kerplunkcrashsplat!!! September 28, 2007

this was the sound of my old computer
as it plummeted into its dark grave.

yes…it’s dead.

i am now writing this post from a new
lovelyblackshiny machine.

it all happened so quickly.
i’m sad to say that all, yes, all
my files are gone forever.
i hadn’t backed up my computer
in a while…it’s totally my fault.

there is a nice man working on my hard
drive trying to salvage what he can…
but with very little hope.

but all is well, and the Father has graciously
provided me with the means to get a new
one.

I am thankful.

what’s in a name September 28, 2007

when i left redeemer in june
they were, and still are, moving
through deuteronomy.  i was
grieved to leave.

but upon arriving in hawaii and finding
trinity church, they started to teach
through the ten commandments. pastor
todd is using exodus as the main, text. 

each sunday morning as i drive over the
pali highway, through the mountain,
along the road that is threatened to be
taken over by the jungle, the bright teal
ocean stretching out to the side of me,
i prepare myself for the message and
worship to come.  i listen to a redeemer
sermon on the drive to and from church.

this week was the third commandment:
“you shall not take the name of the LORD
your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold
him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

i worked saturday night, and got off work
at 8:00am on sunday.  i had just enough time
to shower and change.  while picking out
something to wear i thought to myself,
exhausted from the previous 12 hours of work,
“do i really want to do this?”

“and let us consider how to stir one another up
toward love and good works, not neglecting to
meet together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all the more as
you see the Day drawing near.”
Heb 10:24-25

came to mind. 
So, i dressed and went.

and oh!
a flood of blessing…
a flood of the unmistakable presence of the Lord…
like no other sunday i’ve been here.
the day i had to fight the hardest to
be spiritually and physically prepared
was the day my heart was  pierced
and gripped the most since i’ve been here.

my heart that threatens to revert to its
previous state, a heart of stone, was
melted and warmed, and i was enveloped
by the everlasting gracious love of Christ.

at the beginning of the message pastor todd
quoted redeemer’s very own, john lin, using
an illustration of his. i smiled from ear to
ear trying to hold back my tears as i
remembered my sweet community at rpc.

on my drive home i listened to mark robinson’s
message on the third commandment.
it went along perfectly…. no beautifully  
with what i’d just heard from todd. 
my heart was happy and full.

“Oh, magnify the Lord, and let us exalt his
name together!”  Psalm 34:3

beautiful hawaii September 28, 2007

in the past 36 hours i’ve seen

t h r e e

full, bright, and brilliant

r a i n b o w s

it’s been rainy.
by raining i mean that it
downpours for 20-30 minutes
four or more times a day.
while it rains the sky is bright
and sunny.

sunny!!  it’s amazing.

i’m always reminded of the promises
of God as i see the rainbows.
i am always caught off guard,
breathless and barely able to keep
my car on the road.

i want candy!! September 21, 2007

i went to the mall to do a bit
of shopping this afternoon.

living in hawaii there is one season:

warmsunnybeautifulsummertime!!!

but in other lovely places fall is coming.

the changing of leaves
cool weather that requires long sleeves
gourds used as decorations
shades of browns, yellows, and oranges all over
charlie brown cartoons
(the great pumpkin and thanksgiving)

one of my favorite ways to tell autumn is
on its way is when

p u m p k i n   s p i c e   l a t t e

returns to the menu at startbucks.
and it has!!

my goal every fall and winter is to
eat
drink
smell
look at

as much pumpkin as possible.

all of you friends in places that have more
than one season…
i expect pictures and stories of fall! 
it might help to satisfy my longing for
all that is autumn.

 ___________________________

so, i’m in a candy store getting a treat for
a birthday boy and i stopped to look at all
the jelly bellies.

did you know that i once was quite an avid
jelly bellie connoisseur?  i could tell you each
flavor by tasting them blindfolded.

well i was amazed at the new flavors.
who wants to eat some of these flavors?!
i don’t know!

7-up
baked bean
roasted garlic
mango
buttered toast
pomegranate
smoothie blend
jalapeno

everyone should visit a candy store
annually…just to arouse the kid in us
that gets buried by the daily grind
of adult life,  double espressos,  and
retirement plans.

j.a. September 18, 2007

julie and i saw becoming jane last night.

wow.  kj, you were right about it.

i was so moved, so heartbroken.
julie and i sat still in our seats

silent

shaken

tears flowing

as the credits rolled on.

i had a hard time getting to sleep
last night.  i kept playing it all over
again in my head…especially the last
few moments of the film.

if you have not seen it….you must!!
it gives new depth and insight to
her stories.

dump on the party September 17, 2007

the clouds tried to ruin the fun
this past saturday, but they

f a i l e d

it was gray and rainy half the day,
but we still played our little hearts
out.

julie and i packed a little lunch and
took ourselves down to the

thunderbird air show

it was great fun. 
they are unbelievable!

i hadn’t been to an air show
since i was a girl with my dad.
of course, i called him on the
phone and let him hear the
boom of the jets flying overhead.

“look out because they like to distract
the crowd and then one jet will come
up from behind and scare everyone.”

at precisely that moment a sneaky jet
thundered overhead giving everyone a
startle.

dad’s…they are always right on the money!

     

we parked at the mall and walked to the
beach-ish area nearby to view the show.
we saw these horses parked in a space.

apparently, some cowboys got distracted
by the air show and left their horses to
take in the glory of the thunderbirds.
the horses where saddled and ready to
go.  julie and i were tempted to spring
them and take them for a ride.

we practiced self control….

after the air show we bolted home for
a quick change and grabbed the frisbee.

that’s right!  we went for a couple games
of ultimate.  it was buckets of fun!!
sweat…
dirt…
lots of running…
guarding a big red-headed guy twice my size…
sweet jumping grabs of the frisbee out of the
air and from the hand of the opponent…
playing part of the game in the rain!…
does a game of ultimate get any better
than that?!   it was all so jolly good!

here is a shot of all of us doing some
push ups after the game. 

we finished up the evening with a night
swim in hydie’s pool and veggie burgers
from teddy’s.

i’ve had some really fun days lately!!

anne’s house of dreams September 17, 2007

last week at the beach julie and i were
reading anne aloud when we came across
this beautiful passage. we noted it, and
promised to print it out and hang it in
our apt. somewhere.  

please read and enjoy! 

 

On one side, across the channel, stretched the silvery sand shore of the bar; on the other, extended a long, curving beach of red cliffs, rising steeply from the pebbled coves. It was a shore that knew the magic and mystery of storm and star. There is a great solitude about such a shore. The woods are never solitary-they are full of whispering, beckoning, friendly life. But the sea is a mighty soul, forever moaning of some great, unshareable sorrow, which shuts it up into itself for all eternity. We can never pierce it’s infinite mystery- we may only wander, odd and spell-bound, on the outer fringe of it. The woods call to us with a hundred voices, but the sea has one only- a mighty voice that drowns our souls in it’s majestic music. The woods are human, but the sea is of the company of the arch angels. (page 54  Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery)

 

aren’t both the forest and the sea
calling to you?!! 

they are to me!

lazy day September 17, 2007

last week i had the most relaxing two days.

i got to take as much time as i wanted
to skim the books of barnes and noble.
i haven’t done this in months.

i parked myself in the children’s books
section for a while, laughing the new
mo wellims books…
elephant and piggie are so cute, such
trusting friends.

and, of course, i looked at the toot and puddle
books…my favorite!
i hope to be as good of a friend to others
as toot and puddle are to each other.

i looked through the classics ashamed of how
many i have never read.

then i parked myself in the dictionary
section…am a dweeb or what?!
right across the isle were books about
writing and how to write a letter. so i
skimmed some of those for a while.

there were many sections i did not get to
graze through such as:

cooking
travel
photography

but i was a happy girl when julie came
looking for me.

the next day was also practically perfect: 

after a lazy morning i took myself
down to kahala beach…the wedding spot.
(see previous post for more pictures)
i had a wonderful and long chat with
carol h. who i haven’t talked to in way too
long. then read for a while.
(i’m reading the knowledge of the holy one)

now it doesn’t sound so perfect, but it was.
my heart was happy, my soul restful and at
peace.  my internal pace, slow. the waves
crashing on the shore threatening to wet
my feet.  the sand soft between my toes,
the sun radiating into my soul through its
warmth on my skin.

this was my view from my back on the beach
chair.

then i packed up my things and strolled
down the beach back to my car.

as i’m dragging my feet through the water,
a sweet breeze blows the trees on the shore
leaves and flower blossoms from the trees
come raining down on me.  it was heavenly.

as if this were not enough …

i went home to eat dinner with julie in just
enough time to change into my tennis skirt!
we met a friend from colombia for tennis.
ps…i stink at tennis!  but it was so fun.
the diving for the ball
the lobbing it just over the net…
the getting it from the court next to you
the apologizing to the other players whose
game you’ve interrupted by your clumsy
and inaccurate return.

…i told you i’m no good, but we had a jolly
ol’ time!

wouldn’t you say that’s a nice, practically
perfect day?

sorry, no pics of me in a tennis skirt yet.

pages September 13, 2007

shane &  shane just released a new
album called

P A G E S

it’s so good
so very very good
moving
refreshing
restful
passionate
worshipful

before the throne of God above is one of
my fav. hymns…they have a sweet version
of it on this cd.

holiday is the song on repeat today

you are my holiday
you are right in the middle of me
you are my hideaway
you are home

i’m calling out your name
oh, my holiday.
you make my heart new and i love you
what it is i’m trying to say….
is you are my favorite part of me.

that last line!
it’s absolutely true!

(i put a link to their website 
it takes a second to come up,
be patient…it’s worth it!)

happy birthday to you September 8, 2007

two dear friends are celebrating
birthdays today.

happy birthday caroline cates!
you are a lovely precious girl

happy birthday scott ryan alexander
wish you were near to have some
birthday fun and laughs. 

from left to right:
rebekah, dan, me, scott

a dose of brad and marci September 7, 2007

one dose is not enough!

you know how you can’t eat just one chip?
well, it’s the same with marci and brad painter.
unfortunately, my dosing is limited.
they left for oklahoma on wednesday afternoon!
i’ll quote boys to men and say:

“it’s so hard to say goodbye”

but tuesday, i got them almost all day!!

marci and i started out with plans for
high tea with monica. the place was
closed so we went to another tea room.
it was sweet to be with those two women
over dainty tea room food on the beautiful
patio of the restaurant.

brad babysat moriah, moni’s one year old.
have i said how great of a guy brad is?

then marci, brad and i went to the beach!

kailua

we lazily drifted in our pink rafts while brad
built the sand castle of his dreams.
we moved from the water to the sand when i
started to get seasick!
                            w e i r d
then back into the water, then back to
the beach.

marci and i had a wonderful time catching
up and sharing like old times. it’s smooth and
easy with marci.

we saw a sea turtle swimming in the water
near us!  we called for brad to get his mask
and snorkel.  after convincing him that we
were not joking with him he set out to find
the turtle.

and he did! he even touched it’s shell
shhhhhhhhhhhhh, don’t tell!
he didn’t know that it’s outlawed.

after the glee of the turtle he gave a
tour of his sand castle….
the sea wall
the houses inside the wall
the market
the fortresses
the mote
….it was all there.

after a quick clean up, we went for dinner
at my favorite thai place with julie.

it was a lovely day with those friends.

the next day i took them to the airport.
after hugs and reminisent kisses from our
time overseas (from marci) we said goodbye.
i miss them already.

      

bird’s eye view September 7, 2007

on labor day me, julie, jarod, and
four other guys went on a hike.
i was quite nervous prior to the hike
because it was intermediate/advanced.
i don’t hike that much.

julie said, “if p90x has not prepared
us for this, then it’s junk!!!”

she was right!  we did very well.

the terrain changed drastically three
or so times; forest, trees, vines.  deep
red packed oklahoma-like dirt.   soft
pine forest, long thin needles covered
the ground like a soft blanket.  big rocks
and boulders.

there were ropes to pull yourself up the
really steep portions at 4 different points.
after we started to get up a bit we had to
regularly stop and admire the view.  it was
virtually impossible not to, even thought
each opening in the trees revealed almost
the same view as our prior stop.  it was
breathtaking.  the bright blue waters, the
deep rich green jungle, the jagged wall of
mountains to one side of us…it was all so
magnificent. 

the entire hike took us only 2-ish hours,
even after lingering at the top for a while.
i think it was 4-something miles.

we ran down the last 75% of it.
there is nothing like running at
near top speed through the woods,
jumping over tree trunks and rocks.
julie and i smoked all the boys, but
two:  tim, who is in the coast guard,
and jarod, who got lucky and moved
ahead of us on a rocky part near the
top. it is a miracle that none of us broke
an ankle… really!

              

several times i thought, “my mom would
K I L L  me if she knew what i was doing!”
and i felt like a mother (or grandmother)
the whole time pointing out everything
that was dangerous, but strangely did not
hesitate when it came time to step onto
the trail. 

post-hike we took a dip in hydie’s
incredible pool (her apt’s pool).
the one julie and i were previously
kicked out of because we lacked one thing…
hydie!

for dinner we had burgers at
teddy’s.  don’t worry, i had a veggie
burger and said no to the chocolate
peanut butter shake. 

it was a delightful holiday.

warning: pedestrian crossing September 7, 2007

on the way to the beach in kailua we
were heading down the road, full of
traffic moving along steadily.

a lady walks into traffic at a crosswalk,
but one in the middle of the street with
no lights or signs at it.

for fear that i’d cause a wreck or clog up
traffic i did not stop, but cautiously
drove past, unsure of what i’m supposed to
do in that situation.

lights- blue flashing lights in my rearview
mirror.

a nice sensible looking officer came to
my window asking for my information.

“do you know why i pulled you over?
you didn’t stop for the pedestrian”

i asked for clarification of the law
as he pleasantly wrote down all my
information in his little book.

he asked me what i did in hawaii.
i happily told him…

“i’m a nurse!”

he almost threw my papers and license
back at me.

“i don’t give tickets to nurses!
my mom was a nurse for 44 years.
i just don’t give tickets to nurses.”

he told me the new pedestrian laws and
told me that tickets for this now go
straight to court.  i dodged a H U G E
bullet!!

it pays to be a nurse…on many different
levels.

then we asked for directions to the beach.

he gave them gladly and added,

“take everything with you, yeah!?!
there are guys who like to go shopping
in the cars at the beach…nothing is safe.”

i was so thankful!!  later on marci and i
took time to thank God for his protection.

holistic healthcare for cats September 7, 2007

julie and i were perusing through a
used book store on our walk home
from a local health food store last night
and we found this book.

cat care naturally: holistic healthcare for cats

we were almost crying in the store, i
had to sit down on the floor of the
i was laughing so hard.  julie purchased
it for only $5.23 including tax. she is
going to send it to her brother, who will
laugh harder than we did…no are.  but
before she does i wanted to share a few
excerpts with you.

chapter 4  nutrition

“an age old practice fasting is one of the most valuable and overlooked modes of healing…i only fast my cats when i have time to give them special care-extra love and lots of broth and water. if you choose to fast your cat the fasting day is a wonderful time for grooming and cuddling.  do not fast your cat when you are not at home, she needs the extra attention when deprived of her food!….

as you switch your cat over to the fresh food diet, you’ll probably observe what Patt McKay refers to as voluntary fasting…since i usually feed most everyone together, i initially got a mixed bag of reactions. it took four months to convert all my cats to the diet, i did however resort to feline aerobics before dinner to help them work up an appetite.”

chapter 7  other healing approaches

“i play new age music often in my home to alter the mood and expand awareness. my cats especially like the recording of bird calls which are available at various nature stores and catalogs. a friend sent me a tape entitled “pet pops-for cats”(see resources). the cats settle down nicely and meow along with this tape when i play it in the car on the way to and from cat shows.”

on the back of the book it says that this
book is the most complete book on cat
healthcare ever published…it condensed
a wealth of information into a readable
format. 
p.s. these rave reviews were directly
quoted from the forward of the book. 

at least one third of the book was devoted
to mineral supplements for your cat; such
as the correct amount of colloidal silver and
gold to give your cat to alter its consciousness
….just kidding…i mean mood. if you want to
know how much star of bethlehem to give
your cat you’re going to have to read the book
yourself.  i’m not giving anything else away.

there is so much more funny stuff i could
include, but will hold back.

just kiss the fist and walk away.
kiss the fist and walk away.

written by julie and lisa

p.s. julie is putting a copy of this
post in her quiet time journal.

Thanksgiving September 3, 2007

can i share a few things with you that i am
thankful for today?

1. my treasured friend, cory cates, is at home
and doing well after his surgery on tuesday! 
i cannot be more glad-hearted on behalf of the
cates family for the blessings bestowed upon them
by our gracious and loving God. my gatitude
toward our Maker and Great Physician is great.

2. my mom is coming to visit me in hawaii for
christmas!! she already has her plane tickets.
i couldn’t ask for kinder lovelier parents towards
me. 

3.  my little poni had a clogged throttle body
making the accelerator stick…no good!!
i took it to a shop close by and the guy fixed
it in 3 minutes for F R E E !!

4.  my sweet roommate is almost as big a
college football fan as brianne.  i like to have
sports lovers in my life…and boy do i!!

5.  if you know how i feel about working days,
you will understand why i’m so thankful.  a
permanent nights position is available on my
floor and it looks likely that i’ll get it.

6.  a whole foods is going into a mall near by.
again, if you know how i feel about whole foods,
you should be rejoicing with me. 

 i hope you are all well with hearts overflowing
with thanks today.