Christian Community

This week we had our CRHP meeting and were very interesting and thankful. We thank God for our friendship and our community. I do not know if you feel part of a community or not, but in the last almost 3 years, I can tell what is be part of a community, is awesome! Do you know if you are part of a community? You are part of a community when you need a hug and you know where to find it. You are part of a community when you need prayers, and you received, when you want to share good and bad news with others, and you share them. You are part of community when you need to talk, or need a shoulder to cry, and you express it. You are part of a community when people look for you, because they need you. You are part of a community, because people know your name and they are happy to see you.

Being part of a community specially a Christian community gives your more than you can think. The most important part is that your faith in Christ will grow faster; you will be able to understand things that by yourself would be hard or difficult to understand. You will learn things that by yourself or just reading the Bible you will never discover. Also, being part of a Christian community teach you that nobody is perfect, that everybody have different opinion, that we all are sinners, and that we all share one same God.

Do you know how to be part of a Christian community? Start going to church; look for the ministries that your church has, and offers your talents that God gives you to share with others. Soon, you will find God’s purpose in your life. If you do not have a church, I suggest you start looking one near you. By the way a Christian church is the one that believes in Christ as our creator and savior (just in case). If you don’t find one let me know I will help you J

Romans 12:3-13

³ Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. ⁴ We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. ⁵ In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. ⁶ We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. ⁷ If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. ⁸ If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached.

Big Hug,

MRM

Today

Today is a wonderful day! I wake up like everyday, late, wake up my kids late, I even went to bed late last night; because my son did not did his homework of one week. I cannot go to the retreat that I was anxious to go this weekend, but something was different, what do I did different today??? This morning, I did not run like crazy around the house, getting everybody ready including the dogs. I did not scream around because my kid will miss their bus if we don’t get out of the house now. My older son give food to the dogs without I even ask him, something that he complains every morning.  I drive normal, not my normal, but the normal speed. As I enter to the subdivision, my son bus was in front of me, uff! He did not miss it.

What this mean? I think mean that God is with me. I ask him for patience with my kids, with my dogs and with myself. I ask Him to help me to be more organized, I ask Him to help me not be so anxious all the time about tomorrow. I had to drive today, thing that I hate very much (traffic!), but as I was driving my dad’s car, he have his old CDS, and I was listening it (Willy Colon) that is salsa music, which I don’t like much, but remained me when I was little and happy days. I was dancing and singing in a bad traffic. I look around the faces of the people, and realize that most of them were faces of distress, madness, and sadness and bored.

Today, is not a holiday, is not special at all, or maybe it is. How we think is how we feel and how we feel is what drives our actions. Our thoughts are more powerful that we thought. We have to stop life and start living. As I was taking my kids to catch the bus, I tell them to appreciate the nature look at the trees how beautiful they are, we did not have that in my country, they are always green. Last night, as I was trying to find a document for work, I found a little pocket prayer book, a really tiny cute one. I read couple of prayers last night before go to sleep. A good friend of mine that I visit yesterday for dinner, gave me a nice book, inspirations for everyday; this is one of the scriptures for today:

Luke 12:29-31

²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

Big Hug,
MRM

Planning...

I think it does not matter how hard you try to go where you want to go or do what you want to do, if is not in God’s plan it won’t happened. Even the things that you might think are good things for you or other people, if you are letting God guide your life, He will really change your plans. I planned around three months ago to go to a silence retreat this weekend, cancel! I plan to sign up in a new ministry at church this coming year, cancel! It’s not that I need to work hard for it, it is just that literally God is telling me NO, at least not this time.

I complain a lot with God about how He in times B. C. He talks to people so directly and how He doesn't do it any more with us today, but you know what? He sends people to speak for Him to us. For the ministry that I want to sign up he sends around 3 or 4 people to tell me not now. OK! I get it, not now. He even send a almost stranger for me to tell me quit doing something that I knew I should not do, but still do it.

God have thousand of ways to talk to us, what is more amazing is that he really know what is the way He needs to talks to us for us to understand His message. All we have to do is open our hearts, ears, and minds to His message. It is sound so simple, but by experience I know it is not as simple as its sound, this is the part when I make Him crazy asking Him to be more clear to me when He talks to me. I know is hard to believe in the unseen, I think is easier to believe in feelings, so be open to feel how God works in your life that helps to believe.

Proverbs 16:9

 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps

Big Hug,
MRM

Noah's Ark

Have you read the story of Noah? If not, I am going to give you my Noah’s story version. God was very mad with mankind, “Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth” He wants to wipe out all mankind except for Noah, because Noah was righteous and was faithfully with God. So, God ask Noah to construct an ark. Noah lives far away from any kind of body water (river, lake, ocean), there were a drought at that time, and Noah was around 500 year-old. It took Noah around 100 years to construct the ark and after the food he live 350 years more. You can find the Bible version in Genesis 5:32-10:1.

Now lets analyze this. From my understanding this is not a true story. Sorry for the disappointment. I think this is a metaphor. I definitely was not there to proof that Noah really live almost a thousand years and to say that this is a true story. What is the message behind this story? Why a story that is in the front page in most of the every kid’s bible, is in deed in the bible? Why Noah, an old man constructs a big boat in front of his yard just to please God? What the HOA (home owners associations) will say about this? People in these days probably lock him up in a psychiatry center for the rest of his centenary of years that left him. God just said, Noah construct the ark with the specific measures, with a pair of each of every living animal inside and stay there. To me that sounds a lot of work and not only a lot of work, but also an impossible work!

What God is asking us today? Do not trouble because He will take care of our problems? Love our enemies? Do not judge? Be kind with the poor? Love your spouses? Love and take care of our kids? Help people in need? Take some time to spend with Him? What it is that God is asking us today? Trust? Faith? Love? Follow Him? I think that are things easier to do than construct an ark where all your family fit and a pair of each animal fit, especially if you are not talented with wood!

Romans 8:28

²⁸ 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.

Big Hug,
MRM

Judging

Have you ever judge somebody? If you are part of the human been, I guess you have done this or you are judging someone right now. I have to confess that I have judge people in the past and hopefully will do it less in the future. I think is human nature judge other people, a human nature that I think we can fix or improve. We have tons of good reasons to judge someone; because we don’t know what is the story of that person, because she or he seems to have better life than we do, because that person hurt us, because have better body, because we think we are better than them, etc, etc, etc.

A week ago, I was taking a class and I meet two people who I did not trust and judge them. One, because his past and the other one, because I could not understand when he talks. I was thinking how people like this two people can be in the mental health field trying to help others? How institutions let people like this kind help others to deal with so delicate things like mental illness? Days pass, and I start meeting them more inside and their past, and I have to recognize that one of them if keep the right track as he is doing right now, he can be helping lots of people that are in the same situation that he was in the past. He is a true healing and hope story for many people out there. He represent that God can make miracles when people surrender to Him.

The other guy, I did not understand him very well yet, but I guess he have his way to help others. At least he keeps trying to find his place in this world that is a good step to start with. I think God have a special purpose for each of us in this world, the adventure is in find that purpose while living here. I realize that most of the time when we judge someone is because we have done or are doing the same thing or because we want what that person have. Next time I judge someone, I will analyze why I am judging that person, what that person is doing or have that make me judge the way I am doing it. Maybe I will find some answer to my many questions about life and God’s purpose for me in this life.

Matthew 7:1-2

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.