Rebuke the Wind and the Sea will Appease

The account of Jesus calming the storm is told mentioning a detail in particular in the Gospel of Mark: that Jesus didn't rebuke the sea, but the wind (Mark 4:39). This is because the wind was what provoked the big waves that covered the boat. In other words, Jesus dealt with the cause of the problem and not just with the problem itself.

The disciples weren't afraid of the furious wind but of the waves, because the waves swamped the boat (Mark 4:37) and they could sink and drown. The disciples looked at the raising waves and how they fell on the boat and their hearts filled with fear. They didn't looked at the invisible force behind the raising of the sea waves, but their focus was on the sea. Jesus didn't only deal with the problem (the waves), but also with the cause of it (the wind).

Check what Mark 4:37 says in the New King James Version, "And a great windstorm arose." Jesus knew what the real essence of the storm was: the wind. The disciples didn't. They thought that their only problem was the sea waves. They didn't realize that if Jesus didn't rebuke the wind and just said to the wind to be calmed, it was just matter of time for the waves to raise up again. That's why He rebuked the wind first, and then calmed the sea.

Have you recognize what is the real essence of the storm you go through? Maybe you're only watching "the waves that fall on your boat" which fill you up with fear, but don't see what provoke those waves. Maybe you say:
- My problem is my son's nightmares, but you don't focus on what causes those nightmares.
- My problem is my debts, but you don't focus on the bad habits that cause those debts.
- My problem is the estrangement with my spouse, but you don't focus on what causes that estrangement.
- My problem is that I'm sickly, but you don't focus on your eating habits and lack of exercises that cause those sicknesses.
- Etc., etc., etc.

Proverbs 26:2 states that causeless curse doesn't come. Rather than bury yourself in the symptoms, deal with the cause of them. Stop wasting time and energy solving the same problem again and again, and rather use that time and energy to deal with the causes of that problem.

Maybe you've been dealing for long time only with the problem, but not with the cause of it. That's why it constantly appears! If you want to get rid of that problem once and for all, ask for help to your heavenly Father so that He may help you to recognize what you are doing or maybe what you are expose to, which provokes the problem, and of course, ask wisdom to finally get rid of it.

Hope this may helped you!

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I'm sure that these following links about more faith and grace teachings will help you:

• Believe that You'll TAKE it, and it'll Come: Learn how to receive what you are asking God for.
• Rest from Yourself: Learn that we should stop trying to win our good Heavenly Father's favor, and just rest.
• Focus on what your Heavenly Father Does: Sometimes we think that God is solving the problems that the devil makes, but it's actually the opposite way: the devil is trying to ruin the blessings that God has created for you.

On your way to Fulfill the Vision God gave you

You, that have received a vision from God, can learn a great deal from Joseph's testimony so you won't commit the same mistakes he did, because if Joseph would've known a series of elements proper to the vision that comes from God, surely he would've saved himself many bad moments.

WHEN the vision was going to be fulfilled
Joseph didn't know when God planned his vision to be fulfilled. By the excitement shown when he told his brothers about the vision (Genesis 37:5-11), surely Joseph thought that it'd be fulfilled within few days, maybe weeks, but it wasn't, because his vision was fulfilled 20 years after he received it!

Have you received a vision from your heavenly Father that hasn't been fulfilled yet? Wait for it, because though it tarries, it will surely come! (Habakkuk 2:3) It doesn't matter if you received it many years ago, your Father was faithful in putting that vision in your heart and will be faithful in fulfilling it! Remember, He is the Author and the Finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).

WHERE the Vision was going to be fulfilled
Joseph didn't know neither where the vision was going to be fulfilled. Surely he thought that it was going to be fulfilled right there where he was in Canaan, but it wasn't; it was fulfilled in Egypt, a different land, with a different culture, beliefs, costumes and language.

Unless that you have sensed that your Father spoke to you about a specific place, I recommend you to not assume that you know the place where the vision will be fulfilled, because if you're assuming a place that He never told you, you might be feeling frustrated for not being in that place or maybe you're making wrong decisions taking as reference a wrong place.

HOW the Vision was going to be fulfilled
Definitely Joseph thought that his family was going to say "amen!" to his vision and immediately they were going to bow down before him to fulfill the vision. It didn't happen like that. Joseph's imprudence combined to his brother's hate resulted a very sad way for Joseph. But remember this: The things that happen to you do not determine if your vision will fulfill or not. Your decisions do.

Are many things happening to you that make you think that they're taking you away from what your heavenly Father has for you? Well, if you get to think that you're getting away from your vision, then you are; but if you keep being faithful to Jesus, keep walking one step at the time, keep serving others, keep taking the best you can the opportunities that come along the way, let me tell you that you haven't moved away from fulfilling with what your heavenly Father has for you. You're in the right path. Keep it up! The fulfilling of your vision is getting nearer!

Remember that your heavenly Father gave the vision TO YOU. He neither gave it to anybody else nor to the devil. You are the only owner of your vision! Therefore, NOBODY has the power to move you away from it. The only person with the power to move you away from your vision is you.

The WHY of the Vision
Maybe the most important part that Joseph failed to understand was the reason of God's vision. When he saw in his dreams that the sheaves and the stars bowed down before him (Genesis 37:5-11), Joseph thought that his family would serve him, but God's intention was exactly the opposite: Joseph was going to serve his family by providing them food so they won't starve to death.

This principle works for ALL the visions from your heavenly Father. In other words, if the ultimate purpose of the vision is not to serve others, that vision didn't come from God. You are confusing a personal desire with a God's vision. Remember this: God didn't call you to be served by others, looked by others, applauded by others, praised by others, admired by others. He didn't call you to use others to fulfill your vision. Your heavenly Father called you to serve, look after, lift up, help and add value to others.

It doesn't matter what God has called you to, God called you to serve.

It doesn't matter in what position you are, if you're a leader or not, if you're the head or not, if you're known or not, if you have years serving or if you just started, it doesn't matter what you're doing, the ultimate purpose of the vision you received from God is to serve others. So, if you are serving others, you are on your way to fulfill your vision.

That's why Joseph never strayed from the way to fulfill his vision, because he served whatever the situation he was in: he served others as slave, he served others as prisoner and he served others as prime minister of Egypt.

NOTE: Joseph's brothers didn't reject God's vision, what they rejected was Joseph's presentation of it. Why would Joseph's brothers be against someone who'd save them! But Joseph didn't present himself like that, but like one that they had to serve. When people rightly understand the why of God's vision, almost always they'll receive it with open arms. People reject God normally because we, Christians, do not represent Him correctly. Our Father knows that the best way to win people's heart is by serving them, meeting their needs, showing them love, and the vision He gave you is not the exception. When you truly understand the heart of your vision, people will receive it.

The RANGE of the Vision
The vision Joseph received was only one little part of what God had for him, because God showed him when he was 17 that he'd serve his family, but ended serving all the nations of that region affected by the famine. The total range, that's to say, how many people he actually helped and its transcendental impact, Joseph never knew.

Do you believe that the vision that's in your heart is everything that your heavenly Father has for you? If you think so, you're wrong. That's only a part of a gigantic whole. Your Father has much more than He showed you, much more impact to others than what you think, much more touched lives than what you believe. Only in Heaven we'll actually know of the truly range of the vision that our heavenly Father gave us.

I hope this blessed you!

3 Steps to Become a Good Failure

I want to share to you three advices that, no doubts, will take you to failure. Remember that all good failure people do regularly what successful people almost never do. All good failure person make excuses, listen to everybody and plan nothing. Therefore, if you want to be a failure all your life, don't stop keeping this advices!

1. Make Excuses

Not all is your fault, so why do you have to take responsibility of everything that happens to you? Do you make the decisions of the government? Did you plan that bad thing that happened to you, that marked you and that prevented you emotionally and/or physically? Is it your fault that that man, woman, boss, coworkers, are the way they are? Of course not!

Stop listening to those that encourage you all the time because it's for sure than they didn't go through the things you did. You are the sorry, poor and pitiful person that deserves the help of all! They don't! Surely they grew up favored by destiny and will never understand your situation.

So, every time you got the chance to improve in some area, remember that you have the right to make an excuse for not to do so. What you have to do is to wait for the perfect conditions so just then to do something.


2. Listen to Everybody

Unless you want to be a hermit and exile yourself to a desert island, you have to start to compare yourself to everybody. Don't be self sufficient and proud to think that you are alright. Why to listen to only wise people, to the ones that care for you and to the ones that have obtained success? What kind of discrimination is that? This isn't a monarchy nor a dictatorship. We live in democracy!, and in such everybody deserves to be listened.

Therefore, you have to start listening to ALL your critics, to all of those that like to opine comfortably seated in their seats but they'd never be willing to play in the field, to all of those envy people that love to have what you have, to all those socia media trolls that spend five hours daily behind a screen applying their gift of criticizing others. Listen to them all!, unless that you believe that you are better that them.

And, of course, try to please everybody. Stop being selective about serving Jesus! Jesus said that we have to love are neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39) and that we have to do good to all (Galatians 6:10), didn't He?


3. Do not Plan

Plans are the modern invention of the self called "leadership and motivation masters" to maintain you slaved, and God wants you to live in freedom! (Galatians 5:13).

Short, mid and long-term plans? What's it for?, you won't fulfill their deadlines anyways and the only thing that this will be useful for is to make you feel bad and condemned, and then you'll be buying books about how to be free from condemnation, surely written by the same authors!

Living in freedom, guided by the Holy Spirit to where He wants to take you is much better! Leave now those plans to loose weigh, those goals to learn another language, that exercise routine and all of those planning nonsense that the only thing they are good is for taking your freedom.


Keep it up!
If you've been following these advices, surely your life heads to failure. Keep it up! Don't Stop! And if you've not followed them, surely your life is becoming into one of those weird exceptions where, in time, everything turn out well. But, why do you want to be the exception? Why do you want to live alone? Join the great family of failure people of all around the world and I promise that "loneliness" is something that you'll never feel!

PD: Yeap, I was being ironic =), but with much love!

Do exactly the opposite and you will surely obtain success in all the areas of life!

Hope it helps!

How to Juice

When you juice, you can combine cucumber, carrot and spinach. It not only has a good flavor, but also it's a good combination of vitamins. If you want, you can add to it celery, ginger and/or beetroot. In fact, you can add whatever you want. I recommend you to not combine veggies with fruit, because I heard that's not good for you. But above all, do it with much love, specially if it is for your wife!

I DON'T LIKE JUICING, but I felt that my heavenly Father was telling me that doing so is my ministry. And not any ministry, but your main ministry. I felt that He was telling me that I have to learn to do it with the same willingness, joy, excellence and anointing as when I taught behind a pulpit, because she, my amorcito, my Ceci, is my main ministry.

I understood that it'd be useless for me that I can give good teachings to many if I don't know how to serve her. I understood that when serving, it doesn't mean that you're gonna do ALWAYS what you like, and this doesn't mean that it doesn't have to be done with all willingness and excellence, always improving in what's being done.

Maybe the most important thing that my dear Father revealed me is that my marriage is not the preparation for my real ministry, but it is my real ministry! Whatever comes next will rest and develop on the foundation of our marriage. In the same way that the tree branches are sustained and nourished by the trunk, all the public ministry areas that my heavenly Father will add to us will be sustained and nourished by my marriage with my beauty (that's how me and my boys refer to her at home).

This changed everything in me. And it still does.

This revelation is the main anchor to which I constantly hold on, it's the main energy source when I have to do something for her that I don't want and it is my main "north", my compass that helps me to find the way and guides me everyday in my marriage.

When I received this, I remember that I felt the same presence of my loving Father that I felt teaching behind a pulpit, but this time it was making a papaya juice. While tears were coming down, I took it like a confirmation of the real, powerful and fundamental that this would be to me.

I hope this testimony may have helped you.

May our Father keep blessing you!

Prayer II: Learning to Pray

The Jewish people knew a great deal of the Bible, at least the current Bible in Jesus's day, that's to say, the Old Testament. The most studious Jews learnt by heart ALL the Old Testament. If you've ever boasted about memorizing part of the Bible, next one of them, you won't have a chance!

The disciples, as Jewish, also knew a lot of the Old Testament and, of course, knew to pray; or at least, they thought so, because they came to Jesus one day to ask Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1).

I think that when the disciples saw Jesus's miracles, heard His powerful teachings and, above all, when they saw how He prayed, they reflected, got sincere and came to the conclusion that their Master prayed much better than them. They realized that Jesus's prayers were effective and authentic, so they humbled themselves putting all their knowledge aside, and asked Him: "Teach us to pray." In order to be able to ask Jesus "teach us" from the bottom of their heart, first they had to recognize that they didn't know. To be filled, they had to be emptied.

To be able to learn, first you have to recognize that you don't know. If you think you know, you won't be able to learn.

So, what was Jesus's answer? What did He do? Jesus proceeded to teach them. Do you know what this tells me? It tells me that we can learn, because if Jesus would've answered: "You know what, it's too late for you guys because you know already too much and it's hard to re-teach somebody", "this is for just a few selected people, and you're not one of them", or if He just would've said: "No, I don't want to teach you", then we could be sure that learning to pray is something that we'll never get. But it wasn't like that! Jesus taught them to pray because He knew that they could learn! And so it is for us!

Do you want to learn to pray like Jesus? Ask him to teach you! Put all your knowledge aside, your experience, studies and pride so you can learn. Remember that He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6), and be sure that He'll teach you like a Father to a son. Just say to Him: "Jesus, teach to pray."

Hope this may helped you!

The best way to stop doing the wrong

Do you want to change? Do you want to stop doing the wrong that you know you have to quit doing? Surely you've tried for long time to quit that addiction, that bad habit, to change that personality trait that has brought you so many problems, but without good results. I'm gonna give you now the way to stop doing the wrong thing: Do good.

No kidding! The best way to stop doing wrong is doing good!

It's not about of just trying to stop doing wrong things, but of doing good things. That bad habit has to be replaced by other in order for it to disappear, and what's better than by a good habit!

This is not about of just resisting doing bad things. Waiting for that moment of anxiety to come wherein temptation already started to take over the will, just to start saying: "I won't do it! I won't do it! I won't do it!", is an 100% inefficient way. The best way is NEVER ALLOW THAT DESIRE TO START GROWING.

If you analyze the daily life of a person with a bad habit, you'll note that it's all designed for that bad habit to appear and to flourish. That bad habit or addiction didn't just all of a sudden appear out of the thin air with no reason, but it flourished because it's fed by the many decisions that are made in a daily basis. That's why that the best way to be free from that wrong habit is creating a new one.

It's not about to stop doing wrong, but to do good.

It's not a new decision you have to make, but a bunch of it. You have to re-design your life style. It's nonsense to think that doing the same thing you'll obtain different results. That's why your decisions have to aim to create a new life style. For example, make the decision to practice a sport, to create a new group of friends, to take classes of something new, to assist more to your church, to be part of a small group in it, to actively participate in the events it organizes, etc. This kind of decisions will be changing your life style, using the time you used before to cultivate that bad habit to create a new and good one, you'll be surrounding yourself with people that will naturally help you to go to that new direction because they are going to that same direction!

By doing so, in time, you'll realize that you won't be worrying for not doing that bad thing, but for doing new good things. You'll note that bad thing you used to do will be a past thing, you won't remember how you quit doing it, because your focus will have changed, because you won't be worried on destroying the bad thing, but on building a good one.

I hope this may helped you!

The Honor to be a Parent

Something we can highlight in the chapter 5 of Genesis is that, for God, the most important and transcendent thing in the life of every man mentioned there is the children they had. Realize that their achievements, victories and feats are not mentioned, only the fact that they had children.

Dr Edwin Loius Cole taught that this modern society honor, recognize and value achievements and titles: "the great and award-winning doctor in medicine with Phd in such prestigious university", "the recognized scientist with 5 different specialities discoverer of this radioactive substance", "this sport record breaker 8 times world winner", etc., but it doesn't honor, recognize nor value a good father.

Sadly, we invest a lot of time and energy to build a great name so we can be recognized and remembered for generations, but we don't give the due importance to the great privilege we have to be fathers or mothers.

How many of us remember our great great grandfather's name? I think just a few of us. How about our great great great great great grandfather's name? I think none of us. Why do we think, then, that we will be remembered? Why that stubbornness of magnifying our name when the only ones we should be great for is our sons and daughters?

The only name we should magnify is Jesus. If we do that, He will make our name great (Genesis 12:1-3), but even in that, do not get too excited, because it won't be forever. Besides, when Jesus magnifies your name isn't for the sake to make you known and that you may be gloried, but for making Him known and that He may be glorified.

Don't work for being recognized by society, but by your kids. Do not work to be great for society, but only for your kids.

To be great for your kids isn't hard: Spend time with them, listen to them, play with them, get interested in what they are interested in, know them. The only difficult part of this is that we have to put our selfishness aside, that desire to be highlighted over others, but its reward goes much beyond of that ephemeral satisfaction of receiving praises from others, because what you'll feel is the filling with the sense of permanent satisfaction, that sense for having accomplished your most important task entrusted by your heavenly Father Himself: to be His reflection before His son or daughter, because, after all, they never were ours, they just passed by us.

Don't you know how to be a good father or mother? Your heavenly Father does. He is more interested in helping you than yourself, because He loves your children more than you ever will, He know them before you do and better than you. Let yourself to be loved by Him, let yourself to be filled with His love, His words and His embrace, because remember, more than being father or mother, you're His child. That will be the best way to learn to be a good father or mother.

Hope this may helped you!

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For more good teachings for parents take a look to this link: Enseñanzas para Padres (Teaching for Parents). The teachings are in English and Spanish ;-)

The willpower to decide better

You: what you are today, the way you think, the way you decide, the expectations and dreams you have, the discouragement or courage you feel, how negative or positive you are, etc., it's the result of ALL YOUR DECISIONS you've made in all your life. So, if you don't like what you are, change your decisions.

Do not expect that you're going to be different tomorrow if you keep doing today the same as always. Do not expect that you're going to change a lot tomorrow if you haven't changed much your decisions today. It's nonsense to expect a different tomorrow doing exactly the same today.

Many people complain about their lives. When you talk to them you'll always hear them to cite their list of all the people and situations responsible of why they are how they are. Everybody is responsible: the government, the economy, the family they grew up with, the boss they had, etc. Everybody BUT THEM. They don't realize that they were the ones that allowed to be as they are.

So that, IF YOU WANT TO BE DIFFERENT, START TO DECIDE DIFFERENTLY.

But, that's the problem. That is not that easy.

If you say to the person that want to loose some weight: "The solution is very simple: Just eat healthy," most likely his face will tell you sarcastically: "What's your secret to be that intelligent?" And this is because we normally do know what to do and what not to do, the real problem is that we don't do it because we don't have the willpower to do it.

I'm going to give you a tip which I assure you it'll help you: THE PRINCIPAL REASON FOR WHICH WE MAKE WRONG DECISIONS IS BECAUSE WE FILL OURSELVES WITH BAD THINGS. This is not the only reason, but it's by far the main one.

What you allow to enter in you, it'll come out of you.

If it came out of you, it's because it was in you.

Randomly pick a month of your life, examine it and realize how much time you spent with friends that are not good influence, how much time you watched TV, listened to radio or were on internet, filling yourself whether with bad things or with things that just not to help you to get to your goal. What do you do in your free time? What do you think when you are alone? All of this is of what you're actually filling yourself. This is your true influence.

"¡But this friend or this TV program is not bad at all!" Maybe that's right, but many times it's not about the bad thing we do, but the good thing we don't do. Ask yourself: Does this friend or this TV program (or whatever) help me to go to where I want? If the answer is NO, then the only thing it does is wasting your time. You are filling yourself with leisure.

So then, this is the tip: Don't worry so much for deciding differently, but for changing your influences, because when you change what influences you, then you'll eventually be changing the bad decisions you make.

Change your friendships, quit going to that place, stop watching that TV, radio or internet show, spend less time doing that that you know doesn't contribute to reach your dreams, read more books, go to seminars, take classes. This is starting to decide differently. This is filling yourself with good stuff which will give the willpower to decide correctly.

Assisting to a church and be part of it, maybe is the best decision you can make in this regard. You won't find people that love God, that encourage you to be better, that teach you the Word of God, that lift you up when you need it, etc., as much as in church. Get involve more and more in your local church and you will see that little by little your life will change to the better!

Hope it helps!

Get ready for your opportunity

Do not confuse a bad thing that happened to you with something bad that you "built". Something bad that happened to you is an accident, a betrayal, an unfair dismissal, an ill you didn't provoke, the traffic, a robbery, etc. It's something you had nothing to do; it just happened. These things happen to all of us: men and women, good and bad, to any economic level, country or belief.

In the other hand, something bad that has been "built" is a bad habit, an unpayable debt, a destroyed marriage (in most cases), infidelity, laziness, bad character, etc. It's something that you allowed to enter into your life and to grow little by little, and only now that it is bringing you a lot of problems, you consider it as a big problem. When you get to this point, you become a magnet for bad things.

But it happens the same with the good things.

Do not confuse a good thing that happened to you with a good thing that you built. Something good that happened to you is that you found money, that you met a really nice person, that you were raffled out for a prize among your workmates, that you got all the green traffic-lights, etc. It's somethings that you had nothing to do with, but it just happened. These things happened to all us: men and women, good and bad, from any economic level, county or belief.

In the other hand, something good you built is a good habit, economic stability, a good marriage, being on shape, character, discipline, etc. It's something that you willingly looked for and made grow little by little, and it is bringing you many blessings. Once you get to this point, you become a magnet for good things.

Our focus must be not on the things that happen to us, but on the things that we build.

Most people only "wait for good luck", because they think that that'll change their lives. Sadly, they don't realize that it's not about of ONLY to wait for that good luck, but to be ready for when it comes.

That "luck" or opportunity, as I said, comes to all (Ecclesiastes 9:11), sadly not everybody is ready for when it comes. Preparation is the key that opens the door of opportunity.

What do the people that never succeed do when opportunity comes to them? Because they didn't have a plan, when that extra money comes, they waste it in nonsense. When they meet a really nice person, this person doesn't want to be his/her friend because this person realizes that he/she is an emotional needy. When they got earlier to their job because the traffic was light, they waste more time in their social media. In other words, they just waste the good to came to them.

Are you ready for when your opportunity comes? Remember, YOUR OPPORTUNITY WILL DEFINITELY COME, so you'd better get ready. Preparation is the evidence that you believe that something good comes. Your preparation will determine what you will do with your opportunity when it comes: if your are ready, you'll take advantage of it, but if you are not ready, you will waste it away, or maybe, you won't even realize it came.

Hope it blessed you!

The blind leading the blind

Many make this mistake: They confuse love with wisdom. How's it? When they have a problem, they look for advice from the people they love instead of from the people that know what to do about it. Of course, if the people they love are the ones that know what to do, that'd be perfect.

It's usual to see people seeking for advice concerning a marriage problem from people that are in a worse situation, or seeking for a financial advice from the ones that are constantly in debt, or advice concerning of how to be free from an addiction from the ones that are in the same way for years. The blind leading the blind, lost people guiding lost people. If you've been doing that, surely you've realized why you're not prospering in that area.

When you seek for help, seek for help from someone that, at least in that area, have gone further than you. It's not necessary that that person has succeeded in all the areas of life so just then to ask for advice. Besides, if you're going to wait to find someone perfect so just then to ask for advice, I think you'll wait for a looong time.

When you seek for help, seek for help from someone that, at least in that area, have gone further than you.

That's why it's recommendable to have several mentors or counselors for different key areas of your life. The Bible says that there is wisdom in the multitude of counselors (Proverbs 11:14). For example, you can have someone to help you with your physical condition, someone else (or a couple) to help you with your marriage, another one with your finances, etc. Maybe more than one for each area.

One danger of looking for help for a specific area from people that haven't succeeded in that area is that, most likely, they have justified their failure; so, what you're going to receive is a justification of why they are like they are, dooming yourself to follow the same way. So, don't look for an advice from those that justify their divorce, that justify their bad physical condition, that justify their poverty, etc.

If you want to share your problem to your friends so that you may receive emotional support, go ahead and do it (always with wisdom), but please discern the advices you're going to receive from the ones that you're not. They might be telling you many things out of love, but they're not necessarily the right things.

I hope this may bless you a lot! =)

"Are you crying just for that?!" - An advice for parents

How many of us, parents, have ever told our kids: "You cry just for that!"? Big mistake! Do you know what we're actually telling them? We're telling them: "The reason you're crying for is nonsense", and worse: "what is important to you isn't to me".

If you've been telling that to your kids, this is what you have to do:
- Tell them you are sorry for doing that. Tell them: "Son/daughter, forgive me because so many times I looked down on what is important to you".
- Promise them that you'll try to change. Tell them: "I promise you to consider as much important the things you tell me as they are to you".
- Ask for help to your heavenly Father to change that as soon as possible.

As parents of little children, we are in danger that if we don't change, they will grow with the idea that their problems aren't important, that they shouldn't bother us with their nonsense, that they aren't as much important as us, and consequently, they'll unconsciously seek to feel important in other places and ways, and many times it'll be with people that will demand from them something in return.

How does our good and loving heavenly Father treat us? Have you ever read in His Word something that says or suggest that what is important to us isn't important for Him? Have you ever felt looked down by Him? Have you ever felt when you cried out to Him for help that He says to you: "Are you crying just for that! Seriously?"?

On the contrary, He cries when we cry, He gets happy when we get happy, He is familiar with our pain, and in His Word says that He has even numbered the hair of our head (Matthew 10:30), and if He pays attention to that, something that isn't important, how much more attention will He pay to something that it is actually important to us, to what makes us cry, to what keep us awake at night! So, when we go to Him burdened by something, He will NEVER tell us: ""Are you crying for that! Seriously?", but He'll hug us, comfort us and guide us by the hand to the answer that He'd already prepared.

If there is somebody authorized to despised any of our issues, that'd be God, because for Him there is nothing impossible. But our Father, far from doing that, understands us perfectly.

So then, if you've been despising your children's problems, run to your heavenly Father, because He won't condemn you for doing that, but hug you, comfort you and guide you by the hand to the solution that He'd already prepared.

Hope it helps!

An Advice that will help you to get your goals this 2018

If you divide what you want to achieve in 365 parts, I assure you that it'll get much easier. The problem that many people face when they resolve to achieve something is that they see what they want as a whole, and obviously what they see is an impossible-to-achieve goal.

What do you want for this 2018? To loose weight, a better relationship with your kids, with you wife, to be free from an adiction? Whatever it may be, you'll get discourage if you think that achieve your goal consists of just one step. Remember this: NO ACHIEVEMENT IS GOTTEN WITH JUST ONE STEP.

Any feat you want to achieve (or that has been achieved) will require time, sacrifice, care, discipline, perseverance, planing, etc., and obviously you can't apply these on just one day, unless, of course, that you know a person that in one day has lost weigh, gotten a dream marriage, restored his/her children relationship, been free from an addiction, etc.

Just in case, there is no magic pill that will make you to loose weigh without exercising and eating healthy food, and those persons that say to the ones with a great marriage, "how lucky you were to get such a beautiful marriage!", don't know what they're saying, they're wrong, because it cost them YEARS of learning to give in, to forgive, to understand and to sacrifice.

So, more than a goal, see what you want to achieve as a direction for YOUR DAILY STEPS to aim, and these DAILY STEPS, these do have to be your goals! EACH DAY AN INDIVIDUAL GOAL, which altogether will take you to where you want to get.

Learn to find satisfaction in achieving these daily goals, in the little ones, each and every day. Learn to be happy:
- Not only when you got your ideal weigh, but you finished a day of eating healthy and exercising.
- Not only when somebody tells you "how great marriage you have!", but when finished a prayer for your spouse (which is one of the many little steps to get to marriage restoration).
- Not only when you "feel free" from your addiction, but when your day is up and you didn't fall.

Doing this you not only will enjoy the process until you get where you want to go, but also you'll realize that doing exploits isn't something for a few people, but YOU also will feel that can do your own exploit, and you'll know there's nothing you cannot achieve.

Don't criticize your spouse. Highlighting the good things is better!

Point out the good things to others as you want others to point out your good things." That would be the Golden Rule paraphrased.

Who doesn't like others to point out one's good things? I think that everybody likes it! The problem is that we normally criticize more than to point the good things out.

Most people focus on effectiveness, and they think that by criticizing, telling somebody off and just pointing out the problem, they make that the problem to be corrected. Big mistake!

The husband focuses on the problem when he says to his wife: "Why are you late all the time! I'm sick and tired that the house is a mess! You just demand things from me all the time!", etc. And the wife focuses on the problem when she says to her husband: "You never pay attention to me! You are good for nothing! You're not romantic at all!", etc.

Are those problems for real? Yes, they are. Do they have to be solved? Yer, they do. But that's not the way.

Maybe your spouse isn't good doing that because that's not his/her natural ability, maybe nobody taught him/her or maybe she/he lacks motivation. Regardless the cause, pointing out the bad things won't help him/her to change.

When you highlight a text in a book, what is the first thing you see next time you open that book in that page? The first thing you see is what you highlighted! It happen the same with your spouse. If you just highlight his/her bad things, the first thing you'll see in him/her will be the bad things! But, if you highlight her/his good things, the first things you'll see in him/her will be the good things!

So then, if you learn to focus on your spouse's good things rather than the bad things, and then you highlight those good things rather than the bad things, soon you will be enjoying a very much better marriage!

Constantly tell your spouse the good things he/she does! Don't wait for him/her to do a big feat for doing it! HIGHLIGHT TO HIM/HER THE LITTLE THINGS THAT HE/SHE DOES WELL ON A DAYLI BASIS! That's the best way to help him/her to change!

"Your food is so delicious! You're so neat! You clean so good! I'm so glad you've got home! You're so beautiful! I just love watching you playing with the kids! Thank you for being with me! You're a great man! You're a great woman! Thanks for exerting yourself for us!", etc. And if you say these things publicly, oh yeah!, get ready for a good reward!

Of course that you can apply this principle with your friends, employees, coworkers, etc. Get the habit of adding with your words value and life to the people around you. Make them feel good around you.

Hope this helped you!

Gadol's Nugget: His children's free will

One of the characteristics of Gadol, the main character of my book, was his over concern about his children. He was convinced that they'd want to serve God thanks to the perfect testimony he thought he had before them (actually, before everybody!), that's why it was a surprise for him that they, being adults already, told them that they didn't want to serve God.

Being concerned about what would be of them away from God, he decided to take responsibility of their spiritual lives. They, in order to not make a division in their family, were agree to his idea, but obviously, since no one can approach God by force, manipulated or by being deceived, Gadol's idea didn't work.

Where was Gadol mistaken? He didn't respect his children's free will. He didn't let God to work in them, but on the contrary, by meddling in their decisions, Gadol interrupted what God was doing in them.

Advice:
If you have children, YOU CAN NOT OBLIGATE THEM TO SERVE GOD. You just can, by your example, make them want to do it.
Until certain age, you can "obligate" them to go to church, but you have to have discernment to know when you have to stop obligating them (just in case, that age is normally 12, 13 o 14 year old more or less -  if he/she is 35 years old and you're still obligating him/her, you need counseling! 😀).
The best way will always be your own testimony. The fact that they see you happy, carefree, that when you run to God they see you come out different, that you changed many bad things in you, are things that your children will see in spite of their age, and that will make them want to serve the same God you serve.

There is more for you

Many of us think that the end of a good period of our life is our end. A divorce, a love one's death, getting unfairly fire of a job, the end of a friendship, etc., are examples of periods of time that we enjoyed, that have blessed us, that have formed beautiful memories, but they are no more and, when we pass through experiences like that, we fall apart.

Moses represented for Israel that good period of time. The time the Jews lived with him were glorious, because it was him the one used by God to deliver them from Egypt, to defeat dangerous enemies and to keep them alive for 40 years in the desert. During that time the Jews witness many extraordinary miracles and experienced great victories. They felt safe with Moses. But that season was up. Moses died, and I pretty sure that more than one thought: "And now, what?"

It was in that time that God told Joshua to arise and to take the promise land (Joshua 1:1-3). In other words, God was telling him that THERE IS MORE for him and for his people. As humans, Joshua and all the people wanted to cling to the past, to the good they lived, and maybe they thought that it'd be impossible to live something better, but God was telling them that they were wrong, that the best was yet to come, that that season with Moses was good, but better things are coming.

I want to encourage you to cling not to the good you lived, because your Heavenly Father has better things for you. It's true that you lived excellent moments with that person, or that that job was the best you had so far, or that the times you shared with that friend were marvelous, but your Heavenly Father that loves you wants to tell you that your live has not finished, that you don't have to cling to your past, but arise because there is still much promise land for you.

Keep the good memories, but don't get stuck there. THERE IS MORE for you. There is more life, more wonderful people that will mark your life. Believe that the best moments of your family, of your personal life, of your sentimental life, and for your ministerial life are still ahead of you, and that your Heavenly Father will take you by the hand so you may enjoy it to the maximum!

Learn to prevent

We learnt to prevent the hard way. I think it happens the same to most people. It was when somebody hit my car (as you may know, you never hit your car, somebody always hits yours course!), and repairing it cost me almost 700 dollars (in Peru, that's is a lot of money). I needed my car, so I had to pay it. It was then that my friend Pedro told me that I would have payed only 150 dollars if I had an insurance. Then he added: "Sadly, most Peruvians don't have a culture of prevention."

It happened the same thing when my first son was born. That Cesarean cost us almost 2500 dollars! (I have nightmares till now!). But we learnt the lesson, because the Cesarean of our second son costs us only 250 dollars because we got a health insurance. We also got a car insurance, which saved us many times!

It's true that sometimes we don't use the insurances, but looking at the big picture, it results much more cheaper to have an insurance than not to have it, not mentioning the peace it brings you. Now we want to obtain an earthquake insurance.

Don't worry that I don't want to sell you any insurance. I just want you to think that it's better safe than sorry.

In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus talks about two people, one prudent and one fool. The prudent built his house on the rock because he thought that it'd rain and that there would be a big torment. In the other hand, the foolish one most surely thought: "Oh, come on! Do you really think that there will be such a big torment that it would destroy my house! Here, on the sand, it's ok to build!" But we know that the ruin of the foolish person was great.

This passage of Matthew perfectly applies to the situation of floods and inundation that we lived in Peru early in the year. How much hurt and loss we would have averted if we had prevented! Our next door country Ecuador gave us a big lesson in that regard. They were the prudent and we the foolish.

Accidents, sicknesses or any other bad thing can happen to anybody. The thing is to be ready for when they happen. I encourage you to pray, to ask God for wisdom, to ask other people for advice, get informed!, and make better decisions to prevent bad things that may happen to you.

Proverbs 22:3

"A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple passes on and are punished"

Being Naive or Wary

For some reason, most people think that everybody that goes to church is perfect, that all of them are good and, therefore, every church goer is trustworthy. Big mistake!

One characteristic of many christians is that they're just too naive. Maybe they're thinking: "I can see that this person right there is a good christian because he's raising his hands when we worship and says 'Amen' and 'Hallelujah' in every other word. On the top of that, he says bye saying 'God bless you'. I am positive, he is trustworthy." And based on this, without any further investigation, christians lend him/her money, start a sentimental relationship with him/her and just give away their trust. They asume that he/she is trustworthy just because he is christian.

Remember this always: TRUST IS A PRIZE, NOT A PRESENT. And for someone to get to be trustworthy requires TIME.

If you've been giving away your trust, I'm almost sure that you have already disappointed and/or gotten in some trouble. Do yourself a favor and don't give your trust away anymore.

Just because of the fact that a person goes to a church, even if he/she has time attending, it guarantees nothing. Before of starting a business or a relationship, before of trusting your kids to someone, etc., double-check his/her trajectory, verify if he/she has gotten fruits in that area. Be demanding on this matter! Do not believe persuading words of people that, consciously or unconsciously, deceive (Proverbs 7:21-23).

Do not think that being wary is a bad thing. On the contrary, being naive and, because of it, not administrate well what God has given, that is a bad thing, and it brings along a lot of bad consequences. Obviously that not trusting a person even that that person has demonstrated an impeccable trajectory (which requires a lot of time) is an exaggeration and it only shows a personal problem of not being able of trusting people (but God can heal you!).

It is not a bad thing being demanding on who to put your trust on. In fact, that's being wise.

"But, if I don't trust anyone, I will have no friends." Do not give your trust away based on the need of friends. If someone stops being your "friend" because you mistrusted him/her, I think he/she never was your friend all along.

Do you want to succeed in all the areas of your life? Then do what the people that have succeed have done, and I really doubt that you'll find someone successful in business that simply has given away their money to anyone, or that you'll find someone that has opened their heart to a stranger that has enjoyed a solid and flourishing relationship. Are there exceptions? Yes, there are, but are you sure that you want to take a risk?

If you say: "Why didn't I read this before!", don't worry because our Heavenly Father doesn't condemn you, but He helps you to restore everything! Run to Him and you'll find the help and the guide you needed!

Hope this helped you!

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The best moment to destroy your enemy

We all have fought (or we're currently fighting) against a worst enemy: an addiction, sicknesses caused by wrong-feedind habits, marriage problems, financial problems, etc. For many of us, it was very difficult to overcome it; others, sadly they're still fighting. But all of us have committed this mistake: we've let our enemy to grow.

Our enemy hasn't always been so strong. For most of us, there was a time when this enemy was weak, and because of we thought that is was harmless, we let it live with us and we let it grow. It was then that:
- "It was just a try, everything will be fine!", turned into stealing your own family to by drugs.
- "I don't have to tell my wife everyday that I love her, we are very happy this way!", became into an unbearable marriage situation caused by indifference.
- "We're just taking, besides she needs my help, my wife will understand", turned into adultery.
There are many example of this.

Psalms 137:9 says: "Happy is the one that seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks". It is for sure that the psalmist claimed this hard-to-hear words at seeing the atrocities that Babylon did to his people when they captured them and took them into captivity, but the Holy Spirit let them recorded in order to take advice from it. What is the advice? The best moment to get rid of your enemy is when he is small, that's to say, when you are still stronger.

Now, in this moment of your life, maybe you are living with your worst enemy, but he is still "a child", he's small, you are still stronger. Maybe you've already recognize him, but you're underestimating him, or maybe other people close to you recognized him, but you're not listen to them, you think that they're exaggerating. Do yourself a favor and get rid of your enemy now that you can! Do not let him become stronger! Attack him and destroy him completely once and for all! Because if you don't do it, your enemy will grow stronger, and he will destroy you.

Hope it helped you =)