Staying Calm When Things Go Wrong

As much as we try to make it so, life is not perfect.

The bible warns us that as Christians, we will go through many trials and storms.

 (See John 16:33) 

We go through difficult situations, and hard times more often than we'd like to admit. It's hard to see the beauty or the good when dealing with the stress and fear of an uncertain future, but in these times it can be helpful to cling to the word of God. 

Though sometimes we feel like everything is falling apart, we are encouraged to remain joyful and trust that God knows what he is doing. (Read James 1:2-4)

Like an old friend the bible compels us to remain faithful in the Lord. 

3 Things to keep in mind during, THE STORM:

1. God makes all things come together for the good of those who love Him. He will never forsake you, He will never leave alone. He does thing deliberately and intentionally, He knows what is best for us, and He loves us.

 

2. The bible holds countless examples of God protecting his people throughout scary and dangerous experiences. Remember when Daniel got tossed in the lions den for praying to the One True God? He came out unharmed and the king had all of Daniel's enemies thrown to the lions. (Read Daniel 6:19-23) 

The Lord protects those who trust in him. 

3. The bible promises that though things seem bad, they will always get better. (See Romans 8:18) 

God knows every detail of our lives, He knows our entire story, and He knows that there are wonderful things in store for all of those who put their faith in Jesus.

Our only job is to remain faithful. 

 

A Special Christmas (; On a Budget ;)

 

 

This is the time of year for GIVING!! 

We all love to shower our friends and family with things that remind them that we care! 

But sometimes, our lists are miles long and our cash is a little short. The most important thing to keep in mind around this time of year is that Christmas is not about the money. It is about celebrating the coming of Christ into this world to save us! It is about being more like Jesus, giving and loving, especially to those you love! 

With these 4 tips, you can still have a very special affordable Christmas:

1. *Gifts - PICTURES!!! What better way to give them something to remember you by? A nice inexpensive picture frame with a picture of the kids is perfect for grandparents, aunts, and uncles! If you don't think they would appreciate a picture, get them CANDY!!! Buy nice small holiday boxes and fill them with Christmas confetti and that person's (or child's) favorite candy! If this person doesn't like pictures or candy, you can never go wrong with a RED BOX gift card. Just 5 dollars can provide a busy couple with 5 movie date nights after the kids go to sleep. Think about it! *Spend the most on 2 or 3 very special people!

2. Christmas Cards - Hand making Christmas cards is a fun family activity! Start out with a fun holiday photo shoot; there are plenty of awesome ideas on Pinterest. Then print 4x6 photos and tape them to the inside of blank Christmas Cards. Fill the inside with a personal message, or a Christmas bible verse; Luke 2:10 or 11 is nice! Don't forget to sign it with love from the whole family!

3. The Tree - If you live in a small apartment (like us) or you can't really afford a tree, getting what I like to call a "Tiny Tree" is a whimsical alternative! A few years ago we bought a $20 tree at Walgreens that had built in LED lights and came with a base and power cord. We put it on a small table and decorated it with colorful ornaments from the 99 cent store. It is absolutely beautiful! 

4. Dinner/ Breakfast - For breakfast have a pancake feast! Make them with egg eyes and bacon smiles! (Turkey bacon is a healthy and cheap alternative to pork bacon.) For extra fun dye them green with food coloring for Grinch pancakes!  For dinner, skip the turkey or ham and have a nice fat roasted chicken, whoever finds the wish bone gets to make a special wish! 

As long as you are overflowing with love it doesn't matter how much you spend!  

How to Pack a Shoe Box: Operation Christmas Child

 

The best way to get people motivated is to lead by example! 

This is the first year that our family is participating in Operation Christmas Child and we really wanted to get it right! 

After a little research Nico and I managed to put together a wonderful box that will benefit a child in need. 

Here are some things to include in your box: 

 

  

 

 

 

We even printed a label that will allow us to see where the box is headed and who it is helping! 

(I'll be sure to keep you posted!)

Sending Love Around the World

A few weeks ago our church announced that we would be hosting a charity event, Operation Christmas Child. The organization Samaritan's Purse leads this event and asks ordinary people to fill a shoe box (or any box that fit the required dimensions) with things that could make them heroes to children in need all over the world. Things like toys, hygiene products, school supplies, etc. (<-link for list of suggestions). Once the the box is filled you tape a label to it and drop it off at a host location to be sent to the Samaritan's Purse. 

From there, they send the box to children in need. 

Some of those kids have nothing.

Some have no one. 

This is an amazing opportunity to show them that some one cares about them, and that God is watching out for them. 

Words cannot describe how much this touched my heart! I feel like sending 100 boxes out! All I could imagine was Nico's sweet little face in the place of the children living in extreme poverty. I can only imagine how devastating it is as a parents to not be able to give your little one everything they deserve, and then to think that the world is over looking our suffering. 

I want those people to know that some people are honestly trying to help in any way possible, even something a trivial as filling a shoe box with Dollar Store goodies.

Of course we do what can!

Not only can I send a box, I can SPREAD THE WORD!

This event relies heavily on the participation of volunteers! It needs people to go out and put boxes together to send them to kids who desperately need to feel special and parent who need to know that their is hope. 

Their goal is to reach 100,000,000 children.

We can make it 1 Billion!!!

All Hallows: Christians and Halloween

I had a great time yesterday during Halloween, and I am sure many of you did as well! However, there is always more than one side of the celebration. Unfortunately, many people use October 31 as an excuse to do evil and scary things to others. For that reason, many Christians believe that Halloween is the devil's holiday. 

Ironically, Halloween started as a Christian holiday. November 1, or All Hallows Day, is a holiday where we recognize the Saints and Martyrs of Christ, and traditionally, All Hallows Eve was a feast in preparation for a day of remembrance. This is only one of the origins of Halloween, as there are many, but this one proves that it was never meant to be an evil day, at least to some people. 

  

Though I agree that it can be a day dedicated to mischief and terror, I also believe that it can be a day dedicated to love, fun, and thanking the Lord for raining down blessings upon our lives! 

To me, the act of receiving candy symbolizes the kindness of humanity, and the abundance of our lives. We are privileged enough to live in a country where it is safe to dress up and go door to door receiving FREE treats during one night out of the whole year! 

1 Corinthians 10:31 states: Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 

On Halloween, instead of dressing scary, we can dress as something funny, or cool. Instead of "worshiping the devil" we can have family devotionals and prayer time, to thank God for His protection, provision, and general goodness! 

Remember that as Christians, we are ambassadors for Christ! Do you think that Jesus would cower in fear condemning all those who take part in "evil", or do you think he would join in the festivities and use it to preach the Gospel? 

On this All Hallows Day, as we commemorate the Martyrs and Saints remember that all things work together for His good!

What "They" Don't Want YOU to Know

Today's pop culture has a problem of perspective. The world is trying to convince us to live for ourselves. Messages like "Do what makes you happy." Are accepted and shared and encouraged over and over again. 

But what happens when "what make you happy" is destructive to yourself or others? What if you like to cut yourself? What if you like to shoot BB pellets at animals?
If the message is, "do what makes you happy" then what makes those things wrong? Who then gets to decide what is acceptable and what is not?

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians shows us that the Corinthian society had the same problem. (Follow the link to find out what made Corinth like us) 

They were all about gaining knowledge and wisdom, but they were not focusing on the right kind of philosophy. They had no idea how to fulfill their needs, so they looked for pleasure in all the wrong places. In 1 Corinthians 2:8 we see that even most leaders of the ancient world were lost.

If you continue reading 1 Corinthians 2 you will find the key to the fulfillment that we have all been looking for. The greatest thing about God is not heaven or all of the blessing that he can give you. It is the fact that he chose to reveal himself through Jesus. He could have left us to our sin. If he had this world would be a much darker place. But because he didn't, ALL things work together for good. 

Even things that we don't/can't/won't understand. 

We can see evidence of Him and his love for all livings things all around us through nature and we can see examples of His greatness and power through the Universe and laws of science.

The fact is that God wants all of us to know Him like He knows us. He wants us to accept the gift of salvation and be filled spiritually. 

He wants us all to experience the peace and rest that we can ONLY find through Jesus. 

Because He loves us, He gave us free will. He wants us to come to Him because we want to out of love, not because we have to. He gave each and every person on Earth the freedom to make a choice.

Now that you know the truth, what will you do about it?

Published Book Monthiversary!

One month ago I published my very first book, Liars Like Me!

 

Today, I am celebrating that amazing accomplishment by having a 67 percent off sale during the entire week!

For those of you who are mathematically challenged, like myself, that means that Liars Like Me will be on sale for only 0.99 cents! 

I am doing this as a thank you to all the people who have supported me this month, and who have turned The Kul Mom in to what is it today! 

I hope that you can benefit from the sale, and more than anything, I hope you enjoy the book!

To read a special excerpt visit the page entitled "My Book" located next to the Home tab or follow this link: http://kulmom.blogspot.com/p/my-book.html

Also don't forget to show your support and help raise awareness for Liars Like Me by visiting ThunderClap!

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/17111-the-kul-mom-liars-like-me?locale=en

World News Wednesday : Syria

It is important for the young people of our country to know what is happening in the world around us. Many of us are too focused on silly lighthearted news that does not have any impact on the overall culture of our society. Though that type of news can be nice to hear from time to time, I feel that we are all a part of the human race, after all, we should know what goes on where so that we learn how to help each other, and how to coexist. 

This week I wanted to bring some light to the on-going conflicts in Syria. I am not a very political person, I tend to lean more towards ethics and morality. To me, it is important that every human on the planet, especially the children, has what they need to make their life more enjoyable and more simple. Of course, we all know that any kind of war would make that impossible for some people in the countries involved. This week, air strikes have been launched in Syria, further destroying the lives of millions of displaced Syrians (Video: Official News Report on the Airstrikes ). People who have watched their homes bombed and burned to the ground, families that have been separated, kids who have been orphaned; they all continue to watch in horror wondering when their suffering will end.  

Video: The Aftermath of a Small Syrian Village

Food for Thought:

• If you could do ONE thing to change the life of a Syrian, or to change the pattern of violence that has swept across their nation, what would you do? 
• Put yourself in the shoes of a Syrian for just a few minutes today, try to imagine what our brothers and sisters are feeling just on the other side of Earth. 

Overcoming the Pain

(Picture of Pedro and me after getting baptized)

As I read over my last blog post, I realized that I skimmed over the general situation, but I never really explained how I managed to not be swallowed by the extreme discomfort that I have been feeling for the past several days. 

As many of you know, I am Christian. I attend church regularly and I enjoy volunteering as a Sunday School Teacher Helper every other month. I am only explaining this because my faith in Jesus Christ is what helped me to overcome that terrible situation. 

There were moments when there was nothing else that would get through mind. I would be in agony, wondering when it was going to be over and if the worst part was yet to come.

It all changed one day when I was laying on the couch. The window was open and a delightful breeze filled the apartment, and Nico was playing happily in front of me. The sky was its regular shade of impossible blue, and I remember thinking, "What a beautiful day to be in excruciating pain." In Puerto Rico, weather can vary. Some days can be sticky and hot, while others can be rainy and windy. But on occasion, there is a nearly perfect day. The wind blows just enough, the sun is hot burning too hot, and there is peace and calm in the air. 

Of all the days for me to get sick, it happened to be on a perfect day. As I continued to think about it, I realized that God was doing things and setting things up so that I could recover in the best way possible. In those moments of pain it was extremely difficult to see, but in a moment of clarity, I found that I had so much to be thankful for, and that God would not forsake me. He sent me an amazing husband who cared for me and Nico in every way that we needed and more. He sent me a great baby who was never difficult or mean spirited. 

Most importantly though, I was grateful that I would not have to feel that way forever. I did not know why I was experiencing a miscarriage, but I did know that eventually I would feel better. I was so grateful that the pain was not my everyday reality and I felt like I needed to let Him know that. After I thanked Him, I realized that if he had the power to create the Universe and the compassion to breathe ecosystems into existence, then He certainly loves me enough to help me when I cry out to Him. 

I began to declare in His name that I was healed and I began to thank Him over and over for my wellness. Nothing worked better in healing me than praising the name of Jesus.