storm</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a1e334fb8a3199f343e30e</guid><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:33:37 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Body That Broke : A Soul Being Built]]></title><description><![CDATA[In 2012, when I went in to deliver my firstborn, I did not know I would also be handed diagnoses that would change the course of my life. Motherhood arrived wrapped in both joy and trembling. They discovered Graves’ disease, Crohn’s disease, neuropathy, and muscular dystrophy. Words that felt heavy in the sterile hospital air. Words that sounded like endings. But God does not write in endings. “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.” — Joel 2:25 What I thought was...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/a-body-that-broke-a-soul-being-built</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a1e21efb8a3199f343e23d</guid><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:29:32 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Clean Hearts Not Heavy Hands: Preparing Our Home Without Passing Down the Pressure]]></title><description><![CDATA[As we prepare to leave for Japan, our home feels like it’s holding its breath. Suitcases slowly fill. The pantry is being simplified. Deep cleaning is happening in waves. Nathan is working tirelessly on the website (we’re praying it goes live soon). Stickers with QR codes sit on the counter, ready to be shared with supporters who want daily prayer updates. There is excitement — and there is pressure. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I’m just… Mom. The Tension We Don’t Talk About...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/clean-hearts-not-heavy-hands-preparing-our-home-without-passing-down-the-pressure</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a07aa8fb8a3199f3433212</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:02:03 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Truth in All Religions , Understanding the Connection]]></title><description><![CDATA[All four traditions acknowledge that reality is more than material: Shinto – Belief in kami (spiritual beings / divine presence in nature). Taoism – The unseen flow of the Tao (the Way) underlying all existence. Buddhism – Spiritual realms, karma, rebirth. Christianity – God, angels, demons, heaven, and spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12).  Book of Enoch connection: The Book of Enoch speaks of spiritual beings influencing humanity (Enoch 6–16, the Watchers). It reinforces the biblical...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/truth-in-all-religions-understanding-the-connection</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e4f598133563068c9e528</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:25:30 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When God Makes A Way He Sends the Right People]]></title><description><![CDATA[As we prepare for Japan, we are constantly reminded of this truth: where there is God’s will, there is always His way. And often, His way includes the beautiful gift of people walking alongside you. This season, that gift looks like Nathan’s lifelong friend, Jonathan Elliot. Nathan and Jonathan have shared many years of friendship — rooted in faith, sharpened by life experience, and strengthened through seasons of growth. There is something powerful about childhood friendships that mature...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/when-god-makes-a-way-he-sends-the-right-people</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e41108133563068c9da82</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:25:08 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Our Beliefs]]></title><description><![CDATA[We are a family called by God to live intentionally, disciple deeply, and go wherever He sends us. Our mission flows from a simple conviction: The Word of God is living, active, and sufficient (Hebrews 4:12). It is our authority, our foundation, and our guide as we raise our children, serve the nations, and build digital platforms that freely share biblical truth. Scripture We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. It is not a cultural suggestion but...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/our-beliefs</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e33318133563068c9d5a7</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 23:26:55 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Preparing Our Hearts for Japan: How God Used Our Past to Prepare Our “Yes”]]></title><description><![CDATA[Stepping into missions in Japan isn’t a spontaneous decision for our family — it is the fruit of years of quiet preparation, stretching seasons, refinement, and surrender. When we look back, we can clearly see that God was training us long before we knew where He would send us. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” — Proverbs 16:3 1. Homeschooling: Training Beyond Academics For the past several months, we have intentionally homeschooled our children with Japan in...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/preparing-our-hearts-for-japan-how-god-used-our-past-to-prepare-our-yes</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e2bd08133563068c9d2c1</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 22:55:42 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Preparing for Japan: Cleaning House &#38; Softening Hearts.]]></title><description><![CDATA[As we prepare for our journey to Japan, the Lord has been working in us just as much as around us. These past weeks haven’t only been about packing suitcases — they’ve been about preparing hearts and homes. Preparing Our Home as a Place of Peace Before stepping into a new season overseas, we felt deeply led to bring order and peace to our home. Not just for ourselves, but for those who will steward it while we’re gone. We’ve been: Deep cleaning room by room Donating clothes, toys, and items...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/preparing-for-japan-cleaning-house-softening-hearts</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e21928133563068c9d004</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 22:13:43 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Raising Mission-Minded Children in a Modern World]]></title><description><![CDATA[In a world driven by noise, speed, and self-promotion, we are choosing something slower. Something intentional. Something eternal. We are raising our children to see beyond borders. Modern culture teaches children to ask, “What do I want to be?” We are teaching ours to ask, “Lord, where do You want me to serve?” “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” — Matthew 6:33 Faith Before Ambition Our theological perspective is simple and deeply rooted: God first. Family second. Mission...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/raising-mission-minded-children-in-a-modern-world</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e15338133563068c9cc32</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:17:58 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Kristin Ricker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Summary of our Past to Present]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the quiet weaving of God’s providence, some stories begin not with certainty—but with surrender. Ours is a story shaped by movement, marked by loss, refined by faith, and anchored in a calling that stretches across the Pacific to the shores of Japan. Nathan Mark Ricker was born and raised under the Florida sun, grounded in a heritage of faith. Raised in the church and educated in private Christian school, his foundation was laid early—Scripture woven into daily life. Yet his path would not...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/summary-of-our-past-to-present</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699e1403bf1bf6f6a2a4c842</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:13:05 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>WordofGod Japan</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Navigating Family, Faith, and Finances: Our Journey to Japan in 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Planning a long-term trip abroad is never simple, especially when it involves a growing family and a deep sense of purpose. Our journey to Japan, originally set for 2025, took an unexpected turn when we discovered we were expecting another child. This joyful news led us to delay our plans, allowing us to welcome Serenity Sakura Ricker into the world on March 11, 2025. Now, with our family complete and hearts full, we are ready to resume our adventure. In March 2026, we will spend a month in...]]></description><link>https://www.wordofgodjapan.com/post/navigating-family-faith-and-finances-our-journey-to-japan-in-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699db8d191604ab56c31b4df</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:44:34 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>WordofGod Japan</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>