Monday, November 30, 2009

Feeling Like Dorothy

Today was my first day out of the house since last Wednesday; this cold has been tougher on me than I initially thought it'd be. I'm thankful that I managed to stay at work all day even though my throat hurt pretty badly; all sickness and bleagh-feelings aside, I was glad to be back at work and draw wall sections :) Did I mention that I majored in Architecture? Aaaand that I go nuts for wall sections? Yeah, that'll have to be a whole other blog posting ;)

Anyway! By the time 5:30pm hit I was completely worn out and kind of in a bad mood. Coming home, seeing Sam's smiling face and spending time with him.. yeah, that's the very BEST medicine I can get :) There's no place like home!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

We've spent an amazing Thanksgiving this year. My parents came over to our new home, so Sam and I got to host the nice dinner without turkey worries! Haha, my mom's great: she got to cook the turkey and brought a pumpkin pie, while we took care of the mashed potatoes, green beans and the apple pie :)

I'm sick with a nasty cold, but I don't care. We had a beautiful day and fun times with family. God bless everyone, today and always!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A U.S. Citizen... A Short One


I just realized that the title for this posting has an unintended (and funny) double meaning: this will indeed be a "short" posting, but I am also a brand-new "short" U.S. citizen :D

Yes! I have finally become a citizen of this beautiful country. I'm quite happy to have taken this step! I wasn't always thrilled about this, though: for a year or two, I struggled with the fear that by becoming a U.S. citizen, I would lose a little more of my Venezuelan self. My native country is beautiful, passionate, full of life and energy, wild, dangerous at times... I miss it sometimes; I crave it. After giving it much thought, I've come to understand that Venezuela is and will forever be in my blood: that kind of passion doesn't die. And while it is quite sad to know that politics and greedy men have made my home country what it is today, I will never stop being proud of who I am and where I came from.

Maybe I am a bit nostalgic tonight.


Sunday, November 8, 2009

Giving

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how I'm always thanking God for all the blessings He has given us, and how the Bible tells us that the more we are blessed with, the more we should give. And several noble examples of generosity come to mind: My grandmother, Mimi, used to take me along to a retirement home when I was little, so we could help the staff care for the patients and bring goodies for everybody. Sam's sister, Amanda, has done amazing volunteer work with her church to help others: mission trips, rebuilding efforts... It's quite inspiring to "see" people wanting to help others.

As Thanksgiving gets closer, I'm feeling so giddy to be able to help with the food drives taking place around town. Last year Sam and I donated food and volunteered to deliver food baskets to families in need, and the experience was touching and sad at the same time. We got to see a side of this town that not too many people get to see: broken down houses with no front doors, kids with big smiles on their faces, thrilled to see food... it brought tears to my eyes. All it took was little over one hour of our time to help bring a few smiles to people's faces. Sometimes I feel like that's not enough though. It took such little effort to do that! Today's Bible reading (Mark 12:41-44) tells us how Jesus explained to his disciples that the widow who contributed only a few coins to the treasury "has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

I pray that Jesus fills my heart with a desire to serve others, to not let me forget that it's not only about thanking Him for his infinite generosity, but to mirror myself in Him and give myself to help.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Be Careful What You Wish For

In my attempt to follow closely in Jesus' footsteps, I often find myself praying for God to help me be better at exercising a virtue I may not excel at; some of these hard-for-me virtues are patience, leaving everything in God's hands, serenity... you name it! The first two are particularly hard for me; at times I can be quite impulsive both in actions and in words, and many times when I find myself in difficult situations I tend to want to control as much as I can out of such situation; in other words, I forget that God is in control, not me.

So last week a "difficult situation" tornado of sorts passed through our household: Sam became sick with the flu, things at work became hectic, and a past employer asked me to do some work for her on the side. I had to work last weekend, which resulted in the house becoming a mess from not being cleaned and me not having enough time to do laundry or cook. Most importantly, I felt guilty for not being home to take care of my husband, as I should. I was frustrated! I told my friend earlier today that, "when you become part of a team and fifty-percent of your team is down, it's not easy to handle it all".

I forgot to pray for patience. I failed to see that God was giving me a golden opportunity to exercise my patience, and to leave everything in His hands. I was becoming irritated with everything that was going on, and in the midst of it all I didn't pause to keep silent for a bit, and sense God's presence in our lives.

Things like this make me fall in love with God even more. "Ask and you shall receive". Wow! It's such a beautiful thing, this amazing love that He has for us. He above all is the Supreme Teacher. He is our loving Father. And He wants us to succeed in this life, He wants us to follow Him. What more could I possibly want but God?