This blog speaks the heart and mind of Liz Rios. That's it. Its contents speak for no one else and no other organization that I may be affiliated with. I'm an imperfect Blatina who has thoughts on many things that happen in life and this blog is the way I get them out of my system! It just so happens that I'm also a nonprofit consultant, I am a self-care and wellness business owner, coach, parent educator, women's advocate, writer, mother of 2 boys (one who is special needs), wife. I've been a pastor, church planter and college/seminary professor. I've failed and I've succeeded. Most importantly, I LOVE MY GOD and attempt to do the best I can with all he's given me. I grew up in the projects on the Lower East Side of NY with a strong single parent mom and I'm the oldest of two girls,that coupled with my past roles and my experiences with God and the church family made me who I am. I won't fake it to make it and this blog proves it. If you are ok with that, then welcome to Latina Liz on Life. Consider yourself warned!
“Let us not measure the church by the number of its members or by its material buildings. The church has built many houses of worship, many seminaries, many buildings that have been taken from her. They have been stolen and turned into libraries, and barracks and markets and other things. That doesn’t matter. The material walls here will be left behind in history. What matters is you, the people, your hearts. God’s grace giving you God’s truth and life. Don’t measure yourselves by your numbers. Measure yourselves by the sincerity of heart with which you follow the truth and light and our divine Redeemer.”
As you may know, my church the Pursuit Christian Church is hosting Craig Gross of XXXChurch.com this Sunday at the 10:30 a.m. service. I am hoping people come out to the event to get educated on the issue of Porn and how they can either help others in bondage or get themselves out of bondage.
The team at the church put this video together…check it out
On another note, I just got this email from XXX Church and I am hoping we can all band together and help this sistah out.
We have an Esther Fund applicant who is in great need of our help. She is a single mom of 4 who left the sex industry a year ago after giving her life to the Lord. She was an adult film star as well as porn producer running websites for 7 years. She has given up all royalties to her work, traded her expensive car in for an older less expensive vehicle with lower payments but still has many needs unmet.She recently lost her employment when her kids became sick with the flu and could not go into daycare. She is 30 days late on a car payment, has utilities that are scheduled to be shut off and is in the interviewing process for a new job but needs gas to put in her car as well. Please help us to help meet this woman’s need.
1. Power Bill - cut off date is April 17th $137.84
2. Car payment $280.00 (March and April)
3. County Taxes on car $44.41
4. Tag Renewal $25
5. Sprint $145.
6. Gas for vehicle $150. (should supply 3 tanks till her first paycheck in two weeks)
Just in case you were thinking what the heck happened to Liz’s 28 day challenge through the book of Matthew…its on a separate page now and on my blogroll.
What verse stood out to me? Verses 7-10 especially where John the Baptist declares “It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father.
Why it spoke to me and how it relates to me: I think the longer we have been “serving” the Lord or shall I say, the longer we have been in the Kingdom of God, the more we fall into the trap of thinking it’s all about who we know, what we do, titles, etc. But John reminds us that its your life, period. Nothing else. How does this relate to me? Hmmm. I think simply I can’t believe the hype. When people think I have made it because someone knows my name or heard of me, I have to keep it real and remind myself its about my life and nothing else matters. If my life doesn’t shout Jesus then everything I do is a waste and it don’t impress God much!
My prayer: Lord, keep me humble. When people think highly of me, let me remember that the opinion I seek is yours only. Help me not to be impressed with myself or let others think I am perfect (cause I surely am not). May the mention of MY name bring glory to YOUR name.
My church is on a 28 day journey through the book of Matthew. I decided to listen to the pastor and take on the challenge. When he announced it on Sunday, Hiram and I were actually excited about doing it. So as I do with all my “stuff” I’m putting my reflections out into the blogosphere, I am letting you in on what I’m doing and how this journey will impact me. There will be a format to all this as was given to us.
Day One
Read: Matthew 1
What verse stood out to me? Beside the wonderous birth of Jesus, what stood out to me was what I usually would find boring, the genealogy –this person begat that person and so on verses 1-17.
Why it spoke to me and how it relates to me: As a mom it made me think about legacy and how everything matters especially how I raise my children because I don’t know who I gave birth to nor do I know who they will bring into this world and what impact the future generation of the Rios lineage will in this world. None of the people in the verses above gave thought to the mundane act of having kids, raising kids, teaching kids yet after generations that family tree produced the savior of the world. So I thought to myself, what will our family tree produce?
My prayer: Lord, help me take my role as mom as the most important role on this side of heaven. When I want to pull my hair out as I homeschool my son, let me remember that I have the honor and awesome privilege of pouring Jesus into everything I teach him and do with him. Remind me that there is also purpose in lineage. Me being mom to Sam was no accident Lord, help me to remember I could be raising a boy that will stand up against darkness one day.
Side note: This kind of reminded me of the new series The Terminator. The mom in the show Sarah Connor has to do all she can to make sure her son learns and lives because in this show, the mom is the warrior and her son will be a hero in the future.
Day Two
Read: Matthew 2
What verse stood out to me? 2:14, 2:21
Why it spoke to me and how it relates to me: Those verses state that “Joseph obeyed.” He didn’t ask questions, he didn’t think about comfort, he just did what he was told. I think of the many times I rather choose to obey only those things I feel the Lord is telling me to do that I actually like. It’s never easy to say yes, to do something that looks absolutely crazy because most people don’t understand obedience.
My prayer: Lord, help me to be obedient all the time not just when I like what you are telling me to do. Help me to not ask a million questions (I usually do) or think through possible ramifications (I usually do that too). Help me to learn from Joseph’s example. That my life story could also be one that shouts and “Liz obeyed.”
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” –
William Carey, who is called the father of modern missions
We are almost into the third month of the year can you believe that! So many things have happened in our lives since January, some good and some not so good. But that’s life right!?
Today in speaking to a young man who we know from New York who wanted to meet with us for some counsel, we expressed our belief that life eventually hits everyone pretty hard some times and that we all suffer setbacks. However, even in those times God is working. In particular, I told this young man who has been struggling with life outside of NY (believe me I understand) “even when you are not working in ministry for God, God is working in you for ministry.”
Sometimes those who have been working doing “something” for the Kingdom since birth (literally sometimes this is true!) and those who have been in Bible college or seminary, don’t feel like they are anointed ‘anymore’ because they are not actively in a role. This is especially true in Pentecostal circles, but that is a not necessarily true. Sometimes you need to “chill”, step back and allow God to show you a few things about yourself. There is a dark side to leaders and it’s usually in those “lull” moments that God starts working in you to show you what they are.
However, I never want anyone to feel like their best days are behind them just because they have a selah moment. That is not true for him, for YOU or for me. That is what the enemy of our soul would want us to believe because he knows that if we accept this lie from the pit of the hell, we would stop expecting and attempting as the opening quote states.
But all this made me think…and I came to the conclusion that I am still expecting great things from and in a very real way He has come though for me and my family more than anyone outside of my family will ever know. However, I know how hard it is to keep expecting great things from God when life hits you in the gut. I think our humanity problem stems from the fact that we put on the mask and say everything is ok when we know its not and we don’t do what this young man did, have the courage to talk to someone about what is messing with us mentally, spiritually, physically or all three!We rather play the “Hallelujah anyhow” card and not deal with our issues and then we stay, as Rev. Ray Rivera used to preach to us at LPAC, “emotional midgets while the world around us thinks we are spiritual giants.”
Life’s hard knocks can also make us gun shy in our attempts to do great things for God. Perhaps we have failed in something in the eyes of the world, perhaps your life with your family or children didn’t turn out like you had dreamed, perhaps someone you dearly loved and prayed for died anyway and you just can’t seem to expect or attempt anything for God anymore. I’ve been there too friend but again, I have to point you back to you. YOU have to do the work to get to know you. You have to see yourself in all your glory and gory. You have to be honest with who you have become up until this point in your life. It is only in this way, when you work on being authentic with God and yourself that you can truly become who God intended for you to become. Faking it takes work people! It’s better to come clean and let God work.As you see Him working in you in ways you know ONLY GOD could, you start to believe again, you start to expect again and yes, you even start to attempt great things for God again.
Each day is a new day and God’s grace and mercy is new every morning. I hope you wake up tomorrow (or for some today) knowing that today can be the first day of a new life for you and God. I hope you believe that even after all you’ve been through…the best is yet to come in your life. Believe it!
A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I cried. Alot. This disease like many others we’ve heard about are things we never think is going to touch us or the ones we love. Well we are wrong. It touches people we know everyday. Ladies, we can’t sleep on this, the facts state:
Estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer in the United States in 2007:
One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
More than 1.7 million women who have had breast cancer are still alive in the United States.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74.
Seventy-one percent of black women diagnosed with breast cancer experience a five-year survival rate, while eighty-six percent of white women experience five-year survival.
The first sign of breast cancer usually shows up on a woman’s mammogram before it can be felt or any other symptoms are present.
Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, delaying pregnancy until after age 30 or never becoming pregnant, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.
Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.
Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.
Over eighty percent of breast lumps are not cancerous, but benign such as fibrocystic breast disease.
Oral contraceptives may cause a slight increase in breast cancer risk; however 10 years after discontinuing use of oral contraceptives the risk is the same as for women who never used the pill.
Estrogen replacement therapy for over 5 years slightly increases breast cancer risk; however the increased risk appears to disappear 5-10 years after discontinuing the use of estrogen replacement therapy.
You are never too young to develop breast cancer! Breast Self-Exam should begin by the age of twenty.
I have my mammogram scheduled for next month. I had my prescription for my FIRST screening since May 2007. I called for the appointment the day after I heard my friend tell me the news herself. I didn’t want to sleep on this any longer.
Tell me you scheduled your mammogram! And men, this is not only for the ladies, men get breast cancer too!
Thought #1: When I was growing up and just as recently as this week when cash is a little tight and going out to dinner is out of the question and there is not much to cook at home either, my mom, probably my sister (with 4 kids) and I break out the “huevos” (eggs) and use that with white rice to make the “meal” of the night. Funny thing though, I love eggs and rice with ketchup of course. I was explaining to my older son why we were having that meal and I used it as a teaching moment about gratefulness, God’s supplying, etc. My illustration was the story in the February 12, 2008 Sun-Sentinel about Haiti’s poorest having dirt for dinner. Yeap folks D-I-R-T. Some even make DIRT cookies. “So you see Sam” you are having eggs and rice, they are having dirt, should we be grateful?” “Mom” he said “let’s thank God right now!” Thank him we did right then and there. Today we went to eat Chinese as our celebratory dinner because we made it to another of his dad’s payday with food on the table. Thank you God.
Thought #2: “You cannot change your ancestors, but you can do something about your descendants.” We need to take daily opportunities to mentor our kids and those moments will ring throughout generations. How do we do that? We do that by showing up because presence is half the battle isn’t it?; Waking up realizing that these little guys are hungry to hear what you think about alot of things and they are hungry to tell you the same; Setting Up yourself to catch opportunities to pass on truths and principles that are important to your family and finally Speak Up…many time we put off a “moment” thinking it will come again, most of the time it doesn’t and the opportunity is lost forever. Many of us think back on our lives and say wow, we’re lucky we turned out the way we did because we didn’t get much from our overworked, highly stressed parents yet we do the same thing to our kids usually for the same reason. Remember, “You cannot change your ancestors, but you can do something about your descendants.” That starts now.
Next Wave Ezine has a great article about community. Being that I wrote about it the other day when visiting the Pursuit Christian Church whose pastor preached about Living In Community, I thought I’d link it up for you here. One of the things that stood out for me was how the author tells his son on Sundays they are go to “be with” the church as opposed to “go to church”. I think that is a great way to start training our kids that church is where the people are not in a building.
