Thorns of Love

I love this quote: "A life with love will have some thorns, but a life without love will have no roses." Loving someone is not always easy, but it's the struggles that you go through together that makes your relationship grow stronger.

Hubby and I will be celebrating our 11th Wedding Anniversary next month. The road we traveled together these past 15 years together hasn't been an easy one. It has been filled with happiness, love, heartaches, and pain, but despite it all, we've managed to stay together...not by our own grace, but because of God's continuing guidance and blessing on our marriage and family.

Lead Me...

This song is dedicated to my husband Jose...You are indispensable part of my life. I love you more than words can ever say.

"Lead Me"

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone"

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone"

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Letters to God...

"You are a letter...written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God."
~ 2 Corinthians 3:3 NIV
They say that our lives are often shaped by the stories we hear. Whether these stories we are true or not, they have the potential to reach deep down inside us and stir our emotions, provoke our thinking, and influence the course of our lives.

I recently finished watching a faith-based movie called “Letters to God." The movie is about a young boy fighting cancer. Despite his illness, he finds strength and hope by writing letters to God. It is through this little boy's letters that brings and inspire hope and change in his family, his friends and the entire community.

It is an amazing story...so amazing that it reminds me of the time when I lost my son, Joshua. It was a dark time for me. I felt so lost, alone, and betrayed by my God. Then I started writing letters to God...Letters to tell Him how angry I was that He took my son away. Slowly these letters to God became letters asking Him for guidance. Letters asking Him to take away my pain and anger...and then letters asking Him to lead me back to Him. He is such a loving God...despite my anger and pain, He took all those away and began healing my broken heart. He held me in His arms and I felt His presence and I knew that my son was safe in His arms.

You can read these letters by visiting Joshua's Memorial site. Click here: "My Mommy's Prayers."

I know that in the midst of any problems I may be battling, I must always remember to seek God's help, and to thank Him for working in my life. I know that I have a long road ahead of me, but with His help and guidance, He is slowly molding me to be the person Jesus intended me to be.

I pray that you too will remember to trust and seek God. We may not always know why things happen in our lives, but Paul tells us: "God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Heal The Wound, But Leave The Scar

I know that I cannot rewrite history or change the past, but I can let God redeem it. We've all made mistakes and have been ashamed of our past failures.

My years of struggling with losing my son Joshua was and is still painful. The pain and wound of losing him felt like gaping emotional wounds. Today, the wound doesn't hurt as much, but there are times when the pain re-emerges, and I feel the wound opening up again. I have made peace with the way my life has worked out. However, I still bear scars from that experience, and I would not want to lose those scars, even if it were possible to do so. Those scars are a reminder of where I have been, and they are proof to others that I survived that experience. If I were to lose the scars, then I would lose the ability to encourage other people who are in the same painful place that I once was.

I am so grateful that the wounds are healed, but I am also grateful that I have the scars to remind myself of how God has healed me, and it is through God’s mercy that I have been forgiven for all the wrongs I have done in the past. Lord, please...Take the pieces of this heart and Heal the wound but leave the scar as a reminder of who I was, who I am, and who You want me to be.

"Heal The Wound"
by Point of Grace"

I used to wish that I could rewrite history
I used to dream that each mistake could be erased
Then I could just pretend
I never knew the me back then

I used to pray that You would take this shame away
Hide all the evidence of who I've been
But it's the memory of
The place You brought me from
That keeps me on my knees
And even though I'm free

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

I have not lived a life that boasts of anything
I don't take pride in what I bring
But I'll build an altar with
The rubble that You've found me in
And every stone will sing
Of what You can redeem

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

Don't let me forget
Everything You've done for me
Don't let me forget
The beauty in the suffering

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

Forgiveness

This past few weeks, God has been penetrating my heart in a deeper way than ever before with the message of what true forgiveness means. A hurtful situation in my life has brought this issue to the surface in the last few weeks.

As a woman, it very easy to be quick-tempered and to let my feelings and emotions rule, rather than let the Spirit of God work within me. I'm sure many of you can relate. When someone hurts us, our fleshly side wants to cling to that hurt, to meditate upon it, and to hold that person in contention for the rest of his or her life. When someone offends us, we have the tendency to pout, sulk, act moody and to say critical and cutting things about them to others. For some reason, our flesh convinces us that being bitter toward those who hurt us is our God-given right. But the opposite is true. Christ spoke in no uncertain terms about the necessity of forgiving (Matthew 18:21-35). As Christ says, we have been forgiven so much by our Lord, when we were so utterly undeserving of His pardon. What right do we have to then turn and refuse to forgive those who hurt us?

As I surrendered my hurt and my anger to the Lord, the most incredible thing happened..my heart was filled with love and peace for the person that has hurt me and I was reminded once again that forgiveness is not primarily a matter of feeling, but a matter of choice; a decision to obey God's word. All we have to do is simply say, “Lord, I choose to let this go; to give this offense to You instead of carrying it!” God will do the rest and supply the willingness, the love, and the compassion we need to live it out.

Our hurt may be strong, but praise God that His love is far stronger!