Monday, November 25, 2013
Lord Teach Me
I always thought I was a pretty humble person, meek and all. I guess when that's when you have to check yourself because you're probably none of that. My heart has always longed for my generation and the one behind me. I has always wanted to be able to get troubled teens off the street, help them get on their feet. When I met Jeremy and we started dating we would talk about what we felt we were suppose to do in the ministry. And lucky us we had the same vision. We wanted to have a place teens could come and hang out and be in a safe atmosphere We wanted to call it "Impact Now". Jeremy was already attending a ministry called SOS : Save Our Streets Ministries. They take the word to the streets and people' from all walks of life come together from Doctors, teachers, businessmen, former drug dealers, and ones still searching for the one we already call upon Jesus. When we moved back from Dallas, after attending Christ for the Nations, we started attending SOS. I began working at a charter school that was located in the SOS building. I began to see first hand the community that surrounded our school in a different light. I saw that they weren't just people wanting handouts but people wanting to know how to get back on their feet, how to function in society, and how to call on the one that we already did, Jesus. Oh the name of Jesus , as much as I wanted to rant off on this post I was lead to write about how people are seeking the one we already call upon and how despite the feelings I have about things no matter what I do people are still searching for Jesus and I can help somewhere even if its not exactly what I wanted to do. Jesus has a way of putting us in the right place at the right time and all He asks is that we become available to him. Sometimes we don't want to do what he asks and if we don't do it he will find someone who will and we lose that opportunity to be used by him. I don't ever want to miss an opportunity to be used by Him. I am not perfect, by all means I am SO FAR from it. I still have issues that I need to work out daily and Im learning daily that my mouth can hurt so many if I am not careful. I am learning that I need Jesus so much more then I thought and I want my daughters to see Him in me and want more of Him because of me. I don't Yesterday I wasn't feeling well and I asked my oldest daughter to pray for me. What she did next blew me out of the water, she said " Mommy give me your hand and close your eyes. She prayed Dear Lord thank you for healing my mommy. thank you that her tummy wont hurt anymore and she will feel better so we can go to SOS. Thank you that she wont be afraid anymore and if she pukes she can use my blankie. I love you Jesus, your name AMEN." Talk about feeling better instantly. To have a faith of a child and to believe that because we are praying to Jesus about it He already did what we asked for it is fulfilled is AWESOME!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Speechless
Two posts in one day, a little much one would say but I felt that this needed to be separate from the "family update."
In February SOS, a local ministry that Jeremy and I volunteer at, is having it's annual Girls Retreat. They take their teenage girls to Still Creek Ranch and love on them and show them how much they are loved by their Creator. This year will be my second year going with them. The only difference is that this year I am going to be 6 months pregnant....... so wish me luck.
After last year's retreat I haven't stopped talking that 2013's retreat needed to be different for these girls or we were going to lose them. A little background information on me: i love youth ministry. They may get on my nerves, make me cry, laugh, and want to pull their hair out but I LOVE THEM. My heart has always wanted to see a generation want Jesus whole-heartedly with no reservations. I believe that there are tons of youth ministers with the same vision but do they really believe it? DO they really want that, or in the back of their minds do they think," we can try but, we all know these teens are in too deep." That's what the enemy wants us to think. I think a lot of parents push their kids in to church in hopes of "saving " them but in reality that just makes their hearts harder towards Jesus , and it won't be until THEY decide they need to change that they will. How do we get them there? Prayer, love, and a LOT of patience.
As I have been thinking about how this year's retreat could be different I have come up with a broad but such a profound subject these girls need to learn. They know that they are "God's Princesses." We all know that but do we all understand what that really means? Do we understand that with this title comes some stipulations but no requirements that would defile us as women or embarrass us to our core being? I believe these girls have been told by the world you can be a princess, but you need to please me when I want, you need to be a size 2, wear the less clothes the better, no one really cares about you they just want your body. and Love? What is that? only something that the world makes you think you get when YOU lower your standards. These girls have heard princess stories all their lives, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Little Mermaid ( my personal fave), and Cinderella. They see a relationship of a man a woman that is pure with obstacles but in the end they live happily ever after. That's what they grow up wanting , until the boy in 7th grade runs up and grabs her butt. Then Everything is shattered. Her dreams of being valued as a human being slowly start to slip away. Now she sees herself as just an object.
There is a story in Ezekiel that depicts Jerusalem as a woman in the story. It starts with a baby in a ditch with blood and the cord still attached to her. A man finds her and takes her in.He clothes her and cleans her up. He adorns her with jewels and shows her love. She becomes of age to be married and she and the man marry. They make a convenant to a each other, a promise to one another to love each other. ( What a love story huh) As tijme goes by she begins to slip away. she builds brothels for herself and pays lovers to come see her. She has the biggest most lavish brothels and as the Message Bible puts it makes it a place for her whoring. Her husband finds her and shows her everything shes done. How she's broken the covenant between them and given herself away after everything he has done for her. The best part is the end. He meets with her and says ( my paraphrased version of course) " I have made a covenant with you and you broke it. I promised to love you and you threw it away. I come before you now to say I want to make a new covenant with you. It will be a covenant where you will remember your past, you wont forget what happened. but with the new covenant , after I make atonement for you, ( after he fixes her problem cleans up her mess which is AMAZING by the way) you will speechless." The End
Can you imagine that for jus a second? Imagine every wrong you have ever done and how you have hurt God by your words and actions and how at times maybe you have turned away from him because you didn't feel him "near", imagine him cleaning up YOUR mess and saying hey, I am going to take it upon me to fix this for you and leave you speechless on what a change it will be. Which is EXACTLY what happens when we decide to live for him. He takes our world and turns it around and the change leaves in awe of what our Creator can do for us. I a couple that we met while at CFNI who you would never guess that they were at the bar everynight and weekend they got. They would leave their kids with family just to be able to drink and smoke. They couldn't give a rip about their kids. When we met them of course God had already taken over and this couple LOVED..... no no no ADORED is a better word, they adored their kids and if they would never have told me about their past..... I would have always thought they loved Jesus and lived for him all their lives. SPEECHLESS. It left me speechless. They remembered their past but saw what God did for them and their lives left speechless. HOW AWESOME!
That's what I want to do this retreat. I want the girls to understand were all going to have a past. Were going to have bad parts in our lives we want to forget and never relive, but once we let God atone it for us, or take care of it for us, our lives will forever be changed and be left speechless.
Maybe I needed to hear it more than the girls do but it's something on my heart that I couldn't hold in anymore This world has left woman old and young to think they have to be something that theyarent and all our Creator wants us to be is loved and cherished for who we are. No matter how hard it takes us to believe it ourselves. Were worth it.
In February SOS, a local ministry that Jeremy and I volunteer at, is having it's annual Girls Retreat. They take their teenage girls to Still Creek Ranch and love on them and show them how much they are loved by their Creator. This year will be my second year going with them. The only difference is that this year I am going to be 6 months pregnant....... so wish me luck.
After last year's retreat I haven't stopped talking that 2013's retreat needed to be different for these girls or we were going to lose them. A little background information on me: i love youth ministry. They may get on my nerves, make me cry, laugh, and want to pull their hair out but I LOVE THEM. My heart has always wanted to see a generation want Jesus whole-heartedly with no reservations. I believe that there are tons of youth ministers with the same vision but do they really believe it? DO they really want that, or in the back of their minds do they think," we can try but, we all know these teens are in too deep." That's what the enemy wants us to think. I think a lot of parents push their kids in to church in hopes of "saving " them but in reality that just makes their hearts harder towards Jesus , and it won't be until THEY decide they need to change that they will. How do we get them there? Prayer, love, and a LOT of patience.
As I have been thinking about how this year's retreat could be different I have come up with a broad but such a profound subject these girls need to learn. They know that they are "God's Princesses." We all know that but do we all understand what that really means? Do we understand that with this title comes some stipulations but no requirements that would defile us as women or embarrass us to our core being? I believe these girls have been told by the world you can be a princess, but you need to please me when I want, you need to be a size 2, wear the less clothes the better, no one really cares about you they just want your body. and Love? What is that? only something that the world makes you think you get when YOU lower your standards. These girls have heard princess stories all their lives, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Little Mermaid ( my personal fave), and Cinderella. They see a relationship of a man a woman that is pure with obstacles but in the end they live happily ever after. That's what they grow up wanting , until the boy in 7th grade runs up and grabs her butt. Then Everything is shattered. Her dreams of being valued as a human being slowly start to slip away. Now she sees herself as just an object.
There is a story in Ezekiel that depicts Jerusalem as a woman in the story. It starts with a baby in a ditch with blood and the cord still attached to her. A man finds her and takes her in.He clothes her and cleans her up. He adorns her with jewels and shows her love. She becomes of age to be married and she and the man marry. They make a convenant to a each other, a promise to one another to love each other. ( What a love story huh) As tijme goes by she begins to slip away. she builds brothels for herself and pays lovers to come see her. She has the biggest most lavish brothels and as the Message Bible puts it makes it a place for her whoring. Her husband finds her and shows her everything shes done. How she's broken the covenant between them and given herself away after everything he has done for her. The best part is the end. He meets with her and says ( my paraphrased version of course) " I have made a covenant with you and you broke it. I promised to love you and you threw it away. I come before you now to say I want to make a new covenant with you. It will be a covenant where you will remember your past, you wont forget what happened. but with the new covenant , after I make atonement for you, ( after he fixes her problem cleans up her mess which is AMAZING by the way) you will speechless." The End
Can you imagine that for jus a second? Imagine every wrong you have ever done and how you have hurt God by your words and actions and how at times maybe you have turned away from him because you didn't feel him "near", imagine him cleaning up YOUR mess and saying hey, I am going to take it upon me to fix this for you and leave you speechless on what a change it will be. Which is EXACTLY what happens when we decide to live for him. He takes our world and turns it around and the change leaves in awe of what our Creator can do for us. I a couple that we met while at CFNI who you would never guess that they were at the bar everynight and weekend they got. They would leave their kids with family just to be able to drink and smoke. They couldn't give a rip about their kids. When we met them of course God had already taken over and this couple LOVED..... no no no ADORED is a better word, they adored their kids and if they would never have told me about their past..... I would have always thought they loved Jesus and lived for him all their lives. SPEECHLESS. It left me speechless. They remembered their past but saw what God did for them and their lives left speechless. HOW AWESOME!
That's what I want to do this retreat. I want the girls to understand were all going to have a past. Were going to have bad parts in our lives we want to forget and never relive, but once we let God atone it for us, or take care of it for us, our lives will forever be changed and be left speechless.
Maybe I needed to hear it more than the girls do but it's something on my heart that I couldn't hold in anymore This world has left woman old and young to think they have to be something that theyarent and all our Creator wants us to be is loved and cherished for who we are. No matter how hard it takes us to believe it ourselves. Were worth it.
much love,
desi
Oh What a Year it Will Be!
Welcome to 2013! I know it's a little late...... but life sometimes gets a little busy and blogging doesn't become that priority in my life that I wanted to make it. Hopefully this year with everything that is going on I will blog more so I can remember events through the beautiful chaos.
What is the beautiful chaos happening this year you might ask? Well, in September 2012 we found out we were going to have another addition to our beautiful family. It was something we had been praying and waiting for. It took a lot of self control , and friends reassurance to trust that God would do it in His timing and when He saw we were ready. Bam! It happened just like that too. Since we got pregnant in September, we are due at the end of May. Which is perfect because we are both in the education field and get the summers off so we both get to enjoy this new bundle of joy along with her big sister, Ava. This is a big deal for us because we always have prayed that if we had a baby it would be at a time where we both could work together and see the baby more instead of switching off baby duties while the other goes to work.
We found out in January that we are having another little girl! We can't decide on a name yet. We just want something that is timeless yet a little different. Who knew it would be so hard :) We have a few ideas but still nothing is set in stone I am sure when it is everyone will know.
As for Ava, oh my word, she is the coolest kid right now! She says the funniest things and the wittiest. She has a heart of gold when she is content, but when she's having a rough day its more like a heart of white gold :) No really she has grown to be such a cool kid. she has a loving heart and awesome attitutde and she just wants to be a kid. She doesn't want to be grown or act like the big kids she just wants to be Ava. Thats the best thing I could have asked for. She loves being in church and being around people who love Jesus. I didn't think she could tell the difference but she knows when a person loves Jesus and when they don't. I seriously am overwhelmed at what the Lord has done in this little girls heart. I can't wait to see the plans he has for her either. I'm being a sappy mom but seriously.
Family updates:
We have 2 weddings , 4 babies, and a graduation happening this year ALONE! Crazy right! In August we have 2 weddings, one that Jeremy and I are standing in with the Bible. We feel so honored to be asked to give this to the newly wed couple as they start their journey as a married couple wanting to know the ways of the Lord. The second wedding Ava will be a co-flower girl. She's pretty stoked about the position and I think she's at the right age now she can finally shine as one of those sweet girls walking down the aisle. The summer is full of babies for our family. I am due in May my cousin is due in April and another cousin is due in July. My sister in law , whom PRAISE the LORD is pregnant is due in June. Just a little backgroud information, my SIL was told she could never have a baby on her own ever again due to a condition she had. She would only be able to concieve through invitro. Well look here DOCTOR, we have a DOCTOR of DOCTORS and she and my brother conceieved with OUT invitro and are expecting the bundle of joy in JUNE! BAM! We are so excited for them. She thinks she steals my thunder because she got pregnant with my neice when I had Ava as well but I wouldn't want it any other way. Who cares, I LOVE being pregnant with other ladies. It helps me know I am not alone :)
That's it for now I just wanted to document some things before I forgot. Life is good and God is always good! What a great combination.
What is the beautiful chaos happening this year you might ask? Well, in September 2012 we found out we were going to have another addition to our beautiful family. It was something we had been praying and waiting for. It took a lot of self control , and friends reassurance to trust that God would do it in His timing and when He saw we were ready. Bam! It happened just like that too. Since we got pregnant in September, we are due at the end of May. Which is perfect because we are both in the education field and get the summers off so we both get to enjoy this new bundle of joy along with her big sister, Ava. This is a big deal for us because we always have prayed that if we had a baby it would be at a time where we both could work together and see the baby more instead of switching off baby duties while the other goes to work.
We found out in January that we are having another little girl! We can't decide on a name yet. We just want something that is timeless yet a little different. Who knew it would be so hard :) We have a few ideas but still nothing is set in stone I am sure when it is everyone will know.
As for Ava, oh my word, she is the coolest kid right now! She says the funniest things and the wittiest. She has a heart of gold when she is content, but when she's having a rough day its more like a heart of white gold :) No really she has grown to be such a cool kid. she has a loving heart and awesome attitutde and she just wants to be a kid. She doesn't want to be grown or act like the big kids she just wants to be Ava. Thats the best thing I could have asked for. She loves being in church and being around people who love Jesus. I didn't think she could tell the difference but she knows when a person loves Jesus and when they don't. I seriously am overwhelmed at what the Lord has done in this little girls heart. I can't wait to see the plans he has for her either. I'm being a sappy mom but seriously.
Family updates:
We have 2 weddings , 4 babies, and a graduation happening this year ALONE! Crazy right! In August we have 2 weddings, one that Jeremy and I are standing in with the Bible. We feel so honored to be asked to give this to the newly wed couple as they start their journey as a married couple wanting to know the ways of the Lord. The second wedding Ava will be a co-flower girl. She's pretty stoked about the position and I think she's at the right age now she can finally shine as one of those sweet girls walking down the aisle. The summer is full of babies for our family. I am due in May my cousin is due in April and another cousin is due in July. My sister in law , whom PRAISE the LORD is pregnant is due in June. Just a little backgroud information, my SIL was told she could never have a baby on her own ever again due to a condition she had. She would only be able to concieve through invitro. Well look here DOCTOR, we have a DOCTOR of DOCTORS and she and my brother conceieved with OUT invitro and are expecting the bundle of joy in JUNE! BAM! We are so excited for them. She thinks she steals my thunder because she got pregnant with my neice when I had Ava as well but I wouldn't want it any other way. Who cares, I LOVE being pregnant with other ladies. It helps me know I am not alone :)
That's it for now I just wanted to document some things before I forgot. Life is good and God is always good! What a great combination.
much love,
the alderetes
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