Take up the cross

Matthew 10:37-39 NLT

37 "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.

38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.

39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.


Desires of hope changed in the submergence of His irresistible love
Compelled to distance myself from humanity, crucifying the world that is within me
Every care of mine I beg to be excused seeking purely to walk in the footprints of Him
Mesmerized by His grace and commitment I fail to remember all arrangements placed before Him
I take hold of Paul's words that; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me
And just as in the verse in Corinthians I am compelled to preach
My obsession is that it will be His vocabulary my mouth will speak
Piercing hearts with the definition of Love that He exposed to us
Saving souls for the hope of His magnificence
My hearts hand reaches out to draw close to Your throne
With hearts tears dripping down with a yearning for intimacy with You
I surrender, picking up my cross and crucifying my flesh like a true disciple
Plowing the field with determination for salvation of a lost generation
Running this race with no hesitation, being Your hand to reap the abundant harvest of lost children
Lord let it be Your life lived throughout me, resurrected in the resemblance of Your Glory
I've been crucified just to be resurrected in You!

-Michael Morrissey

a.k.a His Mic

myspace.com/poetryismyministry

Praise. Worship.

These are beautiful paintings done by Kathryn Trivett-Maya Designs (myspace. com/kathryntrivettmayadesigns), she is trying to adopt two children from Ehiopia, the art work is beautiful and a total praise to God, she has done such a beautiful job in praising God with paint.

PRAISE the LORD!

Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

Praise Him for His mighty acts;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;

Praise Him with the lute and harp!

Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 150

The LORD your God in your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

But the hour is coming, and now is, 

when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; 

for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

John 4:23

Merry CHRISTmas

Merry CHRISTmas!!!! 

I hope you had a wonderful day with the ones you love and remember to give thanks unto GOD for His son, Jesus. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas, its not about the material things this world can offer, its about the eternal things He has to offer.
May God continue to bless you all....

Christmas!!!!

My mom
Originally uploaded by daddysbabygrl75

Daddy
Originally uploaded by daddysbabygrl75

Rico
Originally uploaded by daddysbabygrl75

Daddy
Originally uploaded by daddysbabygrl75

Christmas with the family. My parents opening their gifts and my aunt's dog, RICO SUAVE!!!

Memories

12 years and counting.... I Love you Maria, you are awesome and I am glad to have you in my life... BFFN.. haha jkjk BFFE =)

Taste of Chicago: Memories

Our first Taste of Chicago together =)

This year, our tradition (eating ribs) 

Back in grade school

This was on our way to some museum, was this 6th or 7th grade?

I know you have more pictures from this trip, this was the day we climb all those sculptures we weren't suppose to touch! 

My Tree

Lovely time of year.. My tree has been up for a while but today I decided to take a few pictures of it.  It turned out pretty nice I think. It took me a life time to get the lights to work, my hands are all scratched up because of it. I was putting the lights and all the sudden they all die, this has happen before so I didn't even bothered, I finished putting the lights and just walked away, hoping that they would turn on, and eventually they did.

I think this is the last year we are keeping this tree, its artificial as you might've guessed, it's at least 12 years old and its time for us to get a newer and smaller one. My mother is not to happy with the idea but we'll see. 

Happy Holidays

Surrender!

Total.Surrender.

(above image via flicker.com by {Barca<3)

In order to let God take full control of your life you have to surrender everything, every part of your life. 

You will see if you give Him everything He will not let you down, you can always count on Him to be there. 

He loves you and just wants the best for you but that sometimes means giving yourself up so that He can show you who you are meant to be in Him. 

Happiness is temporary but the JOY He provides is eternal. 

The road is tough but not impossible and the way is narrow but if we persevere we will see HIM.

"Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." 

Matthew 6:14

Everything

(above image via flickr.com by honey77)

God let Your Kingdom be established in me, Oh Lord!

I need You Father God

My spirit is restless

My mind is no where to be found

My heart is in your hands

Broken
 Please make it alright.

I need You now more than ever

I pray that You please hear my cry;

It is a cry of desperation,

It is a cry of pain.

I am so lost without You.

I need you Father God.

I ask, I plead let Your will be done in me;

Let Your Kingdom be establish.

I need You Father God.

My spirit is longing for Your presence,

My soul needs a resting place.

My body/my mind cannot take this turmoil.

Let Your freedom reign,

Let Your love reign,

Let Your compassion reign,

Let Your mercy reign,

Let Your righteousness reign,

Over my life, over everything that is in me.

I need YOU.

My soul is restless,

Waiting for Your presence,

Waiting for Your love,

Waiting for You to be revealed.

My wonderful, merciful, loving GOD.

My heart is in Your hands and give it to whom You will.

Let Your will be done in me;

I surrender all that I am,

All that is within me to have Your Kingdom reign over my life.

I rather lose everything that I love to have You Oh Lord.

I cannot imagine a life without You.

I cannot think what it would be like to live a day, a minute, a second without You.

You are the source of my existence, without YOU there is no ME.

You are my breathe,

You are my heartbeat,

You are my world.

I need You Father God

My heart longs for You

My spirit thirsts after Your presence,

My soul longs for a resting place.

Your presence is my hiding place, Oh Lord.

Your presence is my waiting room, where I receive all Your promises.

Your presence is my OR where all things are made new,

Your presence is where my strength is renewed.

A.M

Reflection 12.14.08

(image via photobucket)

I am in place in my life where I cannot be careless about the decisions that I make. I have realized that everything I do has a consequence and the older I get these consequences become greater or more evident. As much as I want my life to be plain and simple, things never seem to turn out that way. I try to live my life “drama” free because it makes everything else easier and it makes life more enjoyable.

I believe in a God that is always present and He is always by my side, therefore I can trust that no harm will come to me or to those that I love and hold dearly to my heart. God is amazing and I can say this with confidence because of what He has done in my life and for my family.

Last night when service was over, I told Alicia a young woman that sits next to me in church, that I felt as if weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I felt like crying, and cry I did. When I saw Melody sitting in her chair with her face down, crying I held her hand and I prayed in tongues and I felt as if someone was squeezing my heart and I cried. That’s when I saw Iza and I hugged her and I told her, “I don’t know why but I just feel like crying” and I did, I cried in her arms like a little girl and she said “it’s the presence of God.” I agree, the service last night was amazing, it was one of those services that you don’t realize what happen or how much you were impacted until its over and it hits you. And when it hits you it takes a little while to take it all in and that’s what happened to me, when it hit me I started crying.

God has been amazing to me, and every day it seems as if He reveals something new about myself and about Him. God has never left me, in my hardest, most painful moments He has been there. He has seen as I have allowed the wrong people into my life and HE has seen my heart break. But He has been faithful and HE has forgiving me for all that I have done and He has promised to rejoice over me, He has made all things new, I am nothing without Him but I am everything in Him.

I pray that God will become real in my life and that people will see the reality of my GOD, reflected in everything and in anything I do. I want to be the representation of who GOD is, on earth. When they look at me I want them to see Him. I want God to become my reality and only source of existence.

Live

LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE.

"When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live
your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is
crying."

"To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent persons and the
affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate
beauty; to give of one's self; to know even one life has breathed easier because
you have lived that is to have succeeded."

Harry Emerson Fosdick

Love is trusting, accepting and believing, without guarantee. Love is patient and waits, but it's an active waiting, not a passive one. For it is continually offering itself in a mutual revealing, a mutual sharing. Love is spontaneous and craves expression through joy, through beauty, through truth, even through tears. Love lives the moment; it's neither lost in yesterday nor does it crave for tomorrow. Love is Now!

Leo Buscaglia.

Set FREE

You can't be a mind believer.

continuing to deceive her.

thinking her heart is right

but in the light

it's really all wrong.

There is so much to be worked out in her

but you're just a mind believer.

and when her reality reappears

you're thoughts can't make what's in her heart disappear.

Her heart's not tough.

You need to realize believing IN God isn't enough.

She needs to believe GOD and His promises.

Don't you know that Jesus brought me out of the darkness

took away her lifelessness.

and with His greatness

made you who you are today?

You have to realize she's still broken.

and her mind needs to be fixed.

to finally believe the words God has spoken,

because your persona has been mixed.

You are she

who is me

made greater in He

for His purposes.

SO I'm taking back the last piece of my heart

that he took when he had to depart

and giving it to

God

I'm still broken,

but I can believe the words You've spoken.

I can't hold back,

Here's the final piece You lacked

from my heart

I believe this pain will go away

I will wake up to better days

because Your promise revives me

it comforts me

in all my troubles.

You see,

[now] I am free.

I'm no longer a mind believer.

I'm no longer deceiving me.

-Iza (my friend)

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;He drew me out of deep waters.

-2 Samuel 22:17

I do love Jesus. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and everyday. Without Him, I will be nothing. Without Him, I am nothing. With Him I can do all things.

Phil 4:13

On His Plan For Your Mate

(above image via flickr.com)

 On His Plan For Your Mate

Everyone longs to give himself completely to someone: to have a deep soul relationship with another; to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But, God to a Christian says, no, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled, and content with being loved by Me, alone. With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me. To having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me, alone. Discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I plan for you.

You will never be united with another until you are united with Me, really united with another, exclusive of anyone, or anything else, exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing...one that you cannot imagine.

I want you to have the best, please allow Me to bring it to you. Just keep watching Me... Expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I Am. And keep listening and learning the things I tell you.

You just wait, that's all...wait. Don't be anxious, don't worry, don't look around at the things that others have gotten or I have given them. Don't look at the things you think you want. Just keep on looking off and away to Me, or you will miss what I want to show you. And then, when you are ready , I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than anything you would dream of.

You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, and I am working even at this moment to have both of you ready at the same time. Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I prepare for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me. And this is perfect love. And, dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love.

I want to see in you, in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me. And I want you to enjoy materially, the everlasting union and beauty and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself. I know that I love you utterly. I am El Shaddai-most loving Father, God Almighty. Believe it and be satisfied and I will satisfy you.

Author unknown

The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Psalm 25:8

Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for HI

Psalm 37:7

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10

Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in HIM. Your roots will grow down into GOD'S LOVE and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all GOD'S people should know, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.

Ephesians 3:17-18

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6

Time

(above image via flickr.com)

Many of us live life, thinking we have time. We leave the things we can do today for tomorrow. But we need to learn that tomorrow is not guaranteed. Life can change in the blink of an eye; here today gone tomorrow. 

Life is a beautiful thing and sometimes we forget that we only get one. So every once in while we should just stop and look around and enjoy the things before us. 

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

Do not say to your neighbor, "come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"- when you now have it with you.

Proverbs 3:27-28

When I say "I am a Christian" Maya Angelou

(photo via photobucket)

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."

 I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven." 

When I say..."I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride. 

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide. 

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong. 

I'm professing that I'm weak And need His strength to carry on. 

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. 

I'm admitting I have failed And need God to clean my mess. 

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect, 

My flaws are far too visible But, God believes I am worth it. 

When I say..."I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain. 

I have my share of heartaches So I call upon His name. 

When I say..."I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou, 

I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow! 

-Christians By Maya Angelou

Love is not a game

My Princess..Love is not a game....

(above image via flickr.com by mistybliss)

Listen to me my princess. Love is not a game- it is a gift. 

I know there are those who don't sincerely care for your heart, but I say that your heart is priceless. 

Reflect on your relationships, My royal one. 

Who are you allowing into your private world? 

Do they draw you closer to Me, or do they weaken your faith in me and draw you away? 

I gave my life to you so you could be free. 

(Above imae via flickr.com by mistybliss)

I don't want you to play "relational games" to get the approval of people. 

If you choose to play these games, you will miss out on all I have for you. 

I am your Father, and I know what's right for my daughter. 

Hold on to me and let go of those that harm you.

Then you'll be free from their power, and you'll be wise enough to see what a real, lasting relationship is meant to be..

Love, 

Your King who bought you

(Above imae via flickr.com by mistybliss)

You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

The Great I AM

GOD is the great I AM. He is constant and forever faithful. Our circumstances don't determine the GREATNESS of our GOD. It is in our weakest moments that He is glorified. It is in our darkest times that His light shines brightest. GOD is GOD regardless of what we are going through, regardless of what the doctors says, regardless of what the specialists, the economists, or the government is saying. GOD is GOD. He is the great I AM, never changing, always faithful. I once read, "stop telling GOD how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your GOD is!" sometimes we become so preoccupied with our circumstance that we forget who our GOD is, we let our circumstances define who God is and we forget that GOD is the eternal I AM, He is not defined by anything or anyone. He is who He is and our circumstances, our trials, our tribulations, our heartaches don't affect or determine His greatness.


(above image via photobucket)

GOD IS GOD! 



The state of the economy is at its worse yet GOD is not changed, He sits on His throne and because of Him the world continues to exist. We forget that it is because of His mercies and love for us that we are still here.



If He should set His heart on it,


If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,


All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust 


(Job 34:14-15)



We need to realized who GOD is and what His promises are. That no matter what is going on, no matter what I see or what they say. That what I know is greater and I know that you are my provider, you are my strength, you are my guide, my understanding, my wisdom, my righteous, the light that shines in me, my hope, my victory, my song, my lover, my confidant, my best friend!

GOD is forever faithful and worthy of ALL praise, honor and glory!

World Aids Day

HIV can be found in body fluids, including:
blood
semen
vaginal fluids
breast milk
some body fluids sometimes handled by healthcare workers (fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord, bone joints, and around an unborn baby)

HIV is passed from one person to another by:
having sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) with a person who has HIV
sharing needles with a drug user who has HIV
during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding if a mother has HIV
getting a blood transfusion from a person with HIV

Abstaining from (not having) sex is the most effective way to prevent HIV transmission. There are several ways to protect yourself or to prevent transmitting HIV during vaginal, oral, or anal sex if you choose to have sex:
Get tested for HIV and know the HIV status of yourself and your partner
Be faithful to your sexual partner
Use condoms or other latex barriers during vaginal, oral, and anal sex, and never reuse condoms or latex barriers

HIV cannot be transmitted by casual contact. Here are the facts:
You cannot get HIV from shaking hands or hugging a person with HIV/AIDS
You cannot get HIV from using a public telephone, drinking fountain, restroom, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, or hot tub
You cannot get HIV from sharing a drink
You cannot get HIV from being coughed or sneezed on by a person with HIV/AIDS
You cannot get HIV from giving blood
You cannot get HIV from a mosquito bite

Transmission of HIV while getting a tattoo or through a body piercing is possible, but it can be prevented through:
Single-use instruments intended to penetrate the skin being used only once, then disposed of
Reusable instruments or devices that penetrate the skin and/or contact a client's blood should be thoroughly cleaned and sterilized between clients according to medical guidelines

These guidelines are the same as those practiced within any medical facility where there is a risk of instruments coming into contact with blood.

To learn more about the facts of HIV/AIDS, please visit AIDS.gov's Overview section for additional information and a listing of resources or the Basic Information section about HIV/AIDS from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

First Blog

December 1, 2008

This is my first blog and to be completely honest, I don't know what to write. I live in Chicago and I woke up this morning to find a not so pleasant surprise, we just had our first snow fall of the season. When I was a child I loved snow because I got to play in it but now I am not too excited about it. It looks beautiful from inside the house but that's it for me. I am latina so I love warm sunny days, looking outside the window made me think of my vacation to the Dominican Republic.  This is a picture from my excursion to Saona, a small island off the shore of Santo Domingo. 

I fell in love with the country and the people. I stayed in Bavaro Princess in Punta Cana. If any of you are thinking about going to the Dominican Republic I recommend this resort. The service, the people and everything in it is perfect. I wish I could have gone back this month but with the state of the economy and me being a college student that is nearly impossible. 

The colors of the water of the Caribbean has become my favorite colors. Its a mixture of all shades of blues, it is absolutely breath-taking. Definitely a place I plan to go back to.
Los Altos de Chavon
I love the stop sign, its in spanish "pare" I had never seen one that said that usually they say "alto" and the train with the people going to work.
This is a beautiful house, I love the design.

(I took all the pictures above on my trip to Santo Domingo)