Just wanted to share a personal testimony about how God is So Good.
Last night, Don was bummed because he had to stay at home and miss his Bible study.
I had a meeting so Don called around looking for a ride to the Thursday night men's Bible Study. But he was not able to contact people so he stayed at home.
Suddenly,he heard a knock on the door and thought it was strange because he did not see any car lights nor heard a car drive in. (We live in the boonies and do not have neighbors near by.) He opened the door and saw a young man who asked for help. There was a young female who was injured with blood on her hands, blood patters on her shirt, injury to her scalp, and lacerations on her shoulders. Don ran around getting first aid supplies to render aid to the girl.
He told the young man to call 911 as the girl's injuries were beyond first aid response. Don was also counseling the young man to pay attention to the girl.
The ambulance arrived and Don noticed that the man was gone. Soon after, two police cars came by and Don explained about the occurrences. Don knew that the man was still in the yard because he could smell the man's cigarette and our niele horse, Hoku, was looking in the direction of our water tank. Don and the officers went looking for the man and found him hiding behind the water tank. The man left with the officers.
God's timing is so perfect. Don's inability to find a ride to Bible study made him available to help the injured woman and hopefully the young man. Praise God for the things He does that are beyond our understanding.
Pray that God will use you to serve Him today.
Don and Mililani
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Satisfaction NOT Guaranteed!
Why is it that we are never satisfied with what we've got? I have thick, straight hair. I want soft, curly hair. People who see me wish they had my thick, straight hair and thus resort to such tactics as fluffing out their hair to make it look thick except when you see them with light shining through the thin gossamer veil of hair. Or women who will pay big bucks to straighten their hair so it becomes a straight and lifeless head curtain.
When I was young, I always thought I was fat, husky, big-boned, the Big Hulk! And yet when I look at my old pictures, I do not appear to be a big as I imagined. Now that I am really heavy and fat, I keep wondering why I spent so much time worrying about how fat I was.
What about going out to eat dinner and finding something delectable? But if you eat even one bite more than you should, that delectable tidbit turns into a rubber hockey puck that transforms into a tractor tire with the last drop of saliva you swallowed!! Takes the fun out of the whole meal!! And then there is the misery of feeling overful, bloated, and squeezed into your clothing like an overstuffed sausage.
We had a spacious house when the kids were growing up. It was a place of many family dinners with loud talking and laughing, mountains of food, and love. We had about 40 people over with no problem although it rained inside the house with the body heat of all of our friends. As our children got older, moved out, we thought we'd move to a smaller house. Finding space was a challenge. Having family dinners was a logistical nightmare. So what are we doing? We are building a new building on our property to make up for the lack of space in our "new" house. Thanks to the slow housing market, we still have our old house, the place of childhood memories for our kids. Maybe one of the kids will make our old house their home and a place of many family dinners with loud talking and laughing, mountains of food, and love for a new generation.
We need to live in the moment...savor the present. It might be a lifelong memory for someone someday.
When I was young, I always thought I was fat, husky, big-boned, the Big Hulk! And yet when I look at my old pictures, I do not appear to be a big as I imagined. Now that I am really heavy and fat, I keep wondering why I spent so much time worrying about how fat I was.
What about going out to eat dinner and finding something delectable? But if you eat even one bite more than you should, that delectable tidbit turns into a rubber hockey puck that transforms into a tractor tire with the last drop of saliva you swallowed!! Takes the fun out of the whole meal!! And then there is the misery of feeling overful, bloated, and squeezed into your clothing like an overstuffed sausage.
We had a spacious house when the kids were growing up. It was a place of many family dinners with loud talking and laughing, mountains of food, and love. We had about 40 people over with no problem although it rained inside the house with the body heat of all of our friends. As our children got older, moved out, we thought we'd move to a smaller house. Finding space was a challenge. Having family dinners was a logistical nightmare. So what are we doing? We are building a new building on our property to make up for the lack of space in our "new" house. Thanks to the slow housing market, we still have our old house, the place of childhood memories for our kids. Maybe one of the kids will make our old house their home and a place of many family dinners with loud talking and laughing, mountains of food, and love for a new generation.
We need to live in the moment...savor the present. It might be a lifelong memory for someone someday.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wiry Abundance
Hair, Hair, Hair. My daughters and I have hair to share. My hair is thick, straight, and very wiry. People say I have enough hair for three or four people. Not only is my hair plentiful, but the strands are very thick. I am certain that if I donated my locks, they could be braided into a cable that could pull a loaded Mac truck across the United States.
Of all of my siblings (there are 7 of us), I probably have the grayest hair..and I probably have more hair per square inch than all of my siblings combined. My dad had soft wavy hair and so did my sisters Cookie and Rose. Two of my brothers are bald. And, I have a full head of gray (salt and pepperish) straight hair.
My hairdresser of over 26 years said that I am famous for being able to grow my hair fast!! For a hula recital, I grew my hair from a short boy cut to shoulder length in three months. Of course as soon as the recital was over, I chopped my hair off and was glad to see it go. My husband and my son beg me to grow my hair but I don't want to hassle with a heavy weight of hair on my head. I hate when I wash my hair, twirl it into a bun for a day's work, and when I get home and let my hair down, my hair is still wet. Yuck. Most women with long hair tame their tresses with a hair band, elastic, scrunchy, pen, chopstick, or whatever is available. If this is the case, isn't it better to have short hair and quit tugging at your roots?
When I had long hair and worked in a high school where many of the girls were hula dancers and had long hair, I would urge them to participate in a Hair Emancipation Day when we would all let our hair down, loose, and flowing free. We tried it several times and found that by the end of first period, everyone had their hair twirled and twisted into tight knots. Such short lived emanacipation campaigns.
If you have short hair, don't you hate it when your hair gets into the infamous "UGLY" stage that no matter what you try to do, it is UGLY? Dig through your box of hats, put on a kerchief, plaster on a handful of super-duper gel...doesn't matter, Your Hair is UGLY. It's like a neon sign of ugliness. I always feel like the first thing people will fixate on when they see me is my UGLY hair!! AARGH!! I mean, my hair can be doing all right and it seems overnight, it grow 2 centimeters over the line of nice hair into UGLY hair and it is torture. And the irritation seems to grow by geometric proportions.
The only remedy to this situation is to go to the hairdresser and get a haircut. Having plenty of straight, thick hair means finding a hairdresser with excellent skills and a pair of strong hair shears!! Snip, snip, snip, the hair falls to the salon floor like salt and pepper snow. Then Hallelujah!!! I am a human again.
It's those little pleasures that make life so wonderful...the miracle of transformation and I'll say, Amen, Amen, and Amen!!
Of all of my siblings (there are 7 of us), I probably have the grayest hair..and I probably have more hair per square inch than all of my siblings combined. My dad had soft wavy hair and so did my sisters Cookie and Rose. Two of my brothers are bald. And, I have a full head of gray (salt and pepperish) straight hair.
My hairdresser of over 26 years said that I am famous for being able to grow my hair fast!! For a hula recital, I grew my hair from a short boy cut to shoulder length in three months. Of course as soon as the recital was over, I chopped my hair off and was glad to see it go. My husband and my son beg me to grow my hair but I don't want to hassle with a heavy weight of hair on my head. I hate when I wash my hair, twirl it into a bun for a day's work, and when I get home and let my hair down, my hair is still wet. Yuck. Most women with long hair tame their tresses with a hair band, elastic, scrunchy, pen, chopstick, or whatever is available. If this is the case, isn't it better to have short hair and quit tugging at your roots?
When I had long hair and worked in a high school where many of the girls were hula dancers and had long hair, I would urge them to participate in a Hair Emancipation Day when we would all let our hair down, loose, and flowing free. We tried it several times and found that by the end of first period, everyone had their hair twirled and twisted into tight knots. Such short lived emanacipation campaigns.
If you have short hair, don't you hate it when your hair gets into the infamous "UGLY" stage that no matter what you try to do, it is UGLY? Dig through your box of hats, put on a kerchief, plaster on a handful of super-duper gel...doesn't matter, Your Hair is UGLY. It's like a neon sign of ugliness. I always feel like the first thing people will fixate on when they see me is my UGLY hair!! AARGH!! I mean, my hair can be doing all right and it seems overnight, it grow 2 centimeters over the line of nice hair into UGLY hair and it is torture. And the irritation seems to grow by geometric proportions.
The only remedy to this situation is to go to the hairdresser and get a haircut. Having plenty of straight, thick hair means finding a hairdresser with excellent skills and a pair of strong hair shears!! Snip, snip, snip, the hair falls to the salon floor like salt and pepper snow. Then Hallelujah!!! I am a human again.
It's those little pleasures that make life so wonderful...the miracle of transformation and I'll say, Amen, Amen, and Amen!!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Zero Calorie Feasting
I just finished Nicole Mones' novel, The Last Chinese Chef and enjoyed it thoroughly. In reading the novel, I could almost taste the food. The five-duck duck dish, the baked chicken which had no chicken meat...just the golden brown skin stuffed with minced vegetables and ham, the 30 crab tofu that did not have any crab meat in it...the artifice of what seemed to be turned out to be something else as experienced by the tastebuds. What a mind trip to savor the flavors with my imagination.
I really want to eat Chinese food now...but not just any kind of Chinese food. Delicious morsels that taste flavor-full without the fullness of overconsumption. I want to eat pillowy buns filled with kau yuk...pork fat that melts in the mouth bathed in red food coloring #5. I want to eat my Aunty Rose Tom's birdnest soup...luscious texture and sublime flavor.
This is the exact opposite of the other book I just read...Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life as we knew it. This book chronicles life after a cataclysmic meteor strike...hoarding food, surviving on melting gray snow water, relishing a fresh egg. Two extremes of thought regarding food, and ways of life. Good reminders of the central role food plays in our lives.
Thinking of these two books, I wonder about the perspective of people who don't really care to eat...and I am not referring to people who have eating disorders. They are really missing out on a very pleasurable pastime. Although overeaters spend a lot of time thinking about food, eating a lot of food which may not necessarily be good food, there must be a kernel in there about the pleasure of food gone wrong. I guess I will confess that I like to eat well flavored food, I like to cook good food, I like to watch people enjoy eating the food I have cooked, I like scheming about food to cook. Now if only I can quit the gall durned habit of eating too much...then I'll be a happy baby. Bon Appetit, you fellow food maniacs!!
I really want to eat Chinese food now...but not just any kind of Chinese food. Delicious morsels that taste flavor-full without the fullness of overconsumption. I want to eat pillowy buns filled with kau yuk...pork fat that melts in the mouth bathed in red food coloring #5. I want to eat my Aunty Rose Tom's birdnest soup...luscious texture and sublime flavor.
This is the exact opposite of the other book I just read...Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life as we knew it. This book chronicles life after a cataclysmic meteor strike...hoarding food, surviving on melting gray snow water, relishing a fresh egg. Two extremes of thought regarding food, and ways of life. Good reminders of the central role food plays in our lives.
Thinking of these two books, I wonder about the perspective of people who don't really care to eat...and I am not referring to people who have eating disorders. They are really missing out on a very pleasurable pastime. Although overeaters spend a lot of time thinking about food, eating a lot of food which may not necessarily be good food, there must be a kernel in there about the pleasure of food gone wrong. I guess I will confess that I like to eat well flavored food, I like to cook good food, I like to watch people enjoy eating the food I have cooked, I like scheming about food to cook. Now if only I can quit the gall durned habit of eating too much...then I'll be a happy baby. Bon Appetit, you fellow food maniacs!!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Which one triumphs
When you are polyracial, which ethnicity should be the dominant one? Is it politically correct to choose the one with the most possible benefits...i.e., the Native Hawaiian, or the Native American (Cherokee)? Or is it better to choose the ethnicity with the lifestyle values that promote the most happiness as it is played out in financial success, social prestige, personal fulfillment, or whatever spelling for success you choose.
It is no wonder polyracial people are confused as to who they really are. It is a struggle in getting one's head on straight to gain personal insight. Growing up in a plantation town, all the smart kids went into the A class which was made of mostly Japanese kids, some Filipino, Haole, and a couple of Hawaiians. The C class was the "slow" group made up mainly of Hawaiians, immigrant Filipinos. So to have a tall, hunky Hawaiian in the A class was like being a Giant in Munchkinland. Then to be an A class student trying to paddle canoe with the Kanaka kids was like a Geek trying to make it into a powerlighting world competition. See the irony of being all mixed up?
So just forget trying to comparmentalize things, values, traditions, superstitions, and proverbs!! At my age, I figure it is best to embrace it all!! Celebrate ALL the ethnic holidays!! Learn to cook ALL the favorite ethnic foods whether they belong to you or not!! Learn the wisdom of the ancient ones, no matter what language they spoke!! A lifetime will be filled with learning hopefully followed by understanding. What started off as a struggle ends up as a triumphant realization.
Ain't it funny how things turn out?
It is no wonder polyracial people are confused as to who they really are. It is a struggle in getting one's head on straight to gain personal insight. Growing up in a plantation town, all the smart kids went into the A class which was made of mostly Japanese kids, some Filipino, Haole, and a couple of Hawaiians. The C class was the "slow" group made up mainly of Hawaiians, immigrant Filipinos. So to have a tall, hunky Hawaiian in the A class was like being a Giant in Munchkinland. Then to be an A class student trying to paddle canoe with the Kanaka kids was like a Geek trying to make it into a powerlighting world competition. See the irony of being all mixed up?
So just forget trying to comparmentalize things, values, traditions, superstitions, and proverbs!! At my age, I figure it is best to embrace it all!! Celebrate ALL the ethnic holidays!! Learn to cook ALL the favorite ethnic foods whether they belong to you or not!! Learn the wisdom of the ancient ones, no matter what language they spoke!! A lifetime will be filled with learning hopefully followed by understanding. What started off as a struggle ends up as a triumphant realization.
Ain't it funny how things turn out?
Friday, December 25, 2009
Adult Kids
Ain't it funny how your kids are always your kids...youths, young'uns, even though they are above the age of consent? When they are babies, they are so adorable and sweet. When they are teens, they are like the panini fruit...rosy red but prickly. There are times then their antics make you feel like stringing them up by their chinny chin chins.
But Patience and Tolerance!
It is best to let them grow out of their prickly stages because they become wonderful adults. Our enegetic boy who was always busy playing in the forest around our home has become the most thoughtful and protective fellow. He calls and checks up on his parents and his sisters. His calls on birthdays mornings are always early and the first. The shy poet is now a teacher of teachers, a presenter, and an organizer...who'd a thunk it? Our girl who didn't learn English until the fifth grade is now reading things (medical terms) we couldn't even pronounce and doing a great job at it. Our baby, the one on tiptoes, continues to tiptoe through the tulips with the tarmac straight ahead. Who knows what path she will follow?
So parents of unruly kids and rebellious teens, never string up your kids by their chinny chin chins. Wait until they grow up...they will surprise you pleasantly.
But Patience and Tolerance!
It is best to let them grow out of their prickly stages because they become wonderful adults. Our enegetic boy who was always busy playing in the forest around our home has become the most thoughtful and protective fellow. He calls and checks up on his parents and his sisters. His calls on birthdays mornings are always early and the first. The shy poet is now a teacher of teachers, a presenter, and an organizer...who'd a thunk it? Our girl who didn't learn English until the fifth grade is now reading things (medical terms) we couldn't even pronounce and doing a great job at it. Our baby, the one on tiptoes, continues to tiptoe through the tulips with the tarmac straight ahead. Who knows what path she will follow?
So parents of unruly kids and rebellious teens, never string up your kids by their chinny chin chins. Wait until they grow up...they will surprise you pleasantly.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Bad is Good
When I first found out I was pregnant,
My world crashed down around me.
Tearfully I broke the news to my mom
I expected mad eyes, loud yelling
But no, there was only a deep sigh
"So what you going to do now?"
I would have felt better if she
Sent a couple good cracks my way
But no, there was only a deep sigh.
When I found out my husband was fooling around,
My world crashed down around me again.
A bottomless fountain of tears flowed
Till my eyes replenished the Pacific.
I was the screaming banshee with mad eyes and loud yelling
But what good would it do? The ties were broken.
"So what am I going to do now?"
Christmas decorations and carols did not cheer
I put his clothes in garbage bags on our stoop
But what good would it do? The ties were broken.
We escaped the daily stress of living
Sold our car and went to Japan
My daughter was now seven, with long hair
Plunked into a school of foreign speakers
All with short haircuts
I thought I left my troubles but they followed me
To the Land of the Setting Sun
Ex-husband sends my daughter his wedding pictures for Christmas
Our little evergreen tree in a vase with paper cranes
Made it a very dismal Christmas for us.
But new landscape, new language, and new adventures,
What could I do but survive
We did our best to enjoy the land of our forefathers
Families on both sides of the Pacific helped.
But what could I do but survive.
Bad is good
Medicine to build strong minds and bodies.
I have an independent daughter thriving who
Does not blame her parents too much for their stupidities.
I have a good husband now who loves me more than I am worth
We have built a family with kids who love each other.
I have learned about sacrifice and family ties
Bad is good, given time.
My world crashed down around me.
Tearfully I broke the news to my mom
I expected mad eyes, loud yelling
But no, there was only a deep sigh
"So what you going to do now?"
I would have felt better if she
Sent a couple good cracks my way
But no, there was only a deep sigh.
When I found out my husband was fooling around,
My world crashed down around me again.
A bottomless fountain of tears flowed
Till my eyes replenished the Pacific.
I was the screaming banshee with mad eyes and loud yelling
But what good would it do? The ties were broken.
"So what am I going to do now?"
Christmas decorations and carols did not cheer
I put his clothes in garbage bags on our stoop
But what good would it do? The ties were broken.
We escaped the daily stress of living
Sold our car and went to Japan
My daughter was now seven, with long hair
Plunked into a school of foreign speakers
All with short haircuts
I thought I left my troubles but they followed me
To the Land of the Setting Sun
Ex-husband sends my daughter his wedding pictures for Christmas
Our little evergreen tree in a vase with paper cranes
Made it a very dismal Christmas for us.
But new landscape, new language, and new adventures,
What could I do but survive
We did our best to enjoy the land of our forefathers
Families on both sides of the Pacific helped.
But what could I do but survive.
Bad is good
Medicine to build strong minds and bodies.
I have an independent daughter thriving who
Does not blame her parents too much for their stupidities.
I have a good husband now who loves me more than I am worth
We have built a family with kids who love each other.
I have learned about sacrifice and family ties
Bad is good, given time.
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