High as a Kite

From time to time, I welcome a guest to contribute a blog post. Today's blog post is written by my nine year old daughter, enjoy!

I was at the beach on the pretty island of Oahu. And as I was flying my kite, it fell in the water (because it was too high). And then I had to get in the water to get my kite.

After that I thought for a second. Then I said, "Mom, I have a new blog!" I said, "You know how I fly my kite? I wanted to fly my kite high. Then once I got it like I thought I wanted it, it fell in the water. When we don't read God's word, we are low like the kite. And when we are too high, we have pride so we go down. But when we are in the middle we are wise in what the Lord says."

So what have we learned in this story? Post your comments on Facebook and Twitter!

Back Online!

We've been offline for several weeks while renovating our apartment in Honolulu but we're back today discussing God's goodness and His perfect plan for our lives. His plan for our lives is perfect because He is perfect!

Please join me as I honor my baby brother in today's blog! Please feel free to share, mahalo!

My Baby Brother is a Cowboy

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." (Mathew 19:26, NLT)

My baby brother is a cowboy. A real cowboy. He walks funny from riding too many bulls. I've only seen him wear something other than Wranglers a handful of times my whole life. Thankfully, he still has all his fingers even though he has "swung a many a rope". When we talk (he lives in Oklahoma), he is always going to pick up a horse, drop off a horse, or check on some cows.

Recently, I was teasing him and told him I was going to take him scuba diving. He said I could take him as soon as I figure out a way for his cowboy hat not to block a scuba mask and regulator and as soon as I figure out a way for his Wranglers not to create too much drag. In other words, he always wears his ten gallon hat and won't exchange his jeans for board shorts and forget the idea of a speedo. Sis won't link up with that!

When I look at him I see no difference in him and the cowboys who lived in the "cowboy era". We could plop him down in that era and no one could pick him out of that crowd.

Today I was walking the beach thinking about him and the cowboy time in history. As a huge jet flew over my head, I thought, I wonder what those cowboys would think today if they could see huge jets fly.

It was once said it was impossible for people to fly. What those people said didn't make today's truth any less true. The ones who didn't believe it, didnt stop the ones who made it a reality. Today hundreds of thousands of people fly all over the globe every day. What once seemed impossible is now taken for granted.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."

Jesus told the dead to raise.
The dead obeyed.

Need your marriage raised from the dead?
Need your health to raised from the dead?
Need you finances to raised from the dead?

Call it forth and give God the glory. Nothing...no thing...is impossible with Him!


Romans 4:17
Ephesians 5:1
Colossians 3:23
1 Corinthians 10:31

Demolition Derby Time!

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5, NLT)

I have read and read and read that scripture. I have confessed and confessed and confessed that scripture. But this week, that scripture has come alive to me in a new way!

Our store on Oahu, Central Pacific Rebuilders, has an upstairs living quarters. This week, our friend Joseph has been renovating the living quarters area.

It is our Palace O'Da Key Tov!

The building was built in the sixties. I'm extremely positive it has not been touched since that time. God has given me a wonderful vision for this project! Not a vision in the biblical sense, a vision as in how to renovate it.

The first thing Joe had to do was gut the whole upstairs. There was hammering and sawing and banging. It was like a demolition derby, except with men instead cars! At the end of day one, I looked around and I thought, now THIS is what the Lord intended by demolishing arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God!

Seeing the results of the "gutting" made me want to further my study of the word demolish (mahalo Google) and I found:

Verb

• Pull or knock down (a building).
• Comprehensively refute (an argument or its proponent).

Synonyms

• destroy - wreck - ruin - tear down - pull down

This is my new translation for 2 Corinthians 10:5!

We demolish-pull down-knock down-comprehensibly destroy-wreck-ruin-tear down-refute all arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ!

When we are tempted with thoughts of:

• Anxiety
• Hurt
• Frustration
• Confusion
• Condemnation
• Anger
• Offense

We run to Jesus and demolish 'em!
We don't run to our friends &/or Facebook and amplify 'em!

We replace:

• anxiety with "Lord, I cast all anxieties on You, because You care for Me!" (1 Peter 5:7)
• hurt with "I fear not, for You are with me; I am not dismayed, for You are my God! You strengthen me, Yes, You help me! You uphold me with Your righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
• frustration with "Thank You Jesus for bringing to my remembrance to refuse to grow weary of doing good! Thank You for Your promise I will reap in due season when I refuse to give up!" (Galatians 6:9)
• Confusion with "Father, thank You for Your wonderful Spirit of truth! He guides me into all the truth! (John 16:13)
• Condemnation with "Thank You Jesus there is no place for condemnation in me! You have made me free from the law of sin and death! (Romans 8:1, 2)
• Anger with "Father, You gave me emotions! I handle my emotions in a healthy, godly manner! When I am angry, I refuse to sin! I put my trust in You! (Psalm 4:4-5)
• Offense with "Father, thank You for teaching me to walk in forgiveness which makes me free! Thank You for showing me how to avoid the terrible trap of unforgiveness!" (Mark 11:25)

Friends, it's demolition derby time!

The Tiny Lightsaber

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. (Matthew 11:24, NLT)

We are currently renovating a rooftop apartment. Last night, we were at Lowes picking out tile, doors, windows, paint, etc.

Our youngest, Gracie, saw a light wand of some sort. A little trinket flash light that looks a lot like a tiny lightsaber. Gracie is a huge Star Wars fan. I saw her face as she inspected it. She turned it on. She turned it off. She turned it over. She turned it around. She inspected every aspect of the trinket.

I don't buy trinkets. She knew not to come to me. I have a rule. We don't buy something every time we go to the store.

But Daddy, Daddy blesses his baby girls! She said, "Poppa, can I please have this light? It's like a tiny light saber!" Daddy is also a Star Wars fan. He "gets" Gracie.

As we were walking out of Lowes, she was skipping across the parking lot (tiny lightsaber in tow) and grabbed my hand. She said, "When I saw the lightsaber, I prayed and asked God for it. I believed I would get it. And now I have it! Thank you Mommy!"

The tiny Lightsaber life lesson:

Pray
Believe
Receive

Key point:

She knew to ask her Father.

Since her father provided her with something as seemingly insignificant as a trinket, how much more does a perfect Father provide what we need! (Luke 11:13)

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. (Matthew 11:24, NLT) Even tiny light sabers.

No Trespassing!

Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. (Luke 10:19, NLT)

Sunday was our youngest daughter's birthday. To celebrate, we went to the Probowl game in Honolulu with friends. On our way to the game, we had to drop our dog off at our store. For some strange reason, doggie seats were not available at Probowl. Otherwise, I'm sure Bo would have thoroughly enjoyed himself as much as we did!

When we drove up in the parking lot of our store to drop Bo off, individuals had "set up shop" in our back door and was doing business. Literally, complete with bed, full length mirror, etc. 

I have never seen Mike get real forceful (verbally or otherwise). He is a very quiet, gentle, compassionate man; however, he is a Texan to his core and has very deep ideas of what is right or wrong. He drove right up to the "hooch" (that was a new word for me) and put the car in park. He ripped the tarp back and...well, lets just say everyone on the block knew he was not playing around when he said, "Get out!"  He turned to me and said, "Call the police." At which time, people started to scatter. 

There was one person who, lets see...how do I describe this...stalled in leaving. I'm sure street drugs were preventing this person from using common sense. 

The police arrived very quickly. (Mucho mahalos to the Honolulu Police Department!) Once the police cars arrived, there were no trespassers to be found in any direction. The police quickly took our report and searched for the people to insure there was no misunderstanding they were to never trespass on our property again. We were told we could dispose of all their property (approximately a small truck load). We assumed we would have to clean up the nasty mess but we decided to clean up later because we didn't want to be late to the game. 

We made it to the Probowl just in time for kickoff. Once the game was over, we went back to the store to get Bo. Obviously, the officers handling the case was very convincing because all the items had been removed and the area was totally spotless! Not even a piece of trash remained. 

Here is what I learned: When we walk in our God given authority, darkness scatters. 

Here is the analogy:

Mike knows he is the store owner. 
We must know who we are in Christ! (Luke 10:19)


Mike knew he had the authority to remove the trespassers. 
When darkness (strife/offense/envy/depression/murmering) attempts to trespass, we must use our authority and remove it! (Mark 11:23)


He boldly took the necessary steps to protect his store.
We must boldly approach God and seek His Word on how to take the necessary steps to protect our mind/mouth/home/relationships and Facebook pages! (Ephesians 3:12)


When one trespasser stalled, the HPD removed them. 
When we submit to God and resist the devil, he has no other option, he must flee! God rebukes the devourer for us! (James 4:7, Malachi 3:11)

My youngest daughter got upset when she saw the homeless man taking down his bed and tarp and said, "But Mommy, if CPR is a house to that homeless man, now he has nowhere to live!" We prayed for the trespassers and I explained, we tried to work out a deal with the man. He was to keep our parking lot clean of trash and debris and he was allowed to stay. But he continues to occupy more space. And the more we looked the other way. Initially, he only had one small corner in our parking lot. But left unchecked, he had his belongings strewn halfway across our parking lot and ended up completely blocking the door. 

Darkness operates the same way; for example, when strife attempts to rear it's ugly head, we can't look the other way. A "deal" can never be cut with darkness. If not addressed immediately, darkness continues to occupy more and more space until we adversely affect everyone we come into contact with. 

• We must take every thought captive and refuse to sow discord! (2 Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 6:16-19) 
• We must shine our lights before man so our Heavenly Father is glorified! (Matthew 5:16) 
• We must speak peace and life into every situation! (Romans 12:18, Deuteronomy 30:19)

When we pray, walk in authority and purpose to speak God's Word about every situation, darkness doesn't block the door, we block the door to darkness and protect what God has so richly blessed us with!

SUPERABOUNDING GRACE!

But then Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent and exciting opposition]. But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded, So that, [just] as sin has reigned in death, [so] grace (His unearned and undeserved favor) might reign also through righteousness (right standing with God) which issues in eternal life through Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) our Lord. (Romans 5:20  & 21, Amp)

There is currently much buzz about grace. Here is my take on Romans 5:20, 21. Are you ready?

God's grace SUPERABOUNDS!

Is that it, you may ask. Yep! How can grace be so simple? Here's how.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV)

To me, the "grace message" is so obvious.

• Would we sit on the sidelines of our financial investments and expect good fruit? 
• Would we sit on the sidelines of our checking/savings account and expect good fruit?
• Would we sit on the sidelines of our marriage and expect good fruit?
• Would we sit on the sidelines of raising our children and expect good fruit?
• Would we sit on the sidelines of our friendships and expect good fruit?

Ok, I know some do/would; however, always look at the fruit. It is simple math. 

John 15:5