The Fish Says...

• I have been reading about the four (general) temperaments of a toddler: easy, slow to warm, difficult, and active (meaning highly intense, as all toddlers are curious and active). I am pretty sure that Aolani has an active temperament.
• Last week's animal noises: fish (blub, blub, blub...) and the cow (mooooo).
• Her eating is such a source of stress for me! Often, she either doesn't want to eat, doesn't like it, wants to feed herself, takes forever (hours) to eat any substantial amount, only wants to drink, or just wants to play with the food. She does not seem to like baby food anymore (unless it is fruity and she can suck it through a straw). She will not eat off the spoon. We are trying soft foods that she can feed herself; it's going... alright.
• We went to the pediatrician last week for Aolani's one-year check. She's grand. About 20 lbs. Good iron levels, even though she (almost) exclusively nursed her entire first year. And, the doctor mentioned that she is socially advanced! Without daycare ;)
• I should have posted this last week; here is a comparison of Aolani during her first bath a year ago and then below it, a year later (now).

• Verse to memorize this week: Galatians 6:7 ~ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows

When God Uses Vermin

Randy Alcorn tells this story:

"Corrie ten Boom’s sister Betsie, in light of the command 'Give thanks in all circumstances' (1 Thessalonians 5:18), insisted they should thank God even for the fleas and lice in their concentration camp barracks. Corrie resisted until she realized that the fleas and lice made it possible for her to open the Bible and teach it unhindered to other prisoners. Guards could have confiscated her forbidden Bible, but they refused to enter because of the vermin. Think of it — God is at work through vermin; it’s simply rare that in this life we can see it as clearly as Corrie finally did."

Need I say more, or anything at all?!

Is this convicting or what? No room for complaints! I love that last bit about God working through vermin. God can use all things for His good purposes -- even those pesky mosquitoes.

How Can It Be?

• That our baby had her first birthday over the weekend -- one year...
• I should have posted this last week, but here was our St. Valentine story time with Aolani and our niece, Kylie:

• Irresistible!

• Her birthday morning bath before her first portraits (thanks to Ricky's parents) at Portrait Innovations. She was just a sweet doll baby despite a crazy atmosphere. We learned two things: schedule a photo session before five o' clock and not while the place is running a special.

• We had both sets of grandparents and my brother with his family over for Aolani's first birthday party (thanks to my parents for the works). It was a small, family bash.

• It looks it, but she, unfortunately, did not get to eat any of her cake as I did not want to introduce her to processed sugar yet since she just started eating solids (seriously) a week ago. It's funny -- it's like a switch inside of her got flipped last Sunday evening and she decided that she likes solid food now. She has been eating solids three times a day, every day since then. She prefers the fruit to the veggies (probably normal for most babies)!

• Kylie thought my footstool was the "little person" chair :)

• Here are some of the things she was up to over the weekend -- going down the stairs, out for a breezy walk in a stroller (rare for her), attacking balloons, and praising the LORD ;)

• Verse to memorize this week: John 3:30 ~ He must become greater; I must become less.

Delighting Yourself

...continuing with Part 2 about delighting in the LORD. Click here to read Part 1 about the desires of your heart.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalm 37:4

I previously wrote about what I think are the desires of my heart of which King David is referring. David even says here that God will fulfill those longings if... There is a prerequisite: delight yourself in the LORD.

I find it interesting that David did not say that He'd give us our desires if we OBEY. Or FOLLOW. Or even LOVE the LORD. But, DELIGHT. Wow. No wonder so many of us are living with unmet desires. We may obey, follow, or love Jesus, but I know very, very few people that are delighting in Him.

Instead, I see most people (Christians included) that are finding their joy in food, other relationships, entertainment, vacations, stuff... Trying to fill those voids, find relaxation, seeking for peace, wanting satisfaction or contentment or happiness, in things that cannot deliver -- in the inferior pleasures.

All the while, God is saying delight in Me, the superior pleasure, and I will fulfill the desires of your heart. This is what I want. I want to delight in God.

Thinking on this, I keep wondering -- how? Show me how to delight in You, LORD! This has been my prayer for many months. Here is something Mike Bickle said about this very thing,

"The concept of a holy romance is a truth contained in the Word of God: being delighted by God’s beauty, feeling the spiritual pleasures of the Word, feeling the Spirit resonating inside, and understanding what it means to be loved by God."

It seems to me that much of delighting in God is through silence and meditation. I can read or hear a truth, but until I contemplate it in my heart, I cannot really receive it and let it wash me. I must spend time with Him -- listening, basking, conversing, being, breathing. It is in stillness that I move.

And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to yearn for Him with all their heart's desire and with all their soul... ~ 2 Chronicles 15:12

After pondering this exact concept for many months, I have decided to enter into a covenant with the LORD. The exact covenant above: to seek the LORD and to yearn for Him with all my heart's desire and all my soul. What will that look like? Basically, I do not want to look to anything else for my comfort. I want to look to Jesus, since He will actually fill that yearning. Whereas, most things I presently look to leave me filling even more dissatisfied and empty afterwards. So... more quiet, more stillness, more slowness, more pondering ;) Less noise and less doing.

Bottom line: God says there is more. God has more. I want more, and I am going after it!

I would feel honored if anyone would join me in covenanting with the LORD to throw caution to the wind of our times and recklessly pursue Grace. Pray about it.

Delighting Myself in the LORD,

Sweet{Love}Heart

• I hope everyone had a nice St. Valentine's Day! This was our first time reading the real story of Saint Valentine, who was actually martyred, in a children's book format to our niece, Kylie, and Aolani.
• Last night Ricky made an Italian chicken dish, which we ate by candlelight. We reminisced as we went through our premarital counseling notebook, played chess, and read love letters out loud to each other. As a gift that Ricky started last Spring, he wrote a creative piece of historical fiction, which he called The Story of Queen Aidan. It is quite lengthy, and I have yet to read it. He even dyed the pages with tea bags and cooked them in the oven, so that the book has crinkled, yellowed pages! It's a masterpiece!
• Aolani's first animal sound is the doggie: woof.
• As of the past few days, she likes food a lot more and even finished her first jar of baby food (butternut squash and apple). Yay!
• However, Aolani is now having a really tough time with sleeping/napping. She is waking up more, sleeping less at night, crying terribly, skipping naps... huh.
• In her Sunday dress:

• My Valentine holding my Sweet{love}heart, which I call her ;)

• Verse to memorize this week: Deuteronomy 6:5 ~ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Out of Commission

• I have been down and out with a stomach virus since Monday morning. No computer. Only pillows and family for company. My niece brought it when she visited over the weekend. I feel about 60% and, thus, still sport my trusty, ol' "sick shirt." However, the "barf bucket" finally got relegated from the bed to the floor by the bed. Somehow, thank You Abba, Aolani is still going strong despite my touches, kisses, germs, closeness from nursing... I've been on the BRATS diet all week, but now I am finally getting an appetite. {Bananas/broth, Rice, Applesauce, Toast, Saltines.} We are so thankful that Ricky is home and able to take care of his girls! Yet, this is the result in every room from Mommy being bed-ridden:

As Ricky said, "It's a good thing that the fridge wasn't left open."

• She wore the cutest turtleneck over the weekend:

• We caught her standing beside a drawer the other day -- balancing by herself.

• She likes mangoes, as a liquid baby food :)

• Storytime, with our niece: Kylie, where is Mommy? Points to her mom. Daddy? Points. Uncle Ricky? Points. Aunt Aidan? Points. Aolani? Points. Paw-paw? Points. She is six for six! Kylie, where is Grandma? Looks straight at Grandma and pats her belly with both hands. Over and over and over. Now, this girl loves her grandma; we cannot figure out what this means! It is hilarious to watch, though ;)

• Aolani is finally pushing her push-toy -- on her knees.

• Verse to memorize this week: 2 Corinthians 5:7 ~ For we live by faith, not by sight.

Super Bowl Prediction

The Desires of Your Heart

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalm 37:4

I have read so many different interpretations of this verse, mainly regarding what the second half of that verse means. Is God giving me desires or fulfillment of desires? What desires of my heart will He give me? Will He first give me wholesome desires, then fulfill those? Will He implant the desires of His heart into my heart?

I think there might be truth into all those interpretations. I am not sure if there is only ONE, correct view of this verse. But... I read an awesome book that has really got me thinking -- Mike Bickle's The Seven Longings of the Human Heart. Let me share what he observes these longings to be:

1. The Longing to be Enjoyed by God


2. The Longing for Fascination


3. The Longing for Beauty


4. The Longing for Greatness


5. The Longing for Intimacy without Shame


6. The Longing to be Wholehearted


7. The Longing to Make a Deep and Lasting Impact

I must say that I think he is dead-on. Not just my conversations and observations, but my own heart can testify to each one of these seven longings being real and present. These are the desires of my heart of which I feel Psalm 37:4 is referring.

"People spend an inordinate amount of time alternating between denying desires and fulfilling them in unhealthy, ungodly and even destructive ways. Imagine the time and energy we would save if we acknowledged these longings as inescapable, God-given desires, and then positioned our hearts to allow them to be answered and satisfied in the way God intended." ~ Mike Bickle

Next week, I want to look at the first half of the verse. Click here to read Part 2 about delighting in the LORD.