Old Girl Dead, New Girl Reborn.....

My quest of "who I am" has been a long one. But I will say it has been a consistent one also. In finding out who I am, I've been realizing who I am NOT. Im not just a mom. I am not just a wife. Although those are great titles, they are still so small. Not minimizing the role, because they are both HARD WORK! I KNOW! But they are roles contained in a very small part of a lifelong journey. When I was in Middle & High School there was this thing that people called me that drove me up a wall. "Hey Dolly's little sister!" I'd say hi back, at first. But after a while I got tired of it & my reply changed... "My name is Ana." or "Dolly's Little Sister has a name." As I grew into adulthood I started thinking about all that. Why did it bother me so much? Was it Vanity? Was it ego? Was it the need to be "seen"? Was it the need to not be associated with her? Growing up i've always been the independent one. Always w

Hi Family, It truly has been a minute since I've posted anything, and if that affected you negatively in any way, I apologize. Everyone hits a time in their lives where the storms come and sometimes they winds blow a little harder than before, and the rain is a little more torrential than before, and sometimes the damage left is more than you had ever imagined you could have. But we are always Victorious on the other side when we anchor ourselves to Him (Hebrews 6:19) and lean not to our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) along the way. So at my church, we recently completed a small series that has stuck to me in a way that messages sometimes do when you know there is still more for you to see. The topic was "Destiny Over Dreams". It was a really great series with a lot of cut and dry truth. Sometimes your toes got stepped on and all you could do was say ouch and keep getting your word. The other day I was listening to someone I've mentioned before in my posts and

Hi Family! So there are 3 things that the Lord has been pressing on my heart lately. I'm compelled to share one of them, and that is "Making a Decision".  You see, everyday we are faced with making a decision. What am I going to wear? How will I do my hair? What do I want to eat? What do I want to do?  All sorts of decisions. And if you are even halfway reasonable, you try to be sure that the decision you make benefits you and/or the people around you. I was reminded a couple of weeks ago of when I decided to give my heart to the Lord. The changes that I was seeing and experiencing in my life. I was sure the people in my home would see the difference, but after a while, I realized that the people at my job were also seeing the difference. I was leaving work Friday before last, and I happen to be leaving at the same time as a teammate. He asked if the family had any plans this weekend and I explained that we'd be at church that evening, the kids would return th

April 2, 1947 must have been a day that the Lord meditated on for a while.  He allowed what would become a wonderful, patient, forgiving mother. And He continually placed His Grace on the gift of Parenting for her. He allowed what would become a patient, forgiving, righteous, understanding and most of all a STRONG wife. And I’m sure there was a GREATER gift of GRACE that was needed for that as well. I am still learning, but this woman has been an amazing example of Mother as well as Wife for me. And I’m so grateful to God for having shown me where Grace has been present in her life as well as for me (especially as a child too when I got those whooping’s!). Here is Proverbs 31:10-31 (in Spanish of course) in honor of the greatest woman in my life. My Mother, on her Birthday. Esposa De Caracter Noble 10 Mujer hacendosa, ¿quién la hallará? Su valor supera en mucho al de las joyas. 11 En ella confía el corazón de su marido, Y no carecerá de ganancias. 12 Ella le trae bien y no mal Todos

Hey Family! I was watching a cartoon on Disney Jr with my baby girl. She loves this cartoon. Elena of Avalor. I can't lie, i'm all in it too. Singing all the songs with Sami and everything. Haa Haa Haa!!! Here is Princess Elena..... She is beautiful.  In her story, her parents are killed during an attack by the evil Queen Shuriki who then trapped Elena's grandparents and little sister in a painting. When she attempted to kill 16 year old Princess Elena, she inadvertently trapped Princess Elena in an amulet from the necklace Elena had on. The thing is that, Elena ended up trapped in that amulet for 41 years!!! It was after that time that Elena was rescued by another worthy princess  named Princess Sophia of Enchancia.  And they teamed up together to defeat the evil queen who took over Avalor after the royal family had "disappeared". But honestly, the day I watched the episode (again for the 5th time maybe), I saw something different. I wondered, was Princ

Hi Family, So, many of us have had some serious drama and turmoil in our recent pasts. It seems that whether it was self-inflicted, or the enemy just was causing raucous in our lives, it was anything but easy. For some, it was drama after drama after drama. For others it seemed to have a break in between where they could come up for air and take a breath before the next gut punch happened. And for some, it seemed like a mix of both those scenarios. I will say, personally, I was in the group that had a mix of both. But while I’m in this season of “coming up for air”, I can look back and what I see is strategy. You see, that enemy brought a whole lot. And when I look at the events that happened and the order that they took place, I can truly see a strategic wearing that was going on. I have never seen that before. Heard about it, yes. But I had never quite seen it. Maybe it’s because I can’t see anyone else’s life. And now that it went on in mine, I can take sobering that look back. I t