Category: Traveling

Texas oil

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.

Posted on in Faith, Humor, Memories, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks, Traveling

Home Again

We have been home for well over a week, but I am not exactly back in the swing of things. In fact, I think the movement of the swing is changing. We were gone for almost 2 weeks. Then adjusting to the time change between here and Hawaii (think 6 hours difference). I have booked a 6 day private retreat for next week and will meet a new spiritual director. I had a spiritual director many years ago and truly benefited from the experience. I believe it is time to restart that practice.

So I will be gone again June 4-10. I am uncertain if I will write the blog then or not. This is meant to be time with God. Please pray for me during that time especially!

Did we enjoy Hawaii? Certainly. Did we eat and drink? Well, yes! Below is my BLT pizza. The lettuce was on top (after baking) in the form of a Caesar salad. Yum.

Kona Beer “A liquid Aloha” was recently introduced to the Cincinnati area. I was not impressed when I tried it here. Man oh man was this one at the brewery different! A wonderful stout, smooth, and dark, and cold!

I wanted the glass but they did not sell them. Likely not room in the suitcase anyway.

Took this photo to give our son Jeff some ideas for the pizza restaurant where he will return to work soon.

You can also see some prices on here!

The Hawaiians love their geckos and we had fun watching them, too. I was surprised to see them decorating this wooden bar!

We ate more reasonably then we thought. Each morning we would have coffee in the room. The hotel coffee on Hawaii was great. (Maui, not quite as good.) At the Westin Resort on Hawaii would would go downstairs to Pico coffee shop to get fresh-brewed coffee, a sweet roll, perhaps fruit cup or yogurt. Once Bob purchased a breakfast box with eggs and meat. It was quite reasonable.

We would eat at a restaurant for lunch. When we landed we went to the grocery and bought bread and cheese for in the room. That would serve as our dinner. The in-room refrigerator was great for storing insulin and foods! Each day we would either pick up fresh bread or a cookie, etc. This is our usual pattern on vacation, but we were not certain how it would work on the Hawaiian islands. Between Foodland and Whole Foods we did fine!

Certainly need dessert! One day I found that at a little chocolate shop! (I should have bought more!!)

Thank You Lord, Mahalo, for a wonderful celebration!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Nature, Thanks, Traveling

Helicopter over Volcano

One thing Bob really, really wanted to do was take the helicopter ride over the volcano. Kilauea is not currently spewing lava, but there is still steam rising from the vents and the crater is impressive.

The helicopter seated 7. The crew decided where each person would sit based on body weight. We literally had to get on the scale so they could determine that. No lying about your weight there!

It was hot outside and not cool within the helicopter. Keeping the air vents open was a challenge.

Here is our pilot. The red reflection is Bob waiting to board.

He was very informative about the land use, facts about the volcano, age of the lava flows, plant life, where the best waterfalls were located, etc. We had a great time! Our hotel was at Haupuna beach and the heliport was just above our location, minutes away, Sunshine Helicopter.

If you see shadows on the photos they are most likely reflections from my skin and hands, etc. Tried to crop most photos to remove them, but cannot possibly get them all.

White line is the road cutting through the lava.

Approaching the ” Culdera” According to Wikipedia “is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is gone. The ground surface then collapses into the emptied or partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a large depression at the surface. “

Though Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has a hotel and cabins I cannot say I would EVER want to camp in this area. Just the idea makes me feel too vulnerable. “The crater rim drive leads for 4 miles through steaming vents and rainforest,” says the national park folder. We were amazed that we could cross the street from the visitor center, walk into the Hawaii Volcanoes lodge and be at an overlook of the crater we saw from the air! We ordered our lunch there for carryout and ate in the car. The dining room was packed for Mother’s Day.

From this angle the steam on the left reminds me of waves breaking.

The Kīlauea Caldera , officially gazetted as Kīlauea Crater, is a caldera located at the summit of Kīlauea, an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It has an extreme length of 2.93 mi , an extreme width of 1.95 mi, a circumference of 7.85 mi and an area of 4.14 sq mi . It contains Halemaʻumaʻu, an active pit crater near the caldera’s southwestern edge.

USGS information

Just amazing!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Nature, Traveling

Absolutely!

Learning to stop and be still is absolutely necessary before we can listen and respond fully and gratefully to Life—moment by moment.

BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

When in a new state that actually feels like a new country it was difficult to stop and be still. We got our rental car and made our way to the road that would take us to our hotel. As Bob drove I was watching the fields of lava. Some were smooth. Most were blocks and stacks of slabs. I saw what I thought was an animal and thought no, my mind is playing tricks on me. And when I saw the second one I declared to Bob, “I just saw a goat!” He has learned to come alongside me when I blurt out things like that. When we saw more he became a believer. What in the world?

Eventually we learned there are feral goats on the island of Hawaii. Once thought to be a gift to the people they have become destructive and out of control. They decimate native plants, overrun certain areas, run across busy roads, prove a challenge to control and there are no natural predators on Hawaii.

The British brought most of them. The idea was to populate the island with a food source for sailors on future expeditions. Cook was killed during this final visit. However, British Captain Vancouver explored the islands in 1792 and introduced one male and one female to Kaua‘i. The islanders cared for these animals and used them for meat, milk, and skin. Goat reproduction was rapid, and some animals escaped into inaccessible terrain, founding wild colonies of ibex goats on seven islands. (The article says these are not true ibex.)

https://backyardgoats.iamcountryside.com/goat-breeds/breed-profile-hawaiian-ibex-goats/

The Hawaiian government has encouraged culling the herds through hunting. So no, I wasn’t seeing things when I spotted that first brown goat atop brown lava. Whew! Had me wondering there for a minute.

One day we were driving down Mamalahoa Highway. Trotting along the side of the road, facing traffic, two goats came towards us, beards blowing in the breeze. They cracked me up! They acted as if they know they own this island. It all happened too fast to get a photo. Some of you might be remembering hearing in the Word about goats and sheep.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Matthew 25:31-33 NIV

I saw a great quote just before we left Ohio. God says “Love them all. I will sort them out later.”

So be still. Watch for goats and other animals you might not expect. Respond gratefully to life moment by moment! God will sort out the people at the end, whether you consider them sheep or goats doesn’t really matter. It is up to our Holy Judge.

For the Lord is our judge,
    the Lord is our lawgiver,
the Lord is our king;
    it is he who will save us.

Isaiah 33:22 NIV
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Thanks, Traveling, Worship

A Wonder

When we arrived in Hawaii we were very tired. Started out in Ohio at about 5 AM and got to our room in Hawaii late afternoon. (Factor in 6-1/2 hour time difference!) We made ourselves stay awake wanting to get on their time zone as soon as possible.

The next day our plan was to be as restful as possible – being kind to ourselves. We had coffee in our room (quite tasty) and decided to go to the swimming pool. There was a bird there I had never before seen. Could not for the life of me guess what it was called. I looked it up on line. Imagine my surprise (being a girl from Ohio) to find they called it a yellow billed cardinal!

Yellow billed cardinal

At home we have red headed woodpeckers whose entire heads are red. We have cardinals where the entire male is red. But not this sort of coloring. The bird repeatedly came to the edge of the pool for a sip of water. I was delighted!

Then at the airport when we were leaving Maui I saw this one!

Red Crested Cardinal

The Almighty God is so creative and wondrous. His delights are without end!

Eastern Red Cardinal male

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
    the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;[b]
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of all mankind.”

Job 12:7-10
Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Prayer, Special Event, Thanks, Traveling

What Do We See on Hawaii?

Hope is radical openness for surprise – for the unimaginable. If that is the attitude with which we look, listen, and open all our senses, we enter into a meaningful relationship with whatever Life offers us at a given moment.

Br. David Steindl-Rast

Oh my! We had no idea that most of the island has black lava, was populated upon black and brown lava. Guess we never really thought about it. There are wild goats populating that lava. They are feral and out of control. Scrub that reminded me a bit of the high desert in New Mexico?

We were in a bit of shock with the radical time change of 6+ hours. There are road signs about donkeys crossing, but we never saw any and began calling them ghost donkeys.

Well, I am home now. The laundry is mostly finished. The garden has gone wild with maple shoots. The ferns have escaped the garden bed. There are bills to be paid. Receipts to put away. Oh my goodness! The landscaping company that was supposed to take care of the lawns in this neighborhood quit and the grass has reseeded. Lucky does not quite know what to make of grass seeds hitting her in the face? The new company is here this morning and the machines are roaring.

Okay, I think maybe I have some other things that require my attention here before I try to focus and write this blog!

We saw bananas growing on the trees. Crops that we were grateful were labeled: limes, oranges, lemons, etc. Coffee trees and macadamia nut groves.

I will try in the days to come to write about all of these.

I am so grateful to God – Mahalo! (thank you) – we were kept safe from physical harm. I got a couple bug bites, but no big deal! We were smart enough to recognize our limitations. Mourned a bit that we did not have the strength and stamina to snorkel. Wished we had made the trip 10-15 years ago, but that was not to be. Kept our sunscreen on. Saw many folks with sunburn. They actually inspired me to be careful and not envious. Amazing how the dermatologist inspired me, too, by cutting that thing I could not discern off my arm last winter.

Our mighty God traveled with us, met us there, and kept us in all of our activities and decisions not to participate in some things. All praise to His mighty name for ever! Mahalo, Lord, mahalo!!

According to Travel and Leisure, the word mahalo is a Hawaiian word used in all parts of Hawaii by Hawaiians to mean thank you and express gratitude. This word is often used as a greeting to express esteem, praise or admiration, or as a compliment with sincerity in every day life. You might say mahalo in return for delicious food if the good food really stuck you.  The word mahalo is three syllables – mah-hah-loh . Mahalo nui loa means thank you very much.

The word mahalo is more than just a thank you in Hawaiian thinking, It is a divine blessing on a spiritual level with a deeper meaning. This is used in everyday life and also on special occasions like the birthday of an elder or for sacredness like prayers or single-word blessings. Use this word respectfully.

https://thewordcounter.com/meaning-of-mahalo
Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Family, Marriage and Memories, Memories, Nature, Thanks, Traveling, Worship

Prom and Other Happenings

Remember Brody the flour covered dog? He got a date to prom!

This is that very long legged hound, if you recall from previous post!

Here is Ellie in her gown

And with her proud parents!

I was hoping the poppies I bought would bloom before we departed. The first one was orange and I hooray-ed! The second one was yellow and I was delighted!

And yes, spring warmth has finally arrived complete with humidity and emerging ferns!

I bought one fern in 1985. We have shared so many ferns off of the original plant. I have given the root away to friends and now we have them growing nicely at this our third and likely final house!!

Suitcases are packed. Laundry is done. Ride to airport arranged. Cannot believe it is finally time to go! We deliver Lucky to Lizzie tomorrow. Our house sitters are all set up. Woo-Hoo! Happy 52+ wedding anniversary to us!!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
    His love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1 NIV

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1 NIV

And let His people say Amen! And let the Robert Dutina family say Amen! Let all God’s people say Amen!

When you read this we are packing to go to Maui tomorrow! I am stunned writing these details. 🙂

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Family, Humor, Nature, Traveling

May

Wowsers! This year has flown past. We attended our Grandgirl’s last volleyball club tournament yesterday. Seems we just attend her first game in elementary school – or was that middle school? Well, no matter, she actually graduates in a few weeks! She will go on to play with University of Cincinnati Clermont campus volleyball team. First though is Senior prom and graduation!

I bought a pot of Asian lilies and planted them in the front garden. A sharp wind during a rainstorm one day broke off one stem of blooms. A bird had also perched in the tree above the lilies and decorated the blossoms with its waste. Yuck. Somehow in all the Scriptures about the lilies of the field and the flowers of the earth to my knowledge that event is never mentioned! Imagine.

on kitchen counter
stem broke off this front edge

By the time you read this we will have landed in Hawaii for our trip of a lifetime! Our one and only visit to the 50th State. We had planned to go in 2020 for our 50th wedding anniversary and our 50th state to visit. The pandemic cancelled that. At that time Hawaii said “You can come but you have to quarantine for 2 weeks.” We can barely afford ten days in Hawaii much less 24! So our trip is finally underway. Married 52 years now!

My mother always wanted to visit to see the flowers growing there, but she died having never been there. Her sister also lived there. I have two cousins living in Lihue, but we will not be able to see them. The commuter flight between islands is $115 per person. We plan to visit Hawaii and Maui. They live on Kauai.

I can barely believe we are actually going. I typed out our itinerary spelling (to us) bizarre names like Waikoloa, Akala, Holualoa, Punaluu. Realized I had misspelled Kilauea once I said it out loud! We are staying at Hapuna beach on Hawaii (not so bad) and Kaanapali on Maui. Monokalani and Kaihalulu are weird. It does not help that instead of trying to pronounce the names while we planned Bob just made up words with lots of vowels and syllables!!

So as long as we remember to get groceries on Maui at the airport city in Kahukui on Kaahumanu avenue, (oh my!) we ought to be fine?

Because every single thing is imported to Hawaii all the prices are high. We will likely return broke. Our daughter says to go ahead and spend!

Please pray for safe travels! Opening photo is by Michael Swiet.