God always provides

I love paying bills. It always reminds me how God provides for us each and every month. We have never gone without anything. More than that, he blesses us more than we could ever imagine. We don't deserve to have everything that we do it and it all because of Him. Every time I look at my bank account I am humbled knowing that God will provide for me. I am so thankful that He has provided me with a job. I wake up every morning asking grateful for the opportunity to work. Not only did God give me a job, but a job next door to my house at a brand new school doing exactly what I always dreamed of doing. Although it isn't easy, God gives me the grace to get through each week one day at a time. He challenges me, and makes me depend on Him because on my own, I can not be successful. God is so good. Life is wonderful living for Him, depending on Him for everything and knowing that He will provide a way and it will all be for His glory. It's a life worth giving up because in that, we truly live. Thank you Lord for choosing me to be part of your great plan. Thank you for loving me, believing in me and carrying me through each day. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

It has been way too long...

We have not written in our blog is way too long. It is something we will have to get back into. Zach and I have been able to travel a lot this summer. We spent a wonderful time in the West with my in-laws, Zach's mom and dad, his sister Chloe and her husband Bobby. It was refreshing. We also got to spend time with my Aunt and Uncle, and my cousin Sabrina. I love spending time with family. It means so much to me. When I think about Zach and my future I wonder where God is going to lead us to. I struggle with the fact that He may call us to do work far away from my family, from my home. I know I have to let go and let Him lead but sometimes I don't understand how I could be away from them and be happy. If only I could see God's entire plan for my life...I know he has it worked out in such a way that I would not even be able to imagine. I read Jeremiah 29:11 where it says "For I know the Plans that I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future". I believe the words in the Bible. They hold so much truth. I believe that God knows what He is doing. He is much wiser than me, He can see the whole picture, when all I can see is where I am at, and where I have been, and where I hope to be. And most of that is messed up with emotions. I sometimes wonder if I put my trust and my comfort in the wrong places. I should place it in God, and not in people. As much as I love my family, I know I have to allow God to show me what His plan is, and He promises His plan is to give me hope. He wants us to prosper through Him. I don't want to hold back. I just have to constantly refocus, and remember it isn't about me...I chose to live my life sacrificially. Now I am managing my choice each and every moment. And it's the best choice that I have ever made.

Marriage

Amanda is laying here beside me on the couch, and I am thinking about how in love with her I am. I tell her all the time that I am the luckiest person in the world to be married her, and I mean it with all of my heart. Right now, with her, it seems like there could never be a worry in the world.

The fact of the matter, however, is that there could very easily be immense pain and suffering at the drop of a hat if we are not careful. The Enemy is looking for every foothold, and every chance he can get to destroy our marriage. It is easy to see that this is Satin’s plan for every marriage, and he is doing a great job succeeding in the world around us. Because of this, I am so glad that Celebration Church is doing the series “With This Ring.” I hope and pray that God will use this series to save marriages and future marriages. They can be so wonderful, or torn apart and terrible, but God’s plan is for the former.

Church Job?

We had submitted our resumes on the ARC website, and we were all hoping to catch the eye of a pastor who needed a position filled. While all of us interns were at the ARC conference, a few of the interns were brought in for interviews by pastors of different churches.

A few days into the ARC conference, Brandon and Josh had interviews, but by that time I figured God just didn’t want me to get an interview. And I was right, I never did get an interview; but during the last day of the conference, a man who I had never met before came up to me while Pr. Ed Young was preaching, gave me his card, and told me to call him later. Odd. He walked off, and then reappeared a couple hours later and very briefly introduced himself and asked me to email him because the Holy Spirit put it on his heart to talk to me. He then ran off to catch a flight.

No interview, but…
After contacting him, and researching the information on the card, I found out that the man who gave me the card was Pr. Wayne Hanson, lead pastor of Summit Church in Colorado. He is interested in having me come to the church and help grow their youth ministry, and maximize on any other talents that they see in me. Amanda and I are praying about it, and are excited about possibly pursuing this offer.

Finish the Condo

For the past week, I have been trying my hardest to finish remodeling our condo. This process has been going on for the past five months, but we are now getting very close to the finish. The funny thing is, that the closer we get to the end of this large project, the more stressful and tedious it gets. I think that it is this way with everything that we do right. After all, the Bible says that we WILL have trials, and it seems that when things are getting their hardest, the best is about to come. Well I guess that our condo is about to be its best!

Dad's Update

I want to give everyone an update on my dad, Enrique (some call him Richard). I have not said too much about him in a long time. As you may know, my dad was diagnosed with melanoma caner about a year ago. It was hard for me for about a month after I found out, but after the rest of his results came up clean, I put the cancer in the back of my mind.

Just recently, the melanoma has reappeared in 6 tumors in my dad’s torso. Needless to say, what was in the back of my mind is now once again regularly in my prayers and thoughts. I am praying for his healing and recovery. (When you read this, please send up a prayer for him too.)

The good news, however is that he looks and feels great. He is still taking great care of his body, working out almost every day, and eating like a champ. Also, he has just started a promising treatment in Tampa.

Please pray for him and my family, they mean the world to me.

Work

This week I have been trying to figure out what I should do about a job for after the internship. I feel like the Lord has told me to study foreign language, but I can study anywhere I am. I think it would be a good idea to submit my resume at the ARC conference this year, so today that is going to get done; but I am also considering doing either tile work or carpentry. It seems a little ironic that I would go through 2 years or Christian College and internship and then do manual labor, but doing things with my hands is very enjoyable for me. Well whatever I end up doing, I know that God will work it all out.