Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Moving Forward
... I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.... Philippians 3:12-15
Yesterday we attended Kumulani Chapel on the Westside of Maui. We have heard back in April that Ricky is back on Maui and back to being pastor at Kumulani. We wanted to visit and welcome him back but we did not get a chance until yesterday.
We have a long history with Kumulani Chapel, especially it's Pastor Ricky Ryan. I met Ricky way back in the '80's, back in the Philippines ('87) when I was working at A New Beginning with Greg Laurie and Harvest Christian Fellowship with Dain Wadley. Bradley on the other hand knew Ricky in the late '80's because he was then his pastor at Kumulani Chapel here on Maui. Stevo, one of the elders at Kumulani, was the one who shared about Jesus Christ to Bradley. Bradley's first church when he became a Christian was Kumulani Chapel. Ricky is the pastor who "dunked" him in the ocean (yes, I meant "baptized" him :) ). The first mission trip in which Bradley went to the Philippines was led by Ricky Ryan. Bradley and I did not meet at the time. We met on the second mission trip that he went to, which was with our current pastor Craig Englert. And to make that long story short, Bradley and I met and now we are are married (17 years...).Back to Ricky.... Ricky Ryan is the most enthusiastic, most encouraging person you (we) can ever meet. But it's not fake or weird enthusiasm ... like saying Praise the Lord all the time and pretending everything is and will be hanky dory kinda of thing. His is authentic - something that springs out of the abundance of his heart. I think he has this gift of encouragement, that when he talks to people he touches them (us) to the core of their (our) hearts and meet their (our) needs without him even knowing what they are.Anyway, enough of the intro and let me move forward. The text of his Bible teaching that day was Philippians 3:12-15 (verse written on top of this post). Bradley and I needed to hear those words in all its angles. Every word that was spoken during that teaching seems to be directed to both of us. Amazing how that happens. I was going to attempt to share the teaching here but I thought it would be best to hear it from Ryan himself. Therefore I will wait for them to upload it on the Kumulani webpage and will put a link here to the teaching. Here's where it'll be uploaded, maybe midweek: http://kumulanichapel.com/The whole day yesterday, that Philippians 3:12-15 was in my heart and mind and I think it'll be there for a while. It'll keep me going and moving forward in this race of life.*** The podcast is now available. Go to Kumulani Chapel Website. Look for the tab SERMONS (upper right hand corner) and in the you will find the teaching on "Don't Look Back".
Monday, May 31, 2010
God First
I need to remind myself of this today: Put God First in Trust. "Jesus did not commit Himself unto them … for He knew what was in man." ” John 2:24-25 Our Lord trusted no man; yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, never in despair about any man, because He put God first in trust; He trusted absolutely in what God's grace could do for any man. If I put my trust in human beings first, I will end in despairing of everyone; I will become bitter, because I have insisted on man being what no man ever can be - absolutely right. Never trust anything but the grace of God in yourself or in anyone else. Put God's Needs First. "Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God." Hebrews 10:9 A man's obedience is to what he sees to be a need; Our Lord's obedience was to the will of His Father. The cry to-day is - "We must get some work to do; the heathen are dying without God; we must go and tell them of Him." We have to see first of all that God's needs in us personally are being met. "Tarry ye until. . . ." The purpose of this College is to get us rightly related to the needs of God. When God's needs in us have been met, then He will open the way for us to realize His needs elsewhere. Put God's Trust First. "And whoso receiveth one such little child in my name receiveth Me." Matthew 18:5 God's trust is that He gives me Himself as a babe. God expects my personal life to be a "Bethlehem." Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transfigured by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God's ultimate purpose is that His Son might be manifested in my mortal flesh.
Friday, May 21, 2010
And These Are Some of the Reasons I Why Took A Two Weeks Off
I can't believe it's Friday already! It seems just like yesterday when it was Monday morning and I e-mailed my boss and co-workers to tell them I am taking a "two weeks personal emergency week off" starting that day. It's actually a "mother instinct" sort of thing. I feel guilty about the very short notice (actually, no advance notice at all) but I knew I needed to take this break. And after a week of it, I knew I made the right decision.
My husband was quite worried with how irresponsibly I handled that. I am not usually that irresponsible. But I have a "Twice Exceptional" child and the last two weeks of school is very critical, I had to do it. I would go back to work as soon as school is over this year. In the meantime, it's nice to see one of his science projects coming together. Here is close up shot:
OK, got more reasons but I need to unplug. Thanks for reading :) Aloha!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Back To My Blogging Roots
It's 4:25 AM. I am not supposed to be blogging. I am right now taking 2 weeks off from all my social media gigs to focus on helping my son get through the last 2 weeks of school without a glitch. But Liza's Eyview is a "safe place" and a "venting place" for me so here I am.
As many of you who are friends of Liza's Eyeview know, my son is uniquely gifted. He is what they call "gifted dyslexic" or "twice exceptional". He has a high IQ, yet it does not transfer into his performance in school because of his dyslexia, unless he is given various accommodations. He needs close monitoring to be able to finish is school work without him getting frustrated and giving up. He also needs help in getting focused. I have spent many many hours on the internet and reading books researching how to best help him succeed in school and in life because it's really hard being a gifted dyslexic. The good news is there are tons of information and resources out there that helps a parents help their gifted dyslexic child. The bad news is it requires a lot of time and energy and attention - and most parents nowadays do not have the luxury of "lots of time".... at least not I.
Back to my blogging roots. Yes, I came back here to my original blog to vent, to reflect, to contemplate, to seek support. In this blog I am at home. This is my online journal where I can pour out my emotions without any concerns ... here I can ramble and not worry about what advertisers would say or how it would affect my overall niche.
Did I already tell you I am taking a 2 week off my social media gigs? Did I also tell you that I took an emergency 2 week off from my current day job which made my husband very worried. He was worried of how my bosses would react because that's a very irresponsible thing to do - just e-mail that day (yesterday) to tell them I am taking a 2 weeks off, and it starts right now. Ahhh, that is so unlike me. And yet I had to do that. I had to do that after I logged in into my son's "powerschool" (the website where we check their grades and performance) and saw that his grades are in the danger zone. I must intervene. I must give him an undivided attention. Not that I would do the work for him, but I must be there when he does his work to keep him focused. To keep me focused. This is what I am called to do. To make my family life a priority....
There is such too much to sort out in my life right now. Aside from the clutter in my house, there are also clutter in my mind. There are complicated decisions to make. Decisions that cannot be decided upon just by what I believe is my calling - but it had to be in line with what my husband think is best for the family. Afterall, he is the head of our family.
Ahhh... its feel so good to ramble here. That's how I started blogging. And that's what meant about blogging roots....
Have I already told you that love being a mom? How about the fact that I also love being a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend? Why is life nowadays seems so complicated? We have all these gadgets to save time and yet the more time we save on these gadgets, the more stressful it seems.
Life is meant to be simple, and yet we make it hard.
Yesterday I was at Borders and I saw this Yoga DVD for $7.99. I bought it. I will do yoga for 30 minutes a day to get rid of the stiffness in my body caused by all these stress. I need to do this while I am on my "emergency mental health and undivided attention to help G mission" vacation.
Ahhh... it's 10 minutes till 5AM. I better stop blogging and get back on checking all of the homework G accomplished last night. He worked hard last night. He even missed the Church Youth Group (which he absolutely loves attending), to focus on school project.
May this day be another productive one. Lord, help us.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
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