Daddy's girl!

Ok i have a princess and her name is Kayla Garcia, my 9 yr old daughter. I fall in love with her more and more everyday. She is not easy but she is going to be a remarkable women. Everyday i get to make new memories and the ones I am enjoying the most is our late night conversations when i am tucking her in. I get to hear how she thinks, what is troubling her, what perplexes her, what she dreams about. I love those conversations. Tonight i went to tuck her in at 9pm and stayed talking to her till 9:50pm. it was awesome! we talked about everything. she asked me questions i asked her questions. about life, about food, about animals whatever she wanted to talk about. Nothing got in our way, no schedule, no cell phone, no clothes to wash, no sleepiness, no little brother jumping on top of us, it was just me and her, Daddy and princess.

The highlight of our conversation was when she started to ask about where people go when they don't know God. See, she accepted God 4mos ago, and got baptized 2wks ago, so she knows where she is going, but she wanted to get refreshed on what happens to those who don't know. Well after a little refresher she ended up leading us in prayer for those she cares about that do not know Christ. it was awesome! I will always remember everyone of these conversations forever, i want to be her best friend. Everytime we have these conversations i feel she trusts me more and more, so she can always open up to me.

Just wanted to share with you one of the many blessings in my life. My Princess! Thankyou Lord for my Princess! :)

dOes iT eVeR sTop!!!!!!

Ok i have let you into my naked head, let me invite you into my Naked house! this is me after my 5th load of laundry. Imagine! , it's only me and my kids and a cat, why do i wash so much clothes! aweeee!!!!!! It could be cumbersome at times, but i am glad that i am blessed with a house to clean, and that i can call my own and children to clean after.

Now being a single Papa i have learned a couple of things, so here our my pointers and i would love to hear yours:

1. Fabuloso- great to clean floors, smells great and now they have the kitchen counter cleaner for quick clean ups

2. Best dryer sheets - PUBLIX brand. Thats right! believe it or not, the best dryer sheets are the Publix brand, i have tried all of them, but the ones that make my clothes smell the best are the Publix brand

3. Best time to use softner - Ok i have tried the softner ball, but it does not make my clothes smell as good as when i put the softner straight into the water during the Spin cycle. i have come to learn that my clothes smell very fresh when the softner is put straight into the water in the rinse cycle.

4. Old school air freshener - most visitors our impressed or turned off within the 1st 5mins of entering your house and the way to make a cheap, home made,strong impression is:
a. pot of water
b. apple (slice it up)
c. cinnamon sticks
d. cinnamon powder
and let it simmer. makes the house smell awesome! (my mom tought me that)

HELP!
* I would like to learn how to get the socks completely white again. i never get them as white as i would like, so i would love to hear some of your tricks

Well, it's been fun sharing with you, i have to go serve dinner, I made spaghetti with Turkey Sausages ( good for your health), and tend to my daughter who has stomach flu, and get the house ready for my small group tomorrow night.

God bless you. :)

My Princess!

About 3months ago i was driving in the car with my kids and my 9yr.old daughter Kayla started to ask me alot of questions about heaven and hell. I did not want to ignore her inquisitive mind so I engaged in a conversation with her regarding salvation. I had the privilege to lead my daughter in the car to Christ. Mind you my little boy Andres was in the back with his eyes closed and praying the same words as we prayed, but I know when he truly understands his time will come when he too gives his life to Christ.

Well since those 3 mos Kayla knew Beach Baptism was coming up and thought she would be baptized on that day but needed to be refreshed on what that meant 1st. Well the time came she was ready and it happened last night as we broke in our new baptism pool at FRC, I had the privilege to baptize my daughter. It was awesome! I know the road is long but this is the 1st seed planted in her life that will get her started to reach the potential that God created her to reach. It was AWESOME!

wHo Am I?

INSECURITY, that is the topic of the message this weekend in my church Flamingo Road. In line with our series myNakedpastor.com i am back here on my blog, getting naked(authentic). how can i encourage anyone if i don't share with you my own challenges? I see myself as the man in this picture face down, beaten, as i am not good enough. There are certain people in my life that i allow to still have reign over me, that when i see them i feel so small, Why? i think that when they look at me they see an insignificant person. Stupid right? i know, but it is something that i am working on. In reality these individuals might not perceive me that way, or maybe they do, but the truth is i see myself that way. I myself don't know my significance. How can i expect anyone to see something i don't believe myself. That is the naked truth. it does not stop me from serving God, because I am complete only when i am in his will and giving my life to him. I know that God will heal all my insecurities in time, the 1st step is just recognizing that they exist.
i'd like to hear from you guys? do you struggle with insecurity? how do you fight it?

Going Home!

Tomorrow we are going home, yey! I am going to miss the weather here in Chicago it was awesome! We had a great time, both relaxing and insightful. We had many great conversations of where our church is and where God is taking us. We celebrated quite a bit at the privilege we have to serve at FRC.

I am ready to go home, can't wait to see my kids. i miss them very much, and i can't wait to worship this weekend. i missed it.

This weekend we are talking about Insecurity, something we all struggle with, but man do i ever struggle with it. If you really knew me you would think i needed help. I constantly have to look in the mirror and say "God made you, God chose you, God loves you". Man if not i , i will find myself reaching for the white flag quickly.

Lord i love you, i need your embrace more and more every day, remind me who i am in you, when i look at myself let me see through your eyes, and see who you have created. I ask for those God that deal with great insecurities as i do, I ask God that this weekend's topic may be uplifting and that they too, may see themselves through your eyes. I ask this in your name God.
Amen.

Have a good night guys
Leave A Legacy...........