we spent christmas eve at my parents' house. the boys love their tita.
we left santa some hot chocolate to wash down the cookies.
we enjoyed a quiet calm christmas day visiting family.
i don't know about you but after christmas i like to put away the decorations,
clean and reorganize things that have long been over due.
i finally was able to style my bookcases. pictures to come soon.
my living room doesn't get much light and i need to wait for a sunny day to take pictures.
i am looking forward to this new year.
i hold on to God's promise to us in jeremiah 29:11
I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out- plans to take care of you, not to abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. my hope is in him. wishing you and yours the best year ever. thanks for visiting.
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:
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.
my internet was down this weekend and i wasn't able to post or read my favorite blogs.
it is amazing how we have become so reliant on the internet.
given my circumstance, i had no other choice than to clean {notice the enthusiasm}
and do other things {like read}...it was good.
but hubby came to the rescue, as he always does for me
{my knight in shining armor}
I was finally able to upload pictures on my new computer, which i am loving...
it is all for me, which i am feeling a bit guilty of, when the boys want to play with it,
as moms we tend to do that, guilt comes with the mommy package, right?
now to figure out how to upload on to blogger from my mac...not so easy
there is a learning curve for me
there is so much i'd like to share with you but i will save the details in another blogpost
today i will share pictures of my week.
homemade pizza for valentine's day
pot de creme for dessert
which i think i made with too much coffee...but yummy nonetheless.
hubba hubby, setting up my new computer. i tell ya, he's my knight!
wednesday's are my designated clean the bathroom day.
ever so grateful for easy meals to cook on my work nights.
orange chicken, fried rice, and soba noodles.
the boys enjoy it and all i have to do is heat it up, yay!
saturday i was able to catch up on my reading in my comfy spot.
hubby and i also were able to get a way for some much needed alone time'
a massage and dinner....
photo class practice, please excuse the slobbery window, charlie likes to give kisses through the glass
sunday, church which was awesome
and then i baked a funfetti cake for hubby and the boys.
today, i am catching up on my blogging,
trying out a new recipe
and working on my sewing...that i still have not finished.
i wish you a blessed week.
what are your plans this week?
