Accomplishments

Have you ever accomplish something that you were working really hard on it? Buy a house, a car, finish your career, have kids, get married, and many other accomplishments from life. Accomplishments can be named goals too. One of my goals was buy a house I accomplish that. What happened when we achieve a goal? What is next? There is plenty to do next. After I buy my house my next goal was painting it (still working on that one) then I want change the floors (still working on that one too!) and I can keep up with the list.

People need to set goals, could be material goals, character goals, relationship goals, and many other accomplishments in our life. Goals are what keep us living every day. Think about this, imaging that you have everything and you do not need to improve anything in your person, think that you reach all your goals. What will be the motivation for you to life each day? What make you get up from bed every day?

We always (and I don’t like use always and never) have something to change, improve or accomplish in our lives, in our relationships with friends, couple, and God. We always can do something more, there is always an extra mile to reach. I am trying to work in my organizations skills (which take a lot of time and self-control) but when I reach that I already thinking in my next skill that I want to improve.

We should never stop learning and there is always room for a new experience in life.

Philippians 3:13-14

¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Big Hug,

MRM

Follow...

Do you make time to pray? Do you make time to talk with God and discuss with Him things that you would like to change or fix or things that you would like to have in your life? I do it all the time, but lately I have been forgetting talk with God. I am trying to make so many improvements in my life as a mom, women, friend, person that I forget that the real thing that I need to make all this changes come true is talk and listen to God.

Yesterday, at church they were talking about how we try to do all our things in our way. I can tell you that I am just like that. A good example of this, when we ask for favors, we tend to say to the other person how to do it or even, ask for help and we end up doing all the job by ourselves, because we might think that the other person can’t do it, or we want the favor be done in our way. Then we complain that nobody helps us or that we have to do everything by ourselves.

We do the same with God. We ask Him for help, but we do not let Him help us. Then we said that He is too busy helping others, because He never helps us. Or worse we blame God because how things goes wrong in our life without realizing that He want us to go north and we keep walking south. I know that I have to trust Him, be still and follow His directions not mine.

Isaiah 48:17-18

¹⁷ This is what the Lord says your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.

Big Hug,

MRM 

Environment

Have you ever think about the environment? Do you care about the natural environment? This world is full of special species, plants, animals, and humans. That last one is a very special and complicate one! God create this world in a way that everything match and have it perfect place in this world. For example, everybody beneficiate from trees, they goes from cleaning the air that we pollute to provide shelter and food for animals and human, to increase property value. Imaging a world without trees.

Now, think about the animals, how graciously God made them, and they keep their balance with the famous food chain. Animals, no matter how disgusting or cute they are, each or them have their place on earth. Birds help us with spreading plants, providing food, pest control, and good music. Dogs, we call them “man’s best friend” they are specials for many of us. What about insects, they can be nasty but they help us a lot with pollination, spiders keep a lot of bugs out of your house. What about the annoying mosquito? Why we need mosquito? Simple, they are food for many animals from water to the sky (fish and birds), yes, they can be annoying but we need them.

God do not make things without a perfect reason. We are the “intelligent” specie, but we kill what we do not eat, we waste our food, and sources of shelter. We do no take care of each other, sometimes not even our own child, when you can see pictures of cat feeding puppies or lions feeding other animals that are not their own. We cut trees and plant cement; we construct and do not think on nature or the protection of our environment. If we are the “intelligent” specie why we are destroying our planet and waste our resources without measure? What are you doing something to protect the environment?

Job 12:7-10

⁷ “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; ⁸ or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Service

Last night, I was in my monthly meeting with a great group of women that I call my sisters, my support group, and my friends. The topic last night was service. We found more bible scriptures than any other topic that we have discuss in the past. In many books of the bible, we found God asking us to serve and help each other. Today, I was reading a daily words book and today’s writing was about our talents. How I can merge both topics?

Well, I was thinking… I believe we all born with at least one talent, and I said “at least” because I am sure that we born with more than one talent. So do you know what is your talent? If not, I think you should start finding out what is that gift that God gives you, because with that gift you will be serving Him and follow the path that He knows is the right path for you.

In the meeting we talk about how many people that attend to church including pastors, do not use properly their talents and instead, they do not serve God as should. Moreover, they do not help others to have a good experience at church making many people stay away from church. People sometimes do not realize the influence that they have in others and the damage that they can cause to others by their actions. We are a big community, and we need to take care of each other as we do with our family, and the best way to take care of each other is through services.

Acts 20:34-35

³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. ³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.


Big Hug,
MRM

Silence

A friend of mine, invite me to go to a silence retreat, I don’t think that is a good idea for me since I talk too much maybe must of the time, but I am going to give it the shot. Silence, what is truly silence? I don’t know yet what silence is. I read somewhere that “in silence you receive divine ideas for establishing new goals and new insights to overcoming familiar challenges.” Yesterday, I went hiking with a group of people. We hike five miles and most of the time I was quiet, thinking, and talking with God. I think would be better if there were not too many people on the hike, but still I manage to make time to talk to them and with God.

Sometimes we go in life without knowing where we are going, without route to follow, and I think that is just not right, because you can miss important things. In many of the classes that I have take already they talked about the silence during sessions, and even though at the beginning I feel awkward with silence when two people are talking, the truth is that silence helps to think, analyze, and realize; mistakes, new goals, wrong behaviors, missing things, and many, many other things.

I do not know if I can survive to a 3 days silence retreat, I think I can explode if I don’t talk! I also, told my friend that I would take duck tape for my mouth and hands (so I don’t pull out the tape of my mouth!), but the truth is that silence is so important for people as it is important to eat and drink water everyday. We have 24 hours in a day where from that most of us spend around 9-10 hours at work, which let you with 14 hours at day, which at least 6 hours are for sleep letting us with 8 hours. Take out at least 2 hours for commute. Six hours a day is what you have left. I know must of us have to cook and share time with kids or spouses or both give to those 3 hours. Think about this, can we take 30 minutes from that three hours left a day to sit with a cup of tea, coffee, soda, wine or whatever help you to relax and just be there in silence? I believe that a good exercise to help to reduce stress is Me Time. It is important and helpful for us and for everybody around us.

Proverbs 17:27-28

²⁷ Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. ²⁸ Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.


Big Hug,
MRM

Seeing is Believing...

This weekend, I was talking with a good friend, which for me does not believe completely in God, at least in the same way I do.  He has a weird (to use a word) to believe in God that makes me wonder how he can believe in the same God if he do not believe in the Bible, don’t like to go to church, and do not talk much about God. How is possible for somebody believe in God if they do not go to any kind of church, if they do not read any book about God? How this people can create an image of God and believe in Him without know Him?

I ask him if He have any idea of what God wants from him, and he did not answer clearly for me, but he said something wise. He said that God do not force him to do anything. That is true we have the free will to choose to do what ever we want. I read something that I like very much “God’s will for me is that which is best for me; yet God does not force anything upon me. Patiently God waits for me to be still, to turn within and listen.”

God is amazing and the more I learn of Him, the more I want to know about Him. I understand my good friend, nobody have the absolute truth, that nobody, know with certainty the existence of God, but when you feel His presence, when you hear in your heart that He is talking to you, when you see everyday miracles (big or small), when a group of people get together in His name and you can feel His presence in the middle, that have to mean something. If He is true or not I might do not have the palpable evidence, but my guts is telling me that He is real and that make me feel happy and secure in this life on earth.

 Jeremiah 9:23-24

²³ Thus said the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches.

²⁴ But let him that gloried glory in this: that he understand and know Me, that I am the Lord who exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight,” said the Lord.


Big Hug,
MRM