Which is Greater - Your Need or Your Faith?

We had a great service last night at New Life Pentecostal.  For the third year Pastor Robert Henson from Michigan has spent the month of February on the island, preaching and encouraging.  He always brings great faith with him and last night was no exception.

Before the preaching, Bro. Henson had a young lady testify.  Sister Sherena was born with only one full lung.  At age 27, she is active and can do anything.  In the past month she got sick and her lung capacity was down to 63%.  She was prayed for and went back to the doctor.  The doctor wanted to operate but she stalled him until her mother could come.  The next time she saw the doctor, her right lung was at 100% and her left lung was at 85%!  The doctor was astounded and could not figure out what had happened.  He tested her lungs again - right lung at 100%, left lung at 85%.  The doctor then sent her to California to see the number one specialist in the country.  When that doctor met her he said, "Are you the young lady who thinks God gave her a lung?"  She replied, "I'm the young lady who knows God gave her a lung!"  The California doctor did a series of test.  During their final meeting her told her that he wept when he saw the results.  He knew it was something only God could do!

Bro. Henson's message was "Which is Greater - Your Need or Your Faith?"  He told the story of the nobleman who came to Jesus in John chapter 4.  The nobleman's son was sick in Caperneum and the father traveled 22 miles to Cana to see Jesus.  Jesus' first response was, "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."  Jesus pointed out the father's struggle with faith.  The father didn't even deny it, but still asked Jesus to come and heal his child.

John 4:50-53 says, "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.  Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.  So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house."

Jesus met the nobleman's need and expanded his faith at the same time!

So many times we struggle with believing and the devil tries to tell us God is not going to answer if we don't have enough faith.  God doesn't work that way!  We don't have to have faith equal to our need.  Just that mustard seed of faith is all we need.  

At the end of the service, Bro. Henson asked for those who needed the Holy Ghost to come forward.  A sweet Samoan sister received the Holy Ghost in about 15 seconds!  There was also prayer for the sick and many claimed their healing last night.  God is still in the prayer answering business!

Aloha and Happy Valentine's Day!

We spent most of the day traveling, but just happy to be together!

Two Are Better: Midlife Newlyweds Bicycle Coast to Coast (Book Review)

I just finished a very interesting book.  Two Are Better: Midlife Newlyweds Bicycle Coast to Coast by Tim and Debbie Bishop.  Part of the description from Amazon:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to marry for the first time after your peers have already become grandparents? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to bicycle across America? As if each weren’t adventure enough, what if you combined the two? Some might consider this a recipe for disaster, but Tim and Debbie Bishop thought otherwise. At age 52, the couple finally found in each other that special someone they’d been searching for years to marry. In only ten weeks, they moved from marriage proposal and wedding, to Tim’s “retirement” and relocation, to embarking on their cycling adventure.

Les and his brother, Lance, have talked for years about cycling across America.  It's definitely on their bucket list, so I thought this would be an interesting read.  The fact that Tim and Debbie were Christians who at age 52 were getting married for the first time made the story even more interesting!

The first 3 of 11 chapters talks about Tim and Debbie's courtship.  They were both praying for a godly spouse and had been for many years.  They actually met through an internet dating site seven years before they were married.  They built a friendship that would eventually become something more. They were married on June 19, 2010 and on July 3rd started pedaling their way from Oregon to Maine!  They found a church to attend every Sunday while they were on the road and met new friends along the way.

I know some of my readers are singles who are waiting for God's timing.  Tim and Debbie's story will encourage you that waiting is right!  Yes, there were years of loneliness, there were other relationships and broken engagements, but when it all came together for them it was beautiful!  And if you like adventure, this is a great read to add to your list.

Can't Stop the Rain by Complaining

California has been in an extreme drought for several years.  One year ago 40% of the state was in exceptional drought - the worst possible drought condition.  Currently no part of the state is in exceptional drought and only 2% is in extreme drought.  Thank God for the rain!  We have needed it so desperately.

I got up for a run on Tuesday morning.  It had rained some during the night, but wasn't raining when I got up.  By the time I was dressed and downstairs the rain had started back up.  It didn't last long, so I decided to throw on a hat and take my chances.  Most of the time that I was out there was a light mist and some times a little more than that.

While I was running an old song came to mind.  I couldn't remember all the words so of course I looked them up when I got home:

Raindrops are falling on my head
And just like the guy whose feet
Are too big for his bed
Nothing seems to fit
Those raindrops are falling on my head
They keep falling.

So I just did me some talking to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleeping on the job
Those raindrops are falling on my head
They keep fallin'

But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me

It won't be long till happiness
Steps up to greet me

Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes
Will soon be turning red
Crying's not for me 'cause,
I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining,
Because I'm free nothing's worrying me.

The line that has always stood out to me is "I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining."  We can grumble all we want but that doesn't change a thing.  Rain falls on our lives and complaining won't change it.  So grab a hat, put on a smile and know that after the rain the land is going to be green again!

"Not the greatness of our troubles but the littleness of our spirit makes us complain."

~ Mom's Bible

#walktheworldwithECCO

I've always loved a good pair of shoes.  What woman doesn't?  I'll confess that since I started running marathons comfort beats style.  I really regretted my shoe choice on Sunday night - my feet were killing me by the time choir practice was over!

Ecco makes some really great shoes.  I bought a pair at the Ecco outlet that I wore all over Europe last year on our anniversary trip.  Les has several pairs - both casual and dress shoes.

Ecco has a contest going right now ~  #walktheworldwithECCO.  If you own a pair of Eccos, you can upload a picture (with your shoes) somewhere in the world - from exotic to your own backyard.  Then people can vote on your picture.  The 10 entries with the most votes will win a free pair of ECCO shoes up to $250.00!

Les and I have both entered a photo.  His is in Athens, on Mars Hill:

Mine is in Rome, at Saint Peter's Square:

We would love it if you would go to the site and vote for our photos!  Click RIGHT HERE!!  Voting ends on February 28th.  Of course if you own a pair, feel free to enter and compete against us!

How 'Bout Them {non} Apples?

After church last Sunday night Les noticed something wrong with his iPhone.  It seemed to be swelling and coming apart.  We don't upgrade our phones very often and our current phones for well over three years old.  His was an iPhone 5, mine was a 4.  I checked our online AT&T account to see what our upgrade options were and was hit with sticker shock!

Our mission on Monday began at the Apple store.  The problem with Les' phone was the battery was swelling.  The best they could do was to replace Les' phone with another iPhone 5 for $80.  I would keep my old one. Upgrading both of our phones would be about $60 a month for two years (roughly $1400) in addition to our current bill of $90 a month.

Stop number two was the Verizon store.  They could switch us over to an identical plan for $75 a month.  They had Motorola phones that we could get for another $10 a month per phone for two years ($240).  The switch was looking pretty compelling.

Stop number three was Best Buy.  A friend had recommended we shop there.  We were greeted at the door and said we needed help with mobile phones.  We waited and waited...  There were other customers in the area and an employee finally came and helped them.  When he was finished with them he didn't even acknowledge us, but walked away.  Bye bye, Best Buy!

Stop number four was Costco.  They also had the $75 a month Verizon plan but they had a promo going and we were able to get two Samsung Galaxy J3 phones for FREE!!  There was no reason for us not to switch.

We are super happy with the decision and are already enjoying the Android experience.  We're really not anti Apple, but they did not give us a compelling reason to stick with them.  The phones came with 16GB of internal storage but Les was able to get SD cards with an additional 128 GB and install them on our phones himself.  Our biggest challenge is getting our music from iTunes to Google Play.  How about them {non} apples?!

What kind of mobile phone do you carry?  Any great Android apps I might be missing?

Book Review: Happy Wives Club

The first book I read in 2017 was Happy Wives Club: One Woman's Worldwide Search for the Secrets of a Great Marriage. The description was longer than most and I knew I wanted to find out more...

Fawn Weaver was a happily married woman running a successful business—and then something happened. Maybe it was divorce rate reports on the evening news, The Real Housewives of Orange County, or any daytime talk show where husbands and wives dramatically reveal their betrayals. Everywhere she looked, Fawn saw negative portrayals of marriage dominating the airwaves and dooming everyone to failure.

Looking at Keith, the love of her life, she knew that wasn’t true. She was determined to find and connect with women just like her—happy and optimistic about marriage, deeply in love with her spouse, and committed to building a strong marriage that stands the test of time.

On a whim, she started the blog HappyWivesClub.com and sent the link to 5 friends. What started as a casual invitation to five women exploded into an international online club with over 1,000,000 members in more than 110 countries. Happy Wives Club is Fawn’s journey across the world to meet new friends and discover what makes their marriages great. Join her on this exciting, exotic trip across six continents and through more than eighteen cities. Walk the streets of Mauritius, the historic ruins in Italy, and the vistas of New Zealand and Australia. Go from Cape Town to London, Manila to Buenos Aires, Winnipeg to Zagreb.

Along the way, you will meet everyday women whose marriage secrets span cultures. You will hear their stories, witness their love, and be inspired by the proof that happy, healthy marriages do exist—and yours can be one of them!

It turns out great marriages are all around us—when we look for them. Go on a trip with Fawn and learn the best marriage secrets the world has to offer.

I cannot say enough good about this book!  There were funny stories, serious stories, and inspirational stories, but over and over there were stories of happy wives and happy husbands.

I'm pretty sure I read some from each chapter to Les.  "This is us!"  "Oh, listen to this..."  Did I need this book to confirm that I have a happy marriage?  Of course not!  But it was wonderful to read about happy marriages around the world.

I loved Fawn's descriptions of the countries she visited.  She lives in Southern California and started her journey driving to San Diego, a drive I have done many times.  Her day in Rome was especially interesting since it was one of the few places on her journey that Les and I have visited.

You can read the first few chapters online here.  Chapter Four "When Windows Become Walls" deals with the dangers of friendships with the opposite sex in marriage.  Walls and windows are important.  A happy marriage doesn't happen without working at protecting it.

At the end of the book Fawn lists Twelve Secrets of a Great Marriage.  I won't give it all away here, but first on the list:  Respect.  Each item is important to a happy marriage, but "No Plan B" is critical.

I highly recommend this book!  If you are a happy wife you will enjoy reading how other happy wives have found that happiness.  If you are struggling to be a happy wife, I think you will find help.  If you are hoping to someday be a wife, this book is filled with tips for your someday happily ever after!

I am glad to be part of the Happy Wives Club!

2017: Where Will You Focus?

I've seen a lot of posts about resolutions, goals, and words for 2017.  I don't know if I have ever chosen a word for the year and stuck with it the entire year, but the word that has been bouncing around in my brain for the past few days is Focus:

1. the center of interest or activity.
2. the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition.

Focus is a tricky concept.  We are all busy and it is easy to lose focus on what matters when we try to focus on too many things.  There are things in life that we need to do, but they can't be the center of our interest.  I can't ignore the piles of laundry or expect my house to clean itself, but it can't be the most important aspect of my life.

Les taught an awesome Sunday school lesson about Jonah to kick off 2017.  The book of Jonah is short and most of the lessons we hear are from chapter two - Jonah's time in the belly of the great fish.  I have always found chapter four to be extremely interesting.  The city of Nineveh had a 120,000 soul revival and Jonah was very angry.  I have never understood what was wrong with him!  He was not only angry, but he sat and pouted.  "It is better for me to die than to live."  

The conclusion of the book sums it all up, "Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:  And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?"

Jonah had a greater love for a gourd that provided shade than he did for a city that was perishing.  Les finished the class with this question, "Do we care more about materialism or personal comfort than we do about the thousands of lost souls around us?"

In all our resolutions, goals, plans, and desires for 2017, may be never lose focus of the thousands of lost souls around us.

2016 in Review

This has been another busy year for us.  We were gone from home for about 30 weeks, mostly in Hawaii.  We are healthy and blessed.  Here are our monthly highlights, many of which never got blogged about:

January
We made our first of eight trips to Hawaii.

February
We settled in to our rental in Hawaii Kai - our home away from home for nine months this year.

March
March was full of highlights:
I got my second bike - My Bella Vita:

Les' dad, Bill, stayed with us for a few days on his way home from Guam.

I went to the Big Island for the Hawaii District Ladies Conference.  Sis. Claudette Walker was the speaker and it was wonderful to see her after so many years.

April
I raced the Ford Island Bridge 10k and Les raced the Tantalus Time Trial.

May
We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary!  We had an amazing two week vacation to Europe.  If you haven't read the details, there are a ton of posts under the 25th Anniversary Trip tab.  Living life with Les McElhaney is a grand adventure and I wouldn't have it any other way!

June
I spent the entire month blogging about our trip!

July
I continued to blog about our trip!  We did go to a Fourth of July picnic, but I couldn't find any pictures!  Les had a cycling race on July 3rd.  It rained the entire time (of course!)

August
Les celebrated his 53rd birthday.  We had dinner at Duke's in Waikiki, then while we were relaxing in the courtyard of the Moana Surfrider Hotel we saw Bro. and Sis. Bryant from Mississippi.  I have known Sis. Bryant since we were teenagers.  It was the first time we have just bumped into someone from the mainland while we have been in Hawaii.  I never blogged about that either. 

September
Les raced (and I volunteered at) the112 mile Dick Evans Memorial Road Race (did not blog about it.)

We were also very busy at New Life Pentecostal.  We attended several Bible studies with the students at the University of Hawaii.  And the district was blessed with a music workshop led by Mark Yandris.

October
We really enjoyed the Hawaii District Marriage Retreat with Dr. and Mrs. James Hughes.  We also moved out of our rental in Hawaii Kai (no post written.)

November
We were so happy to be home almost the entire month!  We celebrated Pastor and Sister White's 35th Pastoral Anniversary, with guest speaker Elder Morton.  No photos taken, but I did blog about it!
We also enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family in Visalia.

December
We split December in half and spent the first half in Hawaii and the second in California.  There was the NLP Christmas banquet...

 Honolulu Marathon...

 Tea for two with Sis. Mac...

We made it home in time for the Victory Tabernacle Christmas recital that I did not blog about...

Christmas morning the church was full for our Sunday morning service (no pictures or post.)  Our door is full of cards from many wonderful friends and family...

Les spoiled me this year with gifts.  I see this gift every morning when I wake up, it is pretty special...

Thanks for being part of my journey in 2016.  I'm looking forward to 2017 being a great year!

Merry Christmas!

Friday Foodie ~ 2016 Christmas Baking

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!  We got home a week ago and are looking forward to spending Christmas in our own home.  Through the years I have done a lot of Christmas baking.  You can check out other editions here, here, here and here!  Some years I've made a huge variety, others not so much.  This year I made four kinds of cookies: Butterscotch Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, Gingerbread (all starting with a mix) and I tried a new cookie - Cranberry Orange Shortbread.  I also made fudge (recipe from the Marshmallow Cream jar) and Peppermint Cracker Toffee.  Here are my two new recipes:

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies from Mom in Timeout
Ingredients:
½ cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
 ¾ cups sugar, divided
2½ cups all purpose flour - spooned and leveled, not scooped * this is very important!  It was not on the recipe when I printed it originally and my dough had way too much flour.  The cookies still tasted great, but getting the dough rolled together took a lot of work.
1 cup butter, cubed (and cold)
1 tsp almond extract zest of 1 orange
1 to 2 tbsp of fresh orange juice (optional)
additional sugar to coat cookies before baking if desired

Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine cranberries and ¼ cup of sugar in a food processor and process just until the cranberries are broken down into smaller pieces. Set aside.
Combine flour and remaining sugar in a large bowl.
Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter. You want very fine crumbs.
Stir in extract, cranberries and sugar mixture, orange zest and orange juice (I personally don't think the orange juice is optional as it brings out the orange flavor.  It's subtle, but it's there.)
Use your hands to knead the dough until it comes together and forms a ball. Work the dough until it comes together. Shape dough into a log about two inches in a diameter and wrap in plastic wrap. * here is where I ran in to trouble because of having too much flour.  The dough was way too dry. I ended up with three smaller dough logs because they were easier to handle.
Refrigerate for two hours or up to 72 hours.
Preheat oven to 325F.
Cut slices of cookie dough about ¼ inch thick.
Place about a half a cup of sugar in a bowl and coat the cookie slices with sugar.
Place cookies on baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or just until cookies are set. Do not over bake. I pull mine at 12 minutes. *mine only took about 9 minutes, I think my oven runs a bit hot.
Let cookies cool for several minutes on baking sheet before removing to cooling rack. Let cool completely.
Store in airtight container for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

These cookies were not pretty but they sure did taste good! I will make them again but measure the flour more carefully.

My other new recipe is Peppermint Cracker Toffee from Shugary Sweets.  I've been seeing quite a few cracker toffee recipes lately, it's something I'd never tried but it will become part of my mix from now on!

Ingredients:
40 saltine crackers
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 package (11 oz) white chocolate chips
6 candy canes, crushed (about 1/2 cup)


Directions:
Line a 15x10x1-inch baking sheet with the saltine crackers. (My pan was a little smaller so my crackers overlapped a little.) Set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add in sugar and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Once it begins to boil, remove from heat.
Pour over saltine crackers. Place in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes, until crackers are browned and caramelized.  I should have pulled mine at about 8 minutes, again my oven was just a little too warm so the edges got a little burned.

Sprinkle with white chocolate chips and allow to sit for several minutes (until they melt).

Spread with a spatula evenly over crackers and immediately sprinkle with crushed candy.

Allow chocolate to set and store in airtight container for up to 5 days.  Mine did not break apart in cracker sized pieces but they sure were good!