Category: Traveling

Texas oil

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Just do it, Memories, Nature, Thanks, Traveling, Yield

Too cold. Too hot.

Awoke with ceiling fan and floor fan on full blast. Legs and feet frozen. Temperature outside 62.

Same morning worked in yard and along entrance sidewalk for about 1-1/2 hours. Drenched. Every. Single. Stitch. I was wearing. August in Ohio. Was 76 degrees and humid when I came indoors. Bob says my thermostat is broken.

Here is my new favorite perennial.

Hibiscus or Mallow Shrub

Yes, they are like day lilies in that they drop their flowers every day, but what a delight!

This rabbit is certain if he sits tall and still I either will not see him or think he is a wrought iron statue. (two slots left of Mallow.) Then he turned and ate a pyracantha leaf. No wonder that shrub does not flourish!!

Yes, I know, not the best focus. So far he has not eaten the mallow shrub to the left!

This what I got from an entire package of nasturtium seeds. Lousy ground and lousy year for gardening! Perhaps the wood chips are to blame as I now hear they make terrible mulch for growing things. Ugh!

Yes, the leaves are supposed to be mottled.

Perhaps it is because we did not sow seeds until after May 19th when we returned from Maui? So sad the happenings in Maui. Each time we watch the news we are just stunned. Those poor people. Most of them got out with their lives, but now not only the clean up but questioning if it will be safe to live there with all the chemicals in the soil. Land grabbers trying to buy up the land. The spiritual center of Maui in ruins. Lord may those who lost their lives rest in peace. May those who are still missing loved ones have Your comfort. They say identification may take months or years as in most cases the pathologists are working with dust.

The opening photo was our dinner in Lahaina at Kimo’s restaurant. Totally gone now.

Online photo. Now I wish we had taken more photos of the street!

Scanning videos and photos on line, trying to decide what best to show you. This one photo certainly sums it up. Front street as it is now. And then I find myself overwhelmed with grief for the people there.

Never mind. I have nothing to complain about. We have been told the Red Cross is the best place to give donations. One of the airlines that I had accumulated miles on asked if I wanted to donate the miles to the cause. I responded absolutely! My friend who ministers in Nepal said this Hope Force International is also quite reputable. 

https://hopeforceinternational.app.neoncrm.com/forms/general-donation-form

Whatever you do , try to give to something to the rebuilding of Lahaina. Such terrible loss.

LORD, uplift and sustain the people of Lahaina and those who love her. Send the comfort of Your Spirit to them. Show each of the readers how to best support them in their losses. May Your will be done in our hearts and in our giving.

Posted on in Aging, Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Music, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Traveling, Yield

Lay Your Burdens Down

On my way to prayer time one morning I heard this song in my heart.

The song makes it sound easy. Check your shame at the door. Lay your burdens down. The true story is we must be willing to let go of those things.

In 1678 John Bunyan published “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” The main character, Christian, carried a burden in the story. This is an allegory of Christian life, “a symbolic vision of the good man’s pilgrimage through life.” There are characters and monsters, difficulties and challenges. Christian carries a heavy burden on his back. All these things occur on his way to the Celestial City.

Christian RAN, but not without great difficulty, because of the heavy load on his back. He ran on thus until he came to a place where there was a hill, and upon that hill stood a Cross; and a little below, at the bottom was a sepulcher.

Modern English edition of Pilgrim’s Progress

Sepulcher means a burial vault, tomb or grave.

“So I saw in my dream that just as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden fell off his shoulders and back, and began to tumble, until it came to the mouth of the sepulcher, where it fell in, and I saw it no more!”

Modern English edition of Pilgrim’s Progress

My question is why do we have to be urged to lay our burdens down? It seems too often we enjoy punishing ourselves for faults and failures. As if we could be the ultimate judge of our own character! Perhaps our burdens “for” others is truly just our desire to control and direct their paths as if we think ourselves omniscient?

Bunyan encourages us to give our burdens over to the cross and the empty tomb. Let your burden roll away and be seen no more. Let the Christ of the Cross take care of you and your burdens. He is more than able.

If we released all that burden-carrying energy into simple love and adoration of Christ our relationship with God would truly change.

Until we reach the Celestial City we are kept by our Father. The indwelling Spirit can check our behavior with a conviction that is beyond any church doctrine or moral code. The Holy One can lead and guide us, protect and correct us if we are willing to come under the authority given from heaven.

Perhaps this is a challenge that can lead you into a new phase of your spiritual life? Here is the song Christian sang at the end of this chapter.

"Thus far did I come laden with my sin;
Nor could anything ease the grief that I was in.
Until I came here, What a place is this!
This must be the beginning of my bliss!

"For here, the burden fell from off my back,
And here, the chains that bound it to me, did crack!
Blessed cross! Blessed sepulcher! Blessed rather be,
The Man who there, was put to shame for me!"
Posted on in Aging, Family, Humor, Music, Thanks, Traveling, Yield

Her Choice

Recently we were watching a PBS series entitled Southern Storytellers. Online synopsis reads, “Southern creators of literature, music and film explore deep ties with the South: Billy Bob Thornton reflects on a life of writing songs and screenplays; Adia Victoria celebrates music and marriage near Nashville; David Joy laments the loss of the Appalachian culture he loves; Jericho Brown reveals the South to be essential to his creativity; and Mary Steenburgen remembers her Arkansas childhood.”

We thoroughly enjoyed each person’s story. I especially liked Mary Steenburgen’s song that she wrote for her husband, Ted Danson. I share it here with you and ask that you remember Bob Dutina, my husband of 52 years and 9 months, so far! He is a fabulous husband indeed!

My One and Only in Hawaii

embed https://youtu.be/xxj2oofQffo

In 1970 we met in July, got engaged in August and married in September. Still loving each other!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Thanks, Traveling, Worship

Massive Tree!

We went searching for this tree when we were on Maui.

Banyan tree of some repute!

There is only one banyan tree in Banyan Tree Park in the middle of Lahaina.  But it is the largest banyan tree in the United States and one of the largest in the world.  Lahaina’s giant banyan tree is 60 feet high and 200 feet wide, filling most of the block that makes up Banyan Tree Park on Front Street, behind the Lahaina Harbor.

https://www.mauihawaii.org/sights/banyan-tree/

So here she is!

Here is my video to try to capture just how enormous this tree is!

Of course, Wikipedia had lots to say about this tree. Here is a portion

The banyan tree in Lahaina, in Maui, Hawaii, United States, was planted on April 24, 1873, in Lahaina to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of first American Protestant mission. The banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) known in Hawaiian as paniana, located in the Courthouse Square, which was renamed Banyan Tree Park covering 1.94 acres, is not only the largest in the state but also in the United States. The tree was a gift from missionaries in India. A mere 8 feet (2.4 m) when planted, it has grown to a height of about 60 feet (18 m) and has rooted into 16 major trunks, apart from the main trunk, with the canopy spread over an area of about 0.66 acres (0.27 ha).

In 2023 Lahaina will have a birthday party to celebrate the Banyan Tree being planted 150 years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banyan_tree_in_Lahaina

16 major trunks?!? 1.94 acres!! That is larger than the lot our home is on!

Praise God for such tree wonders, joyous travels and His glory in a growing tree.

Posted on in Memories, Nature, Traveling

Kauila and The Sea Turtles of Punalu’u

I have been wanting to look up this story and share it with since we returned from Hawaii. This is located at the black sand beach on the big island of Hawaii.

The mystical turtle, Kauila, makes her home in the Ka’ū district at Punalu’u Bay according to Hawaiian Mythology, Kauila was empowered with the ability to turn herself from a turtle into human form and would play with the children along the shoreline and keep watch over them. The people of Ka’ū loved Kauila as the guardian of their children and also for her spring that gave them pure drinking water.

Information from http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hi?Parks.punal

The presence of Kauila can still be felt today by the sea turtles that inhabit this special place. The Hawaiian Honu (Green Sea Turtle) can be regularly seen in the bay feeding on limu (a type of seaweed) growing in the shallows. In addition the Honu’ea (Hawksbill Turtle) sometimes enters the bay at night to crawl ashore and deposit eggs in the black sand. Both species of sea turtles are fully protected under the U.S. endangered species act and wildlife laws of the State of Hawai’i. Enjoy watching these marvelous creatures but do not touch or disturb them

The above words can be found at Punalu’u Beach Park, inscribed on a borne plaque along with the beautiful image of a child sleeping on the back of a sea turtle.

Punalu’u Beach Park, in the district of Ka’ū, is a delightful stop, just moments off highway 11 between the towns of Nā’ālehu and Pāhala. The county park is open 24 hours a day and there is no park fee.

The word Punalu’u means diving (lu’u) spring (puna) and comes from the tradition of diving to the bottom of the bay with upside down containers and filling them with the fresh spring water seeping from the bay floor.

Here is the plaque below the memorial. Salt air does tears things up!

Now you know why the quotes are from on line information!
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Humor, Just do it, Listen, Nature, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Traveling, Yield

Hawaiian Chickens

and roosters, and chicks. They are every place you go. I even stopped at a grocery store Starbucks. When I came out the people on the porch sipping their beverages were amazed at the hen and chicks that were passing through looking for bakery crumbs.

We stopped at one overlook to take some photos. There at our feet was a rooster. Bob captured this portrait.

Chickens have been on the islands for decades. Storms caused many of their coops to be destroyed. After their escape they have found life on the islands rather easy. There are no natural predators in residence! Talk about free range chickens!

We even walked the jungle trail to Honolua Bay on Maui where the snorkeling is said to be tremendous. Guess what?

You can easily see 7 chickens here! There were many more around our feet!

I often wondered if I caught a chicken and took it to a restaurant would they kill, clean and cook it for me for lunch? Does any one harvest the eggs?

Some of our neighbors here in Ohio keep chickens. The crowing of the rooster always makes me smile. The by-laws of our subdivision prohibits the keeping of chickens on our property. I wonder how these residents would view free range chickens!

I wonder if Jesus told every church leader in the greater Cincinnati area that Christians were to keep chickens, how that would go over? His words in the New Testament are

 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34

Jesus longs to gather us to Himself. Just as in Isaiah 30:15 there is that haunting phrase, “But you would not.” Are you resistant to Jesus’ call to come to Him?

All four Gospels refer to the crowing of the rooster when Jesus is speaking to Peter about denying Him. Can you imagine how Peter felt when He heard that crowing?

So the next time you hear a rooster I want you to ask yourself if that is Jesus calling you to His side like the hen gathers her chicks or is it a reminder that each of us has the propensity to deny knowing the Lord Jesus? Either way I urge you to be willing to go to His side. He will lead you in paths of righteousness. Do not be a free range chicken. We, unlike the chickens in Hawaii, do have an evil predator seeking to destroy us and our faith.

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Family, Memories, Nature, Thanks, Traveling

The Place in Hawaii Where I Cried

Most of my life my mother worked at a florist in Norwood, Ohio called Dorl & Fern. I met Mr. Dorl a few times. For years my mother told my sister and I how much she wanted to visit the Hawaiian islands in order to see the flowers. (Also, her only sister lived there.) Many times the arrangement designers in the shop would use flowers shipped from Hawaii. She was delighted with those arrangements. She especially like the idea of orchids growing along tree trunks. There was much delight as she worked with the local California florist to design my wedding bouquet. Sadly, she died before she was able to go to Hawaii.

Our wedding 1970

When we were planning our visit to Hawaii (the Big Island) and Maui we told our friends Dan and Betty that we definitely wanted to see the flowers. They directed us to the Botanical Garden just north of Hilo, officially called the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden.

The folder they gave us when we paid our admission describes the place as “a garden in a valley on the ocean.” The land is ‘held in reserve for future conservation, protecting the beautiful Onomea Bay forever.’

I was not disappointed. The beginning of the trail was a downhill boardwalk among fascinating plants, many of which we had never seen before. We were also entertained by tiny colorful geckos along the way.

Anthurium I have seen in floral shops in Ohio but never in lavender!
Geckos often lose their tail when fighting, but can grow them back!
“Pink Maracas”

Bob and I were amazed later when we compared our photos. Some were duplicates and some were things the other had not noticed. My photos of the orchids were the most abundant of all the photos I took. If you are familiar with house plants you may see some growing in the photos. So here is photo album of my still shots. By the time I would learn to make a video from still shots I could likely write 3 blog entries. Hard to teach old dogs new tricks!

If you paste the link below into your browser you can see slides from the garden posted on the Bioreserve website. Sadly, they do not identify the plants.

https://bigislandguide.com/hawaii-tropical-botanical-garden

And then there were the orchids! You have most likely seen orchids in grocery store floral departments or big box discount stores. They are nothing like these orchids!!

See photo to right
Orchid rooted on tree
What we know as house plant called Peace Lily.
Anthurium rooted on tree truck
Bob’s favorite orchid on tree
I do not know all the names
rooted some place on that tree!
delicate colors
Splatter painted?
Splotched white area unlike below
My thumb is to show you how tiny this one is!
Not identical to white ones above.

Okay, so by then I was weeping. Truly weeping over the beauty my mother missed. Weeping over the beauty of God’s creation and how He arranged for us to have the privilege to see it. I swear at one point it was as if the man who walked away from me in the garden resembled Ted Dorl. I cried because in some way this has been a deep link with my memory of my mother. And now, I had completed it. We sat on a bench while I tried to compose myself. Two women walking past surely looked bewildered by my tears. Bob gladly indulged me while I walked among the orchids again, then I found more plants and started taking photos all over again.

My Christmas tree wish
Look closely!
There she is, tucked away!
At first glance looks like a pansy to me!

You know how people print photos on mugs and phone cases and all sorts of things? I think I want this printed like that!

The flight over the volcano was stunning along with flying over the coast and the waterfalls, but this is my best memory. It was hard for me to leave. It was getting very hot and humid. I was wrung out from the emotional experience. Rarely have I felt so close to my mom since she passed. Our daughter turns 48 this week. That means mom died 48 years and two weeks ago. May she be surrounded by Jesus and flowers in all of heaven!

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
    the world, and those who live in it,
 for he has founded it on the seas
    and established it on the rivers.

Psalm 24:1-2 NRSV
Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Family, Listen, Memories, Nature, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Traveling, Worship

When They Were Young

When our children were young I purchased a poster from American Bible Society that had portions of Psalm 95 around the edges. Every night before they went to sleep I would read it to them after stories and before prayers.

I came across Psalm 95 when reading and praying Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer was my practice. In my personal copy of Common Prayer I wrote the definitions of Meribah – STRIFE or CONTENTION and Massah – TEMPTATION. A few verses of the Psalm are repeated in Hebrews 4. I had studied Hebrews 4 in depth tying to understand the concept of entering God’s rest.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
8     Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors tested me,
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they do not regard my ways.’
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’

Psalm 95:7b-11 NRSV

Strife and temptation. Yes, I am so prone to those two! Likely, you are also?

What lead me to this Psalm again was an attempt to express the wonders of the LORD I have found over the past six weeks. I will just let you read it.

Subtitle: A Call to Worship and Obedience

1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down,
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
8     Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors tested me,
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they do not regard my ways.’
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’

Psalm 95 NRSV

I pray you rejoice over the LORD. Make a joyful noise to Him. Give Him thanks. Understand that He is the Great King! The depths of the earth, heights of the mountains, the sea and dry land – all are His for He made them! We are the sheep of His hand. LISTEN to His voice and be renewed in life and strength and grace.

In Hawaii we would begin the day at sea level them go for a drive. Before too long we were at 3,000 feet. My ears began to pop! Then suddenly we could see the snow atop Mauna Loa where the observatory sits. No, my photos did not come out. Just imagine palm trees and flowering shrubs, geckos running around and then seeing snow. Made me go yikes. At first Bob did not believe me. Then he saw with his own eyes and he too was amazed.

USGS reports on Mauna Loa: “Its long submarine flanks descend to the seafloor an additional 5 km (16,400 ft), and the seafloor in turn is depressed by Mauna Loa’s great mass another 8 km (26,200 ft). This makes the volcano’s summit about 17 km (55,700 ft) above its base! The enormous volcano covers half of the Island of Hawai‘i and by itself amounts to about 85 percent of the area of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.” https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa

online Flicker photo- those look like sheep beneath the trees!
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Journal, Memories, Nature, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Traveling, Worship

Mixing Things Up

You might have noticed I was not finished writing about our trip to Hawaii when I left on the 6 day retreat. Now I find myself seeing a Hawaii photo and wanting to tell you about it. Then coming across a retreat experience and wanting to expound on that. So, in short, for the next week or so I will be mixing up my themes.

My husband would tell you I have always been slightly mixed up. I tease him he is not hysterical, he is historical!

When images like this come up, what else am I to do?

His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him …. such a sacred heart
God used splatter paint method on orchids in the foreground!

And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.“

Legacy Standard Bible Isaiah 6:3
Posted on in Memories, Nature, Special Event, Traveling

Laupahoehoe Schoolhouse

My husband Bob was a bit uneasy about going on vacation on an island, totally surrounded by water, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Besides learning that practically everything sold on the Islands must be imported, we learned this valuable history lesson.

The History channel reports that on April 1, 1946 ,”In the middle of the night, 13,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, a 7.4-magnitude tremor was recorded in the North Pacific. (The nearest land was Unimak Island, part of the Aleutian chain.) The quake triggered devastating tidal waves throughout the Pacific, particularly in Hawaii.

4-1/2 hours later the Hawaiian destruction was amazing. “The wave was heading toward the southern Pacific at 500 miles per hour.” The Laupahoehoe schoolhouse was crushed by the tsunami, killing the teacher and 25 students who were inside. Some reports say more than one teacher died.

“In Hawaii, 2,400 miles south of the quake’s epicenter, Captain Wickland of the United States Navy was the first to spot the coming wave at about 7 a.m., four-and-a-half hours after the quake. His position on the bridge of a ship, 46 feet above sea level, put him at eye level with a “monster wave” that he described as two miles long.” {I was unable to find the name of his ship.}

There is now a park there to memorialize the tragedy. We visited the beach briefly. The school is totally gone due to the tsunami destruction. It was rebuilt in 1947 on higher ground. It is a gorgeous location and we could understand why people would want to live there.

The History channel continues with: “This tsunami prompted the U.S. to establish the Seismic SeaWave Warning System two years later. The system, now known as the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, uses undersea buoys throughout the ocean, in combination with seismic-activity detectors, to find possible killer waves. The warning system was used for the first time on November 4, 1952. That day, an evacuation was successfully carried out, but the expected wave never materialized.” I believe the deaths of those students and teachers should be remembered when the Pacific Tsunami Warning system is discussed in schools. There is a YouTube video where the local people gave honor to their friends and family who died there 75+ years ago.

Below is part of the park grounds.

Caution Beware of falling coconuts and fronds.

The location certainly commands respect and honor.