hawaii:

10 things to keep in mind when traveling there

1. When flying on a KC-135, earplugs sure help, even though they may not be attractive.

2. The GPS doesn't work there if it's made for the lower 48 states.

3. Maps are poorly made. The streets are poorly marked. Expect to turn around from going the wrong direction, especially when you realize #2.

4. It's okay to make up your own names for towns and streets, especially when they all sound the same. Examples: Kailua, Kalaheo, Kalanianaole Highway, Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kamehameha, etc. When navigating, it is extremely difficult to quickly tell the driver to turn right on Kalanianaole.

5. It's okay to get sandy and dirty.

6. When lost in Honolulu with no address for your motel, just keep driving around. Eventually you'll see the motel. Hint: There are no motel signs towering above you. You just have to drive until you find it. When you DO finally find it, screech to a stop and turn. Knocking on the window and yelling helps too.

7. When staying in a cabin without indoor plumbing, buckets are convenient. Note: Buckets should be emptied far from cabin.

8. Cockroaches are big and fast. Think Madagascar-cockroach-size, but crawling really fast. We saw only one. It was in the shower at the campsite and Isaac freaked out. I stomped on it. It looked dead, but it came back to life a minute later. Isaac freaked out again.

9. Little lizards are more common pests. One was found in our rental car. Jared stabbed the poor thing with his pocket knife.

10. The north shore of Oahu has better and bigger waves and prettier shells.

images from oahu

flying high

A KC-135 refueling jet took us on a trip to Oahu, Hawaii. What an experience this turned out to be. Just minutes before leaving, a crew-guy came back and asked if our kids would like to sit in the cockpit for take-off. Of COURSE! I was jealous because there was only room for two. So I pressed my face against a little glass window to watch us leave the ground.

(Isaac in the cockpit)

Ah, flying! What a rush!....the speed on the runway...the fact that you really do have to hold on tight to those canvas seats. It's no commercial-type take-off, but that's beside the point I wanted to make. Ten minutes into the trip, we saw Tuttle Creek (huge from the air).

Two hours later we saw snowy mountain peaks that looked tiny in comparison to the vast ocean we saw two hours after that.

Can you see the little ripples of water? Nothing under us but ocean here.

The earth seemed so BIG. And I felt so little. It's humbling and amazing to stop and think how BIG God is in comparison to this huge earth that is but a dot to Him.

There's no room to complain. I got to sit in the cockpit for landing. Here's the view of the runway in Honolulu:

have you ever wondered...

...about the prayer in Gethsemane? Before Jesus was arrested to be crucified, he prayed.

"[Jesus] began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to [his disciples], 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.' And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said 'Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'" (Mark 14:32-36, ESV)

Quite perplexing how Jesus was so horrified and dismayed and so sorrowful. Until yesterday, I figured that he was distressed because of the physical anguish he was about to go through. Being God, Jesus knew the outcome; he knew he was about to be beaten and crucified. And he knew he would rise again. I thought that surely this was distressing to him. But the book Knowing God poses a different perspective, which makes much more sense.

J.I. Packer writes, "It was because Jesus was to be made sin, and bear God's judgment on sin, that he trembled in the garden, and because he was actually bearing that judgment that he declared himself forsaken of God on the cross. . . . the unique dreadfulness of his death lies in the fact that he tasted on Calvary the wrath of God which was our due, so making propitiation* for our sins."

So, why was he distressed? Because of SO MUCH sin placed on him? Sin is bad. BAD! A perfect and holy God would not be just if He allowed it. Sin brings about the wrath of God, His perfect wrath. That's what sin deserves. Was Jesus so distressed because of the amount of terrible sin put on his shoulders? Or was he distressed because he realized the magnitude of God's wrath toward that great amount of sin? Clearly, the horror Jesus displayed was not only due to the physical pain he would go through. Packer writes, "The physical pain, though great (for crucifixion remains the cruelest form of judicial execution that the world has ever known), was yet only a small part of the story; Jesus' chief sufferings were mental and spiritual, and what was packed into less than four hundred minutes was an eternity of agony...."

Do we realize just how awesome it is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins? Or do we throw that idea around and not really grasp the magnitude and seriousness of it? Jesus became a curse for us. Justice has been done. Sins that will ever be pardoned were judged and punished in Jesus, and that pardon is now offered to us offenders.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation* in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26, NASB)

See also Isaiah 53.

Praise God!

*Propitiation (pr-psh-shn) n. Appeasement of God's wrath. Covering, putting away, passing over, rubbing out sin so it doesn't create a barrier between man and God, thus pacifying God's wrath.

my Oma

Sometimes I just miss my Oma. We didn't see her more than once or twice a year, but every time we did, it was SO special. She died four years ago. This is what I wrote at that time to remember her. Some of you might not understand it all, but my family knows just what I'm talking about. :)

Miles and miles

and we finally see it—

the Danvers tower,

Oma’s elevator.

We file out,

push the doorbell

and listen.

Footsteps…

A rush of greetings in a line.

Hugging,

Kissing her soft, pillowy cheeks.

She welcomes us

with a wide smile, open arms.

The vacation begins here—

Ah, the warm, sweet aromas,

Freshly baked bread,

Bubbling dumplings,

Thick coffee.

What expected surprises

planted throughout the house—

Potato chips in the tin can,

Pop in the basement fridge,

Chocolates in the glass Christmas tree,

Candies in the front living room.

Everything in perfect order

as we set our bags down.

They call us to dinner.

They fill us with delectable foods.

They fill us with German talk.

What are they saying?

They fill us with stories—

About good times,

About war times,

About hard times.

Stories we will remember

and pass on.

A dog’s bark interrupts.

“Shut up, Lady!” she says.

And Lady shuts up.

They excuse us from dinner.

They talk for another hour,

then labor over dishes.

For us girls, it is downstairs

to endless possibilities of play.

Playing restaurant at the bar,

Walking straggly-haired dolls in the stroller with beads,

Turning on their fireplace,

Playing house in the utility room,

Snooping under the too-tinselly Christmas tree.

Boredom never comes,

but when a lull does,

there is always more food.

After dishes are done,

she asks if we want ice cream.

As if we are hungry.

Blueberries and whipped cream,

Chocolate cupcakes topped and filled with cream,

Gray hazelnut cookies,

Or do we want polka?

Perhaps some hymns on the accordion?

She works hard to accommodate us;

She houses us all.

Cool, crisp sheets,

Fluffy pillows, soft towels that never get you dry.

We are royalty there.

What sadness on that morning

we have to part.

We will miss her smile.

The twinkle in her eyes,

Her servant attitude,

Her strong drive to live life.

We miss her already

as she waves goodbye

Until she’s no longer in sight.

But we will see her again

on that blissful day.

She’ll welcome us again

with open arms.

conversations...

Isaac (with great excitement): Mommy! I'm in checkmate, and Carly only got one of my pieces!

(He was really proud of himself.)

Carly: You could've got my queen with your bishop, but you just gave up. And you didn't see it.

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Carly: Mommmmyyyyy!!! Isaac's being contraryyyy!!!!

Isaac: I am not!

(Later...)

Carly: Mommmmyyy, Isaac's still being contrary!!

Isaac: No I'm not!!!

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(Playing more chess...while Carly creams Isaac)

Isaac: I'm gettin' stinkin' tired of it!