Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Someone's in the kitchen with...

After some recent digestive issues and to make up for a coffee treat from Coffee's of Hawaii today I decided to experiment for dinner tonight. A couple of my kids had pizza and breadsticks for lunch and I was really desiring Pizza Cafe. The last few times of eating pizza from PC, it hasn't been pleasant with my digestive system so I decided to try a healthier option and we pray that all goes well in my tummy! :)

Had to stop by the Outpost and Friendly Market for a couple of items and this is what I came up with for dinner...

Veggie pizza- one for dinner, one for lunch tomorrow.... each has about 200 calories....

Ingredients- Ezekiel flat bread, 1 tbsp prego pasta sauce, grated zucchini, sliced tomatoes, and pressed fresh garlic.

Cooked in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes!

Outcome... (not comparing it to PC pizza because theirs is the best pizza on Molokai!) I give it an 8... the zucchini was still a little crunchy and had too much garlic (I used 2 cloves on each... oops!)

Overall this might become a new favorite dinner! Try it for yourself and let me know.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Reminder: One Year???

Six months ago we were challenged with the question... If Christ were to come back in one year, what things would I need to get taken care of? Now it's not a to-do list but as I prayed about what God would have me do this year there were a few things that He laid on my heart...

  • live a healthier God honoring life
  • daily be in the Word
  • be debt free (ie pay off the house)
  • invest in the lives of the children God has given me
  • share what God is doing in my life

How am I doing? Definitely not perfect, some days are better than others but moving forward to do what God has called me to. At this point I want to challenge you... in the next 6 months of 2010, what would God have you do for His kingdom?

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your prescence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10-12

Sunday, June 20, 2010

My daddy!


On this father's day 2010, I think it is fitting to honor the best dad in the whole wide world.

Growing up mom always joked, that I was a spitting image of my father (without the beard) but we didn't know who my mother was. (By the way momma, I have more of your characteristics than you ever realized!! I am definitely your daughter. Love ya!)

Yes I look like my father but the part that I love most about my daddy is the way that He images our heavenly Father. Dad raised Jared and I to trust in the Lord by the way he lived his life. He was the physical example of Christ to me.

What my daddy (and momma) taught me...

  • love- no mess that I ever got myself into could separate me from my father's love

  • strength and the value of hard work- on a 20 acre farm we all had to pitch in and help... from push mowing... to pulling weeds... to hauling firewood... to shoveling snow out of the living room... it truly takes a family to make a home work!

  • fun and adventure- the Easter scavenger hunts were the best and most memorable "egg-hunts" of all time

  • compassion- No matter the animal... a dove with a broken wing, a bunny that had been carried in by the cat, a ferret that needed a "new home", a dog with a bullet in its chest, an owl who had fallen out of a tree.... there was always room for another critter at the Calhoun's.

  • teaching me to sing through the pain- I will never forget the time, we were out getting straw for the flower beds and I slid off the wooden trailer and filled my leg with splinters. Dad patiently took the tweezers and picked out every splinter while teaching me new songs to sing.

  • creativity- our backyard was every child's dream playland... from culvert pipe tunnels, ziplines, swings, a gargantuan (sp?) sand pile, a gnome tree, a creek, a huge see-saw, and miles of bike trails

  • perseverance- if you try something and you fail, pick your self up and try it again (even if you have a concusion).

  • independence- Dad's motto was "if someone else can do it, so can you with some work!" ... cannot was not an acceptable word growing up

  • equality- If Jared had to learn to do something... I had to learn and vice versa. At this point in life I really wish I had paid more attention when dad was working on projects like changing filters in the car or installing tile.

  • quality time- the Saturday morning trips to the autopart store... just my daddy and I... followed by an icee were a highlight, Wednesday night trips on the Harley to choir practice... the discussions on the ride home from school on friendship and dating...

  • the value of marriage- Mom and Dad set aside time every week (Saturday evening) that was time to build and strengthen their marriage... rarely did they go "out" on dates but every Saturday was mom and dad time... normally this meant steak dinner with corn and baked potatoes while watching Lawrence Welk... Jared and I were invited on occasion but normally it was just mom and dad. This taught me that the world didn't revolve around me and that marriages take work to build. Through thick and thin... they have made it 36 years and are a living testimony of what a godly marriage looks like!
  • the love of music- from the gift of my first "oldies" cassette tape to encouraging me to sing with you at church... you are the reason I played alto saxophone because that was your favorite instrument
  • perseverance- sticking with things until they were completed the correct way. I wanted to follow through on commitments (like band) even when times were not the easiest because I didn't want to let you down.

Momma and Daddy- You will never know how much you truly mean to me. I am publicly stating these thing because you two have made me into who I am today. Thanks for all of the lessons lived and taught over the years. I don't say it often enough but I am truly blessed to have you two as parents! Love ya bunches!

Precious moments on this side of a closed door!

I simply love those precious moments when God allows us a glimpse of something that He has been working on for a while.

Several weeks ago, I blogged about all the doors that had been closing and how I was tempted to start opening them on my own. Today as I sat listening to Pastor Randy's message on "A Repentant Heart" and the heart of David after he had truly sinned against God... it hit me why God closes doors.

Just as gates are put up to keep children safe from the "unsafe" things outside... animals, cars, stairs, etc., God places closed doors in our lives. Looking back on certain doors that I was fighting against being closed... would I have made the best decisions if the door had not closed but I was told I couldn't have what was on the other side??? I would like to say I would have obeyed like a good child but knowing my strong will... I probably would have had to learn the hard way. God knows that about his stubborn daughter and to protect me from heartache he closed and locked that door.

Praise God that He is the alpha and the omega... a loving and just father who cares about the well-being of His children... He is also a gentleman that allows us the choice to obey His voice... He doesn't force what is right upon us. Just as David had several opportunities to make a choice to do what was right before God... we are given daily choices- to follow God or to not!

So with the door in front of me closed and locked for security purposes, I will turn around and make the choice to be content with what God has for me for such a time as this, trusting that in His time bigger and better doors will open. Oh just to trust and obey! The theme for 2010!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Oldies but goodies!

After 10+ years of writing about adventures in Molokai and as I have time, I am planning on consolidating all of the stories here. Kind of like my pile of stones... In the old testament, any time that God wanted the Israelite people to remember where they have come from and what He had done, God asked them to place a pile of stones for future generations to ask "what are those here for". They would see what God had done in the past to rely on him in the future.

If you have an oldie but goodie that you don't see posted in the near future... post a quick comment and I will see if I still have it. If not, send it to me to post! Thanks

So here goes!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

All to Jesus I Surrender

Press On

Pressing on in Jesus' Name!

I just listened to an amazing message from the book of Ruth on the character of Naomi. (See calvarymolokai.com to listen for yourself!) Naomi had some big mountains in her life... losing her husband and her sons in a foreign land. Then making the choice to move "home" with Ruth along side. Even though she was bitter she didn't take it out on those that were around her. She pressed on despite her circumstances and God used her in mighty ways.

Over this past week, in my quiet time with Him, I have been reminded of some things that God has said for my life. Some promises over the years that have yet to be fulfilled. And as always when God is doing an amazing work, the enemy is trying to come in and steal, kill, and destroy. With that said I have wrestled with "living up to my calling". If God really said that, then what have I done to keep it from happening? As I was praying and weeping this afternoon... that small quiet voice of the Lord reminded me... it's not about you... IT's ALL ABOUT MY GLORY!

Oh yeah... that's right... this life is not mine to do with as I please but to use for His glory. When challenges come barreling through the door, why do I try to solve it first, get knocked down and then resort to plan B: ask Jesus for help. HELLO??? When trouble comes knocking, I need to send Jesus to answer the door in the first place.

So with a good reminder to press on from the book of Ruth, I am ready to rest in the arms of my loving Jesus trusting that in His time He will fulfill His promises.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Who's been sleeping in my bed?


While being sick this week, I thought it was time to clean and rearrange my room. So in my moments of needing to get up, I started moving furniture. Over the past few days, my room is back to being a happy place instead of a mess! After getting up this morning and making my bed, I made breakfast and was finishing up "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". I went to my room to grab something and noticed that my nicely made bed had a big LUMP in the middle under the covers.... hmmmm... who could that be??? By the time I ran to the living room to grab my camera and got back to my room the culprit was peeking out. It made me smile as I think the two furballs seems to be enjoying the clean, rearranged room as well.