Saved by Grace

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Healing the broken heart

I think of life as composed of a series of seasons. These seasons bring challenges, changes and lessons but also blessings. When I think about my life, it feels like I have lived through so much and some of these things feel so far away to me, almost like another life. In the last few years I have gone through many changes, I have moved, started new jobs, accomplished some goals in my career and also ministry and I am thankful to God for these, but along with the success, I have also gone through heartbreak, disappointments and difficult moments. This is life, life brings us these things and it never stops because it keeps moving and happening. You see, because life does not stop, unless we pass away, we will always come across things that may hurt us emotionally which can lead to a spiritual issue. I believe that is why Solomon urges us in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our hearts. As humans, feelings make us vulnerable to offense from others and God knows that because he created us that way but that does not mean that we need to let those offenses fester inside of us because it can create a deep wound in us that can make us bitter and full of resentment. God does not want this for us, he wants us to be free and have the fruits of the spirit in us (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) therefore, he wants us to take those offenses and give it all to him. Some wounds may be deep, they can come from family or the closest people to us and it may be so painful but God’s got us, remember, he is a healer. I think that guarding our hearts means to present to him everything that has been offensive to us, give it to him in prayer and if we do that, he will honor that and give us comfort. Some of us have gone through other things that have caused much pain and have even traumatized us. Trauma is something very deep that can affect our brain and our reactions but God can heal us from those too, sometimes he may do that through practical things such as counseling and sometimes he may do it through a miracle . God is a miracle worker, he created our body, our brain, our organs, he knows how each one works therefore, why would he not know how to heal them? Let's trust God with our hearts and minds, just like we trust him with our eternity.

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Part II of Elizabeth’s Testimonial.

One day, I came home and saw the sign, I said, "I hear you God...". I started to cry because He only knows how rough 2019 was for me. In fact, since 2018, I kept getting knocked down. With bruises and all I picked myself up, focused my eyes on that cross, and continued the journey. God has been more than faithful. Just because you’re a Christian does not mean that your life is much simpler. You will be tested, you will be attacked…but do not fret! Just make sure that you are constantly covering yourself and your loved one in prayers. God wants an intimate relationship with you and the only way this will happen is if you seek him. The word says that when you seek him, you will find him. Just because we are a month into 2020 does not mean that it's too late. I encourage you to pray and ask God for that word that will lead you this year. Once you select that word, place it everywhere. Print it and put it a photo frame (hello Dollar Tree!). Believe me... this will be life-transforming. Share that word with your closed loved ones...it will help you become accountable. There will be times where you may lose your focus, but that person will remind you of that word.

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We begin this year with our first feature, Elizabeth, who has a great testimonial. We hope it inspires you!! Here goes part I.

Everyone loves new beginnings. As a new year approaches, we often hear about people's resolution, how this upcoming year will be "their year”, or how things will be different moving forward. The problem with resolutions is that many people fail to accomplish them. It wouldn't be me if I didn't include some sort of background information! Studies have shown that only 8% accomplish these goals (Forbes, 2018). Five years ago, I was tired of these so-called resolutions and my failure in seeing them throughout the entire year. The year 2015 was a pivotal moment in my life. My life was a rollercoaster and I was slowly losing myself. I was down and out, but I picked myself up and got to work. Well...actually, I got back down on my knees and decided to take this into prayer. I asked and pleaded to God for something new in my life. In the midst of my prayers, a lightbulb went off and this is where I decided that I will no longer fall in the trap of resolutions. I decided to choose a word that would be my focal point for the year. No matter what I encountered, this word would redirect me in the path that God ordained. The word I chose for 2015 was "fearless". Choosing such a word actually gave me butterflies in my stomach, but I knew that the Holy Spirit guided me so I shall follow through knowing that God has me. I prayed and fasted for 21 days; I desperately needed a breakthrough. One day while I was at work, during this fast, a thought came across. A few minutes later, I was searching the careers page in my job's intranet and there was a job that sounded great however, I did not feel qualified. God was like "It's ok..I qualify the unqualified". As if receiving confirmation from God wasn't enough, I reached out to a couple of friends and colleagues asking them if I should take this step in my career. Switching jobs would entail fearlessness...I had to get out of my comfort zone. We all know that life truly begins at the end of your comfort zone. I went ahead, applied for it, and received a call for the interview right before I ended my fast. Everything was happening so fast and I was overwhelmed by the outpour of blessings. In the interview, I didn't know who I was. There was this peace that only comes from God. Oh, let me tell you about confidence. Liz 2.0 was on another level with confidence! This was ALL God. I demonstrated this level of fearlessness because I was sure of the direction God set before me. Very long story short, I was offered the job and God gets all the glory. This newly assigned role always keeps me on my toes more often than not. I have to constantly rely on that word to remember that I can do this with God's strength. You guys, God is SO good. A few months after I chose my word, my aunt who does not speak English gave me a small jewelry box. I opened it and guess what?!? It was a chain with the word "Fearless" inscribed in it. My eyes got teary and I was overwhelmed with joy. There is no coincidence in God at all. Yes, this was 5 years ago, but this word to this day is directing my life. For 2020, I wasn't sure what word to choose. Over the summer, I went to Target and browsed the Dollar Spot area. They had the back to school decor for teachers and I picked up a few things for my little sister who is a teacher. There were some block letters to decorate your desk. I dug and dug and found the word fearless and brave. I thought that would add a nice touch in her classroom. I gave it to my sister and she said that she didn't want the fearless sign. I took the sign and threw it somewhere in my house. Eventually it would get some use. Guys, God was preparing me once again...in the upcoming months, I was going to face things that would require me to let go and let God. Fearlessness would help me get through and the acknowledgment that God is sovereign. No matter what came my way, God had the final say.

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Heeeello everyone, I’m back!! I have been roaming, thinking, reflecting, pondering and doing many things. I felt a little lost for a while but Im glad I was able to regroup and refocus! It has been too long since I’ve blogged and I’ve missed it, so much has happened that I want to speak about! First of all, the picture you see here was from my graduation in May of 2018, I received my Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. This post was actually in my drafts and I never finished it, lol. I want to give God all the glory!! I am thankful that he helped me through that Journey, it was tough and I still think about all I accomplished and know that the only explanation is that God’s strength saw me through. Since then I was able to get work in that field, first in a Mental Health outpatient clinic where I was practicing for almost a year, I learned so much there. I left there grateful with 2,000 hours of experience under my belt! (In my state, MHC need 3,000 hours of experience to be licensed plus the state licensure exam). God opened doors for me to continue to learn and grow by moving to another great organization which I love. I will soon finish my 3,000 hours experience requirement and will be taking my licensure examination, please pray for me 😱!! Other than that, I have been traveling, enjoying watching my daughter grow (she is now 6!), learning from mistakes, continuing to work on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and working on myself! Another piece of exciting news is that I have recently been annointed and ordained as a Minister and Missionary Evangelist. I am very excited and also nervous about it but I am leaving it all in God’s hands and waiting to see where he will take that. So the point is that many things have happened that has brought me to this point, I have big plans for this year; one of which includes using this blog to continue to encourage others through my life and testimony but most importantly also through the testimonies of others! Years ago I realized that we ALL have a purpose in life, we are on earth for a reason and you can accomplish that purpose in so many different and creative ways but you first have to ask God to give you that revelation, ask him what your purpose is and he will respond. I have been lucky enough to figure out what mine is and also lucky to have made my purpose my career and my career part of my purpose! I think its so important to find out what your purpose is because if you don’t, you will feel like you are wasting your time and living an unhappy life. A great book that helped me in this process is a book by TD Jakes called “Instinct: The power to unleash your inborn drive,”, I really recommend it! Therefore, this is a major reason why I have this blog because aside from being a Mental Health Counselor, and being able to care for, listen, empathize, motivate and encourage my clients, I also use this blog to do the same for others I cannot reach as easily. So stay tuned for some great posts coming up, of people like me and you, that will be featured on my blog and whose stories will be used to build hope! Blessings!!!!!

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Stuck Have you ever felt stuck? Like nothing you could EVER do is going to make a difference. You push and you push, you try alternatives and nothing happens. All you manage to do, instead of getting the desired result, is feel tired and weary. You feel like nothing is giving way. Deep down you know that the only thing that can make a difference is an intervention from God, a miracle! I have been there many times. This is called a desert, where nothing flourishes, everything is bare. God puts us in this place for a couple of reasons. 1. To understand that you depend on him. That nothing you could ever do on your own can work, because you need him, because your life is not yours anymore, it's his. You need him to open the doors that need to be open and close those that need to close. You need HIM to provide, you need HIM!! 2. This is a place of intimacy. In the desert, you wont necesarily hear his voice or his response, but it is the place where you search for him. This is the time where you will find yourself alone, with no one around to talk to or keep you entertained because God wants it that way. He wants your time and attention. Therefore, this is the time to focus even more in prayer, worship, fasting and whatever else that you do to get you closer to him. Only you know what those things are because you have your own relationship with him. But be aware, in the desert you will receive other offers, you will be tempted to leave everything because you feel like serving God has given you no results. Maybe you feel like he forgot about you. The enemy of our soul tries to take advantage of this and makes us offers, just like he did to Jesus when he was in the desert (See Matthew chap. 4) It is up to you to decide what you want to do, God lets us decide because we have free will. But you have to know that you have to deal with the consequences of whatever you choose. If you have failed God, its ok as long as you repent and don't go back to that sin. You can get yourself up and keep moving, God will forgive you, other humans are actually harsher on us, or even ourselves. We judge, we have no mercy sometimes, but not God, he is love, he wants to love us, he wants us back. 3). This is a time of rest. You've been too busy! Too busy serving, too busy working, too busy giving, and too busy trying to figure things out on your own. Busyness actually draws us away from God because it keeps us distracted. Therefore, God has to draw us away from everything in order for us to rest and refocus. After we go through this process we are ready for what we need God to do in our life! So, if you are going through this, I am here to tell you that if you do what you have to do in the desert and let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit, the desert has to spit you out, get ready!! God will respond with your miracle!! Streams of water will flow once again in your life!!!

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I AM Loved- Col 3:12 and 1Thes 1:4

I AM Wise - prov 31

I AM Chosen, Royal and Holy-1Peter 2:9

I AM a child and an heir- Gal 4:7

I AM redeemed and forgiven- Eph 1:7

I AM alive in Christ- Eph 2:4-5

I AM Created in God’s Image- Eph 4:24

I AM a citizen of Heaven- Phil 3:20

I AM made complete in Christ- Col 2:10

I AM Light- Eph 5:8

I AM seated in heavenly places- Eph 2:6

I AM a temple of the Holy Spirit- 1Cor 6:19

I AM Accepted by Christ- Romans 8:17

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10 posts!

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Woman of Steel- Man of Steel

Hey all!!! It has been a while since I have blogged but I am back. God has been speaking to my spirit in a lot of ways lately and I felt the need to put it down in writing because I know he will use it to speak to others. Yesterday God gave me a word about steel, specifically “woman of Steel”. If we look at the qualities of a piece of steel we can see that it is strong, durable, tough, it is not easily bent or broken. In fact, fire is what is used to bend or break steel and fire is also used to make steel stronger, when placed under high intensity of heat. Well, guess what? God wants us to be like steel. This is not something that the Bible states, it is simply a revelation that I received in my spirit. A lot of times, there are going to be things in life that will hurt us, and we are going to go through things that we don’t want to go through. These processes; we will call them, may bring other things that can hinder the flow of God’s presence in our life like anger, unforgiveness, sadness, etc.. But even though these negative feelings may come, God will use them to make you stronger!! You see, he doesn’t allow these things because he wants to hurt you, he allows them because he wants you to overcome!! and how can you overcome something you have not experienced?? So, sometimes we have to go through the hurt and the pain, the un-forgiveness, the anger, the sadness, or whatever it may be, but we must not stay there. The word says we have to guard our hearts because from it flows life (see prov. 4:23) so you have to be very careful of what you let live there because if you let it linger you will be broken=die spiritually.

But this my friend, is when God wants you to be like steel! Not because he wants you to be a cold person, remember, we always have to show the fruits of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us!  He does it because in the fire you will become stronger. You can’t let these things break or bend you, they have to make you stronger. Now, don’t get me wrong!  you are going to feel, because you are alive and were made up that way, we are going to feel sad, we are going to feel anger, but you cant let that defeat you by keeping it in your heart, surrender it to God! The only place where he wants you bent or broken is in his presence, you see, God’s presence is the fire,  and he wants to be the one to break you in his presence because he is the Potter (Isaiah 64:8) and will put you back together perfectly! He wants you to bend in his presence, to bend your desires to his desires, to bend your will to his will, he wants you to surrender! So remember, don’t break or bend, be like steel, be strong! And you can only get stronger in the fire of GOD.

There you go, I have told you the qualities of a man or woman of steel! This person is one who is strong because of the processes they have been through but also full of grace, mercy and love for others because they guard their heart by letting God cleanse them in his presence. Thank you Lord for helping us be like Steel each and every day!

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Poema

Jehova, eres mi refugio y mi fortaleza! Cuando estoy sola eres mi compańia Cuando estoy triste eres mi gozo e alegria Cuando mi alma esta turbada eres mi paz Cuando estoy sedienta solo me sacia tu presencia Cuando soy debil eres mi fuerza Cuando no puedo ver eres mis ojos, me guias a la verdad Cuando tengo hambre me das tu pan Tu palabra me guia, y me ańada vida Tu santo espiritu seńor esmi vida Jehova eres mi refugio y mi Fortaleza Hoy y siempre, necesito tu presencia! By PRF

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Healthy Habits Update

First and foremost I want to wish everyone a Happy and healthy New Year full of blessings, I know I’m a bit late! I haven’t blogged for a while, I was taking some time out to refocus and meditate on some things but now I’m back and ready for all the wonderful things this new year has for me!

I just want to give a little update on the weight loss journey, I recently found out some very interesting things that I know might help some of you out too. Last week I went to get a fitness analysis and I was kind of shocked and yet enlightened! I was shocked because I don’t think I have ever been this much in shape in my whole life and I was enlightened because after the trainer gave me the results, he also guided me in knowing what my next steps would be! So, I decided to share my results with you all for encouragement and knowledge! I was weighted and measured, he also took my BMI (Body mass index) which measures the percentage of fat that I currently have in my body. From that number he even calculated how many pounds of fat I have left to loose, which was really helpful. Then he gave me a few exercises to perform to measure my resistance and strength and the results were pretty good, I have to work a little more on strengthening my upper body. As far as the Weight loss, the results showed that I have lost 38lbs in total so far!! According to my BMI 31% of my weight is fat, that means that I have 56 lbs of fat in my body. This is a pretty good number but according to my age and height I should be at 20%. Therefore, in order for me to reach a healthy BMI I should loose 24 lbs of fat but then gain 10 lbs of pure muscle because if I don’t I will just be skin and bones!When he told me this I though “im going to look like a stick If I loose 24 lbs!” My mom is already complaining that I’m too skinny, LOL!! What I plan to do is loose 14 more lbs and then concentrate more on strength training/weights to turn the 10 lbs that I have left to loose into muscle because he explained that when you do weights you are burning the fat that you have and turning it into muscle, so that is the plan!

When I started this journey last April, I never though that in less than a year I would get this far! But look at where I am now! And I still have a bit more to go but it's way less than when I started. What I want to tell you today is that whatever it is that you want to improve in your life, be it spiritual, physical, educational, personal, it is never too late to do!! Just do it! Get determined! Determination and perseverance is all you need! Never, ever give up, keep going, keep moving even when you though you've failed and other people don’t believe you can do it, that YOU believe in yourself is enough!! Go ahead and stunt on them Queen!! I believe in you!!!! 😘❤️️❤️️

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Poem- The God of the Universe

The God of the Universe-He created me. The God of the universe-He set me free. He knew me when my heart did not yet beat, He knew the plans he had for me. I am in awe every time I think, of all the great things he has planned for me. He saw me when no one did, he loved me so perfectly. He placed a crown upon my head and sandals on my feet, he gave me joy and filled my heart with peace. The God of the universe- He created me. The God of the universe- He set me free The God of the Universe-MY God

By-PRF

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From a caterpillar to a butterfly

I have received a number of messages from friends and family asking me how I managed to lose the weight I have lost, so I decided to write a blog about it. The picture to your left is a picture of me from April of this year and the one on your right is me now, that’s a 30 lb. difference. The first thing I want to say is that I did not get surgery, gastric bypass or liposuction, in case anyone was wondering! I am not against people doing these but personally, that was not the route that I wanted to take for myself. I know my body, so I knew that with some self control, planning and a few other things I would be able to lose the weight because I had done it before. More than losing the weight my challenge has always been maintaining the weight loss, I will also tell you how I have been doing that. So to answer the question of how I did it, there is not one simple answer for it, it was a combination of things. But remember, everyone is different and what has worked for me may not necessarily give you the same results, so always check with a medical professional before implementing any changes. This is what I did:

1. Decide to do it. I had to get to a point where I had to decide to change for good! If a person does not decide to change, they cannot get results. Last February I had gone to the Doctor for a regular checkup and when she checked my blood pressure it was to the roof! I dont even remember the number, all I know is that she was in shock and asked me all these questions about how I felt, if my head was hurting and if I felt dizzy. She said that she needed to get me to the emergency room as soon as possible because I was at risk of getting a heart attack. Talk about a wake up call! I will never forget that night, after they had given me pills to stabilize my blood pressure and enough to take home I went home and looked at my daughter, I wondered what her life would be like without me. This was when the real transformation began. If you do not renew your mind than no changes can come to the outside!

  2. Pray. The next thing I did was recognize that I couldn't go on this journey on my own, so I took it to the man upstairs. You know him! The all powerful, all knowing, Mighty God. The one that can make anything that we think is impossible be possible. I asked him to help me, to activate the fruit of self control and give me discipline and perseverance to keep doing this. I wanted a forever change, not something that would last a month and I would go right back to the same thing. You see, God is concerned with the small things in your life as well as the big things because he is concerned about you as a whole so whatever is important to you is also important to him. The Bible says in Mathew 10:30 that he even knows how many hairs you have on your head, so if he knows that how can he not be concerned about your well being? So, I looked at myself in the mirror, I really, really looked at my self, after years, and I touched and declared over every part of my body where I wanted to see the changes. The word of God says in Mathew 18:18 that whatever you bind in earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose in earth shall be loosed in heaven. So I bound every spirit of illness that was effecting my body whether it be emotional, physical or spiritual and I declared that God would do something supernatural in me. Today I can say that he sure did it.

3. Change the way and what you eat. Well, this is where your part really comes in. In step one and two you are making a decision and presenting it to God but in the last two steps is where you have to put in the work. But I have good news for you! everything that we do with God is easier than when we do it on our own! he gives us every single thing we need to be able to do it, we just need to ask. Well, this step is all about what you eat and how you eat. It has been medically proven that when you eat smaller portions and more frequent times in a day it increases your metabolism. Also you have to cutout sugar, certain fats and carbs. This does not mean that it is going to be like that forever, after you loose the amount of weight that you want you can have days where you can allow yourself certain things. My day is Sunday, on Sundays I allow myself to eat something that I like to eat and then keep what has become my “normal” way of eating the rest of the week. Or if I know there is a special event coming that is not on a Sunday, I change my day to that day so I can eat what everyone else is having. This is a lifestyle to me and this is the way that I have managed to maintain the weight loss. I should tell you that what really helped me change my way of eating was doing the Daniel fast. If you are familiar with the Daniel fast then you know that it is very strict, it is basically just fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts for 21 days. I also allowed myself to have brown rice and brown pasta. This really helped me spiritually as well as to “kickoff” my healthy lifestyle because it was kind of a way to help me detoxify my body from all of the unhealthy things I was eating. After I was done with the fast, I tried to keep the same way of eating but I also included chicken. Now, I do have eggs once in a while but I try to reduce the animal fat that I consume on a day to day basis by drinking almond milk and substituting mayonnaise and cheese for vegan mayonnaise and cheese. I am not all vegan or vegetarian at all, like I said, I just try to reduce the animal fat in my diet.

4. Physical activity

The last step goes hand in hand with step 3, and it is physical activity. This is very important because when combined with your healthy eating lifestyle it really kicks the fat! Always try to keep active, you do not necessarily have to go to the gym to do this, there are a variety of ways to exercise, like using workout DVD’s, going outside, etc. I actually did not join the gym until the cold weather came in and I did it because I got a super deal at the gym where I joined. Before joining the gym I was walking and jogging outside and the cardio helped a lot. But you also have to keep in mind that you also have to do some weights to tone up, not only cardio on its own. I usually try to exercise at least 3 times a week, for me, this is another way of maintaining the weight loss and it helps me de-stress. After you make this a habit, you actually start loving it and missing it when you don’t do it. Last month I had two weeks where I was not able to go to the gym because I was sick and when I finally went it felt so good! Now I understand the people that call themselves gym rats because I wish I could go all the time!...lol

Well, that’s really it! this is the complete low down on how I managed to loose 30 lbs. I still have to loose 10 more lbs. so I have to think of something to kick it up a notch, I will let you know how that goes! I really hope that this post can help encourage people to finally make the change that they have been meaning to make in their health. I just want to tell you that if I can do it so can you! Remember: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

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Asombrosa Gracia

Hola amigos! Esta foto fue tomada cuando celebre mi cumpleaños numero 30, celebraba, no solo porque cumplia una decada mas de vida, si no que tambien celebraba las maravillas que el señor habia hecho en mi vida! No me veo feliz? Haha… Anoche me preparaba para dormir y comenze a pensar cuan bueno a sido Dios conmigo y como su gracia me rescato. Veraz, mi vida a tenido un cambio muy grande pero positivo, no es ni el reflejo de lo que era. No me refiero a cosas materiales pero a otras cosas mas significativas y profundas. Puedo decir que en lo material, tuve todo lo que alguien pudiera desear, pero lo entregue todo a cambio de paz y tranquilidad, que son dos cosas que no se pueden comprar. Pero una cosa que entendi fue que aun siendo Cristiana, mi vida era un lugar oscuro por muchos, muchos años, y todos los dias aprendi a vivir con eso por que estaba atada! Si! Puedes estar atado/a aun siendo Cristiana/o. Esto es porque como humanos podemos tomar malas decisiones en nuestras vidas, y estas traen consequencias. La Biblia dice en proverbios 16:9 NVI “El corazón del hombre se propone un camino, pero Jehová endereza sus pasos.” Pero como los establecera el señor si no lo dejamos hacerlo, lo planeamos y lo hacemos nosotros. Esto es lo que trae consecuencias y hasta ataduras porque no buscamos la direccion de Dios. Terminamos haciendo totalmente lo contrario a lo que el en realidad queria de nosotros. Bueno el ejemplo que puedo darles de esto era el matrimonio que tenia. Cuando me case hace 8 años y medio, no era Cristiana. Conoci a mi ex esposo, nos mudamos juntos, el me propuso matrimonio y yo acepte porque era lo natural, en esa situacion. Ademas yo era muy ingenua y habia una diferencia de edad muy grande. Tambien hubieron muchas otras cosas que influyeron esa decision, pero mantendre esto simple, solo se que el no era el hombre para mi. Vivimos todos esos años juntos, cada año poniendose peor al punto en que estaba "casada” pero totalmente sola, no tenia un esposo. Tambien hubo abuso en el matrimonio, verbal, emocional, financiero y casi fisico, ademas de muchas otras cosas que prefiero no decirlas en el momento, vendra un tiempo para eso. Mi estima estaba tan baja que no podia ver lo que pasaba. Dios tuvo que intervenir porque estaba siendo destruida. En realidad es triste pero es la verdad, y no me da verguenza decirlo porque estas son las cosas que te ayudan a crecer y lo que le habren los ojos a otros. Llego un momento donde no tenia esperanza y no encontraba una salida, solo le lloraba a Dios y el me escucho. Su misericordia fue tan grande que me abrio los ojos y me dio la fortaleza para tomar la decision de poner el divorcio. Tome la decision y jamas e mirado atras. Todo fue como un mal sueño, ya ni pienzo en todo eso, porque como dije, mi vida es tan diferente ahora. De ninguna manera estoy diciendo que el matrimonio es malo y que estoy de acuerdo con el divorcio. El matrimonio es una institucion maravillosa, siempre y cuando lo hagas con la direccion de Dios. Pero tampoco estoy de acuerdo en que alguien abuse de ti, Dios no quiere eso para ti porque cuando Jesus murio, el murio por todo. El murio para hacerte libre y para que tu seas cuidada/o y amada/o asi como el cuido y amo a su iglesia. Quiero decirte que hay esperanza para ti, asi como la hubo para mi. Dios creo el matrimonio y quiere bendecirlos, siempre y cuando los dos trabajen juntos y pongan de su parte. Pero si la persona con quien estas no quiere someterce a Dios, es tiempo de que presentes esa persona a Dios para que el te guie a tomar una decision. No permitas que te sigan maltratando. Quiero que sepas que te mereces lo mejor y si esa persona no lo hace entonces que mal por ellos, porque lo que te espera es maravilloso, hermoso y asombroso!! Creelo!!! “Porque yo sé los pensamientos que tengo acerca de vosotros, dice Jehová, pensamientos de paz y no de mal, para daros el fin que esperáis.” ‭‭Jeremías‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭RVR95‬‬

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Amazing Grace

Hello friends! This picture was taken when I celebrated my 30th birthday, I was celebrating, not just because I was turning a decade older, but I was also celebrating God’s awesomeness in my life! Don’t I look happy? Lol … Last night I was getting ready to go to bed and I started thinking about how good God has been to me and how his grace has rescued me. You see, my life has undergone a huge change for the better, it is not even a reflection of what it was. I am not referring to material things, but to other deeper and more meaningful things. I can say that in the material sense I had everything a person could ever wish for, and I gave it all up in exchange for peace and happiness, which are two things you cannot buy. But one thing I realized was that even as a Christian my life had been a very dark place for many many years and everyday, I just learned to live with that because I was tied up! Yes, you can be tied up as a Christian! This is so because we are human and we can make bad decisions in our life, these bring consequences. The Bible says “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬. But how can the Lord establish them when we don’t let him do it, we just plan it and do it ourselves. This is the part that brings consequences and even bondage, because we did not look for God’s direction, we end up doing the total opposite of what he really wanted for us. Well the example that I can give you about this is my marriage. When I got married about 8 and ½ years ago I was not a Christian, I met the guy and we moved in together, he proposed and I accepted because it was the natural thing to do. Plus, I was so naive and there was a huge age difference. Among that there were many other factors that influenced that decision but I will keep this post simple, I just know that he was not the guy for me. We lived all of those years together, with each year getting worse, to the point where I was “married” but totally alone, I didn’t have a husband. There was also abuse in the marriage, verbal, emotional, financial, and almost physical among many other things that I prefer not to disclose at the moment, there will come a time for it. My self-esteem was so low that I could not see what was happening. God had to intervene because I was being destroyed. It is sad really but it is the truth, I am not ashamed to say it because these are the experiences that help you grow and the things that help other people open their eyes as well. There came a point where I was numb, I had no hope and couldn’t find a way out, I just cried out to God and he heard me. His mercy is so great that he opened my eyes and gave me the strength to make the decision to get a divorce. I made the decision and have not looked back! This was just a bad dream to me, I don’t even think about it anymore because, like I said, my life is so different now. In no way Am I saying that marriage is bad or that I agree with divorce. Marriage is a wonderful institution when you do it with God’s direction. However, I do agree with not letting someone abuse you, God doesn’t want that for you either because when Jesus died, he died for all of it. He died to make you free and so that you can be loved and cared for just how he loved and cared for his church. I want to tell you that there is hope for you, just like there was hope for me. God created marriage and I know that he wants to bless all marriages as long as both parties are willing to work on it, but If the person you are with does not want to submit themselves to God than it is time to present it to God so he can guide you to make a decision. Don’t allow yourself to keep being mistreated. know that you deserve better and if that person is not willing to give you that then it is just too bad for them! Because what is waiting for you is wonderful, beautiful and amazing!! Believe it!! “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares lthe Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”<br> ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NIV

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Hoy quiero traer una palabra de refleccion para aquellas mujeres que se han mirado en un espejo y no les gusto lo que vieron. Talvez en ese momento te sentiste fea, no atractiva, sin valor..... La lista continua. Bueno, no estas sola, hay tantas mujeres que estan insatisfechas con su imagen, constantemente tratando de llevar los estandardes de este mundo. Si sigues comparandote con las mujeres de la television y revistas o la del lado, entonces nunca te sentiras satisfecha contigo misma. La biblia dice que somos una obra formidable y maravillosa (salmo 139:14), Dios te hizo perfectamente asi como eres. El te dio tu nariz, tu cabello, tus ojos, y tu cuerpo entero como es, por que eso es lo que te hace ser tu! Tengo que decir que antes yo era una mujer que batallaba constantemente con baja estima, por muchos años y muchas razones, incluso despues de venir a Cristo. No entendia que mi imagen no era mi identidad. Yo era mas que mi apariencia fisica, yo era lo que Dios habia dicho que era!! Que nos dice la biblia que somos? La biblia dice que somos hijos de Dios (juan 1:12), dice que somos imagen de Dios (Gen 1:27), somos el cuerpo de Cristo (1Cor 12:27), y tambien dice que somos linaje escogido, real sacerdocio, nación santa, pueblo adquirido por Dios, para que anunciemos las virtudes de aquel que nos llamo de las tinieblas a su luz brillante (1pedro 2:9), y muchas cosas mas. Cuando por fin acepte estas verdades y le pedi a Dios que cambiara mi perspectiva, fui liberada, fui libre de esa horrenda mentira que venia a mi mente y mi corazon. Yo si tenia valor, valia mucho por que Jesus entrego su vida por mi porque me ama. Entonces comence a mirarme diferente, aprendi a amarme asi como era. Esto comenzo una revolucion en mi, decidi cuidarme mas, entendi que mi cuerpo es templo del espiritud santo (1Cor 6:19), por eso necesitaba tratalo mejor. Comenze a comer mas saludable y a ejercitarme constantemente, he perdido 20 libras! Me siento mejor que nunca y estoy enfocada en perder mas porque quiero estar en mi mejor forma. No lo hago por vanidad, si no porque quiero cuidar mi cuerpo y mi salud. Entonces, hermana, no sigas creyendo las mentiras que el enemigo a plantado en tu mente, el quiere mantenerte atada para que no cumplas el proposito que Dios tiene para ti. Cuando estas cosas lleguen a tu mente, pelea en contra de ellas con la palabra, ya Dios te ha dado las herramientas para pelear contra esto. Mirate en el espejo y di a ti misma que eres hermosa y valiosa, no esperes que otro te lo diga por que ya Cristo lo hizo, lo eres! Si has caido por estas mentiras, ponte tu mejor ropa, recoje tu corona, limpiala, levanta tu cabeza y ponte tu corona. Nunca mires hacia abajo, nunca mires hacia atras y sigue caminando, eres una REINA!!!

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Today I want to bring a reflection to those women who have ever looked at themselves in the mirror and did not like what they saw. Maybe at that moment you felt ugly, unattractive, worthless…. the list goes on. Well you are not alone, there are so many women out there who have been or are unsatisfied with their image, constantly looking up to the standards of this world. If you keep comparing yourself with the women on TV or in magazines, or the woman next door, then you will never feel satisfied with yourself. The bible says that we were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), God made you perfectly, just the way you are. He gave you your nose, your hair, your eyes and your whole body the way it is because that is what makes you, you! I have to say that I was once one of those woman who constantly battled with low self-esteem for many years and many reasons, even after coming to Christ. I did not understand that my image was not my identity. I was more than my physical appearance; I was what God said I was!!! So, what does the Bible say we are? The bible says that we are children of God (John 1:12), it says that we are God’s image (Gen 1:27), We are the body of Christ (1Cor. 12:27), and it also says that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1Peter 2:9) among many other things. When I finally accepted this truth and asked God to change my perspective, I became free, free of that horrible lie that kept coming into my mind and my heart. I was not worthless, I was worth it, I was worth Jesus dying on the cross because he loves me. Then I started looking at myself differently, I learned to love myself just the way I am. This actually started a revolution in me and I decided to take better care of myself, I understood that my body was the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 6:19), therefore, I needed to treat it better and kinder. I began to eat healthier and exercising consistently, I have lost 20 lbs.! I feel better than ever and am focused in loosing even more weight because I want to be in the best shape of my life. So come on sister, don’t keep believing the lies that the enemy puts into your head, he wants to keep you tied up in them so you will not fulfill what God has set forth for you. Whenever these things come into your mind, fight them with the word, God already gave you the weapon to fight against those lies. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you are beautiful and worth it, because you are! If you’ve fallen for these lies, put on your best dress, pick up your crown, dust it off, lift up your head and put your crown on, don’t ever look down, don’t ever look back and keep walking, you are a QUEEN!

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Saved by Grace is born

Today, is the day that the Lord has made and with this day comes new projects, goals, new beginnings. God has put in my heart to start this blog, it is a blog with Christ at the center, that will be used to encourage and give a word of hope to those who are in need. I will post several testimonies from my own life and others around me, feature inspirational woman, post journal entries and interviews that God will use to inspire and strengthen the readers. The word of God says that our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit (1cor. 6:19) so, as I continue on my healthy eating journey, I will be also posting healthy food recipes, exercising tips, and fashion segments! Stay tuned, because as my very good friend says: “When God shows up, he shows off!”