All Hallows Eve

Yesterday at my children's school they had their annual Harvest Festival. Is not like the Harvest Festival's I remember from my own school days. They do not have a parade in their costumes. They have booths with games and food booths to raise money for school field trips. At the game booths they play a game to win a ticket. They exchange their tickets for small prizes like at Chuckee Cheese. My Son only won one ticket. And he exchanged for a small toy rattle with a punkin face on it.

Daughter was part of the Haunted Library. She was the door monitor taking the tickets from the children who entered the Haunted Library. The tickets to enter cost $3 each. Son wanted to go into the Haunted Library. I gave him the 3 dollars to purchase his ticket. I waited at the exit for him. I heard lots of screaming children. I hoped he will not be too frighten. The door opened and out came a bunch of screaming children. Son was telling all his other friends, how scary it was in the Haunted library. But he did not seem at all scared. There were a few parents that went in along with their children. One kindergarten girl was crying when she came out. Daughter told me that it was scary in there. Maybe next year I will enter the Haunted Library to see how scary it is.

The first grade class was selling tacos and fresh fruit beverages. They sold out even before the event was over. Each taco was $1. Another class was selling hotdogs and another class sold nachos. So in all all the children seem to have fun. I like our Harvest Festival because we always have the presence of local police officers talking to the children and making the kids are safe. The school gets lots of donations from local business to fund this event.

Today is a normal day at school. But since its the last Friday of the month kids get Free Dress day. No uniforms today. And they wear an orange t-shirt if they want.

Tomorrow is Halloween. We will be attending our Parish event for the children. And at home, my neighbor thought we should have a potluck party to celebrate Halloween. In the past since her birthday is Oct.28. She will make a costume party for the children and also celebrated her Birthday.

A Christian Church in our neighbor city is hosting a Harvest Festival too in the evening. The kids got a flyer at their school. Lots of safe alternitives to replace the traditional trick-o-treating house to house. I have to go now to take children to school. Their morning carpool called in sick. I will try to post pictures later.

The enemy is Mad!

Our enemy the devil is mad and there is a reason why? There is a song that my children love to sing in Spanish.

The Devil is mad, and there is a reason why,

Jesus Christ is in my heart.

All my sins He has forgiven.

I love my brother

there is a reason why

Jesus Christ is in my heart

And all my sins he has forgiven.

I know that everytime I start reading my bible daily, and spend more time in prayer, thing start getting worse. Please do not get discouraged if this happens to you. Our enemy the devil gets mad that we are spending time with God in his word. He knows soon he will not be able to have control over us. That is why he starts creating trouble among us to discourage us.

Last night, I let the enemy attack. My mouth spread out all the venom he wanted to spread in my home. I confess, I just could not control my emotions any longer. I bursted at my husband and the bad part was that my children heard everything.

I know I did wrong. I wish I could rewind and make things better but is not possible. The damage is done. And that is exactly what the enemy wants. He wants to destroy families. He wants to have children grow up fatherless. I am a product of a broken marriage. And believe me, the last thing I will want for my children is to go through the same life I went through. But sometimes you just get fed up of certain things and you wish things were different.

But God does not want us to give up. He has promised that he will be with us through good and bad times. I need to reach out to him and let him strenghten me in my weak moments. I felt bad last night. I blamed myself for my actions. Then this morning I heard from sister, that she had fallen and spent night in hospital. She said she felt depressed. I looked back at my own incident and I realized this has to be the enemy working against my family. I have been praying for my sister this week. Now, I will not get discourage. "If God is for us who can be against us." Romans 8:31

Jesus won the battle for us when he died on the cross and was raised to life. So we should not get discouraged. We should keep praying, reading our bibles, doing good works. We should not allow the enemy to come and destroy our families. Please join me in prayer this weekend. Our children need our prayers for protection. Pray for your husbands too.

I love my husband. Is the behaviors and his hurtful words that I hate. And I hope and pray that he will find it in his heart to forgive me also.

Keeping Company with Jesus

I will not give you a long story on how I got here. But I do want you to know, that at one point I thought Catholics were not capable of having a close relationships with God. I was wrong. Have you ever read the stories of the most popular saints. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Francis, St. Anthony, and St. Martin of Porres. How about the life of St. Padre Pio. This were faithful Catholics who spent most of their life in prayer.

And how did this faithful servants of God spend time with God.

1. Prayer Time: Daily prayer time. Spending time before the blessed sacrament.

2. Attending daily mass,

3. Reading their bible

4. Fasting (abstaining from food)

5. Praying the rosary

6. Reading books from other Spiritual mentors

7. Reconciliation or Confession.

8. Receiving Holy communion

This are the many ways this Saints and many faithful Catholics spend time with God.

I personally, spend time with God through prayer, reading my bible daily, attending Mass weekly, praying the rosary, visiting the blessed sacrament at least once a month , reading spiritual literature, and receiving communion.

I do not consider myself a saint or perfect person for doing this. I do not believe that doing this things makes you perfect or holy. The only one perfect and holy is God. But is through his grace that we are made perfect in Christ Jesus. Without Jesus in us, we are nothing. God is Love and when he is present in us we radiate Love to others.

Next week I will elaborate more on receiving communion. This is the one thing that draws me closer to God. I invite you now to visit Holy Experience to read how others keep company with Jesus.

Every Wednesday, we Walk with Him, posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.

Weekend Blessings

The greatest blessing is to have my family together at Church on Sundays. Husband came with us to Mass. Son was so happy. I will continue to pray that he will join us every Sunday at Mass. And also it will be wonderful if we all partake of the holy eucharist together as a family.

Sunday's homily was very good to. Father Gregory spoke about how we tend to be blind to see things going on around us. The gospel was from Mark:46-52. The story of Jesus healing a blind man.

I like the part where the disciples tell the blind man Bartimaeus, "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." Bartimaeus went up to Jesus. "What do you want me to do to you?", asked Jesus. The blind man said, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immidiately Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus on the way.


How many times we feel discouraged or weak because of certain illness or problems in our lives. Jesus is calling us to come to him in prayer. We also need to take courage and tell Jesus what are needs are. What do we desire Him to do for us?


Bartimaeus after receiving his sight did not go off to tell his family or others about it, instead he followed Jesus on the way. He continue to be attentive to Jesus teachings. I want to have that faith like Bartimaeus. I want to take courage and follow Jesus. God is calling me to work for him. He has plans for me. "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11


I have seen the need of a youth group in our Parish. Also a group for Parents. "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10 NIV. There are many things out in the world, that distract our children and the youth ,from following the ways of God. Drugs, alcohol, gangs, and peer pressure. Television plays a major role also. What they see on tv, on movies and the popular people is what our children tend to immitate. Our youth needs to know we love them and care for their well being. We do not mean to make their life boring.

Parents also need a support group. Sometimes we are not sure how to deal with the issues we face with our youth. We feel guilty that we have not done things right and our children are getting lost in the world.

Every Sunday, after Mass, I attend the parents group while my child is taking classes to prepare for his first communion. The leader of the parents group, has asked us to share something good and something bad that happen to us during the week or if we saw God being present in our life the previous week. As each parent has been sharing their own stories, I have seen how similar our lives are. We are all parents, we all have difficult moments in our lives, and we all have faith in God. Yes, our faith in Jesus, has helped us to face those difficult moments and continue. The sharing time in the class has help me to know that I am not alone. God is always there with me.

But then I think of how many parents out there, need to share with someone. It is good to share and hear words of encouragement. This is why I like to visit the blog (in) courage. I read testimonies of other women who have faced their own trials and how Hope and Faith in God has brought them through and helped them in their weak moments.

I too want to be an encourager to other parents. I want to be an encourager to our youth. I pray that God will use me to give a word of encouragement to those other parents. I get encouraged by His word and by the friends who live their lives grounded in the word of God. Thank your for your encouraging words.

Laundry Done!

I did it! I went to do my laundry at a laundromat. I loaded the washers and read a book while I waited for them to be done. I decided to dry the clothes there too to get it all done. The washers take about 30 minutes to wash. I had 5 loads. Jeans, whites, blacks and navy, lights(pastels), and reds and other brite colors. This is the way I like to separate my laundry. The dryers are 25 cents per 7 minutes dry time. So I figured $1 each will be enough. I was wrong. $1.25 if you want your clothes well dry. I consilidated clothes for the dryers. All the jeans went in one, the lights and whites in another, and the rest in the third dryer. So in all I spent $13.75 for everything.

The benifits of the laundromat are: you get do do everything in less than 2 hours, wash, dry and fold. I even got to socialize with a few of the people there. And I read two chapters of the book that I'm reading while waiting for the washers and dryers to be done.

I still prefer to do it at home. I am thankful that I have a washer and dryer, and believe I will take care of them better now. Now, my family size is just 4 people, imagine what big families spend on laundry each week. I hope my washer gets replaced soon before next weeks laundry day.

Errand Day

I will be very busy today. Like I mentioned before my washer is out of service. Eventually I will need to replace it with a new unit. I am glad that I have warranty extended insurance on it good for two more years. The technician said that he will put in the paper work and that I will get a call from someone to replace the washer. Hopefully the paperwork process will be quick and I will have a washer soon. Meanwhile I need to go to the laundromat.

I was to lazy to go yesterday, and I did not have any money either. So today, this will be my first priority. Son has a dentist appointment today in the afternoon. I also want to go to Mass. There is Mass at 12noon at my parish every Friday. I been wanting to attend this Mass, but I have been going to another parish in a neighbor town. I like going to that parish because every Friday they have the Blessed Sacrament for veneration.

I pray you all have a blessed day, and a blessed weekend also. God bless you.

Punkin for All Saints Eve

I carved our punkin for All Saints Eve. Thanks to Jessica @ Shower of Roses for the idea of carving the punkins with a design that represents what we believe in. I chose the pro-life design and Son wanted the sacred heart design.

Its just one punkin with two different design on either side. The pictures were taken today. The light you see within the punkin is actually the sunlight coming in through a window. Just another way of God showing his awesome love.

He has Plans

I had been searching for this scripture in my bible and I could not remember where I had read it. Like I mentioned at the end of the previous post. I was watching this videos of two children that had an illness called trisomy. While I was watching the videos, looking at the pictures, there were also words and bible verses included. Among those verses was this one that I like so much.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you Hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you." Jeremiah 29:11-14

God is always there when we call on him. He will never give us more than we can handle. And he always with us through the good time and the bad times.

As I was writing this post there was some internet connection problem that I had to stop and turn off the computer. I am glad most of it was saved and I did not need to re-write it. Don't you just hate when that happens? And I do not know exactly why this happens but lately is been going on and at the same time every day. Sometimes is God trying to remind me of my other obligations.

The washer technician came around 10:30 AM. I prayed that this time, he will find exactly what the problem is. He asked me to load the washer with clothes, to test the washer. Then he monitor the washer and waited to see where the water leak was coming from. After a long time he told me the problem. He needs to replace the tub or water tank and they will schedule to replace it next Thursday. See I knew something was wrong.

The bad part is that now I have to go to the laundromat and wash clothes there. At least the most important clothes like, kids uniforms, jeans, and white clothes. The good thing is that my dryer is still working and I can save money and dry clothes at home. Another good thing is that I can wash all the loads at the same time, if there are enough washers available. So sometimes things do not go how we plan them, but if we see things with God's eyes, we might see things as blessings instead of problems.

Better go gather my laundry and head to the laundromat.

While I'm waiting

I am waiting for the washer repair technician. Hopefully, the problem will be fixed, and I will be able to do my laundry. The problem started last week, I put a load of clothes to soak and when I return to let it wash, I noticed the water on the floor. I did not call the repair person right away. It was almost the weekend, so I let the washer rest. I took two loads to the local laundromat on Friday. And I said I will call on Monday to get it fix. I called them on Monday, and they said the earliest appoinment available was Thursday. I agreed. Meanwhile the dirty clothes kept piling up. Yesterday I washed husband's work clothes. I have to wash his work clothes at least twice a week.

The kids have left to school, and the repair man will be here between 10 AM and 12 Noon. So I have some time to do some cleaning around the house. I am targeting those spots where stuff get accumulated and forgotten. The kitchen counter, the living room table, the office desk. On Monday, I did 15 minutes in each area and that was enough to see a huge difference.

But before I start with my house chores, I should spend some time in prayer. I already read my bible this morning and prayed the rosary. But I have not been spending quality time in prayer. I will like to ask God for patience. For God to give me patience when difficult times arise. Strenght in my weak moments. Also ask him to protect our children from the flu virus.

Yesterday I got a call from school. I was told there was a child who had aquired the porcine flu. And that child is in my daughter's classroom. Lord have mercy! I did panic at the moment. But then, I said my trust is in the Lord. He will not let anything bad happen to my children. My daughter is well, but I need to monitor her and be looking for the signs. I pray to God that she does not get sick. I will be praying for the child who is sick. I hope he gets well soon. And I pray none of the other children get sick either.

Heavenly Father,

Heal those who are sick with the flu.

Protect the children in school that they may not get sick.

Protect the elderly too.

May your healing touch be on each person today.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Update:9:34 AM, I been reading updates on the blogs I follow and I was reading about this children that are born with an illness called trisomy. How two couples have faced the tragedy of loosing their child so quickly after his birth. To see pictures of them holding their child and enjoying the few minutes or few months they were alive. How their faith in God has brought them throught this difficult times. Amazing stories of Faith, Hope and Love. You can view one story here at 99 balloons for Elliot

There was a scripture I read in one of the videos, "...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21

As the World Races, I Slow Down

Most people out in the World, tend to be always rushing from place to place. To much activities, and commitments. So little time to accomplish it all.

As a wife and mother of two children, I try not to immitate this kind of schedules. My children do not have extra curricular activities, neither sports. Is not that I do not want to, its more of economy issues. Most after school programs in the area are very expensive.

I wanted my children to learn music. There is a school about 30 minutes away from where I live that offers Mexican Ballet Classes, singing and instruments instruction. Last year Daughter took guitar lessons and Son took dance lessons. The classes where once a week after school. As soon as they were out of school, we left to the classes and did not return home until 6:30 in the evening. The bad part was the traffic. That is the time there is more traffic, so I will get home with a headache. During the summer it was better because they were not in school, so we left earlier. I will do my grocery shopping that same day at the local food store right close to the school. Still we will be caught in traffic on our way to our house.

In the fall of last year I decided not to continue with the classes. The kids were back in school and I did not want to bother with traffic. So they have not been taking any other classes after that.

At church, at the moment we are not much active either. We just attend Mass and the Faith Formation classes after Mass.

Last year, I was at church for almost four hours on Sunday. We attended the Cathedral Parish and Faith Formation Class. The class started at 12:30 PM and ended at 1:45 PM. Then we attended the Spanish Mass at 2PM. The Mass usually lasts about an hour and a half. I really do not mind spending so much time at church activities. Because I know that we are doing something that benefits us and pleases God.

I do wish my Kids were able to do other activities but I hear so much about from other parents, how they struggle to manage their time. I rather not be an active person.

At home, lately I have been teaching kids about the Saints. They color pictures of the Saints, or we do a craft that reflects something regarding the Saints. Or we watch a Movie about the life of the Saint.

Saturdays we sometimes go to the park all together to ride our bikes or sometime I just walk while the children ride their bikes. This also the time I take to talk to God and Pray. As I walk, I see my surroundings and marvel at the beauty of God's creation.

Some might say we are a boring family, but in reality we are not. I think we are very bussy already with the things we do. I sometimes think I do not have enough time to do everything. I guess it all depends on how you see things and what are your priorities.

To me God is my first priority. Everything I do revolves around him. I love learning new things about my Faith. I love sharing with other about my Faith. And I love reading what others write about their Faith in God.

Every Wednesday, we Walk with Him, posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.

Goals for this week

Since the 8 week home organization challenge ended, I have not been posting my goals for the week. So I think I should make Tuesday the day to post my own personal weekly goals and share them with you. On Friday I will let you know how I did with my goals.

My goals for this week are:

1. Call and schedule repair for the washer. It is leaking water again, and I have a few loads on hold until the technician comes and repairs it well.

2. Unclutter rooms. Since I have been spending more time slowing down and reading books and spending to much time on computer, there are areas that atract clutter and I making some rooms look, unkept. So I must spend at least 15 minutes in each room to take care of those hot spots.

3. Do homework for theology classes.

4. Schedule a tupperware party. I used to sell tupperware, and I bought some items, hoping to sell them. But they have been in a box for more than two year now and I need to get rid of them.

5. Hope to be able to do laundry at home by Friday. If not take my laundry to wash elsewhere. Last week I took two loads to wash and I spent two dollars on each load.

I better get started on the hot spots ( cluttered areas ). It is noon, I hope that I will be done before I go pick up children at school.

Weekend Blessings

Good Morning faithful readers. I hope you had a great blessed weekend. I am so excited about my weekend and the blessings received from God this weekend. Among the blessings there are some difficult moments too, not all the time is wonderful around this house. However the trial times are times for growing more in my faith in Jesus. I learn from my mistakes and I must discipline myself in order to avoid the same mistakes. I know that my Lord Jesus is merciful and grants me grace each time, but still if we discipline our children when they do wrong things, we too should be disciplined in our own actions. So here is a summary of the good and the bad of this weekend. There is more good than bad.

Saturday

On Saturday, I went to theology classes. The classes are directed by the Hispanic Ministry of the Oakland Diocese. I will be starting first year of the classes. The classes started in September and I missed the first two sessions. I need to catch up with the rest of my classmates in homework assignments and book readings. No problem, I am determined to do this because I am eager to learn more about my faith and how it came to be. From the founding fathers till the present.

The first part of the day, was worship and prayer. We sang songs and praised Jesus our Lord. Then they read from the liturgy of the hours. I did not have the book, I listened to what the others recited while I closed my eyes to meditate on the words.

After the liturgy of the hours. The classes started. The first year group assembled tables and chairs in that same room where we had prayer, and the rest of the groups left to other classrooms.

The first session or class, the instructor talked about the different versions of Bibles. From the first published to the most recent versions. In the second class, the instructor summarized on a book the class is reading, Mary and the Saints by James P. Campbell. And the last class for the day, the instructor spoke about the previous homework assignment, which was to find out what happened in the first Council of Nicaea.

All three classes where very interesting. I do have lots of homework , but I thank God for this great opportunity he is offering. The best thing is that I only have to drive ten minutes to get to the school. Some of the students come to the school from neighboring cities. Some drive for almost an hour to get there. During lunch break, I gathered with a group of my classmates who a attend the same parish that I used to attend last year. It was interesting to hear their comments regarding each class, and to see also their enthusiasm. The other ladies are more older than me, some are grandmothers already. But I enjoy their company. I have learned so much from them and their dedications to the parish and their service to God.

I left the school, so happy. I am trusting my Lord that I will be a good student and not get frustrated with all the homework assignments. I went to pick up my kids at sister-in-laws house. I am grateful that she agreed to take care of them. We went home and they got ready to attend their cousin's birthday party. We already had the gift wich we purchased the day before. The kids had great fun at the party. I did too, but not as much as my kids. Husband's family parties last all day and night.

It was 9 oclock and most of the guest had left the party and only the immediate family remained. My son was tired so he asked me to hug him. He wanted to go home but I told him we had to wait for his Dad to say we can leave. Of course Husband had no intention on leaving the party yet. I was also falling asleep. So asked husband if we could leave home. He said, that I could leave If I wanted, but he will stay. I hate when he does this because then in a few hours later, he calls me to go and pick him up. The kids by then are already sleeping in their comfortable beds, and I do not want to wake them up to go and pick up Husband. I told him, I am not going to pick you up later, and left to my house.

My house is just a few blocks away but still late at nite is best to not be out of your house specially in that area of neighborhood. Husband came home a few hours later on his own, walking. He was very drunk and he just sat on the sofa for a long time, still holding a beer can. I told him to go to bed, but he did not listen. So I just turned off the light and went to sleep. He eventually came into room and went to sleep.

Sunday

We got to church and she quickly went to get dressed with the altar server tunic. She got to sit close to the altar with the other altar servers and the Priest. Son and I sat at the right side section three rows away from the altar. All during Mass I fought hard to keep the tears from pouring out. I asked God to forgive me if I was at fault. To forgive Husband too. Son was there showing his support to Mom. At such a young age he is my little counselor. "Mom, I am going to pray for Daddy to come to church." he said to me. I nodded in agreement.

Mass was beautiful on Sunday. Even though my heart was aching, it was also receiving God' s healing love through the liturgy and the songs. I began debating wether to abstain from holy communion. God kept telling me that I needed him. But I felt unworthy to receive him. I must go to reconciliation first. There are just so many things that have been piling up in my heart and I must go to reconciliation (confession) first.

During the "Our Father" prayer, I got reminded. "And forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;" During the sign of peace, when we shake each others hand and say "peace be with you", I felt God telling me, to be at peace with myself. Daughter came to shake my hand and gave me a kiss. She asked how she was doing. I said, " you are doing great." She left to her seat, very happy. The bread and wine were blessed, and the communion song started. At this time the congregation gather in the middle to receive communion. I went along with Son to receive his blessing.

Since Son has not yet done his firt communion, he crosses his arms against his chest to signal the Priest he is not prepared yet. The priest gave him his blessing. I also crossed my arms to ask for a blessing instead of partaking of the Eucharist. The Priest said a short prayer and made the sign of the cross to give me a blessing. I felt much better. Son and I returned to our seats. The rest of the people continue to come up for holy communion and while the rest waited in their seats the choir sang, my favorite song.

"Levanto mis Manos"

I lift up my hands, even though I have no strengh,

I lift my hands up even if I have lots of problems.

When I lift up my hand, I begin to feel an anointing that make me sing.

When I lift up my hands, I begin to feel the fire.

When I lift up my hands, my loads leave,

new strengths You give me, all this is possible when I lift up my hands.

Then the choir sang another song that said " I will get up." I can't remember the lyrics, but it was so moving that I closed my eyes and prayed. My son hugged me again, and I just couldn't keep it in any longer. I cried. I let it all out. Like a child, embraced by her Heavenly Father. It felt good to release it all and feel God's healing love surrounding me. He used my Son to give me comfort. Thank you Jesus, for your love and for your tender mercy on me a sinner.

Mass ended and we went to Faith Formation class. Son went to his class and daughter and I went to the classroom where the parents gather to share and pray. The leader lites a small candle and says a prayer, then each of us share something from our week.

The other parents began sharing. One lady was thankful that God protected her and daughter during a car accident. She felt God's presence with her that day. Another parent talked about her daughter who has leukemia and is getting better. Another parent was thankful that even though her husband is out of work, she is happy they are a family, are healthy and together. As each parent shared their own good and bad of the week, I sat there listening and praying for each one. God was letting me see, that He is with each one of them, in the good time and bad time. I felt God present there in that room, among us. Each of us have our own struggles in life, but our faith in God keeps us going on, and not letting anything defeat us.

I kept hearing "keep going, don't give up. God has great plans for you, he will not give you things you can't handle. He knows your strengths as well as your weakness." At the end of our sharing, the Leader says another prayer and we pray for each other. I gave thanks to God for giving me a revelation of the plans he has for me. I need to keep praying and asking for directions. There is a need for spiritual support among our youth. God is calling me to work with Him in that need. In spite of my own tribulations, God wants to use me. And I tell him. "Here I am Lord, use me."

Sunday morning, Husband and I, had an arguement just before I left to church. He asked, "Where are you going? Why you go to church? You pretend to be good when you are not." Those were hurtful words. I replied, that I went to church because I needed to go. And I know I'm not perfect, no one is. I left to church in tears. My children heard most of the arguement, and son was mad at his Dad for making me cry. I told them it was okay. We need to pray for Dad to change and join us at church. Daughter did not pay much attention, she was happy that today will be her first day as an altar server.

15 Seconds, 20 Years ago.

This is to show you what 15 seconds of an earthquake can do. Many lives were ended on this tragic day. Many building were damaged and destroyed. Years before this earthquake I remember my Mother driving through this area on our way home from San Francisco to the Bay Area. I was amazed of how this two freeways will join one on top each other. The bottom part took drivers to the East Bay, the top part took drivers to the tolls to enter the Bay Bridge.

Where was I, 20 years ago? I was sixteen at that time. I was at my Mother's house. I had been watching my younger sibbling playing outside on the swings and slide. Now here comes the funny part of the story. I had to go to the rest room. So I went inside through the back door toward the nearest restroom. I did what I had to do and I was already washing my hands on the sink when the floor started to shake, the windows to rattle, and I knew it. This is a big one. Run and find cover, I told myself. But I remember my sibblings playing outside. I ran outside to find them, but they had already left. I remember there was a stack of plywook on the side of the house, I went there to see if any of the kids had gone that way, no kids in sight. Then I ran toward the front of the house and my Mother was calling me to get inside. All three of my younger sibbling were already under the table. So I dashed under the table with them. And it stoped. No more noise. No more shaking. "Is everyone okay?", my Mother asked. Yes, we were okay, scared to death, but no injuries at all. Thanks be to God. We came out from under the table and began to inspect the house for any damages, not much. Some plates broken in the kitchen, some cabinet doors flown open, But the house seemed intact.

Then I remember about my other sister. "Mom where is Erica?", I asked. She went to your aunts house. My sister Erica who is three years younger than me, was walking towards my aunt's house a few blocks away from our house. She told us that she saw the trees and light post shaking and she did not know what to do. Do I ran to my aunts house or back to my house? She asked herself. My cousin was with Erica too. They were closer to the house so they ran back home. We were all scared, this one was a huge one. Living in the Bay area, we had become familiarized with this kind of tremors. But nothing compared to this one. We tried to turn on the tv, but no signal was available so we turn on the battery powered radio to listen to the news.

When my Father got home, we told him about the earthquake. He says he did not feel anything. He was driving back home on a near freeway, and did notice some cars driving a little weird but hed did not think it was do to the earthquake. When we were finally able to see the news on tv. We were all amazed on how much damaged this earthquake had caused. Even more amazed to see the Cypress collapsed and part of the Bay Bridged collapsed too. We saw how people in their desesperation tried to drive to the other side and just felled into the gap. Many lives perished in between the two freeways that collapsed. I pray to God for all those people that died in that terrible disaster. The many people that were left homeless, because their homes were destroyed. 15 seconds. Only 15 second of the earth trembling caused so much damaged. It changed so many things for all of us. For many years my Mother will not drive to San Francisco. She was scared it will happen again. Everytime we felt the earth shake we ran to find shelter. In fear of another big one. But for 20 years the tremors have been mild. We did have some bigs ones in Southern California. But here in the Bay Area. No more big earthquakes. I keep praying to God to have mercy of us and protect us from this natural disasters.

Today, I went to visit the Blessed Sacrament, and I did not remember the earthquake anniversary was today. I came home so happy and overjoyed, because tomorrow I will start theology classes. Then I turn on my computer to read updates on the Blogs I follow and I read someone's post making reference to the earthquake. I am a survivor of the 1989 earthquake. 20 years have gone by. Lots has changed in our cities. Lots of new housing and new buildings built around those areas that were damaged. But are the hearts of those who suffered, the loss of their loved one, healed? Have they forgotten that day? I hope that God, has been merciful and consoled those people who mourn the loss of a loved one. But I know that we will never forget that day. The Lord reminded me today through a psalm read by the priest .

Responsorial PsalmPs 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

R. (39a) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

Trust in the LORD and do good,that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.Take delight in the LORD,and he will grant you your heart’s requests.

R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;their inheritance lasts forever.They are not put to shame in an evil time;in days of famine they have plenty.

R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.Turn from evil and do good,that you may abide forever;For the LORD loves what is right,and forsakes not his faithful ones.

R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.The salvation of the just is from the LORD;he is their refuge in time of distress.And the LORD helps them and delivers them;he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,because they take refuge in him.

R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

Thank you blessed Father, for keeping us safe all this years and close to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

St. Theresa of Avila Day

Today is the feast day of St. Theresa of Avila. Here at home we have been crafty today. First I made Pan de Santa Teresa. A recipe from Catholic Cuisiene, I think it came out great. I only did three slices of bread to try it. Just in case my children did not like it and then I will have to eat it all myself. It was delicious, a little soggy though. But I think I know why. The bread has to be a little stale for the recipe to work. I just used regular sandwich bread because its what I had at home.

I also cut out some tissue paper (papel picado), its a mexican craft done to decorate your home or party for "Dia de los Muertos" (All Souls Day). They also use the same technique for Christmas decorations but with different desings. I have been wanting to do this craft for almost a year. I hanged the string with the papel picado in my kitchen. I plan to make more, to take to my kids classrooms. It is hard to cut out the tissue paper precisely without cutting to much or tearing the tissue. But I was patient and determined to do it no matter how it came out. Practice makes perfect. The kids will be coloring a picture of St. Theresa of Avila. Most of the Saints coloring pages are from Waltzing Matilda's Blog. I plan to make a scrapbook or keep all of the finished coloring pages in a binder for each child. I do plan to make Saint feast more special, specially the ones from our Patron Saints. This year I will make a collague of our favorite Saints. The one I pray more to is St. Anthony. I am a forgetful person, so I am always misplacing my keys, and cell phone. I always ask St. Anthony to help me remember where I put them. Ok, I need to end this post now. Husband is almost home and hates to see me on computer when he gets home. Have a blessed day.

Remembering our Loved Ones

In this picture taken last year 2008

Left to right, Father's parents, Mother's parents, Aunt Raquel,

Collage of Saints, and Mother-in-law

As a Catholic and Mexican American, I have a tradition in my home to remember those family members that have died. Catholics have a feast day on November 1st and 2nd. In most Mexican homes you will see an altar or table displaying photos of those who have passed away and images of patron saints, candles, flowers and other items that were the deceased favorites. I remember that when I was a child, my grandmother will take my sister and I to the cementary to our grandfather's tomb. We cleaned the tomb, place new flowers and pray the rosary. When we came to live here to California that tradition faded away. Grandmother stayed in Mexico and we were now in a different country, with different cultures and traditions. The only person in our family deceased at that time was our grandfather. So I never saw my Mother placing an altar in our home. We did have religious items and a picture of the Holy Supper, but we did not pray the rosary often. Even when my Grandmother passed away, in 1988, I never remember having this tradition in my Mother's home. My dear Grandmother, may she rest in peace, she taught us so many things about our Catholic faith and traditions that she had been taught as a child. Like taking flowers to the Virging Mary in May. Grandmother thought us to pray the rosary. Grandmother also was very devoted to the Child of Atocha. I have told you this lots of times.



My dear Grandmother. Who will visit her tomb and place new flowers on it and pray the rosary? Grandfather is lonely too. We all live so far away. This is why, I do not remember how long ago. I decided since I could not physically go and visit their tomb, that in my heart I will remember them and pray for them. Every Fall, I bring down Grandparents picture which is always hanging on a wall of my home. I place the picture on my prayer altar, also the picture of my Dear Aunt who died of cancer, a picture of my Mother-in-law, and a picture of my Father's parents. Last year I even placed a collage of Saints that are very special to us. St. Faustina, Blessed Margaret Castello, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Padre Pio, St. Bernadette, St. Therese, St.Rita of Cascia, Venerable Pierre, St. Juan Diego, St. Francis of Assisi. St. Rafqa and St. Joseph Cafasso are not that well known but when I was looking for a patron Saint for our family and read their stories, I felt I should include them in our collage. Venerable Pierre, is not a Canonized Saint yet, but he is in the process of Beautification which means they are waiting to get another miracle in order to continue with the canonization process. His story is very interesting too. He was a very good man who helped the poor. There is a boy who claims he was healed from Scoliosis after his family prayed to Venerable Pierre for intercession.

Blessed Margaret of Castello is consider to be the Patron Saint of the unborn and rejected. Blessed Margaret was deformed and her back was bended, her parents abandoned her when she was a young child because they were ashamed of her. I could go on and on telling you all about the Saints on my collage. They are all special to me in many ways. What they all have in common is their Love for God and they shared with others that love. Most of them sufferer illnesses, rejection from their loved one, but they suffered through that for their love of God. They offered their pains and sufferings, for others to come to know Christ and repent from their sins. Will you be willing to do the same thing? Sometimes I struggle with this issue of sacrifice. How far are we willing to go for Christ? Are we willing to loose it all? Sometimes its hard, we give other things more value then what we give God our father. He is the giver of life. But he also takes away.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me and instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

where there is injury , let me sow pardon

where there is friction , let me sow union

where there is error, let me sow truth

where there is despair, let me sow hope

where there is darkness, let me sow light

where there is sadness, let me sow joy

O divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

May the divine assistance remain always with us and may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Slowing down and being Still for God

It seems impossible most of the time but once you make up your mind and purposedly do it at a specific time everyday, soon it will become natural. Slowing down on your busy days, stop what you are doing and go sit on a couch, chair or where ever you feel most comfortable to stay still and wait for God. Can you do this?

Since Monday, I have been setting aside some time as early as possible to spend time praying with the rosary, then reading my bible, and finish with prayer and intercession. I want to be as quiet as possible at the end in order to hear God voice. But is not possible. The kids are still at home at this time and even though I have asked them to not disturb me at this time, they act like if they have forgotten, and ask me all kinds of questions while I am trying to meditate on the rosary or on the readings. You might say to me," Why don't you wait till they leave to school, then have your quiet time?" I was doing this before but sometimes I will get right into cleaning or go straight to computer and then forget about quiet time.

Then today, I got a God breeze. I believe God told me this, " You should teach your kids to have their own quiet time with God, reading their bible and writing on their own journal. This way the will stay quiet during the morning and you all have quiet time with me." An Aha moment!

Not only will they be spending quiet time with God, but also have their writing and reading skills put into practice, one extra bonus. Thank you Lord, for this great idea. And would you believe how more quiet they were after their quiet time. No more fighting or loud TV, no more unpreparedness, looking for their backpack or jackets at the last minute. Son even had a good attitude when I asked him to make his bed and pick up the clothes on the floor.

When Son was reading his bible, he read, " Be happy, for great is your reward in heaven." "Mom is it true that my reward is in heaven?", Son asked. "yes", I replied. Son was reading from First Bible Stories, published by Parragon Books Ltd. The bible stories are summarized in short form for young children. The story he was reading was titled Our Father in Heaven.


I hope that my children continue to spend quiet time with God in the mornings and allow me to have my own quiet time with God. I will keep you updated on their progress. Now join me at Holy Experience to read how others are slowing down and staying still for God.

Miracle of the Rosary

I had never heard this song with Elvis Presley. Miracle of the rosary. I was looking for songs to add to my blog and I was looking for the rosary in song, just like one I hear on the radio. So I searched for rosary and a list of songs came up. I started playing each one and none where the one I was looking for. Then I played the Elvis song. Wow, Amazing! Perfect song for my blog. Had you heard this song before? The player is at the side bar of the page. There are two more songs by Casting Crowns included in the playlist. I love this songs there are my favorite.

The Rain is Here

It started in the middle of the night, the wind and the raindrops made noise against my window. I could not sleep well, kept tossing and turning then somehow went slowly back to sleep. A few hours later again I awoke. Hearing the rain fall harder against the window and the stream of water running through the gutters. I hugged my husband, to feel secure and again I went back to sleep. At around 4:30 in the morning I woke up again. I asked myself should I go to the living room and watch the early Mass on EWTN. I was to tired to get up. So I stayed in bed an hour more. Husband woke up at 5:30 AM and turned the TV in our room to watch the news and weather report. I went to the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot and waited to be done. I took coffee to husband when it was done. And I went to seat on the sofa to read my bible. First I read from a daily devotional. Turned to the page for today's date. October 13, on this page I read:"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" Psalm 27:1

God was reminding me that I should not fear the storm outside. I prayed for all those who travel on the roads, to drive safely and protect them from accidents. After a short time in prayer I read the bible readings for today. I like to read them twice. Sometimes a single word pops out at me. Sometimes is an entire verse. Or sometimes nothing in the scripture speaks directly to me. When ever I read something that speaks to me, I write down on my journal. I ask God to help me understand it better. I spent almost 30 minutes reflecting on the scriptures and praying. Sometimes even more. Today I was finished just before husband left to work. Son was already awake and dressed for school. I told him to go back to bed, but he did not listen. He started to practice his reading skills. I left to my bedroom, made up the bed, and turn on the radio to listen to the morning rosary. I like this version of the rosary because they sing in between each decade and mysteries of the rosary. With each mystery the say a prayer. One of the pharases they sing says;" Come holy spirit heal my sin, come holy spirit give me new life. Today's meditation was on the Sorrowful mysteries, the agony in the garden, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning of thorns, the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion. After each mystery is announced the narrator says a prayer meditating on the specific mystery. This allows me to reflect on my life and pray for a specific area in my life or for someone that might come to my mind at the moment. I keep my prayer journal close by, to write down names and words that come to my mind. During the day if I have some spare time, I like to read what I wrote and helps me remember to pray for the person that I wrote about. Not every day is the same here in my house, but lately I have been praying the rosary early in the morning and reading my bible before I do anything else. It helps me to keep focused. I pray you all have a blessed day. I pray for God to send his love and healing touch to you today, In Jesus name, Amen.

Recommended Reading

Very quickly, I just started reading a book by authors Scott & Kimberly Hann.

The book's title is Rome Sweet Rome, Our Journey to Catholicism. The book is a very interesting book. I recommend you to read this book. No matter what your faith is. It will help you to understand the Catholic faith better. I have another book by Scott Hann that I will read as soon as I am finished with the first book. I started reading the book on Friday when I received in the mail. And just like the foreword author says, you will not put this book down once you start reading it. On Saturday morning I read for almost three hours straight. I will not review the book. All I can tell you, this an excellent book worth reading.

Catholic Faith & Wrong Devotions

It has been a quite a dry season in our area this year, and even though we need the rain, I am not that happy is coming by tomorrow. I do love rainy weather, if I am able to enjoy it from the comfort of my home. Before I used to pray for God to start the rain after all the kids were safely at school and or after they were safely home. I felt bad for those families that had to walk to school and get all wet because of the rain. I do not like driving in the rain either. But it must rain, and we must get wet. Rainy season means husband is home more. And when husband is home, I am not able to do things I enjoy doing while I am home alone. Like pray, read, spend time on computer. That is wasted time for him. Little does he know that that is not wasted time. I am refreshed in prayer time. Encouraged and empowered by reading my bible or inspirational books, and blogs.

Hopefully this rainy season husband will be able to understand and perhaps even pray the rosary with me. Or listen to me reading the bible. Oh how I wish my husband was in love with God as much as I am. Oh how I wish he will tell me lets go to Mass today or let us spend an hour with the Blessed Sacrament or in prayer. I pray the Lord will touch husband's heart and may my husband yearn to spend time with God and learn all about Him our Lord and saviour.

Husband is Catholic. And is sad to say this, but most Catholics in Mexico, do not know anything about the bible. They do not know of spending time in prayer. I do not understand why? Yes, they are thought certain prayers that are recited at every mass while they prepare for their sacraments but the faith formation ends once the sacrament has been fullfill. There are no bible studies, no Sunday school classes. I think this is why so many Catholics do not live their lives like they should following God's commandments. I have heard Joyce Meyer once say. That a person is not a Christian just because he attends church every Sunday. Is the same of a Catholic. They might attend church regularly but are they really saved.
One time my husband's nephew asked me what is a Catholic? We had just left the baptismal service of his son in a Catholic church and he was asking me what is a Catholic. I asked him what were you told in the baptismal preparation classes. He said, I want to know what you think? I said, someone that follows the doctrines of the Catholic church, and teaches his children in the same way. Giving always a good example. I was not well prepared to answer this question, and I hope that I did my best in answering. He was pleased with my answer.

Ever since I returned to the Catholic faith, I have been asked questions about my faith. At first they thought I was confused, that I did not even know what I was doing going from one church to another. Even when I was attending a Christian church I was constantly seen as the weird one. All this time my desire has been to pray for my husband's family. I feel that they are so lost. They do not go to church, regularly. They visit curanderos, people who heal with herbs and supposedly free you of evil spirits and curses. In their hometown in Mexico, they say that there are a lot of witches that place curses on people and that is why the people never prosper or have good luck in their lives.

My husband told me to take my daughter to the curandero. So that he will give her a massage, to heal her scoliosis. I did not wanted to go. I have read that is not good to go to this people. The curandero says that he believes in God, but how can you trust the person if his nickname is the devil (el diablo). I prayed to God to forgive me for going to visit that man. That man has made many promises to a lot of people telling them they are cured of their illnesses and bad luck. Sad how they believe this man, instead of seaking the power of our healer Jesus. I pray daily that all my family members that believe in witchcraft and astrology will open their eyes and believe in God and draw closer to God, and repent of their sins.

I have read many good Catholic books that talk about the devotion of people to witchcraft and astrology or horoscopes. There are some books by a Hispanic ministry, Apostoles de la Palabra ( Apostles of the Word). The books teach the reader, all about the true teachings of the Catholic church. They explain what is in the catechism of the church. They have written a book regarding all this stuff about witchcraft and they warn people that is against the church's teachings to believe in occult and new age teachings. Currently there is a new devotion among Mexican Catholics, the devotions to holy death. An icon of a skeleton dressed in a purple or black tunic. There are songs being aired in spanish radio stations regarding this devotion. And many people that sell religious articles at swap meets sell this icon of death. This why many protestant brother say that Catholics are worshipers of idols. The church teaches that is not right to worship anyone else but God. Yet many people in our Latin American countries have more faith in certain icon than having faith in God. They have replaced God with this icon or images that are not accepted by the Catholic church. They have been lured by witchcraft and new age devotions, camouflaged in good things. Like for example, I read once in a book that certain sellers of souvenirs will put curses on certain religious items. This is why is very important to take our religious items to be blessed by a priest. The blessing from the priest will remove any curse spoken upon the item. If you are a Christian, you need to take the item to your Pastor or get rid of the item. I read this in a book by an Evangelical, but I can't remember the author's name. I let someone borrow the book and the book was misplaced and never returned to me. I have made this post too long, forgive me if I bored you. I started telling you about the rainy season and somehow, I ended talking about other things. However, I think that they are very important to know and be aware of this things. I do not intend to talk bad about any Christian faith. I only desire to let you know that there are evil things disguised as good things and if we are grounded in the word of God, we will be able to know what they are and be guided by the Holy spirit to choose what God's will is for us.

Note: I changed the title of the post to reflect better, what I wrote in the post.

Altar Server Practice

Today we attended Daughter's first altar server practice. We met with our parish Pastor to learn all about being an altar server. Daughter had asked to be an altar server at our parish, so she sign on the bulletin form and gave it to the Director of Faith Formation. Yesterday Father Gregory, called to let us know that practice will take place at noon today Saturday. We got there on time and another girl was waiting also. They both received a small explanation of all the items that were used during the liturgy. And they started to practice each of their parts. Father divided the practice in three sections and had them repeat each step to make sure they knew what they should do. At the end they rehearsed each step from the start of the mass to the end of the mass. It took them about an hour and a half to do everything. But it was okay, because both girls were very attentive to the instructions and were able to do everything very well. Daughter was very excited. She has wanted to be an altar server for quite some time. She can wait to actually do it during an actual Mass service. Even son had some part in the liturgy practice. He had to bring the offertory gifts to the Father. He looked so cute. Then Father asked him when he will be ready to be an altar server. His answer, " I don't know." Well he first has to make his first communion. And that will be in a few years. Son is only 7 now, and even though this is his second year of Faith Formation, I think is better for him to wait till his 8 or 9 to make his first communion. Daughter was 9 years old when she made her first communion.

As a matter of fact, it was Daughter's decision to make her first communion that brought me back into the Catholic faith. Since niece was preparing for her first communion too, she wanted to join her cousin. My sister and I thought it will be nice if our daughters made their first communion together just like we both did our first communion on the same day back in 1985.

And that's how it happen, our daughters made their first communion together. You can see them in the above picture walking together holding the bread and the wine. I thank their Cathechist because she did a good job in teaching them both all about the Mass and the liturgy. Their Cathechist is a very devoted woman. I also thank her for my return into the Catholic faith. She told me about the classes and when to sign up for them. She made it possible for Daughter to learn all her prayers and tutored her in her home until she was ready for first communion. My sister and her husband are my daughter's First communion sponsors or Godparents. My niece chose my other sister and my brother as her sponsors. My husband and I, are her baptismal Godparents. My daughter's baptismal godparents are my sister-in-law and her husband. Both of my children's baptismal godparents are from husband's family. This is why, I am hoping that they will choose from my side of the family for their other sacraments.

Talents

I started my day, like I usually do. Trying to get some chores done before spending quiet time with God and reading the scriptures. Somehow I became distracted by the mess in the living room. I want to make this place as peaceful as possible, to be able to concentrate during meditation. The clutter does not allow me to concentrate. I felt the need to get rid of the clutter, so I started sorting things and deciding what needs to go elsewhere. The living room is where my kids watch tv and sometimes do their homework there. My son like to get creative and he takes out the scratch paper and begins to draw pictures, then leaves everything behind and does not pick up. I was gathering all the things when I noticed the time, the rosary had already started on EWTN, so I continue moving things and as soon as the Mass started, I took my bible and sat done on the sofa.
There were still a pile of things on the coffee table that I will take upstairs later, but I needed to hear the word of God. The readings were read and the homily was given by Father Mitch Pacwa. Beautiful explanations of todays readings. (Malachi 3:13-20 and the Gospel of Luke 11:5-13) . After the homily, I read the Gospel once again, said a short prayer to God, and then I waited for God's response. I felt I should sing some worship songs, so I played the Cd with my favorite songs. Levanto mis Manos ( I lift up my hands), and then I remembered. The time that God gave me the opportunity to use the talent he had given me, to speak to a mixed congregation of Baptists and Catholics. It was my sister's 15 birthday celebration and we held the ceremony at a Baptist Church that we were attending at the time. Our guest were members of the church and friends and family that were not members of the church, mostly Catholic. Following is the post I posted on myspace profile talking about this event.

Posted on my myspace profile today:

Each of us have talents. Talents are natural abilities that not all of us have. Some are talented musicians, actors, Doctors, teachers. You are born with certain qualities or abilities that others either do not have or they have to work hard to obtain those talents.Some use their talents well, others misuse their talents, and there are those that hide their talents and never use them.So what is my talent? Have I used it well, missused it, or have I hidden my talent away. We all been blessed by a specific talents by God. For so many years I thought my talent was singing. I love to sing. I even joined the choir and took singing classes at school. I consider this to be my talent. Have I used it well? No. I think sometimes I used my talent to get attention from people. What? Yes, I did. I wanted people to see how well I sang. I wanted people to notice me. Did it work? No. I was not using well my talent. God gave me an opportunity to use my talent in a good way and I think I failed. I was to use my talent of singing, to speak to others of God's amazing love. Yes, I could have used that opportunity to speak up, to share with others how many amazing things he had done in my life and how they too could experience the Love of God by drawing closer to him. My pride kept me from doing a good work. I could not speak up directly to people in my own words but I could have used the words in the song to speak to them. But I was thinking of myself. What will I get if I do this? People will see me, hear me sing and say, " Wow, how beautiful she sings." Instead of listening to the words of the song and saying there is thruth in what she is singing.

In 1991, I had such an opportunity to use my talent to speak to so many people at the Fifteen years Birthday Celebration of my sister Erica. We were all at church and during the service, I sang a song in front of many people. People that had never before heard me singing. The song I chosed was "Suplica" , you can hear a version of the song on my profile. The song is in spanish, but I will give you a brief translation of some of the lyrics. " I come to request from you my Lord, to let me rest on your loving arms. Like the Apostle John. You have given me so many things, my precious Jesus, that I will be ungrateful, if I will reject your love. You have given me peace, faith and love. You have given me joy, eternally plentiful." Those are just a few of the lyrics in the song. Beautiful indeed. Those words did touched many that day. I saw some people with tears in their eyes. And that should had been the purpose of my song, to have the listener reflect on the words and see inwardly how he or she needed God. That was my opportunity to reach out to so many lost souls and let them know there is hope, by drawing closer to God. But the song was over. And never again did I try to do more than that. Yes that was my talent, and I did not used it well. Over the years, I only sing during family gatherings and just for fun. I have not been in a choir for almost twelve years. I sing at church along with the congregation, I sing at home, in my car but that is all. Is God calling me to use singing as a means to reach out to others? Perhaps, if it is his will, he will also provide the means for me to fullfill his will. But now I have discovered another talent. Writing blogs. Now I can express myself in words through writing. I can tell you of God's amazing love. I can also gather a group of women and meet in my house and read our bible. I have discovered, I have other talents that God has given me, and I want to use them for the honor and glory of His name, Jesus. So if you are reading this, please know that God Loves you. He cares so much for you, that he has given you so much. And even though at times we have been ungrateful to him our God is merciful and slow to anger. Our God forgives us and takes us in his arms and holds us tight. He has never left us, when you thought he had abandon you is when he was carring you in his arms. Be blessed today.

the cake

I did it! I baked the cake, smoothed on the frosting and placed the m&ms on top to form a colorful rosary. I could not find my rectangular cake pan, so I had to use a round one. The kids can wait to eat now. But I was waiting for the camera, and good thing I have a camera on my phone, the picture came out nice. The kids will be coloring pictures of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary from Waltzing Matilda. And we will be saying the rosary together. Have a nice day everyone.

Can you join us in Prayer

Please add Mary Anaya to your prayer list.

You can read more about her and their ministry at Getting Down with Jesus.

A very Special Day

Today as I write this post that I will share at Ann's blog Holy Experience for Walk with Him Wednesday, I feel happy, thankful.

In the Catholic Faith today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the most Holy rosary. Another icon of Mary, that reminds us to pray our rosary. So, what is a rosary? What is it used for? The rosary is a string with beads forming a necklace and at one end there are five more beads and a cross. Catholics use the rosary to recite prayers, prayers taken from the bible. Words that are actually found in the bible are what we recite while saying the rosary. The Our Father. The very words that Jesus thought us to pray. The Hail Mary. "Hail Mary, the Lord is with thee, Blessed are though amongs women and blessed is the fruit of thine womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

The rosary is divided in decades in between each decade we meditate in a mystery or scripture from the bible that reminds us of the life of our Lord Jesus. We start with the Our Father, then we repeat the Hail Mary ten times. While we say the prayers we meditate on the mystery or scripture. I sometimes say a prayer of my own, in intercession for someone in my prayer list.

Today's feast is more special to me because my name is Rosario. I have written a post about my name here. Rosary in Latin means garland of roses. You can read more about the rosary at this site.

This week, I have been praying the rosary every day. At our parish we have a new tradition, to take the icon of our Lady of Guadalupe home for a week and pray the rosary for an increase in vocations. My daughter wanted to bring the icon home this week, so we did. Along with the icon we brought a vase with fresh roses. It reminded me of the prayer to St. Therese.

"St.Therese, Little flower, pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of Love."

Once again, God is reminding me of his Love. He reminds me through his Mother Mary to pray, to spend quiet time with Him reading the scriptures, meditating in the scriptures. Praying the rosary. Interceding for others in need. Replacing my worries and fears, with his love. Replacing my moments of anger with Love.

As I read his word today he reminded me of how gracious and merciful he is. Slow to anger, rich in clemency. (Jonah 4:1-11) And he asked, " Have you reason to be angry." No Lord, I have no reason to be angry. I am happy, thankful, of the things you provide for me each day. Thankful for my children, my husband, yes and even the house chores. Because I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.

Now go visit Holy Experience to read others experiences in prayer during Walk with Him Wednesday.

God was calling me

For the last few weeks, I have been saying that I will spend more time in quiet time with God and reading my bible. I have not done this at a regular time every day. Some days I do no even spend that precious time with him. And today, my children left to school, and I came straight to the computer to read recent post from those blogs I follow. I was trying to post a comment and I was not able to submitted because my connection was ended. This has happened twice this week. I wonder why? Then I noticed the time, 9:18 AM. I had already missed the beginning part of the daily Mass broadcasted on EWTN. Okay, so I will spend some time reading the scriptures. Yesterday I wrote down the daily readings for each day, so that I can read them during my quiet time. I set my timer for one hour. First I started with with a worship song in Spanish, "I lift up my hands", then a worship song to the holy spirit to help me. I was trying to follow Linda Schuberts method of praying in one hour. She spends 5 minutes in each area. She wrote a small booklet on how to spend one hour with God. She gives you examples of prayers or worship songs to help you. I did not follow the book exactly, I listen to a few worship songs, say a few prayers from the book, then another worship song, and I try to listen closely to the words of the song. I end my hour with scripture reading and intercession.

During the scripture reading, I read the reading slowly twice and pick something in the readings the speaks to me and I write in my journal. Todays reading were: from the book of Jonah 3:1-10, How God forgave the people of Nineveh when they turned away from their evil ways. And the Gospel of Luke 10:38-42, the story of Mary and Martha. This is where God spoke to me: " Rosario, Rosario, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

Yes, I worry of so many things, the house chores, the bills, my children, my parents, my sibblings, but when do I pay close attention to God. I should spend time with him, if not first thing in the morning, then as soon as the kids leave to school. Before the house chores, before the emails, the blogs, and the bills. All that can be done later. He has given us enough time for everything why can I give Him some of that time.

St. Faustina

Today we remember St. Faustina. She died today in 1938. In February of 1931, she began to have mystic visions of our Lord Jesus. He asked her to have a picture of him made exactly as he appeared to her. She had a hard time trying to fullfill the Lord's request. At first her superiors will not believe her. Finally she was allowed to give her description to a painter. This is how the image of the Lord's Divine Mercy came to be. You can read a brief biography on EWTN. Sister Faustina also wrote a Diary which is now published in many languages. My mother has read the entire book. I saw a movie about St. Faustina a few years ago. The image of our Lord's Divine Mercy is one of my favorite images. The first time I saw this image at a Catholic church, I fell in love with it. There is also a documentary that was showned on EWTN showing the resemblance of this image with the shroud of of our Lord. Amazing have you seen it.

MyHotComments

Are you there Lord?

I am here Lord, in front of this image. People say you are truly here and I try my best to believe, but deep inside of me there are questions, fears. Am I doing the right thing? Will you be mad at me if I kneel infront of this image. Lord, please forgive me, if in any way, I am offending you. The bible says not to have idols or images. Why am I here? You have called me here, you have brought me back to this Faith that I tried to ignored, that I try to get away from. Why am I here?

This is my conversation with God. Every time I come to visit the blessed sacrament, I debate with Him. Having a Christian background, has made it hard for me to understand and believe my Lord is there. He has always been everywhere, in my home, in my car, close to me when I needed him. Is He also there? My devoted Catholic sister says He is. She believes with all her heart. And many other people who spend time in front of the blessed sacrament speak so fondly of Him. Of our Lord. And once again I tell Him. I am sorry Lord for doubting. Let me know your will, let me know what you desire from me. I want to do your will and not mine. I want to serve you. Then there is a peace, he begins to make me feel loved, cared for. All my worries, doubts and fears go away. Are you here Lord? Yes, my child, I am here.

Today, I spent more than an hour with Him in the presence of the blessed sacrament. I felt my Lord was there, in that tiny chapel next to the altar. And before I left, I closed my eyes and I saw the image of a rose. A confirmation of his Love. Awesome. Thank you Lord. Yesterday I prayed a prayer to St. Therese. To pick for me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of Love. God granted me, this prayer. I heard many stories of people getting a rose in many ways after praying the novena. Well, I did not pray the entire novena yet and the Lord has answered my prayer. Thank you God. I am not special, in any way. We are special to Him and we all receive his blessings in unique ways. We just have to ask Him.

For St. Therese feast yesterday, I wanted to make it special and unique. I did not feel like turning on the oven, so I cheated a little. I bought muffins at the bakery, and had the kids put on the frosting. I had made white roses of melting candy previously before they came home, and they added them to the muffins. I will upload picture later. We all colored a picture of St. Therese, one where she is holding the crucifix and the roses are falling from her hands. Today is the feast of our Guardian Angels we will say a prayer to our Guardian angels later tonight. Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. God bless you.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Today is St. Therese of the Child Jesus memorial day. We have become very fond of St. Therese ever since my sister became a leader for a girls group called the Little Flowers Girls Club. The patron saint for the club is St. Therese. After visiting my sister a few times during her monthly meeting with the Little Flowers, my daughter wanted to start a group of her own here in our city. During the summer we gather her other cousins and a few friends and started the club. My son wanted to join too, so intead of a girls club we had a kids club. Girls learn about Girl saints and boys learn about Boy saints. Thanks to Jessica and her blog Shower of Roses, I was able to make this group a great success. Jessica has great ideas for the Little Flowers Girls club. We still have three more lessons to finish for the first Year. I think I will schedule a meeting for this month. And celebrate St. Therese day with a special cake and invite some of the girls to come later this evening. You can find out more about the Little Flowers Girls Club here.