Hawaii: Part 7 -- Church, Kahuku Farms, Waimea Falls, etc.

You'll be happy to know that the Hawaii blog-fest is coming to a close soon...just a couple more now!   This was our last full day on Oahu and we used it as a day to eat up our leftovers, pack up, and get a couple more things crossed off our list.   

SUNDAY, MAY 29

• Since it was our last day on Oahu, we were trying to use up our food and ended up eating leftovers for breakfast.  😋
  
  
• We got dressed up in our Sunday best and went to church at the Kahuku 4th ward.   Jan Newman of the General SS presidency was there and gave a talk.  His talk was good, but one of the other random speakers gave one of the best talks I'd heard in a very long time.  😀
  
  
• My friend, Wendy Richards, highly recommended eating at Kahuku Farms while we were in Oahu, so it was top on my list of places to try.  Unfortunately,  it is only open limited hours and wasn't super close to many of the other activities we were doing, so it never fit into our schedule until today!  It was worth the wait though!    It was absolutely DELICIOUS, super gluten friendly, farm fresh, and my only regret was that we didn't try it earlier, because we totally would have come back again!  

• After thoroughly enjoying the deliciousness of Kahuku Farms, we headed back to the house, changed out of our Sunday clothes, packed up our stuff, and played some pickleball

• Only about 5ish minutes from the house we were renting, we'd been driving by signs for Waimea Falls all week long without ever stopping.   Today was the day though!   We finally had some open space in our schedule, so off we went to explore for the low low price of only $20/person (only $16 for students).  😒 

With all wide, paved trails and only small hills along the way, the hike itself wasn't very challenging. And it was hard not to laugh at the fact that they required life preservers if you wanted to swim in the water at the base of the waterfall.  😂

But what was worth the money and hype was all the amazing flora and fauna  along the side trails along the way!   Seriously....GORGEOUS!!! 

 I took a gazillion pictures along the way and couldn't believe all the unique and beautiful variety of 

• After the hike we got back to our car and were greeted by this gorgeous fellow, looking like he was standing guard for us!  

• After the Falls, we headed to Pupakea Beach...also very near the house...and just had fun swimming, boogie boarding, collecting shells, and soaking up the Hawaii sun (with sunblock on...of course).    

• After the beach, we headed back to the house for our last night of pickle ball, a dinner of leftovers, and a rousing game of Dixit. 
  
  
  STAY TUNED FOR A COUPLE MORE DAYS ON A NEW ISLAND....
  
  
  

STAY TUNED FOR THE LAST COUPLE HAWAIIAN POSTS....

A Delight

March 6: 

Glen and I have been talking a lot lately about making the Sabbath day more of a delight in our home.   The idea is based on the scripture, Isaiah 58:13, and it's been a thought provoking process for us.   For a long time, we've thought of  keeping the Sabbath day holy more of us keeping to a list of things we can't do, but now we're trying to be more deliberate about making it more of a day to bring us closer to God and help increase our faith.   

So what kinds of things are we doing to make the day more of a delight?   

Well, in addition to going to church, today we did boatloads of family history to get ready for our youth temple trip this week, 

we made and brought cupcakes to one of my young women whose birthday is today,

 we ate a simple break-the-fast meal of nachos, Glen and the girls went to their Savior of the World play practice, Emma got caught up on her seminary reading, I wrote a few letters and got some YW work done, Ellie did some artwork of a temple, and we listened to beautiful music on my favorite Sunday channel on Pandora.  

We're not perfect at it by any means, but as we've tried to be more deliberate about our Sabbath observance, I've definitely felt an increased peace and sense of renewal to begin our week.   

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General Conference Summary: Sunday Sessions

  I'm one of those people who doesn't sit still often, so when I do I tend to fall asleep pretty quickly.  It's quite a problem actually, especially when I'm driving more than about 20 minutes or trying to accomplish something from a sitting position, which is why I often answer emails and blog while standing.  General Conference is  extra challenging for me, because we sit cozied up in comfortable chairs for the 8 hours.   It's just so easy to snooze and I try to convince myself that it's just as good to read the talks  that I missed in the Conference Ensign later.

This year I wanted a challenge--I wanted to create a "headline" for each talk and write up a little summary.    In order to do that though, I needed to stay awake, alert, and take good enough notes during all eight hours of general conference that I could actually have enough information from each talk to create these summaries for the blog.

I used different colored gel pens (which I love, by the way) for taking the notes--a different color for every talk.  Somehow the challenge  proved to be a very motivating (and even exciting) thing for me to do.   It shouldn't be such a big deal for a 42-year-old to stay awake and alert for 2-days, but for me it was an accomplishment and I am proud that I actually did it.

  I doubt these will mean as much to anyone else as they do to me, but  you can find Saturday's summary here, and below you will find my Sunday summary!    You can read or watch entire talks here if there's one that you want to read more about. 

Sunday Morning:  

Thomas S. Monson (a living prophet on the earth today)

BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE BELIEVERS

Watch the words we use and extend charity to others.

Exercise our faith by reading and pondering the scriptures. 

Gratitude, forgiveness, and goodwill will help our lights to shine. 

Ronald A. Rasband

I STAND ALL AMAZED

God's love is real and is for all of us--no matter where you are in your life.  

Reach out in love to others.  

Gary Stevenson

ANCHOR IN CHRIST

Anchor our faith in Jesus Christ. 

Focus on what you CAN do, rather than what you can't do.  

Dale G. Renlund

LOOK AT OTHERS THROUGH HEAVEN'S EYES

 You are called not for what you've done, but for what the Lord needs you to accomplish. 

Remember that everyone is a beloved son or daughter of Jesus Christ. 

Russell M. Nelson

GREAT IS THE STRENGTH OF COVENANT KEEPING WOMEN

The virtue, light, love, character, faith, and virtue of righteous women of today are a fulfillment of prophecy and making a huge difference in the world.  

Women are full partners with men in families, communities, and in church councils.  

Gregory A. Schwitzer

DON'T BE AFRAID TO TESTIFY OF CHRIST

True disciples represent the Lord even when it is not convenient. 

Have courage and be bold when testifying of truth. 

Voices try to drown out the simple message of the Gospel that God loves us.

Claudio R.M. Costa

TEACH OUR CHILDREN OF CHRIST

Tell the stories of Christ's life to our children.   

"I have no greater joy to hear that my children walk in truth."

Teach them the truth.   

Henry B. Eyring

THE HOLY GHOST TESTIFIES OF TRUTH:  

WE SHOULD SEEK ITS CONSTANT COMPANIONSHIP

The more we obey the spirit, the more impressions we will receive, and the more we will be blessed. 

Through the Holy Ghost we can see people as Heavenly Father sees them. 

Truths are verified by the Holy Ghost. 

Sunday Afternoon:   

D. Todd Christofferson

THE CHURCH IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF CHRIST'S WORK ON EARTH

The church is a necessary part of Christ's work on earth, and without it great things could not be accomplished.  

More important than knowing doctrine is learning how to apply it.   

Devin Durrant

"PONDERIZE" THE SCRIPTURES

Ponderize = 80% pondering + 20% memorizing

Like saving a little money each week for a rainy day, ponderizing the scriptures weekly helps us to elevate our thoughts and bring us closer to Christ. 

Discipline yourself, exercise your faith, and do it! 

Von G. Keetch

SEEK TO DO GOD'S WILL

Like a barrier in the bay to protect surfers from sharks, the commandments are safety and protection to us from spiritual dangers.   

God wants us to have joy, peace, success, and safety, which is why we have commandments.  

Carole M. Stephens

IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS

Commandments = Love

We show love by keeping commandments. 

He gives us commandments, because he loves us. 

Allen Haynie

THROUGH CHRIST WE CAN BE CLEAN

Through Christ we can be forgiven of our sins and be made clean again.  

Savior's atonement leaves no traces or tracks...it just heals.  

God will never reject us.  

Kim B. Clark

SEEK FOR EYES TO SEE AND EARS TO HEAR THE WILL OF THE LORD

Stand for truth with courage and seek for eyes to see and ears to hear the will of the Lord. 

Strive to live plain and simple truths of the gospel.   

We still live in a time of miracles.  

Koichi Aoyagi

KEEP FAITH IN ADVERSITY

Purpose of life is not to merely to overcome trials, but to learn to rely on the Lord and to increase your faith.  

All things are for your experience and good.  

David Bednar

OLD MEN ROCK!

There is great wisdom in having older, experienced men lead the church of God. 

Their physical limitations are actually an asset to them, in that it helps them to focus their efforts on what is most important.   

They are not spared affliction, but are blessed and strengthened (and increase in understanding) as they face the afflictions with faith.  

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The missionaries joined us for the Sunday morning session.   It was great to have them.  We love their spirit and  the extra good motivation not to snooze!  

Ellie loves missionaries and was especially excited that they had brought pictures to add to her missionary art binder.   

And second session looked like this (but not me!), so having them here really was a good motivator for us.

It turned out to be one of the most meaningful general conferences I'd ever experienced and I think I've learned some good tips for next time.     1.  Have guests over   2.  Have snacks to munch on  3.  Give myself a challenge.

I am grateful to live in a day and time when we are blessed to have a living prophet on the earth.   It's a comfort to know that in these perilous days that God has not left us without His guidance and revelation!

Day 291--"What is YOUR Language?"

It was our first day back to the new ward since it being hacked to bits. It had been almost a whole month since we'd had a regular church meeting so it was good to be back, although now that I am nursery leader church won't be quite so restful anymore.

It was another cold, rainy day (it's been several in a row now), so we didn't get to go for our normal Sunday afternoon walk around the neighborhood. The only pictures I had from the day were a couple I'd taken out of one my favorite picture books, "What is Your Language?" to use for a preschool blog post.

It's one of our favorite books ever and I'm so sad that it's out of print, because I would buy one for everyone I know.