Who is Champuru? 
Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
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Dot-Com Days
In the days before dot-net.
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The funeral for Shari’s father was this afternoon. There was a huge turnout and the chapel was packed, with latecomers even lining the back wall. I helped collect and record the condolence gifts, handwriting ~140 names and addresses into book #2 — and that was only half of the attendees, since Shari’s cousin recorded the other half in book #1. Shari’s dad was loved in the community and the large attendance certainly reflected that.
Shari’s brother is my classmate, with Shari trailing a year behind us. Because of this, many of our classmates attended the funeral to pay their respects. Friends of ours (not classmates) came as well and since the dining hall was full, we all ended up standing outside shooting the breeze and enjoying the tasty funeral fare from Ige’s. (I have to admit that I actually really like Japanese-style “funeral food:” sushi, nishime, namasu, macaroni salad, fried noodles, mochiko chicken, teriyaki beef, shoyu pork, and andagi.)
Despite the sad circumstances, funerals often serve as times of reunion for friends and family that you don’t routinely see. Funerals also remind us that life is short and we should make time to see those friends and family more often.
I love Andes Mints. They were a childhood treat, a favorite of my father’s and he would share them with me — but limit me to one tiny little mint at a time. I would savor it, letting the mint chocolate melt slowly on my tongue. So, when I saw that Jack in the Box had an Andes Mint Shake, I just had to try it. It’s almost as good as I remember.
Sometimes my spiritual ears don’t work very well and that still, small voice gets drowned out by the cares and distractions of this world.
This morning, in church, I had one of those moments when I felt like God was speaking directly to me through the pastor’s message. He talked about how our hectic and stressful lives can be so overwhelming. But, God tells us to “be still and know that He is God,” (Psalms 46:10). As the pastor spoke, he asked us to close our eyes and be still. It’s something I rarely do. My life is full of activity and busyness, even my free time is hardly ever “free.” The only time I am still are the moments in the darkness, just before sleep overtakes me, rescuing me from the exhaustion and stress of the day. But even then, my mind races, rewinding the events of the day and fast-forwarding to the tasks that await me tomorrow.
But, I realized that I must focus on God, especially during those time that I am most overwhelmed by the mile-long To Do list or when I feel like the sky is falling all around me. It is best summed up in an article I found about this verse. Here’s an excerpt:
This command—“be still”—forces us to think on two things: that we are finite, and that God is infinite. That being the case, we need to drop our hands, go limp, relax, and “chill out.” Christian people ought to “come, behold the works of Jehovah,” (v8) that we may enjoy a calm confidence in him who gave us his Son.
“Shall he not also with him freely give us all things?” Paul reasoned (Romans 8:32). Psalm 46:10 encourages us to reflect on what God can do in the face of what we are unable to do.
Spiritual serenity, the psalmist admits, ought to be cultivated in spite of the shaking mountains and agitated waters (vv. 2-3; i.e., figures for the difficulties we face in life). This spiritual calm, that God commands, does not come from a lack of troubles; it derives from a steady, deep reflection on the ways God has intervened in history on behalf of his people (cf. Romans 15:4).
So as your world crumbles around you, the call from Scripture is: don’t flinch in faith in God. Stand still—not because of a self-made confidence, not because you are the most composed person in the face of disaster, not because “you’ve seen it all.” Be still because of what you know about God.
It is “God’s past” that provides calm for “our future.” Know that he is God! Know it, not merely intellectually, but practically, spiritually, and emotionally. He is your God. He is the ruler of kingdoms of this earth and the all-powerful Creator of the Universe.
If you are the last man or woman standing, be still. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth do change” (Psalm 46:1-2a). Hallelujah!
Excerpted from the article, “Be still and Know that I Am God,” by the Christian Courier
So, be still and listen. Is God talking to you today?
 Day 11 of 30
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