What I’m Loving
I spent the last few days (after 9 whole months) waiting for my niece to be born. It seemed to take forever. She was due on the fifteenth and it seemed like my sister Marissa was progressing on schedule. The only problem was that our other sister Jessica had purchased tickets months ago for a women’s conference at her church. So, a few times a day, we had to call my poor laboring sister and decide whether or not to keep making the daily drive out to Kapolei to go to the Arise Women’s Conference at Inspire Church or head to the hospital to see the birth of my beloved niece.
On the first day, after RK dropped me off at Inspire Church, I called my sister Marissa and she was in such distress that I immediately wanted to ditch the conference and comfort her. I called RK telling him I’d changed my mind and that I wanted him to pick me up but this was an impossibility since RK was teaching at YWAM. He ended up praying with me for my sister and then telling me to go to the conference because I was going to receive something from God there. So, I’m grateful that I listened to my husband. In the end I was very blessed and inspired by the conference speakers. Cy Rogers was amazing!
I am in love with my little niece! It was incredible to watch her birth and so special to see my sister’s overwhelming joy and adoration for her new baby girl. I loved spending time with her and looking into her big eyes. They named her Juliette Misae Kealaonahulu Grad.
A YWAM team doing an Urban DTS has been helping us for the past few weeks. They have been a breath of fresh air for everyone. They came with such servant hearts and have been a tremendous blessing everywhere they go. From the first night that they came to minister with us at Pizza Night they immediately began talking with our house-less guests to the point where you would’ve thought they were old friends. This was such a comfort to see since not everyone handles street ministry so well.
To my great amazement they also volunteered to help clean my grandma’s yard. She is 88 years old and her yard hadn’t been tended to in a while. A very long while. A year to be exact. It was a lot of work but they worked tirelessly and without complaint for hours! I can’t tell you how much this meant to me. It was astounding that they would offer their help to someone they didn’t know and for no other reason but to be a blessing. What an amazing example of servanthood. I’m still so blown away.
If that wasn’t enough, they blessed RK and I with a date night. They watched the kids and sent us off to dinner. It was amazing to spend some quality time together doing the things we haven’t really been able to do since having three kids. They’ve also been leading worship and service on Sunday mornings for the past three weeks. They have brought such vibrancy to our little church in Waikiki.
What I’m Celebrating
We had a good report after church this morning. A man who had attended for the first time this morning texted RK a few hours later with news that his situation had already shifted. He had come to the islands for a change of scenery and had run out of money. He wondered what to do next and worried about losing his spot in the hostel he had been staying in. He was down to his last $20. RK encouraged him to trust in God and less than 5 hours later, he had been given a job offer!
Evangeline Grace Keahi just turned six today! I remember God telling me that we couldn’t go to Hawaii without Grace. Truly, she is a huge part of our family and a real treasure. She has so much love and compassion. She is a favorite amongst the people we minister to. We spent the day doing the things she requested. We watched the sloth get fed at the zoo, went swimming at sunset and will eventually make our way to the toy department at Walmart for some late night shopping. I am blessed to be celebrating her.
RK is leading in Hawaii in the UFC weight loss competition. He has lost around 30 lbs this month and is moving towards a goal of losing 60 lbs for this competition. The Ketogenic Diet has been good for him.
What I’m Reading
This past week, I only finished one book: Love Does by Bob Goff. I love his quirky sense of humor and writing style. Between the Women’s Conference, our own ministry endeavors, the birth of my niece and my daughter’s birthday celebration the week was quite full. I want to read Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers. I loved Redeeming Love and I started reading Bridge to Haven on our date night. It is a real page turner so far.
What I Learned This Week
It is more important to live out my faith in front of our kids. They see everything. They are little sponges. Sometimes when I am tired I begin to mope around and feel sorry for myself. During these times, I rely on RK to be the sane, reasonable one while I do the opposite of strengthening myself in the Lord. At the conference, I saw myself through my children’s eyes. I saw the crying and moping and complaining I’ve done in front of them. I saw all the times when I’ve stonewalled my husband instead of talking to him. And I felt convicted. This is not the godly example I want to be. I want them to see me being respectful and submissive. I want them to see me honoring my husband. I want them to see me rising up and overcoming instead of simply surviving. And so I’ve resolved to lean on Holy Spirit and love bravely and truly live out the words, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
What I’m Laughing About
Kalena shared with me her thoughts on evangelism the other night. Here’s the conversation we had:
Kalena: Mom, I think I know what to do to lead someone to Jesus.
Me: Oh yeah? Tell me.
Kalena: The first thing you have to do is pray.
Me: Uh huh. Good. That’s right. Then what?
Kalena: I don’t know…hope for the best?
What I’m Pondering
Cy Rogers spoke about the season that we are living in and how we should be living according to that season because as every farmer knows: you don’t sow seed in Winter. He talked about how we need to be mentoring the Hero Generation during this Season. It made me think that RK and I need to be doing more mentoring than we are doing. Right now, RK has been teaching in the YWAM Discipleship Training School but I’m wondering if we can do more. Our church doesn’t have any young people besides our children. Of course, I can see the importance of raising up and training our own little quiver but I’m really asking myself if we need to shift our focus and do more. More and more, I am seeing the need for discipleship and how it is such a key part of the gospel. It is just not enough to lead people to Jesus. They need to be shown how to live for Him.
