Thursday Night Terriyaki Burgers

It has become a Thursday night post-game tradition to have terriyaki burgers for dinner. There is a local company that makes them and they are just as moist and tender, and flavorful as can be. The convenience of firing up the grill in January adds to the sweetness of the deal. The only drawback to the burgers is that the terriyaki sauce drips excessively through the grill. I have watched grill masters maneuver around this, but I am just a basic griller so my grill smokes. So much so, that the smoke pours in through the adjacent kitchen window, the kitchen door and into the house where the over-achieving smoke alarm stands ready to tell the neighborhood that "It's Thursday night and the Collins family are having terriyaki burgers again!" Surely, you think I am exagerating. Can my whole neighborhood hear this wailing smoke alarm? In Hawaii, the cars we drive have thicker walls than our houses. (Who needs insulation in on a tropical island?) When my smoke alarm fires off, there are at least 8 houses that are hearing it. I know, because when they play their music, even I can hear it (and I'm half-deaf), and when their dogs bark, we all hear it. When their babies cry, we hear it (and there is nothing worse than hearing a baby cry unconsolably). And when our smoke alarm goes off, it doesn't want to stop. We, the renters, are not permitted to dismantle it. In Hawaii, little annoyances that are often minimized by distance and insulation are not minimized here. The only way my neighbors can keep peace is to choose it. They must choose to overlook my lack of grilling skills, overlook my loud music and my loud children just as I must choose to overlook their annoying dog, annoying parties, or annoying remote controlled cars. Overlooking doesn't mean that the offense isn't there; it just means that we're choosing, for the sake of peace, to look over it instead of into it. We choose to bear the burden ourselves instead of throwing it back at our neighbor. Tonight our terriyaki burgers were especially crunchy, the flames were especially high, and my neighbors were especially gracious, bringing even more meaning to the words: "Love thy neighbor."

A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 19:11

Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13

Inertia

My skirts were getting tighter, my energy was lower and my belly was fatter. I wasn't happy. At first I blamed it on my clothes... something was wrong with them. Or I assumed the doctor's scale was not right. But the truth is the truth. I knew what the problem was and I knew that I no longer had the time or space or even the energy to push myself to work out in my living room with a DVD. So, I joined the YMCA, actually our whole family did. On my break I challenged myself to take 2 or more classes daily to jump start some weight loss while I had the time. My eating habits are pretty healthy so I knew that my gain was due to lack of exercise. Well, after Zumba (think African, Indian and Salsa dancing), Kickboxing, Aerobics, Yoga, and Weight lifting, I've lost about 4 pounds and 2.5 inches. Just about 6 more pounds to go! And like so many other things in life, the problem and solution were both entirely up to me. When I am in a bad habit in life, I don't really want to notice it. In fact, I might think, "my clothes must be shrinking" or "this scale is off" but rarely do I say right off, I'm gaining weight because I'm not burning enough energy. How many other habits do I have that I make excuses for? Habits that undermine my health, spiritually and physically? What am I waiting for?

The sluggard craves and gets nothing but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Proverbs 13:4

Hanauma Bay

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air,and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! " from Psalm 8

We went to Hanauma Bay for our last hurrah before heading back to school. It was fun to be able to show our local identification and not have to pay the tourist entrance fees. It was amazing to swim right next to such beautiful fish. Because it is a protected area, the fish have no fear of man. The water was a bit chilly, so Laura stayed in the sun and in the shade soaking in a good mystery. I agreed with her on the chilly water verdict, going out once but happy to wait until the spring for the water to warm up. The purple areas in the water are all coral reefs; the fish swim in and out showing off their colors without a hint of fear.

Happy New Year!

We finished our Christmas giving on New Year's Eve. It was quite a night. For dinner, we enjoyed Terriyaki Burgers on the grill (prepared in shorts and sandals) and then headed to Yogurt Mama's for Daniel's Christmas treat. What an experience. We got to choose from several kinds of yogurt and then add our choice to a seemingly endless supply of toppings. With yogurt in hand, we walked to one of our favorite beaches and walked barefoot on the beach under the full moon. It was beautiful. Fireworks were going off everywhere along the beach and in the neighborhoods that we could see from the shore. We had to turn around at one point, the Secret Service didnt' want us getting too close to the President's house. Then we headed home and stopped off by the side of the road to see the fireworks on the bay. Warm breezes and colors filled the sky. Once into our neighborhood, we had to wait as fireworks were being lit on the street. This was a sign of things to come. I can honestly say that I have never see so many fireworks go off in my own neighborhood. These were the big kind, too. It was like a professional fireworks show minus the parking hassles. At midnight there were numerous Grand Finale's. The booms sounded and felt like they were on our roof. And it lasted until 1:30. It didn't matter, we were so tired that most of us fell asleep anyway. (Left: Laura is watching fireworks while standing on a garden wall and resting her foot on the roof of our house.)

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. " Psalm 90:12
I try to read this psalm every New Year. It's pretty profond. It speaks to the heart of living life with the Kingdom of God in mind. My days are numbered. They are a gift from God. My purpose on this planet is not to grab all the gusto I can, accumulate stuff, or get my kids into college so they can get good jobs. My purpose is to build His Kingdom through relationships, through sacrifice, through teaching, through love and to teach my children this purpose, too. For if we live according to our purpose, we find our greatest happiness. But I like this second excerpt, too: "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. (vs. 17)" Without God's favor, our work won't be accomplished. Only by His strength and blessings can we accomplish His purposes. Moses wrote this psalm. I don't know at what part of his life, but God certainly blessed the work of his hands. I pray that same blessing for us. May God bless your New Year and establish the work of your hands. May He give you a heart of wisdom so that you can use your time on earth well.

Mele Kalikimaka

This is the Hawaiian way to say Merry Christmas. This year the familiar Christmas songs seemed a little strange in a country of sunshine and palm trees. Having grown up with the idea that a white Christmas was the ideal, it's hard not to think that a warm and sunny Christmas isn't second rate. Yet, it wouldn't be a Merry Christmas if we were constantly comparing Chrismas Present to Christmas Past. Shouldn't we find new ways to celebrate the Lord's birth, new traditions, and new memories? The story of Jesus' birth wasn't a pleasant way of explaining a crisis pregnancy. It was foretold in the book of Isaiah some 800 years before Jesus was born. In fact, there were thousands of prophecies that were foretold before Jesus came that He could never have manufactured on His own. And when He came, He came to preach a completely different message to the world. He said that the solution to their problems wasn't something they could solve. They needed peace. Peace with God, peace with men, peace on earth. And He became that peace for us. And then he commanded us, like the shepherds, to proclaim this news. With this in mind, we say Mele Kalikimaka, and may His peace be with you.




Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. Isaiah 24:14-16















For our tree this year, we opted for a Norfolk Pine, for its size and lack of mold. My sister-in-law, Rose, sent Christmas P.J.'s as she has every year since I can remember. Usually, they are neatly wrapped and placed on their beds when we return from our Christmas Eve service. But this year, a little elf put them on the beds. It was sweet to have this little taste of home.

We wanted to keep things as simple as possible this year. This year we gave musical instruments. A guitar for Lydia, ukuleles for the boys and a drum machine for Laura. After packing up a house full of must-haves that were used rarely and then stowed away, we made a decision to limit the amount of stuff we collect from here on out.
We began the day with a special breakfast, including a Christmas danish and of course, a cup of tea. This was my great grandmother's china. When we moved here, my Mom let us trade our daily dishes for this special china. We use it on Sundays and special days. My other sister-in-law, Carolyn, sent poppers and gifts to make the day special.



After breakfast, we took a hike to Makapu'u Lighthouse. And we called our families. It seems that hiking was the thing to do. It was full of people. Laura commented on how nice it was to not feel stuck in the house. She enjoyed the hike. So good to see her well. The snow back home would ruin all the improvement she's made.

This is the mountain we hiked.

That speck on the left is a lighthouse.


And this is the beach we played on. It was a Merry Christmas.

This year, we encouraged the children to consider memories they could make instead of stuff they could buy. Laura started the season off by taking us to see a musical rendition of, "It's a Wonderful Life." It was fabulous, we laughed and cried ( Jon and I, that is). Hawaiians are great performers. Yesterday, we went for a long hike up a mountain on the North Shore. So fun and so beautiful. Daddy treated us to order whatever we wanted and Jonathan treated the family to dessert at McDonalds. Then we came home and watched Lydia's gift, "Up". She's also taking us to Jamba Juice. Daniel is keeping us in suspense. To be continued...






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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The View From Here

These are some of the views from our yard. Tell us which one you like best...

(Northwest View)

So What's It Like? That is probably the most frequently asked question I get. Sometimes it seems like we're living in a painting. Each morning is a new masterpiece with the light and the clouds. We have a very short but breathtaking drive to school, about 12 minutes. It would be 6 if it weren't for the 6 minute light. This brings us to the other aspect of living in Hawaii. Things here just aren't the same as on the mainland. It's behind the times in many ways by about 20 years, with the exception of Internet, television and cell phones (these are very important when you are disconnected geographically). The government infrastructure, the roads, buildings, healthcare, commerce and even restaurants are just a little behind. For many, this is part of the charm of the island. Except for Waikiki, it's less glitzy, less stressful, less modern and more simple. This was definitely a draw for us. Dave saw immediately that this would be a great place to finish bringing up our children.

(The View to the West)

Does it feel like you're on vacation all the time?
That's another question I get a lot. Well, except for the incredible work load of a first-year teacher with 26 papers to grade, lessons to plan, parents to communicate with and household responsibilities, too...yeah I guess it does. Maybe. The beauty is that we are always 10 minutes from a beach and a beautiful hike is just around any corner.

What's in a day for you?
Our alarm goes off at 4 a.m. Daniel faithfully wakes up early every morning to get school work done. He works so much better in the morning. I hobble to the kitchen (my arthritis is so bad in the morning and I'm only 41!) and put on the tea kettle and sneak back to bed until it calls for me. Believe it or not, it's cold in the house in the morning; the walls are thin and we live by the mountains. After a few sips of tea for me, Dave and I go for a walk and the morning is off. After breakfast, personal devotions, hair, teeth and lunches, the 5 of us are out the door by 6:30 on a good day. My students arrive around 7:30 and they are eager to get in the door. Laura comes a little later to school. She has just started working as an assistant to a girl in my class for part of the day; kind of the same job I had for several years. She's a natural and I love having her in my classroom. The kids love her, too. She's doing a little tutoring after school as well. (So good to see her doing well and not worried about the cold at this time of year. Normally, she would start to go downhill about now.) School is over at 2:30, so I get some things done while waiting for Daniel and Lydia to come from the other campus and we usually hang around at school until 4 or so. What does Dave do all day? He's busy planning out next year, finding all the glitches in the schedule now so he can fix them. He's also supporting our director by taking some of her load so that she can work with teachers and students more. So much of his job is still undefined but it seems like more and more he's finding his nitch and doing what he does best, blessing others behind the scenes.

(The North View by the Lanai')

As soon as we get home, our neighbor Andrew is ready to play. After their backpacks are unloaded, they're off to climb banana trees, catch frogs, fight with swords and get just plain dirty. Meanwhile, I try to stay awake and make dinner. My pastor's wife has a knack for frugality (common among pastor's wives) and a knack for kindness. She offered to buy my meat for me and let me just pay her instead of shopping around. What a blessing; I can't shop the sales like I used to. God always provides. While I make dinner, Laura usually heads next door, too. She is very close with Andrew's sisters. Our families are very, very much alike. But I never see Karelin, the mom. Like me, she's always busy inside. But when we do talk, it's obvious we're kindred spirits. I'm so thankful for them; can't imagine what it would be like here without them.
We eat dinner in the Lanai (car port). It's lovely out there, with the the breeze and the view. These days it's dark by 6:30. You think you're really running late and then you realize you have another hour before bed time.

(More of the West View)

After dinner, we are usually working on our laptops. Our school issues laptops to all secondary students and teachers. It's pretty funny to see all 6 of us staring at a screen, typing away. We never watch T.V. here. In Hawaii, if you don't have cable, you don't have television. We've never paid to watch T.V. in Maryland and we didnt' want to start now. So, we don't have access to television. But we do have Netflix now (actually, Laura does and she shares)...never needed that before with the wonderful library we used to have. And we have the Internet for watching a few of our favorite shows. Most definitely we read a lot more. That's a good thing. And we go to bed earlier, too.

Usually at 8, we try to get together to read the Bible and pray and sing. There is a gecko that listens in every night on the living room window. He stays in the same spot on the window and leaves pretty much after we're done. We think he wants to convert. By 9, we're exhausted. Everyone is pretty much in bed. I stay up to do a little yoga and then I'm off to bed, too. As my head hits the pillow, I thank God for allowing us another day to be here.
(The North View from the kitchen window)

What is your class like?
I have a sweet class. I believe the little girl whom Laura is helping is very much the reason they are so kind and caring. My class has a lot of "locals" and some military families. To be "local" means that they have always lived here and they most likely always will. It means they are Asian in some way, or Hawaiian. and they probably speak Pidgin - a conglomeration of many languages that evolved when people of many nationalities were working together on farms. The families who are not local, or Hawiian, or military, are often connected with the airline industry somehow. And others are just businessmen who came here on a venture, a common destiny among islanders. An interesting observation, which I'm not sure is an established fact: white people are not locals, even if they were born here.

My students love school; they are mad if we have a day off. I'm not. But I love teaching them. They started off the year not knowing many hymns and barely being able to carry a tune. They are matching pitch now most of the time. They seem to love learning. They love Fridays because I have an hour at the end of the day when parents come in to do science demonstrations. I keep telling my students that they're not allowed to have fun in school, but they won't listen. We have a song for everything from passing papers to the right or to the left, making transitions between subjects without talking, to writing our name and number on our papers...we sing all day. And we laugh a lot,too.

Getting My Chin Above the Bar

Sunday Hike...the view through the trees

This week I was finally able to complete my long range plans for this year. Normally, this would be completed before the first day of school, but as things played out, this was impossible. Thankfully, next year, Dave has planned more time in the school calendar to allow for this. I have spent countless hours pouring over books, lessons, resources, goals, objectives and the calendar so that I could create a master plan of what I will accomplish this year. What a difference to know where I'm going each week! I still find that I am surprised by many turns and twists in the school calendar but I'm feeling less stressed and less attached to my piles of books and my laptop. As I labored over my plans, seeking to integrate science, history, math, the Bible, geography and literature, my mind swelled with over activity. Yet, I look around at the magnificent integration of our universe, the incredible ways that events in history integrate naturally with the inventions, discoveries and thoughts that have developed and I marvel that I was once convinced that all of this was a mere cosmic accident. My students and I are reading the first few chapters "The Mystery of the Periodic Table" together. The premise of the book is that The Periodic Table is a mystery that has already been solved. What scientists can't understand is how these elements came into such perfect order of atomic weight. Can they really not understand or do they simply not want to admit that there must be a Creator, a Master-planner behind it all? I painstakingly planned out a school year; I know the amount of work it takes and I know for sure that it does not come about accidentally. This week, I felt like I just got my chin above the bar in one long and painfully slow motion. In addition to the stress of lesson planning, I have been feeling stressed about finding land to build our house. I comforted myself that I know the One who has planned out my life so that no matter what comes around the corner, He knows where I'm going and what I'll be doing.
"For I know the plans I have for you; plans for a hope and future." Jeremiah 29:11