All I Have Is Yours

What started as some empty kleenex boxes, turned into a beautiful teaching moment with my children. 
The kids had been given some money recently.  I am talking, a few dollars here and there, and change from Easter eggs all beginning to crowd my counter. 
It inspired a craft idea.
We used markers (aka: the most exciting thing EVER in my house) to decorate the white side of some wrapping paper, wrapped our old kleenex boxes and put holes in the top.
It was in the moment that I was about to give them the money to put into these self made piggy banks that I realized we would need to count our money so they could tithe accordingly.
Wait... I needed to teach them about tithing.
Kumu and I have always tithed off of "their" money for them, but Keaka was old enough now to understand the idea.
I cannot put into words the joy I felt as I was able to explain to my kids what it meant to give back to God out of all that He has given us.
Some people might look at our lifestyle or physical possessions and think we are poor.  We live in a small home and rely on the generosity of others for our basic needs so we can do our part to fulfill the Great Commission.
If you ask us, we have all that we need.  God has never failed us or left us in want.  He has always supplied our needs.
I am rich in so many ways, and believe God when He says to test Him in this (tithing).
It may not seem like much to me, but for Keaka to hand back all those precious coins was a sacrifice.  He understood though that He was giving back to God from what God had given him.  When he gave, he put all that change in the offering basket with delight.
Leiahi is still too young to fully understand, but she definitely delighted in the new game we were playing :)
These are the priceless moments.

Psalm 37:25

"I was young and now am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."

2 Corinthians 9:7 

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

 Malachi 3:10 

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

Happy Birthday Leiahi!

Since we will be traveling on Leiahi's Birthday, and she is one of four little girls turning 2 within a two week span... we had decided to have a triple 2nd Birthday Party.  She and two of her little friends had a butterfly themed party this weekend.  


Here are few picture from the special celebration.

Leiahi is truly our little princess.  She is a beautiful girl and brings us so much laughter and joy.  Her adventurous heart and endless chatter keeps us on our toes. She is fiery just like her name, but also loving and very affectionate.

As Grandpa and Grandma say, she is a little peanut.

Thank God, for our Ahi Girl!

Glory, Glory, Lord!

If you told me (Kumu) a year ago it would take a this long to complete our first full length compilation album I would have told you that you were crazy.  I also wouldn't have started.  

But after a year of organizing the various artists, recording, and mixing, it is finally done!  

Countless hours of learning and training have been poured into this record, and I can say that I have learned a lot.

We are finished with our part in the studio, tracking and mixing.  It is now in the post production phase with the mastering engineer.  He will put the songs together so they sound like they all belong on the same record, with the same levels and good traditions.

Glory will be released on June 3, 2012!  

Available for purchase on elevatedmusic.com, iTunes, or live at the 

School of the Circuit Rider in Orlando, Florida!

Also released on June 3...

&

The Circuit Rider Album, which is scheduled to go to post production at the end of this coming week.

April 2012 - Our Family Update

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Happy reading :)

First Quarter 2012

Here is my version of a quarterly review :)

January:

*We took our annual overnight stay-cation at the King Kamehameha Hotel to ring in the New Year.

*Keaka started pre-school!

*Island Breeze -  After more than four years with the luau company, Kumu has worked his last show.  With Kamalu soon to arrive we felt it wise to have Kumu home with our family in the evenings.  We also felt that he should commit all of his time and energies into Elevated Music and ministry.

*We welcomed Kamalu into our family!!!

February:

*Aunty Joanna comes to visit and is the first to meet our new addition!

*Tootsie's come to town.

*Grandma & Grandpa arrive.

*Young Families Pastors - We have taken on a new role at our local church, and are working to expand our ministry to young families and their children.

*Celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary.

March:

*Someone learns how to ride a bike...

*Someone gets a "big girl" bed...

*And someone else starts rolling from belly to back...

*Since we didn't have any friends or family coming to visit this month, we thought we'd invite over some superheroes instead :)

What an exciting start to our year.  We can hardly wait to see what there is to report next quarter.

One, Two, Three, Go!

Our transition from two to three has been really wonderful. The "big kids" just love their baby brother.

Kamalu gets lots of hugs and kisses.

Especially from his big sister.

Time has flown by, and Kamalu is already 6 weeks old. He truly is a peaceful baby and a wonderful addition to our family. As seen in the picture above, he has started smiling. I even caught him rolling from his back to his belly the other day.

The picture below is him passed out in his favorite sling. He loves to be held, especially by his Mommy.

Leiahi is our little chatterbox.  She is sweet, fearless, and always looking for an adventure.  She loves her brothers and will take a monster truck over a baby doll any day.

Keaka absolutely loves preschool.  He is thriving and enjoying learning.  One of his favorite activities is doing puzzles.  He is all boy and full of energy, but also very loving and affectionate.

A First For A Nation

There was no real reason for this being the first song to get completed in the post production process. Kumu simply chose it at random because he like the song.

After it was completed, we sent it to our contact in Bhutan. Below is the response we received:

Dear Kumu,
Tears are rolling down my face. Right song, right time. It is a new year song. The meaning is; goodbye 2010, welcome 2011. It is urging all the people of the earth to accept the Lord Jesus Christ in this new year, and encouraging all those who are already in the Lord to march forward with new goals. To get ready because the Lord is coming soon. When I let the singer hear the song, she couldn't help but start to cry with joy because she had never recoded a song like this before.

Thank you very much for Blessing us. This will bring tremendous changes in Bhutan. May God Bless you, Kumu, and the wonderful team that God brought to Bhutan.

May you be blessed and encouraged at the Lord's sovereign hand, interest in the dteails, and love for each and every nation... including Bhutan!

Bhutan Slideshow from Elevated Music on Vimeo.