Friday, August 7, 2009

" In The Spotlight "



Amelia Cisneros *aka* Sis. Amy

Born on July 13, 1945 in Abilene, Texas to Catarino and Delfina Cisneros. Sis. Amy comes from a small family. She has 4 sisters and only 1 brother. She grew up in Abilene and then she moved to Dallas, Texas in 1966. She is a single mother to 5 girls and 3 boys, out of which 7 survived. Her daughters are Donna, Julie, Jovita, Melissa and Isabella. Her sons are Michael, Carlos, and Joe Richard. Her family is really close and she loves spending time with all of her Kids and grandkids and also great-grandkids... everyone calls her " Grandma Amy " we love her very much and I am happy to say I am married to her grandson Marco.


"Childhood Memories"

Amy's favorite childhood memory was attending Vacation Bible School and playing Baseball... when I asked her what were some of her favorite things that she could remember as a child, she bluntly said I loved fishing, did not like dogs and I loved to eat bologne!

Another memory is that she stopped attending school so that she could help the family by doing migrant work which was working the crops in the fields. She did mention that she worked in a couple of different cities like Lubbock and Temple, Texas she was a lot of help to her family.

" Through the Years "

Being a single mother and knowing how hard it was working the fields, Amy attended El Centro College in Dallas, Texas and DBU f*k*a Dallas Baptist College to further her education and was successful. She is now employed at Vought Aircraft as a Benefits Rep, and has been employed for about 15 years.

This woman loves the Lord and has a lot of Faith and Hope in God. She is a very loving and caring person and is willing to do anything for anyone. One thing I have learned from her and something she always tells people is to Always Trust in the Lord and He will see you through... We all go through challenging times in our lives emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually. But we can trust in God to see us through. God is as close as the call of His Name. No matter how low we’ve fallen or how depressed we are, God has the power to save our lives. Be willing to put your trust and faith in God and put aside your pride; be willing to humble yourself and cry out to God for help from the depths of your heart and soul. Love you Grandma Amy!


Love you guys,
Jessica M. Vazquez

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Journey of Faith


Wednesday night's message from Pastor was about miracles. I just wanted to give my testimony of a miracle God gave our family. Enjoy!



The Journey of Faith


The night of April 15th, 2007 is the beginning of my experience of a lifetime. I had no idea that God was about to take my family and I on the ultimate faith journey. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that God would go to such extremes to prove that He is Lord, that He is in control, and actively involved in my life and my family.

On December 3, 2006 we rejoiced at the news that we were pregnant with our second child. Because of a previous weight loss surgery, eating was difficult. I had not been able to eat properly for about 6 months, thus the baby was not receiving the proper nourishment. On April 15 2007 what seemed to be a normal Sunday suddenly changed. After church we all went to eat at La Madeline’s Restaurant. As I was sitting there it hit me, I am 61/2 month pregnant and I had not felt the baby move in 3 days. My pastor’s wife asked me how I was feeling. She could see that I could not even sit up in the chair I was sitting in. Terri, a very close friend, along with Sis. Martinez gave me direction to go and make sure that the baby and I were ok. Terri offered to take me to the Labor & Delivery Triage.

We arrived at the Triage area around 9:30pm. The attending nurse began asking questions and started the process to completely check me out. I began to tell her we had just been to church and that I was not feeling well. I told her that I was dehydrated and was feeling very weak. They all know me there as I had been put in the hospital several times prior. In the process they checked the baby’s heartbeat. After about 30 minutes I asked her, “Are you having trouble finding the heart beat?” She got this horrible look on her face and said, “I’m sorry but I cannot find it anywhere.” I instantly started screaming NO!!! That is when my friend said, “Jenna, don’t think like that.”

In that moment I started saying, “Lord, you did not give me this baby to take him away!” On the outside I was screaming but on the inside I was saying “Lord I still trust you”. The nurse told us she would have to call the doctor in to confirm that there was no heart beat. The nurse called the Doctor in to come and access the situation. The Doctor did a sonogram and found no movement and no heartbeat. Mason Alexzander Davis was pronounced dead at 10:15pm. At that time the staff started preparing me to have a still birth. I was wheeled into another room with a white rose on the door.



By this time, family and friends were arriving by my side and began praying.
The prayer chain was activated. My pastor and Bro. Freelen prayed. I can tell you I did not feel anything but hurt, rage, anger and loneliness. I remember asking, “Why? Why is God so quiet? Why can I not feel him?” The bible talks about faith of a grain of a mustard seed. Well I now know what that verse means. If I had any faith it was of a grain of mustard. The staff had placed that white rose on the door letting visitors and workers know that the baby had passed away. When I saw that rose on my door I felt such a rage in me. I stared yelling get it off get it off. The rose seemed so final. See the little mustard seed of faith that I had, did not want that rose on the door.

By this time my husband was on his way to the hospital. He was at work and my friend had to call him to let him know of his son passing away. All the way to the hospital, my husband prayed God you are in control. Lord, have your way.

The Doctor and staff waited until my husband got to the hospital to explain the situation and the next step in the process. The next step was to proceed like we were having a healthy baby. The staff gave me an epidural and gave me medicine to induce labor. It was 12:15am at this time. While in this process a social worker came in and met with my husband to set up a time to talk about an autopsy and funeral arrangements. I had been telling the staff and my family that I feel the baby moving why do I FEEL HIM MOVING? They responded with, That is normal for the baby’s body to shake when you have contraction or when you move around. The staff made us aware of the birthing process. Once we have the baby, they would take it away. Then they would bring the baby back for us to spend time with him, before they take him away forever.

During this whirlwind my husband and I had a moment to ourselves We talked about how this must be God’s will and we had faith that God was in control even though it was the hardest thing we have ever been through. I looked at my husband and said Babe, why do I feel the baby move? Why did God take my baby? Why is God so silent? My husband reminded me, “Jenn, God is still in control” Josh decided that he was going to ask for another sonogram. He wanted to see for himself what was going on.

The Doctor didn’t understand what another sonogram would prove, but that he would honor our request. It was 2:20am when the Doctor rolled the sonogram machine into the room. I was lying on the bed with a pillow over my face because I didn’t want to see it again. My husband was standing on my left and the Doctor was sitting on my right. The Doctor adjusted the sonogram wand and there the heart chamber was on the screen, no heart beat and still no movement. My husband asked if that is what we were talking about. The Doctor then pointed and counted the 4 chambers of the heart. The heart was not beating. The Doctor pulled the wand away to get a better view of the heart. As he pulled it away my husband saw the baby’s left leg jump. My niece Rachel saw it as well. When the Doctor readjusted the wand and the heart chamber came into view on the screen again the heart was beating. About 30 seconds had passed between the Doctors readjusting the sonogram wand. Everyone in the room was in shock and speechless; the nurse acted fast and started removing the labor medicines. You see I was given the epidural and labor meds about two ½ hours earlier. When the nurse removed the labor meds she could not believe what she saw. The labor medicine had never dissolved! It had been there for over two hours. That was a miracle in itself. I heard all of the noise and movement and was thinking that the baby was being delivered. Then I heard he’s alive he’s alive!!! So they placed the heart monitor on me and instantly the heart beat was there. It started at 119 and went to126 then climbed to 176 before it leveled out and became steady. The Doctor couldn’t say anything but that it was a miracle. The same nurse came into the room that could not find the heart beat with the same Doppler. She found the heart beat right away. She said I have heard of a god and of miracles but now, I know there is a God. You see even though I did not feel God and yes he was so silent, He was still there and still in control.

We had a healthy Mason Alexzander Davis on July 29th, 2007 at 1:45pm. He was 6 pounds and 17 ½ inches long. We celebrated Mason’s second birthday last week on Tu Wednesday July 29th.

My family is living proof that God is in control and is actively involved in our everyday lives. My faith today a year later is stronger and more unshakeable than ever that we serve a miracle working God.


For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord;
as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

1 Samuel 1:27 & 28



Thank You

Enchilada Casserole

Good Morning Everyone! Pray all is going well ya'll....

I was wondering why I even chose the "recipe day" when most of whatever cooking I do is not even measured!

So....here it goes....hope I explain myself well

Ingredients:

1lb of Ground Beef/Turkey

1 bag Shredded Cheese

Corn Tortillas (amount of tortillas depends on your cake/casserole dish or how deep you want to make it) Cut them if you'd like to fit your pan (halves or quarters)

1 to 2 Tbsp of Chili Powder (I prefer Gebhardt's) you can add salt, garlic or any other spice you'd like


In a pan you take the Chili Powder add some oil and stir like your making gravy, add water til it's almost like flavored water, set aside.

Brown/cook your choice of Meat


Now take the tortillas line the bottom of your pan
add a layer of meat (I usually just grab a hand full and sprinkle around)
add a layer of cheese (same as above)
Start the process over
Once your finished layering, "pour" Chili Gravy on casserole

Bake 20-30 minutes

Enjoy!

P.S. For those of you who like onions and any other extra's you can layer with that as well
also some prefer to cook/fry their tortillas to make them softer.

Iwanted to share this with ya'll as well, hope ya'll don't mind........it's an email that I've always loved and I'm sure that maybe some of you have already read/reread it and maybe some not at all.......

GOD'S CAKE

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck" says her daughter.

"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times.. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about us. He sends us flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose our heart.



Much LOVE!!!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Pleasing God

Good Morning everyone! Praying that you all will have a blessed day today....


II Timothy 2:15

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

I really didn't pay much attention to this scripture before , until I went to see my brother in prison. I don't remember what the conversation was about or why he even gave me that scripture, but he did and God only knows why.


Well anyways..... it has been two weeks since I went to visit my brother. That scripture has just been on my mind a lot lately. The scripture says to study to shew thyself approved unto God; to me this means we should be pleasing God in all we do. When we're praying, teaching Sunday School, doing outreach and in our everyday living. I want to strive in pleasing my Lord. Thinking of what our Pastor was preaching on Wednesday night....I don't want to be that person who will let people skip in line on judgment day. Do you?

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Love!!!!

Another month of blogging...

I am so excited about some of the things that are on the horizon for the month of August. This month we have the following bloggers:

Monday - Sis. D.
Tuesday - Sis. Julie
Wednesday - Sis. JoVita
Thursday - Sis. Jenna
Friday - Sis. Jessica

I am really excited to hear from these wonderful, wonderful ladies. We already have some bloggers lined up for September but need more. Any volunteers?

For today, I want to talk a little about the five love languages. You may have read this book by Gary Chapman. It is an eye-opening book about the different ways that we express love. Something that was said to me on Sunday made me think about the five love languages. Each of us express love in a different manner. It is so important to understand the love language of your spouse and children. We have to understand that the way we like to receive love may not be the way our spouse or children like to receive love.

I have seen the love languages in action and watched people begin to turn their lives and marriages around by studying those around them.

The five love languages are:

Words of Affirmation
Mark Twain once said “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Verbal appreciation speaks powerfully to persons whose primary Love Language is “Words of Affirmation.” Simple statements, such as, “You look great in that suit,” or “You must be the best baker in the world! I love your oatmeal cookies,” are sometimes all a person needs to hear to feel loved. Aside from verbal compliments, another way to communicate through “Words of Affirmation” is to offer encouragement. Here are some examples: reinforcing a difficult decision; calling attention to progress made on a current project; acknowledging a person’s unique perspective on an important topic. If a loved one listens for “Words of Affirmation,” offering encouragement will help him or her to overcome insecurities and develop greater confidence.

Quality Time
Quality time is more than mere proximity. It’s about focusing all your energy on your mate. A husband watching sports while talking to his wife is NOT quality time. Unless all of your attention is focused on your mate, even an intimate dinner for two can come and go without a minute of quality time being shared.

Quality conversation is very important in a healthy relationship. It involves sharing experiences, thoughts, feelings and desires in a friendly, uninterrupted context. A good mate will not only listen, but offer advice and respond to assure their mate they are truly listening. Many mates don’t expect you to solve their problems. They need a sympathetic listener.

An important aspect of quality conversation is self-revelation. In order for you to communicate with your mate, you must also be in tune with your inner emotions. It is only when you understand your emotions and inner feelings will you then be able to share quality conversation, and quality time with your mate.

Quality activities are a very important part of quality time. Many mates feel most loved when they spend physical time together, doing activities that they love to do. Spending time together will bring a couple closer, and, in the years to come, will fill up a memory bank that you can reminisce about in the future.
Whether it’s sitting on the couch and having a brief conversation or playing together in a tennis league, quality time is a love language that is shared by many. Setting aside focused time with your mate will ensure a happy marriage.

Receiving Gifts
Some mates respond well to visual symbols of love. If you speak this love language, you are more likely to treasure any gift as an expression of love and devotion. People who speak this love language often feel that a lack of gifts represents a lack of love from their mate. Luckily, this love language is one of the easiest to learn.

If you want to become an effective gift giver, many mates will have to learn to change their attitude about money. If you are naturally a spender, you will have no trouble buying gifts for your mate. However, a person who is used to investing and saving their money may have a tough time adjusting to the concept of spending money as an expression of love. These people must understand that you are investing the money not in gifts, but in deepening your relationship with your mate.

The gift of self is an important symbol of love. Sometimes all your mate desires is for someone to be there for them, going through the same trials and experiencing the same things. Your body can become a very powerful physical symbol of love.

These gifts need not to come every day, or even every week. They don’t even need to cost a lot of money. Free, frequent, expensive, or rare, if your mate relates to the language of receiving gifts, any visible sign of your love will leave them feeling happy and secure in your relationship.

Acts of Service
Sometimes simple chores around the house can be an undeniable expression of love. Even simple things like laundry and taking out the trash require some form of planning, time, effort, and energy. Just as Jesus demonstrated when he washed the feet of his disciples, doing humble chores can be a very powerful expression of love and devotion to your mate.

Very often, both pairs in a couple will speak to the Acts of Service Language. However, it is very important to understand what acts of service your mate most appreciates. Even though couples are helping each other around the house, couples will still fight because the are unknowingly communicating with each other in two different dialects. For example, a wife may spend her day washing the cars and walking the dog, but if her husband feels that laundry and dishes are a superior necessity, he may feel unloved, despite the fact that his wife did many other chores throughout the day. It is important to learn your mate’s dialect and work hard to understand what acts of service will show your love.

It is important to do these acts of service out of love and not obligation. A mate who does chores and helps out around the house out of guilt or fear will inevitably not be speaking a language of love, but a language of resentment. It’s important to perform these acts out of the kindness of your heart.

Demonstrating the acts of service can mean stepping out of the stereotypes. Acts of service require both mates to humble themselves into doing some chores and services that aren’t usually expected from their gender. However, these little sacrifices will mean the world to your mate, and will ensure a happy relationship.

Physical Touch
Many mates feel the most loved when they receive physical contact from their partner. For a mate who speaks this love language loudly, physical touch can make or break the relationship.

It is important to learn how your mate speaks the physical touch language. Some touches are irritating and uncomfortable for your mate. Take the time to learn the touches your mate likes. They can be big acts, such as back massages, or little acts such as touches on the cheek or a hand on the shoulder. It’s important to learn how your mate responds to touch. That is how you will make the most of this love language.

All marriages will experience crisis. In these cases, physical touch is very important. In a crisis situation, a hug can communicate an immense amount of love for that person. A person whose primary love language is physical touch would much rather have you hold them and be silent than offer any advice.

It is important to remember that this love language is different for everyone. What type of touch makes you feel secure is not necessarily what will make your partner happy. It is important to learn each other’s dialects. That way you can make the most of your hugging, kissing, and other physical contacts.

I have heard Dr. Chapman talk about the love languages and how they even respond to our love for Christ. Every wonder why you see the same people working over and over at the church? It may be that their love language is acts of service. Ever hear someone pray that is able to speak to God so easily? Maybe they like word of affirmation.

What is your love language? Mine is acts of service.

Maybe next Monday we'll talk about the language of apology.

Love you all and looking forward to a great week.

Sis. D.