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Posts Tagged ‘Beach’

Kauai

Posted in Beautiful Places, love, Marriage, Photography, Travel, vacation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

I wanted to finish posting pics from our anniversary get-away.  It was a fun way to celebrate 33 years of being married to a wonderful woman who is simply a beautiful person through and through.  Heading to a tropical paradise just as the grip of winter seems to finally be slipping seemed like a good idea and the following pics show off the beautiful island of Kauai where we visited for 2 days at the end of our vacation.

I experienced a downside to this though.  My work travels the next week took me to western New York where the temperature never got above 40 F and it snowed almost every day.  My blood had gotten used to the tropics so I think my suffering (and whining and complaining) were justified and I guess maybe a little amplified.  And my wonderful wife that enjoyed our get-away so much… yeah, all she could do was laugh when I would talk to her on the phone from NY.

Did I ever mention that 34 years ago I prayed for humility right before I met my wife….

Enjoy the pics.

The south shore of Kauai, also known as the Sunny Side.
The spouting horn doing what it is famous for.
Ferrel chickens were everywhere. While not endemic to the islands they have been there since the earliest people. The numbers increased greatly though when Hurricane Iniki blew over all the chicken coops and freed the entire population of caged birds.
Hanapepe Canyon
Caves that also served as burial sites for Hawaiian leaders and royal families.
Statue of Captain Cook where he first landed in the Hawaiian Islands at the mouth of the Waimea River.
Waimea Canyon which is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
The highest swamp on earth, the Alaka’i Swamp is on the top of the old volcano that formed the island.
The Waimea Falls near the headwaters of the Waimea River is the cause of the canyon.
The central highlands of Kaua’i are over 5000 feet above sea level. The trade winds constantly blow, hitting the highlands and creating clouds and rain. So much so that Kaua’i has the title of wettest place on earth receiving between 400 and 600 inches of rain a year.
Waimea Beach. Wai means fresh water. Mea means red. The name is for the river which runs red after heavy rains from the high iron content in the soil. Obviouslly the waters off the beach experience this too. The sand itself is a mixture of black, green, red, and grey sand. It is not dirty at all.
View through the entrance of the Waimea Plantation, an old sugar cane plantation turned into a resort.
Coffee shrubs.
The largest coffee plantation in the US.
Trail to Fern Grotto.
Either Pine Ginger or Pineapple Ginger.
Fern Grotto.
Weddings used to regularly be held inside the mouth of Fern Grotto.
Final morning in Paradise.
Ancient fishpond.
The Hawaiians were among the earliest people to practice aguaculture. They build these fishponds which had small openings that young fish could swim through into the “safe” water inside.
The Hawaiians would then feed and nuture the captive fish inside the ponds. Before long the fish were to big to fit back through the openings to the open sea. As the fish grew, for them the ponds became increasingly less safe. Yes, fish was a primary component of the Hawaiian diet.
Sea turtle sculptures…
And Sea Monstors on shore.
While blustery and cloudy, the temperature never got below 70.
From a distance I could almost hear the rooster preaching a sermon and all the other birds bobbing in agreement.
Flightseeing around Kaua’i was the perfect way to wrap up our trip. Desi was our pilot and she was great.
Leaving the airport at Lihue under a fair cover of clouds we headed south.
And the Sunny Side of the island did not disappoint.
The largest coffee plantation in the US is the Kauai Coffee Plantation.
Port Allen. Note the big solar generation station just outside of town.
It had been a very rainy season which was lasting a bit longer than usual, so the waterfalls were plentiful.
When Desi would lean us into a tight turn to share views both left and right, it made for some cool pespectives.
A closer view of Waimea Falls than from the lookout.
Down the Waimea Canyon to he sea. Notice the lookout on the plateau on the center right.
Desi turned from the Waimea Canyon and then headed into the clouds over the top of the island. We were in a white-out for about 30 seoncds and then, BOOM the Na Pali coast burst into view.
Captain Jack Sparrow had a run in with some natives on these two beaches.
The Cathedrals.
This is the favorite surfing hangout of Bethany Hamilton, the surfing champion who lost an arm to a great white shark.
Wailua Falls.

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Blessed!

Posted in Beautiful Places, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Marriage, Photography, Priorities, The Father, Travel, vacation, worldview, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

A recurring prayer for me goes something like this.  “Thank you Lord for all the blessings you’ve poured out on my family and on me.  I don’t deserve it, but I thank you for it.”  And then I wonder why I am so favored.  Now I need to put this in context before I go too far.  We have had our share of difficulties.  Perhaps not the tragedies some have experienced, but difficulties just the same – my wife’s shattered leg in 2012, my near heart attack in 2014, my job loss at the beginning of 2015, my broken shoulder in 2017 to name a few.  Yet, whatever direction I look, I see God’s goodness poured out… not just on me, but on so many people that I know.  He is indeed good… all the time.  And I wonder anew, “Lord why are you so good to me?”  Today as I have thought of this I think I have at least a little different perspective to share.

Being a father for 33 years, I know a daddy’s love for his children.  We just finished souvenir shopping for our four children and four grandchildren.  This is my wife’s time to lead and I dutifully follow.  As I watch and respond to her questions I realize she is seeking the perfect balance.  She wants to get them something they will enjoy, but that is also beneficial.  No to excess sugar and candy, yes to clothing that says laid-back Hawaii.  No to things with sharp edges or that can choke a little one, yes to cuddly and cute.  Since God is the perfect Father, He wants to give us gifts that achieve that perfect balance in our lives.  He knows our talents, our personality, our likes and dislikes.  He knows what is best for us.  His gifts are meant to draw us to himself since a deep and growing relationship with Him is what we are created for.  And just like giving gifts to our children warms my wife’s heart, I sense that God is also pleased when He is able to give us good gifts that bring us joy.  Oh, and when we recognize and give Him thanks, the mutual joy is amplified.

I believe the Father loves to hear us laugh and this is frequently one of the purposes of God’s blessings.  In some cases it may be the only reason.  But at other times God has multiple motives behind the gift given.

Being open to and responsive to the Lord’s leading in gift-receiving and gift-giving is an acquired wisdom.  God will bless us so that we can in turn bless others.  Giving of tithes and offerings is a tangible demonstration of finding our place in God’s economy of blessing.  Less formal but just as important is being open to the Holy Spirit’s leading to provide help for someone when the Lord prompts us to.  Our home group purchased a moped for a young woman in difficult circumstances recently and we know it was a God assignment.  Today we are excited to see what God is going to do through this simple act of passing His blessing on.

There is one other aspect that I believe the Lord wants us to understand about His blessing, but I hesitate for fear I will not be able to adequately explain.  It is that obedience brings blessing.  As we live life the way God desires us to live, we will experience His protection, His provision, and His favor.  The Holy Scriptures contain God’s blueprint for life.  Everything necessary to know how to enter a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe is there.  However, it is spiritually discerned.  That means God Himself must be living within us by His Holy Spirit for us to read, understand, and apply the truth contained in the scriptures.  Sadly just knowing the scriptures isn’t enough.  The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day were thoroughly knowledgeable of the scriptures, yet they crucified the one the scriptures foretold.

There is a progression in this flow.  The first is to recognize that there is a Creator of all that is.  He has been called many things… El Sahddai, Elohim, The LORD God, Almighty God, but it is safe to call Him God.

Second is to search for Truth.  When we honestly and openly search for Truth, asking God to guide us to Truth we will run into Jesus.  There are numerous reasons this is true, but suffice today I’ll point out the one I know to be true and unassailable.  Jesus’ resurrection proves He was Who He said He was – God’s one and only Son, sent to redeem mankind through His sacrificial death on the cross.

Third, once we recognize Jesus for Who He says He is, it is only right to surrender our life to Him and take up the life He is calling us to.  It is a life of dying to poor life choices, bad decisions, and irresponsibility.  It is letting go of living according to your own agenda and morality and learning how to live a life that aligns with God’s game plan for life.  It is saying yes to Jesus in how we live.

Fourth is to ask Jesus to help us to know Him better and to live the life God desires us to live.  Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to help us live life the way God intends.  He never takes away our ability to choose whether to follow or not.  In fact He partners with us in the work of transformation, but He will do the heavy lifting if we simply turn to Him and ask for His help.

As we live a life of consistent obedience, God’s blessings will flow.  It is not that we are immune to difficulties, but knowing God and trusting Him provides a solid place to stand even when all around is shaking and unsettled.  And when we thank Him in the midst of the hard and difficult, when our suffering is wrapped in thanking God for being with us in the storm, we will know His peace and comfort, which is one of the greatest of His blessings to His children.

As I shared in an earlier post, my wife and I are celebrating our 33rd anniversary in Hawaii.  I am going to post a few more pics of our trip for those who are interested.  The week has contained a snapshot of life.  We’ve experienced a good bit of clouds, rain, and wind.  The conditions were not always ideal.  But through it all God has been with us, showing us His love and care.  We have thrilled with new adventures and quiet times together.  Today the sun broke through and it is gloriously beautiful.  It happened just in time for a morning helicopter ride… with the doors off and a sunset on Waikiki Beach.

Wherever you are in life, know that God loves you and He is for you.  If you are at one of those points of progression that I mention above and you would like to know more, please drop me a comment.  I would be happy to chat and pray.  It’s what I’m supposed to do.  In the meantime, enjoy the pics. and be blessed today.  And don’t forget to pass the blessing on!

Waimea Beach on Oahu’s North Shore. A big wave surfing tournament is held here when the conditions, at least 30 foot swells, allows.
All the commercial pineapple operations have moved to other countries. Everything grown on these pineapple plantations are for consumption on the islands.
Kualo Range where Jurassic Park and Lost were filmed.
Dole Pineapple Plantation and maze behind the gift shop. The pineapples are so sweet on the islands.
Jordan, our pilot, is hanging loose behind us.
Sunset Beach on the North Short where the World Championships of Surfing are held each November / December.
Kane’one Bay where we snorkled around “Gilligan’s Island”.
View toward Diamond Head
Sandy Beach on the east coast of the island.
Waikiki Beach. Our hotel was on the beach at the pier on the farthest left of the photo.
View along Waikiki Beach toward Diamond Head from our hotel beach.
View from our room.
And it appears she says yes.
I watched this young man hurl himself into wave after wave and then body surf to shore.
And then I thought of our daughter-in-law with her children tenderly loving and playing with them.
Look closely at the person with their hand on their head. They are walking on water… I caught them just as they lost their board but before they splashed down. Funny!
Coming in for a landing.
These last three reminded me of our children when they were babies and how our weekends we would often squeeze as much fun out of the play days as possible.
And the toys are ready for the next day of fun for the crowds who will arrive before the sun tomorrow.
I think that’s his mother telling him its time to come in.
He persists in assking, “Just a little longer, please?”
It was a fitting remembrance on our last day in Oahu.

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Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, and Koko Head

Posted in Beautiful Places, exercise, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2018| 2 Comments »

One day in Oahu was dedicated to hiking and exploring.  Hitting Diamond Head at 6:20 am was wise, but we didn’t realize a Triathlon was taking place that made it hard to catch our shuttle.  We had to join the sea of joggers to meet our van.  This also added almost a mile to our hike, but we persevered and we can say we ran in a triathlon, hiked Diamond Head, and swam in Hanauma Bay all in one day.  It was a fun day of exercise, super views, and a good way to beat the heat.

Following our Diamond Head hike, we shuttled over to Hanauma Bay for a little snorkeling and relaxation on the beach.  Hanauma Bay is the collapsed crater of a Tuff cone as is Diamond Head and KoKo Crater which is beside Koko Head.  A Tuff Cone is subtly different from a volcano.  A volcano is an opening in the earth’s crust where lava pours forth over a period of several years to perhaps hundreds of years.  A Tuff Cone is a very short burst event where a crack in the earth’s crust results in the escape of hot gases to just under the earth’s surface.  The result is an explosion, not unlike the bubble that erupts in spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove.  Our guide said scientists believe the event that resulted in the creation of Diamond Head lasted between 1 to 7 days.  In the soil around these you can see the particles of reef, old volcanic material, and sand all mixed together where they were expelled in the creation of the Tuff Cone.

After a couple snorkel swims I felt the tug of another hike out Koko Head, so I gathered my camera and lenses and I was off.  The elevation above the bay created some excellent views.  My only disappointment was that I didn’t have the beautiful blue sky that proved fickle a few days while we were in Hawaii.

I’m not complaining though, I mean it was Hawaii, right?!

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Baptism at Gauntlet 2016

Posted in Church, God, God Stories, Jesus Christ, Responsibility, Salvation, Service, Spiritual Growth, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

One of the main events at Gauntlet each year is the sunrise baptism in the ocean.  This year 1400 persons waded into the Atlantic Ocean to be baptized in a pattern followed by  Christ-followers for close to 2000 years.  Baptism is a rich symbol in the Christian faith.  In baptism we are identifying with Jesus is His death and burial as we plunge under the water.  In rising out of the water we are connecting with His resurrection from the dead.  Baptism is an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace God has given us in our salvation.  By baptism we proclaim we are followers of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

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Even as organized as our church has become through the 10 previous Gauntlets, baptism of 1400 people takes some time and creates quite a spectacle.  Below are a few pics of the service.  Three short vignettes stand out to me.

First, we met and spoke with Maddie as she provided Life guard support.  I explained how Jesus is real and that baptism is a person’s next step after accepting Him as their savior.  Maddie is at a life change point as she enters her final year in college.  She has questions about what she is going to do with her life.  As we walked away after praying with her, I could sense the Holy Spirit stirring in her heart.  I pray that she too will soon be baptized and experience the joy and peace that Jesus gives.

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The next shots are from the lifeguard seat in the middle of our service.  One of the staff came up to me and pointed out the man kneeling in the sand to the south of our group.  He had wandered up early in the baptism and, after chatting with some of our folks, fell to his knees and remained there for the entire time I was there – close to an hour that I know of.  His posture of prayer over our group remains one of the most poignant images for me of the week.  It also reminded me that there were literally thousands of people back home praying for us before and during the Gauntlet.

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The final Baptism morning vignette was when Greg, Dylan and I held our devotion on the pier.  We wanted a vantage point where we could continue to observe and pray for the baptism service, but also open the Word and see what God had in store for us.  As we finished an older gentleman from the restaurant on the pier approached and asked what was going on up the beach.  I shared about the baptism and Gauntlet which lead to an engaging conversation with Mark.  A one-time minister, Mark had slipped and backslidden to the point that he had ended up on the streets.  A year and a half earlier he decided he had to turn his life around so for 16 months he had worked at the restaurant and was staying away from the drink and other temptations that had caused him to fall.  We prayed with Mark.  I was blessed as my guys were fully engaged in the conversation, even encouraging Mark to watch the services on-line.

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So many people… so many God-stories… so many miracles… such an amazing God.

The next post will be about the worship.  The one after that is about one of the mighty miracles that occurred and which is continuing to play out in a most marvelous way.

God is moving… the wave started in the student section and it is growing in intensity.  Come Lord Jesus – overwhelm us with more of you.

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Good Friday, 2012

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We are on vacation at the beach for our youngest son’s spring break.  Last night the clouds rolled in with showers and thunderstorms.  I had intentions of getting up early and watching the sunrise on Good Friday morning, but the weather forecast was calling for rain all day on Friday.  I off-handedly said, “Well I guess there won’t be a sunrise tomorrow.”  My wife, whether knowingly or not said something that this morning seems rather profound.  “Honey, there’s always a sunrise.  It’s just that not everyone sees it.” 

As I reflect upon her statement this morning I realize that her statement is true whether she meant sunrise or Sonrise.  It is sad, but all too true that we often miss the meaningful because we have our eyes, our thoughts, or our attention on the trivial.  As I sat in the sand this morning with grey, scuttling clouds racing by overhead and the merest hints of color in a few scattered openings in the otherwise thick clouds, I thought about the sun that is out there rising behind those clouds.  Other people are in places where they can see it clearly and they know the sun is there.  I have seen the sun rise before and the brightening sky tells me that even though I don’t see him he is still there.  But for some all they can see are the clouds, the rain, and the disruption of their plans.  Sitting in the sand waiting and listening I saw much that I would not have noticed otherwise…

Pelicans, an otherwise odd-looking bird, looking so graceful as they fly up the beach in groups of from 3 – 25 in swooping lines just inches above the crashing surf.

The undulating pattern of the sand dunes covered with sea oats forming both a scenic and protective barrier for the homes and villas behind.

The furthest sawgrass toward the ocean.  Standing at the very edge of the surf, this little tuft gets the abuse of wind, wave, and the occasional beach walker, yet still holds his ground… literally.

The sky itself with a few pink highlights to the east and south while looking foreboding with dark greys and blues to the north and west. 

And then remembering that by this time on Good Friday, Jesus had already been tried and convicted in a mock trial, beaten within the confines of the Jewish council, and was probably on his way to be whipped by the Roman soldiers.  Still ahead the long walk to Calvary carrying His cross until He was no longer able.  The nails hammered through his wrists and feet to affix Him to the cross.  Then the unbearable pain as the cross is raised to the vertical and all the weight of His body rests upon the three nails… 

And His cry after hours of pain and suffering – “My God, My God.  Why have You forsaken Me?” 

God didn’t answer out loud, but His answer resonates today – “Because I love them.”

People say that Valentines Day is the Day of Love.  I disagree.  It is a day of romance and while love is an essential component of true romance, Valentines Day is not the ultimate demonstration of love.  The most amazing demonstration of Love was on the original Good Friday.  Jesus, pure and innocent Jesus, offered up for us.  He loves us more than we can comprehend.  God loves us so much He offered up His Son.  Jesus loves us so much He offered up Himself. 

If you know Him, please join me in worship and adoration of our loving Lord. 

If you don’t already know Him, please consider His offer of love.  He will not force Himself upon you.  But He does desire your response.  He loves you and wants to fill you with His love.  It is the best thing in all the world.

Have a blessed day today.

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