True Beauty/Feeling Fat?

I woke up with much peace this morning after something really neat happened during the night. In the words of Ricky Ricardo, "Let me splain."

You see, I was about to fall into a deep sleep when I suddenly heard this voice in my heart: "Repent!" I was puzzled and asked, "Why? What did I do?" Instantly, the answer came, "You have been saying terrible things about My daughter." I asked, "What daughter?" The Lord said, "You."

Immediately, I began thinking about how harshly I have spoken about myself since moving to Hawaii. I often compare myself to the bikini-bearing, models of perfection that stroll along the beach. My mind was flooded with memories of high school. I did not care about my education and grades. Every morning, when I prepared for school, my mind was filled with these thoughts: "Do I look good in these jeans? Is my hair perfect? Does my smile look weird? My stomach is not flat enough. I'm too short. My calves are too big. I wish I had perfectly white teeth. My nose is turned up too much. I look like a pig." You get the picture.

I realized that I had been doing that again, recently. My heart was overcome with sincere sorrow. I could feel the Lord's hurt...and even, anger. I responded, "Father, forgive me for 'trashing' myself. I am so sorry for all I've spoken against myself. Please forgive me. I thank You for creating me as You have. I thank You that I can walk, run, play, talk, and do so many things. I thank You for the talents You've given me that I have buried and considered to be of no use." On and on, I went. I was pretty shocked about the whole thing since it happened when I was trying to go to sleep and I was not thinking about my self. Talk about, "outta the blue!"

If you are struggling with your self-image, let me encourage you to repent! Thank the Lord for what He has given you and who He has made you to be. Remember this Scripture:
1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light....

God desires to use His sons and daughters for the expansion of His Kingdom and we need to be focused on Him. In doing so, we reflect His beauty. In the end, I don't think a little cellulite will matter. I highly doubt that the Lord has a scale and caliper system waiting to measure the amount of fat we may have. Hey, after all, Leviticus 3:16 says,
"And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: ALL THE FAT IS THE LORD's."
Okay, so maybe that's out of context, but I'm trying to make a point here.

Honestly, we should do our best to stay fit so we can be ready to go and do in His Name. May the Lord help us all to do our best and to see ourselves through His eyes. To Him, we are true beauty.

Update on Honoring My Husband

Oh, boy....what a challenge. It's not a challenge because of my husband. You see, it's me. He is easy to honor and love because he is usually patient, kind and very understanding. However, on my homesick days, I tend to be impatient and 'on the edge.' I had not told my husband about the 30-day challenge until yesterday. At the end of the day, I crawled into bed and mumbled, "Man, I really messed up the challenge today." He asked, "What challenge?" I said, "Read my blog." He clicked onto my blog and smiled. I looked at him and said, "I'm sorry." He laughed!! He was so amused by it and hugged me, saying how 'cute' I was. I was able to speak a blessing to him before we went to sleep, so I guess I didn't totally fail! Ahhhh. Help me, Lord, to do better.

Bless Your Husband

I'm taking this 30-day challenge starting today. I'll be posting updates and ideas as I have a chance. My current goals:
1. Speak with love and encouragement.
2. Show respect and admiration for who he is.
3. Pray for him daily and speak blessing over him.

Evan Almighty

Our family had the privilege of attending a special showing of Evan Almighty at the Maui Film Festival on Father's Day. We went with skepticism and I feared that it might be offensive or degrading toward God. Afterall, God promised to never flood the entire earth again, so what's the deal about building an ark? The writers of this film were very clever and we were pleasantly surprised! The film far exceeded our expectations and there were even a couple of moments that brought a tears to my eyes. Good film with a good message!!

My Husband with the Turtles

My husband films underwater every week at Molokini Crater. This is a clip of his turtle adventure from last week.

Birthday Surprise

Just when I was feeling a touch of homesickness and desiring to be with family for my birthday, my new Hawaiian friends threw a huge surprise party for me. I was so surprised and overwhelmed with their love and care, that a sob bubbled up that I couldn't contain. Oh, boy....crying in front of a crowd. But they cried with me as they put beautiful, fragrant tuberose leis on me. I thought I got my emotions under control and then went into the living area where there was a pile of gifts. The tears came again. God is so good and I'm so grateful for His blessings. He certainly knows how to apply that balm of Gilead.

That day ended after much laughter.....I mean MUCH laughter after watching the congregation divide up into teams to create birthday songs for me: one in rap, one country-bumpkin style, and one in Jamaican, reggae style. It was hilarious!! Prior to that, my husband and I were tested on our Hawaiian Pidgin. That was a blast, too.

The next day, I enjoyed teaching my girls' class, and once again, they surprised me.....this time with apple pie and cards. God uses these little ones to tone down the aching in my heart from missing my little niece. When I arrive at church, I'm always greeted with hugs and "Hi Aunty!!! Hi Aunty!!! Aunty is here!" Thank you, Lord, for all of Your gifts.


Oh, and one more thing. About two years ago, I dreamed that I was being pulled on a float by butterflies through a river that was covered with all kinds of tropical flowers. I've often wanted to paint the picture, but I got to experience it this week (minus the butterflies). My husband broke up a potential fight last week, and the victim was so grateful that they invited us as their guests to swim at the Grand Wailea. It was unbelievable!!!!!

Paul Potts....a regular 'Joe'

This is a clip from 'Britain's Got Talent.' Absolutely a must-see!

Desperate Pastor's Wives....click here!

This is a great fiction written about the life of P.W.'s. I couldn't put it down!!

Heaven is Waiting

Early this morning, we received word that two of our friends, a husband and wife, homeschool parents, were killed in a car accident. Jerry and Julie left behind two sons, ages 18 and 16. It's so hard to believe that they're not here on this earth, but I'm glad to know that they are with their Father in Heaven. Jerry and Julie both had passionate hearts for the Lord. One of their favorite songs was written by Rich Mullins shortly before his own death in a car accident. The song, 'Heaven is Waiting,' is performed by Mitch McVicker (co-writer), who survived the same accident that took Rich home. This awakens my heart to the fact that Heaven is waiting on us all and God desires that all come to know Him. We have a lot of work left to do on this earth and I pray that we will see His Kingdom come and His will be done here. Jerry and Julie, you will be missed for now, but someday we'll be joining you! Heaven is waiting.

To The Women of Israel.....click here to read a beautiful article

Seven Things I've Learned

Recently, I was tagged to write about 7 things I have learned. So, here it is, short and sweet.
1. Just when you think you've arrived in understanding God, He throws you a 'curve ball,' but with His everlasting kindness.
2. Just when you think you have yourself figured out, that curve ball opens a door to another side of you that you can't seem to figure out.
3. Just when you think you've learned to love, a challenge will come to test your ability to forgive and love unconditionally.
4. If you allow bitterness to take root in your life, it will end up ruining everything.
5. Love and give freely, forgiving those who hurt you.
6. Be wise about who you allow in your heart. Test the spirits and the fruit in their life.
7. Enjoy God's creation and take part in making things beautiful. Dream with God.

Enjoying the Sand

We finally got a picture of all of us together! We're usually taking pictures of eachother, but this time we had friends with us to take a family shot. It was a little windy, but beautiful.

Going Deeper---Click Here

My husband's writing on June 4, 2007 is an excellent bit of insight into going deeper with God. He writes based on what he has learned from scuba diving.

Are You a Discordant Key?

I'm reading a book by Pastor Bill Johnson and I came across a paragraph that made me stop and evaluate myself. Read the following:
"Many of us live with unrenewed minds, which are of little use to God. An unrenewed mind is like a discordant key on a piano. Once you discover that key, you don't use it anymore because it detracts from the music. You skip over it and work around it. In the same way, people who are out of sync with the mind of Christ seldom get used, no matter how available they are, because their thoughts conflict with the mind of Christ. They are self-appointed in their mission and are not in submission to the primary mission. As a result, they are working entirely outside God's intended commission."

How do we renew the mind?? Renewing the mind begins with repentance. Repentance requires change. That change requires pressing in and taking action. Jesus said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." That means that the Kingdom is within reach. To take hold of it, we must repent. There is so much more for us in His Kingdom, so don't give up and become stale, stagnant, and discordant. Ask God to give you His thoughts. May we all think with the mind of Christ and be in tune with His plans.

Evening on the Beach (Yellow by Coldplay)

My husband and I enjoyed a beautiful sunset in West Maui last week. There was a storm out in the distance that made the scene even more spectacular. He brought his video camera along, so we decided to have some fun with it. I felt a little silly being filmed and followed with the camera, but I think we got some memorable footage. Here's the result.