Saturday, August 16, 2008

Dying to be fully alive

So it's been a while since I don't write a blog -or something like it- I'm not even sure the specifics on this one but I know it's always been good to be able to get my thoughts out into words when something's on my mind.

Yesterday I saw this movie called The Ultimate Gift. The movie is good and we watched it at the church's youth groups last night. I think I really like the fact that the movie even though it wasn't a movie produced by Christians for Christian -I know, I should have said a Christian movie but such term is not correct for me- it really spoke to me about the way God is working in my life.

Ok, so I guess you can never trust or believe in someone unless you are truly and open and honest with others... so being said that: I think my walk in life (walk in the Lord for those spiritual readers) truly took a dramatic turn when I was doing an internship in Tennessee with a youth ministry and I came across this book called Wild at Heart. This book talks about the way God created a man (at his image) and what those characteristics of God himself (as a man) we -men- posses and the process God takes males to bring them from boys, to men. So I do believe God's been transforming me into the man he created me to be. Or you can see it as finding my true self, place in this world, destiny, vision, etc. Part of the process of becoming a true man -not a chump or a sissy for sure! - is facing difficult situations, how else could we grow? And oh man, you ask me if I haven’t faced difficult trials the last two years and a half of my life. Definitely the biggest one was coming back from the US and leave behind, let’s just say a lot of my dreams and coming to a place where I have been struggling to keep them alive. So I guess I finally reached my point: keeping my dreams alive.

You know, I think I’ve really put off many of my dreams or maybe I should call them desires and I’ve learned or decided to just go with the flow and with what I have at my reach. If it was up to me I’d probably be in Australia studying at Hillsong College, huh, pretty interesting no? But let’s say that’s would mostly be a dream with not much vision actually.

Haven’t you noticed dreams sometimes come in weird or unexpected ways? Well, I really can’t say my dreams are dead, let’s just say they have become a hybrid version, more like androids I’d say, they have evolved –if you like the term. I’ve become a High School teacher, not that it has been my dream but it’s certainly something that really goes along the path I know have to follow and which involves one of the three things I feel called to in life: Teaching, Music and Ministry (TMM, yea, not TMNT sorry)

I’m getting musical preparation and this pretty much amazing music academy and finally I feel I’m moving forward again in developing my musical gift. I’m also serving in this amazing church ministry, the teenager’s class on Sundays. So it all sounds pretty good huh? Yea, it is, it’s just the way away everything fits together what makes it… crazy sometimes and still missing some of the things I left behind when I came back from the US. So yea, my dreams aren’t dead but I don’t think they are fully alive yet and that’s a tough place to be.

So by this end of this week and I was just… ready to give dreams for dead –don’t make me explain that- but I found their still alive in that weird state I mentioned, not what I would expect them to be or how I’d expect them to be but this movie reminded me that God’s working in my life in ways I don’t completely understand but HE’s at work and HE’s up to something good for sure. I know his ultimate gift is a glorious one.

Here some quotations that have really spoken to me, I hope their self explanatory and shoot me a comment!

You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

Matthew 5 (The Message)

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Writing Homework

This is a research homework. It will be worth 15pts. You have to research the following topics and provide 3 examples for every topic except with the paragraphs -1 for each type. Copy-paste papers will automatically receive a zero (0) grade


CAPITALIZATION

PUNCTUATION
• The Comma
• The Period
• The Semicolon
• The Colon
• Quotation Mark

PREPOSITIONS

• The use of prepositions

CLAUSES
• What is a clause?
• Types of clauses

PHRASES
• What is a phrase?
• Types of phrases

SENTENCE
• What is a sentence?
• Types of sentences

PARAGRAPHS
• What is a paragraph?
• Types of paragraphs


Due Date:

Section A: July 9th
Section B: July 9th
Section C: July 7th

A one week extension might be granted for the students that bring more than 75% of the paper done on the due date. Please inform students in other sections about this website.

Got any question? First look on the dictionary. Leave your comment here and come back to check for replies.

Don’t cry babies! Enjoy your vacations!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Legacy

I think legacy is a great word but it is also a word that is not commonly used anymore. In the past this word meant more than what it means now, it was similar to destiny and purpose. Legacy is still important in some cultures but in the past, in biblical times for example, a son was supposed to follow his father's business -if he was not chosen by a Rabi to follow him- that's why Jesus was a carpenter, because his father himself was one. Legacy meant everything to a whole tribe in the Israelite people, the Levites. The Levites where the only people in the whole earth who could minister to God. Different people in the Bible received promises for their legacy. David for example; he was promised that he would always have a descendant as a king and that the Messiah was going to be born of his linage.
I think all this made life a little simpler, you didn't really have to be guessing much "What am I going to do when I grow up?" And maybe not many people went through that middle life crisis either. Nowadays what we might hear is the expression "family business".
It is certain that we carry in our genes the mark of our ancestors, so most likely if your grandfather or father were good in sports, you might as well be good in them, or maybe they had that tact for doing business for which your family is known, or to care for others, to lead or to plan, to be patient and also those things we're not really too proud that they have been passed to us as well. It is also true that one person can change his legacy too, like we have seen in movies maybe, A Knight's Tale for example, where a plebeian boy becomes a noble knight. But my focus this time is on those things that define our calling for our life. What's your legacy? What has your family been known for? Good cooks, musicians, entrepreneurs, good speakers...? What is your legacy? I think it would be good to check that out.
Lately I've been thinking a lot about this, especially decisions I want to take in my life, where to focus my time, gifts and passions. I really hit me to know what's been going in my family, my ancestors; let me share a bit. I usually told I am -physically and personality wise- more like the family on my mom's side, so I decided to pay more attention to that side of my family. My grandmother, who passed away a year and a half ago was a teacher, and so were most of her siblings. My mom wanted to be one as well but she told me she chose to be a public accountant for economical reasons -It seems teaching has never been well paid haha- Most of the people who know me know that I'm into music and the wife of one of my pastors was asking my dad where did that come from, he really didn't know! haha. No one in my family is has been an outstanding musician, all I know is one of my uncles wrote a song that is still played in a local radio station as one of those oldies haha. One of my grandma's brother's -which would be like a grandfather-uncle if that exists but that's what they call them here- caught my attention. He used to be a policeman but he was also an alcoholic until he came to know about God. His life had a real change, he stop drinking and he became a pastor. I think he founded a couple of churches and just wish my grandma was alive to know more about him now. My grandmother also founded a church in this city -which is still running- founded the woman's ministry there and she was part of that same church until the day she went to be with the Lord.
There are three things I'm really passionate about: people -which includes teaching and leadership- music and ministry -the cause of the local church. I think I am in the right path by looking at my legacy, it's definitely amazing to look at it from this perspective. Of course I'm not denying my individuality and freedom to be myself but I can't deny my legacy which confirms what makes my heart be glad. There are some things still undefined and steps I need to take but my path is being more and more clear.
What's your legacy? What has your family been known for? Are you following it? A more import question maybe, What's in your heart? What makes you come alive? Does your legacy and what's in your heart make sense?

Thursday, January 17, 2008

End of My Dreams

END OF MY DREAMS

Caught in my dreams
I want to be free
Free to live, free to act
Not just to dream but to live

Don’t want to dream at night –anymore
Because I’ve lived my dream all day long
I want to lay and be sleep right away
Because my soul is all satisfied

Live my dream not just dream
Disappear as I sleep
And wake up in my dream
Because my dream is what I live


EL FINAL DE MIS SUEÑOS

Atrapado en mis sueños
Libre al fin seré
Para vivir, para actuar
Vivir, no solo soñar

Soñar de noche –no quiero más
Pues mi sueño he vivido todo el día
Acostarme y de inmediato dormir -¡eso quiero!
Pues mi alma satisfecha esta

Vivir mi sueño, no solo soñar
Perderme al dormir
Y en mi sueño despertar
Pues mi sueño es mi diario vivir

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Everybody can dream, not everyone can...

I’ve always thought of myself as a dreamer –which is certainly not a bad thing- but I think I’m tired of being a dreamer. It’s disappointing and many times dreams just…don’t come true and when they do they’re not as you expected them.

Now, don’t get me wrong on this, I’m not down or depressed or anything like that but that’s how I see dreams right now. I think I’ve found a better way, not of a dreamer anymore but something more solid, more concrete, more likelyto happen, I’m tired of dreaming and being disappointed, I think I’d rather be a…Visionary.

I think that when you have a vision you have more than a dream. A dream, you expect something to happen and be certain way but a with vision -when you have a vision- you really see things happening, you can feel what it will feel like to be doing what you have the vision of doing, you know it’s there even though you can’t really see it, a vision is more related to faith. Anybody can dream, but not everyone can have a vision. A vision is built up with time, is created and is worked-out. A dream, you just have it. Having a vision is more difficult to have than a dream, it takes time and work to build it up.

I want God to keep shaping my vision, I already have part of it but I really think that I need to have a more concrete one, I need to see what dreams can really be part of my vision and which one are just desires –it’s ok if they happen or not- but the ones that I know I’m called to do, those will be part of my vision.

Bill Hybels mentioned that there's a price to pay to shape a vision and I think I'm willing to keep paying that price, I need to keep shaping -and let God do it- and building my vision.

Homework: Do you have dreams? If so which ones are they? Do think you have a vision? Is it complete, have you nailed it? What is your vision? It’s interesting to find out what the dictionary defines vision and dream for.