lifestyle of thankfulness

Grande Americano. Dash of cinnamon. Biking up Welakahao to work. Video Editing. Thanksgiving Eve service prepping. Decorating. Service Formats. Memos. Communication. Mind melting to UH volleyball. Paddleboarding with Lyss and getting WORKED out on the water. Balance. Focus. Rebel. 808 Deli for lunch. Recording choir parts for Christmas. Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things. Really? Women were sobbing. Incredible. CDs. Choir packets. Sunset. Overworked voice. Slept in Saturday. Complete bliss. Mama Joy chat. Bought 3 dollar rafts. Best 3 dollars spent on Maui :) HARRY POTTER. Friends. Early morning. Sunday. Lighting. Colors. The intern girls all wore cute blue and white dresses. Jake's pool. Floating. Music. Thanksgiving Eve Service. BUSY. Mary and Martha. How can I be both? Luke 10:38-40. Sick Steven. Stays home. Candles lit. Wheelchair ramp works. Fix graphics. Hula dancers ready? Yes. Manned the camera. Thankful. I'm thankful for so much. Too much to even fathom. Seriously. Crashed into bed.

Wake up. Gulp down copious amounts of coffee. Truck. Kayaks. Paddle Boards. Charley Young Beach. Friends. Sun soakage. My board connects me to the water. Salty water tickles my toes. Effortless. Turtles. Inhale fresh sea breeze. Exhale stress and worry. Kayak flipping. Giggle. Inviting towels in the sand. Sigh. Lisa and Ryan whisk me away to Jake's pool. Diet Coke. Floaty pros. Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen. Laughter. "We're just obscure laborers in the Pacific"-Jason Spence. Cowboys football. Thanksgiving with Rise. Mingling. Apple Cider. 4 TURKEYS! Dessert. Cranium. Windows down on the drive home. Breathing in Maui night air. Heart to heart with Lisa. Twinkling Christmas lights. Sleepy eyes.

"Thank God! Call out his Name! Tell the whole world who he is and what he's done! Sing to him! Play songs for him! Broadcast all his wonders! Revel in his holy Name, God-seekers, be jubilant! Study God and his strength, seek his presence day and night; Remember all the wonders he performed, the miracles and judgments that came out of his mouth. Seed of Israel his servant! Children of Jacob, his first choice! He is God, our God; wherever you go you come on his judgments and decisions. He keeps his commitments across thousands of generations..."-1 Chronicles 16:8

"fall-ing"

Lately, I have been spending most of my work hours in our auditorium decorating for fall. The theme we were aiming for is like a cathedral arch look....and I think we accomplished it! Here are a few photos! I took this Friday, during our service called The Gathering. In the next photo you can see that they are more tree-like, since it is fall! :)



Lighting makes such a difference in what the trees look like! They make me think of a person with their hands high, worshiping Jesus. I love that the image of that sticks in your mind when you close your eyes after looking at them on the stage. I took this photo on Sunday.We also printed off hundreds of leaves on brown contact paper and put them in arch like formations on the walls above the doors lining the auditorium (I forgot to take pictures of that part!).



My newest intern educational experience has been learning to run the lighting system. As you can see from the photo, it is extremely intimidating! I have loved getting to run it though! With the help of other knowledgeable people close by to make sure I don't blind everybody in the audi accidentally, I think I've managed fairly well! Once you get an eye for what looks good and what doesn't, it's really fun to play with colors and match them to the graphics. Lighting the arches is pretty cool too. We are so blessed to have such a high tech system! I've learned that lights can control a situation. Even if a video starts playing, people tend to pay attention when the lights go down. It's interesting. I love it!Yesterday after church, I got to go Upcountry and play indoor volleyball with a bunch of guys. I just love volleyball. I think I managed to hold my own :) On the way home, I snapped this shot of what I still can't believe I can call home for this season of my life. The next month and a half is going to be out of control busy. But this view truly can ease the most stressed out of hearts. Eyes fixed on the King. Deep breath. Sigh of relief. "But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed course of God-the free life!- even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action." -James 1:26-27

joyful noise

I've been reading Psalm 37:3-7 in a different version every day. I want it to be etched on my heart. My favorite so far has been in the Amplified version. I had my quiet time on Friday in Wailea, sipping on my Honolulu Coffee--my all time favorite coffee place here--and sitting on a lounge chair looking out at the ocean and this verse really spoke to me:

"Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass."

-Psalm 37:3-7

I'm trusting the Lord. Committing my way to Him. And I am making a habit out of it. Also, I've been telling God when I delight in Him. It's so great to acknowledge it! I just love this passage so much!! It's my prayer of this season.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXFFoN-QoXA

I was missing Brazil the other day, and when I was looking through all the photos, I stumbled across this video. I had never seen it before! After extreme (and not fruitful) amounts of effort to upload it to my blog, I gathered up the courage to put it on youtube :) It's funny because only 3 people in the room actually understand English, so no one knows what I'm even singing about. I just cherished the time I spent there with my Brazilian brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope you enjoy this little clip! :)

a bogus-ly busy week: photo style

-Ho'okipa for Ryan's Birthday--Hillbilly Hoedown with a bunch of High Schoolers--Trilogy Cruise to Molokini and Turtletown with my Maui family--A ninja turtle Halloween-
-12 things I learned this past week-
1. I function much better once I drink coffee. I had a TON of early mornings this week.
2. Peanut Butter in long blonde hair DOES come out after many washes :)
3. Eyeliner works great if you need to black out a tooth.
4. Sunscreen does actually need to be reapplied. You will get sunburned.
5. How was I landlocked for 21 years of my life?? I LOVE being out on the water!!
6. Getting stung by a jellyfish doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would.
7. I got a taste of hawaiian indoor volleyball and realized how much I truly miss it.
8. Adventures to Camp Pi'iholo in a 15 passenger van are destined to be epic.
9. Tire swinging with 6 kids is a blast!
10. I want to be a hero in a half shell every day of the year!
11. The jokes on Laffy Taffy wrappers are awesomely bad!
-ex: How do you get an alien baby to sleep? ---you rocket. (ha really?)
12. I ate spam and I liked it!! Never thought that would happen!

Aloha :)
-Risa-