There is Light

Smiling Pita

This pita should maybe go on ebay for big bucks. My daughter bakes bread, crackers, sometimes pita, for the Farmer's Market. Right now, her oven is behaving erratically and she is experiencing some terrific back pain. Please pray for Sunny.

This imperfect life is meant to cause us to seek our perfect Creator God;
the loss or unfaithfulness we experience, to trust his enduring love;
the ugliness we encounter, to desire his beauty.
When we are faced with lies, it makes us see how precious his truth is;
in hopelessness, he is our hope and salvation.
In a time of terrorism, he holds a perfect peace that passes understanding.
In a world marred by the effects of sin, we need our Creator's correcting, healing hand.
There will be an end to evil; all the prophecies will be fulfilled.

"Whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord." Ezekiel 12:28b

Enduring Love

She's the surrogate hen - gathering them under her wings

Kealani enjoys cuddling their new Silkie chicks. It reminded me of the scripture where Jesus, speaking of Israel (and us, by extension - Romans 9:24) says:

"how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." Matthew23:37

There are so many scriptures that encourage us about the love of God. Psalm 136, for example, repeats the phrase "His love endures forever" after every one of its 26 verses. We must need to hear it a lot. And, if we're going through grief, these are good:

"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me." Psalm 17:6
"Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men." Lamentations 3:32-33

On top of all that, God enjoys those cute chickens as much as we do. After all, he created them - they're not some inbred hybrid, but an ancient line remarked upon by Marco Polo when visiting China. And, the hens are known to be especially good mothers.

The Hanging Gardens of...

Where are the hanging gardens??

I've been reading through Jeremiah and was struck by all the predictions regarding the demise of Babylon, now Iraq, and parts of Iran. Much his prophecy has come to pass, though there is yet a further devastation to come. We can count on it. Anyone who says otherwise is ignoring the evidence of their eyes, not to mention the Word of God. We get to see that wasteland frequently on TV. And, looking at shots of the country on nightly news, many of us are amazed anyone would live there.


Babylonia is indeed a desolated land today. It was not always, apparently. The city of Babylon was once known as the city beside many waters, famous for its hanging gardens.

"The Lord will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon. You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off." Jeremiah 51:13 "She will be the least of the nations - a wilderness, a dry land, a desert." Jeremiah 50:12- and many similar verses.

God's Word is true, all the time. But, what can I learn from this? What is the personal application here? For one thing, it is an encouragement to us all, that yes, the evil in the world will be righteously judged, and come to an end. I can trust what the Scriptures tell me. And, when it says,

"Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins."
Jeremiah 51:6a

I can take that to mean, in my own life, don't be tempted to blend in, adapt the standards, goals and criteria of the world. Don't be afraid to be different.

Fungal Fascination

Mushrooms are amazing. Actually, their Creator is the truly awesome and amazing One who designed our ecosystem, incorporating such a diversity of insect and fungal life, with everything in balance to protect and preserve life on planet earth. Scientists are today only scratching the surface of understanding how it all works. Insect kinds have been estimated at between 4 to 6 million species and fungi somewhere between 1 and 2 million (many of which are actually DNA variations of fewer kinds).

Sometimes I take pictures of mushrooms in our gardens, and attempt to find them in my identification guide, Mushrooms of Hawaii. At present, we're working on a small shitake cultivation. I've also been dipping into a fascinating book, with the mythical title, Mycelium Running, How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, by Paul Stamets. He reports that various types of fungi, acting as filters, are able to remediate toxins in the soil and environment, to accumulate them for removal, or to indicate where toxic metals exist. Sort of biological bottom feeders of the earth. They can and are being used intentionally to convert waste sites.


This one was growing underneath the tangerine tree at our office - a large, strangely sponge-like fungi. Bob took a few photos. At home, and based on his emailed picture, I was looking for it in the mushroom book, trying to identify the species. I phoned and asked my granddaughter to go out to take some measurements (she's at the office today). Kealani just called back to inform me that it is the fruit-picker sponge. Yes folks, it must have fallen out whilst someone (Bob) was picking tangerines. Just goes to show you - the instructions to examine also gills, stem, & etc. as well as the cap, have a point. More than face value is involved. Is there a parable in this?