A question for you ladies

What are the things that you do in your home to keep Christ the center of this Holyday Season? For those of you that are not married or have not children yet, I will also like to hear things you would like to implement in your home once those children come.
Would really appreciate your comments. Thanks

Lesson 6: Living with hands of surrender

¨Life with hands of surrender¨ happens when we let go our hands from people and things saying ¨God, everything belongs to you. Give me whatever you want and take whatever you want¨.
When God asks us to give us something we are not willing to give Him, the position of our hands are close and towards ourselves
Surrendering happens when we are willing to give God whatever He wants from us accept Him what that decision may bring us. Of course, it is something hard to do because we don´t know what it is coming. One more time we need to trust in God´s love for us.

Joh 12:24-26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

When it talks about dying of ourselves, we are talking about putting aside our desires, our goals. The God can fully use us.

Joh 15:4.5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We need to follow God´s will in our lives.

Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me

God wants us to give ourselves to Him.
To be saved doesn’t cost us anything. It is a free gift. But there is a price involved to become His disciple. It is too easy for a Christian to center their eyes in their own dreams, their own goals, and lose track of God’s plans for us. Live a life with hands of surrender means to give up everything and trust completely in God. Are we going to do it willingly or is God going to have to open them for us?.
Betty Stam´s prayer was ¨Lord, I give you all my plans and purposes, all my desires and hopes, and I accept your will for my life. I give you my life, my all, to be yours forever. Fill me and seal me with your Holy Spirit. Use me however you want, send me wherever you want, be thou will in my life, whatever it takes, now and forever.¨

Psa 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

How was your thanksgiving?
Ours was really good. It was going to be my first time cooking turkey since we have always been at someone’s else home for thanksgiving dinner. But thanks to my friend’s Deanna recipe for “Best ever turkey” and the help of my great mom in law, the dinner was great. If you want to try her recipe next year, look under “my blogging friends”’s section and go to “Deanna A”.
Turkeys are always a tricky thing. Often they are dry and hard to eat so you fill up on all the extras, but this year wasn’t the case. Great juicy turkey, great tasting gravy (also Deanna’s recipe), mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, corn…. I think that was it. We had peach cobbler for dessert with vanilla ice cream….. soooo good.
Also the company was a blessing. We have spent 2 thanksgiving here in Spain, but we haven’t felt alone, God is so good to bless us. Last year we spent it with the Andrews, the Contreras, and with Miguel and Kristi. This year we had my in-laws and Olga, a lady that comes to our church.
After dinner we had a small devotional about thanksgiving, not only when things come our way, but also thanksgiving in times of difficulty. We are to be thankful to God for every season in life. We looked at the testimony of Paul, Job and Joseph. We sang and prayed, and share some of the things we are thankful to God for.
Later, we played games (Yathzee, Pit, Uno…) and had so much fun.
Today CHRISTmas starts officially at the Stark’s household (that will be us), so we are putting up our tree and decorating it. Slowly but surely, we will start seeing presents under the tree, always careful to remember that the birth of our Lord, and Savior, is the real reason for this celebration.
I pray you had a great Thanksgiving Day, remembering God’s wonderful blessings; and that now that CHRISTmas is around the corner, you would set aside time to remember Christ’t birth.
So, would you mind sharing how you spent Thanksgiving and maybe something you are Thankful for? Come on, I am sure everyone can at least share one thing…. Can’t you?

Deenie and I with Mr. Big Bird
Yummo!!!

Our Thanksgiving Table

Gary, Matthew and Deenie
Nicole and Olga (the other two little girls were playing under the table ;))

Happy Thanksgiving

* I am thankful for a wonderful husband that has given me another wonderful year. Each year keeps getting better and better. This year has been hard but our love has won over all trials.
* I am thankful for answer prayers. He gave the girls a great school in Gijon with great friends and now in Granada He is doing it all over again. They have learned the Spanish just as if it was their first language. They have adjusted to Spain so well.
* I am thankful for Nicole getting saved and the privilege to be the one to lead her to Him.
* I am thankful for the time God gave us in Gijon and the people we got to meet there. Many of them have become more than just friends, but family.
* I am thankful because I can see God molding me every day. He is patient with me and merciful. He is turning me into a different person, one that with His help, seeks to follow Him closer and closer.
* I am thankful for great friends that understand me and love me anyway.
* I am thankful for the new ministry God has given us here in Granada, and praying that His name would be honor through it.
* I am thankful for this blog and the people I have “met” because of it. I didn’t know it was going to be such a blessing to me, but now there is no way I can do without. Thanks ladies!!

For all those things and so many more (but I have to go before my turkey gets burned :-)) I thank and praise God for this year.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Lesson 5: Giving thanks to God for our trials

Hey there. I just finish the book, "Trials, don't resent them as intruders" by Juanita Purcell. It was a great 12 lesson devotional book, and in the last weeks I have been sharing with you my notes from those devotionals. I will be posting the rest of the lessons, since I started it.

Now, I am starting, a different devotional book by Juanita Purcell also tithle "How to deal with those difficult ones". Will let you know how it goes. :) Now I will share lesson 5 from "Trials..."

Lesson 5: Giving thanks to God for our trials

1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Auch!! Now that is a hard one. So, not only we have to be learning from our trials knowing that God knows best for us, and be joyful through them, but we also have to thank God for those trials..

It is difficult, but God not only says that we need to do it, but that it is His will. Is God asking us for something that is impossible? God can and will give us the grace we need to do what He is asking us to do.
In 1 Th 5:18 and Eph 5:20 God tells us why to be thankful (it is His will) and how to do it (in the name of Jesus).
How can we be strong enough to do so? Phil 4:13 -I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Usually it is easier for us to be thankful once the trials have passed. But it is not so easy when we are in the middle of them. Our feelings of pain, suffering, hurt, get in the way. Sometimes we may not feel thankful but we still have to do it. Just like when we are having problems with someone or you are even angry with someone, we have to pray for them, because it helps us to heal our hearts. If when we are suffering we praise God, God can use that to heal us, and slowly it will help us to go through that trial with a different attitude.

Psa 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing

It is an act of faith to thank God for those trials. We praise Him for what we know of Him (that He loves us) instead of what we can see (the trial).
God loves us and He tells us in His Word that He has taken the task of taking care of us completely. Is 43:2, Mt 10:29-31, Job 23:14, Rom.8:31,37-39. Everything that touches my life is planned or permitted by God.
“For the children of God, everything comes directly from the hand of the Father… It could be that the difficulty we are going through is the reaping of a sin; for that matter, this situation in itself cannot be call the will of God; but when it reaches us it turns into the will of God and has to be received and if it came from Him…. If God is with us, it doesn’t matter who is against us: nothing can hurt us unless He allows it because it would be the best for us”—(Translated from the book)
When we are going through a trial, we must pray that the will of God may be done in our lives.

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is it so hard for us to see trials as blessings?

Isa 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

When we are going through life, whatever it is bringing us at that time, we need to remember that we are not object without value for God. We are very especial to Him. When we are going through it, we need to remember that He is still with us, working on us, making us pure as gold.

One fine dog

In many different cities in Spain you can find this mimes trying to get some money. Some are good, some are bad, some get your attention in a way that makes you want to give them some money for the "entertainment"; and others you wonder what are they supposed to be and why are they doing it. But this one tops them all (all of the good ones that make you want to give them money). It wasn’t the girl but the dog. He was completely froze, just like good mimes are supposed to.
So everyone was around them to see if the dog would move, but he wouldn’t until you put some money in their little basket and then, he would let you pet him. It was amazing, I have never seen so many people giving money so fast to a mime….
She better baby this dog, or her show will be over. :)

Update from the doctor

Just wanted to put everyone up to date about my doctor visit today. Thanks to those that have been praying for it. It was completely different from the last one and the doctor lady was super nice.

I am having an ultrasound the 5th of December in my breast and area around it. She found another lump other than the one that I have found, but she told me she thought it was a liquid lump, still wanted to check it to make sure. The one I have found before she thought was too far from the breast to be dangerous, but still wanted to have it checked . So, so far the reports seem to be pretty good.

I have to come back to the doctor the 15th of december with all of the test results. Will let you know then.

Thanks so much for your prayers.