This is truly how my world looks like since I am pregnant!
It all begun throwing up all my Thanksgiving dinner and having a huge migraine that even my husband's captain at the firehouse requested for me to stay over that night if I didn't get better.....yet I didn't have a clue and waited until the pain went away....

Then two weeks later, I found out the wonderful news of expecting a baby, with tears in our eyes, my husband and I could not believe on God's faithfulness to giving us this gift! I felt so much joy knowing that this miracle will come to a home where his/her parents put God as their first priority in their lives, and have been making sacrifices since long ago to be an example for our little miracle!

All these was wonderful, yet reality check came to my door! I never knew pregnancy symptoms were as bad as they are!!!!
I am constantly throwing up, full of nausea, extremely sensitive, and I get very painful migraines. Worst of all, I can get all these symptoms simultaneously at any time without warning.....As an oxymora, I am forced to learn to take my days one day at time, which is a blessing in itself. God wisely is teaching me to become a mom :)

Futhermore, I am recently find out that I can't have any type of meat including fish, not even smelling it! My poor husband is experiencing how life would have been if living with a vegetarian! I said poor, because if you know my husband, he is all into Paleo diet, which in summary is a diet of meats and vegetables, no CARBS!!! And now, all I can eat is soup, lots of vegetables and fruits, and plenty of CARBS, YUM!!! The joke is that baby is ruling for now.......

Despite of all, I am very happy and joyful to sing to my baby in Spanish "una ternurita, una ternurita es mi bebe" every time I feel bad and read to him/her. Also, it's a relieve knowing that every time I feel bad, it means that I am having a healthy pregnancy and my baby is growing strong!Literally,this baby is growing strong as on my 12 week check up, baby was already 6.2 inches....oh yeah, I guess baby didn't get the memo that I am petite :). Thankfully, baby is getting all my nutrients as so far I have only gained 3 pounds in 4 months while baby gets bigger & stronger!

Love it!

As a little twist on my quiet times, I want to share once in a while encouraging words or scriptures from my journal based on different themes. Here is the first theme:

FAITHFUL PROMISES

"Great faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It's simply taking God at His word and taking the next step." by Joni E. Tada

"God takes care of His own. He knows our needs. He anticipates our crises. He is moved by our weaknesses. He stands ready to come to our rescue. And at just the right moment He steps in and proves Himself as our faithful heavenly Father."  by Charles  Swindoll

"Faith goes up the stairs that love has made and looks out the window which hope has opened." by Charles H. Spurgeon

"Let us draw near to God...Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:22-23 NIV 

It's true about God's faithfulness as my life spells each of those words: FAITHFULNESS. I could not have this amazing life(not even a chance) if I would not have chosen to live by faith in all the most important decisions of my life. Even in the ones, that built lots of controversy, because FAITH is truly taking a step based on trusting God's word!
I hope my precious baby will have more FAITH than my husband and I combined! The main lesson I want to teach my child is that life without FAITH is like not living at all.......are you ready to take a leap of faith????

 

Today I had to write on the blog to ease my mind about my pregnancy symptoms.
Yes, I got lots of them, which are unexpectable or surprising day by day! I never know what kind of day I am going to get or in which order the symptoms will kick in.....For the past few months, I did through up on Thanksgiving day as the first sign that I was pregnant; I am tired constantly; I have nausea constantly; I have horrible migraines; I don't sleep through the night sometimes;I don't feel like eating and when I do I eat things I don't even eat on a regular basis! This is what makes me crazy as I don't like carbs all the time, but this baby wants carbs at all times, not to mention sweets!!!!
Today, for example, I eat some nice red meat and what happened??? I got pressure headache and through all up, twice! Then the only thing I could think of was "PANCAKES." 
Sometimes, i wonder if this baby is going to be a vegetarian, if it is, baby is going to have a hard time with PALEO DADDY, LOL!!!

Well, all these, just makes me laugh and be grateful that I can experience all these craziness because it's the BEST GIFT IN GOD'S CREATION!!!! All these symptoms are worthy because I already love this baby so much ,and I will give my life for him/her!!!! I already love you unconditionally my baby!!!!

Here is some inspiring quotes about having a baby:

"Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit."~Bill Cosby

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."~Author Unknown 

....And this one is the one I hope to see with contemplation later this year:

"If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle."~Vincent van Gogh

I can't wait to eat some of these tomorrow!!!

It's a new year 2013!!! I stopped writing for a few weeks because I have been with a lot of nausea, headache and other things as I am pleased to announce that I am pregnant! Yes, I am going to be a "mami"in August. There are so many things that I am looking forward through this new stage in my life, yet the most amazing one is to learn how to love in a deeper way, an unconditional love for my baby! As my baby grows and I learn more and more about it, I am facinated of the discoveries of this wonderful MIRACLE, how can I doubt of YOU GOD!, when only by your WILL this is possible!

I am beyond blessed....specially knowing that my baby will have an amazing father in many ways as fathers are the key of a child's growth.....our baby will be filled with love all around the USA & Bolivia! I couldn't ask for more this year....

I have been reading a lot from the book "From Shadows to Reality", today I will share about Adam & Eve and Abraham:

"The story of Adam and Eve is the story of every one of us. Adam and Eve were created to have an intimate relationship with God. God gave them freedom, but he also gave them choices which had consequences. Unfortunately, Eve and Adam abused that choice, as all of us do. The result of that choice was death, not immediate physical death as the first couple had  perhaps been anticipating,but death and separation from God were the eventual result of their choice to trust their own wisdom over the loving admonishment of God.,can anyone relate to this scenario?"

"Abraham was willing to give up his son, his only son. In this story we have a type and an antitype. Abraham the father of Isaac is the type. The antitype is God, the father of us all. When Abraham traveled those three arduous days to the Mount Moriah he was unwittingly demonstrating God's willingness to sacrifice that which is nearest and dearest to himself for our sake. And it is not coincidence that the journey to Mount Moraiah lasted for three days. This is too tells us about God sacrificing his son for our sins. From the moment Abraham set out with this son to make the sacrifice, Issac was as good as dead. Three days later, Abraham received his sacrificed son back from the dead. This prefigures the three days between the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection, when God received his son back from the dead."

 See, the Old Testament is becoming more and more personal to Jesus...."Many thousands of books, poems, songs, plays and the like have been produced by the people to express the human condition, yet God outdid them all right in the beginning of the Bible using the simplest of stories..."

I am excited to share my thoughts and notes from a new spiritual book "From Shadow to Reality," by John Oakes,PH.D. This is the perfect time too as we get closer to the celebration of Jesus' birth,Christmas! The celebration of Jesus is more than Christmas is the reminder of the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the law, our salvation. He is the truth of all the hidden secrets from the Old Testament;this truth helps us to trust in God's word and have a relationship with Him!

I will share different examples as I read along,which connects and answers mysteries from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Trust me is fascinating and so surreal!
Like John Oakes said himself about his book:

"The theme of this book is that Old Testament is a mystery. Its teachings, events, people, statements, ceremonies and celebrations, from the smallest detail to the broadest themes, are foreshadows, symbols, prophecies of the greater reality which is revealed in the New Testament and its chief character, Jesus Christ. Is this all coincidence and luck?"

Here is an example to compare between the bronze snake up on a pole and Jesus Christ crucifixion:

 ^"Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people wanted to give up because of the long way.  They spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is no food and no water. And we hate this bad food.”  Then the Lord sent snakes with a bite of poison among the people. They bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.  So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord, that He will take away the snakes from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.  The Lord said to Moses, “Make a special snake and put it up on a long piece of wood. Everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it.”  So Moses made a brass snake and put it up on the long piece of wood. If a snake bit any man, he would live when he looked at the brass snake." Numbers 21:4-9.

^"As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." John 3:14. 

Coincidence or luck, I don't think so....it's all part of the plan....it's like the Old Testament is performing a play of mysteries for us to be revealed in the New Testament!  More to come....

 

I hope everyone had a cozy and gracious day at Thanksgiving, I was in awe of the love and care of the people around me,specially at the firehouse as I was not feeling well, and I felt their compassion that drives in them to be a firefighter, like my husband. Truly, the best of the holidays is to see the reflection of the spirit and the hearts of people, who are made in God's image. 

Well, now, here is more of Ezekiel:

• "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is an illustration of what will happen to Jerusalem. I place her at the center of the nations, but she has rebelled against my regulations and decrees and has been even more wicked than the surrounding nations."5:5-6
• "But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will scattered among the nations of the world. Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins."6:8-9
• "Go in, he said and see the wicked and detestable sins they are committing in there! So I went in and saw the walls engraved with all kinds of crawling animals and detestable creatures. I also saw the various idols worshiped by the people of Israel."8:9-10
• "Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord's temple. At the entrance to the sanctuary, between the entry room and the bronze altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the sanctuary of the Lord. They were facing east, bowing low to the ground, worshipping the sun!" 8:16

Before I go to continue baking sugar cookies here is one of my favorite quotes lately:

"My love for you,notwithstanding, I love to make you smile."Russell Miles.

One of the best ways that I could understand a book in the Bible, specially the Old Testament, is by highlighting my impressions. Then, here it is my highlights on the book of Ezekiel(base on NIV translation):

Chapters 1,2,3

• "Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lauzli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. All around him was a glowing  halo, like a rainbow the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone's voice speaking to me." 1:26-28.
• "Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don't be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. You must give them messages whether they listen or not." 2:6-7.
• "The voice said to me, 'Son of man, eat what I am giving you, eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 'Fill your stomach with this,'he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth." 3:1-3.

To be continued...


*Here is a poem that I got from the book that I previously mention about writing sentences:

"One day the Nouns were clustered in the street.

An Adjective walked by, with her dark beauty

The Nouns were struck, moved, changed.

The next day a Verb drove up, and created the Sentence."

               (Kenneth Koch. Permanently 1960)