I believe in prayer.  I believe God is always listening to hear the prayers of those who belong to Him.  I believe that He answers prayers according to what is best for us.  Prayer brings our thinking more inline with God’s.

Prayer is conversation with God.  It is not contemplation or even meditation.  Prayer is a direct address to Him.  It may be spoken out loud or it may be silent,  but it is a pouring out of the soul to Him and beseeching the Lord for His favor.

To believe in prayer…you must believe in God.  You must believe in His abilities.  You must believe in His control of all things, and of all his creatures and all their actions.  You must believe that He wants to communicate with us.

Our prayers must be sincere.  They must be offered with reverence and humility.  And, they must be offered in the faith that God will hear and answer…that He will keep His promises.

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I believe the above with all my heart.  And, I know so many of you do, too.  It was amazing and so, so comforting for all 3 of us when we started getting messages, and e-mails, and tweets, and FB messages, and phone calls, and text messages.  They started, and they kept on coming and coming and coming.  Each time, we would share what was said with each other.  My 2 best friends called each other and prayed together for us…then called us.  With each word of support, we felt the arms of our Lord holding us tighter and tighter.  And, our hearts….felt more and more peaceful.

You did this for us.  Even though there was an ocean between us….we felt you were as close as next door.  You did it because you carry the love of God in your heart as well.  And, with sincere and humble hearts, you carried our dilemma to the Father.

Thank you so very much.  We are eternally grateful.  From Patty, Joy, and myself….’mahalo’ from the bottom of our hearts.

(MAHALO…thank-you)

What a surprise!  The surprise of our lives, you could say.  Who would ever think that in this beautiful paradise, amidst the most beautiful of natural creations, the force of the life-giving ocean would offer up its most devastating ways.

 A tsunami  is caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.  We know the earthquake occurred in Japan…and I am sure you have seen the devastation there.  Such a tragedy.  We were seeing the pictures also…just as we were waiting for it to hit Hawaii!  What exactly is a tsunami?A tsunami wave is really a very “long” wave, with its energy moving vertically from seafloor to surface at a high rate (this wave was traveling at 600 mph). When approaching the coast, the depth decreases dramatically and thus the amplitude increases creating huge devastating waves.  Usually there is little impact offshore, and most boats travel over it feeling only a small bump.  The water along the coast is sucked out , then the wave come rolling in…stopping for nothing.  Size varies.

The first hint of things to come came at about 9:45 as we were watching CSI .    The newscasters broke in and said that we were under a tsunami watch…….”News at Ten.”  Of course, we watched it, and at that time all they had to say was that there had been a major earthquake in Japan and that the Pacific Tsunami Warning System was assessing the situation.   And, they would let us know.  So we waited and soon they were back on and telling us that the earthquake in Japan was much worse than thought and that it had already caused a major tsunami in Japan.  And in another half hour…..we were under a tsunami warning!!!

Now, I knew what a tsunami was.  One of the very first times I came to Hawaii….back in the dark ages…….there was still evidence of the last one.  There were ‘water line’ marks that were higher than I could reach.  I was only16 at the time.  In 1946, a Pacific wide tsunami obliterated the waterfront area of Hilo, on the Big Island.   This prompted the establishment of the Pacific ‘Tsunami Warning Center.  Since then many areas and lives have been saved due to this early warning system.  It is always ‘on watch’ for any thing happening in the Pacific that would affect the areas it serves.  Unfortunately, the tsunami in Japan was created immediately and there was no time for the warnings to take affect.  If you remember the devastating tsunami in Thailand several years ago, there was no warning system in this area to warn the residents of coming disaster.  So sad.

Well, it is hard to explain the way I was feeling.  Surprisingly, I felt a  sense of calm.  Maybe it was niavite, but I felt no panic or fear.    Because, I was familiar with the Warning System, I knew that the warning was true and would happen…in some form or another.  Also, I knew that Hawaii had evacuation routes already in place and that we would simply evacuate, if necessary.

I also experienced an excitement of sorts.  Was I actually going to have a chance to witness this phenomenon of nature?  It really would be quite a sight to see…and quite a story to tell!  (And what great blog material!)

The newscasters were telling us to wait until the ‘EVACUATE’ order was given.  They had told us all to check in the phone book where it explained just which areas were in the evacuation zone and should be prepared to leave.  We looked.  And, yes.  Yes we were.  We were smack dab in the middle of the tsunami warning evacuation area.  Which meant we had to be ready to leave.  If we left, we would drive up into the mountains following the escape route.  We were to go as far as we could.  Then we would stop, and spend the night in the car…until the ALL CLEAR was given!  We were to take food and water.

We decided that that Joy and Patty should begin to pack.   I  asked Patty to go and get our car, which was in valet parking, and move it to the third floor parking so that it would be closer to us. In the meantime, I took off to the lobby to talk to the management.  As I expected there was a huge amount of activity around the lobby.   When it was my turn to talk to ‘the man in charge”…I asked him about the level of danger.  “EXTREMELY  HIGH”.  I asked if we should leave.  “THAT WOULD BE THE SAFEST THING TO DO”  We are on the 6th floor of the motel…would we be safe there?  “YOU SHOULD BE O.K.”  ‘Should’ is not a word that instills much confidence in this girl.  Should is not definite.  And, in matters of life and death, I prefer to be VERY, ABSOLUTELY, DEFINITELY SURE !………[which is why I know FOR SURE . where I will be going when I die! ]  .  He moved on to talk to someone else.    And, so, as I stepped out into the beautiful courtyard of our motel, I looked up into the sky.  The stars were  amazing.  Millions of them…twinkling their little lights as hard as they could.  The beautiful palm trees were gently swaying.  The smell of plumeria was heavy in the air.  And, the waves crashing on the shore was an oddly comforting sound.   All around me was the most beautiful of the natural world.  It was unthinkable to imagine it mutilated or gone completely. 

I did not hear God speak to me…even though I was asking Him to tell me what to do.  But, in my heart of hearts, I knew that He said to me….”These things belong to me.”  Well, not meaning to be sacrilegious here…but I KNEW that these things belonged to Him…and that was not an answer to my question….and I really didn’t have a lot of time here.  So, just in case I wan’t passing along to Him the fact that I needed to hear some instructions NOW…I said out loud, “Jesus, please let me know what to do.”  And, I heard nothing…and I felt nothing…and my heart of hearts stayed empty of His words.  So, I found a bench and sat down and waited.  I knew Joy and Patty were packing and waiting for me.  But, I needed to be still.   I watched as people were scurrying here and there.  The sirens were blowing everywhere…every 30 minutes.  Loud…very loud!  How could anyone miss it?   People rushing to the parking lot with their suitcases.  People on the phones making reservations at hotels not in the danger zone.  People calling the airport and trying to book flights out going anywhere before the tsunami struck…about 4 hours.  Husbands and wives arguing about what they should do.  Children crying because they were seeing their parents not in control.  People arguing with the hotel manager, “You mean you expect me to sit in my car all night?”  or  “All you have to offer is the floor up on 6th to sit on and wait?  What will we eat?  What are we supposed to do all night?”   I sat and watched, and felt foolish for not doing something.  I thought of Joy and Patty.  And, even though they could make their own decisions, I knew they were waiting for me.  But, I heard nothing.   I thought of how watching all these people in such turmoil was like an ant hill that gets stepped on.  Out pour the ants, not knowing where to go…just going.  There was no leader.  It was a picture of chaos.  If the Queen Of All Ants would just step out and blow her whistle and get them all lined up…they could follow her out of danger…back into the deep trenches of their home. 

And, then I knew.  I HAD a leader.  I HAD heard Him before tell me to STOP!    Or tell me to GO!  And, I knew that if I needed it, He would,again, tell me what to do.  I felt an immediate peace about the situation.  AND to top it all off, a friend of mine had posted this verse on FB…and I had read it aloud to Joy and Patty. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified…for the Lord our God will be with us wherever we go.”  Joshua 1:9.  If  He meant anything He said in His Word, then He meant this as well.  Either all He said was true or all He said was lies.  This was one of His promises and I had every reason to believe He would keep this one as well as all the others He had kept in my life!

I went back to the room, and we sat down and talked.  I told them I had a very strong peace.  And, that I felt like we should stay put.  But, if either of them felt different, we would go.  But, both Joy and Patty assured me that they were at perfect peace, and not afraid.  I wanted to know one more thing before we made our final decision.  I asked them to go to the lobby and ask about the strength of the building we were in.  They were told that it was a concrete structure made to withstand hurricanes and the like.  That settled it for me.  And Joy.  And Patty.  They went and got our suitcases out of the car.  We sat together and prayed and asked for safety for us and all the rest of the islands.  We prayed for the devastation in Japan.  We thanked God for giving us the courage of our convictions.  We called home and spoke to our families and told them what we decided and they were in agreement with us.  Since it was the middle of the night, I just sent e mails to some.  And, then, we still had 2 hours to wait.  We watched TV…which alternated between what happened in Japan, and what could happen here.  I looked over at one point and Joy and Patty were both asleep!  ASLEEP!  Can you believe it?  Facing danger and mayhem, yet they were sleeping!  🙂  Creates a picture of true trust, doesn’t it?  (Well, I woke them up before time for it to hit…no way I was sitting through this alone!)

About 50 people came up onto the breezeway of the 6th floor.  They had rooms on the lower floors but could not leave for one reason or another.  The hotel provided them with food and water.  At one point we took the blankets off our beds out to see if anyone was cold, but no one was.  There were old and young, men and women.  Mostly they sat without talking.  Just waiting.  So thankful that we had gotten a room on the 6th floor when we checked in!  God knew!

The tsunami was scheduled to hit Kauai first.  It did and caused  little damage.   It was announced that it was only about 4 feet high on Kauai, so it should be no higher on Maui.  That relieved our minds.  We didn’t know until the next day that it actually was about 6 feet high here in Maui.  We never saw anything where we were.  But, there was quite a bit of damge about 10 miles from us . It seemed to do the most damage on The Big Island and on Oahu.  Damage, yes, there was some.  And, some of it was quite severe.  But, nothing like it could have been.  Hawaii had for the most part, been spared. 

Long line of cars snaking their way up the mountain to safety in Maui.

 Coming ashore…….

Can you find the house in the ocean…below?

Here it is!

See Ya soon, my friends!  I am headed out of Dodge early Sunday…I packed my bags.  Think I brought enough….?

 I’m leaving on a airplane…..

Look!  There we are…..Joy, Patty, and me!  I’m the one waving!  But, my hair looks doesn’t like that!!!!

Well, can you imagine where we are heading?   Here’s a clue…..

A hammock under a palm tree against a blue sky…. Well, that could be anywhere…I live just 80 miles from the coast in Florida, and I LOVE Florida!   But, I’m not going to Florida.  Here’s another clue……

OK …. you think you know?  There are palm trees and hammocks and sand……aaaannnndddd…

…WHALE  TAILS!  Now do you know? …….  RIGHT!!!!!  We’re going back to Hawaii!  Joy and I and our friend, Patty, who has never been.  And, Joy didn’t get enough last year!  We have been talking about what we’ll do and what we’ll see and especially what to take.  Because we want to look really good when we hit the beach…This is what we have in mind…

But, let’s be realistic here…this is probably closer to the truth….

So, all is well.  We’ll be cute either way! 

This time we are going to the island of Oahu first, and staying several days on Waikiki Beach.  Then on to the island of Maui for a week in my favorite place on this planet!  I always stay in the same resort on Maui…here is a shot of the courtyard.  Isn’t it beautiful?  And, even though it doesn’t show here, there are flowers everywhere.  It smells divine!

I plan to blog while I am there.  Plan to….we’ll see.  It’s just so hard sticking to a plan while in Paradise!    So, if you don’t see me commenting much…you’ll know why.  Cause I’ll be doing this….

…and this…

…but, I’ll be staying close to the ocean because…

I’m not sure if that is true……..but I’m not taking any chances!

Mostly we are going to enjoy the fun of family and friends.  Good food, good drink, good scenery, good activities, good everything!

And, so, as we leave, we pray for safety……for ourselves and for our loved ones  here at home…and  we will remember this:

 And, we intend to find it!       ALOHA

Well,  here is one picture that I could for sure walk into!  This is a lovely shot that I made the last time I was in Maui…my favorite place on the planet.  There was a beautiful winding path up a hill and through the trees and foliage I spied this gorgeous waterfall.  As I stood on the little walk just breathing it all in,  I could feel the cooling mist settling on my arms and cooling me off.  And, watching it for a while, there appeared several rainbows arching through the falls.  Just beautiful.  Hope you enjoy the beauty, as well.  And, believe me…it smells as good as it looks.

I just may have to see if I can find it again the next time I board a plane headed for ‘Paradise’.

The beach is wonderful!  Wonderful! Wonderful!  What beauty God has made for us to enjoy!

Really and truly this is THE most beautiful sand…anywhere!  Shirley and Tina and I went down for a quick weekend stay…here at Shirl and Sue’s (her sis) beach cottage!  They have been doing some decorating and it looks fabulous!

Now, Tina and Shirley are dear to me and I love them, but frankly, I’ve been a little disappointed in them.  The 3 of us went on the ‘ultimate girls trip’ to Maui in 2007.  I had such a wonderful time and came home and made a scrapbook just as soon as I could.  They, however,  have yet to finish theirs!  Can you believe that?   So, that was their plan to do while at the beach.  Shirley had 2 more books she wanted to do, and a project for a couple in her church.  So, they pulled out all that stuff and worked and worked and worked.

I watched and offered them my completed book and other valuable tips and techniques.  But, they were all over the place!  I just got in bed and tried to connect to the Internet and check in on my friends around the country.  Never could connect, so I read a while and then went on to bed.  Don’t even know how long they worked.  But, the next thing I knew, they were saying ‘ come on, we’re going to get some do-nuts.’  I told them I would be ready in a minute.  But, no!  They said ‘we are going just like we are…..pajamas and all.  And, we did!  Stood in line 20 minutes, but finally got some of the wonderful do-nuts.  This place has been here since I was a little girl…and it only gets better.

This picture HAD to be cropped…for modesty”s sake.  But, I DID have on my undergarments!

After we got back to the cottage, we dressed and went out to see what treasures we could find.  Lots of treasures in those parts, and we needed some.  And, so we shopped for a few hours at an outdoor mall, Pier Park.  Then we had lunch/dinner…and we were able to eat outside.  Such a nice day!

Did a little more exploring, then back to the cottage.  The 2 Princesses continued working on their scrapbooks.  And, I worked on Shirls’s project for her friend’s anniversary.  I finished it up for her…and they still did not finish the scrapbooks!

Off to bed;  then, early, early I heard them stirring around.  But, I pretended not to.  Besides they had no business being up so early, anyway!  They were packing up their UNFINISHED scrapbooks, and we washed sheets and swept floor nd packed car.  Time to head toward Dothan.  We needed to leave early enough that Shirl could drive the extra 2 hours to Moultrie.  And get there before dark.  We had spied one more shop that we wanted to check out.   So, that was figured into our plans, as well.  Found some really pretty things there, but stayed a mite too long. 

I said, “Shirl, since you didn’t feed me any breakfast this morning, and it is past luch time, do you think we could stop andget something to eat before we leave?”  Y’all she turned around and gave me the evil eye.  And, she drove right on past the food places till she got outta town.  Then she turned back around and said, “Did you say you were hungry?  Well, I’ll be happy to stop when I see a place.”  And, she knew good and well it would be all the way to the city limits of Dothan before she saw anywhere to eat.   So, here it is…my lunch!

I know, isn’t this terrible?  Not a bit of nutrition anywhere in sight.  But, I made do, and soldiered on.  That’s just the kind of girl I am.  But them…they just laughed maniacally in the front seat.   At least…through my chocolate-induced haze…that’s what I THINK happened.

It matters not.  I love these girls.  And, I love the time we have together!  Our quick trip was fun and refreshing to body and soul!  And, Shirley?  She made it home before dark.