Totally Random ^_^

~~So I'm sitting in my comfy sofa with my, lately, regular attire - bleach spotted sweats;) There was finally a break in the day and all I wanted to do was sit and not think. I turn on the T.V. and channel surf until I find - drumroll please - an infomercial! I'm not feeling particularly "pretty" or in any sense made-up. Come to find out I can look "flawless" with just a stroke of "minerals"...who would have thunk it! I am not kidding you when I say that I was so ready to make that call. And with a special that would only last for the next five minutes...I had to hurry up and make my decision...(pause for a word from our sponsor).

Later during the day I finally decided to do something more constructive and actually listened to a message on the Internet. It was titled, "Ordinary You/Extraordinary God"...yeah! Then when I heard a number of LIES exposed, one being "You Are Your Appearance", whew! I was sure glad that I had not bought into the LIE that these "minerals" where going to make me FEEL pretty and hence everything was going to be okay.

~~So I guess lent has started. I've been hearing people around me be so absolutely passionate about what they are giving up as a sacrifice during these next forty days of lent. However, with that passion there are also some really strange comments and conversations. Here are a couple:

One Mom was so excited and passionate, she was giving up dark chocolate and pepsi! She was hoping that this year she would make it all the way through the forty days because she never seems to be able to hold out this long. She is also MAKING her children give up T.V. and the Wii, in addition to that extra good deed, that prayer to the Archangel Michael, that being good to your siblings, that respecting your parents - hopefully by the end of the forty days "they will get it". Will get what? She is imposing more on her kids then she is on herself and she expects them to carry it through for the forty days, when she isn't even sure she can handled it herself...Hummm...

Another lady was chatting away about how she had been at a strip club, having some beers, etc., however, when they later went to have dinner she absolutely refused to have meat because it was Ash Wednesday. In fact, she would not even have mashed potatoes and gravy because the gravy came from the meat juices...this one really through me for a loop=O

Be Still My Soul...

Psalm 23:1-3 - The LORD is my Shepherd...He makes me lie down...besides STILL waters. He restores my soul...

(refreshment, renewal, restoration...)

Mark 6:31 - ..."Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while"...

Song of Solomon - the winter is past...the rain is over and gone...the flowers appear on the earth...the time of singing has come...AMEN!

Psalm 46:10 - Be STILL and KNOW that I AM God.

God Continues to Speak to Me...

I read a devo entitled "God Will Not Let You Break" - Thank you Jesus!

"...the worst kind of blasphemy is to think God is behind all your hurt and pain..."

"...It is true that the LORD chastens those He loves, but that chastening is only for a season and is not mean to hurt us. God is not the author of confusion in your life;..."

All I have to say is that the battle of the mind is a fierce one. And the fiery darts are simply paralysing, yet I have to choose to "hear the voice of TRUTH" rather than lies. I have to choose to read, praise, pray, listen, obey...there is always a choice between that which will build me up or that which will tear me down.

Thank you Jesus that "Weeping may endure for a night, but JOY cometh in the morning."!

This Thing(s) Are from Him...

Go over to the Caregiver's Blog and read what the LORD spoke to me through an incredible devotion. One of the many things that stood out was "...Have you longed to do some great work for Me and instead have been laid aside on a bed of pain and weakness? This thing is from Me. I could not get your attention in your busy days and I want to teach you some of My deepest lessons. "They also serve who only stand and wait." Some of My greatest workers are those shut out from active service, that they may learn to wield the weapon of all-prayer..."

Many of you know that I have been heart broken at the fact that I have not been able "to be there" for my husband during this incredibly difficult time. I've wondered...I've questioned...I've, dare I write it here...yes, resented it.

Can I tell you as the Psalmist would say, I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living...

Let me just say that "I have seen the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living". I have been amazed and have sat in awe at what My Awesome and Mighty God has done through my husband. You would first need to know that my husband is incredibly shy and absolutely not a talker, even in a small group setting. With that bit of information let me tell you what GOD has done through him...

My husband brought honor to his earthly father and to His Heavenly Father as he stood in the pulpit of a catholic church, facing a church filled with family and friends and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ - you see my husband had the honor of leading his earthly father into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ before his father's passing. My husband was able to say, "people say that we lost my Dad. But when you lose something, this means that you don't know where it's at, but I KNOW where my father is, he is in heaven and I will see him again." All I will say is that my husband did not have it easy after his open proclamation of his beliefs.

As life would have it my husband's mother also passed away days after this event. And being compelled by His Savior to proclaim the gospel once again in spite of it all, my husband stood at his mother's service and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ once again. My husband honored his mother, as a mother deserved, yet made it known that even in all her goodness she too needed a Savior. My husband had the awesome privilege of also leading his mother into a personal relationship with, now her Savior Jesus Christ.

So, you see, my temporal perspective was taking the best of me. All along the eternal purposes of All Mighty God were taking place. My God was exalted and my husband was built up...all without me. How frail, how weak, how earthly...no wonder that Scripture keeps ringing in my ears ...to know NOTHING save JESUS CHRIST and Him Crucified.

To ONLY GOD be the glory!

God's Love

God's love is a fabric that never fades, no matter how often it is washed in the waters of adversity. ---ODB

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 - Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...

Love suffers long - I'm at my whits end
is kind - *sigh*
does not behave rudely - *sigh*
is not provoked - provoked and then some
thinks no evil - my mind is inundated with thoughts

There is absolutely nothing good in me, save for Jesus Christ.

God Speaks

The fog is so thick, yet God speaks, comforts and reassures.

(Excerpts from Our Daily Bread)
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

The day before his 52nd birthday, Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois, to become President of the United States. With the threat of civil war looming, he said goodbye to the friends and neighbors who had come to see him off. “I now leave,” he told them, “not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”

Into His hands lay the fears that haunt me,
The dread of future ills that may befall;
Into His hands I lay the doubts that taunt me,
And rest securely, trusting Him for all. --Christiansen

Living without trust in God is like driving in the fog.

…Without the assistance of the DIVINE BEING who ever attended him, I CANNOT SUCCEED. With that assistance I CANNOT FAIL…

…let us CONFIDENTLY HOPE that all will yet be well…


I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) ---What a truth to cling to when we begin to doubt God’s love...because of the severity of our pain, the enormity of our loss, the incongruity of the situation. The essence of God’s being is love – He never separates Himself from that. ---Kay Arthur

NOTHING can separate us from the love of God…Amen! Hallelujah!

Twila Paris - Warrior is a Child / Do I Trust You

This Warrior is a Child who has lost both his dearly loved Mother and Father within less than a month...yes, this Child drops his sword and cries for just a while, for deep inside his armor - this Warrior is a Child.

We still trust You, LORD.

Together Once Again

Mr. and Mrs. Guadalupe Ramirez

Together Once Again

Goodbye Doña Jelo

Angela Ramirez

1930-2009

This is so incredibly hard to post - Our family, once again, has had to say good-bye to one of our loved ones. Doña Jelo, my husband's mother, has gone home to be with the LORD. With all our sadness we are rejoicing in the fact that she has no more pain and that she has once again been reunited with her husband of 58 years (Don Lupe). We trust that the God of all comfort will hold us in his arms. We ask that you continue to pray for our family.

Congratulations Jose!!!

Congratulations to my nephew Jose! He was named Employee of the Month at work. Come and read what his wife Laura has to say.

Lulu and I

Me and Lulu

Come over to Lulu's Blog and read some funny childhood stories. For some reason I don't remember much of my childhood, but THANK you Lulu for reminding me and making me laugh and cringe at the thought of that brick on my head - lol!. (Just in case you wondered, Lulu is my niece. However, she is more like a sister to me...Love Ya Lulu!)

I Still Trust in Him

"I Will Trust In You" by Danny Daniels

When I can’t see You,
I know You’re here
When I can’t feel You,
I will not fear

I will trust in You, and I will not be afraid
And when the battle is close at hand
I know You’re with me to help me stand

I will trust in You, and I will not be afraid

I will not (I will not)
Be afraid (be afraid)
I will not (I will not)
Be afraid (be afraid)
I will trust in You (I will trust in You)
I will trust in You

And when the darkness is closing in
And I am running against the wind
I will trust in You, and I will not be afraid
’Cause when I’m standing upon that shore
And all the battles have gone before
I will trust in You, and I will not be afraid

I will not (I will not)
Be afraid (be afraid)
I will not (I will not)
Be afraid (be afraid)
I will trust in You (I will trust in You)
I will trust in You