“I didn’t ask for success, I asked for wonder!”

This quote makes my heart stop a beat. Sometimes in life we can get so busy trying to make it, we forget to live out the moments that are right in front of us. I don’t want to look back 5, 10 or even 20 years from now and not have moments that I can remember WOWED me.

In this next season of my life….I am not seeking success but rather I am asking God, “will you show me wonder in all that I dream, do and encounter?!!!”

A life filled with wonder will go so much further than a life with mere success. Don’t get stuck in success…go for the WONDER!

“…for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again!” Proverbs 24:16

I love this verse because it shows us the humanity of who we really are. Nobody is perfect. Nobody is going to stand on their two feet their entire life and not make one mistake. God says it clearly in this verse, ‘a righteous man FALLS.’ Not maybe will fall or if he didn’t read his bible will fall. No he falls. But God doesn’t end it there that’s what really makes this verse. The righteous man RISES AGAIN (he gets back up). He doesn’t stay down worrying why and what if. No! He gets back up because he knows that God will be there to get him through the next season. God doesn’t remember the last time you sinned or messed up. He remembers the time you got back up and said, ‘I put my trust in you…Help?’:)

Is there something in your life that has caused you to fall? What’s keeping you down? RISE UP (get back up)!

I was watching a movie the other day and one character challenged another character by asking: In this journey that we call life, are you merely existing or are you living? That really hit me. I went to my room after that movie and I was still thinking about that question. I started to analyze my life and really put that question into perceptive. Do I wake up each day ready to LIVE the life that God has for me or do I just EXISIT? Do I take on the challenges that arise with faith and whole hearted trust in God or do I just coward down and think, ‘maybe tomorrow will be a better day?’ Do I make each minute count or have I wasted my days just trying to survive?

I honestly think that I have been just existing and I don’t want to be like that anymore. I want each sunrise to count. I want each day to be an adventure that I will remember forever. It’s not the number of days we live that count but  what we did with the days that we lived that makes all the difference in the world!

So here is to LIVING and not merely EXISTING! It’s a new day…I will make it count:)

                      What about you? Are you EXISTING or LIVING?

Below is the Cast List for the 2010 April production, Now Boarding. Thank you to all who tried out. It was a wonderful turnout. Congratulations to each and every one of you that made the cast. We look forward to the journey ahead. If for any reason you cannot be apart of this production, call me at (210)523-1505 ext 264 as soon as possible.

Please remember that our first rehearsal is this Sunday, Feb. 14th at 11:30am in Annex 1.

Dani…………………………………Ashley Chagoya

 Jonny………………………………Victor Ramirez

 Samaris…………………………Emilee Herrick

 Danny C…………………………Joseph Avila

 Naomi………………………………Brianna Garcia

 Rachel……………………………Andrea Rennie

 Heavenkey……………………Ricky Yates

 Amanda……………………………Emily Jenkins

 Jose…………………………………Joel Nevarez

 Syntia……………………………Sarah Rios

***If you accept the part that you have been given please leave a comment and say, ‘yes!’

In Proverbs 9, we meet two different ladies. One is Wisdom and the other is Folly. Now I want you to look at what they say to us:

Lady Wisdom: “Let all who are simple come in here!’ She says to those who lack judgement.

Madame Folly: “Let all who are simple come in here!’ She says to those who lack judgement.

They both say the same thing. I think Jesus is teaching us a really important lesson here in this chapter. It is not what people say that defines their motives or influence in our lives, but rather it is how they live out their actions that should tell us who they really are and the impact they should have on our lives.

Are there people in your life that say one thing but do the complete opposite? If so, be careful to follow them because they might lead you down a path you never intended to go down!

There is something that happens every time one of those people walk out with a golden ticket…I start to cry. Even if I tell myself, ‘don’t you dare shed a tear’, it’s like my soul expresses JOY (through crying…yes I know). When I see the sheer happiness on their face knowing that their dream is one step closer from becoming reality, I can’t help but smile:) Maybe it’s because I am just a dreamer by nature or I am a softy. Either way, I love watching this show. It’s a show that lets all dreamers know, that no matter who you are or where you come from, your dream is possible!

So in short….don’t ever give up on your dreams. No matter how old or young you are. Nobody can dictate who you will become, only God can. If He has given you the dream, than He will see it come to pass. 

Allow yourself to DREAM the impossible and see what happens!

Psalm 25:6-7

⁶ Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
       for they are from of old.

 ⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth
       and my rebellious ways;
       according to your love remember me,
       for you are good, O LORD.

In this Psalm I really hear David saying don’t look at what I have done wrong in my life but with your mercy remember the person that you created me to be. Before my mother even knew I existed. When it was you and I in the dark room while you formed my unformed body. All the things that you intended me to be or accomplish, remember that. It was David’s plea to God to not be remembered for his past but rather for the future that God had ordained for him.

Through the mercy of God many of our sins or past mistakes can be washed away. In that mercy may God remember us and who He designed us to be from the beginning, no matter how far off we are from that track.

Lord, Remember Me!

Psalm 18:30; 32-36

 ³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect;
       the word of the LORD is flawless.
       He is a shield
       for all who take refuge in him.

 ³² It is God who arms me with strength
       and makes my way perfect. 

³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
       he enables me to stand on the heights. 

³⁴ He trains my hands for battle;
       my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 

³⁵ You give me your shield of victory,
       and your right hand sustains me;
       you stoop down to make me great. 

³⁶ You broaden the path beneath me,
       so that my ankles do not turn. 

When is the last time we stopped to think of the God that we serve. He is on our side. No matter what the day/week/month/year may bring God is cheering us on. He created the Universe in 6 days. He took dust from the earth and formed man by breathing His breath of life into him. What makes us think that He cannot care for us? He is the keeper and protector of our soul!

Psalm 13:1-6

¹ How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
       How long will you hide your face from me?

 ² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
       and every day have sorrow in my heart?
       How long will my enemy triumph over me?

 ³ Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
       Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

 ⁴ my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
       and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

 ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
       my heart rejoices in your salvation.

 ⁶ I will sing to the LORD,
       for he has been good to me.

I love the fact that David flat out asked God, “where are you and when are you coming to my rescue?” We serve a God that is not afraid for us to be real with him. As a matter of fact, I think that is what he prefers.

The most important part of this Psalm is not that David asked, “why?” It is the fact that after he pours out his heart, David acknowledges that no matter what he is facing right now…God has been good to him and will come through in the end!

Are you giving more energy to the “why?’ or to the knowledge that God is faithful?

There is something to be said about new beginnings.

I love the start of a new year because there is so much to be excited for. You have empty pages to fill in your journal. You have a blank calendar to fill with important lunch dates and amazing vacations (or in my case a wedding date!!!). You have a scale to conqueror and a swim suit to be excited about  buying. You have so much promise to look forward to. There is nothing holding you back because it’s a brand new year!

So my challenge to you is simple…may this new year bring you many wonderful new beginnings. Let 2010 be all that you would have ever hoped or dreamed it would be.

Here’s to New Beginnings!