LORD I AM AMAZED BY YOU

Here is a trustworthy saying:  If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;

IF WE ARE FAITHLESS, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL, for he cannot disown himself.

-2 Timothy 2: 11-13

There is really no way to explain what I feel at this moment. All I can say is that to the naked eye, this was not suppose to happen. But JESUS. HE REMAINED FAITHFUL EVEN WHEN I WAS FAITHLESS. I am so glad I'm not God. Words aren't really coming out. I know I have an amazing testimony to share but as of now, I'm just speechless, amazed, shocked, just WOW.

So conclusion, to all my facebook friends, to those who have had me and my family in their prayers, THANK YOU.

MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU ALL AND MAY HIS FACE SHINE UPON YOU, AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU.

Let me tell you: God listens and today, although it shouldn't happen this way, my family and I were approved. I guess I'll be staying in Canada to take on the burden God has given me for this country.

Jesus gave me this promise a while back:

 “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” -Deuteronomy 31:7-8

And today, He once again blows my mind away (=

Today, I AM TRULY AMAZED

PRAISE THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!


Natalia

Faith: Are you ready for a new year?

Today will consist of meditating about the blessings and the lessons God has taught me this past year, FAITH. 
The bible says that "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6), and yet, through out the hardships of life, we tend to loose faith because we feel a though God has forgotten about us. We loose faith because we can't understand why things happen. For a long period of time, our prayers only consist of a "Why God? Show me why." 

So here I am...and this is what happened: God answered and said, "If I told you why, then you wouldn't be living by faith." That's faith, "faith is having confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is beleiving in something that can't be seen and yet, believing that God has already given us the victory.

Why is it that although we witnessed a miracle yesterday we don't hesitate to doubt when we face a problem today?

I witnessed a miracle in my personal life this year. God made an impossible dream come true. However, 2010 closes with a problem whose solution is beyond what I can do. I have no power over it, no control of it's outcome; all I can do is pray and keep the faith. So I write with conviction as I write this blog; believing that there is nothing impossible for my Lord.

So dear 2011,

I enter the year armed of faith. I enter the year prepared to witness a miracle once again.

Dear Jesus Christ,

I love you and I believe in your mighty power. Allow me to serve you with all I have, all I am, and take me to those that are hungry for your word. You know that my deepest desire is to be used by you.

I'M READY

Natalia

Before you give up

Dear Negativity,
Are you actually a sickness, or are you a symptom that comes when the enemy wants to get a hold of our thoughts, ideas and beliefs?
To the one that is going through those times in life where we feel like we just can't go on, please take the time to think about this:
Close your eyes and go back to the Olympics. Think about the moment where the best runners were competing against each other. Place your self in that race, where there's only two laps left and you're in fourth place. Finally, the last lap comes and you realize you're still in fourth place, what do you do? Do you just give up and let the one's behind you take your forth place? Or do you keep on trying for the next 5 seconds hoping you'll get at least third place?  I know it's hard, but it seems logical to keep on trying. I mean, you already ran almost the whole race, why not finish it? Yes there is probably a 1% chance that you'll get first place, but why not try to get the third place that will get you a metal?

So before you give up,
I know you feel you can't go on any more. You might be right.
It's hard to persevere alone, but that's the beauty of it all. You don't have to do this alone. In fact, you have to stop trying to do this alone, it's just to much to bear. Trying to solve certain problems on your own might just get you into more trouble. So please, grab a hold of the one that will never leave you, the one that sees you when you feel the whole world has forgotten you, grab a hold of the one that's just waiting to manifest His glory over your life. Jesus Christ.

Natalia

Doubt. 21st Century v.s Mosaic Era

The rough times come and good times also come. "It was the worst of times and it was the best of times." That's where I'm at. Where you know that there has to be more to all the stress, there has to be something better behind the bad news. As I asked God for His direction to show me where I belong, He reminded me of the Israelites in the desert. If your familiar with the story of Moses, you'll know that God manifested His glory multiple times. He open the red sea, He fed them sending them manna from heaven, He gave them water to calm their thirst among other miracles. Yet, it didn't take them long to forget about their Lord and doubt. 

“If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? ... Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” -Numbers 14-

My conclusion: If I give up on God and if I doubt His mighty power, am I not doing exactly what the Israelites did. Am I not becoming the most ungraceful person alive? The answer is as follows:

If God is with me, who can be against me? No one. So today, I decided that I will not doubt the power of God for He is with me.
Romans 8:31

Natalia

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities English novelist (1812 - 1870)

 

Beggining of a New Journey

Let me introduce my self: the name is Natalia Manrique.
Linguistics & Psychology student at Carleton University.

Born in Colombia, raised in California, and now living in the beautiful city of Ottawa- the  Canadian Capital----wait, I am now leaving in London Ontario....the so called Londondombia!

A long story is to be told of how I got here, why I got here and what has happened since I have arrived. 

Miracles have been seen, life changing moments have been experienced. Among them, a calling more powerful than whatever I can imagine took place, a love life that comes by the blessings of God, and a journey towards following a ministry that is on the rode to discovery is also yet to be told. 

People call me an entrepreneur-reason why... is another story; but as my boyfriend would say, "you can call me entrepreneurial, my passion is to reach this generation with truth."

I am not an expert in life but I do value the little I've learned through out the circumstances I hope to share with you.

Allow me to take you through a journey of confusion and hope, where although the ending is unknown, the Hero will always come forth to bring to you a happy ending.


Hope you enjoy!


Natalia