Life in Words

What makes you feel like dancing? What makes you feel free and alive and full of joy? I feel like the word "obedience" is not the first thing that comes to mind. Am I right? Ironically, as I age, I learn that obedience is one of the basic parts to a foundation of a fulfilling life. Reading Psalm chapter 119 (mind you, it's long but how it has become one of my favorites), I began to notice the number of times the psalmist mentions feeling free because he follows God's commands. Think of it this way... As a mother, I can let my children run around the front yard and play to their heart's content, as long as they do not attempt to cross the street. If they even come close to the street, you will hear the mommy roar STOP! As most young children, I imagine they would pout or not understand why they are not allowed to cross the street. I know something they do not know. I know that if a car were to come speeding by, it might not stop in time, God forbid, ...

Psalm 139:5 "You hem me in, behind and before," "Hem: turn under and sew the edge of (a piece of clothe or clothing) / surround and restrict the space of" (Google definition) You hem clothes instead of leaving them unfinished to keep the ends from unraveling. There is a restriction placed--a border-- to stop the fabric from coming apart. Should that hem be removed, it is simply a matter of time before that piece of clothe will be completely undone. "You hem me in ..." He keeps us from unraveling. He places boundaries so that we do not become completely undone. What happens when we in our ignorance, step out from that hem? We unravel ourselves. We allow time, life, and the tears of life to rip us apart and leave us but a thread of what once was. Will those of us who have been unraveled remain nothing but loose ends of thread? I suppose it depends on each of us. Will you allow Him to restitch the fabric of your life back together again? Allow H...

Last year at Pink Impact God freed me from a box in which fear had held me hostage for years. No kidding. If you haven't read my story, you can find it here:  FREE indeed Last week, despite having a cold--you know the one (raw, scratchy throat, with a terribly congested head)--I made it a point to attend Pink Impact again. Once again I am so thankful I pushed through and went to spend dedicated time with my Savior. Praise God, I felt normal for the good majority of the conference. (Yes, I was completely oiled in Breathe and OnGuard and asking for His healing. I'm so thankful for those oils, but that's for a different post) Ironically, as soon as I got home after the conference was over, my body just let loose and I definitely needed to just rest for the rest of the weekend. Thank God, I'm feeling much better today :) Fear. . . it's not a fun place to live in everyday. Truly and sincerely, I have lived differently this year because of the freedom I received last ...

I have kept a personal journal, diary, if you will, since I was 12. I like writing. I like reading. I like words. I feel words--they carry depth and emotion and feeling. People often use words carelessly as if they dissipate as quickly as your breath in the cold winter's air. They don't, though. Words linger... ringing in your mind's ear for days, weeks, months, even years. For those that can almost tangibly feel the weight of words, some words last a lifetime. There are words that change the course of a person's personal history. Choices are made, challenges left behind, motivation lost or rather ignited all because someone said ... With words God spoke our entire universe into being. With words Jesus gave up His spirit. With words the Holy Spirit quiets a tormented soul. What words do you hold? What words do you share? What words do you not share for fear of rejection? A fear of rejection that was probably instilled in you because of someone's careless words. H...

I am a short, chubby, organized, social introvert, Hispanic, chocoholic, hopeless romantic, married, stay at home mother of two who happens to be named Maria (well unless you call me Mommy). Who are you? Here's my opinion about why so many, no matter what age or gender, struggle with identity. We are entirely too labeled! No one really knows who they are because we are SO many different parts. Not only that but also what we are is constantly changing. I was slightly more glamorous looking in college before my blessed children. I was single. I was a high school teacher. I was slightly more adventurous. Who were you ten years ago? We most often place our main identities in what we are most confident in--our looks, our education, our talents, our jobs. This is what I have been/am applauded for, therefore this is who I am. No wonder it is difficult, and for some, almost impossible to remember as a Christian we have ONE identity. All those other characteristics are only sm...

I wasn't a science major but if I understand the very basic reproduction cycle of a plant it goes something like this... An adult tree has these beautiful flowers which bees are attracted to. These bees shake the pollen into the "ovary" of the plant for fertilization. The fertilized plant embryo (with the proper care and nutrition) blossoms into a delicious fruit. Inside that fruit there is a seed, and that seed can be planted into the ground to grow another adult tree. Question... Is there life in the seed? Is the seed valuable of its own accord? Two adults who fell in love and were married. The male adult "pollinated" so to speak, the female adult, thereby creating an embryo. Already equipped with its own little beating heart, this little embryo (whom I believe was 7 or 8 weeks at that moment) grew into a fetus with the proper care and nutrition. At halfway (20 weeks) through the pregnancy, the baby looks like this picture above. She already ...

After a lifetime of wrong decisions I was rescued by a blinding light that caused me to turn from my sinful ways... No, that's not my testimony. I'm one of the ones with the testimony of being saved at the turbulent age of 8. What do you repent from at the age of 8? Heaven knows I deserved those spankings and privilege losses; but in the grand scheme of life it doesn't sound like such a great testimony. Well here's where it gets better... God wasn't done with me yet. Grateful to have been brought up by God fearing parents and always a part of a church, I still had my moments of doubt. Who doesn't? The teen years--that's when you really decide who's side you're on. There are friends who chose to walk away from the faith we grew up with. Something didn't click. There's a moment when you have to decide that you believe what you believe because YOU believe it--not because your parents make you go to church. I had that moment. I chose to stic...