How to express love

Hello my name is Erika and I want to thank my sister in Christ Ponnie for inviting me to “The Kitchen Table” blog.

It is my privilege to speak on the topic, "How to express love," Sometimes the desire for life makes us forget how to love ... There are several ways of expressing love not only with words ... We know that words spoken with love are essential in our lives. We all occasionally need to hear a word of love, pleasant, suave, and softened. Proverbs 16: 23 & 24 says: 23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips. 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

When we speak with love, it's like when we take care of a flower, we irrigate the fertilizer, we handle it with care, that is the same way we do with our hearts and souls.

We also know that not everything is there. The word teaches us in James 2:15-16 says 15 And if a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily maintenance, 16 and one of you says to them: Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things which are needful to the body, " what profit?

This verse teaches that faith without works is dead, and I compare it with love, love must be expressed with words, actions (events) and positive attitudes. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and have a heart fully to the need of your brother, your friend, your companion ... your neighbor.


Allow yourself from now on, your actions / events and attitudes express the love that God placed in you for others ... Remember what the word says in 1 John 4:7-11, 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He that loveth not know God, because God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, that God sent his only Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 In this is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

I could go on talking about this subject but I will leave it here, I invite you to leave your comments, opinions and suggestions of how you express the love of God in you to others.

I leave you with the lyrics of this song that speaks of Love! It says:

As the metal that resonates in the ears are the words spoken without love,
And as a cloud without water in the desert are the actions that you take without love ...
That you had better move mountains with your faith,
if your soul does not see love
It fills all the love, colorful flowers
There is no point having all the money in the world if you do not love
It is love that covers all ... It is love which forgives and forgets
It is love that heals all wounds
It is love, the love of God, that is God in your heart
There is a fountain of love within you, is waiting for you to let it flow, just smile, smile to life and let LOVE be .

Love and let yourself be loved ...


Your sister and friend
Erika Gonzalez
God Bless You

Monday's Blog: Shasha "Healthy Living & Lifestyles"

The winnner for this month drawing is: Rian B. of Philadelphia, PA


Como Expresar El Amor

Hola mi nombre es Erika y quiero darle las gracias a mi hermana en Cristo Ponnie por haberme invitado a su blog “La Mesa de la Cocina”

Es para mi un privilegio hablar sobre el tema; “Como expresar el Amor” a veces el afán de la vida nos hace olvidar como Amar… Hay varias maneras de expresar el Amor. No solamente con palabras... Sabemos que las palabras que se dicen con amor son esenciales en nuestra vida. Todos necesitamos oír de vez en cuando una palabra de amor, agradable, suave, blanda. Proverbios 16: 23-24 dice: 23 El corazón del sabio hace prudente su boca, Y añade gracia a sus labios. 24 Panal de miel son los dichos suaves; Suavidad al alma y medicina para los huesos.

Cuando hablamos con amor, es como cuando cuidamos de una Flor, la regamos, la cuidamos le echamos abono, así también hacemos con nuestras almas y corazones.

También sabemos que no todo queda ahí. La palabra nos ensena en Santiago 2:15,16, 15 Y si un hermano o una hermana están desnudos, y tienen necesidad del mantenimiento de cada día, 16 y alguno de vosotros les dice: Id en paz, calentaos y saciaos, pero no les dais las cosas que son necesarias para el cuerpo, ¿de qué aprovecha?

Este verso habla de que la Fe sin obras es muerta, y yo lo comparo con el Amor, el amor hay que expresarlo con palabras, con acciones (hechos) y actitudes positivas. Ser sensibles al espíritu santo y tener un corazón presto a la necesidad de tu hermano, tu amigo, tu compañero... tú PROJIMO.

Permite que de Hoy en adelante tus acciones/ hechos y actitudes expresen el Amor que Dios puso en ti para con otros... Recuerda lo que dice la palabra;


1 Juan 4:7-11 7 Amados, amémonos unos a otros; porque el amor es de Dios. Todo aquel que ama, es nacido de Dios, y conoce a Dios. 8 El que no ama, no ha conocido a Dios; porque Dios es amor. 9 En esto se mostró el amor de Dios para con nosotros, en que Dios envió a su Hijo unigénito al mundo, para que vivamos por él. 10 En esto consiste el amor: no en que nosotros hayamos amado a Dios, sino en que él nos amó a nosotros, y envió a su Hijo en propiciación por nuestros pecados. 11 Amados, si Dios nos ha amado así, debemos también nosotros amarnos unos a otros.

Podría seguir hablando sobre este tema pero voy a dejarlo hasta aquí, te invito a que dejes tus comentarios, opiniones y sugerencias de como TU expresas El Amor de Dios en ti a otros.

¡Quiero dejarte con las liricas de esta canción que habla del Amor! Dice Así:

Como metal que resuena en los oídos, son las palabras que se dicen sin amor,
Y como nube sin agua en el desierto son las acciones que llevas sin amor...
De que te vale que muevas las montanas con tu fe,
si tu alma el amor no ve
Es que el amor llena todo, flores de colores
De nada vale tener todo el dinero del mundo si no tienes Amor
Es el amor quien cubre toda falta... Es el amor que perdona y olvida
Es el amor quien sana toda herida
Es el amor, el amor de Dios, es Dios en tu corazón
Hay una fuente de Amor dentro de ti, esta esperando que la hagas fluir solo sonríe, sonríele a la vida deja El AMOR salir.

Ama y déjate Amar...


Tú hermana y amiga
Erika González
Dios te Bendiga

Another Behind The Scenes View!

A couple of weeks ago Maria took us behind the scenes of her life and opened the doors for us to take a look at what the behind the scenes of real life look like versus what we show others. At the time she wrote the blog it really hit home because “The Kitchen Table” was experiencing its own brand of a behind the scenes scenario. And today I would like to look at the “behind the scenes” hard work it takes to make things happen.

I love the live theater, but until I started homeschooling and we got to attend the dress rehearsals of the Philadelphia Ballet and the Philadelphia Opera, I never thought about what it took for a live performance to be great. The dress rehearsals are the final rehearsals before the show opens to the public, so what we got to see was very polished and basically ready for opening night, but what it all must have looked like just 6 months before? When you pay that $100 plus to go to a Broadway show you really don’t care what it took, you just want it to be good and get your money’s worth. And that is with most things in life. When we walk into our favorite retail store we could care less that employees stay after the store is closed to clean and stock merchandise, or that a team came in at 5am to redo the floor design so that it is done when the store opens at 10am. Unless you have ever worked in the behind the scenes capacity of retail, there really is no reason for you to think about it. In fact no one wants you to think about it. As the consumer your experience is to be one that entices you to spend money and to come back to continue to spend more money. You are not to think about what it takes to make it all happen, you are just there to enjoy and take it all in.

This is also true to all aspects of life. Everything has a behind the scenes. Take your church for instances. When I walk into my church home everything is always pristine! It is warm in the winter, it is cool in the summer, it is always clean, smells good, and looks good. The lights work, the sound system works, the projection side of things works and you see the words to the songs and can read the Bible versus being read if you don’t have a Bible. The praise and worship team is in harmony, the band members play as if you had paid money to hear them. My Pastor is prepared for his teachings and I mean life is good. But what I didn’t see was the praise and worship team have 3 rehearsals that week. I wasn’t there when the building maintenance crew cleaned the building (including the bathrooms) from top to bottom. I didn’t witness all the lovely wood and marble being shined. Who knew that the electrician had to be called in midweek because of some type of electrical problem? I don’t have a clue as to how long my Pastor agonized and prayed over the latest series he is teaching. All I know is that when I walk through the doors there are several people always there to greet me and love on me. I know that if it is freezing cold outside, it is going to be nice and warm when I get inside. Whatever it took during the week for Sunday service to be what it is, is really not my concern because it is not my “behind the scenes,” it is already supposed to be prepared for me.

We are now coming to the end of January and all of the sisters at “The Kitchen Table” have posted a blog. Oh, don’t worry you will have guest writers every month, bringing something new to feed off, but there is our core group of women who will be writing to you every month and that is where the friendships will be built. I know for a fact that this month has been a great success. And when I say, “Success” I am talking about God’s realm of success. Women have been blessed all over the world from our blog. Just to name a few places (via technology) we have visited, Vietnam, Venezuela, Port of Spain, Norway, UK, Denmark, Dubai, Canada, Trinidad, Mexico and many other lands. Women have written to us by leaving comments on the blog, personal emails, phone calls, postings on our facebook pages, and face-to-face conversations. I love when someone says, “I am really getting fed at the kitchen table.” The feedback has been great!! But the behind the scenes to get the blogs posted 6 days a week takes a lot of work.

Through technology just about everyone who reads our blog only has to click on a link and you are there. But in order for that to happen on our end, it takes so much more than a click. When the Lord first gave me the vision for “The Kitchen Table” it was just an idea in my head and a knowing in my heart. Thus began the meditation and prayer on how to make it all happen. Next was engaging the right sisters to come and sit at the table. After awhile things started to fall into place. Great topics were birthed, anointed and committed women of God began to agree to be part of the vision and ministry, and I had a clear vision as to how to move forward in all of this! Life was great. By December 09 the website was being worked on, the daily blog was to premier on January 1, 2010, the sisters were sending in their bios and blogs when, POW!!! My computer crashed and I lost everything. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING!!! It happened on a Friday morning. I kept praying it would open and boot back up. But by that evening I felt depression and his posse of pity, doom and gloom knocking outside my heart. How could this happen? Saturday, a friend of mine had her husband try to help me over the phone but we still couldn’t get it to reboot. By then I had a good cry about it all. Sunday morning I decided to take my “Big girl pill,” get over it, and do whatever I had to do to make the blog deadline. It is times like these when we really have to remember that though we are surprised and shocked….God is not!

I’m a virtual assistant and I lost most of my work files too, but that really didn’t concern me as much as losing all that I had for “The Kitchen Table.” The blog (God’s work) came first. I had the week of Christmas off and I worked long and hard to get things back and up and running. One day I was on the computer for over 10 hours. But I got the twitter account setup, the facebook fan page setup, and soooo much more accomplished that day. The sisters from the table had to resend me all their stuff. They stood in prayer for me, called and encouraged me, and the Holy Spirit anointed and helped me all the way. I would get on facebook and see how everyone was preparing for the holidays, having a wonderful time, but I was doing what I needed to do in order to get the blog up and running. I even worked on it on Christmas Day, because that is how important it was. I had to read all the blogs over, all the editing had to be redone; pictures had to be uploaded, and so on and so on. I had less than 2 weeks to redo work that I had done in the course of a little over 2 months. It was a frantic behind the scenes, but as all behind the scenes scenarios, no one knew the real cost to giving you this blog but a handful of people and God!

We all have “The behind the scenes” part of our lives. And there are times when it is really hard, but we must not give up. As Paul explains to us, “Faint not in well doing and we will reap the benefits” (see Galatians 6:9) Also it should help us to not be jealous or envious of others and or covet their lives. Reason being, things look so different on the front end of things, but you do not know what it took behind the scenes for them to be where they are today. We don’t know what it took for that good marriage to be. You don’t know that one person became saved before the other and life became a living hell, until God’s timing was made perfect. You didn’t know that your praise and worship leader was abused most of her life and sings to God the way she does because of her deliverance and healing. So many people “behind the scenes lives” are a pile of ashes before God turns them into a thing of beauty that others behold.

There is a “Behind the Scenes” in everyone’s life and so often just when things are going well; the monkey wrench of life comes along. But I want to express to you that when that happens you must stand on what you know. And you need to know what you know before hand. Are you thinking, “What? What is she talking about?” If you are not sure of what you know to be true in God, then it will be impossible to stand in the storms of life. If you know with all your heart that you serve a God who is faithful and will always be there for you no matter what. Then when life is hard and you’re not hearing from God, you will be able to stand on the promise that even if He is not speaking or showing up as you think He should, He is still with you nonetheless. But if you don’t know for sure He is true to His promises then you might faint and give up.

“The Kitchen Table” forged on because we knew God is faithful, it was a test, and anything that is worthwhile in the Kingdom is worth fighting for. So I ask you, “What is your “behind the scenes?” Whatever it is, don’t give up! Push on!! Give birth to that vision God has entrusted you with! Don’t allow the one who seeks to steal and destroy have a victory in your life. If he had been allowed to destroy the vision or steal the dream of “The Kitchen Table” you would not be reading this now. So, I speak from the heart when I tell you to do what you have to do, but don’t give up!!

My prayer and that of the sisters at “The Kitchen Table” is that the Lord continues to use us to encourage as many women as possible to live the best life that they can in Christ Jesus!!

Love & Hugs
Ponnie


Tomorrow we have a guest writer Erika Gonzales who will be starting us off on our February theme of “Love!” We have some good stuff for you in February. God is really going to be showing off, so read as many blogs as you can. The winner of the drawing will also be announced at the end of tomorrow’s blog.

TRAVEL ANYONE?

Picture of the village square in Denholm, Scotland

Hello, Ladies. This is my first blog, and truth be told, I’ve been going back & forth as to what to write about. Ponnie, bless her, has left the subject matter up to me – more fool her, me thinks!

Anyway, a conversation I had with my mom earlier this afternoon finally cinched the topic matter for me. She was telling me about a conversation she’d had with a colleague of hers this morning about her upcoming trip to England (a Christmas present from my sister and I) – she’s going to visit friends in various parts of the UK for 10 days, and her coworker was just shocked that she is going alone on this trip. Her coworker, apparently, won’t even go to see her son in Virginia unless someone goes with her – her husband, her daughter, her friend, anyone. That got me to thinking….

I remember my first solo trip. I was 8 years old, and we were living in a little village called Denholm, in the border region of Scotland (about an hour southeast of Edinburgh). It was – and still is – a lovely village, with a beautiful village green, a post office, a school, and a couple of little stores. We lived in an old brick house that had once been the police station for the village and surrounding area – our downstairs bathroom had once been the jail cell!
Mom was ill – or maybe she was busy with my younger sister & brother – either way, she couldn’t go herself; I don’t remember now where my dad was, but he wasn’t around to go run errands for my mom. Nor do I remember what it was that I was going into town for – although it must have been for things we couldn’t get at the village store, or I would never have gone.

What I do remember is how special and grown up I felt. Here I was, 8 years old, taking the bus from the village into Hawick – the closest sizeable town, about 20 minutes away – all by myself. I had a shopping list of things I needed to get for mom, plus the money to get them, plus the money to pay for the bus each way. I was being trusted to do this all on my own, and it felt great! I made it into town and back again without incident, and successfully brought everything back – including the change! – that mom had asked for. How much better could it get than that??

What I didn’t know – couldn’t possibly have known – at the time was that that was the just first of many, many solo trips I would take in my life.

We moved south to Hertfordshire, a small town called Turnford about 45 minutes from downtown London, shortly after my foray into the world of solo travel. Turnford was a big change for all of us: we went from a village of about 500 people to a town of about 15,000 that was part of the London conurbation (one of my all-time favorite words, by the way!), and that naturally changed the rules. We were no longer in the safety of the Scottish borders, we were now in the “big city” – or so it felt!

I suppose I should explain a little of how we ended up in the UK. My mom is American, my father was Scottish (he passed away 10 years ago); they met when my mom – ever the intrepid solo traveler herself – moved to the Scottish Highlands to work in a hotel for the summer. Dad followed her back stateside, and spent several months working just across the border in Canada (Mom was in our home state of Minnesota at the time) until he could convince her to marry him. We spent the first two years of my life in Minnesota – we had moved house 5 times by the time I was 2 – and then my parents decided to move to Australia. Mom was a teacher, and the Australian government was calling out for teachers at the time; Dad had always wanted to live there (it’s a big destination for the British), and so they signed up for a two-year stint. It didn’t work out for them, however – Australia was simply too far removed from the known world for my mom (we are talking about 38 years ago, remember: communication & travel were not what they are now), and it was just w-a-a-a-a-ay too hot for my dad, so at the end of the 2-year contract, we moved on to Scotland, my father’s birthplace. He was an only child, and so we moved there to be closer to his mother.

And that’s just the start of the story. As Ponnie is writing about the joys of being single, I am going to be writing about the joys of traveling – alone or with other people. So many people miss out on so much by not wanting to do things alone: I’m hoping to share my absolute joy of travel with you in such a way as to light your interest in going yourself – or in nudging your fledglings out of the nest to go on their own adventures!

God has been so good to me in my travels and experiences: may He help me to share them with you! After all, didn’t Jesus and the Apostles – and Paul, for that matter –travel all over the then-known world, alone & together??

Blessings & Hugs
Esther-Marie

Tune in Thursday, February 25th for my next adventure!!

Friday's blog: Ponnie is doing a special blog about "The Kitchen Table" you won't want to miss it.

I'm Tired of Being Tired! But What's a Single Mom To Do?

The blog I am posting this week may not uplift you or cause you to say praise God, laugh or jump around in praise. I want to be real today and I hope that someone can benefit from my realness or even provide encouragement to me to help me deal with an issue that has plagued me for almost 5 years. This is when my second daughter was born.

As a single mother I use the word “tired” quite often. I use it to describe how I feel or when I’m encouraging my younger ones to trust me because mommy knows when they are ready for bed. I find myself saying it quite often to my oldest to voice my frustration with her repeated poor behaviors that I must speak to her about on a daily basis. Before I had children I used to tell people that I loved to sleep and be alone. As I reflect on my life I wish I had other hobbies because once you have children those two particular things are very hard to obtain. I haven’t slept alone in almost 5 years except when my mother and sister graciously offer me a night of rest and relaxation without the kids. Those 11 to 12 hours of sleeping at night…long gone and I’m guessing that Jesus will return before I see those type of sleep hours again. I wish that I had been an exercise freak. Then the additional 60lbs I now carry would not be an issue. What if I had been a bowler, a runner, or engaged in any type of activity that required some form of a physical commitment. What if what if what if? If I had been active then would I be so tired now.

I just turned 35, 2 weeks ago and I’ve done lots of reflection on my life. What I have learned the most is that the choices we make in past definitely affect our present and future. If my 2 favorite pastimes were not on the couch potato’s to do list, maybe I would not find myself so tired now. We all have favorite prayers or bible verses but I have a favorite plea: God grant me the strength to make it through the day and accomplish all that needs to be done. I wake up tired and I go to bed even more tired. My bed buddies (Tina and AJ) toss and turn and then complain that the other is hogging the covers; usually at 3 am when the alarm is due to go off at 5am. After a long days work, then helping with homework, dinner, baths, hair and my own school work I’m pretty tired.

I have to say I hate being tired. I ask God if there will ever be a time where I am not tired. When I’m tired it affects every aspect of my life. My children want to know where we are going on Saturday. A trip to see the sandman just isn’t sufficient, he’s not on Nick Jr. and and he wasn’t featured on the latest episode of I Carly. Sunday comes around and I don’t get out of bed to go to church…just too tired. Sometimes I pull the covers over my head on Sunday morning as if I’m going to hide myself from God. No luck! I have gotten plenty of advice on how to make things a little easier. Cook all your meals for the week on the weekend; iron all of your clothes on the weekend. Sounds good but then I’m just too tired or I can think of better ways to spend those 4 or 5 hours. I don’t know if there are other single mothers out there who share my struggle. Please know that you are not alone. If anyone who reads this knows of any scriptures that speak to my struggle please post for I am open and anxious to receive them.

I never in my life imagined that this would be an issue in my life. I know that I will gain success in this area of my life with God’s guidance and strength. There are dozens of scripture that indicate that God is our source of strength. Psalm 18:32(NKJV) says: It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. I have to learn to walk in God’s word and this is something else that I must learn on my spiritual journey. It is a journey I don’t mind making I just would like it to be a short one (wishful thinking I know!). I thank God for His grace and mercy for I know He is with me every step of the way as I make this journey, learn new things about myself and grow closer to Him.

I pray that someone has been encouraged by this posting today. I promise that my next blog won’t be so morose. Sometimes we are encouraged when we know that the struggles we endure are universal and not isolated to our own lives.




Peace & Love
Michele

Hope to see on February 10th when it's my turn to talk again!

Thursday's Blog: Esther-Marie "The Travels & High Life of the Single Woman"

Meet The "Wampler Zoo" Part II

Good morning ladies, so sorry I had to leave you hanging two weeks ago, but life as a mom of 11 children is always jammed packed with things to do. So, let’s see where did I leave off? Oh yeah, my heart was broken because we had filed intent to adopt forms for a baby boy we had been fostering when the courts order he be given back to his birth mother. That’s when the heartbreak became so deep that I did not want to keep fostering children. My husband and I discussed it and I called the office to let them know we were not going to continue to foster anymore. My heart could not take the pain of letting go. BUT as always God had a plan that He did not discuss with me first….

…..The very next week we received a call from the office, they had a baby boy that needed a home. They were in a bind and could we just open our home to this child for a few weeks until they found him a home? I said, “No, I can’t do that” and hung up! The next day they called again, and again, I said, “No! I just can’t do this. Find him another home.” The very next day the director called and played on the mother in me, “This child was a legal risk adoption” meaning that when he had been in care for 12 months they would seek to terminate parental rights and he would be available for adoption. This special little boy was born without an esophagus and was not to live past 5 years of age. He had never been loved by a real mother and they just needed him to stay until they could find him a good match.

I called Rich and we discussed it at length, deciding we would meet this child and we would pray over it. We setup the visit; Rich could not get off of work so I would meet this child first and let him know what I decided. I will never forget the day that I met this angel unawares. This little boy with a huge square head, so short his shorts came to his ankles instead of his knees, his snow white, curly hair framed his face making him actually look angelic. I opened the front door for him and his foster mom, and he raised a fat little hand as high as he could reach and said, “ Hi, Mama!” and pushed by me. From that moment on he had my heart in his little fat hands. His foster mom left us and we played for an hour, talking about all the things that an 18 month old little boy loves to discuss, from bugs, to Barney the dinosaur, to dogs, to blocks. When his foster mom came back to pick him up I didn’t want to let him go, I wanted him to stay forever. I immediately called the office and told his social worker that we wanted him to come and live with us. I didn’t know how I was going to deal with losing my child at five years old, but I left that up to the Lord, when the time came He would give me the strength I needed to live through that part of life.

The next week, our sweet Richard moved in with us. He helped me put his clothes up and we put all of the toys into his toy box, then we went down stairs for our snack, while waiting on the new daddy to come home from work. Rich still had not met this little boy that had won my heart with just two words. Richard helped me make supper, hot dogs and French fries and we played for a while waiting on the other foster kids to come home from school.

When Rich came home he had the same immediate love of this little boy, how could you not fall in love with such precious innocence. God had given us an angel to love. We had supper and we put on a kids movie, and sat down to watch TV with the kids. What fun we had, I gave everyone a Popsicle to eat and we just played, tickling and rolling all over the floor. God taught me something special that night, He taught me that all it takes is a little love to make a family from the pieces that He gives us. And it is not hard at all to give your entire heart to a child no matter how hard you try not to.

As time progressed, we finally arrived at the time to terminate parental rights so that we could adopt Richard, by this time he was four years old. The judge granted our petition and the rights were terminated. We began the process of adoption. Because we adopted through family services, the adoption was paid for, Richard was considered medically fragile. We went to so many doctor appointments, in fact our adoption date was set for Sept. 3rd and he had surgery scheduled for Sept. 4th, I cannot express the fear in this old heart knowing that my son, was going to have surgery again, he was only our son for less than 24 hours and the doctors were going to take him and operate one more time.

The Lord did not hold my fear against me and Richard came through the surgery and did so well. God never works on man’s schedule. As he approached 5 years old my heart became so fearful that I had to make every second count as we were not promised any days more than five years old, we spent every moment together and we played and just enjoyed life. By this time, Richard was the only child we had in our home. We had requested our home be put on hold so that we could concentrate our love and time with Richard.

The day finally arrived when I had to take Richard for the check up on his esophagus; my heart was heavy with fear for what the doctor would have to say. As I sat in that waiting room, I prayed that the Lord would not take this precious child out of my life, I had friends all over the world praying with me that God would reach down and heal his fragile little body. The doctor came in to the room he had a huge smile on his face, and then I heard the words I thought I would never hear.

“Mrs. Wampler, I do not know what you have been doing with this child, what kind of care you have given him but I am ordering you to continue. He has never looked so good, so healthy and so happy. Also, I think it is important to note that I have looked over the test results and what I am reading is nothing shy of a miracle. Unless I look very closely I would not even see a scar from where we put in his esophagus. I can with all authority tell you that there is no time limit on how long this little boy will live, Only God knows and we will leave that up to Him. I want you to take your son home with you and I want you to love him, spoil and enjoy him for many years to come.” As I sat there crying, I realized that God had given me another miracle, He had taken the little faith that I had had on taking Richard in to our home and caring for him and had turned it into a life time of love.

On December 4, 2009, Richard celebrated eight years of being a miracle of God; (he is 13 years old now) he beat death for the eighth time. Richard knows how special he is and he is the reason that there are 10 other children in our home. Richard is also the reason that I chose my life verse to be Hebrews 13:2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (KJV)
I look forward to telling you more on our family and how God put the puzzle of our lives together.



With much love,
Rise’

My next blog is Tuesday, February 9th, hope to see you then!

Wednesday’s Blog: Michele, “Single working mom”

How Much Is Enough?

There is a story about a three-year-old who wanted some ice cream. But he wanted to scoop it himself, so his dad allowed him to. The father watched as his son piled more and more ice cream into the bowl that was provided for him. He asked him, “How much ice cream can you eat?” “I don’t know” the boy answered. “Well do you think you have enough there?” (As the ice cream rose above the rim of the bowl) “No” he answered, and kept on scooping. The concept of scooping had become much more important than eating. (from the book: Money Came by the House the Other Day, by Robert W. Katz)

Are we really any different than that three-year old? Probably not! I have one question for you, how much money would you need to make in order to be comfortable and satisfied? Okay, how many of you said, “I’m making that now!” No one! That’s what I thought. Maybe a few that have gotten a hold of what is really important in life can honestly say that they are content.

Contentment is a big key to changing your financial situation for the better. If you are not careful, contentment will be the proverbial carrot on a string, always ever so slightly out of reach – “I know I make $40,000/year, but it is just too hard to make ends meet. With another $10,000 I could be comfortable.” “I know, I make $50,000/year, but it’s just not enough to have all of the things that I want. Once I hit the $100,000 mark then I will want for nothing.” “I know I make $100,000/year, but it just doesn’t seem to go as far as I’d hope it would. If I could make $250,000 then I would really have no more worries.”

I could go on and on and on with these scenarios, but you get the point. It seems that society has ingrained in us that what we currently have is not enough. We need more. Even millionaires feel this way. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.
Let’s change our perspective. Instead of wanting what we don’t have, how about we appreciate and are content with what we DO have. Take a moment to ponder the following Bible verses:

1st Timothy 6:6-10, CEV, “6And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have. 7We didn’t bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave. 8So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. 9People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. 10The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.”

This does not mean that we must be poverty-stricken as evidence of our faith. It means that our priorities must be different than those of the world that we live in. So as we continue on this journey to Financial Peace, please take this time to refocus your priorities, consider what is really important in life, and move forward with the goal of glorifying God in all that you do. And remember: “Adults devise a plan and stick to it, children do what feels good!” (Dave Ramsey)

This month the sister at “The Kitchen Table” would like to be a blessing so we offering a free copy of “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. Please send an email to thekitchentable2010@yahoo.com, with total money makeover in the subject and your name, city and state in the body. The deadline is Friday, January 29th.



Peace & Blessings
Sharon


Please join me on Monday, February 8th, for my next blog.


Tuesday's Blog: Rise', "The Wampler Zoo" part 2 of how her family started!





¿Cuánto es suficiente?

Hay una historia sobre un niño de tres años, que quería un helado. Pero él quería hacerlo él mismo, y su papa se lo permitió. El padre vio que su hijo echaba más y más helado dentro de la taza que se proporcionó para él. Él le preguntó, "¿Cuánto helado puedes comer?" "No sé", respondió el niño. "Bueno ¿Crees que hay suficiente?" (Como el helado subía por encima del borde de la taza) "No", respondió, y siguió sacando. El concepto de la pala se ha convertido en mucho más importante que comer. (del libro: dinero provenía de la casa el otro día, por Robert W. Katz)

¿Somos realmente diferentes que el niño de tres años de edad? Probablemente no! Tengo una pregunta para usted, ¿cuánto dinero se necesita hacer para estar cómodos y satisfechos? Muy bien, cuántos de ustedes han dicho, "¡Estoy haciendo eso!" ¡Nadie! Eso es lo que pensé. Tal vez algunos que han conseguido un control de lo que es realmente importante en la vida honestamente puedo decir que están contentos.

La alegría es un gran clave a la evolución de su situación financiera para lo mejor. Si usted no tiene cuidado, la alegría será la proverbial zanahoria en una cadena, siempre muy ligeramente fuera de su alcance - "Sé que hago $40,000 dólares al año, pero es demasiado duro para ganarse la vida. Con otros $10,000 dólares podría estar más cómoda "." Yo sé, que hago $50,000 dólares al año, pero no es lo suficiente como para tener todas las cosas que quiero. Una vez que llegue al los $100.000 dólares entonces me faltaría nada "." Sé que puedo hacer $100.000 dólares al año, pero no parece ir tan lejos como yo esperaría. Si pudiera hacer $250.000 dólares entonces realmente no tendría más preocupaciones".

Podría seguir y seguir y seguir con estos escenarios, pero usted consigue el punto. Parece que la sociedad se ha arraigado en nosotros que lo que tenemos actualmente no es suficiente. Necesitamos más. Incluso los millonarios se sienten así. Sé que es difícil de creer, pero es cierto. Vamos a cambiar nuestra perspectiva. En lugar de querer lo que no tenemos, qué tal que apreciamos y nos contentamos con lo que tenemos. Tome un momento para reflexionar sobre los siguientes versículos bíblicos:

1 Timoteo 6:6-10, el RV (Reina Valera), "6 Pero gran ganancia es la piedad acompañada de contentamiento; 7 porque nada hemos traído a este mundo, y sin duda nada podremos sacar. 8 Así que, teniendo sustento y abrigo, estemos contentos con esto. 9 Porque los que quieren enriquecerse caen en tentación y lazo, y en muchas codicias necias y dañosas, que hunden a los hombres en destrucción y perdición; 10 porque raíz de todos los males es el amor al dinero, el cual codiciando algunos, se extraviaron de la fe, y fueron traspasados de muchos dolores.”

Esto no quiere decir que debemos ser afectadas por la pobreza como prueba de nuestra fe. Esto significa que nuestras prioridades deben ser diferentes de los del mundo en que vivimos entonces, mientras continuamos en este camino a la Paz financiera, por favor, tomar este tiempo para reenfocar sus prioridades, considerar lo que es realmente importante en la vida y seguir adelante con el objetivo de glorificar a Dios en todo lo que haces. Y recuerda: “¡Los adultos elaboran un plan y se adhieren a él, y los niños hacen lo que les haces sientir bien!" (Dave Ramsey)

Este mes, la hermana en "La Mesa de la Cocina" quiere ser de bendición por lo que ofrece una copia gratuita de "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Por favor, envíe un email a thekitchentable2010@yahoo.com, con el tema “The Total Money Makeover” y su nombre, ciudad y estado en el cuerpo del email. La fecha límite es el viernes, 29 de enero.




Paz y bendiciones
Sharon

My Boyfriend………Who, Him?!

In today’s shallow society one thing is always being thrown into our faces, dating. It’s all over the television and the newspaper. “Which celebrity is dating which?” “Who broke up?” “I can’t believe he cheated on her?!” We as teenagers are constantly being bombarded with images of the so-called” perfect romance.” It’s nearly impossible to watch a teenage-aimed movie or TV show that doesn’t involve couples, or people who start out as friends and magically turn into something “more.” But what we’re not told is that most of that propaganda is based on a fairy tale. What the media fails to display is that, contrary to popular belief, a teenage guy and girl can be JUST FRIENDS. Yea, I said it, just friends. Not boyfriend and girlfriend, not a couple, not each other’s snookie bear, just friends. I know this can seem like a really insane concept but its true, and it’s a really special relationship to have.

Now don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to be a tomboy in order to be friends with the guys. I am by every means a girly girl who likes to go shopping, watch girly movies, and occasionally talk about boys. ;) But I still love a good movie where lots of things explode, and I’ve been known to watch the Super bowl every other year, although it bores me terribly. I’m not a tomboy, but I am considered “one of the guys.” In the small private school I go to, it can be really nice to hangout with the boys because you know that there’s no underlying drama or gossip going on and the great thing about my guy friends is that they really respect me. We have a lot of fun together, and it’s never awkward where I feel that I need to date one of them. It’s also great to hangout with the guys because you know that they always have your back. Whenever some random creep is bothering me, my guy friends are quick to come to my defense, and they actually ask me for advice. Just as Paul instructed Timothy to respect and treat older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity 1Timothy 5: 2 (NIV), that is the type of respect and sisterly love I get from them.

I know that this can seem like a totally foreign concept based on how TV can and does exaggerate things. Just the other day I was watching a show where this guy and girl where really good friends, and then they decided that they liked each other and wanted to start dating. Things didn’t work out and then their whole relationship was ruined. They didn’t feel that they could be friends anymore because it felt too weird. I hope that this situation never happens to me or to any of you. Friendship is one of the best relationships that you can have, and a guy needs to be your friend before he can be your “boyfriend.” I know that it can be really hard. I’ll be hanging out with one of my guy friends and someone will be like, “You guys can’t just be friends, it doesn’t work that way in high school” or “C’mon and just admit that you guys are dating, you hang out all the time.” The pressure from our friends and the things around us can make us believe that we can’t just be friends with a guy, and that there has to be something more to it?

Sometimes I find myself thinking, “What if I had a boyfriend?” “Wouldn’t that be so awesome?” But then I think about how great it is not to have one. I’m still trying to figure out who I am, how can I take the time to worry about someone else?! And if things didn’t work out, where would that leave our friendship? These are important questions that I ask myself on a daily basis and I know that I am nowhere near ready for that type of relationship. Maybe it’ll happen in college, maybe later, only God knows. But I do know that having a solid friendship with a guy is a bond that I would never want to give up. I hope the next time you’re hanging out with your guy friend you will think about what a privilege that is, and how blessed you are to have that bond. Don’t feel pressured to be anything other than friends and just have fun!



TTYL
Tovah

My next blog will be: Saturday, February 13th. Talk to you then!


Monday's Blog: Sharon, "Women and Their Finances"

What Do Words Mean?

Years ago I was a huge fan of Living Single minus some episodes. Living Single was a sitcom starring Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Kim Fields Erica Alexander, TC Carson and John Henton. The premise of the show was about six single people living in New York and their everyday experiences. (BTW this was a couple of years before the show Friends) One day I was watching the episode where Regine (played by Kim Fields) was to meet friends of her boyfriend (Heavy D). One of the friends wrote a poem that went like this: “What do words mean, what do mean words mean, what do I mean by these words, don’t listen to the words, listen to the spaces, the spaces, the spaces the (pause) like that one……..WORD!!!”

So I ask you what do words mean? How do they impact us within the context of marriage? So many times we may say things and not think about what type of impact they are having on our mates and the people around us. Proverbs 18:20 says “Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.” (NLT) Sometimes the words we use will bring consequences that we do not foresee and must live with. Proverbs 18:6 states “Fools' words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating.” When we read these passages it should speak to our hearts to use wisdom and how we communicate.

For several years I had the pleasure of being a women’s discipleship leader in my church. As leaders, we were given the responsibility to help other women to grow in their faith through classes that were geared specifically toward their needs. The verse that I choose each year for my women to memorize was Ephesians 4:29-30 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” The reason I chose these verses was two fold. One reason was because I realized that as women we have an opinion on just about everything if we are asked. Second because as Christian women we should be careful to show the love of Christ through our words. I once read that the tongue is the most exercised muscle in the body. Also it is estimated that the words we speak in a week can fill a 500 page book. That is a whole lot words in one week!

When the Bible says don’t let unwholesome words come out of your mouth it basically means that the words you use should be kind, encouraging and useful. Our words should be able to speak blessings into someone’s life. We can bless someone by just saying how nice they look or how much you appreciate them being in your life. You can never know how much speaking a kind word to someone can bless them. It may be the only kind word they hear that day. The Bible continues to say that our words should be helpful in building others up according to their needs and that it would be of benefit to them. This should say to us that the words we are saying to someone are not for us, it is for the other person. The person should feel good after being in your presence and not like they have been hit by a 16-wheeler truck! What use are our words if they kill the spirit of the person you are talking to.

In marriage we have an uncanny way of getting “under the skin” of our spouse because of words we say. We know exactly what to say to make our spouse mad or to get a reaction. We tend to be less careful with the words we use with our spouses especially when we are mad. We are more careful with the words that we use with a stranger than we are with our spouse, who we are suppose to be close to. Why is that? Is it because the stranger or the person who we don’t really know that well is held in higher regard then our spouse? I can’t speak for you but I can say for myself that I think it’s because we tell ourselves that our spouses have to take whatever we say because we are married to them. Maybe we need to get to the point where we realize that no one really has to take our mean words or our bad attitudes. They really put up with it because they love us. God doesn’t have to put up with us either but He continues to show us His love each day despite our sometimes blatant disregard of His Word. God could take back His breath any time He wants but His grace is shown in spite of us and our actions. I don’t know about you but that sure is good to know!

The youth at my church will sometimes say “Why you sipping on Hater-ade? I thought that was funny. I asked is that a play on the word hater and Gatorade? They told me it was. So I figured that since Gatorade gives you energy to keep you going it was pretty appropriate to use this term to describe someone who is “hating” on someone or not saying kind things about someone.

So ladies, in the spirit of our young people, whose slang really intrigues me, let’s start sipping on some edification-ade and see if we can keep it going!

Blessings Always!

Rita

Talk to you again, Friday, February 5th!

Saturday's Blog: Tovah, Life of a High School Junior!

Afraid…Who Me?

Hi Everyone,

Well my second blog was supposed to be about being balanced. I got half way through it and was all ready to finish it but something happened. A couple of weeks ago I read Maria’s blog on fear and then I felt impressed to discuss the fear of homeschooling. So I had to start all over, “THANKS A LOT MARIA!” she said sounding frustrated and sarcastic (just kidding). Seriously I realize that some of you are considering homeschooling but fear is holding you back. I am here to share my experience and hopefully encourage you to move forward.

I told you in my first blog how I came to home school but what I did not tell you was the amount of fear and anxiety I felt at the thought of doing it. What was I afraid of you may ask, okay, maybe you didn’t but I ‘m telling you anyway. I was afraid of not being successful at it and my children would not learn anything. Now if you’ve read my biography you know that I spent years teaching pre-k and kindergarten, so this seems ridiculous but nevertheless I was afraid. I was afraid that I would not have time to myself and about what people may think. To give you an idea of what I was feeling I would go to bed thinking about homeschooling and wake up thinking about it. One day I was all for it the next day the kids would do something to get on my last nerve and I was like “nope he’s going to school” (I’m sure you can’t relate to your kids getting on your nerves). I made a list of pros and cons yet still felt confused. Yeah, yeah I know the Word says in II Timothy 1:7 ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline.”(NIV) And as far as anxiety is concerned I know we as children of God are told to cast our cares on Him and not to be anxious or worried about anything (I Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6). Yet…

Well one reason I was afraid and I would venture the main reason most of us are afraid is a lack of trust and faith in the One we serve. You see if fear and worry are present then faith has left the building. They cannot exist together they are opposing forces just like Superman and Lex Luthor. Although in Smallville they had them as friends in the beginning, what’s that about? Oh I’m sorry I was off on a tangent. Anyhow, God encouraged Joshua in the 1st chapter of the book of Joshua, as God was sending him out that He would be with him as He was with Moses and He would not leave him. In fact He told him to be strong and courageous. That Word was not for Joshua alone but for me and for you, today!

So what now? I read and confessed Joshua, I knew what it said in Timothy and Philippians and added James 1:5 to my arsenal, “If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault…” yet the fear still lingered. What did I do? Continue to stand on the Word of God and resist the fear and the one who brings it (you know who I am talking about, that nasty devil) because it says in James to resist the devil and he WILL flee. Then I did as one of my favorite teachers of God’s word often says, DO IT AFRAID. If we believe that God has called us to this then we must know that He will give us everything we need to be successful at it. When God calls us to something He also equips us. So fear or no fear do what you’ve been called to do. And that’s what I did.

I began to take the steps necessary to homeschool. I also sought Godly counsel from someone bigger than me spiritually. I need to tell you once I started a peace came over me that I know only came from my Father. Does that mean I do not still on occasion get a little anxious or fearful? Sure I do but I remember what the Word says about me and the power I have in my Awesome Dad. So I say to you today if you believe that God has called you to this, do it and know that he has given you all that you need to be the best at it. You are more than conquerors and He loves you VERY MUCH! Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you and your children.

Now as I come to a close will you pray with me? Like you are really going to say no…lol. Father we come to you in the wonderful name of Jesus thanking You for all that You’ve done and for all that You are. You are an amazing and awesome God and we love You. Thank You for loving us with an everlasting love. Now Father as we embark on this journey of homeschooling these children You have given to us please give us wisdom and understanding. Help us to live past our fears and trust You with our whole heart knowing that Your promise not to leave us is sure. Jesus, You said that we have authority over all the power of the enemy so we take authority over fear and worry. Now Holy Spirit please remind us of the Word at times when these emotions try to rise up and steal what has already been planted in us. Father we praise You and honor You in Jesus’ name we pray AMEN!

Okay now let’s get moving in the right direction. Until next time happy homeschooling!

Hugs and Kisses,
Cheryl

My next blog: Thursday, February 4th...see you then!

Friday's Blog: Rita, "Married People"

What Is The Desire of Your Heart?

Two weeks ago my sisters I gave you a challenge to make the decision that your life as a single woman is wonderful and fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for your life; and to also meditate on Proverbs 18:22 and Proverbs 19:14. I pray you accepted the challenge and have made a little headway on seeing “Single Life” in a new light.

Today there is a special scripture I want us to look at. Reason being, there has been a great misinterpretation among God’s girls. Psalm 37:4 KJV Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. The misconception is “And He shall give thee the desires of your heart.” Too many of God’s daughters have been fooled into thinking that translates into, whatever they desire, (especially a husband) God will give it to them. Sorry…wrong!!

Let’s take a look at Psalm 37:3-5, (Amp) 3Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. The “key” to this verse is “Trust in the Lord!” Trust that God knows better than we do. Trust that His timing is perfect. Trust that His plan for our lives is far better than anything we could ever imagine. Trust, Trust, Trust and Trust even more!

4Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Delight ourselves in the Lord…hum what does that mean? Well, for starters, if you are delighting yourself in the Lord and His ways, you are not unhappy, sad or lonely. “And He will give you the desires of your heart”…what is this really saying? First I want you to look at the fact it is an add-on or promise of sorts only to “Delighting yourself in the Lord!” My dear sisters, delighting yourself in the Lord, means to have “great pleasure, be pleased, have joy” in Him and what He gives you.

Sadly too many of us are not delighting ourselves in the Lord, because we don’t have a man, or God is taking too long to make it happen. True delight in the Lord says, “Father I love you and I love the life you are making and desire for me.” Uh-oh, did you see that? “The life You desire for me.” That’s right girls….God has desires for us and we can’t even think about fulfilling His desires for us until we begin to “delight” ourselves in Him. Also, when you surrender your will, wants and desires to the Lord, He begins to implant in your heart those things He desires for you. It is not about “what you want.” It’s really all about what God wants for you. And then after that you get to the “Secret Petitions of your heart.” Why? Because by the time you are truly delighting yourself and enjoying the life God has given you, then and only then can you be trusted that, if given a secret petition of your heart, it will not become a god before Him.

5Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. Hmm, “Commit your way to the Lord” does that mean possibly giving up desires that we have held onto? Yes, it does. The more we move into wanting and desiring what God wants for us, the more old things will fall away. Committing yourself to the Lord, is saying, “Your Will be done in my life Lord, not my will!” In other words, “What you say goes Lord, what You want I want!” “And, I’m going to be happy (delighted) in that!”

If you are a single woman who is lonely or sad and thinks a husband is the answer to making your life complete, you are part of a great majority that has been so duped. Marriage in God’s Kingdom is not about broken or half people coming together to form a union in Him. It is about two whole (complete in Him) people coming together. My sisters I just have to come out and tell it to you like it is, “If you are not happy, content, fulfilled, and enjoying life in Jesus”, then you have missed the mark! So very sorry if this seems harsh, but the truth is the only thing that “makes” you free. My goal is to help those who are being held captive in the emotional prison of “Life will be better when I’m married” to be set free. If you do not, and I repeat, if you do not have joy in the life that you have now, and you feel that another human being is the answer to that joy, you are in a self made prison of misconception and misunderstanding. Before God can trust you to be a “wife” you have to be able to embrace your single life and all that He desires for you to be in that position.

If you have been one of the many women who are begging our Father everyday for a husband, please make the decision, “No More!” Why? Because prayerfully at this point you are beginning to see, it is not profitable. And I say that because if you are delighting yourself in the Lord, you will be at a place that you are not begging Him for anything. And though you might have a secret petition to be married, it is not on the forefront of your life and that desire is not stopping you from doing and enjoying the things God has set before you. So if you are begging God for a husband, you are not where you need to be spiritually.

I have another challenge for you for the next two weeks. Meditate on Psalm 37:3-5, asking the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to receive revelation as to how this scripture pertains to your relationship with God and Jesus. Make the decision that you want to lean more into God and learn what it really means to be delighted (have pleasure) in Him.

Father, I pray that every single woman that has read this blog will take the challenge that is set before her, and begin to move in closer to You. That she will willingly submit her desires to become Your desires for her life. Jesus, may she come to the place in her life that she understands without a doubt, that You are her true love and that through You and only You will she find contentment. Holy Spirit, comfort her as she goes through the journey of giving up and letting go of the old, to make room for God’s new in her life.

My dear sisters, please stick with me as we explore how to be single and love it!! Don’t let the enemy tell you “Oh, she doesn’t know what she is talking about.” That is a lie from the pit. I do know what I’m talking about and I have a great desire to see you set free and enjoying your life. Remember, God cannot trust you to be a wife, until you have learned to embrace Him and your single life. So stick with me and I will help set you on the right track.

Come back in two weeks as we take the next step to “being Single & Loving It!”


Love & Hugs
Ponnie


See you on Wednesday, February 3rd.


Thursday's Blog: Cheryl, "Diary of a Home School Mom"

Following God’s Direction…it’s a process.

Hello Ladies,

As you know from the last blog, I'm facing my fears, getting out of my comfort zone, and pressing on toward the purpose God has for my life.

Let me tell you, following God’s direction has not been easy….it’s a process. The process can be a painful one at times, when God has to refine the areas of your life that were so comfortable, which were holding you back from moving forward toward your purpose. The process can be a joyful one at times, when you are seeing the hand of God working in your life and blessing you in every aspect of your life. You can probably relate when I say been there, done that, and still going through it!

How do I follow God's direction? By trusting in the Lord with all my heart, not depending on my own understanding, seeking HIS will in all I do and know HE will show me which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I found this picture of a woman praying (see picture above) because prayer is very important to me in following God’s direction. I want to do so many things, but through prayer and fasting with purpose, God provides me the direction that I should go in my life.

How to have effective prayer life? By asking, seeking, and knocking. The bible says “…keep on asking, and you will receive what you are asking for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9-10). I have to say asking, seeking, and knocking does not happen overnight, it is a process. Honestly, it is still a process for me.

Besides prayer and fasting, I thank God for leaving us the Holy Spirit and the Bible (the word of God) for us to follow and receive direction for our lives.
• The Bible says regarding the Holy Spirit “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall everything I have told you.” (John 14:26).
• The Bible says regarding the Bible “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16).

My prayer to all of you is no matter where you are in the process; always remember that you are not alone. We are women of purpose! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13).

God Bless You Always,
Maria Guzman


I will see you again on Tuesday, February 2nd.


Wednesday's Blog: Ponnie "Single & Loving It"





Siguiendo la dirección de Dios…es un proceso.



Hola Mujeres,

Como ustedes lo saben desde mi último blog, enfrentando a mis temores, saliendo de mi zona de comodidad, y presionando hacia el propósito que Dios tiene para mi vida.

Déjeme decirle, siguiendo la dirección de Dios no ha sido fácil ... es un proceso. El proceso puede ser a veces doloroso, cuando Dios ha precisando los ámbitos de su vida que estaban tan cómodo, que te detiene de avanzar hacia su propósito. El proceso puede ser a veces una alegría, cuando estás viendo la mano de Dios obrando en su vida y la bendición en cada aspecto de su vida. ¡Usted probablemente puede referirse cuando digo e estado allí, hecho eso, y todavía estoy pasando!

¿Cómo puedo seguir la dirección de Dios? Al confiar en el Señor con todo mi corazón, no en función de mi propio conocimiento, buscando su voluntad en todo lo que hago y sé que me mostrará el camino a seguir (Proverbios 3:5-6).

He encontrado esta foto de una mujer orando (ver foto arriba), porque la oración es muy importante para mí en siguiendo la dirección de Dios. Quiero hacer tantas cosas, pero a través de la oración y el ayunando con un propósito, Dios me da la dirección que debería ir en mi vida.

¿Cómo tener una vida de oración eficaz? Al preguntar, buscar y llamar. La Biblia dice: "... seguir preguntando, y usted recibirá lo que usted está pidiendo. Seguir buscando, y encontrarás. Sigue tocando, y la puerta se abrirá para usted. "(Lucas 11:9-10). Tengo que decir que pedir, buscar y llamar, no ocurrirá de un día, es un proceso. Honestamente, es todavía un proceso para mí.

Además de la oración y el ayuno, doy gracias a Dios por habernos dejado el Espíritu Santo y la Biblia (la palabra de Dios) para que lo sigamos y recibir dirección para nuestras vidas.
• La Biblia dice sobre el Espíritu Santo "Mas el Consolador, el Espíritu Santo, a quien el Padre enviará en mi nombre, él os enseñará todas las cosas. Y Él te hará recordar todo lo que he dicho. "(Juan 14:26)
• La Biblia dice en relación con la Biblia "Toda la Escritura es inspirada por Dios y es útil para enseñarnos lo que es verdad y para darnos cuenta de lo que está mal en nuestras vidas. Corrige nosotros cuando estamos mal y nos enseña a hacer lo correcto. "(2 Timoteo 3:16).

Mi oración a todos ustedes no importa dónde usted está en el proceso, siempre recuerde que usted no está sola. ¡Somos mujeres de propósito! ¡Podemos hacer todas las cosas en Cristo que nos fortalece! (Filipenses 4:13).


Dios te bendiga siempre,
María Guzmán

Are Negative Thoughts Holding You Back?

It has always been one of my secret desires to run a marathon. There is only one problem....I don’t run...and so, unfortunately it doesn’t look like I will be signing up to run the Boston or NYC marathon any time soon. I will, however, be running the Susan B. Komen 5K this spring!

Yes, I know what I said and it’s true, I don’t run...at least not consistently. I want to though. I am always so envious when I go to the gym and see someone running for what seems like hours on the treadmill or when riding along in the car and I see someone out on a run. I admire athletes who sign up 5Ks, 1/2 Marathons and Marathons for different charitable events and I always think...Wow, I wish I could do that. I’m not really sure why though but I just think the whole running culture is cool (the clothing, the races etc) and plus, it just seems like a fun way to not only lose weight but also to maintain a healthy lifestyle either individually or with a group.

For the past few years, I have tossed around the idea that I am going to pursue running as a form of exercise. I have all of the gadgets necessary for a successful running program...ipod, running shoes, Nike Plus(to monitor my runs), running clothes...you name it, I’ve got it. I have started the Couch to 5K beginner’s running program numerous times and I actually LOVE doing it but I haven’t made the commitment necessary to be officially designated as a runner. This year will be different.

I recently had a conversation with a new friend of mine who coincidently is a runner. I told her of my desire to run as well and to eventually run a race. She immediately challenged me to find a 5k in my area (www.active.com), sign up for it and then train for it. As crazy as it sounded, I did exactly that and now, I am training to run for my very first 5K!

Immediately after signing up for the race, I started having panic attacks! All of the negative thoughts came flooding in.....”What are you, Nuts”? “You can’t do this”! “Cancel the registration”! “You have never followed through before so what makes you think you will this time”? Seriously, this went on for a good 5 minutes! But then in the midst of my meltdown, I heard a small whisper-”...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things are ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize...” and then I heard, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me”. Thank God for his Word!

Negative thoughts are our worse enemies aren’t they? They breed fear and unbelief, they lie to us about who we are and who we are destined to be, and they keep us from reaching our goals. If we allow them to, they place strongholds in our lives that are hard to break free....if we allow them. How many times have you started a diet or exercise plan only to allow your negative thoughts to make you give up? Or how many times have you canceled going out with a friend because you convinced yourself that you didn’t look good enough? How many times have you not followed through on a goal because you convinced yourself that you weren’t good enough to achieve it? How many times have you just given up because your negative thoughts have discouraged you? I can honestly say for me....thousands of times! That’s why it’s so important for us to meditate on God’s Word daily so that in the midst of a panic attack like mine, we are well equipped and the Truth can come to surface and remind you of all of the promises of God. John 8:32 says…”And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. God’s word is true. We as women must start believing that and when we do, we will win! Mark 9:23 assures you that with God all things are possible. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve had to start over and it doesn’t matter about the past failures. If we put our faith in Him and believe His Word-God will do the rest and we will win!

Once I recovered from my mini- panic attack, I went to an online topical bible site and searched for scripture on “race”....to prepare myself for any future attacks while training for this race. ~smile~ Of course, I was able to find many verses but this is the one that helps me the most and I’ve posted it on my computer display so that I can meditate on it daily.....I think it applies not only to my 5K but to all of my 2010 goals towards a healthier lifestyle ....and I hope that it helps you to press on with yours as well.

“Do you know that those who run a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” -1 Corinthians 9:24


Now, let’s all get out and go RUN!
Sasha


Will touch base with you on Monday, February 1st. Hope to see you then!


Tuesday's Blog: Maria Guzman "Life Unscripted!"

Notable "Quotables"

Hi everyone,

I have struggled somewhat as to what I wanted to write for my blog. This is my first time blogging, and I found myself being a little shy about writing about me. As I grow into letting go a little more I thought I might be able to encourage each of you with some Bible verses and “Notable Quotes” that have meant a lot to me while at the ripe old age of 18, I start making some big life decisions. Hope they can encourage you as much as they have me.

Jeremiah 29: 11-13: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and me, when you search for me with all your heart.

This verse has always meant a lot to me because I, like many people, worry so much about what will happen in the future. In my head I’m usually pretty sure that something horrible will happen and God does not necessarily have the best in mind for me. I love this verse where it says “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It makes me feel so loved and cared for by my Heavenly Father!

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power and love and of a sound mind. I especially love the “sound mind” part of it because I know that on my own I usually do not feel very sound. This is just a very empowering verse for me.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved…Helen Keller

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content…Helen Keller

As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along…Eleanor Roosevelt

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product…Eleanor Roosevelt

I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him…Eleanor Roosevelt

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

There is a lot to be afraid of in the world, and it’s a big comfort to know that I won’t ever be facing it by myself!

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." Psalm 18:32-36



Talk to you later
Lydia


My next blog is: February 20th..I'm the 3rd Saturday, of each month. See you soon!


Monday's blog: Sasha, "Health & Beauty"