Please pray for me as I am going to NYC this week to present at a Leadership Summit. My topic: Developing Leaders. I have a million trillion things I want to say and do but I only have 1 1/2 hours. But in preparing I found this which I am not going to use but thought I should post…

"Teams that don’t bond can’t build"

It will be interesting to see how this news story develops about a very well regarded pastor who was shot to death. Authorities suspect the wife!

Taxes and where you live. I keep telling people just because you get paid more in NYC doesn’t necessarily mean you are actually ‘making’ that $ for your household. Check this out.

It’s Sunday morning but I have a load of things on my mind and while I can’t share all of them with you right at this moment (going to church a few hours early to prepare for service) I want to share with ya’ll one moment this morning…

Every Sunday as we prepare to go to service, I have the "Sunday Morning Joy" radio program on as I shower, he has the Church Network TV program on in the family room. He mentioned that this morning, Bishop Eddie Long said he had gone to see his spiritual father (T.D. Jakes) and was talking and talking about his plans what he was going to do here and there, build this and that, and that Jakes said "shut up"…"just shut up"…"you need to go back to your church, go to the parking lot and thank God for what you already built". Nothing grand right? But both Hiram and I got teary-eyed…its true, we can get so caught up in what we are still going to do, the visions we have in our brain that we don’t realize there has been alot that we have accomplished thanks be to God to whom ALL praise is due. Bishop Long said this before he started preaching but told his congregation that he has things in his brain that would knock their socks off! But going back and reviewing what God has allowed us to do in His name is necessary. I was thankful in that moment.

My sister-in-law sent me this quote today and I love it. I hope I’m working my way to being a great teacher.

William A. Ward has said, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

Progress Magazine, December 23, 1992.

Someone asked me yesterday how I was able to write for two widely distributed books. It’s funny because while I refused to take it personal, I got a sense that he meant…a Latina, a woman with a public school background who lived in the projects of the LES (Lower East Side of Manhattan) with her single parent mom. It smacked of superiority and the real question he wanted to ask was how the "hell" did you get that opportunity. My response? Favor ain’t fair.

That is the bottomline folks. When I review my life, I have to say that I have been afforded wonderful opportunities but trust me I have had my share of heartaches as well. No don’t get me wrong, I am not making dollars but I am content, I am not living in a mansion but I am content, I do not have perfect children or a perfect husband but they are my world and I’m glad I still have an intact family.  I rewind on my life and see that God has been good to me even though…(my life has not been pain free)

For instance… before I had my first born son, I wondered who would take care of him, I waited 7 years to have my son after marriage because I wanted everything to be ‘just right’…then wise women around me told me ‘it ain’t ever going to be perfect for kids’ . We finally decided to start a family and figured that question would work itself out…it did, I got a job working for a wonderful man who didn’t micromanage me or need to see me in his face for him to know that I was working, thus, I had 6 months maternity leave fully paid working from home with some occasional visits to the office, then my husband left his job and got a part time with them so he could stay with my son and I could return to work. This job also helped me out when I was going through the drama with my second son’s premature birth, subsequent 27 surgeries of which I had many nights in the hospital and yes…they paid me. Yes, you can say that was a hook-up but that was also the favor factor…God had the hook-up planned…

Such was the case of me getting some writing gigs, some people I met while working in community/church circles knew that I was in a doctoral program and thought I should write. This particular woman who I look up to immensely (Dr. Elizabeth Conde Frazier) called me out of the blue and told me that a group of folks were putting this book together and they needed a New Yorker who was familiar with women’s issues also and she thought of me but I wasn’t her first person, I was her second but the first person could not do it (she was trying to finish her doctorate and was not taking anything on extra), I was not at that stage yet and while I was scared out of my wits (all the other folks in the book had doctorates already and yes I felt like I would not have anything to contribute), she told me to do it and that it would be good for my future. Glad I listened because it is check this out.  My Prism gig through Rudy’s recommendation. My other book gig through another recommendation by AG Latino bigwig, Rev. Dr. Jesse Miranda. My speaking engagements in mostly Black circles by one simple invitation by Dr. Sujay. Then one thing lead to another and more opportunities arose.

What I am trying to say here is that God has all these things in MY future, in YOUR future, planned out already and there are people He is going to use to make it happen. This is especially important for all of us. We cannot and should not be our sister’s or brother’s obstacle, we need to "pay it forward". If you’ve seen God’s favor in your life by others simply doing something without ‘ego’, let us do the same. We help so many people just by telling someone else about someone who is doing something we think is cool and honestly, you may not even have a tight relationship with the person but you know in your heart what they are doing, what they have to say is something others need to know about..then step out and let God’s favor for others shine through you. It’s a great feeling and it always comes back to you tenfold.

I live in Pembroke Pines which the Sun-Sentinel said today is the second-largest city in Broward County. Broward so says the paper is home to almost 1.8 million people and is ranked 9th in the nation in sheer numbers growth from April 2000-July 2005. It increased by 154,620 people. Broward is the only Florida county to rank in the top 10 nationally in numerical growth according to the U.S. Census, Miami Dade and Palm Beach in addition to two others were in the top 20. Florida is made up of people from someplace else which is a strange cultural issue when trying to do many things for/with this target population including a church. Many of the people who are coming to this area are from Jamaica, Haiti, Columbia and Venezula. One person said that "there’s a higher quality of life that’s more affordable to the immigrant. It’s easier to move up the social hierarchy than it is in Miami."

You may be asking so what’s the news you need to know…well, Florida is expected to bump NY as the third largest state by 2011. This has huge implications for us in ministry. In our church plant vision notebook, I wrote about this and we believe this is why we are here. Plowing this very tough ground (no we don’t spend our days at the beach and trust me I need a tan) because God is going to do something huge with Florida…even though it is a called the Pastor’s graveyard. Stay tuned…

"When a person, yielding to God and believing the truth of God, is filled with the Spirit of God, even his faintest whisper will be worship." — A. W. Tozer

for a little while today in celebration of the fact that I live in SOUTH FLORIDA and that my hubby got a new job! He makes artificial limbs for people who have lost a leg/arm or other body part due to accidents, disease or surgery. He’s the happiest I’ve seen in a while. It really helps to have a day job you love and get paid well for doing when you are bivocational. The church issues give us enough to be pensive about don’t ya think?

Karen is the author of the book, The Flavor of My Faith and my friends over at the Latino Leadership Circle first introduced me to this Latina when they posted about her on their blog.  It’s funny as we will soon be roomies at the Leadership Summit at the end of the month and we’ll have an opportunity to share more with each other. I reached out to Karen just last night to help me out with an article I was writing on Sancocho Theology..something that I have written about on this blog in the past but am now trying to find the time to fully develop that and my Sancocho Leadership model. You’ll see more of that soon. However, I thought it would be cool to merge "her flavor" with "my sancocho" and she was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me and I thought I’d share them with you.

Here are the questions I posed and her answers:

Why did you write this book?

The representation of Hispanics in our society is contained in a very small box and seldom embodies who I am as a Latina. I wanted to express the true flavor of my own experiences as a Hispanic-American.

How can this book help 2nd/3rd generation Latinos?

I am a 2^nd generation Latina, so not only will 2^nd and 3^rd generation Latinos relate, but perhaps it will encourage them – if they haven’t already – to reflect on their own experiences and explore and appreciate their own roots.

Do you think it can be helpful to non-Latinos? if yes, how and why? 

Actually, the narrative voice of each vignette directly addresses non-Latinos as a welcomed guest into the Latino world. My hope is that it allows them to see not only the aspects of our culture that make us beautifully unique, but also how similar we are to other Americans. What’s funny is that many non-Latinos who have read my book tell me they can relate to it in one way or another. Whether it’s certain family members, a situation or even the plastic couches; the emotions and heart of the stories are very universal and can touch people beyond the Hispanic community. 

What has been your greatest struggle as a Christian Latina?

One of my struggles was juggling my two perceptions of God within the Latino-Christian community. Within the legalistic experiences in the Spanish Church I grew up in, I viewed God as a stern, unapproachable God who was preoccupied with petty things like wardrobe.  On the other hand, the genuine love, emotion, and affection of the Latinos in my life allowed me to view Him as an approachable and huggable daddy.  As I’ve matured, I’ve been able to filter out man’s regulations and religion from my own relationship with God.  It took a long time, but I am finally comfortable with who I am as a Christian Latina. 

How can women’s organizations like CEFL (www.cefl.org) and others help emerging latinas like yourself?

Organizations like CEFL can help emerging Latinas with lots of prayer and exposure.  For example, Latino Leadership Circle has been extremely helpful in getting the word out about my book.  They wrote a review and have a link to purchase the book through amazon.com on their website. They’ve passed the word to family and friends, and even hosted a book reading/signing event.  I know that each member has lifted me up in prayer and have encouraged me to keep going forward with the talents God has given me. Actions such as these can help emerging Latinas more then you can imagine.

What’s your favorite part of the book? Why?

What makes me happy about this book is that I get to share the incredible admiration, love and respect I have for my family. The majority of the stories are about the people I love, and it gives me the unique opportunity to introduce them to people I’ve never even met! One of my favorite stories in the book is “Engraved” because it is an important part of my family history and embodies the courage, sacrifice and love of my father. 

How did this project get started?

It actually started in College as I was taking a “First Person Journalism” course.  (Many of the essays from that class are in the book). After I graduated, I showed them to a women I met in a bible study who worked in Publishing.  After she read them she encouraged me to write a proposal for an idea she had about creating a devotional from a Latino perspective.  She gave my proposal to Doubleday publishing and they offered me a contract to finish and publish my first book!

Are you pleased with the results?

Yes, very much so. 

If you could give your faith a flavor what would it be?

I would compare my faith to a sofrito.  The ingredients are simple and few but relevant and effective.  This special blend brings flavor to countless meals, just as my faith does in every facet of my life. It brings out the natural essence in each dish without covering or overwhelming it with strong, heavy spices. 

Any other comments about your journey, writing, etc.

I wrote the majority of my book while living and working in France for a year.  Being immersed and seeing the beauty of another culture (despite the stereotypes I was told to expect) gave me a real appreciation for the book I was writing.  Every culture has its own flavor – and just as I’d like people to taste and appreciate my own, I want to explore the world outside of myself and enjoy the various flavors that make up this wonderful world.

Go buy the book…did you know amazon.com is selling the book as a bundle with the book I wrote a chapter in Latino Religions and Civic Activism in the United States? How interesting, we’ve been bundled.