I had a great conversation this morning with a friend and it led to the meaning of the Lord’s standards. What exactly does that mean? Are we truly living by His standards?

Unfortunately we live in a very ‘materialistic’ world and often care about what people say or think about us. If we live our lives to please Our Father and no one else, we will live a much more fulfilling life. It is normal for us to worry about finances and how we will support our families, but we must learn to pray and not live our lives beyond our means.

Living a somewhat frugal life will keep us in check and definitely keep us from overspending and getting us into trouble, so to speak. Having a large family we are forced to live a frugal life, but it also teaches our children to appreciate the gifts they receive and not expect them. Today’s society is one that brainwashes our children into thinking that the latest fashions and toys are the way it should be and that is far from the truth.

I must confess that my children do have electronic games and gadgets as well as cell phones, but they had to earn them. Not like their friends who were bought certain items because of peer pressure. Our children must earn any extra items that they desire. They also understand that because they may want something doesn’t necessarily mean they will get it.

Living by His standards is something that requires a lot of dedication. Training your family is even more difficult but it can be accomplished. Our family has an ongoing wish list and it changes daily, but it is something my children can work towards. They know that we will not drop everything and run to the mall because of their desires.

Our Christmas is not as elaborate as it has been in past years, but the kids enjoy it nonetheless. We make our days meaningful and give thanks to Our Father for what we have. Our health and loving family is the most important and all else will follow if it was meant to be. Thanking and praising God for all that we do have, is extremely important and we strive to instill those values in our children. They are thankful and respectful and that is the biggest gift anyone can ask for.

This reminds me of my favorite verse:

‘I can do everything through Him who gives me strength’

Philippians 4:13

How about you? Are you living by His standards?

The Chronicles continue….

I know I may have written about this before, but I feel compelled to write more today.

I am amazed at the changes that continue to occur in my life. Yes, amazement! That alone is remarkable, because in the past I would not have been able to handle any changes. I was very set in my ways and a bit compulsive. Well, I think I am still a bit obsessive and compulsive but in a different direction now.

I have tried everything in my life. My life has not been dull by any stretch of the imagination, but yet I never felt satisfied. I honestly believe it’s because I wasn’t not listening to the Lord. You know how you try to tell your child something and they say they are listening but their actions prove otherwise. Well, that was me. And I stress the word ‘was’.

I am not saying that life is easy, but it is getting easier to handle. I am listening to the Lord and following His lead. Many times I felt like I was running in circles. Although many thought I was very successful and were in awe of all that I can accomplish with a large family and successful Chiropractic business and successful jewelry business, blah, blah, blah…..that’s how I felt, just BLAH!!!

I did not feel as if I was doing what I was meant to be doing. Do you ever get that feeling? I often did, but never really acted upon it until now. It all started when I joined Twitter . I heard about this place on Facebook and was curious to what that was all about. Sooo, I decided to check it out. I am so glad that I did. I have met some wonderful people on Twitter and made some great long lasting friendships there. From Twitter, I learned of another wonderful group called Mom Masterminds. A wonderful group of like-minded business women who are available to help, because they all started the same way, with questions.

I never thought of myself as a social-network butterfly. Although I have joined many groups, I have kept going back to just a small few. I know that there must be a reason for it, so I try not to fight it. I have since developed 2 wonderful blogs, this being one of them. My other is called Healthy Nutrition Hints and more… I also have a great site that features my writing business, called Dr. Health Writer, and soon will have another one that I am working on diligently.

I am very happy and content with my life today. Although I am not independently wealthy and still have to budget our household with one steady income. I can proudly say that I am happy and look forward to what the Lord has in store for me. I know He is not finished yet and I am glad, because this starts a new chapter in my life.

I have a patient and loving God, a loving and supportive husband, 5 beautiful growing children, a great church family, and a wonderful group of online friends. What more can a girl as for? Not much, I am content and look forward to more adventures.

The Chronicles continue…..

Today our pastor spoke about Depression and how it is spoken about in Psalm 42.

His sermons always are very inspiring and mainly because he does not talk down to us but in fact with us.  He mentioned how many of our leaders of the church have dealt with depression.  And how common this disease is.  Many of us deal with depression on a daily basis, but with the Lord’s help we can overcome this sad disease.

I dealt with depression many times in my life.  I actually asked the Lord, ‘why have you forsaken me?’, and ‘have you forgotten me?’.  These are questions that I asked on a daily basis and actually went through a time when I did not ‘believe’.  My childhood was not a pleasant one and then my mom passing at an early age, did not help matters.  I found myself asking those questions of the Lord on a daily basis.  I wondered why I had to go through what I was going through at that time.  I found myself in a state of deep depression and not wanting to see or speak to anyone.

Many told me to have faith, but in all honesty, that is not what I wanted to hear.  I don’t think there was an answer that would satisfy me at that time.  I didn’t want to live because the pain was too strong.  I did however find solace in His word.  I heard a song that touched my heart.  It’s words mentioned how great is our God!  And, that song was sung at our church service today.  My heart rejoiced with the sound of that particular song.  I have always worshipped the Lord with song and this particular song hit very close to home.

It was very interesting to hear of the many leaders that have dealt with depression.  The one I was most surprised with was Mother Teresa.  This woman gave her all to help others in the name of Christ and all along she dealt with depression.  This made me understand that the holiest of people are still human and deal with this disease, but because of their faith are able to overcome it.

Thank you , Pastor Erik for enlightening me today and letting me know that it is ok to be depressed.  That the Lord will always be there for me and to not think that I am alone in this battle.  Depression is not easy but with people who care and a loving church family, everything is possible, especially with our heavenly Father.  God bless.

The Chronicles continue….

Where does the time go?  Have you wondered that?  Well today I am a little melancholy, because tomorrow my first baby will turn 17!!

I can remember going through the labor pains with her and now she will be 17!  Where does the time go?

She has become a beautiful young lady who is intelligent and has great confidence.

There are moments when I still see the ‘little girl’ in her but for the most part she is a young lady now.  Although it is still a bit difficult for her, because she is no longer a little girl, but not quite an adult.  The fear is setting in knowing that soon she will be on her own.  Independence is something we all longed for, but when time approaches we have second thoughts.

I hope and pray that we have prepared her and all of our children for that matter.  For when the time comes for them to go on their own they will be successful.  I won’t be there to catch them when they fall, although I will only be a phone call away.  I do feel a bit of sadness to know that she will soon be moving on to a new stage of her life.  As a mother, we want to shelter them from harm and keep them safe even though we known deep in our hearts that it is not possible.

As a Christian, I know that the Lord will always be there for her, guiding her and comforting her.  I also know the rebellious stage that they all go through.  That is when we as parents can only pray that we have instilled the right morals and values to make them better people and happy with themselves.

I know that I will go through this stage several times over, with 5 children.  But, also know that it will only get harder.  With God’s love and comfort, I know that I will survive, just like many other parents have survived.  I look forward to seeing what is in store for each of my children.  I look forward to watching them grow into beautiful individuals and being there to support them every step of the way.

Today will be a melancholy day along with tomorrow her actual birthday, but I know this is something that I will learn from.  Remember to enjoy every moment with your children, because like I am realizing and many other parents have realized before me, they don’t stay babies forever.  I will begin to prepare today for the day she actually moves on in hopes that it will make it a little easier to cope with.

The Chronicles continue….

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but am hoping and praying that I am making the right choices.  I feel like I am in the clouds most of the time.

I don’t know if you have read my previous posts about my past but it has not been an easy road.  But, I would imagine everyone has skeletons in their closet to an extent.  However, I have been doing a lot of soul searching and feel that the Lord is leading me down a certain path.  Now, I have not been one to always listen to reasoning, guess it’s the rebel in me.  But, I have had to deal with a lot of trials and tribulations in my life and now feel that there is a purpose and reason for it all.

I have always been one to wonder what, if any, was the reasoning behind my past, but have realized now that it has all been part of God’s plan.  I may not like it at the time, but know that in the long run it is for the best.  When I decided to go to school to pursue a career, I thought that it would be all perfect when I was a career woman.  But, all that changed when the Lord put a wonderful man in my life.  This man changed my life and made me realize that I was special and had many gifts.  I just had to open my eyes and heart and I would see them too.  Of course, I thought he was NUTS, but loved him none the less.

I continued with my studies with all the intentions of still becoming a career woman, but again, apparently that was not God’s plan, because I became pregnant.  It was a wonderful miracle, because I never thought I would have children since I was very ‘career driven’.  Of course, that changed my life.  I started to think that being a mom would be much more satisfying; and I was right.  I have since had 5 children and each one very special.  Needless to say, my career path changed and I am a home school mom to 5 children and love it.

But, yes, but…I still felt that I should be doing something.  I am always one to keep busy and feel energized when I am busy at something.  So of course, involved myself heavily in our church.  That was extremely satisfying and loved it as well.  I loved working with children and teaching them and watching them grow in the faith.  But, I still felt that God was not done with me.  I kept looking and searching.  I felt somewhat of a failure because I did not work in the field I studied so hard to pursue.  I know that I am not a failure, because I was very successful when I did work, but did not feel satisfied.

Very strange how God works.  Because, although He has given me many talents of arts and design, apparently that was not the path for me either.  I designed and made jewelry for many years and was able to contribute to the family expenses but still didn’t feel like it was the path the Lord was leading me to. Not until now.  The Lord has lead me to a place where I am incorporating all my studies and yet not leaving the family I adore.  I am able to share my God given talents and still home school my children and stay close to them.  I am able to teach the public, which is very satisfying to me.

I am at a wonderful place in my life at the moment.  I have a wonderful husband who puts up with my craziness, 5 beautiful children and a very loving and patient God.  I feel like the Lord has led me to writing, which has actually been my first love.  But something I thought I could not do and my parents didn’t help either..  I feel like I have gained a perspective in my life and it is all because I have put my trust in the Lord and actually listened to Him and followed His word.  At times it was not easy and it’s still not easy but I know that I must listen and not be a ’stubborn child’.

I feel much happier and much more at ease because I am able to share my talents with others and help out my family as well, which is all I ever truly wanted to do.  I wanted to feel like I had a purpose and although many may think I have a perfect life, we never feel that we do.  But, I feel blessed and although it may not be perfect all the time, it is most of the time and that is all a woman can ask for.  And this time the clouds I am in are those with the Lord.

The Chronicles continue….

A very dear web friend gave me the idea of sharing my testimony and although I have shared with my church friends, I have never shared it with my web friends. It is not one of extreme revelation or one with music blasting or any fantastic but special nonetheless. Ready? Here goes..

I was raised in a church going family, by this I mean that we attended church semi-regularly and I was enrolled in a Catholic School. Coming from a Spanish background, this was the norm, I guess..
Although I attended a Catholic School for practically all my life, I can honestly say that I did not live in a Christian home. I was one of 3 girls but soon became 1 of 2 girls, meaning my oldest sister moved out as soon as she was able to and was actually sent away for her high school years, so I really didn’t know her much, being she is 9 years-older than me.

So being the middle child at a time and then the oldest was not easy. I had a lot of responsibilities placed upon me that were in my opinion unfair, but being a child, we always think responsibilities are unfair. There is not much of my childhood that I remember and I believe that is the way that God has planned it. It was a difficult childhood and thankfully only remember some of the bad and more of the good. I do remember questioning God and asking why me? Why was I part of such a family? Why was my mom so kind and considerate and still not able to show it? Why? Why? Why? But I now realize that God was preparing me for the family I would one day have.

Although brought up in a church going family, I can’t say I was a Christian. I don’t remember ever owning a Bible or reading one. We had religion classes, but either the nuns or the priests at the time would teach us the Word. So, needless to say I was quite rebellious, but not in a bad way where I was disrespectful but one that always questioned authority. So fast forward to my adult life.

I became angry with the Lord when he took my mom at a tender age of 58. I was not happy, because I was very, very close to her. It took me several years to accept her death and accept Christ into my heart. I remember walking into a particular church and crying through the entire service. I knew then that Christ had touched my heart and that all that I had gone through in my life was part of His plan. After that service I was able to call my father, who I hadn’t spoken to in several years and forgave him for all that he had done through my childhood. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I knew then that God has bigger plans for me.

After accepting Christ into my heart on May 12, 1998 everything in my life had meaning. I can proudly say that I have more than one Bible and have read it more than once. We are not only a regular church going family but have been very involved since 5/12/98. I have been everything from Vacation Bible School Director and Leader to Worship Singer. I have been involved in teaching Sunday School for the little ones to running a Wednesday evening programs for the girls in our church called ‘GEMS’ (girls everywhere meeting the savior). My life is one that I thank the Lord for everyday and no longer ask ‘why’.

I have a loving and supportive husband, who has come to accept the Lord and be very involved in the church as well. I have been blessed with 5 beautiful children here on earth and 1 beautiful angel in heaven. I love the Lord with all my heart and soul and am not afraid to shout it to the rooftops. My favorite bible verse and one that I say everyday is ‘I can do everything through Him who gives me strength’, from the book of Philippians 4:13.

I know that without Him, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today and hope and pray that I am doing a good job raising my children so that they will never ask the questions I did when growing up.

The Chronicles continue…..