Beautiful days

Yesterday, I went offshore with some friends on the 'Start Me Up' fishing boat, Action. Captain Patrick and Yukka do all of the work because we, the fishermen, usually sit around and wait for the fish to hit, then Yukka sets the hook and hands us the rod. Well, we had one of those Pacific windstorm days and the waves were monstrous! Capt. Patrick and Yukka worked just to keep us in the water and they tried hard for 10 hours to get us on some fish, but with no positive results. It still reminded me of how beautiful this world really is. The sky was clear and the water was the purest deep blue, even at 3,000 feet. Occasionally, I would spot a humpback whale breaching just above the waves and see his splash rise over the whitecaps. The power of the wind to whip the water into turbulence is amazing and I gained a greater respect for the early Polynesian sailors that braved the open seas to find and travel to Hawaii. Overall, we didn't catch anything, but I enjoyed a beautiful day. Hope you find the beuaty in yours today.
Aloha -

You smell good...

I was watching Hoops and Yoyo on the Hallmark website and can't help laughing at those two. If you've never seen Hoops and Yoyo, they are two characters that are in the Hallmark e-cards and even have their own website - hoopsandyoyo.com. Whenever you need a chuckle in your day, look them up and if you really need a smile, watch 'You Smell Good.' I'll put on the blog for you to check out. I agree with them - I get down on my knees and thank God I have a nose. Enjoy your day and be thankful of all that God has given us.
Aloha -

Having a great day -

Today is a great day - First, it's Friday and that usually makes everything OK to begin with. There's not much sun or surf today, so I can catch up and that's good. Our softball team won last night and I played well and that's always good! I'm thinking about the future ministry opportunities and how God is blessing Lahaina Baptist Church and that's great. Just to add those together gives me: 'OK' + 'good' + 'always good' + 'great' which equals a great day. Count those blessings and enjoy yours, too.
Aloha -

Ministry is so much fun -

Yesterday, Wendy and travelled to the top of Haleakala, Maui's dormant, 10,000 ft volcano to spend the afternoon with our student ministry. About 15 kids and 4 adults made the trip with three vehicles. At first, I thought there would be enough room in the other two vehicles for the trip. That would mean that Wendy and I would be able to go home and catch up on some chores that have been neglected due to the busyness of things lately. But God always has another plan. They were 1 kid over the acceptable passenger count, so we took my Expedition and split the kids and headed up to the summit. Everything was cool, until... (- have you ever noticed that there is almost always an 'until'!!!) ...until, we arrived at the visitor's center and the transmission of one of the other vehicles spilled it's life's blood all over the parking lot and died, right there, on the spot, dead. Yep. Dead. Oh, it would crank, but it wasn't going back down the mountain except on a wrecker, or as it's called here in Hawaii, the tow wagon. But, God's plan was OK in us going because if we had stayed home, we would not have been able to get everyone back home in a reasonable time. We crammed together and came home after spending our time admiring God's beauty and eating a bunch of sandwiches! That's just what God had in store and we had a great time. Ministry is so much fun! Enjoy yours today!
Aloha -

Friday the 13th!

Today has been a good day. We often cringe at the thought of a Friday the 13th, but I think it's no big deal. First, no Friday can really be a bad day, can it? I mean, for most people it's the end of the workweek and that's a great thing! I could think of a dozen more reasons to celebrate Fridays, but let's just say 'there's no reason to fear Friday the 13th' - especially the one just before Saturday, the 14th of February (hint to you men! Valentine's Day!) Have a blessed 13th!
Aloha -

Free!

Today I left the house without a cup of coffee. I wonder how this day is going to be? My brain seems to be missing something... I'm not caffeine dependent or anything like that, but I enjoy that cup of coffee. Maybe, I'll let today be an experiment: How good of a day do I have without coffee? If the results are worth noting, I'll share them with you tomorrow. Go blessed today.
Aloha -

Another Monday

Today has been one of those Mondays where I have trouble getting into gear. I made phone calls, sent email, ran errands, made visits and other assorted office related things, but I feel like I haven't accomplished much. Corey (our student minister missionary) and I even ate lunch at Maui Tacos - wait a minute - now I know why I'm stuck in first gear. Too much burrito on the stomach! I'll update you as to how my day goes after I take a nap. Thank the Lord for Maui Tacos.
Aloha -

Spending time with God

Today, I'm back to my routine of spending time with God in the water. I twisted my back a few months back and am just feeling like it's good enough to sit on my board, so my additional quiet time on the board, or my board meeting with God, is back on the schedule. Don't be so busy today. Sit and enjoy time with your personal Lord also.
Aloha -

A good start -

Mmmmmm - a fresh cup of coffee. Maui Grown Coffee, that is, from the Ka'anapali Coffee Farms. This morning is Mokka, one of my favorite roasts. Can you smell it? Ooooo - it's nice. Kinda fills the office with a warm morning smell. They haven't had Mokka for a while - they've been waiting on a harvest of the right beans. Thank the Lord, they found some. Sometimes, it's the simpler things in life that are the best to sit back, relax and enjoy. I'm going to sit back and enjoy this coffee - 16 ounces of pure relaxation in a cup. I hope you find yours today, if you haven't already, and enjoy.
Aloha -

Rainbows

As I was on the road yesterday, I was driving into a small rain shower and the sun was behind me. A huge rainbow appeared and the colors were so bright that I could see the yellow begin again under the violet color. I'm not sure if I have ever seen that before and just for a moment I was awestruck at the strength of the colors. In our high-tech age of HDTV and 1080dpi, megapixel cameras and laptop hi/resolution, we still can't compare to the work of God. The beauty of nature can still make us say, "Wow!" Look around you today and be reminded of the incredible clarity and amazement in God's great work. Enjoy!
Aloha -

Elusive things

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary at www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary the definition of "elusive" means: tending to elude: as a: tending to evade grasp or pursuit b: hard to comprehend or define c: hard to isolate or identify. Elusive things are hard to come by. Such is the case of the "hole-in-one." I have played the game of golf for over 25 years and have never found the elusive ace. I found these statistics interesting:
According to Golf Digest magazine (September ‘05), the odds are as follows:

Odds of a Tour player making a hole-in-one: 1 in 3756
Odds of a low-handicap player making a hole-in-one: 1 in 5000
Odds of an average player making a hole-in-one: 1 in 12,750.
In addition, the odds of one player (of any skill level) making two holes-in-one in the same round is 1 in 67 million.

I almost found one on Friday as I played golf with some friends at Ka'anapali's Kai Course. The ball rested about 8 inches from the cup, pin-high and rolled into place following a delicate backspinning roll. But, it was still a 'two' on the scorecard. Much like Pizzaro's quest for the mythical El Dorado, so is my search for the ace. As always, it's the search that presses us onward. Enjoy your day and may you find what you seek for today.
Aloha -