Sunday, August 30, 2009

"It only takes a spark"





As I sit here in my living room on this Sunday afternoon, my entire house reeks of campfire smoke and there is billowing smoke all around. Every few minutes one of three yellow emergency helicopters fly over with buckets attached transporting water to much needed hot spots. Thankfully my house at this time is safe and sound but Molokai is being burned to a crisp.

When I was a small child there was a song that we sung at church that went... it only takes a
spark to get a fire going. This is a vivid reminder of how something so small can do so much. The cause of this fire is unknown at this time but more than likely it started with something very small and insignificant. Whether a match or a camp fire, 2500+ acres have been burned. What an impact!

We as Christians are called to have that kind of impact on our communities and world. Setting our world on fire for Jesus. It is really hard to cover the light that fire produces at night whether by candle or a brushfire. Last night it was such a sight on how much of our island was on fire... areas that couldn't be seen during the day. But as soon as the sun went down the fire lit up the night sky. I sat out in my backyard perched on my neighbors rock wall watching the mountain glow. This was a great reminder to me that we need to shine Jesus especially in the dark of night.

Please be praying for safety for all the fire fighters, emergency crew, helicopter operators, and people that are helping keep people's houses safe. Pray that the wind would die down and that God would send some rain.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

A relaxing evening

Ever have that moment when your body is so relaxed it doesn't feel connected... a perfect peace where there is not even a thought going through a normally chaotic brain???? Well for the past hour and a half, I have been in complete relaxation mode as I received a full body massage (including feet)!

For my 30th birthday, one of my friends and co-workers who went to massage school gave me an IOU for a massage. With a mix of emotion (apprehension, excitement, nervous, etc) we scheduled a date and time. As I am not a huge touchy, feely person, this was stepping outside of my comfort zone just a bit (especially the foot part as I normally don't like my feet messed with). After remembering my 100 things list and my goal to be daring and try some new things... I put on a new emotion and jumped in!

OK... now that the massage is pau and I am sitting here letting the rest of the oil soak into my skin, I have to say that it was SUPER AMAZING! I am truly blessed to have such a friend with amazing hands. And boy am I going to sleep well tonight!!