“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

My testimony

Elisabeth Alden Scott

And shall I fear

That there is anything that men hold dear

Thou would'st deprive me of,

And nothing give in place?

That is not so-

For I can see Thy face

And hear Thee now:

"My child, I died for thee.

And if the gift of love and life

You took from Me,

Shall I one precious thing withhold-

One beautiful and bright,

One pure and precious thing withhold?

My child, it cannot be."

Your will be done Lord, not mine! All my dreams, hopes, and desires are Yours forever. I choose You, I choose Your yoke; I choose to follow you, now and forever!

In hot pursuit,

SD...etc

Behave like a person, not a mule

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should

go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no undesrtanding

but must be controlled by bit and bridle

or they will not come to you.

Many are the woes of the wicked,

but the Lord's unfailing love

surrounds the man who trusts in Him.

-Psalm 32:8-11

The Cry of a Desperate Soul

Came across this prayer last night while reading a book. It comes from the Southwell Litany for the Personal Life. It's an amazing prayer... The cry of a soul seeking to serve the Lord consistently, wholeheartedly, and with a purpose, may this be also my prayer and pursuit during this season of my life, and the more to come!

" From moral weakness of spirit; from timidity; from hesitation; from fear
of men and dread of responsability, strengthen us with courage to speak the
truth in love and self-control; and alike from the wekness of hasty violence and
weakness of moral cowardice,
save us and help us, we humbly beseeck Thee, O Lord.
From weakness of judgement; from the indecision that can make no choice;
from the irresolution that carries no choice into act; and from losing
opportunities to serve Thee,
Save us and help us, we humbly beseech Thee, O Lord. "

(Cincinnati: Foward Movement Publications)


In hot pursuit,
SD...etc

The Colors of Fall

I took these pictures while driving. I don't recomend it if you're not such experienced driver as I am... As I've mentioned it previously, Fall is my favority season, and I enjoy capturing the colors that year after year decorate the streets of my city; such splendor takes me back to the Maker of all things, for in Him all things were created, and in Him all things exists and are called into order.

God, You're marvelous in every way, may the World sing of Your magnificent works forever and ever! Amen.

The Love of God is extravagant,
fills my life
My cup overflows
He is all I need.

My mind soul and spirit desire
Him alone.
Divine!
He is all in all.

Do not let your tongue lead you into sin,

and then say before the angel of God that is was a mistake.

Ecclesiastes 5:6

The Dawning of a new day!

These past weeks I've been assessing my life, meditating, and pondering about what the future holds. My heart has been broken and some of my deepest (personal) dreams are dead. So as I look upon my corpse, I realize that the smell of death is nothing but the sign of life in me: Of Christ in me, the Hope of glory.
I've had to give up my dreams of grandeur, of fame, wealth, and superficial happiness. And though the renunciation to these material things have broken my heart, I feel alive and I've found that in my brokenness the Lord as cleans me from things that aren't meant to be in my life. The promises of God are eternal and everlasting, His covenant will not be broken, and His perfect Will will always prevail because HE IS GOD! He working in my life, so that everything He's said to me come to pass...

Thank you Lord for keeping me, for setting me apart, for continuing to pour out your Spirit! I don't deserve your Love and sacrifice, but thank you for choosing this broken vessel to be used by you and for Your Glory! Because you made me righteous in Christ, I can stand before you as blameless! Thank you for the sanctifying work of the Spirit (1 Pt. 1:2)! Though I haven't seen you, yet I love you (1 Pt. 1:8)!

This morning the Lord woke me up and said:

"The Lord will surely comfort Zion (you, Sarahi) and will look with compassion on all her (your) ruins; he will make her (your) deserts like Eden, her (your) wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her (you), thanksgiving and the sound of singing. "
(Is. 51:3)

"Whatever weakens your reason, impairs

the tendernes of your conscience, obscures

your sense of God, and takes off the relish

of spiritual things; that to you is sin"

-Susanna Wesley

A prayer

Lord,

I give up all my own plans and purposes; all my own desires and hopes and
accept Thy will for my life. I give myself: my life, my all, utterly to Thee, to
be Thine forever.
Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit, use me as Thou wilt, send me
where Thou wilt. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and
forever.

(Prayer by Betty Scott)

I liked this poem. I've lived its meaning.


Broken Rose
By Ashish Joy

Broken rose…rise up
Broken heart…sing forth
For you are but an offering rising

Though undone you are yet one
Treaded over…watched from afar
Though bloodied…Though torn
Remember Christ…Remember His love

I will watch you…and hold you deep within my heart
I will gather your broken shards…in admiration and respect
For your love is precious to me and yet
Though it seem I let you go…just know
I will hide my face…and turn my eyes
And wait patiently for your call

Until then…hold on dearly
For life will come at you more and more quickly
Your brokenness is but an offering
Poured out dreadfully for all to see

Yes…all do see…but they respect
Your willingness to be spent
In love and admiration they applaud
Your life and all you’ve ever lost

You’re a light…bright…strong…courageous
Such words speaks dimly of who you really are
You’re a hope…a star…a flame
And though all you say may one day be
Just know that I’ll be watching…and waiting
For the day you will reach out for me

A principle for life... for my life

The Northwest fall is here. As I look out my bedroom window, I can see the small drops of rain falling down... obedient to the will of the Father- gravity; and as I open my window to witness such event live, the wind swiftly blows down causing me to close my eyes and sense the smell of rain. The scented smell of wetted dirt, the fresh smell of drenched lavender- all obedient to the will of He who has submitted all things under His feet, and that yield to their Designer’s tenacity and creativity. The carefully orchestrated seasons come, and go; as summer leaves, the burgundy color of the once green leaves indicates that fall has arrived.

I see the leaves beginning to fall, and though to some, the withered trees appear as death; this only marks the beginning of something new. A type of death that symbolizes life. All things made new. I see our latest acquisition to the family running through the temporarily disabled strawberry leaves, as he cautiously digs around to hide the nuts I had set out for him to eat earlier this morning. This little new friend incites me to think about his innate nature, and again I come to the conclusion that, he's following only the orders that he had been set out to follow, as he worships his Creator by performing exactly what he was meant to do. All of nature, obedient to the Will of God.

I've come to accept His perfect will for my life. Though I don't know the “whys” of many situations, I have made it a principle in my life, to not ask, to not question, and to willfully submit to such perfect plans. I am choosing to stand firm, and accept His will even if I don't understand (necessarily) everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen. I end with E.B. Pusey's exhortation, and hope that it will sink into your heart as well as it has in mine:

This, then, is of faith, that everything, that very least, or what seems to us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind, body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overfuled to each of us by the all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must recieve it as the will of God. If it befalls us through man's negligence or ill-will or anger, still is, in even the least circumstance, to us the will of God. For if the least thing could happen to us without God's permission, it would be something out of God's control. God's providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God Himself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and love.

(Taken from Mary Wilder Tileston's Daily Strength for Daily Needs)

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:5

Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous hand.
Isaiah 41:10

Prayer Insights

by Steve Swihart

“Everything is possible for him who believes” (Mk. 9:23). One of the most positive words in the entire Bible is this one: POSSIBLE. Here is identified the atmosphere of successful prayer: believing firmly that everything in God’s will is POSSIBLE. And the secret of a POSSIBILITY ATMOSPHERE in prayer is discovered when we
come to embrace a POSSIBILITY ORIENTED GOD –– “with God all things are POSSIBLE” (Matt. 19:26). When an ALL-POSSIBLE faith locks arms with an ALL-POSSIBLE God, good things are certain to happen.

The great enemies of prayer are (1) forgetting that with God all things are POSSIBLE, and (2) forgetting that with faith in God all things are POSSIBLE. Resist these enemies every time they appear. Never accept a “No” from circumstances when God has given you a “Yes!”

"A man can destroy with

his character what he builds

with his gift."

-Ern Baxter

Corro a Ti...

As my Summer comes to an end, I thank God for all the good gifts that He's added into my life. I thank Him for my Church and for the amazing vision of wanting to dream bigger dreams and wanting to "imagine" the infinite and wonderful possibilities of a life completely surrendered to God.
I also thank Him for the gift of Sie7E where I have found new friends, renewed joy, and unconditional love... The happiness that has been summoned is unimaginable, and overflowing.

The addition of other greater Gifts reminds me of God's unfailing love for His children, yet many times we fail to see the greater and the better that God has for us. Be always reminded that your best, if it ever comes to pass, might not be God's best; so I'd like to encourage you to continue to pursue the greater and better that God has for your life. The amazing gifts that God has for your life await to be delivered into your hands, once you accept His perfect will for your life, and align yourself- then, they will be yours. He's only waiting to take you farther than what you can imagine.

"Your thoughts - how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them - any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you! " Ps. 139:17-18

In hot pursuit,
SD...etc

Grupo Sie7E

Long, lasting friendship...

...

Sometimes a simple stare, a smile, a sight, or silence in its deepest, most complex form can scream at you. It can tell you things words cannot match.
I encountered this silence today, the stares... and I am confused, because I don't know how to interpret it all, yet in the midst of all this silence and confused smiles, I am beginning to understand...


Silent
By Ashish Joy

Words escape trembling lips
As breath cools the heat rising within
The heart fluttering as hands rummage
Head burning in the heat of night
As silence breeds a breathless stare

Words are meaningless
Hearts stare at each other
Eyes meet and a smile surfaces
Features go soft
A laugh erupts

WHY Latinos cant be terrorists.....

1. 8:45 am is too early for us to be up
2. We are always late, we would have missed all 4flights
3. Pretty people on the plane distract us
4. We would talk loudly and bring attention to ourselves
5. With food and drinks on the plane, we would forget why we're there
6. We talk with our hands, therefore we would have to put our weapons down
7. We would ALL want to fly the plane
8. We would argue and start a fight in the plane
9. We can't keep a secret, we would have told everyone a week before doing it
AND MY FAVORITE.....
10. We would have put our country's flag on the windshield.

ARE YOU A LATINO? HOW CAN YOU TELL FOR SURE?
If others tell you to stop screaming when you are really just talking.
If you light a candle to Virgin Mary on the night before your big test.
If you use "manteca" instead of olive oil and can't figure out why your nalgas are getting bigger.
If whenever you feel under the weather, you compulsively dab on some "Vic's vapor rub" all over your pecho and inside your nostrils or use it around your eyes when you can't sleep!!!
Your mom packs your "lonche" every day even though you've just turned thirty-two.
If you call the North Americans "gringos", including Canadians, and call all Asian people "chinos" or "chinitos"and you call the corner store "the chinito's store."

Prayer Insights

Steve Swihart

The apostle Paul relied heavily upon PEOPLE like Silas, Timothy, Titus, Sosthenes, Luke and others to fulfill the ministry God had for him. He also relied strongly upon the PRAYERS of others for effective ministry. He requested the Romans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, and Philemon to pray for him (Rom. 15:31; 2 Cor. 1:10-11; Eph. 6:19-20, Col. 4:3-4, 1 Thess. 5:25; 2 Thess. 3:1-2; Plm. 21). Even Jesus looked to PEOPLE and to their PRAYERS for help (Mk. 3:13-19 and Matt. 26:36-46).

If Paul and Jesus counted on PEOPLE and their PRAYERS for success, then these examples must also become our own pattern. Everyone in the ministry needs people he (or she) can rely on for SUPPORT and SUPPLICATION. The work is too important,
the temptations are too real, and the trials are too heavy to travel the road of ministry alone. Surround yourself with PEOPLE and PRAYERS.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

My sweet Jesus
I love you!
In Your eyes
I find myself!
And
In Your arms
I rest assured!

Your love
has changed me;
Your hands
have healed me.

I sing of Your great wonders
night and day.

My heart sings to You,
Your law is my delight,
it lightens my path;
of Your mercies I'll forever sing.

My sweet Jesus
I love you!
In Your eyes
I find myself!
And
In Your arms
I rest assured!

Bless the Lord, O my soul;and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's...
For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

Ps. 103:1-5; 14