To do list for Summer 2010

Updated at of August 7th, I haven't gotten everything done that I desired but I can't feel bad as a lot of things did get done that I wasn't expecting to... with that I feel much more prepared heading into school this year than in previous years and that is huge!!!

As I have had some time on my hands the past couple of days... I thought I would put together a to do list of goals for this summer... some personal... some home tasks... some preschool related... etc

Dates... May 27th through July 27th
Goal... Two months to get things done

1. Read through the Old Testament- Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Sam, 2 Sam, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiates, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
2. Read Chronicles of Narnia- Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Last Battle
3. Make one quilt
4. Exercise Daily- almost!
5. Accomplish pulling evidence for accreditation
6. Start Classroom Portfolio
7. Start Program Portfolio
8. Revise Director/Teachers/Staff and Parent Handbook
9. Hike Kalaupapa trail at least 2 times-closed due to bridge collapsing so NOPE!
10. Install new smoke detectors
11. Rescreen kitchen window
12. Finish making Christmas cards
13. Start The Lord of the Rings trilogy
14. Send one care package
15. Weekly trip to the beach- 6/11, 7/5- Yes I know two or three times is sad.
16. Get caught up on scrapbooking- besides accreditation portfolios there has been no scrapbooking this summer.
17. Put together children's portfolios for next year-Thanks to Marissa and Camille :)
18. Lose 5 pounds- with working from 7-4:30 everyday... this was harder than I expected
19. Cook one new recipe-Chicken eggplant parmesan 6/2
20. Blog weekly- As it is the end of the first week of school... I haven't blogged at all in a while.
21. Enjoy time with friends
22. Take a birthday trip off island!!!
23. Rearrange and clean bedroom
24. Get Romeo fixed
25. Work in garden- no water, no garden... :(
26. ...

Letting go and Letting God!

After two days of spending hours upon hours on the couch catching up on all of the season finale's, catching up with email and fb, and catching up on sleep... I am done catching up and tired of being sick! (OK I am so bored of being on the couch that I actually started my Christmas cards today... normally this doesn't take place until at least July!)

School ended Thursday with ... surprise surprise... me being sick. So I get to spend the first few days of my summer vacation couped up in the house on the couch not being able to be up for more than a few minutes at a time. Argh!

Anyway this afternoon I turned on Focus on the Family and started listening to old broadcasts... another thing I get to catch up on. As I was listening to "Growing Seeds of Love", it really hit me... am I allowing God to fulfill His plans for me or am I standing in the way?

Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, declare the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Many things that I have gotten upset with God on, in the past I am now realizing are my own fault. Things that when God has closed a door because it is going to harm me... I have decided to try and reopen the door. Things that God has told me NO... I have argued and asked are you sure? Things that God has put on hold... I have questioned and said when???

God KNOWS the plans he has for me... I don't! These are plans to prosper me and keep me well... not harm me. Plans with a hope and a future. As my dad recently reminded me... God is not going to close one door just to open another with something worse behind it. He is going to open a door with something better behind it.

So just as planting a seed... I need to WAIT and trust that in God's time all things will work out for my good and His glory! My goal for the summer of 2010... let go of my way and let God have His!

Wrinkled Ladies

May I introduce...

Ok so after the last post... I thought I needed to post something a little more lighthearted.

Let me introduce you to Anita Renfroe, a Christian comedian. She has taken some popular secular songs and changed the lyrics. You can see all of her parodies at anitarenfroe.com but I just had to post this one. Enjoy!

Let's go fight GOLIATH!!

Who or what are the Goliath's in your life at the moment?

We all have them.... You know that thing that keeps reoccuring... taunting you... distracting you from the truth that God desires you to see.

Just as Goliath kept coming out of the Philistine camp every day- morning and night- yelling at the Israelite camp to send one person to fight him... day after day for 40+ days! The odd thing is no one including King Saul wanted to fight this almost 10 foot giant. Then comes along a little shepherd boy with a heart filled full of courage... not in himself but in his God... and slays this giant with one stone!

Going back to the original question... who/what is Goliath in your life??? Lately there have been a few big, mean giants in my life that seem impossible to conquer. God has been reminding me that I need to trust in Him instead of myself to take care of these situations.

Today during morning worship, Pastor Randy started a series called "A heart God can use: Heart lessons from the life of David" that completely explained how David had courage to face Goliath because

1. A heart of courage is developed through experiences with God.

2. A heart of courage is rooted in reliance on God.

3. A heart of courage is motivated by the glory of God.

It wasn't about David... but all about God. Or it isn't about Angela... but all about God!!!

Then this evening in Home fellowship we were in the midst of Ephesians 6- "Preparing for Battle: Putting on the full armor of God". Tonights piece of armor was the shield of faith and how it protects the entire body.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen, it gives us assurance about things we cannot see! (Hebrews 11:1)

We stop the fiery attacks of Satan by shielding ourselves with the faith that we have in who God is and what He has said. I need to stand on what God has said. God has promised that He will take care of the Goliath's in my life and I need to trust in that!!!

Love the recurring themes... How God continues to grow us and use us despite us.

"And Aslan said what???"

Ok... for you avid Narnia fans... I have a interesting quote for you that so relates to how God relates to us...

As part of my 100 things to do list, one of my goals is to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis.

Lately I have been reading a few pages before bed but this afternoon before I settled in for a long afternoon nap I decided I would finish "The Horse and His Boy". I ran across this interesting quote... debated whether to post it as my fb status... decided against it as everyone sees that and put it in my blog instead.

Here goes...

Preface...
Rabadash... a cocky young prince is taunting those around him
Aslan... the just King of Narnia represented as a lion

Aslan allows Rabadash to be turned into a donkey after warning him- "Take heed. Your doom is very near, but you may still avoid it. Forget your pride (what have you to be proud of?) and your anger (who has done you wrong?) and accept the mercy of these good kings."

Rabadash doesn't heed Aslan's advice... turns into a donkey... and then Aslan says...

"Now hear me, Rabadash,... Justice shall be mixed with mercy. You shall not always be an Ass."

How many times does God allow us to make an "ass" out of our self in order to humble us and bring us back to him? Just as Aslan gave Rabadash a way to turn back into a human... God shows his grace and mercy to us by helping us out of the mire clay, washing us off, and putting us back on our feet to stand with him.

Stand

Stand by Donnie McClurkin

What do you do
when you've done all you can
And it seems like it's never enough?
And what do you say
when your friends turn away,
you're all alone?
Tell me, what do you give
When you've given your all,
and seems like
you can't make it through?

Stand and be sure
Be not entangled in that bondage again
You just stand, and be sure.
God has a purpose.
Yes, God has a plan.

Tell me what do you do
when you've done all you can
And it seems like you can't make it through
Child you just stand
You just stand
Stand
Don't you give up
Through the storm, through the rain
Through the hurt, through the pain

Chorus: Well, you just stand
When there's nothing left to do
You just stand
Watch the Lord see you through
Yes, after you've done all you can
You just stand

Don't you bow, don't bend
Don't give up, don't give in
Hold on, just be strong
God will step in and it won't be long

Tell me,
how do you handle the guilt of your past?
Tell me, how do you deal with the shame?
And how can you smile
when your heart is broken
and filled with pain?
Tell me what do you give
when you've given your all
Seems like you can't make it through?

After you've done all you can
After you've gone through the hurt
After you've gone through the pain
After you've gone through the storm
After you've gone through the rain
Prayed and cried, you've prayed and cried
Prayed and cried, prayed and cried
After you've done all you can, you just stand.

Child you just stand,
when there's nothing left to do
You just stand
Watch the Lord see you through
Yes, after you've done all you can
You just stand.

"For I know my Redeemer lives"

How many times in the crazyness of life do I lose focus on what God has called me to do???

After an extremely long week and some "major" spiritual battles, I had a reality check today. My normal Saturday routine includes catching up on sleep, housework, and projects that get pushed to the side during the week.

Today was a bit different... I woke up at 5:15am to participate in the Na Puuwai 10K with Bri. Then we hit a couple of garage sales, went to breakfast at Hotel Molokai, ran some errands in town and then went to a concert/conference entitled "Women through the Generations" held at Kaunakakai Baptist Church.

By 11 am when the conference started, a nap was sounding really good but God had an awesome message in store. The couple that came to speak shared their testimony through word and song as well as some scripture that had been very pertinent at certain times in their lives.

After the struggles I have been having over the past few weeks, when I heard this couple speak and be real with what God has brought them through it brought all things into perspective.

In Job 19:25-27, Job states
"For I know my Redeemer lives
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!"

Job lost his children, his wife was telling him to curse God, his friends were not being very encouraging, his livelihood was taken away, he was covered in boils... living in pain and agony.... BUT his focus was on his Redeemer rather than his circumstances.

My momentary troubles pale in comparison to even a fraction of what Job endured. After being reminded of this, my focus is knowing that MY REDEEMER LIVES! And if I had nothing else... My Redeemer is enough. When I focus on that so much changes...

Instead of focusing on not being married... seeing singleness as a gift where I get to serve others with my time and energy.

Instead of focusing on not being a mommy... seeing my 17 hanai little ones as a blessing that I get to show the love of Jesus to on a daily basis.

Instead of focusing on not being close to family... seeing that I have an amazing group of friends and church family here.

Instead of focusing on not being able to travel.... seeing where I live in a new light. How many other places can you be surrounded by water, warm weather, and amazing sunrises and sunsets year round?

Instead of focusing on not having the newest and best... seeing that what I have is so much more than most of the people in our world.

By this point, I can't think of anything else that I have been struggling with because I am so overwhelmed by what God has done that I am speechless....

For I know my REDEEMER lives!!!