Thursday, June 30, 2011

One Nation Under God

America is so diverse. It represents God's children. He made all of us different and unique, if you remember what I wrote in my other blog ...

"That's why government and major corporations value diversity because all of us together can meet so many different needs in this world. A world with diverse people is a complete picture for God.  That shows you that God meets all of our needs. Also, it teaches us to step outside of the box and come up with new ideas for our products/services. Along the way, we figure things out a lot faster if we know there might be another shortcut if we use different way of thinking.This helps us to show and learn respect for each other. That creates Harmony in this world."

 Living in a diverse country shows us how to love and respect unconditionally because you have no choice but to do that. You basically have to surrender to God and love everyone as they are because he designed them to be this way just like he designed us to be this way. Acceptance is very important as a Christian. We may not understand individuals or their culture but we can choose to accept them or not.

I am so grateful that we live in a country where we can attend to any Churches we want and most of all, we can praise God in however we want and not be punished for it. People don't realize how important it is to have Churches in our country...

"When the church was rebuilt, a famous sculptor offered to make new hands; but, after considering the matter, the members decided to let it stand as it was—without hands. “For,” they said, “Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work on earth. If we don’t feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, entertain the stranger, visit the imprisoned, and clothe the naked, who will?” Christ is depending on us to do the very things which He did while upon earth. My friend, if the gospel we preach does not have a social application, if it will not work effectively in the work-a-day world, then it is not the Gospel of Christ." - Billy Graham.

It's true, if people won't take care of others, who will? That's why Jesus created the Church to take care of those who are in need no matter who they are. In other countries, they don't have a choice. It's their way or the highway.


Remember, we are one nation under God, we can't be too busy to take care of our souls....


"Prayer is a two-way conversation; it is our talking to God, and His talking to us. As a Christian, you have a heavenly Father who hears and answers prayer. Jesus said, “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Every man or woman whose life has counted for the church and the Kingdom of God has been a person of prayer. You cannot afford to be too busy to pray. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian. Jesus Christ spent many hours in prayer. Sometimes He spent the night on a mountaintop in solitary communion with God the Father. If He felt that He had to pray, how much more do we need to pray!" -- Billy Graham

America is a fast paced society and we shouldn't let it interfere with our relationship with God. America represents free will. We live in a country where there is good and evil and it is up to us to decide which direction we want to go in...

"The way of life that God desires for us is the way of life we desire.  “What do I really want?” is a simple question.  But simple doesn’t mean easy.  Usually this question is quite difficult to answer.  Our deepest desires are confused by pride, fears, ambitions, and attachments to money, honor, security, and a host of other things.  The process of getting a clear vision of who we really are  is essentially a process of stripping away these false desires and finding the desires at the core of our selves." - Jim Manney

God blessed us with this country, let's honor it and praise Him for it.

Happy 4th of July, I am proud to be a Christian and an American. I want to thank the troops for sacrificing their lives for us to keep us safe from evil and defend our freedom to choose between good and evil.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Love never fails.

Today I opened up three cards from our family and friends to wish us happy anniversary. I loved the cards they sent us, they were so sweet and still were so excited to be part of our wedding day. I really liked my mom's card to us and this is what it said:

For a special Daughter and "Son"     Today in the midst of your busy life, take at least one moment to sit back and relax-- when you don't have to do anything or be anywhere in particular. Take a moment to reflect on all you've accomplished in the past year, and all you have to look forward to in the year ahead...

But most of all, remember what a gift your life is- not just to you, but to everyone who knows you and how wonderful it is to have you for a daughter and "son."

Thank you mom, I love you. Thank you for being my best friend and a great mother-in-law to Gil.

When I look at Gil, it is not hard to see why God has chosen him to be my husband. Being married to my best friend is a blessing. I will never forget the day I married him. I felt everything. There was a feeling of romance, love, excitement, and glory. We felt complete.  We can't wait to grow together and expand our family and love.

Every year for our anniversary, we always make the effort to go away on a vacation and do something special. We always appreciate each other and try our best to spend time with each other but life can get in the way. That's why anniversary trips are so special. We look back and see how much we have grown together as one. I love how that whenever a problem or issues arise, it brings us closer and our bond grows stronger.  We have always found God's glory.

I love when Gil is so random and says the sweetest things to me because I know it's coming from his heart and he means it. He said to me that he rather be with me than with anybody else and that I would be his first choice over anything. That meant a lot to me since I thought golf would be his first choice!! He said no and pointed at me. I was like awww. It's hard for me to believe because I never thought I would have a husband as wonderful as him and loves me the way he does.

Then the other night, he said this to me while watching the academy awards for soap opera --"Amanda you should be there getting an award for being the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."  What a compliment :)

We both agreed that only with each other alone, we feel at peace and completely centered. He makes me feel like I can be myself and he only brings the best out of me. When I'm at faults or when my flaws shows, he shows unconditional love to me and makes me feel silly for being hard on myself for when I make a mistake. He embraces love and pursues it. I love that about him- he is so forgiving and so loveable.

Having Gil on my side since the first day I met him has been a wonderful joy, I wanted to take the time to Thank God for one of life's greatest gift....my husband.






Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
The Bible
1 Corinthians 13. 4-8







Friday, June 10, 2011

When Life Gives You Lemons - Give it to God.

 1 Peter 5:7

New International Version (NIV)
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.






I have a whole month's supply of Lemons. If you're interested, stop by and I'll give you a really sweet lemonade :) I have received lemons before and knew what to do with it but sometimes I get too much to handle that I begin to wonder if the lemons will ever stop coming!!  If things happen all at once, it is so easy to get confused and distorted --- that's why my mom's saying is SO helpful - "Take One Day at a Time".  Well I didn't heed to that advice and I'm sorry I didn't. I  do think I handled myself rather well and was feeling indifferent on some issues but I didn't separate those issues. I kind of made a lemon peanut butter pie when it should've been a lemon meringue, unomsayin?

Today I am trying to throw out my feelings on the table and see if I want to keep some of them or toss it away before I move on with my day. So there it is.

My feelings about a divorce that happened in May. It is risky to talk about this since I am not sure who is reading this blog but all I have to say is that it is their business and I worry about them. Most of all I worry about how this affects my husband. I've had a nice talk with him and he seems to be used to it unfortunately and knows how to deal with it but he worries too. We both agree to support and try our best not to get involved. Space is important. We are trying to figure out when to see them too so we can get a visual image of how they are REALLY doing. Its hard to tell over phone, text and emails. So we are not gonna worry about it until we know what really is happening.

My grandmother's death - the day after we found out about the divorce. That was something. I have to give you a small background information. She was a difficult woman to love and get along with for my mother. I know my mom cares about grandma and I know grandma cared about her but it was hard for her to maintain an unhealthy relationship with her. Fortunately, my grandma came to her senses and decided to clear up with air with my mother and APOLOGIZE. I am feeling very happy and at peace with her. She had a hard life and she is in a better place with God and we all feel liberated because of that. We forgave her and let her go to be with God.

I don't think it's a coincidence that she died THAT particular weekend. First of all, my mom had a dream from her father hinting that she was going to pass on in the spring which she did. Then the divorce happened that weekend. I may not have experience PARENTS getting divorced but I have experienced being divorced from  my mom's family. It reminded me how important it is to forgive and have a healthy relationship with your family in best way possible.


Now, My husband has decided out of the blue to throw himself to the ground where he would break his two elbows and a wrist for his softball team at work. I reminded him that it was not the world series and that I thought he was overdoing it. He agreed. My darling husband, I love him with all of my hearts - I love his faults and his strengths. He makes my world go around a little faster than it should. Accidents do happen whether it was intentional or not. Life goes on. We go to the ER and take care of everything and of course I am thinking about ALL the bills and co-payments that we might be getting in the mail that will make my heart race and sweat profusely. I then will probably need to be admitted to the ER for myself. You  know what? I'll let God take care of the bills for me and take care of Gil's broken elbows and wrists. It was never in my control. I just need to learn how to control my feelings/attitude towards it. I'm now happy that his surgery is over with and that he is recovering nicely and I hope it stays that way. I will take one day at a time with his frustrations on his limitations.

Also, another thing happened, I have been resenting a friend of mine and it has been bothering me. Everybody is different so there are a different ways to approach to people. Some people are easy to approach where you can say what's on your mind and I'm grateful for those friends. Some people are not easy to approach because you can sense their defensiveness. I thought about addressing the issue with her but I have decided not to because she was probably under stress and I know how that can affect people so instead of taking her awkward comments personally, I have decided to let it go. There are some people I have decided I want to invest and become closer with and there are some people that I have decided not to. I shouldn't be hard on myself for not investing in them. I will respect the person no matter what. I have learned to use my sense of humor and just let it go. I can't be best friends with everyone but I can be a good person to everyone.


So now you know how my lemons taste. It could've been a lot worse,but you know what it's not. My husband is here with me -- healthy and can function everyday that most people cant. I'm healthy and safe. My parents and family and friends are healthy and safe. What we don't realize that every day is a miracle it is truly a gift to live in the PRESENT. A present from God is His grace that he gives us to be able to live through every day.

Thank you God for being in my life and for turning lemons into lemonade.

Amen!!