Friday Blessings

This week was a crazy one. Last week I posted that my clothes dryer broke and the fact we got another one free within a day. Then this week our garage door broke and my hair dryer went short of catching on fire.

Well my father knows a great company, who fixed my door and he’s basically calling it my Christmas gift. Thank you God for wonderful people who come in the time of need.

I made enough tips yesterday at work to buy a new hair dryer. I got sat with a big top, which has gratuity automatically added and then they all left me extra money as a tip. It was an awesome feeling just to walk into Target and know I wouldn’t have to stress on how to pay for for what I needed.

My husband and I decided that I should work at the restaurant at nights to make more $$$, which will be a bonus blessing just in time for Christmas. This leaves my days open to substitute teach.

My rankings on Amazon have been really good considering my book hasn’t been out but a month. It’s so excited to me to watch the numbers climb, recede, and then climb again. I pray that God continues to bless this books path and the success it deserves.
I shipped it to a buddy of mine in London, who owns a production company. I’m sure my book won’t be his cup of tea, as he’s more of a Martin Scorses type of guy, and my book is more geared for the Lifetime Movie Network or Hallmark, but hey I’m just blessed to have a friend in the business who supports me and wants to read my work. I shipped the book out this week, so time will tell if he and his lovely wife at least enjoy the read.

I’ve have two photo-shoots this week, and scheduled a wedding for the end of the month. God has been very faithful in keeping me busy this holiday season with family photos. It’s a huge blessing as we really need it right now.

My husband thought his car was towed last night, or stolen…but alas he’s decided he just going senile as his car was only 100 yards away from where he ‘thought’ he parked. This blessing is obvious — the fact that I had a good laugh on my husband was an extra one! On his way out to work this morning I told him not to get lost is his work parking lot. He didn’t think it was too funny — but I did.

Hope you’re all enjoying your Friday. Take a little time to list out your blessings for the week. You’ll be glad you did. And don’t forget to give thanks to God for each and every one!

FRIDDDDAAAAYYYY

Today the weather is gorgeous! It’s supposed to get up to 84 degrees today. It’s been this way all week long. What a blessing to have a true fall, and a warm one at that. Oklahoma is known for never having a real fall. It usually goes straight from summer to frigid rainy yucky conditions.

I ran with my sis yesterday around the lake, and it was so peaceful. We stopped every so often to break up the run with crunches, lunges, or plank holds. I get bored just running non stop and I’ve not done it in a while, so I was sure I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Today I feel so good and am glad I have my sis to partner with in my running endeavors. We’re going to do it twice a week. So now if only I can stay motivated. I’ll let you in on a secret … I’m lazy. I’m very lazy when it comes to exercise and staying healthy. I know I should do better, and want to … but don’t. So I’ve got to make myself do it … if not for me, than my little boy.

He told me today that he gets lots of good exercise on the playground at recess everrry day! He drove the point home to me, that my exercising is influencing good choices for his life too.

I’ve made very good tips this week, but not enough to sustain our family. I know God will bless the fact that I’m working hard, but know that there is something else out there for me other than waiting tables. This I feel is a temporary fix, to be able to work around my son’s school schedule. There has to be something that will allow me to work around his schedule, and still be able to make a living. What I’m doing now is not supporting our dual income needs. The blessing is that I have faith God is going to reveal it all to me in His time. I just have to keep pluggin along.

And lastly, my new sister-in-law is pregnant! I guess they got pregnant in Maui on the honeymoon, in July. They’ve been keeping it a secret, and just told us this week. I’m very happy for them and can’t wait to meet my new little nephew or niece. I have a feeling it’s going to be a boy! Dark skinned, long eyelashed, brown eyed beautiful boy … can’t wait to meet you little one!

I hope you all have had a great week, and have had the chance to recognize your blessings.
Have a wonderful weekend!

In a few days…

I will be home…in a few days.
I will feel the island breeze…in a few days.
I will taste my favorite foods…in a few days.
I will see my favorite people from my past…in a few days.

My Aunti and Uncle, although not by blood, by heart are letting my stay with them for the weekend in Kaneohe. They’re throwing me a potluck dinner party for all of my family to come celebrate.

When first moving to Oahu, we were in awe of it’s beauty. We were in awe of it’s weather. We were in awe that we really lived there! I was 5 and life at that age is wonderous any where you live, let alone on a tropical island with mountains at every corner and beaches at every turn.

Living near the ocean is home to me, on so many different levels. Every fiber in my being is pulled to the lull of the waves. To walk the beach, looking for sea shells and chasing hermit crabs, was my ideal day as a child. To find Japanese glass balls floating to the shore, and learn of their origin, was a blessed gift. Digging my toes in the sand, feeling it’s damp heaviness surround my foot right before the sea would rush in and drain the sand away is a sweet memory. Doing cartwheels and leaving hand and footprints down the shore was my signature, leaving my stamp of love for the island I lived on.

I dream of those days most nights. To know I’ve chosen a life away from them is not ideal, but I know I always have a home to come home to in my family away from family, on the island of Oahu. We were the first Hoale family to don the door of the Nazarene Church in Kaneohe, and our O’hana opened their eyes wide and soon their hearts to us.

We learned their dialect, and their culture as if it were our own. I spoke pidgin before I learned proper English. In fact when I moved back stateside, the education board made me take a test before starting school, because they thought I wasn’t smart enough to be in the 4th grade. They assumed my broken dialect was a sign of my intelligence.

I still have that test. It showed my intellectual age being 23, when I was only 10. I blew their tests out of the water. Then they wanted to put me in accelerated classes….I said no thanks. I would do fine in the normal classes with normal kids.

Back on point…I grew to love, breathe, and sleep my island life. Knowing that I will be home in a few days means more to me than anyone could ever know. It will be a short 3 day trip to Oahu, before leaving for Maui for a family wedding. But those short 3 days will be amazing! I will visit the place I went to school, and some of my other favorite spots like here, here, and here.

Sunday, we’ll attend church where I did as a kid. I hope my son and husband can appreciate how unique and special this place is. Not only because of the love for Christ they have in their heart, but also because of where it sits. It’s at the base of a mountain with slat windows, which allow the island breeze to stream through from side to side. You get to see God’s great creation in all it’s beauty, smell the wonderful flowers on the breeze, and worship in His goodness.

Afterwards we’ll go to Pearl Harbor so that my family can visit the Arizona, where I can point out my other house we lived in at the east lock of Pearl Harbor. We lived 20 feet from the Naval Intelligence Building, and it was a house that was pre-WWII, with vegetation that should be in a jungle. I had a closet that overlooked the harbor, with an amazing view.

Needless to say it’s going to be hard to tear myself away from my family and home, but I’ll be going to other family (in-laws) waiting for us on Maui. We’re staying at a beach house a block from the ocean, with the rest of the family to see my brother in law and future sister in law get married. This will be near and dear to my heart as well, knowing we’re making new memories to last a life time not only for me–but my five year old, who will taking it all in with wonder…just as I did 30 years ago.

I wish I could scan some of the old pics of me at 5 to post here, but my scanner is broken. I’ll post some new ones I get from this weeks adventures. Stay tuned!!!

PS….here’s the house in Maui we’ll all stay at:

Rain Check on Valentines Day

My husband is such a quirky but love-able guy. For anyone that knows him, they always ask me…’does he make you laugh…like…all the time?” I just raise my eyebrows and give them the answer they want to hear, “uh huh.”

He’s the guy who sings a song lyric when something happens that similar to a song. He’s the guy who always has the quippy line in a group that will inevitably make everyone laugh every time. He’s the comedian. And not the annoying kind either…he’s just genuinely likes to laugh and makes others do so too. His voice is louder than most, so even when he’s trying to be quiet he can be heard across a stadium. When he gets on the cell phone, he proceeds to get louder…like someone can’t hear him. LOL. I shake my head most days.

At home, he’s a little more subdued. The energy it takes to be him, is exhausting I think. He’s actually a loner, like me. He’s not ‘that’ guy at home, and I’m glad I would need a serious break from that energy at home. Yet, he still finds funny ways to make me laugh. With a comment about something, in only language he and I speak. When you’re close, you speak your own language that no one else is privy too. It’s something just for two.

He does things he knows will annoy me just to get me out of my grouchy mood. You’d think it would back fire, and although I may growl and bark, inside I’m laughing 🙂 because I know it’s all in good natured fun. So does he.

He’s always the one who does things to surprise me. Take for example our honeymoon: He saved for a year to be able to afford the nicest 5 star hotel in Disneyland so we’d have a honeymoon to always remember. Although we could have never afforded something like that, and probably never will again…he toiled and slaved extra jobs to save up and pay in cash.

He makes mental notes of things I like, and when my birthday or Christmas roll around (even if it’s 6 months later or longer) that gift will be wrapped and waiting. He knows I never buy for myself so it’s a safe bet that he’ll get me something I wouldn’t buy for me. He’s a thoughtful and generous guy.

Most days I feel like the neglectful one in our relationship. I don’t feel like I measure up in comparison to what I should be for him. So this Valentines Day I asked my mom to keep my son overnight, so I could surprise him with a date night just for us two. This is something we don’t do much of because of our schedules. He works most week days and weekends, so it’s hard to get couple time.

Great idea in theory, but my son came down with an extreme case of Bronchitis plus there’s an ice storm. So last night, Friday night, our date night got canceled. I feel so bad that I couldn’t do something special for him … again.

I know we’ll reschedule it soon. All that really matters is that our son gets better and we’re home safe…all three of us together.

If you’re wondering about the picture above. That was my Valentines Day card from my husband. It read, “I love you from the bottom of my heart!” What’s so ironic about this card, is that he’s done this exact thing to me….and I’ve had that exact expression on my face. He couldn’t have found a more perfect card. Again he’s ‘that’ guy who has the right thing to say, to make everyone laugh. He makes me laugh and I love him.

*post note — he just walked in and commented on the card I posted, “Hey you look hot there.”  (rolling my eyes)

Faithful Friday 2-8-08

Can Christians Drink????

I know that Catholics partake in a few now and then. I know that a lot of Protestants do as well. How much is too much and what example is set for non believers?

I think there is a difference between all out drunkeness and have a few glasses of wine. I’m a prime example of both. In my wilder days, I used to imbibe to just let go of the pain of certain things in life. I had what some would call a problem. Before I finally looked in the mirror, and asked God for help in re-directing my life, I was drunk or tipsy 2-3 weekends a month. This resulted in bad behavior, mind altering issues, and in essence more pain.

Now I may have a few glasses of wine or a margarita once or twice a year. Last night for example at my husband’s swanky dinner, I had a few glasses of a white chardonay. I was getting over the stomach bug, and it was the only thing that settled my somewhat queezy tummy. It was a great glass of wine that went well with my dinner. I didn’t get tipsy nor alter my behavior.

They say a glass of wine a day is good for your heart. But how many people use that as an excuse to partake in a few too many? Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding celebration. But who uses this as a crutch to excuse their behavior and have another?

Question for you today on Faithful Friday:

Can Christians still have a glass of wine and still hold to their faith? How much is too much?

I personally think it’s what God is calling for you in your own life. When I hit rock bottom in college, I needed to let go of my behavior and the desire to drink. God took the urge from me completely and I stayed away from people I had once circulated with to ensure my walk stayed on His path. I know it was something He wanted me to cut from my life completely at that time.

I don’t think He condemns me for a glass or two of wine when I’m out for my anniversary or birthday, as this is once or twice a year in celebration. Not only because I don’t get drunk, which the Bible clearly states in wrong, but because I’m not in a situation that would expose me to danger. I’m not bar hoppin’ with the girls…I’m with my husband who would watch out for me.

Let me know what you think….

One year here…

I’ve been blogging here for one year now. I started at the first of Jan of 2007. So in celebration I’m re-posting my first blog.

One thing that always gets me is when people call me ‘lucky’ or when something good happens in their own life-they wonder at their own good luck. I think too often in our society we overlook our blessings! I know firsthand how many miracles have been preformed in my life, and luck had nothing to do with them. I know non-believers can’t give credit where credit is due because they don’t believe God is at work in their own lives….especially when it comes to the small stuff.

Trust me people–God’s miracles aren’t just in the Bible! From the moment we’re born we’re blessed with relationships, jobs, safe travels, a comforting shoulder when we’re upset, a smile from a stranger. We never know what God is delivering right in our own lap if we don’t pay attention. Someone asked me lately how I stay in tune with God even when life gets so bad. That’s when I try to stay more in tune than ever by counting my blessings.

I have made subtle little comments in previous blogs on difficult times in my life, but have never given any insight to my friends, who have asked, what thoses are. My real friends know these things, but you—reading this— probably don’t. I won’t bog you down with life’s trauma, but I will try to uplift you by telling you about God’s inspiration in my life.

My husband a few years back had a severe case of adult on set allergies that we were unaware of. He was allergic to many foods that he unknowingly kept eating until one night it was too late. We were heading home after a night of food and beverage, and my better half started acting irate and irritable due to the supply of oxygen slowly being cut off. Being a newly wed, I just thought I was seeing a new side to my husband and was clueless. We started home and was about a mile from our house when he pulled over claiming he was not feeling well enough to make it that last mile.

By the time it took for he and I to switch places and fasten our seatbelts…he was passed out with his neck swollen past his chin and clavicle. His face was so swollen that his eyes were sunk in and he wasn’t breathing. Thank the Lord for LARGE miracles, we had pulled over in a parking lot across from a hospital. So I took off running red lights, stop signs and driving into oncoming traffic….all the while beating his chest with one fist and trying to steer with the other.

Our life flashed before my eyes…the years we would never have, the children we’d never conceive….and all I could yell was, “God No, Please NO! Help me!” I pulled into the ER after driving around it twice trying to find the ER entrance….it wasn’t clearly marked back then like it is now. I rolled down my window and started screaming to get a doctor. It felt like an episode of ER. The doctor’s would not let me back to see him once I parked and came inside. From what I learned later … if I had gotten him there 20 seconds later, he wouldn’t have made it. His air way was so constricted that they couldn’t even bag him to get a tube down his throat. Afterwards, a nurse told me they weren’t having any success tubing him and didn’t think he would make it. She told me I was lucky. It wasn’t luck that my husband made it, & with 20 seconds to spare!

That night, God provided 1 of countless miracles in my life and I’ll never forget the panic and fear I felt. He kept me sane enough to drive with out crashing into oncoming traffic and around cars at stop signs. He got me to the hospital in the nick of time, and he saved the love of my life.

I just wanted to share with you that He loves all of you.

You all have miracles in your life as well. You just have to stop and pay attention.

A favorite spot from home

My brother in law is getting ready to get married to the most wonderful girl. She already seems like family, and to me, like a sister. They plan on getting married in Hawaii, but haven’t pinned down the final date or destination yet.

Of course it should be all about where they want to wed, and which island. However the selfish side of me wants them to get married on Oahu, where I was raised. I haven’t seen my ʻOhana since 1995. I figure my husband and son could fly to Oahu a few days early to visit and catch up with my anties and uncles and all my cousins. My parents and sister are hoping that they choose Oahu too, so they can fly back with me and stay for a visit. After a few days, then my hubbie and me could get a hotel and start the wedding celebration when his family flies in.

I know they’ll probably want to wed on the beach somewhere, but I sent them a link to one of my favorite places on the island, Haiku Gardens. I spent time there in Kindergarten on a field trip and fell in love with it. We went there often and would see locals and tourists wed, in a romantic little spot in the middle of the lush tropics. I even thought it would be cool to re-create a picture my parents took of me with my son, since he’ll be the same age I was when it was taken.
Keep your fingers crossed for me!!! Here’s the pic: