just got this picture

(my cousins liz and heather… the best part… they don’t speak spanish either)

Liz emailed it to me.  Yeah, ok.. I know I posted some info a few days ago, but this is the only picture I have of the both of my cousins…. I couldn’t pass it up!  Hey, it’s my xanga ain’t it?! 

random

( I thought you’d might enjoy this… I saw this parked at a califonia college graduation party. )

reunited with my childhood best friend…

Hands down, I don’t think anything could top this beautiful visit with Liz, my cousin and childhood best friend.  Honestly, life is wonderful now that both Liz and Heather are a part of my life again.  It’s like the 13 years that we were apart, picked up right where we left off. 

The purpose of the trip was to attend Heather’s college graduation.  The graduation was great, but the best part was just relaxing with the family and most importantly… not being in charge of anything.  Despite the lack of sleep, my entire schedule and weekend was planned for me!  Where command was needed, guess who came in to direct traffic and motivate the crowd… Liz.  Seriously, after spending the weekend with Liz, I discovered that she’s practically the female version of me (she even looks like me, re-look the picture) and her sister, Heather, reminds me a lot of Idania (my sister)!  I’d freak you out if I were to go into details about why I see this, but it’s true… it’s amazing how we’re so alike despite the 13 year absence of communication and visiting!  It must be the blood or maybe just our great mothers who pushed us.. perhaps both.

Liz is now going after her PHD, has traveled the world (and continues to do so), and is going to a prestigious college in Toronto.  In reflection, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to reunite this year with both Heather and now Elizabeth.  I’m really glad both visitations happened on two different visits.  More pictures coming soon!

i want this..

There’s one thing that really throws me back when I meet or get to know some people.  I mean, it’s something that really inspires me because I know that I lack a lot of it myself.  It’s what sets the winners from the status quo in those who love the Lord.    No, its not essential for salvation nor does it really matter to most people… but it just inspires me.  What is it, you ask?  What is this “special quality” that boggles my mind?  Are you ready for this (most miss it)… it’s to seek the Lord above what most would call “adequate.”  I’m talking about taking the long way home just to sneak a little extra time in the secret place of the Lord… just because you can.  I’m talking about being so full, that you take another bite… even though it may be too much.  I don’t think you’re hearing me… I’m talking about going off course and reading a non-required book about His presence… simply because “you feel like it.”  It’s not religion folks, it’s a hopeless romantic relationship with the Most High… maybe it’s because I’m latin, maybe I’m just a freak, what does it matter… it just says something about someone’s heart when I find someone in a worship session when its not mandatory, or spending time in the prayer closet when no one else is looking… it pushes God’s buttons and the best part is… it’s a surface condition… the real condition goes much deeper… it goes down to the bone of a believer… down to the heart.  It’s an abundance, its an overflow that only comes when the true joy of knowing Him takes place.  I lead core past Wednesday to a group of men and told them this is a very attractive quality to look for in a lady, but rare to find…  Challenging them myself, I told them most men alike haven’t found that place yet and the real way to get there, is to not even seek it at all.  It’s like hopping into dad’s lap and just loving, throwing all the cares aside and forgetting how you got into His lap…  I love it, I want it more of it, Father, help me to surround myself with those who equally share that passion. Help me also to continue to inspire and challenge those in my sphere of influence to do the same.  I pray you light the fire with those who have watered their altar… light them up, Father, light me up as well.

err… an embarrasing day at ron’s

That’s right, the other day I was doing some yard work at the beautiful home of Ron Luce (you may know him) and was asked to do the simple task of weed eating the back yard (that means trimming all the weeds with a motorized engine built for the job). 

To give you a picture here, it’s a very lovely back yard with pool, lake, and playground… nothing fancy, just a normal house, but with a beautiful back yard.  Now, mind you: I didn’t earn a bachelors in weed eating, but I did know enough to get the job done.  As I was helping with mowing the front yard, I was asked to help relieve a friend of mine on weed eating.  A little nervous about handling a weed eater, I was eager for the task and was shown the few plants and flowers to watch out for… well, except for one.  

So, here I am weed eating everything in creation in this back yard.  Ok, so it wasn’t perfect, but I could handle it well enough for it to look very sharp.  As I was going around the pool deck, I noticed some weeds around the shower pole that needed trimming as well.  No problem, those weeds had it coming, they were going to die… except, i was going to clip something that would eventually be a tragic mistake.

Well, as I started to weed the shower pole, I noticed i clipped a non-weed item.  Oddly, among the weeds, I clipped a single root.  I then looked up and noticed what I clipped.  My heart sank.  On this shower pole, there was a beautiful natural fern or lovely green plant the wrapped itself up this shower pole 11 feet.  I never had seen a plant so bright green, it was lovely!  Yep, this plant alone made the back yard look sharp and I clipped… get this… the only root giving it life.  

My heart wasn’t the only one that sank… when the guy that asked me to help found out, his heart obviously also sank.  In fact, it was quite obvious that I made a tragic mistake.  My employer told the first guy that was weed eating about this fern, but didn’t tell me.  He told me not to worry about it and that he wouldn’t even state my name when he told Ron, but that only embarassed me more.  Sheesh.  I finished my job around the yard and went home plum exhausted, but felt as if I killed the family pet or something.  I know it’s just a plant, but it was such a beautiful plant… and worst of all… it wasn’t planted… it was a natural fern that grew naturally from the ground!  I killed the Lord’s plant!    I dont think I can ever go to his house again without thinking of that fern!

thank you…

Thank you to everyone for their prayers from my previous post and stopping by my desk asking how I was doing.  Tuesday was a very difficult day, but after finding out from family, my father no longer has days to live, but the doctors have moved it up to months and the term “years” have even been floating around.  Thank you again for your prayers, to the brave few who gave them.  My days have been going a load better.

do one thing every day that scares you
(don’t be afraid to let your creativity soar)

a healthy reminder… 

“Jesus did not come into the world to start Christianity,
but to bring people to the Father”

– pastor Jack Hayford

it’s a great reminder for all of us, that no matter the religion, despite any theoligical error you may think exists in them, the main point is simply drawing to the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.

the “GIT-R-DONE” policy (english: “get it done”)

One of the things I oversee at Teen Mania is oversee the Campus Visit Weekend events here on campus.  This past event was not only the biggest in history, but also the best event in history (hands down), despite the lowest number of staff we had for the event due to spreading the rest of the staff to be small group advisors to our guests.

A contributing factor that led to the success of this weekend was a policy that I instituted known as the the “git-r-done” policy.  If you can embrace this policy, you will be promoted quickly in any job you work in.  Here’s how it works:

On our March Campus Visit Event, at 8:00pm Saturday evening, I called for Shelley (my incredible assistant) and asked her to get a large red Honor Academy T-shirt from merchandise.  Mind you, it’s hard enough just for an ordinary student to get one of those, not to mention merchandise being closed and locked on Saturdays, the workers probably out miles away, and no idea of what to do to try and get one… so you can imagine what Shelley was probably thinking when I asked her.  Without begging or telling her how important it was, I told her that I needed it in 20 minutes and without question, she walked away.  Fifteen minutes later, she return with a smile and handed me the shirt. 

You have just witnessed the “git-r-done” policy.  Basically, it’s hearing a request, understanding the vision without much direction, and doing everything possible to fulfill it without asking the person who gave the question for any further input.  No matter what road blocks, obstacles, etc… that come along the way, answers are discovered on your own and all the “red tape” is cut through to find a way to get to the answer.  Even if there is a dead end, you are doing everything possible to find another way to get to that end-goal.  So, if I were to ask you to get the moon from the sky in the back of a pickup truck, you should walk away and find a way to do it before stating that it is impossible.  After I explained this policy during our morning operations meeting, I’ve never seen any group receive it so well.  Dozens of volunteers, when I asked to do something, never asked me a single question, and in 10-12 minutes, the request was completed (and I had some pretty tall orders).  I wanted to give everyone who took ownership of my requests, a $100 gift certificate (if i had the budget to do so), but I know the Lord is going to richly bless them in the future as a result.