Receptacles

Last week, I did a MAJOR cleaning in our house. Things had just gotten out of control and there were messes everywhere! I have say that the boys room was the worst it has been in a long time. It took us nearly two hours to get to a place where I could vacuum the carpet and close the closet doors again. They had clothes and toys everywhere. When we finished, I had the boys sit on the floor with me and we had a little talk. I asked them why they thought it was so hard for them to keep their room clean. Jonathan piped up, as he usually does, and he said, "We don't have any place to put our dirty clothes and our toy boxes aren't big enough". I looked in the corner where their hamper use to be and, sure enough, it wasn't there. I looked at their toy boxes and they were both overflowing. Because there was a lack of a place to put dirty clothes, they ended up on the floor, on the bed, under the bed, in the closet and in the toy box. Granted, they could have just made a pile in the space where the hamper used to be, or they could have asked me where the hamper was, but they didn't. I retrieved it from my room (oops), and put it back in it's place. We still need to go through the toy box. They hold on to EVERYTHING (gee, I wonder where that trait comes from?), so there is not enough room for all they have. Time to do some thinning out, some donating, and some trashing of broken toys!

This morning, as I was doing my Monday maintenance of the rooms, I went into the boys room and picked up the full hamper and looked around. Their floor was neat. Their closet was orderly. Only one sock under the bed. Amazing. So, as you can imagine, it got me thinking, as these things usually do.

I began to ponder how having a proper receptacle, in this case a hamper, enabled the boys to keep order in their room, and please their mother. Yes, they had to put some effort into it. They had to walk over to the hamper and put the clothes in, but there was a place to receive it, ready and waiting. Just like in our physical lives, our spiritual lives need to have a receptacle to receive spiritual things. We have to purposely create a place where the Spirit of the living God can deposit into us. A container where we can receive all that the Holy Spirit wants to fill us with. Sometimes we have no container at all. We have too many other things on our plate, sometimes even "churchy" things, that we have allowed to take up all the room, neglecting to designate a special place just for the things God wants to download into our lives. Other times, we have a receptacle, but we have allowed it to become filled with other junk, like the boys toy boxes where I found toys, clothes, school papers, movies, etc...so that when the real important things come our way there is no more room left. Sometimes our receptacle is there, empty, waiting to be filled, but because we haven't taken the proper care to maintain it, there are cracks and holes, and the things that God wants to pour into it, spill out and are wasted. I am entering a new place with the Lord. A place where I want to be in a position to receive and pour out, receive and pour out, where the Lord can use me to touch those around me. I want to have more of a kingdom vision, rather than the same old same old. So today, I am taking some time to get my receptacle in tip-top shape. I am getting into His word. I am praying. I am spending time in His presence, just Him and me. I am fine tuning my instruments, and sharpening my weapons. I am dusting out the cobwebs of religiosity and setting my vision on those things that are of eternal value. Luis and I are stepping out in faith more now than we have ever done before. And now, more than ever, we are acutely aware of how much we need to be ready vessels for the Spirit of God to pour into, transform, transcend barriers, and touch His creation that He loves so dearly. Make us ready Lord. Help us to do our part. Have your way in us.

Little Lily...getting bigger...17 months.

His grace is sufficient...is mine?

Grace:  unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification. (Merriam-Webster)

Simply put, grace is something that God has given to us that we didn't deserve, and did nothing in our own strength to obtain.

Sometimes, when I have writer's block yet still have the urge to write, I spend some time searching the scriptures. One of my favorite places online is Bible Gateway . I can search a word, topic, passage, or I can even listen to the Bible being read in a variety of versions and languages. It's a great tool! I looked up the word "grace" on this website. As I scrolled down to see the different passages, I realized something. The word "grace" only appears in the New International Version of the Old Testament ten times. Ten. That got me thinking how grace must have been such a foreign concept in Old Testament times. Still existent, but not very common. If you think about it, we read over and over again about the Mosaic law, about the rules and regulations, about the consequences of disobedience to God. An "eye for an eye" was common punishment, and stoning was the norm for a number of transgressions.  The law was very specific as to what would happen to you if you stole, murdered or coveted. And, as we read in many accounts, people were quick to place blame, pass judgement and carry out punishment. Sometimes I think, "God, why did you let so much time pass from the fall of Adam and Eve until Jesus's death on the cross?" With my limited, feeble knowledge of the universe, I wonder, "wouldn't it have been better to quickly send Jesus, right after the disobedience in the Garden of Eden, so that mankind didn't have to experience any separation from God's presence?" Then it hit me. How better to learn what true grace is, than to experience a world that is, for all intensive purposes, completely absent of grace. God, in His infinite wisdom must have known we would try in our own strength to work our way back to Him. Surely He knew that mankind would be arrogant enough to actually think they could find a way to redeem themselves. If God had not waited, and sent Jesus to die immediately after the fall of man, would we have taken Jesus' death on the cross for granted? Would it have had as much meaning to us if we were never allowed to experience and read about the consequences for sin without grace? I know in my own life, when I had to own up to my sin, and walk through my consequences, those were the times when I learned the most about myself, and my desperate need for grace. I am always fascinated by the way God chooses to carry out His plan. It's rarely the way that I would have done it, and, eventually, His results are always better than I could have ever dreamed.  I also appreciate how God allows us to try to solve our own problems. Then, after we fail (miserably at times), He picks us up and brushes us off, and shows us His way. After Jesus's death and resurrection, grace was poured out for all of us to freely receive, if we so desired. No more sacrificial offerings. No more veil. No more walls between us and God. What an amazing gift! Since God has lavishly covered us in His grace, why then are we so stingy with extending it to others? Sadly, one of the places where grace is missing the most is in the church. Criticism and condemnation run rampant, but grace is kept bottled up. It's no wonder why the Church today is ineffective on many levels. Without the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit, and the work of grace and love, church becomes just another place to get together.

There is a Spanish song by Jesus Adrian Romero called ¿Que Sería de mi? that we sing in church that says, (loosely translated):

What would have happened to me if You didn't reach out to me?
Where would I be today if You hadn't forgiven me?
I would have a void in my heart
A wanderer without a place or direction
If it hadn't been for your grace and your love.

If we could only keep that perspective all the time, so many things would be completely different inside the church and out. Help us Lord, to appreciate the grace and love that you have shown us, and help us to be quick to freely extend it to others.

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." Acts 20:24

My Funny Valentine...

My very first cheesecake from scratch

I found this recipe for New York Cheesecake, and I just had to try it. It seemed simple enough, and cheesecake is one of Luis's favorites. I have always wanted to make a cheesecake from scratch, but have always chickened out, thinking it was going to be extremely difficult. I'll let you know how it tasted tomorrow. I'm bringing it to church for a little Valentine's Day celebration.

Day 39

Our 40-day church wide fast is nearly over, and there have been countless numbers of breakthroughs in our family and those we fellowship with. God has and continues to amaze us! One of the things that inspired us to begin the fast was a need in one of the families in our church. About halfway through the fast, God moved and miraculously changed what could have been a disastrous outcome. He is so good! About three quarters of the way through, another person in our congregation received notice that a court case was finally settled in her favor. Praise God! Luis got word from his boss that increase is on the way. Hallelujah! Another lady in our church got a transfer at work, just what she was praying for! There has been a spiritual excitement and awakening in the children of Berea Church of God! Amen! I had the opportunity to lead a woman (who was still grieving after the tragic death of her son four years ago) to the wonderful place of salvation in Jesus-to Him be all the glory! These are just a few of the things that we have experienced and others have given testimony to.

We are believing for a year of expansion and blessings in our personal lives and the life of our church. God is on the move, and we are following Him! He desires to give good gifts to His children. What are you believing for? There is no limit to what God can do! Pray, fast and believe that He can do it!

Mediator

Yesterday, as we were coming home from church, Josh and Jonathan were sitting next to each other, playing and fooling around as boys do. When their playing became louder and louder, even after several warnings, I realized I needed to make a change. So, when we got home from church, I cleaned out the car, and moved Lily's car seat to the middle of the back seat. The true test will be Wednesday night, when we are on our way to church again and Josh has to sit in the back seat, but I have a feeling it's going to be a much more quiet ride to Greenville. Lily, without even realizing it, will be my little peacekeeper.

As often happens with me when I am doing normal, everyday things, the Lord uses it to remind me of something. And as I was sucking up the endless cracker crumbs in the vacuum so that I could make the car seat switch, I was reminded how desperately we needed a mediator in our lives. How our sin (however big or little, since all sin is the same to God) has placed a separation between us and Him. How we had no hope of reconciliation, no future hope of heaven until Jesus became that peacemaker for us. And how by accepting His finished work on the the cross, we have a way to reach God once more. We all have need of that intervention, placed between us and God to repair the breach. We all have need of a peacemaker to bring us back into a right relationship with God. Who better than Jesus, the Prince of Peace?

1 Timothy 2:1-6 says, "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time." (New Living Translation)

Genes

One of my most favorite classes in college was Genetics. The whole topic fascinated me. Genes are a funny thing. Sometimes I can look at Josh standing in a certain way, and I see pure Kellish. Sometimes Lily smiles and I see her Aunt Marybeth. Most people judge our kids at first glance...Josh is fair, blond and green-eyed so everyone says he looks more like me. Jonathan is olive skinned, brunette and brown-eyed, so naturally, people say he looks like Luis. And Lily, well, she's a tough one to call.

Anyhow, I came across some pictures of Luis's grandfather and his first cousin Jorge (Tito), both of whom are on Luis's Dad's side of the family.

 Jose Parra Ibarra

 Jorge Humberto (Tito) Gonzalez Parra

 (Tito)

Josh-age 8

When Tito recently saw a picture of our family, he told Luis that he was born all over again in Josh. He was amazed at the resemblance. It's funny how people always think of Mexican people as dark hair, eyes, and skin, but there is so much Spanish influence in the culture. The Parras originally were from Northern Spain (Santander) near the Bay of Biscay.