HOPEful girl

        I have this horrible hang nail on my right forefinger that seemed to develop an ugly life of its own and formed into a painful tiny abscess.  Ok, I might have contributed a bit by yanking that  piece of skin off.  I knew I should not have done it, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.  It has caused the tip of my finger to become red and swollen as I now have 'sausage finger'.  I know there are people on this earth dealing with much worse;  cancer, the loss of loved one, depression.  I myself have dealt with much worse than this dumb hang nail, 3 C- sections, appendectomy , small bowel obstruction , my addictions AND  I ran 2 marathons, but this hang nail thing is really annoying!  I can't write that long in my journal without getting pain radiating up my arm.  And if I accidentally barely bump my finger just on that spot, YOWSERS! (insert expletive $@#!) I wear a band aid so no one would  see it, ...

      Our family recently made a trip back to the ‘mainland’, as  I have now grown accustomed to calling our former home in California since living here in Hawaii now for a little over two years.  We visited family and friends  and over all, it was a nice vacation.  While at Disneyland, my oldest and  privileged  son to have been there many times before commented that it seemed  a little different to him.   I turned to him and said  of course, its because you’re growing up.  Its never the same as when you were little.  This year,  I've been reading the Bible one year plan in chronological order.  Sounds exciting huh? Well, it actually has been. I've read the Bible from cover to cover before with other one year plans.  Its been awhile since.  Each time I do, I now find that  I learn  something different that I never did before.   You'd think the Old Testament wouldn't apply so...

          Even though,  this is the month of a highly  commercialized holiday,  a holiday that doesn't have any biblical background, a holiday that just happens to be another one of those celebrations in history that was 'Christianized' in an attempt to win over some pagans and their hedonistic rituals, a holiday that just depresses people who are single as they are reminded of their lonely state and stresses out couples  as they are feel pressured to please their counterparts to a materialistic and shallow standard.  Despite all this, I choose to rise above all that and can't help but reflect on love.   I feel compelled to share what God has been speaking to me these past days about love. When I was a little girl, although the strong, independent woman in me is reluctant to admit this, that I, not unlike any other little girls,  used to dream about  meeting my Prince Charming one day just like in the storybooks or...

  Happy New Year!   Apparently, fireworks are a big deal here in Hawaii on New Year’s.    I was blessed to enjoy the shows with my good friends who were visiting, a beautiful display at the local resort viewed from my backyard lanai that set off at the stroke of midnight.  At the same time, other fireworks can be heard in the distance from nearby neighborhoods.  Aerial drone videos later viewed on  Facebook  reveal numerous blasts of bright sparks erupting throughout  the island night scape.   I think this custom comes from the influences of the  Chinese New Year's custom and the belief that fireworks symbolizes ridding off evil spirits before the New Year.   The New Year is a time many people decide  to rid themselves of evil spirits or bad habits in an attempt to start new.    Last year, I stated that 2015 was a year of transition and transformation for me.  After living in Southern California w...

I'm so excited to have completed my second marathon,  the Honolulu marathon.   Many preparations and training   went into  that day.  One way I prepared myself was to run some of the actual course.  That way, I would become familiar with the terrain and know what to expect on race day.  I think this created a sense of confidence and calmness as I was faced with the difficult challenge of that day. As the miles progressed  I knew it would only be so long on this straight away before I would turn the corner.   I knew when to prepare myself, change my pace before that treacherous hill.  Knowing that the finish line was just over that hill, made me run a little faster as I came to the top of it.   Of course, there were many variables that were beyond my control such as the weather (thank God this stayed beautiful even though rain was expected) or a muscle cramp, or that person who stopped suddenly in front of me at the wa...

   I've read somewhere that less than 1% of the U.S. population has run a marathon.   I'm proud to say I am part of that 1% and yet will be running my a marathon again in a couple of weeks.  I'm  winding down to the last days of training for the Honolulu Marathon. Although I love to run, the training is no easy task.  It takes a lot of time and preparation.  There are many early mornings I just want to fall back into the comfort of my bed but I get up sleepily and head out for a run anyway because I know my day will just not be complete if I don't.  During my long runs, it's tempting to fall back into a slower more comfortable pace or cut my miles short, but I press on because I know it builds endurance.  Training can be lonely and hard, but the reward of the accomplishment, the pure enjoyment, and knowing I'm doing something healthy for my body makes it all worth it.  Not a lot of people enter this gate.  The path...

It seems like the older I get, the more I love the Halloween season.  What is it? New pumpkin everything recipes? My birthday month?  The candy? Pumpkin patches? Enjoying watching my kids dress up in costumes? Or is it that it marks of the start of the whole holiday season and the promise of even better things to come? Our 5 year old son, Micah is deathly afraid of Halloween stores.  He gets freaked out by the scary masks and faces.  As a matter of fact,he can't even go down the costume aisle at Wal-Mart without clinging to my or my husband's side.  I feel for him but at the same time love it when he finds comfort in the protection of our arms. I cherish that closeness. Those times I can't help but think of ourselves clinging to our abba Father during our own times of fear and uncertainty and how those dark times bring us to a new closeness with our God that we never knew before.  We may have our own ghosts and monsters in our own life. There are tim...