All For His Glory

Every year, I pray and ask Jesus to whisper a promise into my heart to end the year with and another to start the new year with. 2014 brought me a lot of challenges. My faith was stretched into new heights and I am very thankful for it all. Thank you, God for a year filled with trials, joys, sorrows, triumphs and most of all grace. I leave this year knowing that no weapon formed against me shall ever prosper and that no matter what You are faithful and bigger than any giant in this lifetime. Thank You for the challenges that have been a true blessing in my life, even when I didn't see it. I praise Your name, simply because you are worthy of praise. I continue to run the race into 2015 with a New Hope and vision, praising You along the way. Have Your way, Your will be done, my Jesus ... truly Your promises are refreshing to my heart and soul and without You, I couldn't be half the woman You've created me to be. Amen. Be encouraged in this New Year and remembe

Today, at Church, guest Pastor, Bill Buffington took us to the beginning where a Dad was asked by God to give up his son by faith. In the book of Genesis, chapter 22 we read about Abraham's BOLD FAITH.   The message was titled: " It's Test Time". Are you being tested right now? Do you feel as if God has you in a difficult place? Hang tight!! The blessings that will come from your obedience, will have been worth it all for His names sake. Testings are good, because they show us where we need strengthening in our faith.  God asked something very difficult of Abraham and Abraham didn't skip a beat. He was obedient, point blank. Can we say the same, when God asks us to do something? Some of us like our Christian walk to be "safe", but being safe doesn't stretch us, nor does it help us to grow. Stepping out in faith, now that's taking a leap into Gods perfect will even when we don't understand His plan.  Every circumstance me

Honor your father and mother - Exodus 20:12 Her children rise up and call her blessed - Proverbs 31:8 Yesterday, as we celebrated 70 years of my Mami Teresa's priceless life, I was able to share a few words of gratitude for the woman she is and how much I value her life. My Mami has a huge heart. She will give you her last dollar, if you needed it, hands down! She always, says... "Ah! Money comes and goes" but God is always faithful. Great woman of faith and strong in every way! I love and praise her! I call her blessed and I treasure our time together.  In my youth and into my early years of adulthood, I grieved my Mami's heart many times. Growing up, I can remember being so defiant. I rebelled and cried myself to sleep many nights. I was angry at how our life would turn around, leaving my Mama, Brother and I to live without a head in our home. My Mami and I didn't have the best communication, per se, but she tried her best to have us understand

It's not his Birthday or Fathers Day, but tonight I just wanted to write about this man, I call my husband. His name is Hamilton Franco and while we drive one another crazy at times, I love him! This November, Hamilton and I will celebrate ten years together and this past April 7th we celebrated eight years of marriage. My husband truly does have a big heart!! He loves God , our beautiful kids and his wifey " Yours Truly" . He's not perfect, but he's no quitter either. He'll fight the good fight for the Christian faith, taking hold of his everlasting life to which he's been called to serve us and others. He's committed to provide for us, he helps me around the house and my most treasured blessing of all is his attention to our kids and desire to teach them about our Heavenly Father. I'm thankful for the gift of prayer, the power that it has and the work of the Holy Spirit. On Saturday, I got to come alongside of my husband and witness

Matthew 14:28-31 Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come Peter". Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid and starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Peter was the only one who stepped boldly out of the boat by faith, but he also wavered in it when he looked away. He was walking well until he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the high waves around him. How many times have we been like Peter? We may not walk on water today, but we do walk through some tough situations. If we look and focus on our circumstances without looking to Jesus for help, we too will begin to sink. At times our faith will falter and we'll doubt, but it doesn't mean that we've failed. So, "What do we do when we begin to go under&q

This morning, I clearly heard the Lord telling me to ask Jeremiah to sit with me and read His word together. We usually have devotions on Thursday night with my husband, but it's my responsibility as their Mommy to also sit with our kids. I confess that I am not consistent. I read. I allow God to pour into me, but how selfish of me, not to include my kids in a more consist way! Well, that changes as of today! And you can keep me accountable. No! Really I challenge you, to challenge me! And don't you just LOVE IT  when God speaks to you and then He totally sends confirmation afterward? The Lord, said... Read a Psalm and because today is July 8th, we read Psalm 8.  v.2 " Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants, You have ordained strength because of your enemies, that you may silence the enemy and the avenger".  Children (that's us) are able to trust and praise God without doubt or reservations. As we get older, many of us, find this more difficult

What does longsuffering mean? There are different ways in which one can suffer long. But the fact that we will suffer, stands true. In this life, there will be many trials that come our way. I remember, I used to ask God, "Why Lord"? But now, my prayer is ... Show me what You want me to learn through my trials Jesus. I want to continue growing in You. As Christians, we like the thought of sharing in Christ's glory, but what about sharing in His sufferings? Long suffering is love on trial, it's  being patient. The real test of patience is not in the waiting, but how we act while we are waiting. Websters defines, "Long Suffering" as: Suffering without complaint; very patient during hard times. Ouch! I  admit that I have failed in my long sufferings. Trials can be hard, but they are needed in order for us to continue to grow and I've learned that... "Things can always be worse". We suffer for different reasons. Here are just a fe

You. Are. Loved. More. Than. You. Know.  Have you ever felt unloved? Rejected? Dismissed? When that happens, its most probable we're not receiving God's true infinite love and we've taken our eyes off of Him. God created us to love. He wants for us to build and not tear down. We love because God loved us first (1 John 4:19). God loves you. He loves me. He loves us with a great deep love.  Remember what happened on Good Friday and hold on to the fact that when Jesus died for our sins, He rose again and left us our helper, the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we wouldn't have the  strength we need in our times of weakness. Any addiction, relationship, circumstance.. Nothing has power over the power that is within us.  Lord, I pray we stay mindful that there is NO greater love than Yours. Jesus, pour into us today! Keep us steadfast in Your word. Embrace our hearts with You. Father, convict us in our sin, because You love us too much, not to. Oh! How You Lov

This past Wednesday, we studied the first few chapters of Romans 8 at Church. I was both blessed and convicted. I desire to walk in the Spirit daily. Is it easy at times? No. Is it impossible? No. Because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us.  God reminds us in this chapter that there is no condemnation to those who are walking in the Spirit. He sent His Son, Jesus so that we would be free from the law of sin and death.  The fruits of the Spirit are:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.   I wish I could tell you that I never struggle with any of the fruits, but I do. God is working in me daily. Our Pastor Zamora asked if there was anyone in the body who needed a refreshment of the Holy Spirit, to rise to their feet for prayer, and I did. The Spirit within him, lead us in a very whole hearted prayer, that moved many of us. The Spirit  is willing, but the flesh is weak and that's why I need the powe

Heaven! James!  And the Introduction!  I was thinking of Heaven today. I was thinking of how exciting it will be when I'm in the presence of my Jesus! I picture myself arriving and hugging my Lord 1st and foremost and immediately asking him to show me where James is. I want to thank him personally for this amazing letter he wrote. The book of James, is mind blowing bold in it's own right. You know how you can read and study a book in the Bible and then you read and study it again and it just speaks to you in a whole new way? Yup! Its like that. James teaches us the right Christian behavior and doesn't sugar coat anything. It doesn't matter what version you try reading this book in, you will feel conviction in your heart if you are humbly honest with yourself. With well chosen words, James reminds us that it's not enough to talk the Christian faith, he says; we must live it (2.14) The proof of the reality of our faith is a changed life. He... Outl

He is God! He is Good!  Ten years ago this year, I surrendered my heart to Jesus Christ at a Good Friday evening service by Pastor Pancho at Montebello Park. I was alone and at the altar call, I ran like my life depended upon it, because it truly did. My life as I knew it, would change,   forever.  At first I couldn't imagine what was "Good" about hurting my Jesus and brutally beating Him all the way to the Cross. But, the Good in "Good Friday" is that God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God. Wow!! That just blows my mind!! Seriously!! Christ never sinned! But He was treated like a sinner all the way to the Cross so that you and I can live a life of unconditional love, faith, hope, mercy, grace in peace with our Savior. Our Heavenly Father wants all of us to have an opportunity to know Jesus personally by receiving Him into our hearts and living a life that brings Him glory. In t

Quiet Time With Our Heavenly Conductor  Jeremiah 29:13- You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. We all know how busy life can be. The daily demands can run us dry and at times even get us into a funk if we are not careful or guarded. But I believe that only happens when we are not intentional about making time to meet with God intimately. He is always close, so if you ever feel like He is not near, it's not because He's left you, (Deuteronomy 31:6). Christianity is not a legal relationship, it is a love relationship with our Heavenly Conductor. God wants to lead us in this journey called life through His Word. The more we fall in love with Gods word, the more we know Him and the closer we are to Him.  Visualize your quiet time as if you are riding on a spiritual train called "Heaven Bound" and you are Gods VIP passenger. The train is running on a track called revelation and obedience with a bright light shining

In our Potters Hands This morning at Church, we had a guest Pastor, John Thomas. He displayed such a heartfelt illustration of clay being molded into a beautiful pitcher. A vessel to be used to pour into others. As Christians, we too are molded into the imagi ne of Jesus Christ. God pours into us, so that we can pour into others.  Did you ever have a class where you had the chance to mold clay into a beautiful piece? I did. And when the Pastor gave us the visual of such scene, I remembered that I frustrated and ended up creating an ashtray!! I laughed with him because that is exactly what he says most people end up making after giving up on the initial piece they were set out to create. What goes into an ashtray? Ashes. And then I remembered, God makes beauty from ashes!  #thankful As the clay sits on this spinning wheel, we need to yield with it, in order to finish with a beautiful pot. God desires to do the same with us. We are His clay and He wants to continue mol