Truth

I stop and look at my beautiful son, gurgling and laughing and looking up at me, and I have this overwhelming tickle in my nose. The tickle I get when I try to hold tears back. The tears I get when I think of the victims, or those families of the victims of the Connecticut shooting, or the Oregon shooting, or the theater shooting, or any other tragic event.

I'm a mom and when it comes to children, well, the tickle is always there. I cannot fathom the depths of anguish those families must be experiencing. But I'm also a mom who, when it comes to children,  experiences a furious, raging anger ready to burn against those who would harm a hair on the head of a little one. I wonder sometimes, at this conflict of emotions that God has given to mothers. And I wonder what the love and sorrow and wrath of our Almighty God must be like, if these emotions are a mere reflection of His, and I think I understand a little more, the darkness that came when God's Son hung on a cross for the sake of the world.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary says, "to do truth is to practice what God commands. John 3." There is the well-known verse John 3:16, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

But what about the following verses? 

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:17-21

This kind of darkness should cause us to stop. Stop and mourn with those who have lost. Stop and grieve for all of the broken people in the world. Stop and hug and kiss our children and be thankful for them. Stop and think about how blessed we truly are. Stop and think. 

We stopped today. We stopped and prayed for the families of the victims. For peace and comfort, and for truth and light. Because what is comfort without the truth? The truth is unchangeable. The truth comes to the light. 

Preview

We finally painted Clara and Oscar's room!

Oscar Roy

Hilo

We stopped to check out this amazing view on our way back from Hilo 

There was a little dirt road off to the side so we followed it down to the water

Rainbow Falls

The giant Banyan tree on the way to Rainbow Falls

A little lost waif in the woods foraging for food.
We brought her home with us. She's adjusting well. 

The waterfall normally runs off that cliff.
It was just a trickle when we were there, but it was still beautiful.

Green Sands

Sorry all of you back home who are in the middle of black-outs, white-outs, and blizzards, but here are a few more photos of sunny Hawaii =) We went to Green Sands Beach a couple of days ago where the sand is, you guessed it, green. It was beautiful and the sun came out just as we arrived.

We stopped at the cliffs before Green Sands

There are deep holes to jump into - they are about as narrow as they look

Green Sands Beach

The gang

Family time

Black Sands Beach

Yesterday, we traveled a couple hours north to Waipio. After a treacherous drive down the steepest, bumpiest road I've ever been on, we finally stopped at the black sands beach (the sand is actually black) where it feels like you've been dropped into the sludge at the bottom of a french press. Beautiful sludge, that is, surrounded by crashing waves, high green cliffs, and a tropical rainforest. It took us about three hours to hike into this sweet little waterfall and back, but the trail was easy and the sights were well worth it. 

The treetops formed a gigantic puzzle above us 

This has been Clara's favorite part of the trip so far

The water was cold but it felt great after hiking 

Hawaii 1 - More to come!

We have breakfast on the porch every morning and soak up the sun

Uncle Jack and Clara

Sunset at the Old Airport. The sunsets here are incredible!