Services in the Morning and an Afternoon/Evening of COMPLETE Relaxation

Today we had planned to go Hope Chapel, Kaneohe Bay which is in Windward, maybe a thirty minutes drive from our house. Since we were going to the 8:00 service, we had to wake up at 6:40. :P Took a little while to get out of bed but we all made it on time. We stopped by McDonald's to pick up some lunch then Naomi drove us onward to Windward. ^_^

We were a few minutes late but were able to find very good seats towards the front in the middle. The worship was lead by this woman who really had a 'country-ish' music type of voice. Mellow but controlled, and pleasant to listen to. Pastor Ralph Moore preached the sermon entitled Into the Place of Power, using the passages in II Chronicles 7:13-15 and Genesis 37 through 41. It was a very powerful message and I was happy to have been able to listen to it.

Afterwards, Maki and I took some time to take various pictures of the beautiful scenery. I always love going to that part of Hawaii where it's just SOOOO green! It's no wonder several movie scenes are filmed around that area. Driving home I couldn't help but roll down the window and take more pictures of the view.

Got home and around 10:30 we began our own church service. Naomi led service today and we sang some more 'oldies'. ^_^ Naomi talked about In a Foreign Land and read from Hebrews and Psalms. I liked how she said we all should persevere for 'bright eyes' just like David wrote in the Bible.

Chatted with Daddy for a bit. For lunch it was just Erin, Maki, and I while Naomi went out for the day with Tiffany. Ate a delicious hamburger, compliments of the leftovers from the Opitzs' barbecue yesterday. Yum!

From one o'clock I watched three episodes of Law & Order from the 4th season. I must confess, I'm getting quite hooked on the show. :P I think one of the best things about the show is that it doesn't dwell too much irrelevant 'sub-scenes' and 'subplots'. It's completely focused on the crime and the concluding trials. One of my favorite characters is the late and great Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe. But most definitely my FAVORITE character would be Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy, played by actor Sam Waterston. Yeah, I know you're all thinking, 'Priscilla likes old guys'... But seriously, these two are the few from the long-running show who have lasted over twelve years on the show because of how good they are and beloved by fans. They're are who kept the show running so long, each representing 'law' and 'order'. It's sad that Jerry Orbach is no loner in the cast. Anyway, I'm now interesting in seeing two plays which Sam Waterston had played in when he was young: Much Ado About Nothing in which he plays Benedict (one of my most favorite character in the Shakespeare play) and The Glass Menagerie starring alongside the great Katharine Hepburn.

Erin and Maki joined me next to watch Dave, one of my favorite romantic comedies, especially since it stars one of my favorite actors Kevin Kline. He's so talented and has such a great comedic timing. It's no wonder he was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Dave. It's also interesting to see Sigourney Weaver in such a 'nice' role. :P Also, a little trivia, Bonnie Hunt is seen in a very small role as a tour guide a the White House. It's interesting to see now that's she's a pretty big star now.

While watching dinner, since we were pretty much still in a 'movie' mood, we watched a couple hours of Pride and Prejudice (there was no way we could watch the whole 5-hour movie tonight). Watching it reminded me again just why I LOVE this movie. Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, wonderful sets, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, beautiful costumes, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, superb acting... and need I mention Colin Firth is in it as Mr. Darcy? :P SUCH a good movie... Visually gorgeous film... Hopefully we'll get to finish it tomorrow.

Naomi came home after a nice day with Tiff; she was nice enough to get me this really nice green sports shirt! I can never have enough sport shirts and pants as she well knows... lol! My parents came along shortly afterwards and we had a video conversation with them. It was lots of fun because Masa and Mayumi Kato were at my house so we got to say hi to them! Of course, saw the dogs and they're looking great though I miss them terribly. :P Feeling slightly homesick again, though not as bad as the last bout I had.

Well, I'm off to bed 'early' tonight since I woke up so early this morning. Such a perfect day: got to go visit the Windward area, went to a nice church, had our own nice service, ate great food, and watched a LOT of tv and movies. What could make it more perfect?

On a closing note, here is a funny scene from the upcoming movie Brothers Grimm which I'm very much looking forward to watching when it comes out in a few weeks. (Will Grimm is played by the INCREDIBLE Matt Damon):

Will Grimm: We cannot fight an entire forest!
Sister Grimm: You're just scared!
Will Grimm: And why aren't you? You were nearly eaten by a tree... A TREE!