Well, today is day 5 of our family vacation, and I had intended to do a DAILY entry. But I suppose it's better late than never!
DAY 1 and 2...July 31st and August 1st...We left Superior at about 11am (for a 3pm flight from DIA), but we never left DIA until 9:25pm that evening! Long story short...our gate was changed three times, then we had to change flights from LAX to San Francisco b/c there were no more connecting flights to Hawaii from LAX for two more days. We dragge our poor girls all over the airport and then all the way to San Fran to spend the night in a lousy hotel, only getting 5 hours of sleep, just to return to the airport at 7am the next morning to sit on another plane for 5 hours. But the girls were AMAZING, and God was gracious enough to have Delaney and Genevieve sleep almost the whole flight. WE SURVIVED! We arrived in Kona around Noon on the 1st and immediately headed to the condo to throw our suits on and jump in the pool. After some swimming and sunning, we walked to "The Queen's Shops" to find dinner...dinner was delicious, but little Alianna barely made it through her little appetizer and then fell asleep on the floor behind our table (guess she should've slept on the plane, but she was too busy playing with the new friends she'd made). We all retired early and extremely overdue for some good sleep.
Day 3...August 2nd...Time for the beach! We gathered our things, packed a lunch, and headed for "A Bay" to splash in the ocean and wiggle our toes in the sand. The girls were beside themselves with excitement, and we quickly had three little fish on our hands. As if that weren't enough pleasure for the day, Pierce and Dad had to head off for golf around 2pm...so we women headed for the grocery store to round up the rest of our food for the evening. We had a nice BBQ dinner (grilled poolside) and snuggled in to bed early again.
Day 4...August 3rd...I named this day "Kona Kraze" b/c we went to church at 9:30am and didn't come home from Kona (which is 30 min. south of our place) until 6pm that evening! We attended a soulful service at a sweet little chapel tucked way up the hill in lush green palms, followed by a delicious brunch at the Kona Country Club, snorkeling (all be it short-lived due to Alianna's turtle scare) on a rustic Kona shore, and then tons of "running around." We had to hit the Farmer's Market for our fresh fruit, then Wal-Mart for necesities (i.e. diapers and toothpaste), and finally COSTCO for the most lucrative food supply. By the time we reached our "home sweet home," the girls were beyond tired and ready to tear us all to pieces. We vowed to NOT do that next Sunday.
Day 5...August 4th...Dad and Pierce were up and going by 9am for 36...yes ThIRTY SIX...holes of golf. Mom and I took the girls to the beach, then the pool, and then inside for some much-needed R&R away from water! Dinner was quick, but only so we could fit in the run to get ice cream. The girls were in heaven (but little did they know that we passed up our share of ice cream so we could still eat the rest of the week--ONE SCOOP was $6!!!), and we had a hard time getting them to leave the little shops. We finally made it back and got everyone nestled into bed. So now I'm on this silly computer playing catch up with my blogspot. Memories are worth holding onto, and sometimes I regret not keeping track of them...so now I can go to bed knowing I have at least gotten down the basics. Hopefully the next entries will prove to be more exciting.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Can it Really be True?
The Lord very clearly is at work around us, and in us. He has promised to heal...and yet we know not everyone will be a recipient of that healing. There have been many times in my life where I have had to question "what sin is standing in the way of my healing?" And sometimes I feel that nothing is, but I'm still not getting better. And there have been times where I beg for mercy, and God readily replies with a resoudning YES! and I feel better within hours. There is no science to when or how to ask for healing...but there is FAITH.
There was once a woman of great faith who had been bleeding for many years (some of you know this story if you've read it in the Bible). Jesus was surrounded by people, shoulder to shoulder, crowded in by sweaty, anxious men, women, and children from all walks of life. And in this moment, we see this bleeding woman reach out and merely touch the cloak of the Savior. He feels the power leave him and turns to see who it was. The humble woman looks up at him from weary, anxious, tearfilled eyes, and receives a resounding YES..."Your faith has healed you," He says. WOW! There are so many more stories like this one in God's word. But it does NOT stop there.
GOD TV has been broadcasting a Healing Revival in Florida for months now. Some of you may have seen it, and some may not even know what the heck I'm talking about. But it has been incredible! I will not deny my human skepticism when I see someone rise, shaking and "convulsing in the Spirit," I have learned to look at these people with great faith and awe. God is a God of the impossible! And if we limit our faith and limit our own prayer life, we will not see His mighty hand at work.
My mother is a blessed example of heart-felt praise and faith...and when I see her eyes well up with tears of joy over one of His precious children being healed, I am rendered speechless because of my own puny faith. I feel the need to immediately experience it myself so I too can believe in His miraculous healing power. But that most certainly is not the need...the need lies within my need to believe PERIOD! He is who He says He is. Most recently, I received an email, with photos, from my mom of a friend of hers who was paralyzed in an accident. My mother, at the time, told this woman she would be praying for healing and that she would one day see her walk again. The email depicted a beautiful, smiling woman standing with little support from a walker...and each photo that followed showed her taking one more step, one more step...she is WALKING! The joy and excitement in my mother's voice when we spoke on the phone was so chilling that I wanted to run and tell everyone the good news.
So why is it that I find it so hard to believe...to ask for healing for others or even myself? Sure, God may choose to NOT heal, and in that, we must trust that He has a greater purpose and a higher calling. But He most certainly can and most certainly DOES still heal! Can it really be true? Oh, Yes, Lord, it really IS true!
There was once a woman of great faith who had been bleeding for many years (some of you know this story if you've read it in the Bible). Jesus was surrounded by people, shoulder to shoulder, crowded in by sweaty, anxious men, women, and children from all walks of life. And in this moment, we see this bleeding woman reach out and merely touch the cloak of the Savior. He feels the power leave him and turns to see who it was. The humble woman looks up at him from weary, anxious, tearfilled eyes, and receives a resounding YES..."Your faith has healed you," He says. WOW! There are so many more stories like this one in God's word. But it does NOT stop there.
GOD TV has been broadcasting a Healing Revival in Florida for months now. Some of you may have seen it, and some may not even know what the heck I'm talking about. But it has been incredible! I will not deny my human skepticism when I see someone rise, shaking and "convulsing in the Spirit," I have learned to look at these people with great faith and awe. God is a God of the impossible! And if we limit our faith and limit our own prayer life, we will not see His mighty hand at work.
My mother is a blessed example of heart-felt praise and faith...and when I see her eyes well up with tears of joy over one of His precious children being healed, I am rendered speechless because of my own puny faith. I feel the need to immediately experience it myself so I too can believe in His miraculous healing power. But that most certainly is not the need...the need lies within my need to believe PERIOD! He is who He says He is. Most recently, I received an email, with photos, from my mom of a friend of hers who was paralyzed in an accident. My mother, at the time, told this woman she would be praying for healing and that she would one day see her walk again. The email depicted a beautiful, smiling woman standing with little support from a walker...and each photo that followed showed her taking one more step, one more step...she is WALKING! The joy and excitement in my mother's voice when we spoke on the phone was so chilling that I wanted to run and tell everyone the good news.
So why is it that I find it so hard to believe...to ask for healing for others or even myself? Sure, God may choose to NOT heal, and in that, we must trust that He has a greater purpose and a higher calling. But He most certainly can and most certainly DOES still heal! Can it really be true? Oh, Yes, Lord, it really IS true!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Open the Drawer and Read It!
My heart is in a fragile state, and yet if one could see it, they would hardly call it fragile. It's more like "hard as a rock." How have I allowed my heart to become so hard? And how can a heart grow hard towards someone who is supposed to be my "best friend," "soulmate," and "lover"?
A few nights ago, I crawled into bed, weary from my exhausting day and emotionally drained from my inner battles. I just wanted to read my short Bible passage and go to sleep...all within 2 minutes. But I felt the Lord tugging on my heart..."open your drawer and get out Power of a Praying Wife." "Oh, but Father, I am so exhausted...please..." And then a gentle pushing..."Please just do it." I went from laying in exhaustion to frantically pulling all fifty things out of my nightstand drawer (I found lots of things I hadn't seen in a while!)...and there it was! I laid back down and began to read the very beginning...not wanting to miss a thing. The words jumped off the page and grabbed me. I felt like I was Stormie Omartian...as if I'd written each word myself (I will include the key paragraphs as a separate entry later). I knew God wanted me to hear HIM through her writing. And I did.
Yet I still felt so sad and so overwhelmed. I want to be "that wife." The one that wins over her husband by her quiet and gentle spirit. But, sadly, I am not "that wife." Somehow I have allowed Satan to get a foothold with my bitterness and my sorrow. I realize this, and I hate this! I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman. But I feel like an HBO woman (you know what I mean!). This cannot be, Lord! This cannot continue! Rip out my ugliness and make me snap out of this! I know it's not about me...it's about YOU.
And so it goes, I have picked up that book every night since then and re-read the pages...seeking desperately for it to sink in. I did open the drawer, and I read it! If only the rest came so easily.
I suppose it all boils down to obedience...sounds so easy, but so far it's not.
A few nights ago, I crawled into bed, weary from my exhausting day and emotionally drained from my inner battles. I just wanted to read my short Bible passage and go to sleep...all within 2 minutes. But I felt the Lord tugging on my heart..."open your drawer and get out Power of a Praying Wife." "Oh, but Father, I am so exhausted...please..." And then a gentle pushing..."Please just do it." I went from laying in exhaustion to frantically pulling all fifty things out of my nightstand drawer (I found lots of things I hadn't seen in a while!)...and there it was! I laid back down and began to read the very beginning...not wanting to miss a thing. The words jumped off the page and grabbed me. I felt like I was Stormie Omartian...as if I'd written each word myself (I will include the key paragraphs as a separate entry later). I knew God wanted me to hear HIM through her writing. And I did.
Yet I still felt so sad and so overwhelmed. I want to be "that wife." The one that wins over her husband by her quiet and gentle spirit. But, sadly, I am not "that wife." Somehow I have allowed Satan to get a foothold with my bitterness and my sorrow. I realize this, and I hate this! I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman. But I feel like an HBO woman (you know what I mean!). This cannot be, Lord! This cannot continue! Rip out my ugliness and make me snap out of this! I know it's not about me...it's about YOU.
And so it goes, I have picked up that book every night since then and re-read the pages...seeking desperately for it to sink in. I did open the drawer, and I read it! If only the rest came so easily.
I suppose it all boils down to obedience...sounds so easy, but so far it's not.
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