HOPEful girl

With all of the boy's schedules school, after school  activities, parent night, picture day, my husband's unstable academy schedule, the launch of celebrate recovery and keeping up with the demands of my own job its a little hard not to feel overwhelmed these days.   Don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful for the life I'm blessed with.   Yet, I must remember to work on my own recovery and take time for prayer and meditation.  I'm in the middle of our church 21 day fast and as I've given up social media taking the time for prayer and journal, I hope this will help with just that.   It is in those moments, I take delight in the Lord, but its also  in those  busy or mundane moments it gets to be a challenge. I was fortunate to have some respite time as my parents visited me recently.   Since we left all of our family in California when we moved to Hawaii, its always so exciting when family comes to visit.   Its also been a while since ...

I'm just going to give a brief testimony of what's been going on in my so called, Hawaii hectic life. This month , I've been adjusting to a new schedule.  Since I've lost my in -home nanny (aka stay at home full time dad and husband) who's decided to abandon us, the kids and I,  for a much more exciting life to become Hawaii's finest,   most of the home duties have been left to this working mom.   Honestly, I couldn't be prouder of him.   He's half way through academy and on his way to becoming what he's been called to do.  And now I really know what it was like for my parents who both worked and especially my mom who did the same thing, working full time, while still providing for her kids, cooking breakfast and dinner every day,  while keeping us and the whole  house clean.  They just don't make 'em like they used to.  Whatever my apprehensions may be, I welcome this new season with open arms.  I  cherish the brief ...

For some time now and since I moved here I've been taking advantage of the beautiful lagoons nearby.  Its calm waters make it the  perfect spot to swim laps and for me to get in a good swim work out in the morning before I 'm off to work.   I'm not the only one.  In fact, I've made a few friends with a group of locals who do the same thing, mostly retired men whom I fondly call the shark club.   A few years ago, one of these men took it upon himself to set up a line of rocks along the  floor of the lagoon traversing from one end of the lagoon to the other.   This serves as our lane marker so we know to swim in a counter clock wise fashion that prevents us all from crashing into each other.   I usually do these swims in the summer months when the sun rises earlier because it allows me to swim early enough before work with some day light.   I head out about 530 just before the sun comes up.  Sometimes I'm the first one there, but m...

Summer is here! Remember when you were a kid and you actually had a summer break?  I envy my teacher friends at this time.  My two youngest sons are currently on the mainland spending time with family for the summer.  My oldest teenage son is left behind to discover his own summer adventures before starting high school.  My husband is deep into the rigors of training and studies at the Honolulu police academy.   And me?  Well I've been blessed to get a little time off, been able to get in some bonding time with my oldest before he starts high school. One of our favorite things to do together is go hiking.  Living in Hawaii, going on a hike that includes waterfalls is a must.   On our last hike, I added a new word to my vocabulary--flume.    A flume is a man made channel of water used to transport materials from one location to another like logs or mining materials.  Apparently, flume is also the name of an Australian ele...

Once upon a time, there lived a man who was a loving husband and father.  For a long time, he wanted to go into law enforcement.  He felt like this was what he was supposed to do, not only to experience the thrill of detaining a harmful suspect to protect the innocent or  perhaps to get caught up in the excitement of a hot pursuit speeding car chase, but also really because he felt called to minister to this special group of souls both police officers and victims alike who so badly need  some light in their lives.   This man would marry a lovely woman at a time when she  was in the middle of training to become a doctor.  After their second child,and working different jobs, it was time for her to start residency which would involve long hours.  After realizing his paychecks were just enough to support the kid's day care, they both decided  He would support the family by staying home and raising their boys.  He was so great at this. ...

        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...