pretty as a picture

as i mentioned a few days ago, i really enjoyed the time we had on the beautiful island of maui last year (march 2008). so i thought i'd share a few random photos we captured with our camera while we were there. don't be too surprised if i do this again since we have about 500 pics from that trip!

i love certain foods...

therefore i have to learn how to cook them!


tonight's recipe search: macadamia nut encrusted chicken breasts

reason: am having a crazy craving for the yummy foods i ate when in hawaii last year {oh, maui, how i miss you!}

result: will post tomorrow and let you all know!!!


here's the deal: i'm going to try making a special meal for tomorrow's lunch. my mom and dad are coming over to watch the boys while i get to go in for my not-so-annual doctor's visit. [i seriously can't remember the last time i went in for a check up--it's been that long ago!!] so i invited them to come for lunch and i plan to make a really nice meal for them. also on the menu: tomato and basil bruschetta, spring mix salad, and a zucchini saute.

Messages from The Message!

Ever since listening to Sisterchicks Do The Hula by Robin Jones Gunn (I finished this audiobook last week while knitting!), I've been pondering some of the verses she quotes in the story from The Message (a contemporary Bible version by Eugene H. Peterson).

One verse in particular has become one of my new faves:

Psalm 32:7
God's my island hideaway,
keeps danger far from the shore,
throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

my island hideaway on maui

I love the mental picture I get now when I read this. I suppose it's partly because I've been to Maui less than a year ago, but I think it's also because of how the character in the book takes time to explore the deeper meaning of these words as well. In Hawaii, a lei is a garland that is placed around someone's neck. If I understand correctly, they used to be made by one person to give to another. Each one also tells a story. What a beautiful picture of God making me my own unique story-lei and placing it around my neck like a cherished garland of hosannas! Wow!

a garland of hosannas!

Just today I read another verse in the Psalms (also from The Message) that was, for me at least, quite poignant.

Psalm 16:11b
Ever since you took my hand,
I'm on the right way.
As a mother, I'm often grabbing my kids' hands. Usually I do this to keep them from harm or to get them to go in the same direction I'm going. In the same way, I can see now that God takes hold of my hand and guides me along life's pathways--the way He desires for me to go. As long as I don't let go and run away in my own direction, like disobedient children sometimes do, He promises to guide me, protect me, and take care of my needs along the way. Isn't that wonderful?