40 days of gratitude

 this wednesday, our church embarked on a total spiritual transformation

Regenerate

it a similar to the catholic lent tradition where you give something up for the forty days before resurrection.

Last year i did it. it was very powerful and life changing.

it truly prepared me for god's blessings. at the time, i was not aware of what God's plan was for me 

but now i have witnessed his promises and faithfulness in my life. 

last year almost to the day in my daily time with God i wrote this in my journal:

acts 14:22

strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true the faith.

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God"

 i prayed that god would give me discernment to figure out whether or not to leave my position, whether or not to take a leap of faith and scale down.

i also prayed for contentment in the midst of attacks and complete chaos.

...at that time, i worked for someone who brought negative energy and ugliness to a once peaceful, joyful work environment.

i was unhappy and was made to feel like that was no longer my place.

at the end of the school year God in his divine purpose and plan rescued me...

through my forty day journey to seek him he showed me things that i needed to work on to strengthen my walk....he told me that things and stuff were not going to make me happy...

so i gave up shopping during regenerate.....

because of this decision i was able to pay off unnecessary credit card debt and save money.
{preparing me to receive his blessing}

at the end of the school year God took me in his hands and gave me a new assignment...

i won't say that all was hunky dory...i was really hurt and was made to feel unwelcome, unwanted, and unworthy by my supervisor....
i was fearful to leave a job that provided a good income...
but most of all i was scared at first to trust and follow Him.

i was faced with the decision to leave my former assignment and school after 13 years...

this was not easy...

but in the midst of all this hurt and pain...God heard my prayers, and my sister's prayers, and my friends prayers...

God knew my heart...

i had been seeking him and speaking to him about my hopes and dreams.

amongst all the pain, fear, wickedness
he blessed me with an opportunity to work part-time...


And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28


If God is for us, who can be against us?

now i see why things happened the way they did... God had a plan for me only i did not know it yet.

We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.

i thank god for this...i can truly say that i am happy working part-time.

i am still seeking God and asking for guidance.

i pray his will be done in my life and though i may not always know what his plans are for me 

i rest assured that

his plans are to prosper me and not to harm me,
 to give me hope and a future
jeremiah 29:11

this year, God has also been preparing us for his divine purpose.  I know it. I want to challenge you to join me on this total spiritual transformation. The purpose of Regenerate is like Lent in that you give something up, you "disrupt your business as usual routine with a purpose to seek, and deliberately pursue God". But unlike traditional lent, you are to ask yourself these questions:


What are you willing to give up?
What will you start up?
And how will you step up and attempt something for God?

if this is something that you are interested in doing here are some links for more information:

you can download the daily devotional here

things i am giving up:

one cup of coffee

sugar and sweets

white flour products

things i am starting up:

fasting (that's a big one for me cuz i likes to eat)

spending quality time with my boys

praying for the needs of others

40 days of gratitude

things i am stepping up to do:

praying for the needs of others

being more intentional with my boys in reading the bible.
encouraging others to seek God.
being the voice for justice and truth
helping others find their voice and stand up to injustice

So as part of my regenerate campaign, i decided to do a
40 days of gratitude on my blog.

I was inspired by other bloggers who are doing 365 days of gratitude.

 here are my first three days:

Day 1 February 29th

grateful for an awesome worship service to start Regenerate.

the band is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Paul Stephens is our worship leader.

Day 2 March 1st

my sister Rosa's birthday.

she is such an inspiration to me...

no matter how difficult life gets...she always has a great attitude

and isn't afraid to try new things.
she is brave!

Day 3 March 2nd

a day off to spend celebrating my boys!

they were both selected for student of the month for

self -discipline

number 2 read one fish two fish to his class.
both my boys are in a Dual Language Program where they are learning to be bilingual and biliterate
{in English and Spanish}

he is such a good reader and truly loves reading books.

number one with proud mama

he is such a hard worker and truly enjoys learning.

wow, i am ever so grateful to God for my boys and family!


have a great weekend, and thank you for visiting.
if you managed to read all of this thank you for listening to my journey of faith.


whatever you may do
Be AWeSoMe!