Love Is Contagious.

What happens to a flower that isn't watered? It wilts and dies. What happens to our pets when we don't pay attention to them? They wine and become anxious. In the same way this world, the people around us are in a deep need of LOVE. I'm not talkin' about any kind of love. I'm talkin' about God's amazing LOVE. Just today I was thinking about this when I visited a dear family member this morning. This four letter word makes such a huge impact. Can you say that you've really spread all the love you can? I can say that I need to get busy because God has called each and every one of us to reach those who are brokenhearted, sick, and in need. What can we do? Well...there's a lot of things. Call up an old friend and ask how they're doing, make lunch for someone, post a scripture on someone's Facebook wall, or maybe even take the time to just love on your family. Sure they're not big outlandish things but to someone out there they can make a huge difference. This is something I'm applying to myself and that I wanted to share with you all. It's important. I'm about to spread some love right now as a matter of fact with some of the girlies in my family who need to feel the love of God. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. How can people accept Jesus if they don't know what his love is all about? We need to be those vessels. So...spread the love! Just like laughter, I hear it's contagious. God Bless dear readers, until next time!

As Of Lately...

Mmmmmm... What to talk about? There are so many little, middle, and big things that I want to share with yall today. First off, Hello dear readers I have missed you all! Busyness has taken a toll on me these past few days, causing me to stem away from my blog but as always I do return.

As of lately, I began my second semester of college at UTPA and so far God has graced me with awesome classes and professors. I can't complain, God is so good to me. For those of you who have read my first posts, I am no longer in my favorite little corner because the table has been moved but I have relocated farther left, still in the same building. I have to say that so far my favorite class is MCLL which is Mexican American Literature. My professor is so fun and quirky and definitely full of wisdom. It's great to learn about where my family is from and how we migrated to where we are now. So cool!

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On another positive note, I have also decided to hit hard my goal of living a healthy lifestyle. I bought myself a bike and my mom signed me up at the local gym. Fasting is also going good and makes me all the more motivated to do this for the glory of God. Depending on His strength makes this possible. I'll keep y'all posted and I'll definitely share some yummy healthy recipes later on.

Here Comes The Bride

You Are Cordially Invited To: Isaac and Rebekah's Wedding       Well although you can't actually attend their wedding I have decided to share this beautiful love story with you. Desperate, Adam makes his oldest servant swear that he would not allow Adam's son, Isaac, to marry one of the local Canaanite women. Does that sound familiar readers?? How many of our mommies and daddies think that no guy is good enough for their little girls or that no girl is good enough for their baby boy? Adam felt the same way. He didn't want just any wife for Isaac. He wanted a wife from his own family to marry his son. Here God shows us the importance of marrying someone with your same beliefs that loves God with all their body, mind, soul, and heart. (1 Corinthians 6:15-20) Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 

The servant, traveling back to Abraham's native land, arrived at the town and made the camels kneel beside a well. As the women of the town began to come out of their homes to draw water the servant began to pray to the Lord for guidance in choosing the wife for his master's son. He told the Lord that he would know who the right woman was if she gave him and his camels water. This is where Rebekah came in. As she was walking to fetch water, the servant asked her for water and she politely gave him a drink from her jug and offered to do the same for his camels. The servant pondered over whether the Lord had come through for him but then when he asked whose daughter she was and she answered Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor, there was no doubt. He praised the Lord for taking him directly to one of Abraham's relatives and stayed at Rebekah's parent's house until Rebekah agreed to go back with Abraham's servant. Like all parents and siblings, Rebekah's brother and mother wanted her to stay a few days more at home before she departed to marry. Sound familiar? Hee Hee. After the servant talked them out of their wish Rebekah agreed to go see her future husband and left her family, as all girlies have to one day. Imagine how Rebekah felt before all of this? A virgin young woman getting a sudden marriage proposal on an ordinary day. I'm sure she must have been thinking how heavy the jugs were or how beautiful the sky was but out of the blue her life changes in an instant. She goes from being a mama's girl to being the fiance of the son of Abraham who has been highly favored by the Lord. No pressure. Like many of us girls she must have been thinking, could this be it? Could he be the one? Finally...I've found my one true love. Talk about blind date central. She knew nothing about Isaac but all she did know was that it was the will of God. And this is why she was chosen. She could have easily told the servant, "No way! I'm not traveling miles and miles on a camel to marry someone who might not even be that cute! I have to look at this person every morning for the rest of my life!"

On the contrary...She boldly left her family with her servant girls and mounted on the camel to meet her beloved. And here comes my favorite part!



Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi to his home in Negev meditating and coming from a time of prayer with the Lord when suddenly...Evening fell and Isaac spotted some camels coming closer toward him in the field. I'm sure he was taken back after spending time by himself and then suddenly seeing a group of camels approaching. Could it be (he must have thought)? When he looked up, Rebekah also laid eyes on him. This was love at first sight because the bible says that Rebekah quickly dismounted from her camel when she saw Isaac. She asked the servant who that man was coming up to meet them and when he said that it was Isaac she quickly covered her face with her veil. She must have said I do a thousand times in her head as he was walking toward her. Isaac took a hold of her hand (improv) and then took her into the tent to marry her. The word of God said that he loved her deeply and he must have if it only took one look to fall in love with her.

At Last! My Other Rib

(Genesis 2:20-24)

He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’because she was taken from ‘man.’”
This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

When reading how the Lord created Adam and then Eve I began to think about how romantic our God is. We've all heard the phrase, "the other half of my heart," but in this case the Lord made it so that Eve was given life from the other half of Adam's rib. Literally she was made beside him and from a part of him. Many of us girls have also heard the saying, "behind every man there is a great woman," but the Lord made it so that "beside every man there is a great woman."

According to Google, " ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the chest cavity. They serve to protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax. "

Our God is so romantic that He sealed what the love of a man toward a women would be for life by giving one of Adam's ribs to Eve. This act symbolized how a man's job is to protect a woman physically and emotionally. Oh how you think of everything God!

When Adam saw Eve I bet his eyes sparkled and that his heart lept inside of his chest because he said, “At last!”This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh!" God had created Eve just for him and from him. Today we might here something sweet like, "I finally found the other half of my heart that I've been looking for my whole life!" You see, God created Eve because he saw that it was not good for the man to be alone. The Lord recognized that Adam needed a partner-- someone to share those beautiful moments with that would complete him in the natural sense. God occupied Adam's eternal heart but He knew that a woman would occupy his heart on earth and that this woman would be good for him...she would be a "helper." A partner in life. You see even though Adam completed the work that God had for him, God himself saw that something was missing. The man could work and work and work but at the end of the day Adam needed a companion to share his life with. At the end of the verse the word says that,"This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." There comes a time when Adam and all men say, "Finally! I found the missing piece!" God created this beautiful blessing and gave birth to the closest kind of love that symbolizes how He loves us: a true love between a woman and a man. Just like the Lord has created us to be one with our future husband, (or if you're a guy reading...with your future wife) God wants to be one with us. He wants to spend time with us because He knows that alone, separate from Him, we just can't live complete.

Let There Be Light

What? The book of Genesis? That's right kiddos! The Lord will always give his children new revelation of those things that most believe to be obvious or worn out. Friends and fellow readers, I am so excited to share with you what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me during my time of fasting and prayer. As you all know, I have begun to read the bible from book numero uno to the book of Revelations. No more skipping and skimming for this girl. Oh no, no, no, I'm in this 100% for the glory of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ! And for those of you, like I posted earlier, who wish to jump on the band wagon with me, I personally invite you to do so! And most importantly the Lord invites you to do so. Where to start, where to start? Well...a few days ago I began to have midnight to mid morning bible sessions with God. My boyfriend, who I love dearly, gave me an android phone for Christmas to which I added the Bible App to. I love, love, love this App! So as I was saying, at around 12:00AM-3:00AM I've been cuddled up in my bed reading the bible on my phone. I love it! Not that I don't love my tangible book bible but it's so much easier to have the lights off and read with my phone. Gracias Miamor, love you babe!

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As I began to read Genesis 1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day," the Lord gave me this beautiful vision of the drawing that I made above. Clearly I could envision a craftsman with his tools, trying to design and sculpt his creations but could not do so comfortably until he turned on a lamp. Once he turned on the light everything became clear and now he began to draw inspiration. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that this was God. When he began to create the world, before anything, He needed to see his beautiful and marvelous creations so He created the light. Light cannot only be interpreted in the natural and obvious sense, but in the spiritual sense. The light signifies inspiration, creativity, and enlightenment. God did not create and form the animals, trees, and us until there was light in the world because darkness brings confusion. Why confusion? Because one cannot see in the dark and one cannot think while in confusion. This is why God has called us to be children of

light.

Tip: If you feel gloomy or just plain sad or confused surround yourself with not only literal light but with the greatest light that exists: Jesus. Find a nice area or corner and snuggle up with a blanket and read the word of God. There's a great comfort that comes from filling yourself with God's word. Try it! Turn on your favorite lamp and remember that you were called to be a child of light. When God Himself wanted to be creative while making you, He did so with the light illuminating His workspace. Keep looking up and God Bless!

Inspiration

Hello readers! This will officially be my first post of the year and...I know, shame shame, but I thank the Lord for providing me with time for blogging. What have you been doing Deya, you might ask? Well friends...I have just been worshiping, reading the word of God, and spending time with my family and boyfriend. I started the first day of the new year not just worshipping in one church for God's glory but in two! The Lord is faithful! So faithful that let me share this one tiny bit of advice with you: whenever the Lord takes you out of one place or allows us to go through the fire...it's always because something extremely better is waiting for us on the other side. If the Lord is guiding you toward something then I don't care how hard it is for you to let go and run without looking back, just dash off! Don't be like Lot's wife, just trust the Lord and walk away. Oh trust me when I say that God has something far greater for you. The greater the sacrifice...the greater the blessing!

In other news, God has placed in my heart to read the bible from beginning to end and to fast. I mean I just can't outrun the Lord...I have to and yearn to do this. While it is great to toss open the bible and read the scripture that I first see when the random page is opened, I know that as God's daughter I have to know the very words that my Father has left me with before He returns. I mean, what accounts will I give to Him when He asks me why I did not know how to minister to someone because I didn't know scriptures about healing or salvation? Thank you God. I know some of you reading this can relate and hopefully by the end of this post you also become inspired to take on this beautiful task.

When you read a book, how annoying is it if you start from the middle or end? You miss the big idea and you don't even know why this girl is happy or why that family is torn, and you might be wondering: "Who's this guy? um...hello does anyone know who Bob is?" Yup, this is why I have taken on the lovely work of reading the Lord's Word from start to finish, principio a fin, beginning to end. And let me tell you...you might think you know everything about the book of Genesis, the beginning, but my friends the Lord always has a new revelation to give each and everyone of us. What He shows you might not be what He reveals to me and visa versa. So from now on I am going to dedicate my time to reading God's word and spending more time with Him so that I can share with you guys what the Lord is showing me from Genesis to the Book of Revelations. I am so excited!! Yes I will still be telling you of my personal life because as you all know the Lord has a mysterious way of tying things together. I will always share the word, my experiences, and helpful tips and advice with you.

 The revelation that the Lord gave me for the beginning of the year and the rest of my life is that to the Lord, our lives are a song. In prayer, I told the Lord that I wanted to be that beautiful and catchy song that He wants to always listen to. The melody that touches His heart! That is my desire for all the days of my life. Because He is my song, I want to be His.

So friends here's to reading the word of God together and sharing those beautiful moments in our daily spiritual and personal lives! All I have to toast with is a plastic cup of water but yay! Congrats and Cheers!

An Unlikely Treasure—God Sees Differently

Good Afternoon dear Readers. I feel great today! Today in particular I felt like blogging before I busy myself up. I want to give you, my lovely friends, an update and something to inspire you as well. Who doesn't want to get inspired, right? I myself get inspired by your blog posts and as God has placed in my heart, I'd love to give back. You see, a certain topic has been bouncing off the top of my head and I just can't wait to share it with you: How God transforms something ordinary into something rather extraordinary! And so...let the story unfold...

One Night With the King: The Story of Esther

Oofuh! Let me just blow the dust off of my imaginary ancient bible. Many, many, many years ago, in a country called Persia (Babylon), there was a king named Xerxes and a queen named Vashti. King Xerxes ordered his wife Vashti to appear before him at a party so that he could display her beauty for all to see. When she refused, the king was furious.
In case that wasn't bad enough, a horrible man named Haman was one of the King's advisers. Haman warned the king that if word got around, all wives would disrespect their husbands in the same manner. At Haman's urging, King Xerxes ordered that his wife be "banished."
King Xerxes, with Haman's advice, ordered a search through the kingdom for a beautiful virgin girl to be his bride. These women underwent tedious beauty tests, just like a Ms. America Pageant. It wasn't too long before the King's scouts happened upon Esther. Esther was beautiful, gracious and kind -- just what the king was looking for.  After she won the King's favor, Esther was married to the king Xerxes.

Now Esther was a Jew. The Jews had been driven out of Israel, their home, about 70 years before and exiled in Persia. Although they did there best to make a living in this strange land, they prayed that someday they would be able to return to their home. Esther's uncle Mordechai, was the leader of the Jews. Mordechai encouraged Esther to hide her faith from the King and his advisers, which she did.

Haman had, by this time, become a powerful man in the kingdom - Prime Minister of Persia in fact. He decided that given his rise in power, it would be appropriate for everyone to bow down to him. But Mordechai refused to bow down to a man. Haman was very angry and asked the King to authorize a royal decree to annihilate the Jews.

Haman cast lots to determine the day this was to happen. And so it was decreed that in Adar of the coming year, on the 13th day of the month, all the Jews were to be killed, in every province and every nation of the land. There would be no place to run, and no place to hide.

This is where our courageous Queen Esther comes into the picture -- Mordechai, having found out about Haman's evil intentions, sent Esther a message. He told her what Haman was plotting and asked her to go to the King on the Jews behalf.

Esther was terribly afraid. She hadn't been allowed to see the King for a month. In fact, no one could see him without being invited. But she fasted and prayed for three days, mustered up her courage and went to see the king. Her exact words were, "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish" Esther 4:16. Although he was initially angry at her, King Xerxes spared her life and offered "half [his] kingdom for [her] wishes,"

All she asked was that the King and Haman join her for dinner that night.
As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, "Now what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted." Esther replied, "My petition and my request is this: If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question." Of course, both the King and Haman agreed to attend a second banquet with the lovely young Queen.

Haman was very pleased that he'd been asked to dine with Achashveyrosh and Esther two nights in a row and was filled with pride. But then he saw Mordecai at the king's gate and still Mordecai refused to bow to him. Haman was filled with rage. He decided that night to build a gallows with which to hang Mordechai and planned to speak to the king about it the very next morning. That way, he'd have the whole matter dealt with during the day and be able to enjoy the next evening's banquet in peace.
That same night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. The book was turned to the day Mordecai exposed a plot to assassinate the King. The King was reminded of this tale and asked what reward Mordecai had received. The king's attendants told him that nothing had been done for Mordecai.

The next morning, just as Haman was arriving to ask that Mordecai be hanged the king asked him, "What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?" Haman, still filled with pride, mistakenly thought the king was referring to him. So he answered the king, "For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, `This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'"
Imagine Haman's embarrassed face when the King commanded, "Go at once. Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate." Haman obeyed. He was very upset that Mordecai, his enemy, was being honored by the king. Immediately after leading Mordecai around the city proclaiming, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!", Haman had to go to the banquet with the King and Queen.
 
Finally Esther shared the secret of her faith and proclaimed herself a Jew. She begged the king to spare her people. Harbona, one of the king's attendants told the king of the gallows that Haman had built to have Mordecai hanged. The king was furious with Haman and ordered that he be hanged on those gallows. Haman's pride and cruelty had led to his own destruction and the brave, young Esther had saved her people.

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At first Glance, to many, Esther might have looked average. Just like any other "Jewish" girl but she was not. In God's eyes she was a brave hero, while she herself probably looked in the mirror and saw a frightened young nobody. Because Esther feared and obeyed God, she saved the lives of her beloved people. Did Jesus not do the same for us? The difference here is that God did not spill her blood. God honored Esther because like David, she did not fight greatly... she believed greatly. What must she have felt in those trying moments of life and death? We too face moments in our lives where we have to make a decision: Are we going to listen to what God commands us to do or are we going to run from the call? Like Esther, we must have faith that our God will come through for us. Yes, our situation may seem impossible and, yes, it might seem like there is no hope but...we serve the true and living God who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. A God, like the word says, who is not a man to lie nor a son of man to change His mind. If He said that He would never leave then He will never leave us;However, it's up to us to believe. Like Esther was told that if she did not obey God she would either way perish, we will also face worse things if we do not obey God. He would never let us suffer without He Himself being there on the other side to comfort us, but we have to be brave and go forth in the name of the most powerful God in whatever we do or face. You and I might think of ourselves as ordinary but God sees differently. And what God sees is far more important than what man sees.

(1 Samuel 16:7) But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”