May 2026 Conchshell Chronicles

Lamb Bleatings

 

Celebrating Mother's Day

Filling The Void

Jesus said of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father but by Me.”   

At 15, I did my own research on Jesus Christ.  There was two rows full of evidence of this significant character in history in the Kalihi Umi library.  I was stunned and forever changed from the inside out from my discoveries and personal experiences.

 In my earlier years of life I often wondered, “What is my purpose here? Do we just go to school, then college, get married, have kids, grow old and die? Where do I end up when I die? The Buddhist had no answers as Buddha had died along with the rest of those nice religious guys that many followed.

I began searching and asked the one question, “God if you are there, show me who you are and tell me what to do?”

I began the supernatural discovery of this person, Jesus Christ who came to earth, lived a sinless life, gave up his life for me and the sinful world because of His love.  He was crucified on a cross  (Good Friday) and then He resurrected (came to Life from the dead; Easter) on the third day after dying on the cross.

After my initial revelation of the reality of this Person, I   continued walking out my life- moving to Maui, working, traveling, going to church, had the house, car, job which gave me  financial freedom to do whatever I wanted.Order Rwanda

I thought, “Wait a minute isn’t this what I have been striving toward?”

The emptiness felt loud and overwhelming. Why don’t I feel satiated, contented, successful even though I am living in the most beautiful place in the world. What is missing!?!?

I felt exceptionally discontent and tired of my rigamarole. It was an odd feeling to know I had worked so hard to get to this place in life and to still feel a desire for more.  Much more. 

I walked in my home and once again asked the same questions: “What  is this all for; What am I doing with my life; Why don’t I feel satisfied with all that I have and life goals being met?  I went to the middle of the floor of my living room and started to weep out loud and cried to God, “I give up my life. Just show me what you want.”

The still small voice from within said, “I want all of You, I want you to trust Me with Your Life and future and I will take care of the details because I know You, designed you and Have sacrificed my life for you.”  There was a shift that happened from serving myself and my goals to serving the King, who knows, cares, and can do anything.  The only One worthy of my time and attention to the full and able to be there for me without fail or lack. 

Since that day, I realize how my practice of laying out before the One whom my soul loves is a regular consistent part of living this life with fullness and joy.  I am given an inner confidence that all things will work together for good as I daily present myself to The Father, Son and Holy Spirit laying myself bare before him aware that He alone is the Lover of my Mind, Body and Spirit…

I recall the first time I walked over the threshold of my new home in Kihei, I heard a still small voice say, “Keep your hands open and never grab anything too tightly.  It is not yours.  It is a gift.” 

I have had many gifts from my Father who gives to me continually. I only need to constantly remind myself to present my whole being to the One who   is perfect and eternal and He will fulfill me to     overflow, peace and joy that comes from no other SOURCE.  It is truly hard to describe the ease of trusting in a Divine Being that is perfect and knows it all and can do it all. Each of us must choose this day, who we will serve?  We will all serve and bow down….Once I reckoned who I was serving and why, there came clarity, even though often I don’t have a clue.

Honolulu, October 1, 1988

See that look on my face in 1988?

Yep, clueless as to what I was getting into.  But God knew and as long as I lined up my thoughts and perspective with Him, I get to seek and find the   answers to all my questioning and walk on a firm lasting foundation all the way into eternity. 

I dare you to ask, “Who are You, Jesus?” Laura

 

Michael and his namesake, celebrating her birthday.

Engaging the Philosophers of our Age

We are doing a study on the Book of Acts now, and this past Saturday we visited Athens and dissected Paul’s address to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on Mars Hill. I thought it would be valuable to understand how Paul engaged the most elite group of thinkers of his day and perhaps that would help us engage the culture that we find ourselves in today. You can see the photos and read about it here.

 Biblical Places Spiritual Spaces - Athens

 

The first step is listening…..

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. Acts 17:16-17

Paul was familiar with Socrates’ method of asking questions, listening, discerning opinions,  and then using their statement to logically prove them wrong. Paul wasn’t preaching or talking at those he met in the Agora, which we often find ourselves doing in our encounters, but rather being respectful and friendly, asking questions, and engaging them on a familiar cultural level. Peter understood this and told us to:

Sanctify (venerate as holy) Christ as Lord in your hearts,  always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks   you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with  gentleness and  reverence; 1 Peter 3:15

Paul made a reference to an event in Athenian history from the 4^th Century BC, where there was a plague that would not relent, and offerings were made to “An Unknown God,” which resulted in the plague being abated. Paul used this historical event to make a cultural connection. Paul directed their attention to this Unknown God, who he declared to be Jesus.   He then quoted two Greek writers from that time, who made references to Zeus, whom Paul said was really Jesus, even one verse that pointed to the Resurrection of Jesus. It was a brilliant presentation of the Gospel, on a level that they could connect with, which resulted some accepting Jesus as their Lord.

The church in Athen grew to be one of the largest in Greece.

 

Athens October 2001

For us, this is a model on how we are to engage those whom God has placed around us. Jesus said to be “Salt & Light”, meaning be loyal friends who practice hospitality and acts of service, whose random acts of kindness will draw attention to Jesus Himself. Once we have established a relationship, at the right moment we will probably be asked “Why are being so   nice to me?” They will notice that they are given respect and friendship that is different than what they are used to by others. Serving others and doing what is best for them is at the heart of the teachings of the Bible as well as God’s heart. This is the point where, when prompted by the Holy Spirit, we can begin to speak God’s Truth into their lives.

One approach I have found useful is to address the societal influences present and how the Bible compares to the philosophies of this world.

Recently I wrote about this to a dear friend:

“We followers of Christ have been doing this for about 2000 years. It is an amazing history, starting with a small group in an isolated region of the Roman Empire which numbered about 10, 000 at the end of the First Century, growing to over 33,000,000 by the middle of the Fourth Century, which was over 53% of the Roman Empire population. How did they do it?

My research shows that they were extremely generous with what little they possessed, they treated women differently than the Roman culture, they took in widows and orphans as well as babies thrown in the Tiber  River and left abandoned in the forests, they welcomed outsiders into their homes and communities, and they maintained the sanctity of the family unit in that they followed God’s commands to abstain from sex outside of marriage. Thus, the family unit of husband/father, wife/mother, and children remained a safe place to express love and intimacy, care for one   another, raise children, and be a blessing to the outside community.

Our culture has been bombarded by a philosophy that is centered on Self, where mankind became the source and standard of morality, where truth is fluid for the situation, that each individual should decide what is best for themselves and pursue it regardless of familial or societal consequences, and that personal ‘happiness’ should be the goal of life.

Many portions of the Bible that tell us what God thinks about us, what He says we are, how He says we should live for Him and others around us, and how we should protect the family unit have been disregarded by many so called Christians as being out of date, not applicable to our modern times, and culturally irrelevant.

As a result, there is often confusion among us in regard to the question “How do we followers of Christ think about our life, who we are, what path leads to peace and joy, and where our road ends?”

This search had taken many to the mountaintops of experience, the depths of knowledge, and the latitudes of freedoms which often fall outside of the counsel given to us by the most published book in history that claims to be written by God’s Spirit through men, which has a solid historical basis and has been shown through our history to have valid    answers to the questions of life. These other paths lead to despair.

Where will we go for direction in these years of our lives? 

What our culture and inner-self tells us?

Or where God’s Word leads us?”

Many are asking this question now, and are looking up and asking for answers. We will meet these searchers, and God will use us to help them make a connection to the Lord of this Universe.

 Ask God to use you today to be that friend who can help with the true answers to these life questions.   Michael

 

 

 

 Honduras & Nicaragua Construction

  We have started replacing the roof on the Discipleship Center in Waspam Nicaragua and installing the solar panels at the Rio Coco Café on Utila.

 

Thre are no hurricane clips for the roof structure and the Rio Coco has been hit by many hurricanes over our 40 plus years there, so our builder is hand making them out of sheet of metal. Now that’s craftmanship!

We just built a wooden floor over the cement in the bodega of our Utila café, for the batteries of the solar system. Apparently the batteries will discharge if they sit on cement. We are also reinforcing the roofing supports for the panels.

Currently we are paying 41 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity on Utila. Here in Florida we pay 9 cents a kilowatt hour…….

Please keep these building projects in your prayers as we complete these this month.

 

Seek The Lamb Giving

How Can You Help This Month?

1) Help us with the funds for the solar panels on Utila.

2) Help us repair the Waspam office roof.

3) Support one of our Seek The Lamb missionaries;

We encourage you to partner with us on our discipleship efforts on the Rio Coco and Utila. Consider helping with our roof construction and solar panel projects.

You may also desire to support one of or Seek The Lamb missionaries who are ‘working the harvest’ in these two areas of Central America.

Here is the link to our Seek The Lamb Giving Page.

 

Spiritual Arrows / Your Prayers:

Please pray that God will:

1) Give us wisdom as we launch our ‘A Cuo of Life’ podcast.

2) Provide the funds for the Nicaragua & Honduras ministries

3) Provide us with missionaries for the Rio Coco Café on Utila.

 

Rio Coco Beans

We just purchased a delicious coffee from Rwanda, and we love it. It has black tea, brown sugar and lemon notes with a very smooth finish.

It is a peaberry, which means that the coffee cherry has only one seed, instead of two, and thus the peaberry is rounder and more dense that the double seeds. Therefore more fats and protein resulting in more flavor.

You may order some and we will send it to your home or office. Join our Coffee Club for a discount of 15% off your order.

 Order Rwanda Coffee for home delivery

Thanks for spending time with us this month.