A Revelation of things I did not know

On May 17, 2015, I participated in a Scripture Stamping Service with my church, Rise LV.  We each had the opportunity to stamp the new building with our favorite verse from the bible.  It was such a moving experience (many thanks to Pastor David and Sherrie for allowing this to happen).  The building was bare, the foundation was newly laid, no walls, except the outer walls, were up yet.  We essentially had service in an empty structure.  And though it was empty, it was without a doubt filled with an outpouring of God's love.  We each wrote on the foundation, where the stage now lay. I wrote my Bible verse and then never thought about it after that.  So now hold this thought...




Fast forward to last night, when I was describing my RISE journey to someone and how my life has been blessed since being there.  I remembered the Scripture Stamping Service.  And this is what I wrote Proverbs 31:30 ~"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord, shall be praised." I pulled that verse from one of my favorite scriptures (Proverbs 31:10-3) of the Noble Wife. And lately I've been feeling a strong conviction about my past marriage and how I lost focus of my wifey duties to my husband.  I allowed other things to become a priority.  And I have since paid the price for it.  And after 5 years, I allowed myself to become vulnerable and asked for forgiveness from God and also asked for forgiveness from the person I wronged, my ex-husband.  I have always clinged to this passage and I'm reminded that I am far from perfect and I, too, fall short.




Last night, as I was telling this story to a friend, I looked up the scripture on my bible app from my phone and wanted to read Proverbs 31:30 but before I did that I scrolled up a little more to verse 13 and it said this "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.", then a couple of lines down to verse 15: "She gets up while it is still night;  she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants."  At this point I'm getting chills and my mouth drops.  Then onto verse 17-18: " She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.  ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night."  Now I'm amazed and just bewildered because all this is describing me as I stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning every night working diligently, sewing my orders, so that I can make ends meet with being a new single mom.  I continue to read on, verse 24-27:

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Now I'm more engaged in this passage than ever before.  On May 17, 2015, I was one day in with my sewing business.  In fact I wasn't even operating like a business at that time, only making a couple of headbands for a couple of friends I knew.  Funny thing is, I had no plans of starting a business again.  I didn't know anything would come about from making baby headbands.  Quickly it grew like wildfire, from making headbands, to making baby bedding, and onto baby apparel.  If you asked me if I saw myself being a seamstress in the future, I would confidently respond with a big resounding NO.  But God does things that just doesn't make sense to us humans.  He is the planner and ultimate provider.  He amazes me everyday, revealing to me what he wants of me, to be a faithful servant.  The more I seek Him and communicate with Him, the clearer my choice paths become.  I have been living for the past month free of doubt and questions about my future.  I trust that God will tell me, on his own timing.  I try my best to clothe myself with strength and dignity.  Single parenthood is no easy task and the challenges I face from my past rear its ugly head every now and then, but I must continue to remain strong so that I can provide for my children.  I must not grow weary and tired.  I refuse to give up so that I do not become idle.  I choose to live every day as best as I possibly can and trust me throwing in the towel would be the easy way out.  But I can't.  I just can't.

Proverbs 31:30- " but a woman who fears the Lord, shall be praised" I'm still in shock at how God has abundantly blessed me these past few months, my customers provide me with such great feedback and I can't even try to take credit for that.  I'm humbled by it all because even when I couldn't picture myself being a maker of baby clothes, He believed in me and saw a potential in me that is beyond my understanding.  After all, He is the most creative being imaginable.

Okay so for the record, I've known of the Epilogue of the Wife of Noble Character for many many years.  It just amazes me that every time I read the bible, the old passages I've known become new again.  They tell me something new over and over again and I'm growing all over again.  This is when you know the Word is alive.  God is working his master plan, and I am humbled, honored, and grateful.

   

never forget where you came from...it makes you grateful for the now

People often say, "Never forget where you came from..." 

My response to that, "Oh, trust me,  I never will."

So the photos above are what I remember of my childhood living in poverty-stricken slums back in my home country, having very little, and surviving on basically nothing. It helps me put things into perspective at how far my family and I have come.  I'm still amazed at how we lived back then. We moved a lot and sometimes it wasn't as bad as this. But it's because of those hardship memories that I've come to be extremely grateful for what I have now.  I often look back at the photos and sometimes browse the web and reminisce so that I can become humbled and thankful. I think I'm blessed to come from such a background and to be able to take all that with me today and say that I  once lived a life like that...taking showers outside, walking around barefooted because we couldn't afford shoes, living in shelters that could be blown away in a matter of minutes. If you had a childhood like that, then you know what I'm talking about. 

Since it's the month of thanksgiving, I thought I'd mention my upbringing and be thankful for all that I have now. I have my health, which is essential to everything that I care for and value, this includes providing for my loved ones. Coming from a country with no "Obamacare" or any type of affordable health care for that matter- it's amazing to me that I have a good bill of health. I have shelter that is secured in the ground with foundation. I don't have to worry that it's going to disappear when the next hurricane or monsoon arrives. I am safe and secure and just that alone is enough. 

I am thankful that I no longer have to bathe outside with just a bucket and some "un-fresh" water. I now have warm bath water and can unclothe in the privacy of my own bathroom. And I can put on clean clothes smelling of Downy laundry freshener and have ample shoes to choose from. 

Realizing that I have a lot more than I did- I whine a lot less, I'm grateful for a lot more, and take life as a blessing whatever the circumstance. 

your attitude will change your life...

I'm still dumbfounded by people harboring such negative attitudes or outlooks on life...Why?

I'd like to ask those people "Does it really help you sleep at night to be so bitter and angry?" But I'm not because all I'd get would be a negative response like, "I'll do, feel, and say what I want"...mmmkay. whatever. Suit yourself, Negative Nancy!

So it really bothers me to see people try to feed off others' depression or misery. Is Misery that lonely? That insanely selfish? There is a way to empathize with others rather than make them dwell more on their agony.

Here's a scenario: I see a facebook post about someone believing they don't have it as "good" as what it may seem. I have to comment that as long as you are healthy and you're children are healthy what more can you ask for, right? I knew this person needed an uplifting message, therefore I wanted to be as optimistic as possible and provide a message with less dread. But I was interjected by another commenter that it wasn't good enough...*sigh*

Here's my take on it: this world is so full of UGLY. It's everywhere, you see it, you hear it, you smell it, you breathe it and you live it on a daily basis. We wake up to bad news on TV. We read about it on the interwebs and in the newspapers. There's no hiding it. It's real.

Now, does that mean we have to live and base our lives on the ugly that surrounds us? Why not take a different perspective and count our blessings? Why not live life while we are still alive and breathing? I see it as not taking our health for granted. Taking advantage of the blessings given to us rather than being ungrateful and throwing it back to the Creator. "Thanks but no thanks, God. You can have your stinking blessings back!" What kind of people would do that? We can either be grateful for what we have now, whether we are here or there, or don't be grateful at all. How would life be like for us then if we decide to take that route? Better? I disagree.

Yes, life can suck and we've all been there and done that.  We can either choose to live it that way or choose to see the good in what we've got. We all know that life is always changing, every second, every minute. Today may suck, but tomorrow may be better or vice versa.  Someone else did comment on that post and said it best when he said, "Just because life isn't perfect, doesn't mean it's bad." It really doesn't have to be. Your attitude has the ability to change your life if you allow it.

Dreams coming true...

Okay so we are finally getting "almost settled" in our new home. I'd like to say "settled" but we are not quite there since I still have a handful of boxes to unpack. Oh and yes we've moved. This is why I titled this post as "Dreams coming true..." we have managed to get ourselves out of the poverty-stricken neighborhood to a much safer, quieter, and peaceful neighborhood. It's also a beautiful and spacious home perfect to start a family. I named it as one of our blessings given to us in a rather strange form. Based on our employment, no credit checks were needed and we were in after a matter of 3 weeks after seeing the house. We are at ease and comfortable in our new sanctuary. I can only be grateful for everything the Higher Power has given us. All that we need to do now is fill the home with memories.

Overwhelmed with Gratitude

Ok so I'm finally walking on two legs!!! YAY!!! I think that's enough to be filled with gratitude but no that's not the only reason why I'm blogging...

So last Sunday, April 1, I was in tears because I got a sudden rush of "gratefulness" for the things that I've been blessed with and the events that have occurred in my life recently. Most of these events, were not easy, actually most of them were challenges. But I couldn't look at them in that way. It's because I knew and was hopeful of brighter days to come.

I thought about the wonderful people in my life, my supporters, my true friends, my unfailing family, the abundance of their love and the joy they provided in my life. I also acknowledged that without them the horrific events I encountered these past 6 months would simply be unbearable.

Here I am today, working out at the gym and hooping like I had before.  I am truly grateful and feeling really blessed right now. So Thank You, Universe. Thank You, Loved Ones. Thank You, God. :)

Growth and Knowledge

I'm always inpired by somebody's willingness to expand their mind and their heart. Especially when they have a desire to keep learning. Young kids are great examples of this. Of course. It's in their nature. But when a grown adult says to him or herself...I want to learn. Inside, I'm smiling really big.

Not a lot of people realize that as we live, we learn, and when we learn, we grow. Whether it's learning a new hobby, a new language, a new way or system of doing things, or even continuing their education. To me that's very admirable. We can not assume that we know it all. And we cannot let the knowledge we've learn to stop us from evolving.



Everyday as we learn new things, we shall never take that desire and ability to learn for granted. #foreverastudent

looking inside

After having surgery on February 6 and being in bed for a few weeks now, my mind is being tested. The pain has subsided a little and my mind has the freedom to wonder about reality. What other things can a person do when they are housebound and instructed to keep their leg elevated for numerous weeks?

Yes I have television, books, and the interwebs here but what happens when the tv starts to get annoying, the books only make you want to take a nap, and the computer becomes the daily predictability of people's drama? Believe me, it gets BO-ring!!!

But lately (meaning a couple of days now, I look for things that inspire me) Yesterday I drew a picture of my favorite Hindu Goddess- Parvati Devi, the goddess of love and devotion. I was inspired to draw because I'm dying to get tatted again. My next tat will be of Parvati and Shiva, because of their remarkable love story.

So here I am creating another blog mainly to keep my sanity. Unlike my last blog, this blog is not necessarily meant to be shared with thousands of people although I wouldn't mind if others read it. I'd simply like to make a journal of the things that inspire me...