Our Week at a Glance: Living with Purpose

This week I’ve given a lot of thought to the things I want to accomplish.  I want my family to know God and make Him known.  I want us to do missions as a family.  I want my kids to be be firmly secure in who they are and to successfully navigate life without me having to be there.  I want to have more energy and feel good in my own skin.  I want to change the way people think about God, themselves and the world around them. I want to create awareness about human trafficking and make the world a safer place for my children and children’s children.  I want to create strong relationships with the people who are important to me. I want to build my business into a place that is committed to improving the lives of the impoverished by providing them with the means to improve their situation.  So many dreams.

This week I spent some time writing down a plan to accomplish these dreams.  And we also just did life.  It was another good week.  There are always things to be thankful for.  Here’s how our week was spent.

What I’m Thankful For

I love my kids’ school. I don’t know many other schools that offer 4 field trips a month. They only have around 6 students in each class which is really nice. Also, they do nice things like send pictures of the kids on their excursions. Kalena and Keahi just went to the “I Am A Scientist” program at Chaminade University. They both came home excited about all they had learned. And Keahi was particularly excited that she got to keep her lab coat.

What I’m Making

If you’ve ever tried to make an bulletproof iced coffee on a Ketogenic Diet than you know how tricky that can be.  Ingredients like coconut oil and grass-fed butter get hard and clumpy when introduced to ice.  That can make for a pretty gross coffee.  When I go to Starbucks these days, I have to order a Sugar-free Cinnamon Dulce, decaf, add heavy cream, ice blended latte.  (If you order a Frappucino they add a sugar syrup base that is definitely not keto.)  It is delicious!  But I’m sure it’s not good for me. So I decided that the best thing to do would be to make my own.  This is what I’ve come up with so far.

• 1 cup cold coffee of choice (I had an unsweetened medium roast Starbucks lying around)
• 6 cubes of ice
• 2 T heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 T brown sugar truvia
• 1 T MCT oil
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

This came out delicious.  I also added some homemade whip on top.  It tastes very similar to the Starbucks one but was easier to drink because I added less ice.  Also, I’m sure this one was better for me.

I’ve also been doing some baking around here.  I don’t like the idea of my kids eating a bunch of cookies unless they’re eating cookies that I made for them.  Cookies without sugar and white flour and sugar-laden chocolate chips are my favorite.  We made this amazingly delicious batch for a snack this week.  Brown sugar Truvia is my go-to now!  It is so good.  It makes cookies taste way more like “real” cookies.  I’m telling you.  It is a game changer!

What I’m Loving

Last week Sunday, I spent some time talking with a man who was feeling really isolated and alone.  He said that if it weren’t for us and one other guy (his drinking buddy) he would feel utterly alone.  I was so saddened by his words.  I told RK about it and the next day he and another guy from our church set out to find him.  They drove around Waikiki and were about to give up when they spotted him.  They took him to lunch and were able to take him to a place where he could get a warm shower.  He was stoked.

I’m really thankful that RK is able to go out during the day and minister to people who really need a friend.  Community is such a vital part of humanity.  When we have a community that supports and loves us, we find the strength we need to make better choices.  We choose companionship over isolation.  I love that we could respond so quickly to the need of another.  And this time love won.

On Fridays I like to be intentional about our family time.  Sometimes we’ll rent a Redbox and watch it together or we’ll go out to eat.  This Friday we went for a picnic at the Honolulu Zoo.  It ended up drizzling almost the entire time.  I’m not sure if it was the rain, or the time of day, but several of the animals that we don’t usually see ended up showing their faces.  I don’t know how many times I’ve come to the zoo without seeing the Owl, Komodo Dragon or the Cheetah.  I was starting to think that there was no Cheetah!  We didn’t actually go and look for the Cheetah this time but, I was shocked to find the owl out and about.  I’ve never seen that owl out! So, while the rain may have put a literal damper on our picnic, it may have brought the animals out.  Yay!

What I’m Listening To

The Bethel Chuch Podcast “Germinate” by Kris Valloton and it blew my mind.

An interview of Heidi Baker on Iris After Hours really challenged me to care more for the poor in my daily life.  I told RK, it’s not okay that people are starving because they don’t have rain.  We need to figure out how to make aquaponics affordable and accessible to those who need a source of food without adequate sources of water.

On my way to Bible Study Fellowship on Thursdays, I like to listen to Jenn Johnson’s channel on Pandora.  On my way home I like to listen to  the Kidz Bop Kids (Children’s) Radio channel.  They play pop music with the lyrics cleaned up for kids.  Sometimes I like to let my hair down a bit and sing along to some Justin Timberlake or Maroon 5 without the awkwardness of my kids singing completely inappropriate song lyrics!  So, instead of, “You wanted control so we waited.  I put on a show, now we’re naked,” the song goes, “You wanted to know so we waited.  I put on a show, now we’re jaded.”  Not that much better…but I think we can all agree that it would be disturbing to hear your kids singing about being naked in any context.

Some dear friends of ours are visiting from the mainland which meant that our little church had some extra special guests.  Kalena planned an activity for children’s church and shared a Bible story.  She said she didn’t need to pray because none of the kids needed any prayers.  🙂  After church and JiuJitsu we spent a bit of time with Chaz and Whitney Afong down by Walls in Waikiki.  I can’t tell you how nice it was to hang out with friends.  Sometimes I feel like we are so isolated.  We have many people we know whom we minister to, but not many people that we can just hang out with.  They have been a real refreshment for our souls.  Truly.  Friendship is a wonderful thing.

I’ve been listening to a lot of the Tony Robbins’ teaching called “Time of Your Life” which is basically about managing your time and focusing on outcomes instead of tasks.  I could be totally wrong about that summation but that’s what I got out of it.  The funny thing is, RK does a very similar teaching in his Purpose Discover Process!  I hadn’t done that stuff in years.  I spent some time working through the process of figuring out what things I should be giving my time to and focusing on.  I realized that so much of my time is spent reacting to the things around me.  Diapers need changing, messes need cleaning up and before you know it, nothing has really been accomplished.  Now that I’ve written down some of the outcomes I’d like to achieve, I feel as though I can devote myself to these things whenever I’m not having to deal with the things that simply must be done.  So basically, beyond the diaper changing, there is work to be done.  There are mountains that need to be taken.  And today, I feel like I’ve taken that first step.

What dreams are you dreaming?  What mountains do you want to climb?  How will the world be changed by your contribution?  There are things that only you can do, and people only you can reach.  God has put mountains in your heart.  He has planned adventures for you to take.  I hope you take some time this week to figure out what your purposes are.  Dream some God dreams this week!  And remember that you are loved!