Budget Tips

A few months ago I read the book First Steps To Wealth  by best selling author Dani Johnson. Love every single chapter. My favorite chapters are 8 & 9.  In this Chapters Dani Johnson talks about money. How are you spending your money? Where is it going? 

On Chapter 9 she keeps the focus on DEBT.  She gives you 7 steps on how to eliminate your debt.

1. LIST YOUR INCOME

2. FIND OUT HOW MUCH YOU KEPT

3. FIND OUT WHERE IT WENT

4. CUT THE FAT- the excessive money you spend on foolish things

In step 4, Dani Johnson recommends the use of highlighters.  Take your bank statement and highlight your expenses.

Yellow-Food

Pink- debt payments

Purple- Necessities- rent, utilities, water

Orange- Everything else is your fat (things that are not a necessity)

STEP 5- PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARDS, CAR LOANS, AND MORTGAGE

STEP 6- CREATE A FUN BUDGET, SAVE FOR FUN ACTIVITIES

STEP 7- GIVE, DONATE TO CHARITIES

I went through each step from 1 to 5. I realized that I was spending under 3k in bills and credit card payments. However, I was not saving much. Where was the rest of the money? Probably spent in cash purchases. I set a budget with the current expenses.  Allotted only 3k to pay  bills and credit payments due monthly. The rest would be saved and used to pay other needs.  Recommended to pay Groceries and Car Expenses with Cash.

I keep all my Finacial Information in this Red binder. With a section for Information on articles that Dave Ramsey has written to help me review often.

A section for Tracking monthly expenses. Budget 

A section for Bank statements

A section to keep track of Debts

And last a section for website information to each payee, user names and passwords.

I also included a pencil zipper pouch for holding pens, stamps and mini calculator.

BUDGET BINDER

BUDGET AND CURRENT MONTH'S EXPENSES

I have an Excel worksheet saved in my computer with the monthly bills, Automatic payments, and credit card balances and payments.  Each month I input the information for those variable amounts on certain bills. The water bill gets paid every four months and the waste management gets paid every three months. That's the money that I use to pay off credit cards or transfer into savings.

I learned from Dave Ramsey that you should pay off your smaller debts first and continue to pay the minimum on the higher balances.  So far I have paid off 3 credit cards. I have one left under $500. That one would be paid off soon.  Thanks to this new way of keeping track of my expenses and being disciplined to not use the money for other expenses.

I strongly recommend you to read Dave Ramsey's book TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER.  This two books have helped me two understand, how to take control of money instead of letting money control me.

Do you have a budget binder? Or how do you keep on track with your budget and bill payments? Please share any of your ideas in the comments section.

 I'm sharing this post at:

Unglued Mama

This past week, I came to post on (in)Courage about Unglued Mama Mornings

I read the post and was very interested in 5 Day Challenge that Lysa TerKeurst talked about the end of her post that I linked over to her blog, Lysa TerKeurst to find more about it.

I sign up to get daily emails and began spending time each morning on the devotional.  On Thursday there was a webcast about the book.  I did not see it live, but today I got to see the replay.

I invite you to link over to Lysa's blog and find out more about her book Unglued.  She is an amazing writer.

Today is my 4th day on the Unglued Mama Challenge, and its so amazing how much this has helped me to focus on God first instead of my unexpected problems of the day.

Get Dressed, Day 2

Good Morning readers and friends.  Today is day 2 of the Get Dressed Challenge.  Come over to Like a Warm Cup of Cofee to get motivated and start your day in the word. 

Today I was up by 6:15 AM.  I went about my day as usual, turn on coffee machine, prepared lunch for husband.  Then I went to my room, made my bed, and got my clothes that I had already picked the day before.  I decided to change the top only.  Headed over to the bathroom and took a shower.  I was ready by 7:30 this morning, compared to yesterday.

So I started quiet time in the Word at 8 AM and then came to Sarah Mae's blog for more inspiration for today.

From my morning readings.

2 Timothy 4:10- 17,  Psalm 145, and Luke 10:1-9

This stood out to me:

"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone desserted me.....But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strenght, so that through me the message will be truely proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it."  2 Timothy 4:16,17

"When you enter a house, first say, ' Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not it will return to you." Luke 10:5

This two statements were meaningful to me.  As I have been reading the book What Women Fear, and now doing this challenge with Sarah Mae, it has made me think of God's presence in my life.

Yesterday, while reading chapter four in the book, What Women Fear.  Angie reminds us to spend time daily in the Word.  God's Word will prepare us and will help us know when things are God's plans for us, and when something is not align with the Word of God.

We need to be disciplined in spending time in the Word.  This is like putting on the armor of God. So you see, how this ties in with us getting dressed every morning.  We are not just putting on clothes to be presentable to the others, but we are also being cloathed in the righteousness of God.

Our hearts and homes should be peaceful in order to receive the peace of God.

I invite you to come over to Sarah Mae's blog Like a Warm Cup of Coffee and join us.

May the Peace of God be with you.

A new Challenge

I'm not sure if I had talked about this before, but I have been working out for about three months now.  I'm working out at home with the Insanity dvd set. 

In all I have lost 5 pounds.  I went down a size in my clothes.  I see a big difference.  Most of my clothes fits me looser.  I bought jeans size 8, and they fitted tight, but now they are starting to fit just right.

I confess I have not done the complete workout like I should.  I skipped a few days here and there.  But overall, I feel it has been a good experience for me.  I feel more energized in the morning than before I started exercising.

Here are some pictures of me before.

This is a picture of last year in December 2010.  My daughter's winter dance at school.  Notice her face. The person was taking a long time to take picture. 

Do you see me, yes that's how I looked before I started the exercises.  I think I started in March of this year but only did one month, then I gained back a few pounds.

So at the end of July, I thought I should do the exercises again but finish the two months.

So here is me now.

Recently I came across a blog.  Sarah Mae at Like a Warm cup of Coffee
Sarah Mae is doing a challenge I thought was interesting.  So I decided to join her and other blogers.
want to know more about this challenge visit her page.

So you will be hearing more about this challenge and also about the book I'm reading  What Women Fear.  You can link to that book's discussion on the side bar.

This book is awesome.  Have a great day.  I'm off to prayer group.

Book Study Day 1

So I began reading this new book What Women Fear. 

I have read thru the first two chapters including the Introduction. 

I have a journal for writing my notes from the book.  I do not like to write all over books because in case I let someone borrow it, or later decide to donate it.  So I got a binder put some notebook paper in it and in the front cover, I placed a nice picture of my parents with their granchildren. As the background for the picture I used a page of Angels on the right side border.  They seem to be looking down at the picture.

One of my fears is being separated for my kids when on fieldtrips or when they visit my parents.  I fear that something might happen to them if I am not with them. 

I also placed dividers to have a section for scripture to read everytime I feel anxiety or on those days I can't sleep.

I got this idea from another reader participating in the book study.

Today we began the book study at Bloom (in) Courage

The ladies discussed the Introduction to the book.  It's awesome to join this book club, because I'm reading the same book with other women, and learning what they have learned from the particular chapter.  Learning what their experiences with fear have been, and how they have conquered their fears or how they deal with their fears.  How their faith in God has helped them in their struggle with their own fears.

So join us at Bloom (in) Courage to encourage one another.

You can link to the website by clicking on the book on the left sidebar of my blog.

October is Here!

September has left us and a new month has begun.  My sister said that September was not a good month for her.  Well, as for me there were many blessings to my life in September.  The kids started their music lessons.  Julian will be taking drum lessons and he will be part of the school's band.

Marah will be taking violin lessons.  Her choice. I did not had anything to do with it.  Its amazing how she picked the same instrument I did when I was in Elementary.  So in just a day she knows the first notes of twinkle star.  Learned it from me, because her teacher has only taught them two notes A & D.

The family miracle you already know about, my brother's car accident.  I keep thanking God for protecting him, and sending  angels to help him get out of the car.  Actually it  was a two door pickup, that is no longer useful.  Another thing I am thankful for is that no one else was hurt.  My brother is still sore from his hand.  He is not sure if it was the impact on the air bag. His legs are sore too.   I pray to God that he will listen and go get a general check up.  Some guys are just stubborn about going to see doctors.  I do not blame him.  My brother has been hospitalized many times since he was a child.

Another long story that you can read about here

Now that a new month has begun, what a great way to begin this new month.  On the feast day of St. Therese of Liseux. by attending a retreat at a Jesuit school of Theology. 

I first took my daughter to her school.  She went to a fieldtrip to the beach with her classmates and Science teachers.  Then I drove to church to meet with  other CCD teachers, that would attend the retreat.  Since I have a Ford Expedition, some people drove with me in my car.  I followed another lady that would lead us to the school.

Guess what she did?  She got on the highway!  So I had no other option but to follow her.  Was I scared?  Yes, but I asked the others with me to help me, while merging to the other lane.  It is a busy highway, and one were those big truck get on.  The ones I'm scared of.  Well one did not let me merge to the other lane, the more I try to get ahead of it the more faster it went.

Finally, I was able to pass it and switch lanes before my exit came up.  We got to the school, and we all gathered in the chapel for morning prayer and reflections.  Then we went to another lounge area for introductions, and sharing time.  We had a two sessions where we got to be alone in silence with God.  Then we gathered in groups for sharing our experiences.  We had lunch, then one of the teachers gave us a brief story about St. Therese of Liseux. 

I had to leave early to be able to pick up daughter at her school at around 3PM.  This time I was alone and instead of heading towards the highway entrance, I took the longer route through the busy streets.  I began to panic, because I noticed my gas signaled almost empty. What?  I knew I had more than a quarter left.  I remember that everytime I leave the car facing down on a hill, it does that.  So I tried not to worry.  As soon as  I see a gas station I will put more gas.  The meter said, I only had 11 miles to empty.  After about a few miles it began to go up.  Eventually it went up to 69 miles to empty.

October 12, is the one year anniversary of my daughter's spine surgery.  A year already!  Time sure flies! You can read about her surgery here, post before surgery day  and post after the surgery

I love blogger because I am able to go the archives and read my posts and reflect on what I have shared with you.

Well, I think this post has become long.  And I do not want to bore you.  I wish you a great month and keep up with my upcoming post on the book study on What Women Fear

Spring Cleaning Challenge

Recently I was again visiting some of  my favorite home organizing sites.  Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie has a 52 week challenge, bloggers link to her website to share their cleaning and organizing projects.  I was going through each link when I noticed a picture that was interesting to me, I linked there and it took me to Tiffany's blog The Nest Effect.  Tiffany shared a post on how to re-organize your incoming mail station.

She made a reference to another blog, A bowl full of Lemons.  I linked to that blog and found that Toni is also having a Spring Cleaning Challenge.  I like Toni's blog so much that I added to my list of blogs I follow.

So I will be joining Toni and her readers with the Spring Cleaning Challenge.


This week we will be working on cleaning our home's windows.  I had thought of doing this soon. The great thing about my windows is, that I can flip them towards me and clean the outside from the inside of my home.

window in home office, not cleaned yet.

window opened towards the inside.

window cleaned and accessorized

My home was remodeled in 2006, so we were able to get these windows.  The bad part is that you can only do this with the lower part of the window.  It will be a little more of a challenge to do the top part, but with a squeegee and a ladder, I will be able to handle most of the windows from the inside.  Take into consideration that I live in the top unit of a duplex.

window that is not within my reach back entrance to the house.

second window, not within my reach.

There a two huge windows that are not within my reach and I'm going to leave those  for husband to do. I have a total of 19 windows in my home.  I have already done two, the kitchen window and the office window.

I just wanted to add that I just purchased three new books at Borders.  Our local Borders is closing and they have everything on sale.  I got my books with a 30% discount.

The books are:  Clutter Rehab by Laura Wittmann, Simply Organized by Lyna Bort Caruso and Jenny Schroedel, these are home organization books.

The third book is one that I had on my wish list, One Thousand gifts by my favorite Homeschool Mom, Ann Voskamp.

I already started reading Ann's book.  Had to put it aside for a while to write this post, but I will get back to it ASAP.

Please join me this week visiting the blogs and websites that I have linked to on this post, I am sure you will like each one as much as I do.

Frida Kahlo

I have always been intrigued by the life of Frida Kahlo and her art.  I will say that since my high school years.  I felt very much that I looked like Frida.  The uni-brow look.  I had a book long ago of her life, with colorful pictures.  I'm not sure what happened to the book.  Probably lost in one of the drawers or boxes in my mother's house or garage.

I did keep one clipping from the book,  a portrait of Frida from 1938/1939 taken by the photographer Nickolas Muray.

I love this portrait.  Her hairstyle, and red rebozo make her look elegant.   I always kept this picture in a frame in my home.  And for the traditional "Dia de Muertos", I will add it to the altar de muertos.  I felt she was part of my heritage. 

When I read her biography, I was very moved by her story and the suffering she underwent do to her illness and accidents. 

Recently while shopping at a bookstore, and browsing through different sections of the bookstore for a particular book.  I found this book about Frida and her cooking recipes.

It is quite expensive, beyond what I will normally pay for a book.  But I thought it was worth the investment.  I did get a 20 percent discount with my membership. 

The book was written by the daughter of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo's husband.  Her name is Guadalupe Rivera and co-author's name is Marie-Pierre Colle.

Guadalupe retells how she met Frida, and she talks about her fiestas and her cooking.  The recipes are divided by months.  She gives a little reference to particular feasts of that month and the pictures in the book are taken at Frida Kahlo's house in Mexico.

I am not a cook,  but it will be great if I try some of these recipes at least once or twice a month.  Then I can let you know how they came out.  Any of my followers that love cooking can also try them and we can share comments about them.

This book is going on display in my kitchen.   My sister loves Diego Rivera's art.  She has some in her office and in her kitchen as well.  She has a curtain made of bamboo with a picture of Frida on it.  Now she does not cook at all.  But her kitchen remind me of Mexico style kitchen's.   With old morcajetes, and cookware that belonged to our grandmother.  Her restaurant style art on the walls.  Not that I want to copy her style, but one day I will have my kitchen decorated in a similar way.

Women's Group

I know is been a while.  I am becoming more distant from my blog.  But I still keep up with some of my favorite blogs.  I just do not have time to sit an write something.  I have so much to share and at time I just do not have time. 

Have kept my house under control after the holidays.  Returned most of the holiday decor back into the attic.  And I did manage to bring some order to the attic too.  The only room now that need attention is the kids rooms.

My husband left to Mexico three weeks ago.  And the kids decided to sleep in my room.  So their beds are now the ideal place to drop off all the clutter from the living room.  But I let them know that we have two days to get the room clean. 

My husband returns on Saturday evening, so the kids have to go back into their own beds.
There has been some accomplishments that happen all on their own.  One is my son finally co-operating to spend at least an hour on his homework every day.  This week he finished all his homework on Wednesday  and its not due until tomorrow, Friday.

I have been busy also searching for a middle school for daughter.  Attended an open house for a charter school that is one of the best in the area.  I have two other school in mind, but I am hoping she gets admitted to the one that is best for her academically.

Another great accomplishment this past month, has been the women's group.  There is only three ladies in the group at the moment.  But I praying an hoping many more will come.  I enjoy my time with the other two ladies.  We are taking turn in sharing something with the others.  Then we read the Psalm for the day together.  And we finish with a mistery of the rosary.  Then we take some time for fellowship.

I am reading a new book.  Its a project book for married women.  I will tell you more about it after I finished with the book.  I will just let you know the author's name.  Kathi Lipp.  I also bought books for my daughter and son.  We are going to be spending at least 30 minutes per day reading our books.  It is a requirement for my son's homework.  And daughter loves to read, so she did not mind at all.

Prayer List

Hi Everyone,

I had a nice morning at choir practice.  Even though its only practice, I sing to God with all my heart.  Because I know he loves to hear us give him worship and adoration.

Last night, I was playing worship songs on youtube, and while I was singing, I heard a loud noise like something fell.  My daughter was also stardled with the sound.  We looked around, and she found the object that fell.  It was a wall picture frame, in it was the poem "A child's Angel", and a picture of me pregnant with my daughter.

I once heard or read a saying that said," a leaf  falls, only if God wants it to fall."  This thought came to my mind, and I thought, perhaps God is trying to give me a message.  I read the poem and it reminded me that I am my daughter's angel on earth.  My job is to take care of her, teach her good things and teach her to love God.

I finished the book, Healed by Prayer.   The testimonies, were so inspiring that I thought I should start a prayer group.  There is one at church that meets every Friday evening.  Perhaps I should join them. 

This morning our parish's pastor, also commented that he wanted to have a holy hour with the blessed sacrament.  He was asking me for any ideas.  I told him we should start once a month.  He suggested, on Fridays.  He will be talking with other parish members to get it started. 

I pray everyday, during my quiet time.  I have a list of people that I pray for, right inside my book of the Liturgy of the hours.  Once I get to the section where you ask for personal intentions, I mention each name and the person's needs.

I thought I should share it with my readers.  I have added a new page to the blog, titlled Prayer List.  Here you will see the list of people that I pray for daily.   If you want me,  to pray for you, please leave me a comment with you first name and special intention. 

I have now started reading another book, The Courage to Give, by Jackie Waldman with Janis Leibs Dworkis.  It is a book with 31 stories of people who have undergone trials of their own, but in the midst of their struggles they chose to help others and found healing to their own wounds. Inspirational and uplifting stories, that have given  me hope. 

I will start a  prayer shawl, and  baby blanket ministry.  Gather ladies with the talent of crocheting and knitting to join me in making prayer shawls for patients who are ill with terminal and incurable illnesses.  Also baby blankets in prayer for all those unborn children who are threaten by abortion or incurable illness.

I have sign up for Cathechetical training classes this coming year.  I have been assigned the group of children who already made their first communion but want to continue with faith formation classes at my parish. 

I also plan to gather Moms to pray for the schools in our neighborhood.  I'm not sure how all this will work out but I am confident that God will help me organize all of this ideas and help me in making them fruitful.

blessings to all of you,
Rosario

Strenghten in Prayer

I am sure you are waiting to read,  all about our appointment yesterday.

Daily in the mornings, I start with Liturgy of the Hours, then I read the scriptures for the day.  I write in my journal what I sense God speaking to my heart.

I read in Psalm 145, " The Lord is  trust worthy in every word, and faithful in every work. You, Lord are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you in truth."

Yesterday, I kept repeating to myself that I will be getting a good report.   Sunday Morning, at Mass the priest shared a song with the congregation.  The song is in Spanish, the first verse says, " I believe in the promises of God."

I felt confident that God will suddenly make a move and my daughter will be healed. 

We left to Hospital a little after 8:30 AM.  I first dropped off son at sister-in-law's house.  While driving to hospital, on the radio there was a song that said, "if I ever needed you, Lord is now, Lord is now."  I prayed to God to help me this day.  We got to hospital  and parked about two blocks away from the Main building.  While walking toward the Main building, I saw my aunt Mary walking on the opposite sidewalk.

I call this a God-coincidence.  She also had an appointment for a test.  We talked for a while than she left to her car and my daughter and I walked to the x-ray department.   It was good seeing my aunt Mary.  It gave me more confidence and I felt like God was giving me a sign of HOPE. 

I had called pastor from church in the morning to pray for Marah, but he said he was heading to a funeral, but will be keeping Marah in prayer.

While in the x-ray department or waiting time was very short.  Since they had to make about six images of her chest and back they gave us a priority.  Her appointment was scheduled for 11:00 AM.  They began taking the first images at 9:55 AM.  All this time I was near by reading from Stormie Omartian's book, The Power of the Praying Parent.

Before I forget,  Marah  was also  praying all morning too.  She asked me where she could find the scripture where Mary responds to the Angel,when he announced her she was going to be the mother of the Savior.

We call this prayer the Magnificat.

After the images where done.  We went back to car to add money to the meter.  While walking to the car, we saw aunt Mary again and told her we will be back.  We returned to the Spine surgery department just in time for her appointment.  Aunt Mary was with us this time.  Her appointment was until 12 noon in a different department.  We got to talk a little more before she left to her appointment.

Aunt Mary is a prayer warrior.  She is always praying for all the family.  She reminds me so much of my grandmother.  Aunt Mary told me all about her day at the hospital.  Then she left to her appointment at 11:30 AM.  That's when a MA announced that Doctor was 45 minutes delayed in appointments and for us to wait patiently.  I know this is the usual, so I did not mind. 

Finally got to see doctor at 11:49 AM.  He said he had already viewed the images of the x-rays, and then checked  Marah's back.  He went over all the surgery procedures, before, during, and after surgery.  Gave me some information in writing to reviewed and sign on the day of surgery.  Then we saw another person who also reviewed the information with us and gave us the school forms. 

We then went to the lab for some blood test.  The best thing out of all our day at the hospital was that doctor gave Marah the ok to not wear the brace.  She gets to have a break from it from now until surgery date.  She was thrilled.  Yet she confessed that she felt weird without it.  She had gotten  so used to it.  

We are getting a hot-wave weather in our local area, so this is a relief for her.  She slept without her brace for the first time in almost five years.

Just before I end, I want to share that I went to the library and found three good books to read this next three weeks.  Healed by Prayer by James Pruitt,  The Courage to Give by Jackie Waldman, and Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy.

Being a woman that believes in the power of prayer, I find it difficult at times to accept that in a few weeks my daughter will be having a surgery.  I asked God today to give me strength and to help me be at peace with His will.  But there are times when doubt and fear overcome me.  This is why, I need so much your prayers.  I understand that sometimes God works through the hands of physicians. 

Your prayers will help in the outcome of the surgery and in the recovery time.  You will be reading post written by Marah.  I am not sure if she will share her condition with you.  I find it hard to suggest this topic to her.  But I am sure that when she feels comfortable to do so, she will.


Rosario

Books 4 Kids

Today's Guest Writer: My daughter Marah. 

I told her that she could write a post per week, more if she felt like.  I'm not sure what her topic is but will be reading before we post it.  Please welcome my daughter Marah.

Hello today my topic is books. Many people wonder what books their children should be reading. Well I've read quite a few books in my short lifetime.  So I know what books they should or shouldn't be reading.

One book people think is not a good idea is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.Even though I have not read the book (my mom wouldn't let me) I know it is not appropriate for young children. How do I know this? Well quite a few of my family members have read it and told me. However, I have read plenty of  reviews on twilight.  Which say it is not an appropriate book and neither are the other books in the series.  (New Moon, Eclipse, & Eclipse).

Another book series is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.I actually have read this whole series and enjoyed it, but is really more for young adults than for little kids.

If you are looking for books young children will enjoy try the Ramona series. You could even try the Baby Sitters Little Sister series. There are plenty of good books out there all you gotta do is find them.

For more books you shouldn't"t let your kids read click here.

 BY 4 NOW,

                      Marah

More of You Lord

Another restless night, tossing and turning. Thinking of the things I need to do and how will I get it all done. Thinking of my loved ones. Where are they? Are they safe and protected.



Worry and anxiety creep into my sleep daily. Have I forgotten there is a God that is there taking care of it all? Will my worry add another day to my life? No. In the contrary. Sleepless nights can bring about many problems in my health. I wake up tired and moody. I feel like a zombie at times. I can go on like this anymore, I must do something.



I searched my collection of books and found two to read. One is Stormie Omartian, The power of a praying woman. The other book is from Karon Phillips Goodman, Another Fine Mess, Lord!


Yes, I feel like I have done a mess. Trying to do to much and yet it seems like I have done nothing. The rooms look crowded and filled with so much clutter. And how did it get this way?



Procrastination is the word. Failing to do things as they should be done. Letting clutter accumulate to be conquered at later time. Not following my routine schedule, skiping important things that must be done on a daily basis.



Getting distracted by things such as the computer. Searching, reading blogs. Even though I mostly read blogs that are informative and help me in many areas of my life, I need to prioritize my time. If I do my house work first, I will not have to be rushing later, trying to get dinner done on time, rushing to go to the store or to pick up the kids. Leaving school homework for last minute, a day before it is due.



And most importantly giving God his time. It is very important to seek God first. His guidance. Get empowered by his word and meditate on it. Spend quality time in prayer. This is what I have been reading in Goodman's book, Another Fine Mess, Lord!



Walking daily with God and allowing Him to guide me in my everyday chores. Asking Him to remove from my life those things that should not be there, like worry and anxiety.



And only He can help us. No matter how much self help books we read, how many people we ask for opinions or guidance, God should be our number one priority. He has given us 24 hours a day. Can we not give him an hour at least. I know I can give him more time if I follow my daily routine. If I choose to not procrastinate my other daily chores. I will not feel overwhelmed by how much has accumulated. The laundry, the dishes, the piles of papers. And we should not wait till or home is completely organized. We should start now, today. Amidst the piles of papers and the mess in our life. God is waiting for us.



I felt so much better today, after spending my time with God in his word. My house is still a mess, but I have hope that a little at a time and with the help of God, I will reach my goal.


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

Finding Peace in the Storms

I have been reading a book from author Alice Gray. The name of the book is "Treasure for Women Who Hope". I bought the book two months ago, but had only read the prologue. The book was forgotten on the book shelf and it will probably had stayed there a few years until I finally found the time to read it. But somehow I was reminded of the book. I saw the word Hope everywhere. In blogs, in emails, in scriptures.

On the cover of the book you see a flower the colors are light purple and pink. I thought this was interesting. The word Hope is in purple too. Perhaps this could be a good book to read for the advent season. So I picked it up and took it with me to my doctor's appointment. While waiting in the waiting area of the clinic, I began reading the book. Every word I read spoke to me. The words reassured me that God was with me in my current storm. God was speaking to me through the author of this book. It is amazing the way God speaks to us.

I am about to start the third chapter in the book. But wanted to share with you what God spoke to me in chapter two. The title of the chapter is "Picture of Peace". There is a quatation on that chapter's title page: "Jesus Christ is not a security from storms. He is perfect security in storms" Kathy Troccoli.

Indeed, God does not promise us we will not encounter storms, but he does promise us that he will be there always with us. The author relates a serious of stories some are her own and some are from other Christian authors, in all of them you can see what she is trying to get across to you. In spite of our storms we are able to find peace in them if we get closer to God.

At the end of the Chapter she gives you a verse to reflect on and some questions for discussion or journaling. I liked the verse she chose for this chapter.

"He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection."

Psalm 91:4 NLT

We are protected under his wings. He promises to be our protection. He might not take our troubles away but he will help us find peace within our troubles. I know is hard to understand but somehow when you know this and believe that He indeed will be with you and not forsake you, we see things in a different way. There is a reassurance that everything will be allright. There is a rainbow waiting for us at the end of the storm. That rainbow is our HOPE.

HOPE has become my word for this season of advent. I have HOPE, that my Lord has great things for me in the future. I might be grieving this season but I am also rejoicing that my Lord is with me, comforting me and caring me in his loving arms.

I found a small pillow with a string on it to hang on a door. The word on the pillow is HOPE. I placed this small pillow on the wall facing the entrance of my home. I placed a purple ribbon bow on the string to also remind me that I am preparing for the coming of my Lord and Savior.

I want to thank God for helping me find peace in the midst of my storms. I pray that in this cold weather, the homeless people that live in my neighborhood, will be able to find shelter and warm place to sleep at night. Thank you Jesus, that I have a home and a way of keeping warm in the cold weather. Have mercy of those that are less fortunate and help them find a place to sleep tonight protected from the cold. In Jesus name I pray, 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.

It start with me and my relationship with Him.

I have been reading a book in Spanish titled "Married and Happy", the authors are a married couple who work as marriage counselors. The book tells the story of their own life and how they worked out their difference to live happy and help others. I got the book at a Catholic conference two years ago. I read a few chapters then, but somehow the book was abandoned on a shelf. Over the years I kept reminding myself that I must read that book. Perhaps there is something there that will help me. This week, I took the book once again and did not start at the beginning. I had read the few chapters twice and had not gone past that point. So I looked at the table of contents and chose to start at chapter 5, titled The house of "Self". Yes, I need to work on that. There are seven rooms in the house of "self" that need to be taken care of, in a balanced way. The rooms are family, work, soul, friendships, continual formation(education), and community. The authors go thru each area in the house of "self" and ask you questions. In what things I want to improve in each area? Why I want to improve in this? How will I accomplish this? When will I accomplish this?

Suddenly the book became more interesting to me. There are some areas I need to work in my own house of self. In order to do this I must first establish a general vision for my life. "Life does not consist in performing certain task, but in managing your time concerning your values.", states the author. Second step, is to establish a weekly schedule for time spent in each area of my house of self. And the third step is to enjoy your life today. Not worring about the past or the future.
The next chapter talk about your mental health. How to replace negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Another area that I must work on. The author give you different situations of negative thoughts and how to replace them with positive thoughts or actions. This chapter has helped me in how I see my husband. Looking at his positive side and not the negative.

Chapter 7 deals with how to reduce stress in your life. And now, I am reading chapter 8. In this chapter the authors talk about the Soul of autonomy. I was not familiar with the term. But I figured it had to do with self. So I looked up the definition and indeed it means, "self-goverment". According to the authors, "The soul of autonomy, is your spiritual center, the presence of Jesus in you. " " yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me;" Galatians 2:20. " How can the presence of Jesus increase in you, in order to be more like Him? Jesus defined himself like the way, the truth and the life. You can have Him as a role model.", stated the author.

Being more like Jesus is important. Jesus is love we should be love . What matters to God is how much we have loved. That is why he gaves us a commandment. "Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself." Mathew 22:37, and also, "Love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12
We need to live the will of God today in the present time. And we need to do everything with Love. As we spend time with Jesus in his word, listening and living what he teaches. Our life will be transformed in a positive way and will reflect to others. I am not finished with the chapter yet but I am now more interested in continuing reading it. I am slowly beginning to apply wath I am learning into my life. Starting with my spiruatual life. My relationship with Christ is very important for the success of all my other relationships.
Note: The title of the book in English is "Thriving Marriages", the authors are John Yzaguirre and Claire Frazier. You can link to their webpage for more information on their books.

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

Need Advice!

A few months ago my sister who is 28 years old, started talking about the twilight series and how she was hooked on reading the books. I have not read the books. But have heard comments from other readers. Today I was shocked to see my daughter who is 10 years old with the book in her hand. She got it from the school's library. What?! I thought this was a book for older teenagers. So I got online and looked for reviews. Indeed, this is a book geared for older teenagers, perhaps college girls. But as a Catholic mom who wants to raise her kids with good moral values, I think I should do something about it.

I spoke with my sister, who said definately not to allow my daughter to read it. Yes, I have already taken the book away. The problem is that since she is a quick reader. By the time I searched for reviews, she had already read four chapters.

Now what should I do concerning the school. Should I let the principal know my concerns. Or shoul I only talk with the librarian. This book should not be at an elemantary. If they have permited this book, who knows what other books they have that are not age appropiate.

I welcome your comments regarding this post.