Be blessed to bless others

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." ~John 3:8

The Holy Spirit functions/works on its own path. We do not know where it came from or where it is heading. Just as the wind travels in varying directions and we do not know where it's been or where it is going.

What we can do is pray that the Holy Spirit will fill us with faith, love, healing, or whatever the case may be. And we can be filled to overflowing of whatever it is we ask for. Whatever it is, we can be filled in all the dry places and in all the empty pockets of our soul. 

Why do we want to be filled to overflowing? The goal is that in our own filling we can bless others. 

At HCWO on 3/25/12, Dr Dave Martin said in his message to think about a water pipe. The purpose of the pipe is to move water from one place to another. In this manner, we want to be blessed (or filled) so that we can bless others. During this process, the water pipe gets wet, just as we are blessed while we share blessings. 

Dr Dave Martin went on to challenge us to tithe the first 10% of our earnings for 90 days and watch how God blesses us. The money belongs to God, what will you do with it?

Similarly, I don't know where the money I'm paid comes from or where it will end up. But, God knows! I don't mean who's paying you and what are you spending it on. It all has a cycle, but I do not know the whole cycle. Do you?

----------------------------------------

"When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,  he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.  'Unless you people see signs and wonders,' Jesus told him,  'you will never believe.' The royal official said, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.' 'Go,' Jesus replied,  'your son will live.' The man took Jesus at his word and departed." ~John 4:47-50 

There are many, even today, that refuse to believe that Christ died for our sins. These people are looking for physical proof, "signs and wonders". Yet this royal official came to ask Jesus to heal his son. All Jesus told him was that his son will live. This royal official took Christ at His word and departed. There was no doubt in his mind that it was as Jesus said.

Do you take Jesus at His word? Do you trust in Him? 

Not a day goes by that miracles don't happen. Just because you are not witness to them doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's like this: if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? How do you know? No one was witness to hear it.

I'll bet miracles are happening in your own life right now and you aren't even aware of it. For one, your ability to just read this is a miracle. Can you even fathom what goes on from the moment your eyes see letters put together to make words? What's going on in your head? I don't even know the answer to that, but God does! 

Your waking up today was a miracle. Appreciate it. Be blessed by it. Give God the glory and share His generous love with others today, even if you're having what seems to be a bad day. Remember to focus on the positive. Your day could be worse, but you're still hanging in there.

As Brian Clay said on 95.5 the Fish Hawaii, "Give it your best and God will make it good enough." 

Book of John

In my quest to go through the book of John in a month, I'm once again failing. But, I'm trying it again! These are the verses that stood out to me recently, one in each of the first two chapters. What stands out for you when you read these chapters? How do these verses affect you and your life? Please comment and share your thoughts!

-------------------------------------------

John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

In the light, we can see many things. However, in the dark, much is done secretly, like crime or even going to clubs. The things some do in the dark is to remain hidden, and when the lights turn on all who are there are unhappy to be exposed. Pastor Mike Kai at HCWO mentioned about this in 2011 and it hit home. I totally understood where he was coming from. In the dark, a speck of light can shine and be found. But when we are in the light, a speck of darkness doesn't exist. 

In this I choose to be in the light, where darkness is no more. 

-------------------------------------------

John 2:10 - and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

Giving people the best at the beginning to get them into a drunken stupor, then giving them the cheap, useless stuff is sort of like life. It reminds me of the "honeymoon phase", where the couple are nice & sweet to each other at first, then they let their guards down and are "not so nice".

But, Jesus is pure and of the best quality possible from the very beginning. There's no façade. It's all real and true. And in essence, He is the beginning and the end, so He is last.

I used to see this verse as simply what it says. But now I see more symbolism to it and I can relate to Jesus being the best and He is the end, therefore the last. He doesn't put up any walls, doesn't pretend to be something He's not, but He is true from the start and will always be that way.

Just Because

You know, back in October, I learned about our local radio station doing a "Just Because" award. I suddenly had this urge to nominate someone, just because. What did I have to lose? This "Just Because" award is given on the first Wednesday of each month when 95.5 the Fish Hawaii broadcasts from the Patisserie.

It didn't take me long to come up with a couple people to nominate. So, I nominated two. Both people I wrote a short email about my relationship with each person and how they each have affected my life. Little did I think about it after submitting these emails. And I didn't think either email was very touching or would ever get nominated.

A few days before leaving for our trip to Seattle (see the Sacrifice posts), I received a call from the radio station saying they wanted to recognize one of my friends I nominated. Really? How is that even possible? I don't even remember what I wrote! So, early on Wednesday morning, AJ & I stopped by the Patisserie Waimalu to meet Aunty Dawn O'Brien and to recognize my friend, Shirlene Ideue. AJ gave Aunty Dawn a present, a Little People's Wonder Woman doll that came with a Bat Girl doll. Aunty Dawn commented that she's never been called a "little person" before!

Anyway, when Aunty Dawn read my email, it was a lot more touching than I thought it was when I wrote it. There's just something about hearing it!

Thanks, Aunty Dawn for bringing my boring email to life! And thanks, Shirlene for your years of reaching out and encouraging me!

Sacrifice - Part 5

Today was James' final shot at 7am. Then he had time for a quick breakfast and needed to be back at the Puget Sound Blood Center by 8:10am. AJ and I went with him to be sure they got him all set up and running before we left. Here's James' thoughts from today:

Aloha well today was the day. The procedure went well. It took about 4 1/2 hours. No pain at all. I had to use the restroom and I think that was the worse part about the whole thing.  The nurses said my white cells look good. Oh ya the nurse I had was from Hawaii. Small world! Haha. I did all I can do. The rest is in God's hands. Once again I want to thank God for blessing me with the gift of helping someone. I will not lie, this whole experience made me think of Shawn Hegarty. Like I said before its sad that it takes something bad in life for something good to come out of it. RIP, I miss you, Shawn!

Eager to go through a little discomfort in order to save a woman's life.

Getting all hooked up.

This is the machine that filters the stem cells out of James' blood. It makes a ticking sound, but he says he didn't hear it with the speaker for the television next to his ear.

You see four lines here. Let's start with the three grouped together: The red line is his outgoing blood, the one with the green line is the anti-coagulant, and the clear line is the saline. The fourth line, the one by itself, is the blood returning into James' body, which goes in the other arm (see below).

The lines are all clear here because it is before the process began, but it's basically what his arm looked like being all hooked up!

Thank you to the Puget Sound Blood Center team for taking care of James and most importantly for getting the needed amount of stem cells to save a woman's life!

After speaking to the nurses and doctors, we learned that this recipient had gone through chemotherapy, but it wasn't working. So, all her stem cells were damaged or dying; therefore, she needed a transplant. Just as James was going through this process of shots every day, the recipient was undergoing even more chemotherapy in order to kill all her cells. We cannot even imagine what this woman has been going through these last few days, weeks, and months. All we can do is hope and pray that God has used this process to bless this woman.

We continue to pray for her that her body accepts these stem cells and provides her with another chance to live her life. In Jesus name, heal her and give her more time with her family and time to seek You further. We do not know what's in her heart, but You do, Lord! May she spend many more days with her family and friends.

Sacrifice - Part 4

Today was James' fourth shot for bone marrow donation process:

Aloha! Update on Shot #4. I feel fine, no lower back pain. My body feels more like I had a hard workout; you know, that feeling when your whole body feels sore. That's how I feel right now.

Basically this will be my last update until tomorrow after my 5th and final shot at 7am. Then 45 mins later I start the peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation process. I hope all this goes nice and smooth for me and the recipient. Then, after that, I'm done.

I thank God for blessing me with the gift to give and I'm so bless that I can do this for someone.

Aloha.

Sacrifice - Part 3

On to day three of James' bone marrow donation process:

Aloha! Shot 3 update. But first let me give u a update on shot 2. At first, like I said it was a mild lower back pain. Well, at 4:30am this morning, man, I felt like I was having contractions. Haha. Lower back spasms wouldn't go away at any position I tried to sleep. Only if I stood up would it go away; a bit challenging to sleep standing up. Took some Tylenol. That worked okay.

On to shot number 3. Went to the doctor's office at 8am like I do every morning and the first thing I said to the nurse was, "Are you happy now? I had pain this morning." I was joking of course. Then she laughed. I told her about the pain and the doctor suggested I should take some Ibuprofen and tylenol at same time. And to stay on meds all day. So far it's just small lower back spasms. But nothing like this morning.

Like I've told the nurse, "I had kidney stones and can handle any pain." Haha. Bring on the pain; it will not stop me from helping this lady.

Stay tune for shot number 4...

Sacrifice - Part 2b

Here's an update to James' second shot for his bone marrow donation process:

Aloha! Update on day number 2 and shot number 2. Shots went well. But now I'm starting to feel lower back pain. It feels like muscle spasms. They come and go, but nothing I can't handle.

From what the doctor said this morning, when she gave me my second shot, "I hope you start feeling something." I told her jokingly, "What?You want me to feel pain?" Haha. She just laughed and said, "No. But we want u to feel something so we know the shots are working."

So I guess it's starting to work now. I have lower back pain. From what I understand, there is a lot of bone marrow down in the lower back and hip area.

All this pain I will endure these next few days is all worth it. For now stay tune for day 3 shots and updates. Aloha!