Genesis 1: 31

I started reading Genesis again. Tonight I wanted to continue my reading of Genesis 2. However, as soon as my eyes caught the last verse of the first chapter, I couldn't go on.
I could hardly take my eyes off that verse. And what does it say?

 "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day"
Genesis 1:31

 It may not seem like a super deep and powerful verse. But guess what? It is. Read the first sentence again. The context is of The earth's creation. Including men. Yet, it also talks about you.

Every time God creates something or somebody, He takes time to review His work carefully. He stays still and appreciates what He, The ALL mighty, has made!!! He takes time to see if what He just created is good or not.
Well, He made YOU in your mother's womb (Isaiah 44:24; 49:5). He created you. He saw you, stopped and said: "This is good", "She is good" Actually I believe He said "She is perfect and beautiful!"

God does not make junk!!! Everything He has made in the heavens and under the heavens is beautiful and perfect in His time and image!! I know this because He said it : "and it was VERY good."

In your mother's womb there was no, JC Pennies, nor Mary Kay, or Maybelline to hide the spots on your skin or to enlarge your eyelashes, or even dress you with a 345$ pair of shoes. That concept of beauty doesn't come from God. He sees you every morning when you wake up with awful breath and baggy eyes and He knows you are perfectly and beautifully made. 

So many times we want to change the way our nose looks, or eyes' color, our hair color, our skin color, etc. We hate the way our legs look in a swimsuit, we hate our breast size, our butt size, even our feet (YES! I have a friend that would not wear sandals because she hates her toes!). But we forget that God made us perfect ~that said, don't take me wrong. We DO need to exercise and eat well. Loosing or gaining weight in a healthy manner is also pleasing to God!~ Yes! God wants us to take good care of the body He gave us! Don't go around looking like a beggar or all sloppy. Take care of yourself! but do not forget that you don't need to change who you are and how God made you. You are beautiful just the way you are! you are VERY good!!!

 Is your nose too big? is it too small? are your lips to big or too small? do you have freckles all over your body? none? you hate your hair?? are your sister's hips way better than yours?? wish you had green/brown/gray eyes?? NO, NO and NO! Christ loves you the way you are! He wants you the way you are!! He made you perfect!!! so now suck it up and live with that truth: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE BECAUSE GOD MADE YOU THIS WAY AND HE DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES!!!! not even tiny ones!!

 "God saw [you] after He made [you], and [you] were VERY good..." F.

A life of worship.

It is wonderful how God works in our lives. Lately He has been reminding me of all the blessings in my He has given me. He is so good. His love NEVER fails. Christ did not lie to me, He loved me. He loved us. He loves us. I feel this great urge of doing more for Him. Doing more for others to come to know Him. I just don't know what. It is tough living in a world where young girls get lost in the wilderness of this ridiculously twisted world, I want to do something for them. It's awful to see guys follow the wrong path, just because the world says it's right, I'd like to help them. I hate to see people divorcing. Not fighting to preserve what God created as a means to shape us, bless us, bless others and bring Him glory; I would love to do something for them! But I know my "doing" will not be the key, but Christ's perfect love showed through what I do. By now, I am just praying for God's vision to show me where He wants me. where should I help, Who should I talk to and what exactly He wants me to do. You know, God rejoices in those who are willing to follow Him, to obey Him. He blesses the work of our hands when we do things for His glory. He answers the prayers of the righteous. They could be a big YES, a big NO or a "It's not time yet, be faithful and wait". They are all the perfect answers. That is because He is God and He sees the big picture. Time is in His hands. So I want Him to be happy with me. I want my life to be a living song of worship to God. It is my life's goal to make it to His presence and be told: "good job!, I am proud of you!" because in the end, it is only God's approval the one that really matters. So if you are out there, reading this, please pray with me. Or talk to me, let me know if I can be of some sort of help to you or somebody else!! Love, F.

counseling

We started our pre-marital counseling. We have Rick and Twinky. They lived in Spain for 20 years!! both are super out going and loving. We are so blessed to have them do our counseling. I really believe God is great! He had it all planned out when Rick and Twinky decided to come back to the States. They are perfect to do our counseling in so many ways. My favorite is because both have been exposed to what is like to live in a different culture. Although i have lived in the States for a year already, there are still cultural barriers for me. There are things I need to get used to. And so does Jon when it comes to my culture. Even though I am living here, I will always be Peruvian. There will always be things that I will want to do my way. Like cooking as often as possible, eating rice as often as possible, maybe even speaking in Spanish from time to time. Jon will as well want to do things the way he's been used to. Maybe celebrate Christmas the way they do here in the States; the way he approaches birthdays is different as well, among other things. We are just coming to understand how complex marriage is. Complex as a pain in the butt and an everyday headache maybe, yes that complex. But more than that kind of complexity, complex as for all the things it involves. The necessary hard but good things. It is a commitment!! It is not about me or Jon. Marriage is about God. If we love God, if we obey God, then we will be doing things the right way. That doesn't mean that it will be all stars and roses! But it will be a heck a lot easier to deal with problems. On the other hand, marriage is also not about me, but about Jon. It is not about Jon, but about me. It is about sacrifice and not being selfish. We will be one in Christ. I will have to submit to him. Like the church is submitted to Christ and loves him and respects him. Also, Jon will have to love me. Like Christ loves the church. Unconditionally, with sacrifice and service. Finally, we both will need wisdom to communicate, to build up each other rather than take each other down. We will need a lot of prayer. Prayer for strength, patience, perseverance, faith and love. I am really looking forward to all this. I know right now it is easier to say that it will be to take when the day comes, but its true. It will be a new chapter of my life's journey.

changes

My life has changed a lot in the last year but that's not it. Now that I look back and think of all the people that played a role in my life's story, I too notice how much their lives have changed. It's crazy. I can't believe we graduated from high school 6 years ago. I can't believe most of them are done with college. Others, started a family. I, myself will be starting a family June 19th the day I get married. WOW! I am getting married. I moved from Peru to the US to go to school. I will finish my career in a couple of years and hopefully will plan to have my first kid then. Incredible, amazing, unbelievable, beyond my understanding. That's the hand of God working in my life. Through fire and storm. that's how He has shaped me. I would not have it any other way. God knows best. I miss my friends, my family, my FOOD!! and even sometimes, the smog and loudness of the traffic. Things I never thought I'd miss, I do. I bet I will miss something else tomorrow. And yet, I think it's beautiful. Everyday is new. Everyday brings a new adventure. I may not see it at the moment. I may not notice how things are changing little by little. But they are. Maybe not where I am right now but somewhere. Somewhere, today something new was just born. I will see it tomorrow. So will you. I love you all. From the inside out. F.