Take A Walk With Me

  Ever since RJ was a baby, I was never ready for when he would decide to make a change. When RJ is ready, he is ready. I still remember when he no longer wanted to nurse, he skipped the bottle completely and went straight to a sippy cup and he wasn't one yet. RJ takes his time to make sure he has it right. He prays about it. Does a lot of research and then when he has come to his decision, he is sure of it.  Today, he was talking about something he was working on and in the moment, I caught a glimpse of him as a little boy. I was like a moving picture of him from when he was little to the very moment of him standing there sharing his thoughts. I saw him as the amazing young man he is. Little boy no more. Happy. Confident. Sure. Hopeful. Dreaming. In a way, flying. My only child. The one I prayed for and gave to the Lord, is embarking on a new journey. This one, I must take a back seat on. This one will have me on my knees in prayer like never before. I hope and pray I have in...

  Ever since I was a child, I had a "call" to go overseas. My mom told me when I was five, she found me digging a hole in the ground because I needed to get to China. I had read a children's book and, in the book, they dug a hole to China. She used to joke that I was born speaking Chinese. In my late teens this call became more pronounced. I was 15 and Bro. Hattabaugh told me I was going to go to China him one day and I laughed and told him no, but the truth was God had been dealing with me for some time.  Then came the day that I was on my very first plane ride and it was with Bro. Hattabaugh to China. I spent 2 weeks there with him and a group of others. That birthed a deep desire in me to return. This was followed by a summer in Taiwan with two other girls, the missionary kids and another guy. We forged a lifelong bond. It could be years since we spoke or seen each other, but when we do, the connections is instant. This led to my going to Taiwan for two one-year trips....

  Tonight, RJ and I experienced our first  Faith Weekend at Heaven View. One of my favorite things about my church is the hallway filled with pictures of missionaries that this church supports financially and of course with prayer.  People brought international themed food and we enjoyed fellowship and great food together. Then, to my surprise and delight both Linder Brothers got up to speak. They are very funny people and truly have a heart for missions. I learned a long time ago there is a special blessing that comes when you give to missions. God is good. 

RJ and I decided to make Date Day a little different. We started with him driving through Tangelwood Park. Then we spent time with the horses. After that we went to Costco. It was RJ’s first time ever being in one. He really enjoyed their hot dog and said it was one of his favorite moments with me and one he will remember for a long time. The simplicity of it all made it all the more special. I love this young man and his simple heart. What an honor and gift it is to be his mother. God is good. 

 I have a handful of favorite and trusted preachers. You do know that not every sermon that is posted online lines up with God's word and you need to be careful what you listen to. That being said, there are some that I know are trusted and I look forward to watching on a weekly basis. One of them happens to be my pastor's brother. By the way, my pastor is and has been one of my favorite preachers for years. Now, instead of watching online, I get to hear him preach in person. My dog even has some favorite preachers. I will put her favorite preacher on while cleaning and she just lays on the couch to watch and listen. Some people put tv shows on for their dogs, I put preaching on for her. This particular one was listening to Bro Linder preaching on God making a way. It's such a good sermon that I wanted to share it on my blog. I encourage you to watch/listen to it. God hears you, is watching over you and He will make a way for you.  I know this because I have lived it. I con...

    Everyone should have a happy place. At work I have this little corner that every time I look at it, it makes me smile. It has a picture of my son with my CA sisters, a pink rubber duck, a butterfly sticker that a little girl put on my face when she came by the office and a picture of my coworker’s dog. They make me smile and lift my day. RJ and I have a place we like to stop at on the way home from church and it’s an amazing Taqueria called Cilantro Tacos. We get tacos and horchata to go. It’s our happy place.  If you don’t have one, I encourage you to find one. God is good. 

  Tonight, I had the joy of attending a baby shower for a beautiful family that recently started attending Heaven View. They are from another country. We had some amazingly delicious foods to eat. We also had waffle cookies and whipped cream. Their little boy came up to me and decided I looked like a teacher and would have some answers. He said “ Let me ask you a question” He wanted to know the names of everything on the table. He grabbed a waffle cookie and as he was enjoying it, he wanted to know why there was a can of shaving cream on the table. I with much delight taught what whipped cream was and put it in his cup. He put his face into the cup and put as much in his mouth as he could. This was followed by a great exclamation of “ This is Ahmaaaazing!”  Later he asked if he could see inside the church, so I took him to see the sanctuary. He yelled, this is so cool!  He was pure joy and I loved every minute of getting to know my new buddy. God is good . 

  It’s a Monday, but I have something going on every night this week, so I went by the park to say hello to Morante. I knew something powerful had happened inside of me this weekend, I didn’t realize how much until I had come home. I’m different on the inside. This past June when I started coming to this pasture, I was very broken. God met me here and he sent this horse to love on me and bring healing. This past weekend at a ladies conference, the Lord finished it and lifted a shame I have carried for years. I wondered if Morante would know too. He did. He came close and leaned in. Put his head to my head. Looked me in the eye and shook his head up and down. Gave me a little love and then went back to the pasture. Yes, my dear friend, I am whole. God has given me a new heart. God is good. 

  Over the years when we would visit NC, RJ made some new friends. Two of them being Jacob and Ben. Since we moved here, their friendship has become stronger. The boys call me Auntie Julia and I don’t mind it at all. They pray together, play ball together and talk nerd talk together. They also serve in the church together. Tonight, they happened to all be helping at the same Home Missions church in Taylorsville. RJ was running the sound via iPad, Ben was playing the keyboard and Jacob preached.  This to me is their greatest accomplishment. I’m so thankful. God is good. 

  RJ is a senior in high school and will be graduating in a few months. He applied to several colleges and received acceptances from 3 in California, 3 in New York and one in North Carolina. We heard from the last two on Friday. He has been given some amazing offers. I am so proud of him. He has worked very hard. One school is pretty much a full ride. It's now up to him to decide which state he wants to study in and what school he wants to do it in. He has a lot to factor in. I am praying for him as he makes this choice.  I want God's best for him.  I love my son and it's been a joy and honor to watch him grow into an amazing young man. God is good. 

This morning’s session for the NC Ladies Conference was about as real as it gets. I truly appreciated the ladies who were willing to be so open and honest. The service tonight was amazing. The sermon was on Praise Now. She talked about talking about what you want to be and where you want to be in the future and to praise God now for it. I wasn’t sure how this would be this weekend. I have a respect for the fierceness of these ladies. Grew closer to my church sisters and did some shopping. I’m also leaving lighter because I let go of some things I have been telling myself for years. Lies that are not who I am. I am ready for the plans God has for me. God has been so good to me. I am thankful for His mercy and His Grace. 

  I’m currently at the NC Ladies Conference. I have never heard Sis Rhonda Burk speak. She was honest, funny and anointed. She spoke about getting out from the darkness of a lie and being free in the light. It was a timely sermon for many, myself included. I spoke to my childhood scars and the scars from my broken marriage and told them they didn’t define me. I am a new creature in Christ. I’m a daughter of the King of  Kings.  It was liberating.  To add to the beauty of it all, I saw some very good friends that I love dearly. God is good. 

  When you grow up in CA, horchata is a part of your life. It’s delicious and it’s easy to find. I never learned how to make and I really wish I knew how. When I moved to New York, it was hard to find. Eventually, I came across variations of it, but they never tasted like home. When I moved to NC. I discovered to my great delight that the horchata here tastes just like home. It’s probably one of my favorite drinks right next to coffee. If you ever want to say you love me without saying a word, bring me a horchata. There are other things too, but that’s a blog for another day. God is good. 

  In honor of St. Patrick's Day I decided to take a quick look at my DNA background to remember if I had any Irish in me.  I didn't find an exact match to the Irish even though I know it's there somewhere. In fact I wrote this entire blog a few hours ago thinking I was talking about Ireland.  It was a busy day at work, I have a lot on my mind and well..I have no good excuse for such a huge blunder. Alas, here you go, a little family history that has some connection I am sure somehow to my Irish roots.  According to my test, I am 5% Irish.  I have a direct descendant is in 10th great grandfather on my birth mom's side. His name was Willam Lewyn Lyon II and he was born in Scotland December of 1580.  Somewhere along the way he connects to the same Lyons in the family tree of the former Queen of England who is my blood cousin, very distantly removed, but we do share a grandfather.  It's a pretty amazing family connection. However, I find it highly unlikely...

 I almost asked Pastor Linder if he was standing behind me at the park when I had been talking to God on Friday. I know of course he wasn't. The sermons today went along with what I shared this weekend. I want to say that I appreciate Bro. Linder. He's hilarious. He also loves the Lord and preaches as He believes God is leading him. I do want to make something very clear. I truly believe that two are better than one. I do believe that a couple needs to work hard to keep their marriage strong. I am not for divorce. There are some situations where it's avoidable and it's best. That being said, if you are bored with each other, it's time to start getting to know one another again. Relearn each other. Work at it.  There was a day that you loved each other so much that you wanted to marry each other. Find that new spark.  I am single. I was married. I am not going to go into why I got a divorced. God knows why. The people I trust the most know why and that is enough.  To...

 I have lost count of how many times I've been asked what my plans are. RJ will be starting college over the summer and will be fully independent when he starts driving on his own in October.  It's a process for me. As Christians we trust the plan God has for us, but we still need to make daily life decisions and also plan for the future. I know I will be staying in NC. I have signed an apartment lease for another year. I would like to eventually have my own house.  That is something in the future for me for many reasons. For now, NC is home and will continue to be unless God or life changes it. I love where I work and have no intentions of looking for work elsewhere. My church is amazing and try to help whenever and wherever I can.  The other big question I get a lot is if I will get married again. That's a loaded question. I am 48 and have no desire whatsoever to give birth to more children. The one I have is a miracle and a gift. I am content to watch him grow in ...

  I dropped RJ off at his youth even tonight and was headed home when I decided to watch the sunset from my special place I go to meet with the Lord. I sat my chair out and watched the most beautiful sunset. Shared my heart with my Heavenly Father. A gentle whisper of to be still followed with a let me show you. I sat quietly with tears streaming down my face. It was then that I realized that instead of the pasture being filled with horses, there were deer and they were all staring at me. Five minutes later a car pulls up and a very kind man walks up to me and says,  “Help me feed the deer”. So I took the bag of apples he handed me and together we threw bread and apples towards the deer. Then he poured corn out on the ground near where we were.  They were too afraid to come so I went back to my chair and he went to his car. The deer wouldn’t come to the corn. They ate everything else we offered them. The kind man left and I headed to my car. That same gentle whisper, let ...

  Tonight for our Bible Study at Heaven View, Bro Marcus taught an excellent lesson. He was talking about not being so focused on what’s in front or you or not in front of you that you lose out on what God has for you. We get impatient and we want God to hurry up or we just simply give up. He encouraged us to trust in the Lord. God does have a plan. I’m thankful for His promises. I can be impatient sometimes and I need to do better and waiting on the Lord.  Hold on, God has a plan and He will make a way. God is good. 

  When I moved to NC in June, I soon discovered that I lived near a beautiful park.  When RJ had a youth event, I would go sit by their small lake and watch the sunset while I ate my dinner.  I knew they had horses in the park because I drove by the stables and there was small enclosing that had horses in them. I would go see these horses and they would come to check me out and then walk away. One day I decided to drive on the other side of the park and discovered a beautiful horse pasture filled with horses. I started sitting there in my lawn chair and found it to be a place where the sweet presence of the Lord would meet with me. One horse in particular took a liking to me.  He would come greet me and stay grazing near where I was sitting. I finally decided to see if I could learn the horses name and if I could learn to ride him. I went by on a Saturday and did in fact learn his name. I also learned that he was privately owned and not one of the horses that was rid...

Psalm 27:13 :  Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Think about this promise. Think about this word.  When we get to Heaven what a glorious time that will be. Yet...YET....while we live, goodness and mercy follow us. As you walk with Christ, He will show you His goodness and mercy. You will see His promises come to pass. It may not come as you think it will come, it may not look like you think it will look, but God will answer your prayers. Springtime is here and it's a reminder that life does bloom. We serve a faithful God. Trust Him. Walk with Him. Stay the course. God does hear and He makes a way. God is good!

  One thing I have come to learn in the ministry/church world is that a preacher can pass away, but his/her legacy or his/her mantle lives on in those he/she mentored.  This morning, I heard two different sermons at Heavenview. Both were dynamic. Both preachers had the characteristics of their mentors. In the second service I could almost hear the echo of Bishop D D Davis intertwined with the words that Bro Brian Careccia was preaching.  It was good for my heart. I miss him a great deal.  I see the handprint of the Davis' in many at this church that I have grown to love and now call home. I don't take it for granted.  Every other Sunday, I help out at a Home Missions church in Taylorsville. Sometimes, RJ comes with me, sometimes he is helping at another church. This Sunday he came and helped run the sound. I love coming to this sweet church.  I glanced over at RJ and gratitude overflowed within me. We don't always understand God's plan, but His ways are per...

  Writing for me is a form of relaxation. I have been meaning to blog but was having difficulties with what I was going to write.  For some of my blogs, I might have two readers and for some it's in the 100's.  Thus, for the few who decide to take the time to read, I will attempt to post something on a daily basis. It will be a little bit of this and that. I might write about something simple that took place that day to a study I plan to start on regarding the different women of the Bible. You might get a mini sermon from me one day and the next how much I love horchata. I invite you to once again to take a walk with me as I live this new and very beautiful life in North Carolina.   I will start with the simplicity of the fact that as I write this, I am listening to the alto part for one of the songs we are singing in church on Sunday. I have the honor of being a part of the praise team at my church. It's been a very long time since I have done this and let me t...