A Plan for my Juan Pablo

When my Juan Pablo was 4 (I think so), he had a vision. We were at home and his mom was taking him to the bathroom holding his hand when we noted that his eyes were fixed to a specific spot above the mirror. I thought he saw a spider or something, but since I couldn't see anything, I asked him: "what are you looking at?" He pointed with his little finger and answered: "I see the Father sitting with Jesus." His mom and I looked to each other amazed. We were astonished not only because for what we just heard, but also for his way to refer to God and also for knowing that Jesus is seated to His side.

We asked him: "and, what does the Father tell you?" Juan Pablo said: "He tells me that His hand is upon my dad and mom."

We were just happy, but we didn't know what to conclude, so we received the word spoken in the vision and followed Jesus's mother example Mary: we treasure up all this in our hearts (Luke 2:19).

A while later, Juan Pablo started suffering of nightmares. Frequently Juan Pablo cried in the middle of the night for having a bad dream. Sometimes for many nights in a row! We prayed so he may be freed from those nightmares declaring over him the Word that says that our dreams will be sweet (Proverb 3:24). Nowadays, very rarely he has nightmares, but we are still praying until it's finished completely.

Two days ago my Juan Pablo came to me to tell me that he had a dream. "What did you dream of?", I asked him. He told me that he was crossing a street and, all of a sudden, a car hit him but that he was ok.

"Oh, that was so good!", I just told him, and then he left. Then I sensed that Jesus told me the meaning of that dream, so I rapidly called him back and told him that Jesus just told me the meaning of his dream. "It doesn't matter the things that can happened to you, I am with you, and that's why you are going to be Ok." Juan Pablo smiled and left.

I stayed thinking and finally tied up loose ends. "A vision, nightmare attacks, a dream", I thought. "My Juan Pablo definitely has a spiritual gift and the devil wants to destroyed him".

I thanked my heavenly Father for reminding me that He has a plan for my Juan Pablo and asked Him for wisdom to know how to rightly prepare him for that plan. We don't know exactly what he will be in the future but we do know that the gifts that Jesus gave him equip him for a ministerial area.

Don't do your own plans for your kids's lives. Remember that they were in their real heavenly Father's heart before the foundation of the earth, and He chose you so you may guide them and prepare them to live the life He has prepared for them. And that life is MUUUUCH better than what we can ever plan for them! Each and every gifts and talents they have will be the tools to live that life to the fullest. Don't quit praying asking for wisdom and direction to prepare them to live that plan.

I hope this may help you!

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For more teachings and tips for parents, take a look to the following link: Enseñanzas para Padres (Teaching for Parents). The teachings are in English and Spanish.

Some of the titles you'll find are:

• Do not Turn Off your Kids Imagination: When my kids play, they leave a mess, and I learnt that more important than just telling them to put everything back in its place is to get interested in what was in their imagination.
• A Way to Curse your Children: Without realizing I was bounding my kids with my words. Do not make the same mistake.
• The Power that Jesus gave to my Son: A testimony on how my Juan Esteban was set free from nightmares.
• The Honor to Be a Parent: Learn that accepting the honor of being a parent brings more personal fulfillment that achieving all your goal and dreams.

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.

The Power that Jesus gave to my Son

When Juan Esteban was two years old often suffered from nightmares. My wife and I were so worried because we saw his little face full of fear when he cried and called us at nights.

One night, I run to his room because he was crying once again, and when he saw me, he hugged me, and then he was frightened as he pointed to one corner of the room. When my wife and I looked at that direction, we saw nothing, but it was obvious that he could see something.

We prayed for many weeks until one day we talked to him about the authority that Jesus has given to him. We could feel that Jesus was talking to him in that moment. We said to him: "Son, Jesus has defeated the devil, he has no power and no authority over you. You can kick him OUT of that place because you have the power of Jesus!"

To be honest, we didn't know how much he understood us until that night, because we didn't wake up anymore because was crying or because he called us, but because we heard him yelling: "Out! Out!" Our son, being only two years old, was kicking the devil out of that place.

(this picture is when he was two)

I am absolutely sure that the answer of our prayers for him was that we felt to talk to him about the authority and power that Jesus gave him. I would never thought to do that because by natural instinct I myself was to defend him, specially at that age, but I can see that my Heavenly Father, who loves him and takes care of him more than me, wanted to defend him Himself. Instead of Juan Esteban depends on me, my Heavenly Father wanted him to depend on Him.

Moral: Better than worrying to take care of your kids all the time, let's teach them that the Almighty One, the Creator of everything, is their Father and that He Himself defends them.

I really hope this may bless you!