Back to the daily grind

Got back a few days ago from Hawaii and now I have to deal with life after vacation, which is no fun when your days would consist of beach, pool, food, sleep, repeat, day after day :)

But you know one thing I realized?? As I was chillaxing in the Aloha state I was just amazed at God's creation. I mean, I always love looking around and seeing God at work daily, but when you go somewhere where you can't possibly ignore His creativity it's simply awesome to see His hand every second of every day. The beaches were gorgeous, the views were spectacular and the scenery was beautiful.


This is Waipi'o beach, which is a black sand beach, that's right, BLACK SAND!! It was so awesome :)


This is my cousin David and I at a waterfall, which would normally be a double waterfall but it was a dry season...


This is the view from the hotel lobby and it was so refreshing to see this every day!


We even saw random horses on the way to one of the black sand beaches!! Thanks God for that little fun sight to see :)

Another cool thing is that I was reading in Exodus during my time in Hawaii and it was right at the part about the 10 plagues on Egypt. God just showed me more deeply just how powerful He can be with the double whammy of the plagues and His mighty creation. I mean, if you think about it, we don't even see all of God's power, we just get a glimpse of it from His Word and through our lives but He is capable of SO MUCH MORE!!

Eph. 3:20-21 says it best, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."

Now, whenever anyone brings up the 10 plagues most people think about the movie The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston as Moses:



I'm not bagging on the movie, it's a great depiction really, but the Bible is so much more gripping I think! When I read it this time I was annoyed at how hard-hearted the Pharaoh was being towards Moses and all the people, but then I realized, if the Pharaoh had let the Israelites go at the very beginning, then there would be no record of what all God can do! Because of the Pharaoh's stubbornness, we get a picture of some of the things God can do for all eternity!! That is just plain cool. God always has a plan you know, even if it makes no sense this side of eternity :)

So I would encourage you to take a walk outside and just marvel at God's creation and His ingenuity. Even people-watching can be fun because everyone is so different! I hope you're having a great day today and until next time!



And here is one of my favorite Sportscenter commercials for your enjoyment :)

Orange Crush...crushed...

So the World Cup of futbol is over and now Americans can go back to not caring about soccer until the next one. I include myself in that, and I'm sorry but it's true. I don't watch MLS but the second you put an international spin to it, like curling in the Olympics, then I am down. That being said, I am still sad it's gone. For once everyone was actually interested in something, and that even with the USA out of commission! The finals were Sunday between Spain and the Netherlands and even though I missed them (was at church, just a bit more important :) I got to see the highlights and I am sad to say that my team in orange did not win...again. The Netherlands have now been to the finals THREE times and no dice. Ah well, next time chaps! Below are some pics of the teams:


I love this one, it's of the semi-finals when Netherlands played Uruguay and the positions these players get themselves into is just awesome


people asked me why I was rooting for the Dutch and this picture says it all, I mean, they all wore BRIGHT ORANGE!! who else was I going to root for?? Any team that recognizes the amazing-ness of orange deserves my love and support, so come all future international competitions, I am rooting for them unless they play the USA :)


This was the game-winning shot by Spain and they won 1-0, after 120 minutes of play. Soccer seriously needs more points per goal...

So well done Spain, you did outplay the Netherlands, and in your honor here is your logo, which, incidentally, a friend of mine sent me right after the game. He shall remain nameless, but his name rhymes with the last name of Keyser Soze...



But you know what?? Even though my team lost, I can console myself with the AMAZING news I got from my doctor on Thursday!! I saw him and we decided to take myself OFF my infusion medication!! I've been on it since the summer of 2004 with only a 6 week break, and now I get to be off it for the immediate future!! I made sure this was a good move, asking my doc if this was a normal course of action for patients who showed remission and he said yes, so that means we're a go!



Now, I don't know how long this honeymoon will last with me being off THREE out of my normal four medications in one year, but I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it. God is good no matter the circumstances, no matter if I'm in terrible pain or wonderful joy. He saw me through my years of pain and if and when they come back, He'll see me through those as well.

Plus, not only do I have that news to console myself BUT I also got into the show "Glee" over the weekend because one of my roommates has the first half of the season and I'm hopelessly addicted now :)




And now, for the funny of the day :)