I am currently working on putting out 2 programs for school. One of them is this Friday; the next the following Tuesday. In all practicality, there is no way that I could do them both as I had originally envisioned them. I sort of knew that going in, but figured it was worth a try. :-) In the midst of my being frustrated with myself for forgetting things, not communicating well, or simply letting things fall through the cracks, I am learning a pretty big lesson. And that is what I wanted to share with you.
You see, even as my pride has been injured through this journey by the knowledge that things will not be as smooth and polished as I might have conjured them in my head, I think that I am beginning to see a bit of what God sees as important - His agenda, if you will - in these programs. As I am forced to let go and trust Him, I see His picture beginning to form. And it is a picture that brings tears to my eyes even now. I think God is being gracious in allowing things to come together in a manner that I think will be pleasing if not perfect, but here are a few of the ways I am seeing God's agenda playing out.
In the younger grades:
*Maddie, our kindergartner with Leukemia, has been able to participate in some after school rehearsals and is planning on performing with us. She is an "in-your-face" visual reminder that God will sustain us, even in the Wilderness. To hear her sing the words, "For all You have done Lord, my heart fills with gratitude. And for all that you are, Lord, I give you my praise. Now here in this very place, I have found your redeeming grace. Now I finally see how great Your love is for me." could melt even the hardest heart.
*Through a series of events that was not altogether pleasant for her teacher, God is taking one of our young soloists on a journey of learning submission. Out of respect for her I don't want to say too much, but I don't think the timing is a coincidence.
*Some of our children who have had problems in the past have found success in various little parts of the program. Two of my kindergarten boys have really stepped up to help lead their peers. Daniel and Koanui have had their struggles during the year and I love seeing them take their program responsibilities so seriously. They make great spies!
In the older grades:
*I assigned solos to many children who have never had one before and they have risen to the occasion. Not all of them are perfect, but I am so proud of them for getting up there and giving their best effort! For some, this is waaay outside their comfort zone.
*Some of the students decided to participate in skits. A few of them wrote their own lines and it was fun to watch their creativity ride. One of my girls is doing a monologue that talks about Jesus being our friend, not just our judge. I have enjoyed watching her as the words sink into her heart. The skits have provided more than a few teachable moments.
The older group did a run through of their program today and I saw some changes from when we started preparing this program. I saw students congratulating one another on a job well done and cheering one another on. I heard them laugh together and sing together. And I think these are the reasons God wanted this musical to happen.
All in all, I like what God is doing. Truly, in our weakness, He is strong. :-)
Thanks for letting me share.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Compassion Sunday
One of my prayers for Spring Break was that God would speak clearly during this time. That it would be a time free from clutter where I could hear His voice and grow a little. In an attempt to help facilitate that I have been on a liquid fast. (I have the worst craving for a good steak!) God is good and in many small ways I feel that I have heard His heart. So far it hasn't been anything huge, just glimpses of things through "God glasses." Nothing that I felt the need to sit and write about.
Until today. Today was Compassion Sunday at First Prez. Wess Stafford, president of Compassion Internation was scheduled to speak at our church. There have been few presidents of companies that I care to hear speak. Great business men rarely make for what I would consider a good speaker - at least on a heart level.
My tears started when Sonya began to sing a song about a Somalian woman. The song was accompanied by a video presentation. The Mr. Stafford stood up to speak. He spoke of growing up on the mission field and how everything he knew about how to run an international company was learned around the campfires of that small, poor village. He spoke of poverty as if it were a person or spirit working to steal hope from people all over the world. The service ended with some of our talented keiki singing. My tears, however, are still near the surface.
There are so few things that Jesus asked us to do. Make disciples. Feed the poor. Clothe the naked. Visit the prisoner. I would venture to say that most Christians spend most of their time focusing on making disciples - if that.
Something else happened Friday that impacted me greatly as well. I went to a Cancer Clinic to pray with patients. One of our members is a radiologist in the clinic and they advertise that there will be healing prayer for those who need encouragement each Friday. I heard about it for the first time on Friday and decided that I needed to go. Our shift was only for 45 minutes and we spent most of that time with one woman. We prayed with her, but God opened the door for us to talk and learn some critical things about her. Things like she moved into a new house just before she was diagnosed with cancer and they began treatment. She is a single mom of 4. She sleeps on a mattress on the floor. They have no microwave in the house and she has felt too week to go to church during her treatment cycle. She felt shame to ask for help and therefore has no one providing meals and/or words of encouragement. God opened the door for us to be able to begin meeting some of this woman's needs.
How many more hurting people must their be out there? And how do we find them? Is it reasonable to expect that we live our lives to purposefully be in certain places at certain times? To try to allow our paths to cross with the hurting? If so, how do we do this?
One of my roommates feels a burden for children in the sex trade. Another one has a heart for the children of Africa. In fact, she is there right now. Trying to do whatever she can to make a difference in their lives. They are my heros. People who refuse to turn a blind eye to what is happening around the world.
Obviously this begs the question, what should I be doing? How do I respond? Contribute? I do have the opportunity to influence a number of children through my job. And I think that is good. But I don't think that is all.
I used to speak a lot in different churches. I have only done this a few times in the past couple of years and may be a bit rusty, but I just can't shake the desire to do just that. I can teach and I can pray. While I do want to see and help first hand as many as possible, my heart is actually in building an army. I long to go to churches, missions, parks, whereever God might lead and share what He has shared with me.
1) God sees you free. From whatever binds you up. God sees you as if you were already free. He knows your potential and longs to work with you to see it come to pass. No matter what your prison, it is not a barrior God can not work through.
2) God sees others free. As we learn to walk in freedom, God calls us to see others through His eyes of freedom. To see the potential hidden within. To love no matter the cost or the loss. He wants us to become vessels for His freedom.
3) God longs to empower us to be those vessels of freedom. On our own, there is little we can do. But if we learn to allow God's power to flow through us, there is nothing we cannot do.
So how do I combine those desires? How do I live in an intentional way? How do I communicate these things to my kids? How do I incorporate these values into teaching music? How do I organize my life so that the most important things do not get left out?
I am rambled out for today. Feel free to share your thoughts on any number of items I rambled on about today. :-)
Until today. Today was Compassion Sunday at First Prez. Wess Stafford, president of Compassion Internation was scheduled to speak at our church. There have been few presidents of companies that I care to hear speak. Great business men rarely make for what I would consider a good speaker - at least on a heart level.
My tears started when Sonya began to sing a song about a Somalian woman. The song was accompanied by a video presentation. The Mr. Stafford stood up to speak. He spoke of growing up on the mission field and how everything he knew about how to run an international company was learned around the campfires of that small, poor village. He spoke of poverty as if it were a person or spirit working to steal hope from people all over the world. The service ended with some of our talented keiki singing. My tears, however, are still near the surface.
There are so few things that Jesus asked us to do. Make disciples. Feed the poor. Clothe the naked. Visit the prisoner. I would venture to say that most Christians spend most of their time focusing on making disciples - if that.
Something else happened Friday that impacted me greatly as well. I went to a Cancer Clinic to pray with patients. One of our members is a radiologist in the clinic and they advertise that there will be healing prayer for those who need encouragement each Friday. I heard about it for the first time on Friday and decided that I needed to go. Our shift was only for 45 minutes and we spent most of that time with one woman. We prayed with her, but God opened the door for us to talk and learn some critical things about her. Things like she moved into a new house just before she was diagnosed with cancer and they began treatment. She is a single mom of 4. She sleeps on a mattress on the floor. They have no microwave in the house and she has felt too week to go to church during her treatment cycle. She felt shame to ask for help and therefore has no one providing meals and/or words of encouragement. God opened the door for us to be able to begin meeting some of this woman's needs.
How many more hurting people must their be out there? And how do we find them? Is it reasonable to expect that we live our lives to purposefully be in certain places at certain times? To try to allow our paths to cross with the hurting? If so, how do we do this?
One of my roommates feels a burden for children in the sex trade. Another one has a heart for the children of Africa. In fact, she is there right now. Trying to do whatever she can to make a difference in their lives. They are my heros. People who refuse to turn a blind eye to what is happening around the world.
Obviously this begs the question, what should I be doing? How do I respond? Contribute? I do have the opportunity to influence a number of children through my job. And I think that is good. But I don't think that is all.
I used to speak a lot in different churches. I have only done this a few times in the past couple of years and may be a bit rusty, but I just can't shake the desire to do just that. I can teach and I can pray. While I do want to see and help first hand as many as possible, my heart is actually in building an army. I long to go to churches, missions, parks, whereever God might lead and share what He has shared with me.
1) God sees you free. From whatever binds you up. God sees you as if you were already free. He knows your potential and longs to work with you to see it come to pass. No matter what your prison, it is not a barrior God can not work through.
2) God sees others free. As we learn to walk in freedom, God calls us to see others through His eyes of freedom. To see the potential hidden within. To love no matter the cost or the loss. He wants us to become vessels for His freedom.
3) God longs to empower us to be those vessels of freedom. On our own, there is little we can do. But if we learn to allow God's power to flow through us, there is nothing we cannot do.
So how do I combine those desires? How do I live in an intentional way? How do I communicate these things to my kids? How do I incorporate these values into teaching music? How do I organize my life so that the most important things do not get left out?
I am rambled out for today. Feel free to share your thoughts on any number of items I rambled on about today. :-)
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Life As a Story
Tonight my pastor, Jordan, introduced a new sermon series. It centers around our stories, not necessarily our life stories but rather stories we have gathered throughout our lives. The series sounds quite interesting and I am looking forward to hearing these stories.
In his message, Jordan mentioned that a good story is full of unexpected turns, pain and suspense. He then asked us if we were interested in having our lives be a "good story." It got me thinking. You see I feel like God has been challenging me lately with the question, "How is your life different than it would be if you were working at a Mission Station in a foreign country?" "What things would you be doing there that you are not doing here?" etc.
I have stories to tell, but things have been rather comfortable since I started teaching in September. I have a couple weeks off to think and pray (among other things.) Maybe God will have inspired me with new ways to get out of the "comfortable zone" by the time it is over.
One theme that has repeated since I was in college is a faith-based Family Life Center. It has never come to pass. But I wonder if one day God will open the door. I don't really see it as being for families, but rather a place for Family to grow - not necessarily related by blood. :-)
And then this Friday I was reminded that our island is limited in what it has to offer children with learning or behavioral difficulties. Hmmm. More to chew on.
Who knows where God will lead.
In his message, Jordan mentioned that a good story is full of unexpected turns, pain and suspense. He then asked us if we were interested in having our lives be a "good story." It got me thinking. You see I feel like God has been challenging me lately with the question, "How is your life different than it would be if you were working at a Mission Station in a foreign country?" "What things would you be doing there that you are not doing here?" etc.
I have stories to tell, but things have been rather comfortable since I started teaching in September. I have a couple weeks off to think and pray (among other things.) Maybe God will have inspired me with new ways to get out of the "comfortable zone" by the time it is over.
One theme that has repeated since I was in college is a faith-based Family Life Center. It has never come to pass. But I wonder if one day God will open the door. I don't really see it as being for families, but rather a place for Family to grow - not necessarily related by blood. :-)
And then this Friday I was reminded that our island is limited in what it has to offer children with learning or behavioral difficulties. Hmmm. More to chew on.
Who knows where God will lead.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Happiness Is . . .
I was getting ready for bed tonight and a song I learned as a child was running through my head.
"Happiness is to know the Savior
Living a life, within His favor
Having a change in my behavior
Hapiness is the Lord."
I had to chuckle. The first couple of lines are okay, but the third one made me laugh. "Having a change in my behavior" Wonder if it was written by a frustrated parent or Sunday School teacher? hehe
"Happiness is to know the Savior
Living a life, within His favor
Having a change in my behavior
Hapiness is the Lord."
I had to chuckle. The first couple of lines are okay, but the third one made me laugh. "Having a change in my behavior" Wonder if it was written by a frustrated parent or Sunday School teacher? hehe
Monday, January 22, 2007
General Update 1/21
As I entered the date, I realized that I put a REALLY wrong date on my tithe check today. I think I dated it January 16. Did I miss a week somewhere? Apparently.
So what is happening with me? Well, we have started the 3rd quarter at WNA. It should be a fun quarter as I am attempting to teach instruments to all my classes. Kindergarten and 1st grade are learning to read rhythm cards. They did quite well with the quarter notes and rests. This week I will throw half notes and rests into the mix and see how they do. By the end of the quarter they will be playing basic rhythm instruments. 2nd and 3rd grade are playing glockenspiels (I never spell that word correctly, but it is German and means "strike the bells.) That is fun. For them it is fun to get to hit something and make noise. For me it is fun that they are reading musical notes to know which bells to hit! 4th and 5th grades are playing the dreaded recorders. Their parents will love me this quarter! 6th grade is playing the ukulele, which is the most interesting class since I myself really don't know how to play the ukulele. I am picking up tips here and there and trusting that my violin and guitar experience pays off! 7th and 8th grade are practicing reading notes using a variety of instruments and the music to one of the songs for our Spring Worship Musical. We are only two weeks into the quarter, but I am happy so far.
I have been absolutely inundated with dreams as of late. I try to journal them in the morning. Sometimes they are vivid and clear, but not always. I wake up with them in my head, but sometimes I am just so tired I fall back asleep. By the time I wake in the morning, those ones are pretty much gone. I know we all dream every night, but it is interesting to have such a long span of remembering my dreams each night. My roommates and I joke that I must get more REM sleep than anyone I know. Sauni believes that sometimes I fall into REM sleep even when I am awake! hehe
I have also had many reminders of how many lost and hurting people there are in the world. People who are desperately searching for something that makes sense. Something that will set them free from the hell that they have been living. It has certainly given a bit of an edge to my prayer life. :-)
Sauni, Becca and I are settled in our new place. We haven't had a house warming yet. Guess we will need to plan one soon. It has a beautiful view from all sides. I wake up each morning looking out on the majestic Koolau mountains. I refuse to put a curtain on that window!
I have decided not to come home for Spring Break in March because I want to work a bit an try to save up some money for traveling this summer. I would still like to travel up the Pacific Coast Hwy. For those of you who live in that area, I would love some tips on cheap, yet clean places to stay along the way. I am also interested in finding info on any ministry groups that meet along the way. I would love to visit as many ministries as I can - churches, small groups, missions, shelters, whatever. I am working on finding a way to visit family in Iowa (and possibly friends in Colorado) before I come back to Hawaii. I am guessing this will all happen in June.
Well, it is 12:15am and I am out of things to say. So I will sign off for now. Be Blessed!
So what is happening with me? Well, we have started the 3rd quarter at WNA. It should be a fun quarter as I am attempting to teach instruments to all my classes. Kindergarten and 1st grade are learning to read rhythm cards. They did quite well with the quarter notes and rests. This week I will throw half notes and rests into the mix and see how they do. By the end of the quarter they will be playing basic rhythm instruments. 2nd and 3rd grade are playing glockenspiels (I never spell that word correctly, but it is German and means "strike the bells.) That is fun. For them it is fun to get to hit something and make noise. For me it is fun that they are reading musical notes to know which bells to hit! 4th and 5th grades are playing the dreaded recorders. Their parents will love me this quarter! 6th grade is playing the ukulele, which is the most interesting class since I myself really don't know how to play the ukulele. I am picking up tips here and there and trusting that my violin and guitar experience pays off! 7th and 8th grade are practicing reading notes using a variety of instruments and the music to one of the songs for our Spring Worship Musical. We are only two weeks into the quarter, but I am happy so far.
I have been absolutely inundated with dreams as of late. I try to journal them in the morning. Sometimes they are vivid and clear, but not always. I wake up with them in my head, but sometimes I am just so tired I fall back asleep. By the time I wake in the morning, those ones are pretty much gone. I know we all dream every night, but it is interesting to have such a long span of remembering my dreams each night. My roommates and I joke that I must get more REM sleep than anyone I know. Sauni believes that sometimes I fall into REM sleep even when I am awake! hehe
I have also had many reminders of how many lost and hurting people there are in the world. People who are desperately searching for something that makes sense. Something that will set them free from the hell that they have been living. It has certainly given a bit of an edge to my prayer life. :-)
Sauni, Becca and I are settled in our new place. We haven't had a house warming yet. Guess we will need to plan one soon. It has a beautiful view from all sides. I wake up each morning looking out on the majestic Koolau mountains. I refuse to put a curtain on that window!
I have decided not to come home for Spring Break in March because I want to work a bit an try to save up some money for traveling this summer. I would still like to travel up the Pacific Coast Hwy. For those of you who live in that area, I would love some tips on cheap, yet clean places to stay along the way. I am also interested in finding info on any ministry groups that meet along the way. I would love to visit as many ministries as I can - churches, small groups, missions, shelters, whatever. I am working on finding a way to visit family in Iowa (and possibly friends in Colorado) before I come back to Hawaii. I am guessing this will all happen in June.
Well, it is 12:15am and I am out of things to say. So I will sign off for now. Be Blessed!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Power Equation in the Exodus
For those of you who have never heard it, my pastor (Jordan Seng) has come up with something called the Power Equation to explain how we get power to do miracles.
Quick lesson: Gifting + Faith + Unction + Annointing = Power for Miracles
Gifting refers to your God-given spiritual gifts, Faith is a collective faith of those around when you are trying to work the miracle, Unction is basically dying to flesh so the Spirit can move freely through your spirit and Annointing, well, it is Annointing, but it is pretty much a result of our obedience to God.
If you would like to know more about this teaching, I would encourage you to go back to my website and listen to Jordan's teaching "Introduction to the Supernatural." (If that is not the title of the teaching it is close.)
As I was reading in Numbers Saturday, I was bothered by some of the things I read. The moments in the Old Testament where God seems to waiver back and forth as if He doesn't know what He is about to do bother me. Why would an all-powerful, all-knowing God waiver?
Well, this weekend, I read Numbers 14 in light of the Power Equation and saw things in a whole new light. If the power equation was true in Jesus day and is still true in our day, then it was probably true back in Moses's day. For reasons that can be debated later, God has chosen to work through the above-mentioned things to work miracles. Granted, there may be exceptions when God simply steps in and does things on His own without any of the other things, but generally with humans he tends to work that way.
Reading through the Exodus story, we find it full of miracles. God's presence is with them in a very visual way. They miraculously have food provided for them each day, seas part for them, water comes out of rocks for them, poisonous snake bites are cured, etc. I imagine that the Isrealites needed to possess some type of the Power Equation for things to work the way God planned. Especially when it came time to enter and take the promised land.
So, let's look at Numbers 14.
The Isrealites have been whining and complaining for much of the time they have been traveling in the desert, but here we hit an award winning lack of faith. Moses has sent 12 spies into Canaan to check things out. 10 out of the 12 come back with nothing but tales of future gloom and doom if they try to enter this land. Unfortunately the Isrealites believe the gloom and doom instead of Joshua and Caleb's words of hope and faith. They go into mourning and plot to go back to Egypt. Again.
So, let's inventory their faith equation. Let's rate each item on a scale of 1-10.
Gifting - 10 I am giving them a full score here because the Holy Spirit hadn't fallen like in New Testament times and I figure since the gifting is completely from God anyway, He can provide all he needs for the Isrealites to perform miracles.
Faith - 0 I am afraid I can not give points for Caleb and Joshua when the rest of the Isrealite camp is so faithless.
Unction - 0 These people are quite consumed with things of the flesh. Again, Caleb and Joshua are exceptions, but I don't see any dying to the flesh happening in the rest of the camp.
Authority - 0 The nation is going directly against what God told them to do. I give them a 0 in Authority.
They did not score very well.
Now, you may still think I am a bit crazy for going down this road, but stay with me just a little longer and watch what God does.
In verse 11, God says to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?" Then God tells Moses that He will strike them all down and give him new people to lead into the promised land.
Do you see what God commented on? What got him to the point of finding new people to use? It was lack of faith. God is basically saying, "Why do you still not believe?! I have done everything to show you my presence and offer you hope. Why do you stilln not believe?"
Moses goes on to plead with God using the arguement that the Egyptians will just think that God was not able to bring His people into the land He promised so he slaughtered them.
Contrary to what some may say, I don't think that arguement did much to change God's mind on anything. I doubt He cared how much power the Egyptians thought He had. (I don't think that He would want to be known as a God who slaughtered His people, but that is another story.)
God doesn't interrupt at this point, so Moses goes on, "The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion." He goes on for a few more sentances, ending with a plea for God to forgive the people.
The first thing God resonds with is, "I have forgiven them as you asked." Notice that God did not say, "I will forgive them as you asked." Moses's arguement was not what caused God to forgive. Rather it is almost like God is taking that fear off the table. "Don't worry about forgiveness. That has already been done." God's forgiving - or not forgiving them - did not seem to be the problem. God seems to address that first off and then shove it to the side. "They are forgiven, no worries. Now let's get to the real problem."
This is where God tells Moses that none of the people over 20 will live to enter the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb. I find it interesting to see that God refers to Caleb in this way, "My servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly." Unction and Annointing, anyone?
Toward the end of this part of the story, the original 10 spies who were messengers of gloom and doom, the ones who caused everyone else's faith to plumet, had to be killed. I don't see this as an outpouring of God's wrath, but rather a type of insurance that they will no longer be able to kill the faith of this people. In fact, the death of the men in and of itself appears to sire faith in the people.
Maybe, just maybe, God is working to stack the deck for more miracles in their midst. I am anxious to read through the rest of the Exodus story with this in the back of my mind.
And just a side note - I don't think God did change His mind. He didn't strike down the entire nation with a plague, but He did strike down the instigators - AND he did raise up a new nation, at least from one perspective. He literally raised them up from childhood. And as I stated before. I don't think God forgave the people because of Moses's petition. I think God had already forgiven them. I do believe that Moses's petition showed faith in who the LORD is and in His character. A nice "faith statement" for God to latch onto.
So, those are my thoughts. Yours?
Quick lesson: Gifting + Faith + Unction + Annointing = Power for Miracles
Gifting refers to your God-given spiritual gifts, Faith is a collective faith of those around when you are trying to work the miracle, Unction is basically dying to flesh so the Spirit can move freely through your spirit and Annointing, well, it is Annointing, but it is pretty much a result of our obedience to God.
If you would like to know more about this teaching, I would encourage you to go back to my website and listen to Jordan's teaching "Introduction to the Supernatural." (If that is not the title of the teaching it is close.)
As I was reading in Numbers Saturday, I was bothered by some of the things I read. The moments in the Old Testament where God seems to waiver back and forth as if He doesn't know what He is about to do bother me. Why would an all-powerful, all-knowing God waiver?
Well, this weekend, I read Numbers 14 in light of the Power Equation and saw things in a whole new light. If the power equation was true in Jesus day and is still true in our day, then it was probably true back in Moses's day. For reasons that can be debated later, God has chosen to work through the above-mentioned things to work miracles. Granted, there may be exceptions when God simply steps in and does things on His own without any of the other things, but generally with humans he tends to work that way.
Reading through the Exodus story, we find it full of miracles. God's presence is with them in a very visual way. They miraculously have food provided for them each day, seas part for them, water comes out of rocks for them, poisonous snake bites are cured, etc. I imagine that the Isrealites needed to possess some type of the Power Equation for things to work the way God planned. Especially when it came time to enter and take the promised land.
So, let's look at Numbers 14.
The Isrealites have been whining and complaining for much of the time they have been traveling in the desert, but here we hit an award winning lack of faith. Moses has sent 12 spies into Canaan to check things out. 10 out of the 12 come back with nothing but tales of future gloom and doom if they try to enter this land. Unfortunately the Isrealites believe the gloom and doom instead of Joshua and Caleb's words of hope and faith. They go into mourning and plot to go back to Egypt. Again.
So, let's inventory their faith equation. Let's rate each item on a scale of 1-10.
Gifting - 10 I am giving them a full score here because the Holy Spirit hadn't fallen like in New Testament times and I figure since the gifting is completely from God anyway, He can provide all he needs for the Isrealites to perform miracles.
Faith - 0 I am afraid I can not give points for Caleb and Joshua when the rest of the Isrealite camp is so faithless.
Unction - 0 These people are quite consumed with things of the flesh. Again, Caleb and Joshua are exceptions, but I don't see any dying to the flesh happening in the rest of the camp.
Authority - 0 The nation is going directly against what God told them to do. I give them a 0 in Authority.
They did not score very well.
Now, you may still think I am a bit crazy for going down this road, but stay with me just a little longer and watch what God does.
In verse 11, God says to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?" Then God tells Moses that He will strike them all down and give him new people to lead into the promised land.
Do you see what God commented on? What got him to the point of finding new people to use? It was lack of faith. God is basically saying, "Why do you still not believe?! I have done everything to show you my presence and offer you hope. Why do you stilln not believe?"
Moses goes on to plead with God using the arguement that the Egyptians will just think that God was not able to bring His people into the land He promised so he slaughtered them.
Contrary to what some may say, I don't think that arguement did much to change God's mind on anything. I doubt He cared how much power the Egyptians thought He had. (I don't think that He would want to be known as a God who slaughtered His people, but that is another story.)
God doesn't interrupt at this point, so Moses goes on, "The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion." He goes on for a few more sentances, ending with a plea for God to forgive the people.
The first thing God resonds with is, "I have forgiven them as you asked." Notice that God did not say, "I will forgive them as you asked." Moses's arguement was not what caused God to forgive. Rather it is almost like God is taking that fear off the table. "Don't worry about forgiveness. That has already been done." God's forgiving - or not forgiving them - did not seem to be the problem. God seems to address that first off and then shove it to the side. "They are forgiven, no worries. Now let's get to the real problem."
This is where God tells Moses that none of the people over 20 will live to enter the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb. I find it interesting to see that God refers to Caleb in this way, "My servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly." Unction and Annointing, anyone?
Toward the end of this part of the story, the original 10 spies who were messengers of gloom and doom, the ones who caused everyone else's faith to plumet, had to be killed. I don't see this as an outpouring of God's wrath, but rather a type of insurance that they will no longer be able to kill the faith of this people. In fact, the death of the men in and of itself appears to sire faith in the people.
Maybe, just maybe, God is working to stack the deck for more miracles in their midst. I am anxious to read through the rest of the Exodus story with this in the back of my mind.
And just a side note - I don't think God did change His mind. He didn't strike down the entire nation with a plague, but He did strike down the instigators - AND he did raise up a new nation, at least from one perspective. He literally raised them up from childhood. And as I stated before. I don't think God forgave the people because of Moses's petition. I think God had already forgiven them. I do believe that Moses's petition showed faith in who the LORD is and in His character. A nice "faith statement" for God to latch onto.
So, those are my thoughts. Yours?
Saturday, January 20, 2007
1/6 Thyroid Biopsy
So I finally got the results of my thyroid biopsy. Guess what? Not conclusive. Apparently they either did not get enough tissue or the tissue was not good enough for them to use for the biopsy. Go figure! Thankfully, the surgeon said that, really, those findings still back up what he suspected. Apparently the non-cancer kind can be rather stingy at giving up pieces of themselves. So, I don't have to redo the biopsy. Yeah for that. However, I do have to go back to having checks every six months for a while. Oh, well. The ultrasound guys at Kuakini are friendly enough.
So, all things considered, not a bad outcome. Although one would think that the least the could do after having put a needle in my thoat multiple times would be to give me a for sure all clear! Ah, well. That has never been the way with my body. It likes to keep the mystery alive . . .
Hope you all had a great first week of 2007!
So, all things considered, not a bad outcome. Although one would think that the least the could do after having put a needle in my thoat multiple times would be to give me a for sure all clear! Ah, well. That has never been the way with my body. It likes to keep the mystery alive . . .
Hope you all had a great first week of 2007!
12/25 Merry Christmas
It is the evening of December 25th and I finally have a few moments to send out a Christmas Greeting. I hope that you all had a blessed day today, but more so I hope that you have found yourself blessed in general.
Some of you may know that Friday night I got sick with the flu and I was supposed to fly out on Saturday afternoon. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get on the plane (and stay in my seat!). I even called to see if I could postpone my flight, but no deal. So Becca helped me pack and took my sick self to the airport. I was sore and uncomfortable, but I was able to make the trip uneventfully. There has been a crowd at Mom's ever since I got home, just as I knew there would be. Lots of commotion, but it is good commotion. Last night we went to the Christmas Eve service at my sister Donna's church, Trinity. It was a beautiful service and I remember thinking that, even feeling junk, I was grateful for the opportunity to be with family and to have a few minutes to reflect on why I celebrate Christmas in the first place. An old song entitled, "Through It All" ran through my head.
The tag goes,
"I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms
He brought me through;
For if I'd never had a problem
I wouldn't know that He could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do."
I don't always appreciate the storms. I don't like fighting to move forward in the face of a body that feels junk or emotions that are down or situations that seem hopeless. But each time that I see God come through, my faith grows stronger. It doesn't mean that God solves every problem immediately or that He keeps me from them in the first place. It does mean that He always has my back. He pushes me just past where I am comfortable and after I go, He swoops in and puts together the things I was sure would fall apart forever.
Believing past what I can see. This Christmas I am celebrating that I serve a God who is big I am allowed to believe past what I can see. I need to research this myself, but I have been told that God had been silent (at least in the eyes of the Jewish people) for approx 400 years before the birth of Christ. Can you imagine how amazing the news of "God with us" must have sounded after such a long silence?! For generations Jews were asked to believe what they could not see.
I hope that you all find a few minutes of time to reflect on whatever God lays on your heart this Christmas season. "God with us." Yeah!
Some of you may know that Friday night I got sick with the flu and I was supposed to fly out on Saturday afternoon. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get on the plane (and stay in my seat!). I even called to see if I could postpone my flight, but no deal. So Becca helped me pack and took my sick self to the airport. I was sore and uncomfortable, but I was able to make the trip uneventfully. There has been a crowd at Mom's ever since I got home, just as I knew there would be. Lots of commotion, but it is good commotion. Last night we went to the Christmas Eve service at my sister Donna's church, Trinity. It was a beautiful service and I remember thinking that, even feeling junk, I was grateful for the opportunity to be with family and to have a few minutes to reflect on why I celebrate Christmas in the first place. An old song entitled, "Through It All" ran through my head.
The tag goes,
"I thank God for the mountains,
And I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms
He brought me through;
For if I'd never had a problem
I wouldn't know that He could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do."
I don't always appreciate the storms. I don't like fighting to move forward in the face of a body that feels junk or emotions that are down or situations that seem hopeless. But each time that I see God come through, my faith grows stronger. It doesn't mean that God solves every problem immediately or that He keeps me from them in the first place. It does mean that He always has my back. He pushes me just past where I am comfortable and after I go, He swoops in and puts together the things I was sure would fall apart forever.
Believing past what I can see. This Christmas I am celebrating that I serve a God who is big I am allowed to believe past what I can see. I need to research this myself, but I have been told that God had been silent (at least in the eyes of the Jewish people) for approx 400 years before the birth of Christ. Can you imagine how amazing the news of "God with us" must have sounded after such a long silence?! For generations Jews were asked to believe what they could not see.
I hope that you all find a few minutes of time to reflect on whatever God lays on your heart this Christmas season. "God with us." Yeah!
11/14 Still Without a Voice
Kind of sounds like a political cause or something, doesn't it? hehe But it is true. I am well into day 4 without a voice and I am about to go buggy! :-) Over the weekend it wasn't too difficult to keep quiet, but now that I am in school it is more difficult. Partly because I teach music. Partly because I just have a lot to say and now it all has to build up inside of me. If I don't get my voice back soon, my head just might explode from all of the information that is not coming out of my mouth.
Makes me wonder, hhhmmmmm. Is this the only way God could get me to shut up? If so, what might he be teaching me through this stuff? To listen? To hold my tongue? To allow Him to work while I sit by quietly and trust? Surely God wouldn't need to teach me any of those things!! hehe
And this is a good time to learn. There is a lot of struggle at work right now. I kept wondering what was wrong with me. Everytime we would get together to pray for Nightlife community, I couldn't get my mind off of the school. I think now I might see why. For confidentiality reasons I can't say much, but it is like the entire school has been thrown into the fire - and it is hot! I am one of two teachers without a voice and we are probably among the best off right now. Sitting quietly and praying quietly while I am watching all of this going around me is certainly a challenge.
Anyway, I need to go teach, but thanks for letting me "talk" with you all for a while! :-)
Makes me wonder, hhhmmmmm. Is this the only way God could get me to shut up? If so, what might he be teaching me through this stuff? To listen? To hold my tongue? To allow Him to work while I sit by quietly and trust? Surely God wouldn't need to teach me any of those things!! hehe
And this is a good time to learn. There is a lot of struggle at work right now. I kept wondering what was wrong with me. Everytime we would get together to pray for Nightlife community, I couldn't get my mind off of the school. I think now I might see why. For confidentiality reasons I can't say much, but it is like the entire school has been thrown into the fire - and it is hot! I am one of two teachers without a voice and we are probably among the best off right now. Sitting quietly and praying quietly while I am watching all of this going around me is certainly a challenge.
Anyway, I need to go teach, but thanks for letting me "talk" with you all for a while! :-)
10/16 Hawaii Welcomed Me Home with a Bang
I think most of you on the mainland already received the word that all is fine in Hawaii - and those of you who live here, well, you already know as well.
Christmas Break was just a tiny bit stressful with all of the surprise adventures I got to experience on the side. Some of the adventures I knew about in advance, the whole issue of my grandparents in the nursing home and auctioning off their things, for example. I was also pretty sure I would make my first post-Jay visit to Kansas City and it was a given that my emotions would be stirred. I wasn't expecting my neice, Holly, to have emergency surgery nor my sister to elope, nor my Grandma to act out badly enough for them to have to put her in the dementia ward. I would like to say that I didn't expect to be greeted my first morning back with an earthquake, either, but that is not completely true.
I needed to run just a few errands after I arrived home from the airport Saturday evening. As I pulled in off the street and began to back into where I would normally park, I felt strange. For whatever reason, I didn't feel clear to park there. Then I stopped and looked through my car, the question, "Is there anything in here that you are not ready to loose?" ran through my head. I didn't even really think it odd at the time. I gathered together everything that might be important and put it into my bag. I did the same thing with my luggage. Anything that I might need, I put together in one place. Usually it takes me a week or two to completely unpack, but Saturday I just felt the need to do it all. I finally thought about the weirdness of what I was doing, and wondered if we were going to have a flood or windstorm of some sort. I fell asleep knowing that something would be different in the morning, but not exactly sure what.
After active dreams (Denise I will email you the gist of them as most of them concerned you - don't worry, they weren't bad!) I woke up around 5am and drifted between this world and the twilight world until my rude awakening around 7:07am.
After the initial shaking, I went and stood in the doorway to Kate's bedroom and asked her, "Did I just experience my first real earthquake?" Before I finished my question the rolling part of the quake started. That was a weird sensation! Once it finally passed, I checked the radio stations and just as I realized that none of them had live coverage, our electricity went out. Silly me, when I get nervous, I have to go visit the restroom - which is exactly where I was when the 6.0 aftershock hit. hehe (I later found out that one of Kate's friends on the Big Island had his toilet blow up. Yikes! I am glad that mine didn't!)
The loss of cell phone coverage freaked us out for a few minutes as we pondered the possibilities - Were we bombed? Did Mauna Loa blow? Was this just a run of the mill earthquake?
Well, by now everyone knows that we had a 6.7 earthquake, followed by a 6.0 aftershock and many other smaller movements of the earth. Most of Oahu has electricity, although our neighborhood does not. I am typing this from school. It has been overcast for the past couple of days and today it is raining pretty good. Other than that, there is a lot of cleanup happening on the Big Island and, obviously, we still have some cable and electricity issues, but nothing major.
I really need to get to work, but I thought I would send a shout out to those of you who might be wondering what is happening down here.
Christmas Break was just a tiny bit stressful with all of the surprise adventures I got to experience on the side. Some of the adventures I knew about in advance, the whole issue of my grandparents in the nursing home and auctioning off their things, for example. I was also pretty sure I would make my first post-Jay visit to Kansas City and it was a given that my emotions would be stirred. I wasn't expecting my neice, Holly, to have emergency surgery nor my sister to elope, nor my Grandma to act out badly enough for them to have to put her in the dementia ward. I would like to say that I didn't expect to be greeted my first morning back with an earthquake, either, but that is not completely true.
I needed to run just a few errands after I arrived home from the airport Saturday evening. As I pulled in off the street and began to back into where I would normally park, I felt strange. For whatever reason, I didn't feel clear to park there. Then I stopped and looked through my car, the question, "Is there anything in here that you are not ready to loose?" ran through my head. I didn't even really think it odd at the time. I gathered together everything that might be important and put it into my bag. I did the same thing with my luggage. Anything that I might need, I put together in one place. Usually it takes me a week or two to completely unpack, but Saturday I just felt the need to do it all. I finally thought about the weirdness of what I was doing, and wondered if we were going to have a flood or windstorm of some sort. I fell asleep knowing that something would be different in the morning, but not exactly sure what.
After active dreams (Denise I will email you the gist of them as most of them concerned you - don't worry, they weren't bad!) I woke up around 5am and drifted between this world and the twilight world until my rude awakening around 7:07am.
After the initial shaking, I went and stood in the doorway to Kate's bedroom and asked her, "Did I just experience my first real earthquake?" Before I finished my question the rolling part of the quake started. That was a weird sensation! Once it finally passed, I checked the radio stations and just as I realized that none of them had live coverage, our electricity went out. Silly me, when I get nervous, I have to go visit the restroom - which is exactly where I was when the 6.0 aftershock hit. hehe (I later found out that one of Kate's friends on the Big Island had his toilet blow up. Yikes! I am glad that mine didn't!)
The loss of cell phone coverage freaked us out for a few minutes as we pondered the possibilities - Were we bombed? Did Mauna Loa blow? Was this just a run of the mill earthquake?
Well, by now everyone knows that we had a 6.7 earthquake, followed by a 6.0 aftershock and many other smaller movements of the earth. Most of Oahu has electricity, although our neighborhood does not. I am typing this from school. It has been overcast for the past couple of days and today it is raining pretty good. Other than that, there is a lot of cleanup happening on the Big Island and, obviously, we still have some cable and electricity issues, but nothing major.
I really need to get to work, but I thought I would send a shout out to those of you who might be wondering what is happening down here.
Pacific Coast Hwy Trip
Been thinking a lot about this summer and possibly traveling. I am thinking about the possibilities of taking a trip along the Pacific Coast Highway, with a possible detour through Colorado (major detour!) I am thinking a two week trip. Anyone interested?? Thought it might be kind of fun with a group. Let me know if you think you might be interested. It would probably be in June or early July while the bulk of us are out of school.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
The Ron Clark Story
I was home alone tonight working on updating my website and wanted some background noise. I flipped channels for a bit, not sure what I was looking for but I found the Ron Clark story.Ron Clark was a teacher in Harlem. I found myslef quite inspired by his story. Even had a few tears drop. The kids treated him terribly. I am almost 100% sure that I would have walked out after the first week - if not the first day.
It reminded me of so many things - just because kids mistreat you or are rude to you does not mean that they do not need you and that they won't eventually come around - that too many children have no one who believes in them and that it makes an amazing difference when some one does believe in them - that simply staying can sometimes say more than words and teach more than a well planned lesson-and a number of cliches I won't bother to type in.
I recently started teaching again and quickly fell in love with my students. Each one has something unique and special to offer. And I am blessed to be able to work with them in a number of different areas. My prayer is that I will be able to see the hidden gifts in each person I meet and help draw it out. (I confess, sometimes I have a hearder time doing that with adults than children!)
It reminded me of so many things - just because kids mistreat you or are rude to you does not mean that they do not need you and that they won't eventually come around - that too many children have no one who believes in them and that it makes an amazing difference when some one does believe in them - that simply staying can sometimes say more than words and teach more than a well planned lesson-and a number of cliches I won't bother to type in.
I recently started teaching again and quickly fell in love with my students. Each one has something unique and special to offer. And I am blessed to be able to work with them in a number of different areas. My prayer is that I will be able to see the hidden gifts in each person I meet and help draw it out. (I confess, sometimes I have a hearder time doing that with adults than children!)
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Nightmare on Ohe Street
Good day to you. I had an interesting experience today and thought I would share it since it goes so well with the upcoming season. :-) Warning!! Do not read this story if you have arachnophobia!!
Usually I wear slippers to work and then change into tennis shoes when I arrive. Today I decided to change shoes before I went inside. I put my right shoe on and was in the process of putting my left shoe on when I felt something.
I look down and notice an ant on my arm. (Sleep has not been a high priority this week and the less sleep I have, the less my eyes focus, explaining why I didn't notice the problem with my eyes - especially on black shoes) The process of looking at my arm brought my shoe closer to my eyes and I noticed that it was covered with what I thought were ants.
My skin crawled a little, but I figured I could shake them out of my shoe. I took my right shoe off and the ants scattered in different directions. The shoe was soon empty. The critters in my left shoe, however, did not scatter. Upon closer examination, I realized that my left shoe was literally crawling with spiders. Yes, spiders. There were a few ants but the spiders were everywhere. Must have been hundreds of them running around - inside my shoe. Chicken skin anyone? That was strange enough, I thought. But when I searched my backseat for signs of more spiders (after the shoes were tossed out of my car), there were none. It would appear that ALL of the critters had taken residence in my shoes! (Not sure I want to know what that implies!) As I wore my shoes yesterday, I have no idea what happened, but it shook me up - a lot. Who needs horror movies??
Hope you enjoyed my story - it really happened, I will be shopping to replace my shoes this weekend. By the time I got out from work they were missing. Either someone else needed them or the spiders carried them away!
Altar Call
Tonight I went to the Hawaii District Campmeeting for the Nazarene Church. The worship team from Ma'ili Samoan Church of the Nazarene was leading worship. I love that group! So much fun! Sitting in my pew, feeling the wind blow accross my face, listening to children run and play outside, I felt so at home. It was campmeeting. Open air worship, a call to search your heart and a time for renewal. A time set aside from our busy schedules to spend an entire week focused on God. (or at least the evenings of that week)
As usual, there was an altar call at the end of the service. A call to respond to the plan God has for your life. Now there has been some debate in the church I am attending as to whether altar calls are nec. Do we want to include them?After all, there is no Biblical record of them, per se. What good do they do?? Tonight, as I watched the teenagers head for the altar, I was reminded of what the altar represents, or should. Teenagers are a great example of what the church should be when it comes to altar calls. When 1 responds, the rest follow. There may be 10 teenagers surrounding and praying for the 1 who went forward.
That is what we, as the body of Christ, should be doing for one another. When one is hurting, we should all gather around. Yes, altar calls are a good opportunity to invite people to accept Christ. And yes, altar calls can make some very uncomfortable. But they are so much more. They are an opportunity, in a world that is far too busy, to stop and say, "I am broken." or "I need to deal with God - now." They remind us that we are all weak, and offer us the chance to support one another. I have heard it said many times that 80% or more of what happens in most churches could happen without the presence of God (other than to sustain life, of course!). Altar calls must be in the other 20%. How many times have I been running from God's voice, only to get caught in an altar call. Regular services were easy enough to deal with because immediately after the message (when God was speaking to me), a short prayer would be said and service dismissed. People would turn, smile, talk, laugh, eat, leave. In other words, distraction, distraction, distraction, distraction. Then, conviction forgotten. Altar calls made it more difficult. Even if I chose not to respond outwardly. I had to at least listen. There was no distraction - unless I created my own. :-) Oh, the familiar feeling of dread, as you know that God is telling you to take care of business and you are scared to death to step out. What will people think? What will you tell them if they ask you what you are praying for? Also familiar, is the incredible sense of relief and release as you hit your knees and know that you were obedient. Some times, that is all that happened for me during an altar call. I was simply called to obey. Other times, I dealt with issues that lead myself and those praying with me to tarry for an hour or more. Hhhmmm, come to think of it, one of the "tarry" times was during a campmeeting. It was when God first prompted me to respond to a call to full time ministry and service. I think Steve preached out of Acts. That is all I remember about the sermon. I remember the altar call, though. Because that is where things changed. A few friends and a couple loving adults stayed and prayed through with me until the end, sharing scriptures and insights periodically along the way.
That is what we, as the body of Christ, should be doing for one another. When one is hurting, we should all gather around. Yes, altar calls are a good opportunity to invite people to accept Christ. And yes, altar calls can make some very uncomfortable. But they are so much more. They are an opportunity, in a world that is far too busy, to stop and say, "I am broken." or "I need to deal with God - now." They remind us that we are all weak, and offer us the chance to support one another. I have heard it said many times that 80% or more of what happens in most churches could happen without the presence of God (other than to sustain life, of course!). Altar calls must be in the other 20%. How many times have I been running from God's voice, only to get caught in an altar call. Regular services were easy enough to deal with because immediately after the message (when God was speaking to me), a short prayer would be said and service dismissed. People would turn, smile, talk, laugh, eat, leave. In other words, distraction, distraction, distraction, distraction. Then, conviction forgotten. Altar calls made it more difficult. Even if I chose not to respond outwardly. I had to at least listen. There was no distraction - unless I created my own. :-) Oh, the familiar feeling of dread, as you know that God is telling you to take care of business and you are scared to death to step out. What will people think? What will you tell them if they ask you what you are praying for? Also familiar, is the incredible sense of relief and release as you hit your knees and know that you were obedient. Some times, that is all that happened for me during an altar call. I was simply called to obey. Other times, I dealt with issues that lead myself and those praying with me to tarry for an hour or more. Hhhmmm, come to think of it, one of the "tarry" times was during a campmeeting. It was when God first prompted me to respond to a call to full time ministry and service. I think Steve preached out of Acts. That is all I remember about the sermon. I remember the altar call, though. Because that is where things changed. A few friends and a couple loving adults stayed and prayed through with me until the end, sharing scriptures and insights periodically along the way.
Are altar calls nec. in a church service? Probably not, but I definately feel that they have their place, especially when done well - with God doing the prompting and not man doing the manipulating. However we choose to do it, we must never forget to lift up the body. Remember, the enemy is prowling about, seeking whom he may devour. Sooner or later, we are all injured in battle. Hopefully we also grow occasionally, and that growth can be painful as well. The church must be humble enough to be vulnerable within the body and caring enough to support one another - no matter what. A line from a song, "why do the chosen kill their wounded?" has not ceased to haunt me since the first time I heard it. We must not kill our wounded but rescue them and nurture them back to health. If they leave the fold completely, we must pursue them with our love and prayers until the are brought back home.
Thank you for, once again, reading through my rambled thoughts!!
Pondering . . .
Friday at nap time, the ladies at work were talking about the importance, in some cultures, of being pure. Not of heart, but of blood. One race only in the family. Angie, our director, mentioned that they have found scientific evidence that all people have a common ancestor. That started me thinking. In Hawaii we have so many people groups and cultures. Some "pure", most mixed or hapa. As my weekend unfolded, I kept wondering what kind of beautiful and incredible people God must have created. God must have created within Adam and Eve the DNA to produce all shades and colors. I am sure that adaptation has played a part to some extent, but they were the beginning of "recessive genes." ( I think that is the correct term.) Just gives me another reason to look forward to Heaven. What a joy to be able to see the world - and each other - free of sin.
Saturday night, I went to Rumours with a friend. It is a nightclub at Ala Moana Hotel. The were playing retro music and I thought it would be fun to dress retro and go. Originally there were 6 of us going. Ended up being 2, but we did dress up. What a pair we were. My friend dressed up 70s and looked nice. I however, wore a torn sweatshirt and very poofy hair. One small detail that I had not considered was that Ala Moana is one of the nicer hotels. Part of the point of dressing differently was to set ourselves apart from those going for the "meat market" atmosphere. Well, I would say that we were definately set apart! hehe It has been a while since I have been out to a club and this experience was a bit different. People take partying way too seriously. One girl in particular caught my eye repeatedly. Before the 2 hours were over I found myself quietly praying for her.
I remember going to one of my grandpa's weddings. They had a dance afterward. People of all ages were dancing, from toddlers to senior citizens. The music was PG or PG13. I think I like that atmosphere better.
I got to be in church service today. Combining this morning's worship with last night's dancing, I had the somewhat odd desire to twirl in circles in the midst of an open field with worship music playing around me. Later today, I was singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" This verse caught my attention:
Summer and Winter and Springtime and Harvest. Sun, moon and stars in their courses above. Join with all nature in manifest witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand has provided. Great is thy faithfulness. Lord, unto me.
Many religions today worship creation. I prefer to worship the creator but what a joy to be able to worship the creator with creation - and in the midst of creation. I love to worship and pray outside.
That was my weekend!
July 4 Weekend 2003
"Yeah! It's Thursday and I only have 30 minutes until I am free for 3 days!!"
Then it happens. A parent comes down the stairs, opens the gate and says, "I'm sorry honey, but you have a flat tire." All I could say was, "What?! Again?!!?" The children are finally gone just before 5:30pm and I am able to go up to the parking lot to find out how bad the senerio really is. Back tire, not needed for steering. Low, but not completely flat. Hhhmmm. I will try the service station. I babied my car down the street to Texaco. I put air in my tire - although I have no idea how much. Those who have said I have wisdom beyond my years have never watched me around a car.
I decided I had better keep an eye on my tire as I take my car to Sears so I tried to make my passenger side mirror reflect my tire. It only worked if I leaned accross the seat to look at it. That could negatively affect my driving, so I vetoed the idea. I get to Sears and an hour later find out that I have a nail in my tire. By now, the nice gentlemen at Sears practically know me on a first name basis and didn't even bother to ask if I had bought the tire there. The man simply shook his head, as if with pity, and told me there would be no charge. (They probably do that for everyone, but I thought that it was nice.) On the way out they informed me that one headlight was out. Mental note - get headlight changed.
The rest of Thursday night I didn't do much. Then came Friday. Most of you already know that I went to the Kailua parade on Friday. After living in Council Bluffs, this parade was actually a bit of a let down. Being from a small town, every band within driving distance came to march. Lots of music, big trucks, performers, etc. Even the elementary schools would march. This parade had 2 school marching bands - both from the mainland, 1 military band and NO local school bands. I kept waiting to hear the base drums or see the flags flying through the air. No. We did get to see all of the Hawaii politicians, plenty of McKenna car dealership advertisements, the shriners and some scout troups. Lots of local advertisement. The people I was with were fun though. And at least I got to go to a parade.
I spent the rest of the day at home. Got to talk to Jay for a while who placed the idea into my head to rent a movie. I did. They were good.
Saturday was my day to play. We started out at A'ala Park, a place where many homeless hang out - some live. The goal? Pass out cake and sandwiches and help them celebrate the holiday. This we did. We also laid out copies of the Gospel of John and the Four Spiritual Laws. A few people sat and read them while they ate their snacks. Fine with us!! :-) Naive group of people that we were, many of us didn't realize until later that there was drug activity going on in the park. Looking back on it, I think one group of people sitting on a bench were actually laughing at our naivity. I boldly (hehe) walked over to them and offered them food. All but one turned me down. I guess most groups who bring food go to the other end of the park. I found out why. We all know that homeless people come in all shapes and sizes, but my heart was wrenched when I walked accross the park to deliver food to those who had not come over and found many of them in wheelchairs or missing arms or legs.
The people were very gracious. In fact, when I pulled in and started unpacking my car, a couple of homeless ladies (& 1 gentleman) came to help carry things to our site. Toward the end we put away our table and simply carried the food and water around the park. My heart rejoiced as I stepped back and watched Debra eagerly passing out Four Spiritual Laws Booklets and Aunty Jo stopping to pray for people. Arlene and her friend were busy making sure things ran smoothly and people felt welcomed.
By 1pm, we still had the equivelent of 1 Costco cake left. Debra and I decided to hit family day at Waikiki. The rest of the cake (and water) almost flew out of our hands. People there were hungry, too! I had the opportunity to pass out 7 of the Gospel of John. One lady took it saying, "Oh, I'm not a Christian." I smiled and told her that she may take it anyway. It makes good reading.
For those of you on the mainland. There was a court battle here last week. The Christian Coalition sponsored a parade to kick off Family Day. A group called something like "Parents of Gay and Lebian Children" or some such thing was not granted permission to march in the parade. The ACLU took the city and the Christian Coalition to court in hopes of having a judge allow them into the parade. That didn't happen. The press made it sound like this huge battle that had enraged the entire gay community and split the rest. I know there were protesters at the end of the parade, but I think reports may have been slightly eggagerated. They had a booth up at the Family Day Fair (that part was sponsored by the city.) It had a gay flag, mean signs and a sour looking man behind a table. Nothing for children or to build relationships - or even to draw a crowd for that matter. I wanted so badly to go up to that man - or maybe write a letter to the editor to pass on my mom's advice. She used to tell me that you can't legislate morality. Laws don't change a persons heart. That must be done one person at a time. She also told me that honey will attract more flies than vinegar. Enough of that.
I stayed all day and then went to the Beach to watch Lilo and Stitch. You would not believe the number of people on that beach!!!!!!!!!!!!! We arrived an hour before things started and literally had to climb over people to find a small piece of sand to sit on. The line to get food took 45-60 minutes. I was standing in that line when they set off the fireworks. I felt like a little kid as I listened to the military band play "Stars and Stripes Forever" and watched the fireworks go off over the ocean. Everything stopped for the show, and it was worth it. Stitch was just heading for Earth when I finally found my seat in the ocean of people. This movie is just more fun when you watch it outside on Waikiki Beach. :-)
The trip home provided more adventures. I should have waited longer before leaving, but I didn't. As a result my car began to show signs of overheating, so I pulled over and sat until the rest of traffic was gone. It was during this time that I realized that I, or something in my car, still carried the stench of the homeless people we had spent time with that morning. My first reaction was, "Ugh! What is that doing in my car?!" That reaction was soon followed by a memory of hearing Jim Cymbala talk about an encounter that he had with a homeless person who visited his church. The stench was so overwhelming that he had to look away while he was talking to the man. As he recounts it, God got his attention in the middle of that conversation and told him that this stench represented the world Christ gave His life for. What an honor to be entrusted with caring for those Christ loves.
Eventually traffic thinned out and I thought I was home free. No such luck. As I was heading to the Highway, I realized why traffic had been so slow. They had a DUI checkpoint set up. Remember that headlight?? Yeah, I got pulled over. The officer was very nice. I had not switched out insurance cards when I got my new ones. Other people must do that fairly often as well because as he was writing the ticket, he was also showing me the number to call and telling me what to get from my insurance company, etc. My purse had been in the trunk. Lucky I think out loud. The officer asked me for my liceanse and I said to myself. "Oh, I put my purse in the trunk this afternoon." I released my seatbelt and started to open the door when the officer stepped back and said in a loud voice, "Getting out of the car." or something like that. It was then that I realized I probably should have asked for permission first. Oops. Eventually, I got home.
This morning was good. I didn't have to teach so I was able to be more social as I set up AND I got to be in the church service. We tried centers in Keiki church. The idea went over well. The water table in the first center didn't go over so well. After playing nicely for 15 minutes or so, the children began to pour the water over each others heads. Okay, next idea. :-) (Thanks Karen and Brandi for being such good sports!)
I trust that each of you also had a wonderful holiday weekend.
Blessings!
Jeannie Hughes
Jeannie Hughes
A Lesson in Trust/Cockroach Story
Hi, for those of you who appreciated the "spider" story, tonight I have a follow up.
Let me begin by telling you about a few of the things I read today. I finished the book of Joshua. In the 3rd to the last paragraph it says "Isreal served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everthing the LORD had done for Israel." It reminded me of the importance of experiencing God, not just hearing about things He has done.
Then I got caught up in the book of Ecclesiastes. I forgot how much I enjoy that book. It is like crawling inside Solomon's brain and reviewing his life with him while hearing his most personal thoughts and frustrations. It reminded me that happiness comes from knowing God is in control and doing what He allows you to do - no matter what the "toil".
Now that you have the background of what God had spoken to me about earlier in the day, I will share the sequel to the "Spider Story." It is entitled, "Cockroach Story."
I came home tonight after a wonderfully busy day full of blessings. I found out there is a slight possibility that Kailua United Methodist Church may give me the money to take the college course I would need to allow me to keep my job. If this happened, I would not have to find a new job, would get a $2/hour raise and a full 40 hours a week. I don't know that God will open that door, but it was nice to know that the chairperson of the Preschool board wanted me to stay enough to go to the church with the request. Being my first day back with the children (with the exception of 1 day) in almost 2 weeks, I was blessed by the warm reception and precious concern from my preschoolers. Then a quick trip home to clean up and back out to 8th grade graduation at WNA (Chelsey, one of my 5th grade girls, graduated - catching up with her original class), followed by a meeting. I finally reached home around 11:15pm. As always, I did a quick visual sweep of my apartment for spiders and such. The living area was good. (whew!) So I head toward the bathroom and turn on the light. There he is - on the ceiling of all places! My nemesis, the cockroach. Now I think this is the same cockroach that I have seen over the last few days. He seems to enjoy retreating into the overflow drain in the side of my sink. (I like to delude myself into thinking that he entered my apartment alone and only through that drain.) Now the delimma. It is now close to 11:30pm. If I have to kill that thing on the ceiling, I will wake everyone up above me. (We all know that cockroaches do not just rollover and die easily) (Also Shani and Eddie have their bedroom right above my studio). The second issue is gravity. I was convinced that if I swatted that thing with my shoe, it would fall on my arm. I don't think I would like that. So the waiting/games began. First I tried turning the light on and off. Then I pulled a folding chair (ok, my only chair) into my little bathroom and stood on it, shoe in hand. Then the bargaining begn.
"Okay God. I can do this. I can kill this critter. But can you get it off the ceiling so it won't fall on me?"
"Just kill it, Jeannie."
"Uh, yeah. As soon as it crawls off the roof and onto the wall, it is dust."
Various forms of this same interaction repeated throughout this little drama. I need to let those of you on the mainland know that this is not what you might consider to be a cockroach. It is it's buff cousin. First I decided to wait. I wasn't that tired and surely it would move eventually. My extreme gifting in the area of patience allowed me to stand and stare at it - for approximately 3 minutes. I did manage to learn that, this cockroach at least, has balance issues when trying to walk upside down on the ceiling. Next I decided I would help it along with my handy dandy Behold (yes, this would be the same dusting spray that turned spider nice and white). I stood on my chair and sprayed my dusting tool from various angles in hopes of driving my nemisis off of the ceiling and onto the wall. Didn't work. It did however move him from the angle where wall meets ceiling into open ceiling.
"Here is your shot Jeannie. Kill him now."
"No thanks God. You can do anything so get him off my ceiling. I think he is eating the Behold!"
"Do you trust me?"
"Odd timing God, but yes. That would be why I am asking you to get him off the ceiling."
"Kill him on the ceiling."
"I can't. I am not willing to let him fall on me."
This continued for a few minutes until the absolute absurdity of what I am doing sinks in. I serve the God that created everything I know and more. And I am afraid to kill a cockroach because it might fall on me. Pathetic much?? I must confess that I still did not kill the cockroach with the shoe - wait yes I did, but I am not there yet. I decided that my faith in God was bigger than my fear of the cockroach falling on me, and I got creative. I knew the broom would do nothing. (This was later proved true) So I grabbed my dustpan and attached it to the bottom of my broom. I slammed the ceiling hoping to kill it in one swipe. (Yeah, right) Instead, the critter hitchhiked a ride on the dustpan. I slammed him into the floor causing the dust pan to drop off of the broom. I kept hitting the floor thinking "must get it, must get it" I am not sure what happened, but I think the roach stuck to my broom, but it was not dead. So I shook it off and then killed it with 2 or 3 strikes of my shoe. I am always amazed at the vast variety of cockroach inerds. This one had purple, and he stunk when I killed him. Didn't expect that! Ugh.
I am sure that at least some of you are rolling your eyes thinking, "What on earth would she do with a Cobra in her apartment?" But I really think God kept that critter on the ceiling for a reason. I probably could have sat up all night and watched it lift 1 leg at a time without it really going anywhere. Why? Because I need to be experiencing the fact that I am a child of the King of the universe. In everything I do, everyday, I need to remember who my "Father" is and take courage. It may seem silly to need courage to kill a cockroach, but if I am not obedient in the silly things, how can I expect to be obedient in more important things. It may take a while (and knowing me, a bit of arguing) but eventually I will learn how to take authority like a true daughter of the King. Here's hoping you get to experience God for yourself in an unexpected way.
Malachi 2
I was reading Malachi tonight and ended up journaling 7 pages on the 2nd chapter. I know that I tend to run on, but that is a lot, even for me.
Have you read this passage recently? God is talking to the priests. Rebuking might be a more accurate term. He is comparing how Levi served as compared to how the priests of that day were serving. I have often thought of I and II Timothy as the books the place to go when searching for teaching on how to be a good leader or teacher (although we now know that Joshua also touches on this area), but I didn't realize that all of this was here in Malachi. I always thought of this as the "tithing book."
I just wanted to share with our leadership some of what God highlighted for me tonight. (Don't worry, I am leaving out the 7 pages of personal commentary that was just for me.) ;-) Most of the "qualities" are found in verses 6 & 7, although the last 2 were found in vs. 16. As a leader (priest?!) I should . . .
1) Have and show Reverence for God.
2) Stand in awe of God's name.
3) Be Honest in all I say and do.
4) Walk With God.
5) Turn many from sin. (Ouch!)
6) Preserve Knowledge (Preserve in myself, but also for others, hence part of the reason I am sharing what I have learned - am learning.)
7) Have a mouth that others seek instruction from because I am a messenger of the Lord.
8) Guard myself in my spirit.
9) Do not break faith.
I understand that many use the last 2 as instructions for marriage, but being single, God reminded me that He often speaks of His people as His bride and we are to guard our spirits for him, just as we would for a spouse. Same thing for breaking faith.
Thanks for taking the time to listen (read?) what God is teaching me tonight. Keep me in mind next time God prompts you to share what you are learning. I love to watch how God grows us.
Blessings!
Jeannie Hughes
Jeannie Hughes
Love One Another?
Our Pastor has encoured us to participate in a worship feast - fasting from secular music and influences and replacing it with some form of worship. As a result, I have limited my tv watching to the morning news. Not the most uplifting programing in the world. A few of the headlines I heard
*Updates on some kind of high school hazing gone bad.
*A report on a mother who is being accused of getting overly aggressive at her child's baseball game
*The bombing in Saudi Arabia
*Democratic Politicians in Texas walk out in protest over a rezoning proposition
Now, I am sure that you have all heard these headlines and more. I am equally sure that some of them are sensationalized by the media. But it disturbes me just the same. Our preteens (at church) have been studying the 10 commandments and all of our children are learning Matthew 22:37-39. We have discussed how those 2 commandments (love the Lord your God . . . and love your neighbor as yourself) sum up the rest of the law. As I listen to these stories, my heart mourns. How many of us who are Christians can truly say that in all we do we put God first, giving Him everything that we have and that we are loving our neighbor as ourselves. Philippians chapter 2 tells us that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than ourselves. Each one should look not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others. It goes on to remind us that our attitude should be like that of Jesus Christ. What follows is heavy. Some call it the kenosis passage. It describes how - well, check it out - "who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant." It goes on, but you get the point. God, Himself gave us the example of putting others first by making himself nothing and being obedient to death, even death on a cross.
I know that I fall short on following that example, but watching the news this morning challenged me. If you think about it, I think you will realize that when someone sacrifices something - even something small - for your benefit, it makes an impact. More of an impact than words ever could. I wonder how much we could impact our world if we consciously practiced putting others first on a daily basis. How long would it take for us to see lives changed? Do you think it would be possible to change the world enough to change the "taste" of the news headlines??
Thanks for listening to my ramblings - I now have to run to work!
Blessings!
Jeannie Hughes
"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness for sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:18
Jeannie Hughes
"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness for sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:18
Spider
Tonight I met what I believe to be my first cane spider. I didn't stop to grab an encyclopedia, but spindly did not come close to describing the legs on this baby. They were trees! So cane spider or other - he was ugly!!!
So I come home from a nice night out with friends. It is around 11pm and I was ready to check out for the night - or so I thought. I unlock my door, turn on the light, then begin to close the door, turning to toss my slippers where they usually rest and something catches my eye. Yep, my new "friend". I am grateful that I am young and have a strong heart. I don't like the little spiders with the long legs, or even the cute little black jumping spiders, but this created nightmares in my brain while I was still quite awake.
At first, the insane thought crossed my mind that I might just let the guy live. After all, at school, we are always telling the children not to kill "God creatures". Then again, this creature was inside my living space. A quick glance toward my bed made up my mind. (For those of you who do not know, my bed is approx. 6 inches off the floor - I think the spider's legs, when extended, would easily reach that far.
Once the decision was reached not to just leave it alone, I got the brilliant idea to "encourage" my friend to go back outside. After all, creatures raised in nature are supposed to have a survival instinct, right? When given the choice between me and freedom outside, he should choose freedom outside. If that is the case, this spider had mental deficiencies.
I have been stocking my apartment slowly and had not yet got around to poison, since creatures hadn't been a big problem up until now. But, I did find Behold dusting spray on sale at Daiei the other day. And I had hairspray. Hhhmmmm. Guess those will work.
I walk over to the door (the spider was just inside the door.) and spray a little Behold toward it while opening the door. Instead of seeing an opportunity for freedom and running out the door, this stupid little creature came at me - big creature with smelly spray. Needless to say, I continued spraying deciding to use the Behold with one hand and the hairspray with the other. The spider turned white and slowed down, but he was still coming toward me. It left me no choice. I put down the hairspray and grabbed a slipper (a big, heavy one) and while I continued spraying with my right hand (the Behold), I used my left hand to slam my slipper on top of it. Twice. I couldn't stand the thought of picking it up with a tissue, nor did I want to leave it there in case of miraculous revival, so I grabbed my broom and swept him outside where he should have gone in the first place.
So now, the spider is dead (or maimed), my Behold is about half gone, and my apartment smells disturbingly clean - and I am trying to come up with a plan of action in case I see one of those monsters again.
Just thought I would share my adventure with you - especially since I am now wide awake!
Hope you all are having a blessed weekend!
Jeannie
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