Mark 6

Sorry, I missed a post but hope you had a wonderful week filled with God's blessings.

As I was reading Mark 6 it talked about John the Baptist and how it came about that he was beheaded. My heart cried for him. He was a man who plowed the way for Jesus, he baptized and planted seeds.. Yet he, just like Jesus was persecuted. Maybe not in the same way, but here he was in prison and Herod’s wife who hated John so much used her own daughter to get what she wanted. The reason John died was so that Herod could save face in front of his friends. He didn’t want to kill John the Baptist, he was afraid of him and knew him to be righteous and holy. Yet he succumbed to his own self interests and had him killed.

How often do we do things in order to “save face” in front of someone? We think what will they think of me if I do this or that? We don’t stand up to what we believe in our hearts to be true. I’ve done this a lot of times and I know I have hurt God by doing it.
I ask for forgiveness and I pray that I can stand up for what I believe in and that through God I can find the strength to say no.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2Timothy 1:7 NKJV

Time Well Spent

This week I had the privilege of helping my daughter when she ran out of gas at 11:15 in the evening. What entails is really a comedy of errors so just bear with me.
I get the call she ran out of gas and with an empty gas can in hand I pick her up. Unbeknownst to me the gas station in town is no longer open late at night. We then proceed to my house checking the other 2 gas cans in the garage-no gas. We then travel to her house to check the gas can in her garage-no gas. We then go back to the shopping center thinking that someone may have access to at least a gallon of gas-no gas. So our next thought is the fire station-we are blessed because they not only have gas but fill our empty 5 gallon gas can for free. We then proceed back to her car thanking God all the way. We get ready to fill her car with the gas from the wonderful people at the fire station and realize we have no funnel to get the gas into the car. I then proceed to her house to pick up the funnel from her gas can. As I unscrew the funnel from the gas can I think do I need to take the whole can? I think no and just grab the funnel. Get back to the car and get ready to put the funnel on the larger gas can and the funnel falls into the can filled with gas. Back to square one. I then go back to my house pick up another gas can with a funnel and head back to the car. (In the mean time my daughter is using a coat hanger trying to get the funnel out of the can of gas). We then pour the gas into the smaller gas can (we aren’t even gonna try to change funnels again) thinking okay thank you-Lord we got it. The story doesn’t stop here. The funnel was to short, the gas spilled on the ground. Again back to square one. At this point I’m starting to feel a little like Lucy and Ethel with all the things that are happening. But we then get the original funnel that fell in the can of gas out– put it on the smaller gas can, pour the gasoline that the nice people at the fire station gave us into this smaller gas can and fill her car with gas. What started out to be what I thought a 20 minute there and back lasted one and a half hours.
It wasn’t the gas or the running here and there late at night or the frustrations, it was quality time with my daughter. We laughed so much and talked and to me it was the best time I’ve had in a while. God brought us together that night because God knew I needed a relief, I needed to laugh. But then He gave me something more wonderful-alone time with Him. It was then that I got to spend quality time with my Heavenly Father.

Lamentations 2:19
19 Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord....

Just Stuff and a thought

I call this post just stuff because there are different little tid-bits of information that you can file away.

First, thanks to Cathi Jenkins for sharing her picture of a whale breeching just north of A-Bay.

HIM (Hawaii Island Ministries) is this week Wednesday, March 11 through Saturday March 14. Pastor Frank will be attending. Also coming up is the Women's conference in Hilo on March 13 and 14th. Then Waimea Christian Academy's fundraising event on March 21st at Waimea New Hope gym.

Also before I forget there will be no Saturday Night set-up at the cafeteria on March 14th- come early Sunday morning to help out. if you have any questions call Pastor Frank.

Last week in my thought for the week I spoke about the verse found in John 14:12 (NIV), Jesus says,

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. I then thought about what greater things can we do than He did? So I thought about it and I thought about it and then it hit me. We live in a world that has internet, TV, phones, cell phones and other technology- Jesus didn't. We can be a witness to anybody and everybody in just a few short minutes. Think about how many emails you get asking you to send it to 10 people-they send it to 10 more. These devices can be used to further God's Kingdom and that's one aspect that we can use to do "greater things than these". I just did by publishing this post.

Be the light of the world and let your light shine!

Getting Started

Today's post is just to get started. I will be updating our events and sharing photos of our times together. We pray you are blessed by our postings and that you come and visit us if you are in the Waikoloa, HI area.

Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.