Monday, July 2, 2012

Its been a month since we moved to Miami

We have been in Miami for a month now.  I am still having a hard time with the move.  I struggle daily to find the purpose in God's direction for our family.  I realize and know full well that sometimes we are moved our of our comfort zone and its not for us but for His kingdom.  I wish i could see that this move was going to be something great for our family but in heart i feel that this move had nothing to do with us, our quality of life, our pleasure, our happiness or our enjoyment but more to further the Lords work.  He can do His work with or with out us so I should be honored that we have been chosen to be part of His plan.  right now in the midst of things its hard for me but perhaps one day i can look back and see how this was an awesome thing for our family to have been part of Gods plan and work.  I have to commit to being content in EVERY situation.  this is a tough time for me (by the way my family is doing great with the move)  but In my heart i really do know that this is what we were supposed to do and I am praying that my feelings will change as i continue to live out the actions that I know please the Lord.   

Coach has jumped right in to his routine.  He has football workouts every day from 4-6.  The kids are enjoying spending time at my friends house because she has a lake in the back and only lives a few blocks away.  The house we are renting is very small but so close to everything.  that is a definite pluse but the space thing is frustrating sometimes.  I don't feel like inviting anyone over since we can barely fit our family.  Coach and i don't have a bedroom because i am using it as a work room.  We have made 2 offers on forclosed houses but the market here is hot.  Things are priced much lower than they were years ago (still expensive though) and as a result houses fly of the market.  One of the houses we bid on had around 30 offers.  that would have been a great house (close to school and friends), pool, boat parking, big eating area for great dinners with friends and family,  awesome curb appeal and GREAT price  BUT we didn't get it.  The second house we bid on was big, newer, close to our first home we owned,  huge lot, pool, HIGH ceilings, Mud room, large living spaces BUT we didn't get it.  I am fine with not getting that one since the property taxes were going to be about  $10,000 a year.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Its been a while

It has been about 2.5 months since my last entry and things have most definitely changed around here.  We packed our house and closed on March 30th, moved into a corporate rental.  with our things loaded on a truck and gone ahead to Florida we (i) didn't have much to do the last month or so.  I don't have my machines, and have much smaller living quarters to clean and keep with that being said i have had much more time on my hands.  So, what did i do, i signed up for tennis (me and the kids).  Its been fun and hope to continue lessons when i get to Florida.  I went to Florida to run tryouts and was quite excited to see the final teams.  I am looking forward to a great year.  There will be much work ahead of us but never the less I am eager.

 So where am I today.  I am secretly an emotional mess, i cry at the drop of a pin.  When I think of how God blessed us over the last several years along our journey to clearwater and then Raleigh I am humbled.  I realize all the things, and feelings that I have experienced and I am so thankful.  At the same time I am so perplexed and inquisitive, I am not angry but just wish I understood.  Although, I do understand this move somewhat, I know that God has a plan for our family and is going to bless us as we submit ourselves to be used as a vessel to further His kingdom.  Even still, I continue to question Him.  Not in an irreverent way but just in a WHY, way.  I have grown to really love and enjoy so many things here in NC.  I will miss some of the friends He has sent my way.  I learned so much.  I have learned about friends, foes, arrogance and hippocracy . I pray that the lessons i have experienced or seen others experience will forever change me. 

What i learned about the people both friends and, to put it kindly, Others. 
Friends:  I have learned how unselfish people can be when they are your true friends.  I have seen people show kindness.  I have friends that have put their busy life, painful situations to be a friend.  GM has a sick son yet she manages to be kind and make time to help when ever I need her.  CM invited me into her life, made me feel like I was welcome.  She is real, she is kind and despite a busy life she has made me feel loved.  NL has been my sounding board, my friend, my rock the 1st year, her hospitality is never ending.
I WILL make time for others when they need it, I will put my selfish ambitions aside when a friend need something from me, I will be real, I will be kind. 
I am praying for compassion, I am praying that the Lord will make me sensitive to that person that needs someone to welcome them,  I am praying for a more selfless approach to life in general.  I want to be selfless enough that I know what is going on in others lives because I am not so caught up in my own that i don't care.
OTHERS:  What I will change as a result of what i learned from those that i will call "others"-  Be sensitive to including others, invite their opinions, (not that I have the money but) won't try to buy others,  don't show favoritism (on team), let everyone know that they are important (on team), be open to change.

 As far as coaching what I want to remember is that I do this for ONLY one reason.  To glorify God.  He has called me to coach ms and hs girls and mentor coaches at this time in my life.  So what will I do with this?  I will keep Him at the center.  Success isn't only measured in trophies,  most important it is measured in a unit that only God can translate.  I will abide in Him so that day in and day out I can be encouraged that His work is being done and cheerleading is simply the medium.  I will not let the enemy penetrate and convince me that I am not good enough. 

As Far as Miami,  as of today my approach and response to the question "are you excited about moving" will be completely different.  I will focus on the fact that this is going to be the ride of our life.  This is what God has for our family right now and only great things can happen when you walk with the Lord and follow that path He has called you down.  So from today on my answer is, "yes, I am excited and eager to see what God has planned for our Family".  Once I arrive in Miami I will be positive, i will think on those blessings that God has given us,  I will seek out the good things that Miami as to offer but more importantly I will seek out the Lord and see Him around me daily.

We are blessed that He choose our family and has given us the opportunity to be used by Him to further His kingdom.  I pray that our family will continue to grow spiritually, not be come conformed to those things that I know the Lord isn't pleased with.   

We have 7 days left in Raleigh,  I will look for and be thankful the blessings the Lord will give us here in Raleigh and seek to work for Him in any way that he calls us to in these final days here.


Thank you Lord that you know our future and you are in control.  Thank you for loving us so much that you desire to give us what is best.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

So let me give you the short story

It has been  a whirlwind around here since Feb. 26th.   We traveled to Miami the weekend of Feb. 24th.  While in Miami we received an offer for the purchase of our home in NC.  Is that God or what?  We put a sign up about 3-4 weeks before and did not hire a realtor.  Since we recently purchased our home we thought this may be the way to lose the least amount of money.  Well God is bigger than all of my worries and he brought us an offer (we are losing some money but definitely not as bad as it could have been).  The catch was that we would have to move by March 30.  the new owners need to take ownership on march 30th and we have a contract at the school till June 1st.  It is a great dilemma nevertheless it is a dilemma.  So have been busy packing everything we want and selling everything we don't want or wont have room for.  We found a corporate rental that we will live in for 2 months prior to moving to Miami.  God opened the doors for a rental in Miami (right across the street from the school) at a VERY affordable price.  This will allow us to save money up for a down payment for an overpriced, micro-sized house in Miami.
I am slowly getting used to the idea of Miami living.  However I am going, going, going!.  packing 3500sf and trying to fit in 1500SF is going to be quite the challenge, hence the daily selling on Craigslist.
I am actually ok with all the selling i have been doing.  I feel like I am simplifying our life every time i get rid of something in our home.   so here is the plan
march13-26: cheer practice, travel to myrtle beach for cheer competition, volunteer at school for kids class, pack, monogram end of year gifts, organize taxes and file taxes, meet with builder to fix things covered by warranty,  try to work somewhere in here (don't think i will be able to), pack, pack, pack
March 27:  UPAK trailer arrives and movers load everything we aren't taking to the corporate rental with us.
march 30: close on the sale of our home and move into Temp. rental in Raleigh
april1-June 1:  enjoy the last 2 months we have in Raleigh.  i will definitely try to catch up on work during this time.  we will travel to Miami for Easter and spring break.
JUNE 2:  MOVE to Miami!!!!


THANK YOU LORD for your provision, your peace and your omniscience.

Why?

WHY????
That 3 letter word seems to flood my thoughts quite a bit these days.  While talking to my friend a few days ago i mentioned that "why" is the prevailing question to God in the recent days and she responded "don't ask God, Why?,  ask Him, What?"  She stated that I should be asking Him "what are you trying to teach me?".   So that is what I am trying to do.  It is definitely hard because I want to know why.  On this side of heaven I may never know the answers i seek but I have my ideas and I am going to continue to try to find the blessings and lessons in everyday.
Today it occurs to me that so many aspects of our life quite possibly could be dramatically different had we never moved from Miami 6 years ago.  Our move to Clearwater changed our family forever (at least this is what I truly believe).  We attended a church that was pastored by a wise, godly man that God used to impact the coach and me forever.  i believe that the time spent in that church, school and city changed us.  We grew spiritually (I know i did),  our friendships grew,  our way of handling money changed and my appreciation for Florida and all it has to offer certainly changed.  I don't know in what way our family impacted those we came in contact with but I certainly know that we were IMPACTED greatly. I would NOT have my sewing biz and most certainly not my digitizing biz.  My biz was an answer to prayer.  It has been the means to which our family has been able to do and experience many things that otherwise we would not have be able to.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that i would be doing what I do.  I am thankful for the Lord's blessing and pray that He continues to bless our family by means of our biz. 
Our move from Clearwater to NC was a hard one in some ways and amazing in others.  We were thankful for the great opportunity to attend (my children) and work (coach) at an amazing Christian School.  NRCA is like none other that i have ever seen.  The Lord has blessed the school with phenomenal facilities.  It is a convenant school that partners with parents to guide the students in the ways of the Lord.  I am so thankful for the 2 years that my children have been able to experience this amazing place.   We have learned what it means to be humble (coach did in his first year as an assistant) although be humble seemed to come easy to him.  I on the other hand had to learn from him.  I have had the opportunity to live in my dream home (size and space) even if it was only for a year.  I may never have that opportunity again.  I would love to have this amount of space again but If I never do then life will go on and I am thankful for the time I did have.

(this post was never finished and since then so much has changed.  today is march 13.  I have decided not to finish this post but wanted to post it so that i can remember what i was feeling during this time)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I am getting a little excited!!! (sort of)

I am actually getting excited about some aspects of moving to Miami.  While watching Color Splash Miami with David Bromstad today I heard the Spanish music playing in the background in between scenes and saw some  historic places, furniture stores i have visited in the past and actually got excited.  I don't know what our future housing situation looks like but I pray that the Lord provides us with a house that has good bones, that is open (or that i have the funds and creativity to open up), that is on a nice street with some trees and that I can infuse my taste and design desires into. 
I am excited about teaching my kids about my Cuban heritage and exposing them to the culture in Miami while still endeavoring to raise godly children that can impact their community. 


today's verse to hang on to and live day by day, today is:

Isaiah 41:13
New Living Translation (©2007)
For I hold you by your right hand--I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.


Matthew 14:30
But when he (Peter) saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.


Peter looked around at his circumstances and was afraid and began to sink.  When he focused on Jesus (he had faith) he was able to walk on water.


Lord help me today to walk in faith by keeping my eyes on YOU and not my surroundings and circumstances.

Monday, February 13, 2012

My hope is in you Lord!

Last Wednesday I missed a phone call because I was on a special field trip to Kanki with my youngest daughter.  I truly enjoy that field trip because I love hibachi cooked food, she loves the show and we both love spending time together.  When i called back the person on the other end proceeded to inquire about the house we are selling.   This very pleasant gentleman was sent by the Lord to encourage me and give me hope.  Just 2 days prior i had been completely emotionally drained, only 1 day before i watched as the couple i thought would make an offer on our house, completed the inspection on the home 2 doors down that they did actually make an offer to buy.  Now, here i am speaking to a man who has no idea our circumstances, has no idea that we are Christians and that we felt lead to follow the Lords call back to Miami  and has no idea the emotional roller exhaustion that i recently encountered.  In speaking to the man i state that we only have lived in this home approximately 7 months and that we had no idea that we would move so soon but had we known we definitely would not have bought when we did, however plans change and it is what it is. He then says "its timing, it's timing,  it sounds like you are being led.  I will just say that."  I am thinking "WHAT! how do you know that?",  I haven't mentioned God, Him calling us or anything else.  How in the world does he know we are being led.  at that point i say "well actually,  We have been called by God to go back to Miami and so that is what we are doing."  He says,  "And who are we to question the almighty God".
He was an encouragment and I feel the Lord sent him just to give me hope.  I don't know if they will buy the house or not (they did come by and see it on Saturday 2/11) but I know that the Lord hasn't forgotten us.  We may sell the house and we may not.  Maybe it is his plan that we simply rent it I have to believe walk in faith knowing that He will take care of us.  He knows my desire and if my desire isn't in line with his plans then my prayer is that He change my desire to sell this house.

Not knowing what will happen with this home in NC leaves me in limbo about our housing situation in Miami.  We certainly can't buy a home if we don't sell this one so looking at the inventory available is useless at this point.  I don't feel like renting is a viable option because rent is so high (i can buy cheaper than i can rent of course can't buy if i don't have a down payment- its quite the problem) and the reality is that what is on the market to rent today probably won't be there once we move.  I have tossed around the option of buying a 2 bedroom condo but that will be really tight for 5 of us.  I don't know and can't possibly know what things will look like in 5 months but I am trying to be patient and wait on the Lord.  I am praying for faith and peace.

In the meanwhile i will continue to try to sell our big items on craigslist.  Since i don't know where we will end up living I feel like the less "stuff" that we have the more options that we will be able to consider when making our decisions for housing.
I had a dream last night that we were buying a house in our old neighborhood in Miami.  Its not a bad neighborhood but after living in clearwater and NC my expectations of neighborhoods and house have changed.  I just don't look at Miami that same way.  If we had greater resources (don't get me wrong the Lord has blessed us over and abundantly what i could ask for) then we could live in some prime areas and my visual issues would not be a problem but since we are average middle class people our choices in Miami are what they are.
I struggle and constantly ask God "Why?" but i don't know if i will get an answer to that.  I am thankful for the time and the experiences that we have had outside of Miami the last 6 years and I pray that those things we have learned and experienced will be forever ingrained in my family.

For now I will continue to pray and wait.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord speak to me with just the words I need to hear.  Yesterday was a rough day.  For some reason i woke up at 3am and was unable to get back to sleep.  Needless to say i was physically exhausted by the time the afternoon rolled around.  I was emotionally drained because the buyers I had hoped would put a contract in on our home chose the the house 2 doors down.  By the time evening rolled around I was ready to sink in my bed and forget the day.    I retreated to my bedroom at 8:15 and watched a little HGTV (probably not great to watch since i can't do anything to this house and i don't have a house in Miami to dream about doing anything to).   
I woke up this morning rested and ready to conquer the day.  wouldn't you know it- the Lord had something to tell me.  However,  the words that He gave me would not have resonated had i not been emotional and physically drained. The emotions and exhaustion i felt yesterday are still so fresh in my mind that the words pierced and hit  right where i needed them to renew me. 

I usually read my two year Bible and then I read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  WELL  today's devotional was Come to Me for Rest.    I litteraly weeped as I read through it.  the verses that it referenced were

Psalms 42:11
New International Version (©1984)
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God.

and

Romans 8:28
New International Version (©1984)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
28We are assured and know that [[a]God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
God used the devotional writing itself spoke volumes to me.  these are the things that stood out to me.
  • "The journey has been too much for you , and you are bone-weary"  
  • "Remember the I can fit everything into a pattern for good , including the things that you wish were different."
  • "Start with where you are at this point in time and space, accepting that this is where i intend you to be."
  • "Let Me guide you through the many choices along your pathway."
  • "You are on the path of my choosing, so do not give up!"

So today I committed (as i will probably will have to do everyday) that i will not worry about the sale of the house (As i did yesterday-so much so that it exhausted me emotionally).  We are following Gods calling for our family and I will Hope in the Lord, for I will again praise Him for the help of His presence.  

Lord your will be done.  Thank you for knowing me so well and providing just the words i need to bring me comfort.