vine ripe

As I was eating a delicious, fresh, homegrown tomato with my lunch today, I realized I had not posted about J's success with them this year. We have had a bountiful harvest....... as many as we can eat and plenty to give away to family and friends! He picks a bucket full every few days. Don't know how long they will last, but we are enjoying every bite! Nothing finer than a "vine ripened" tomato.
Jesus told us, "I am the vine and you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit...." John 15:5a My prayer is that I will be as fruitful as our tomato plants. I want others to see love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, and faith in my life and be drawn to my Heavenly Father.
"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." John 15:8 My fruit can only be "vine ripened" because "without me, you can do nothing." John 15:5b

do you wanna waffle?

We had waffles for dinner tonight. That is a rare thing for us. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember the last time we used the waffle iron! Anyway, J was out of town and when he is away, I don't do much cooking. My sweet girl likes waffles, so......waffles it was!

I made the batter.......
Sprayed the waffle iron with the non-stick stuff.......

Poured in the batter, waited for the iron to stop steaming, and...voila!.. a waffle! Not a very pretty waffle, but an edible one nonetheless.
Waffle is a funny word, don't you think? Say it out loud...waffle.....waffle....waffle. If you say it fast, it kinda sounds like a flat tire! :=) Okay, I digress... on to the point!
I was thinking about the other meaning for the word "waffle": waver, hesitate, unable to decide..... That reminded me of Eph.4:14 "that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."
God has given me a standard, a plumb line....... His truth. It never changes, it remains constant, it is forever. I have all I need to not waver, to be consistent, to be a faithful testimony of His mercy and grace. And He promises to give me the strength to do it.... II Cor. 12:9 "...my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness...."
I pray the only waffle in my life will be the one on my plate!

"a friend loves at all times"

These are some of the lovely flowers and plants that our family received honoring my dad. Our friends were very generous with their time and their resources. Several made the hour trip to visit on Friday, even more made the trip to come to the service on Saturday. They will never know how special that was to me. My step mom has a large family, but our side of the family is small, so having my friends around during this difficult time was very comforting.
My dad's pastor called today to tell me he was praying for me. He didn't want me to think that I had been forgotten. What a thoughtful man he is!
Why do you think these folks responded the way they did? Yes, they love me, but more importantly, they love their Lord. His Spirit in them compelled them to love, to encourage, to sacrifice....... to minister to me and my family.
How blessed I am to know these people, to call them my friends, to call them my brothers and sisters in Christ, and to know that I will share eternity with them.

and the answer is.......

Two of you were right.... Hawaii!! The stuff in my hand is black sand from the Black Sand Beach at Punalu'u. One of the beautiful and incredible places we saw during our visit.
We flew to Honolulu (on Oahu) and spent two nights on Waikiki Beach.

(Sunset at Waikiki Beach!)

We toured The Polynesian Cultural Center and Pearl Harbor. The center was beautiful and very interesting, We learned a lot about the culture of six Pacific Islands (New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii and Samoa).... their language, music, homes, food etc. We learned how to do the hula and found out you have to have special hips for that ! :-) We ate poi....once....and decided you have to have a special taste for that! The day ended with a luau... roasted pig and all!



(In case you are wondering....that isn't me!! ha!ha!)


(View from a canoe ride)

Pearl Harbor was very emotional for me. Especially when I learned of the men who survived the attack, but chose to be buried with their comrades in the waters of the harbor when they died later in life. Once you are inside the memorial, as a sign of respect they discourage talking and don't allow photos.


The third day, we boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America. For seven days, we traveled to three more of the Hawaiian islands.

We saw a live volcano and visited the black sand beach on Hawaii. Both were amazing!

(That night as the ship left the island, we could actually see the lava flowing .... fiery red in the black night!)

(Baby palm tree.......talk about determination!)


On our first day in Maui we traveled the Road to Hana and saw beautiful waterfalls and incredible beaches. (And, don't tell the rental car people, but we picked up two college age hitchhikers from California who were hungry and exhausted!) Believe it or not, we took our camera with us that morning when we left the ship, but left the battery charging in the cabin!!! So, no pictures from that day. :-(
On our second day we visited Iao Valley and got a taste of the rain forest......we were there 15 minutes and it started to rain! We also toured the Maui Aquarium and Ocean Center where we saw the marine life that is indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. J, being a real "fish guy" loved that!
On Kaui, we spent one day at the beach. J snorkeled about 150 ft from the shore while I sat on the beach enjoying the view......beautiful water, large turtles visiting the shore, bright blue sky, and children playing. And J saw a great variety of beautiful fish. The next day, we visited Wakimea Canyon, which was impressive (not as "grand" as the Grand Canyon, but pretty big!) and we saw wild chickens everywhere!The ship was great....wonderful service, delicious food, family oriented entertainment, and beautiful cabins.

It was the trip of a life time. I still have trouble sometimes believing that we were actually there....but I have pictures to prove it! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

what is it? and where is it?

J and I took a trip last year (before I was blogging) to celebrate our 35th Anniversary (a year late!) I was looking at the pictures and thought I would write about our adventure. But first, can you guess where we went by looking at the picture? I'll give you a day to figure it out and then I'll tell you all about it!!

old (oops! I mean, long time) friends!

One of the happy things that happened during this past week was that I had the opportunity to see some old friends....... old, as in we've known each other a LONG time!! :-) My friend, Linda, and I grew up across the street from one another. We had many adventures together. From kool-aid stands to going fishing with her granddaddy, from talent shows in my front yard on summer nights to trips on the city bus to the movies on Saturday afternoons, from playing hop scotch to going way too far from home to "trick or treat" (it was safer then, but our moms still would not have been happy!!). She stills live in the town where we grew up and where my dad lived. So, she came to visit on Friday and it was great to get caught up. We had not seen each other for 24 years. She has a great sense of humor and could always make me laugh.... she made me laugh on Friday and that was a good thing. I needed to laugh.
From first grade through high school and on to college, Donna and Debra (twins) were friends of mine. We, too, had many fun times together. We had spend the night parties, swimming parties, went on school trips together, worked on projects together, and served refreshments at each others' weddings. The last time I saw them was when their father died a few years ago. It was wonderful to see them Friday, as well. They haven't changed a bit...... still quick witted and fun. It was so thoughtful of them to come and I can't tell you how happy it made me to see their faces. I exchanged email addresses with all three and we promised to keep in touch.
I am so grateful for life long friends. Even though we had not seen each other for years, these dear people were there when I needed them. Our history together and the fact that we know and love the same God has bound our hearts together. What a special blessing that is!

saying good-bye

I'm not sure how to begin this post. It is going to be difficult to write. In my last post, I told you I was going to visit with my dad for 4 days while my step-mom went on a trip. Well, on the second day I was there, the 9th, he went into pulmonary distress. He continued to decline over the next 5 days and this past Thursday, July 15, he passed away. He was 83. We had his "home-going" service yesterday and I am now back home after being away for 10 days.
Needless to say, it was a very difficult and painful week, but I am so grateful that I was allowed the privilege of being with him as he gradually slipped from his earthly home to his heavenly home. He spent much of the time sleeping, but during the conscious hours, we were able to express our love for one another. He indicated on several occasions that he was ready to go and we assured him that it was okay. On Sunday, he told me and my husband, "I think I may have to leave you." I told him that was okay. J told him we would see him there soon. My dad's response..."Praise the Lord. Amen!" On Wednesday, he said "I believe everything is in order." I assured him that it was and that there was nothing left for him to do. He nodded. He left us in the early morning hours on Thursday.
It is a wonderful comfort to know that he is with his Heavenly Father, his Savior, and my mother in heaven. She died 28 years ago at the age of 53. One of my step-sisters said, "Don't you know your mom was glad to see him?" I thought, she probably said, "What took you so long?" :-)