The 77th Academy Awards took place today. I watched and here’s what I learned…

1. Some people do love their day jobs. The person who won for best visual effects for Spider Man 2 yelled out "I love my job" when he got up to the mic. According to The Bureau of Labor statistics, 7 out of 10 Americans don’t like their jobs (that includes me). That’s 70% of Americans who are dissatisfied with their job. You spend a third of your life at work. You deserve to feel fulfilled by it. I believe God wants us to be. The current dialog with all of us in the church plant is this very thing. We need a break-though.

2. "What is not seized, is useless." That is one of the lyric lines (translated) from the song that won for Best Original Song "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" .  This spoke to me because I have a birthday coming up soon and in my usual pre-birthday life reflection stage, I ask myself, what have I done with the life God has given me? This lyric makes me dig deeper…what opportunities did I render useless because I did not carpe diem "seize the moment?"

3. Something good can come out of Nazareth. Or in my case, "the hood" of Ave D LES Projects! In Hillary Swank’s acceptance speech for Best Actress she said "What did I do to deserve this?" and then she went on to say how she grew up in a "trailer park". She did not expect to have achieved what she did tonight. I’ve often thought the same. So many of us have our backgrounds to thank for much of the garbage we carry around like Prada luggage. Poor. Unhealthy. Abused. Unwanted. Unloved. Lack of opportunities. You name it. But we all have to strive for something and yes, one day we can be in a key place acknowledging to an audience of 1 or 1,000, "I’m from X. I never thought I would have achieved Y but here I am!" Our moment is coming. Something good can come from a place of little expectations. Look at Jesus… his roots were in a place where very little was expected from those who were born there and yet He achieved great things for God. Don’t we long to do the same? Didn’t the Word say "greater works we will do?"

And finally,

4.  Don’t forget to say thank you. We never get anywhere in life without the help of others period. Some of us conveniently forget and some of us, like these Oscar winners are so excited about the "moment" they go blank.  Going blank for a moment is understandable, never going back to thank others who have helped us along the way is not. Think about it…the person who first gave you an opportunity to lead something. The person who trusted you with a big job. The person who first said, I see God’s call over your life and encouraged you to prepare for it. The person who introduced you to Mr. X who you got to know and eventually got you that job at Y company, or that gig at place A or that speaking engagement at place B. Or how about that person who told you about this book that totally transformed your life and the lenses from which you see the world. Whatever it was, there were moments that someone helped make happen for you that God used to make you the person you are today. So who do you need to thank?

I thank…

Primitive Christian Church (PCC) in NYC and specifically Pastor Kike, Pastor Marc and Pastor Enid for seeing leadership in me at a young age and allowing me to do various things there from children’s ministry, single’s ministry, youth ministry, Sunday school teacher, etc.

Rev. Raymond Rivera at LPAC who took the me that PCC started to developed and poured into me even more. For awaking my cultural side and giving me even more exposure to a world I’d never known before…one of educated Latinos as high as earned doctorates, accomplished theologians and dynamic ministry leaders.

The networkers and bridge builders in my life (Alfonso Wyatt, Rudy Carrasco, Richard Rivera) who never operated from a scarcity mentality but from one of abundance and introduced me to people that have given me in further opportunities to impact the global kingdom.

Most importantly, I thank my husband, soul mate and best friend Hiram for making it easy to do what I do. He is my most vocal cheerleader and believes in me. I would not have been able to achieve half the things I have if it was not for his support and his willingness to do more of his fair share in the house. He is truly a partner in every sense of the word.  We’ve had our struggles but he owns up to his stuff and that makes working things out so much easier. And like Jamie Foxx (winner, best actor), he has a sensitive side that won my heart 17 years ago.

So if you missed the Academy Awards today, don’t miss it next year…you really can learn from the Oscar’s.