The Year Before, The Year Ahead and Pushing Forward With Passion...

I was looking through last year's "New Year" Blog as I was giving thought to my resolution this year and with a smile on my face and peace in my heart, I knew I accomplished what I set out to in 2012.

Last Year I wrote:

I want this year to be the year that...
-Money isn't an issue so I can bless those without.
-People come to... & stay in church for the purpose of living & being loved by Jesus Christ.
-Laughter becomes infectious when I am gathered in a crowd of my well knows, unknowns & random strangers.
-The Year that LOVE wins over fear, doubt, hurt, anger, envy & jealousy.
I have determined that the goals I set before me as I embrace 2012 have to involve people.

Their Lives.

Their Souls.

Their Purpose.

Their Reason to Live.

 

And they have been conquered! Yay!

 

-Albert and I came into 2013 NOT being overdrawn in our bank accounts because we committed to tithing and trusting God for a breakthrough. Albert is in process to becoming a casual on the waterfront and we both have kept our jobs while even receiving raises! 

-Our Church, Calvary Light Christian Center, has grown and is continuing to grow. It's not just people coming BACK to church... but people who have never gone to church before in their lives who are experiencing an awesome relationship with The Lord.

-2012 brought me much joy and not many headaches when it came down to friendships. The Lord allowed friendships to be mended and He handles the ones I no longer needed. With the true friends surrounding My Husband and I, we are drama-free and cherish the growth and laughter we're constantly experiencing.

-I stumbled a few times but by the time 2013 rolled in, LOVE prevailed!

 

It was a year full of good, great and challenging moments that we were victorious in at the end. Looking ahead, I hold on to God's Word that says...

 

 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

 

for 2013... the year ahead. Our hopes, our goals, our vision they echo to grow beyond 2012, but with the same undertones. I resolve in the next year to continue what God has started in our lives. A NEW THING! There is so much to look forward to in regards to Our Life, Our Marriage, Our Walk with The Lord... Our Year. 

I feel a passion for purpose awakening inside of my heart and my spirit to continue pushing forward and grabbing people along the way. It's truly because I KNOW that where ever God Leads... We SHALL follow. Through the flourished fields and through every desert valley. As long as we follow Him.

And when the clock struck midnight to ring in the New Year, My Husband Albert and I shared our 11th New Years Kiss. It was a sweetness that was as amazing as the first. But amidst the kisses, poppers, apple cider toasts, tiaras, hats, silly string and hope for the New Year, it was the moment My Husband held my hand and we began to pray that I will cherish deeply. 

 

We thanked God for the year we had and the year ahead. We prayed for our marriage, our love, our hopes, our desires, our future, our home, our church, our family, our friends, our jobs and for you. 

 

Here's to 2013... a year of God's Balance, Favor, Love Passion and Blessings over you and your family. Take time to reflect and thank God... but most importantly, take the courage to press FORWARD with Him too, My Blogger Pals!

 

 Happy New Year from Mr. And Mrs. DiazDool

 

xo

 

 

"god children", God's Children and a Love That Abounds Much...

"Nina! Nina! Nina!" 

As I hear the pitter patter of tiny faux heels and catch a glimpse of a big brown eyed three year old in a pink shirt and a high ponytail, I whirl around and she jumps into my arms.

Her name is Aaliyah Monique Bailey.

And that was the day My Husband (but then Boyfriend) and I decided to step into that little girl's life and be her god parents. Fast forward a few years and now she's just as sweet, crazy, cute, funny and a precious 9 year old! Ahahhaha... I forget sometimes how old she really is because once you start talking to her, she's got an old soul and has already jumped from thirteen to thirty :)  

Now, when it comes to having god children, I've got what some may deem to be a different approach. You hear people all the time say they've got how ever many amounts of god children and when I see what it means to them, clearly it's just a title and they're just money bags for these kids. There really isn't any Biblical Ground for them to stand on.

My Husband and I on the other hand see it so much more differently. I know what I believe but for the sake of this blog, I looked it up for ya :) In Psalm 127:3 it states that "children are a heritage from The Lord." In Proverbs 22:6, you should "train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he shall not depart from it." so teach them well. 1 Samuel 1:11 and Luke 2:21 are both primary examples of parents dedicating their children to God. Let me be clear here...

I do not believe in "baptising" or "christening" babies, infants or small children because baptism is YOUR PERSONAL outwardly expression of death to sin and rising in Christ and can only be determined by the person in which is doing it. But I DO believe in dedicating your child to The Lord and the things of God as stated with the previous scriptures above. And as far as being god parents... there isn't anything in the Bible that states they truly exist but I reference you to the scriptures about "Standing in the gap" and being the breach (Ezekial 22:30) for the child in an all spiritual way in case their parents aren't leading them truly in a spirit filled, God chasing, blessed lifestyle.

 We live this out because no matter what, our little Aaliyah knows that she can always count on Nina and Nino to love her, pray with her and teach her the things of God. She doesn't see us as money bags (though when we have finances, we try to do what we can to take care of her needs) but as people who love God and can be examples for her without compromise. She is our god child. But most of all, she is a child of God. She isn't a trophy or another knotch on our belt... we speak Psalm 139:13-16 over her life always...

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16 

and Jeremiah 29:11 for her plan and purpose from God. This little girl will never lack in her joy, love, mercy, grace, prayer life and relationship with Christ. Because of our love for her and the call of God that's been placed on us for her. There is truly a love that is inside of us that abounds so deeply for her. So she knows without a shadow of a doubt who she is and whose she is through Christ Jesus. We LOVE being her godparents and having her as a godchild. Though we don't see her as often as we wish, we carry her in our heart. She'll always be our little three year old :)

And come this September, we'll be able to add two more little girls to our god children list...

Rebecca Nickole SantaCruz (9) and Liliana Monique SantaCruz (7)

It's a decision we do not take lightly and it's a position in our lives that will always hold a place of honor.

Dear god babies,

We love you three and are so honored to be a part of your lives in a way that many aren't. We vow as your god parents to love you, support you and always point to Jesus Christ, He is the lover of your souls and the keeper of your hearts. When people fail you, Christ will never fail you. And as long as we live, no matter what may come... we will always stand for you and we will always be a safe place for you where love will always abound.

Love,

 Nino Albert and Nina Lizzy

xoxo

The Art of... Catching Up.

Sometimes I get anxious.

I feel like my heart tightens in my chest and my mind gets foggy while I try to go through my "to-do" lists that should have been dealt with AGES AGO! I start to feel like I'm in a "Tortoise and The Hare" scenario!

I'm like the Hare- thinking I'm winning the race and getting things done because of my bursts of speed and then being all lax-a-daisy when I have caught up. Only to find out that I hadn't accomplished my goal because I was trying to get by on a whim!

 Like my blog for instance-

2012 has been such an inconsistent blogging year for me. I am off of work almost EVERY Monday and Tuesday so naturally, instead of being a lazy bum all day, you'd think I'd take the time to blog. But I don't. For what reason, I have none except to say I'm lazy about it. But I'll just chalk it up to Summer Fun! :)

I found myself worrying about my blog this Sunday in the middle of My Husband preaching. While My Husband was speaking these life filling words of God into the atmosphere, there I was... on the front pew... worrying about why I haven't blogged and that I need to catch up. NO brownie points in the Wife Department that day... ahhaha. I found myself making a list of Blogs I haven't written that I said I wanted to... Blogs about "The Art Of..." and "Meet My Friend..." that I'd like to catch up on and then I even had a thought to stop blogging all together and maybe start another hobby.

Then I was brought back to reality by something My Husband said-

"It's in The Word [of God] that we find what we need. Apply it day in and day out. Hold fast to the confessions in the hidden parts [of your heart] until it saturates you and you live it out."

When he said that, I was like "Whoa, what is my confession right now? That I'm lazy, lack motivation, unorganized, anxious and I have failed myself." Sheesh! it was high time I changed that.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Luke 12:25-26

Instead of being the hare, I needed to be the tortoise. Steady as he goes... one inch at a time... not trying to breeze by, but keeping an eye on the finish line. I came to the realization that I tackled things differently. I was trying to catch up on things when there isn't a time limit to them. I worried about not being active enough, good enough or even committed enough when the reality of it is that I have to hold fast to the hidden confessions of my heart and KNOW who I am as a successful, carefree, fun loving, motivated, creative person who God can use in every situation.

I am a tortoise.
Steady as I go.
Keeping my eye on the finish line at a pace I'm comfortable with.
And that my blogger pals... is the Art of It All :)

xo

The Art of... Worship & Being a Door Keeper.

My palms are sweaty. My heart is racing. Butterflies are fluttering in my stomach. I am nervous. I am anxious. I am honored. I am scared. It happens every time... and in my head, it goes a little something like this:

Hello.

My Name is Lizzy.

I'll be ushering you into The Presence of The Lord today.

Please follow me.

I am a worshiper.
I am a worship leader.
I am a leader.
I am a doorkeeper.

What does that all mean? For some, it's just a person who stands in front of people in the beginning of a church service and then they begin singing to get everyone into "the mood". For me, it has become a pure lifestyle... as it should. Worship doesn't and shouldn't start when you get to church. It should constantly be present in your every living, breathing, being. 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150:6

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3

It's everything that I do and the only way I know how to live. To completely give God my life through my actions, thinking, speech that flows even more freely as I sing, declare victory, pray, prophesy. I worship Him with all that I am... as a worshiper.

Then I sing songs from the wells of living water and a high holy place whilst having others follow me to His Secret Place... as a worship leader and leader.

Then I stand at the door of the altar and greet people to come join me fully all the while guarding them from the elements and strongholds that would try to distract them from the freedom, liberty and healing that is present for them. Ushering them in by example, leadership, by The Spirit of God so that they can understand and know the full depth of God's love for them... as a doorkeeper.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:10

 I'd say it's about one of the scariest, honorable, sincerest, things I've had to do. I am accountable for what comes out of my mouth because it all flows from my heart. When I have God's Word, Love, Peace and Spirit dwelling in me, people are being healed, loved, set free and saved by The Grace of God. It isn't about me and what I'm doing. It is about being obedient and being used as a vessel, lifeline and gateway for God to meet His people where they are at. Not just at church, but every second of every minute of every hour of every day. This is something that we as Christian believers should all do. You are just as capable of doing this so long as you are ready to know the importance and depths of what you are doing and who you are. You can say and you can know....

I am a worshiper.

I am a worship leader.

I am a leader.

I am a doorkeeper. 

Time to live it out. We have to be all of these at the same time... for the glorifying of God and the growing of His kingdom. Alone or in a room full of people. And that is the beauty and art of it all.

xo

The Art of... Shattering The Silence.

Some things are left in the air and never truly dealt with. It's like a big fat elephant in a room, the dust under the rug, dark cloud that looms overhead and monsters in the closet...

Until the silence shatters.

The truth of this matter is that it happens and it happens often. I've probably got a closet full of things I'd like to address, but because of my attempts to love people with the love of The Lord, I hold on to my silence when it comes to shattering revelations. A lot of people do. Most Christians who love Jesus and strive to be examples for Him do.

Wouldn't I like to be the first to call out the ones who've left me, my life, what I believe and stand for, as they loudly proclaim false accusations, gossip and stir up discord? Call them out by name, bash their new 'calling', yell at them for stealing and shake my fist at their hypocrisy? Make people finally address what THEY have done so miserably to effect me? All the while, still loving and living for Christ?

BOY WOULD I!!!

But at what cost and who would I truly be hurting? Sure, I am angry. I am upset. I want what people have done hidden in lies, gossip and darkness to come bursting at the seams and be paraded in the light of truth. I want them to repent and turn from their wickedness. I want them to pay with having to suffer my vengeance... ahahaha.

Ok, so I may be a tad dramatic! :)

I searched and searched God's word to ease my anxious heart before just shattering the silence these people hide behind... and because of the faithfulness of God, it was revealed to me in this..

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:10-12

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

Proverbs 17:9

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matthew 6:14

It came down to me praying for God's forgiveness in MY LIFE that would allow me to forgive where I felt wronged. In the bigger picture, it's not about us at all. In the bigger picture it's about holding together our life and this world through the love of Christ Jesus.

I learned this:

Some things are better left in the silence. Not to ever be shattered by ME but eventually the light will shatter that darkness through the Love of JESUS.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Romans 12:19

So hold on to the silence friends because GOD will ALWAYS have the FINAL SAY! :)
And THAT is the art of it all.

xo

Meet My Friend; VANESSA...

Sometime last year, I did a 30 day photo challenge on Facebook. Day Four was a picture of someone I think is beautiful. I'm choosing a different picture (circa 2007) for this blog post but this is what I wrote:

This is a picture of me & My Bestie Banana; Vanessa C. Lopez ♥
To me, she is the most beautiful person inside and out.
She has seen me at my best, loved me at my worst, & still wants to be my friend... ahahhaa. She has developed and grown in to such a woman of God and she inspires me to be a better friend and person. Vanessa was there with me at the airport the last day I saw my daddy and then stood by my side the day I married the Man of My Prayers. I am so proud of the woman she has become... such a wonderful Wife, Mom, Daughter, Sister and Friend. Everyone who knows her loves her and everyone who doesn't know her, should. She is my "HUR" and I will forever be thankful to God for the reason behind that inside joke... ahahha... a good, Godly, Best Friend. Love ya Banana... thanks for everything... I really have no words to express my gratitude and love for our friendship/sisterhood. I just pray I can be just as great a friend to you as you have been to me! FFL ♥ -Gizzard

For some people, best friends change like they change their underwear. For the lucky ones (like me) in the swarm of BFFs, the ones that truly matter will forever exist. Vanessa and I don't hang out as often as we should, or see each other, chat on the phone or text like we used to. Not because we don't love each other or we're not friends... but because life gets hectic, busy and there is little time for the families we are creating and ministries we are involved in.

But no matter the time, space or distance, we can and always pick up right where we left off. If I don't talk to her because of a busy schedule, I know that in the dramatics of my life, she will be there when it counts. And the same goes on this end. She is there for me in every big event where a friend is needed. She understands things I go through in friendships, my marriage, ministry and family that no one other than My Husband can comprehend. She will pray for me even when I don't ask. She'll listen and call to make sure I'm alright because God has placed me in her heart. When I think of my Best Friends, she's on the top of the list. I don't ever feel we have to prove our friendship to each other because God has established this covenant relationship.

We get along so well because we are uniquely the same but different and there is such a great balance! For instance, we don't go to the same church anymore, but I think it's way cool when someone tells me "you remind me of this girl that goes to Harbor Christian Center. You guys laugh the same and talk the same and sometimes you guys act the same. She sings too and when she worships God, you guys almost have like the same worship style and Jesus glow! And then when they tell me her name I bust up laughing and say "She's like totally my BFF... for reals!"


I truly believe that every girl needs a sisterfriend in their life. I hear women all the time say they get along better with the opposite sex and they don't really have girlfriends and that breaks my heart because I know what it's like to have and not have that type of relationship. But I encourage you, if you don't have that and you truly desire that, PRAYER works. The beginning of my friendship with Vanessa stemmed out of prayer. I prayed that God would send me a friend that I could trust and would love Him so I would have a piece of iron to sharpen me and be there for me. And lo and behold, he used someone to invite her to Calvary Light and we started a friendship that I wouldn't trade in for anything in this world! 

Dear Nessa,

Thank you for the eight years of friendship and our sisterhood. It is such an honor to have seen the transformation over the years. You are a woman crowned with God's love, destiny, purpose and such a big heart for people and The Lord. You are gifted with a soft heart of forgiveness and desire to love people that I learn from. Through the good, the bad and the ugly I thank God for the joy of our friendship. I pray that God continues to increase you and bless your marriage, your family and your ministry. May He forever be the foundation of our friendship. Know that I hold our friendship with both hands and my prayer is still the same... to be just as great a friend to you as you are to me. Thanks for always being there through the bigs and the littles. I look forward to seeing what God has in store through the coming years. You, Tony and the Babies are such a blessing to me and Albert. We will always be an open door for you guys because we know The Lord has set you guys in our life for a blessed reason and purpose. We love you guys immensely! 

xo; Lizzy

The Art of... Jesus, Love & Honor In Marriage.

I have come to know and to hold dear this one thing in My Marriage to My Husband Albert-

You can tell a Wife's relationship with God by how she treats and what her relationship is like with her Husband.

The story of this revelation stems from our church's 21 days of fasting and praying that we just ended this past weekend. Throughout this 21 days of abstaining from food and spending much needed and wanted time with The Lord, I had a clear direction of what I was fasting and praying for. But what I didn't expect was for God to reveal to me my relationship with Jesus and My Husband. God is perfecting My Love for My Husband & for The Lord in such an awesome way that parallels one another... wahooooo! For me, THAT is something to rejoice about. 

Jesus in Marriage

Now, I am not by any means trying to make Albert a god. Please understand that. Many women will tend to do that with their marriage, their husbands and even with their kids at times. But as Al's Wife, I am well aware of his downfalls, flaws, strong personality, loving kindness and what people like and don't like about My Honey. Though, don't think you can paint a bad picture of him to me or around me and not have me throw something at you... ahaha :) 

A key scripture that I like to lean on in My Marriage as a Wife is this-

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22

That is the key for me. I spend my days loving God & desiring to be in the presence of The Lord. I think about Jesus and often find myself day dreaming about praising God in Heaven. I lean on the Holy Spirit for direction and I submit to the authority of Christ in my life. Because I love The Lord this way, I believe He makes it that much easier to love and adore Albert this way.

I love and desire to be around My Husband. I daydream about the next time I get to see him. I lean on him for direction and as the head of Our Home. I lovingly trust him and submit to the authority he has as my protector, lover, best friend. I reverence and respect The Lord and because I wouldn't question where Christ leads me and how He loves me, I don't question that the man God gave me should be honored by me in a way that I honor and love Jesus. 

When I said "I DO", standing at the altar in front of God, Family and Friends, I entered a covenant relationship that said to this world-

Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will cling to his wife: 

and they will be one flesh.

Genesis 2:24

I AM ONE WITH MY HUSBAND! So why would I be mean, hurtful or scornful to myself if we're one? That's just ridiculous. I love myself far too much to treat myself horrible and because we are of one flesh in the unity of marriage, I regard My Husband as I regard myself. Which brings me to...

Love in Marriage

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Without LOVE in all things, you have and you gain and you are NOTHING! A marriage cannot survive without LOVE. I know some women who have it instilled in their brains that-

*They deserve to be treated like a Queen ONLY.
*They should be the one that the man caters to.
*They should be taken care of and it doesn't matter how she treats her spouse so long as he treats her with the respect she deserves because she is the wife.

I think that is totally wrong thinking in a marriage or any relationship for that matter. When there is TRUE LOVE, you have no desire to be served and catered to but YOU have the desire to serve and cater your other half. When you do that, they in turn desire the same to be done to you. For this is what God's definition of LOVE is-

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

 1Corinthians 13:4-13

And when the realization of what True Love is in your marriage is revealed, you can then apply Honor to what God has entrusted you with.

Honor in Marriage

I love to google good marriage blogs and I came across a blog about honoring marriage called 
"Honor: The Fuel That Runs a Healthy Marriage" by Dr.Gary Smalley and in his blog he stated this-

What does honor look like in the daily life of a couple? For starters, it means waking up in the morning and deciding that our mate is the most valuable person on earth to us. It is deciding that we will look after our mate's needs before we worry about ours. Honoring our mate on a daily basis is all about priority.

When I read that, I thought "Wow God... do I or don't I do that?" and from there my prayer was that God would show me how to place Al's needs before my own. I needed to make this man a priority in my life. And thus began the newness of honoring what and whom God has given me when it comes to My Marriage. 

Sometimes I wonder if this will change when we have children. I have seen women completely disregard their marriage because they now have kids. But I am reminded of  Genesis 2:24 not just in the respect of Albert leaving his family to cleave to me... but the simple reminder that when we do have children and they grow and get married, THEY too will do what he did and they'll leave us to become ONE with THEIR spouses. Which leaves Albert and I at square one again... TOGETHER as ONE forever. In the changes that may come and the seasons that we'll face, I can always find rest in knowing that in the end, it's Team Albert and Lizzy because we have chosen to live, love and honor Christ with Our Marriage. 

And because of this, I am confident in knowing that the Art of Marriage is founded on a relationship with Christ, infusing Our Marriage with LOVE and Honoring each other as the gifts God has given us. It doesn't have to take YEARS to "get it". It takes but a moment when you understand God's artistic design for your life, your spouse's life and your marriage.

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

 Ephesians 5:20-33

xo