#9 My Favorite Things - Traveling

We rode in a car similar to this.

I believe my love for traveling began when I was very young. I can remember going to places as a little girl with my TiaTaya driving my mom, grandma, Tia Jessie and my brother, Fred. We'd go to places like Tijuana, San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Las Vegas and who knows where else.

Once my brother Fred was old enough to have his driver's license he would drive us places. I remember the trips across the U.S. my Dad took us on to visit my grandparents in Michigan and seeing Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Greenfield Village, Niagra Falls and the Grand Canyon. I love being on the road.

My dream job would actually be as a truck driver in an eighteen wheeler on the open highway! I would love driving from state to state and seeing as much of this great land as possible.

God has been so good to allow me to work in ministry for him and have a part of that where I can take people to places they have never been or to take them back to places they haven't been to in many years.

I piled our kids in a station wagon like this.

In 1995 I drove my then six kids clear across the U.S. by myself to spend the summer with my husband when he was working in LaGrange, GA. That was such a fun trip! I have the videos from our trip and I wish I could watch them and relive some of the places we visited.

When my children were little I would always look for places to take them to that were free or inexpensive. I loved it when my husband was working in Irvine and in the summer months they would have bands play on Fridays so I would take the kids to have lunch with their Dad and listen to the music play. Afterwards I'd take them to South Coast Plaza or Fashion Island. Sometimes we'd go to the beach and I would say my favorite beach was Corona Del Mar. I'm glad I was able to do that when they were younger because nowadays it would be cost prohibitive with the price of gas.

I loved my trip to London and I loved my trip to Mackinac Island. Check out my blog about Mackinac on the tab above. This so far has been my most favorite places I've been to so far.
Mackinac Island Tourism

When I grow up I think I would like to take over Huell Hower's California's Gold or maybe I should come up with my own show "Traveling the Nation with Beckie Vasquez." You can follow my travels through my photo albums and the photo albums on the Young at Heart Fan Page.

Oh, I'm a Travelin' Gal,
Yes, I'm a Travelin' Gal.

#8 My Favorite Things - My Bible

I don’t have just one Bible. I have many versions of the Bible. I cherish my Bibles, God’s Holy Word. We have so much to learn from God’s Word. This is the basis for everyday living. From learning about His Commandments and how we should live, I wouldn’t know how to “Do Life” without God’s Word. I could look through the Bible and find passages that mean so much to me but you have to take His word together. From the beginning to the end, the alpha and the omega from Genesis to Revelation God shows us His love for us and how we are to love others. In the Bible we have God’s promises that he will be with us even unto the end.

In God’s word he gives us His commandments in Exodus 20: 1-17. Can you imagine the type of world we would live in should we live by the 10 Commandments? And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 [1] You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 [2] You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7[3] You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 [4] Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 [5] Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
13 [6] You shall not murder.
14 [7] You shall not commit adultery.
15 [8] You shall not steal.
16 [9] You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 [10] You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, not his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.

This all sounds pretty simplistic if we could only all live according to God’s commandments.

In Deuteronomy 6:6-9 is where God tells us: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

What kind of world would we be living in if these were taught to our children? It only takes a few generations to make things a habit. There is so much to be learned in the Bible.

If we would only teach and have our children memorize Psalm 1 the Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly.

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

If our children could only understand this maybe they would avoid making some foolish mistakes in their lives. Maybe WE would avoid making foolish mistakes in our own lives.

There is so much that we can learn as we read God’s Holy Word. If we read through Proverbs, which coincidentally can be read a chapter a day every month, we would gain wisdom to help us on a daily basis.

Most of all we can read God’s Word to help us listen to His Spirit and know when he wants to moves us.  On Saturday, July 16^th I left for Mexico. My devotional for that day gave me this scripture: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.” – 1 Timothy 1:12 NIV. That was my confirmation that I was on the right track with God. He spoke to my heart last October at the Women’s Retreat and told me to go stay with the women at The Restoration Home in Pipila, Mexico. I questioned God, Why? He said he would show me when I arrived there. I did have some idea as to why he wanted me here and in talking with Marcos and Rebeca the ones that run the ministry they told me that they knew why I was there. Someone needed to come and see what the needs of this ministry truly are. Marcos shared with me it is the Spiritual needs that are needed here. It’s easy to give money or to buy material things but what is really needed has to do spiritually. Now what we need are people that are committed to come and share with these women and children.

Read God’s word, pray and listen to what He says to you.

Isaiah 6: 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,  And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

What is God saying to you through His Word?

#7 Of My Favorite Things: MY CHILDREN

This is from last week’s blog:

“I had just given birth to Duana and was so ecstatic that God blessed us with a baby girl that I was in 7^th Heaven!  Or maybe it was Cloud Nine? Here I was holding my baby girl in my arms and feeling like, somebody pinch me! I have a Baby Girl! After having 2 boys and losing a baby the year before that I believe was a boy, and with boys dominating the Vasquez Family, I was in dreamland holding my baby girl!. I could not see the end to being pregnant. I loved being pregnant, I loved the process of childbirth, and I loved the sound of hearing my baby’s first cry, and I absolutely LOVED when the nurse would place my newly born baby in my arms and they were mine to take home. I’m getting ahead of myself here since this is what I’ll write about in my #7 Favorite Things.”

In the beginning I was afraid to get pregnant because I was afraid of miscarriage. My grandmother and an aunt had a miscarriage so that always loomed in the back of my mind that this could happen to me.

The day came when I went off “the pill” and the waiting game began. It was always so fun to make the announcements to the family but I think by the time we announced baby #4 on the way it was met with eyes rolling…another one?! I know my Grandma McClung was rooting for me when I told her we wanted to have six children. She told me the story of her grandparents and that her grandma gave birth to six children so her grandpa told his wife, “You had your six so now it’s time to have my six.” They had 12 children!

The day came when I took that first test and the plus sign showed I was pregnant. Oh what an exciting time this was! God showed his favor and blessed us with one of His creations! I had good pregnancies. My body felt healthy, my skin had no blemishes and my hair was perfect! I had my “What to Expect” baby book in hand and I marveled at the life growing inside of me. God was using ME to bring Life into this world. There was no mistake that this baby was wanted and was loved from the very start. My tummy grew…and grew…and grew!

The day came in the wee hours of the morning as I tapped my husband and said, “I think we’re gonna have a baby today.” Off we went to San Dimas Hospital and was all checked in by 7:30am. The doctor checked me and said that baby was over 8 lbs and it would be a miracle if I delivered this baby naturally. The nurse came up to me and said, “We’ll show the doctor miracles do happen.” That afternoon I gave birth to our first boy and we named him John Neal after both his grandpa’s.

If I continue giving you details of each pregnancy I’ll end up with a book. I did have rather easy pregnancies. I felt the best carrying my boys and my girls gave me a little morning sickness. I did have my worst time carrying my Diana but again that is another story. I would feel sick around the 5 o’clock hour but I did figure out that if I took my prenatal pills at night I wouldn’t have that “Evening” sickness.

Each of our children had a special reason for choosing their names. As you saw above Johnny was named after both Grandpa’s. Our second was Robert Frederick who was named after Grandpa Johnny’s brother and my oldest brother. I did lose a baby at 12 weeks so it was too early to know if we had a girl or boy. I tend to think boy for some reason. I’ll be pleasantly surprised when I reach heaven. Duane didn’t want a Duane Jr. and what were the chances of us having more than one girl? Duane agreed to the name of our first born daughter, Duana Rebecca. Next would be Donald Laurence. Donnie after Duane’s brother who died at the age of 7 and his middle name after my younger brother. Duane has always liked the name Diana so he gave her the name. Her middle name is after both her grandma’s Ruth Consuelo because what WERE the chances we would have another girl? Next came Dawna Linda. We chose Dawna because after naming her sisters with a “D” and ending in “NA” we thought just changing the second and third letters would be fun! Besides she was born at the Dawn of morning. Four months after her birth I was pregnant again and this is story in itself. We lost our little girl Debra Lois in the 6^th month of pregnancy. I thought we were done with 3 boys and 3 girls.

I did have some problems physically and the doctor said I should consider a hysterectomy. I didn’t do anything about it for a number of years until it was obvious something needed to be done. This was a hard decision to make to know that I would never carry another child in this body. I asked the Lord if I wasn’t done having children if he would allow me to get pregnant one more time and then I would take care of myself. The next month I was pregnant! Our bonus baby, William Joseph, came 7 years after Dawna was born. We never told our children if he was a boy or girl so they all called him, Baby, while he was in my tummy. That name stuck with him for quite a few years. Billy was named after his great & great, great grandfathers.

There you have it. All My Children! I could tell you so many stories of each of their lives. I did have difficulties during their growing years when I would feel God tugging on my heart to do more for the Kingdom of God. I spent many a time talking with the Children’s Pastor, my friend Winona Stradley, and share with her the way I felt. When I would tell her I wish I could serve God on the Mission Field she opened my eyes and told me that my Mission Field right now were My Children. So if anyone out there feels like their family is sapping the life out of them you need to see them in a different light. We are raising the NEXT generation and us as mother’s have the most important job anyone else could have. No one on this earth can do a better job at raising your kids better than you can!

Recently I have also learned something else from seeing the movie, “Midnight in Paris.” Have you ever felt you were born in the wrong time era? My husband and I both have felt that way. We love the turn of the century time era and both feel we were born at the wrong time. Since seeing this movie I have come to the conclusion that I was born exactly in the time God wanted me to be here. Each of us was born exactly where we should be. I was placed here to marry Duane and together with God would give life to these children. We would raise them to know and love God and teach them to use their talents to glorify God and to expand His Kingdom. The verse that sticks in my mind too is found in Esther 4:14b (NKJV)Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 

We all have a purpose for being where we are when we are. I pray that you find your purpose.

A friend of mine posted this on my Facebook Wall and it means a lot to me. I want my children to remember as well as those that read this blog…Psalms 139

‎

13 For you created my inmost being; 
you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
your works are wonderful, 
I know that full well. 
15 My frame was not hidden from you 
when I was made in the secret place, 
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
all the days ordained for me were written in your book 
before one of them came to be. 
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! 
How vast is the sum of them! 
18 Were I to count them, 
they would outnumber the grains of sand— 
when I awake, I am still with you.

One day I’ll have to share with you how “I came to be.”
I know All my days were ordained by God for me.
I just now need to be obedient to what God has planned for my life.
I pray you discover that too.

#6 My Favorite Husband

You may wonder why My Favorite Husband would be listed as #6 instead of #1 of My Favorite Things. My list of Favorite Things isn’t exactly listed in order of what I like best. I said I would write about My 12 Favorite things but there is no order to it. I chose to list My Favorite Husband, which by the way makes it sound like I’ve had more than one, I haven’t. My Husband happens to be my Favorite Husband because he is the only husband I have ever had or known and ever hope to have. I listed him as #6 because six was the number of children we wanted to have. Now we didn't talk about that during our courtship time. The subject of children never came up in our conversations while we were dating. It wasn't until Duana was born that Duane had gone to our Sunday School Class in July of 1986 and our teacher at the time was Jeff Roy and his lesson or actually his charge to the group was to raise families for the Lord. Jeff talked about how the Catholic’s and Mormon’s were doing their job to populate the earth but that Christian’s had fallen into the trap of limiting themselves to 2.3 children. Christians were being outnumbered. So after that lesson Duane came home and said he wanted to have six children.

I had just given birth to Duana and was so ecstatic that God blessed us with a baby girl that I was in 7^th Heaven!  Or maybe it was Cloud Nine? Here I was holding my baby girl in my arms and feeling like, somebody pinch me! I have a Baby Girl! After having 2 boys and losing a baby the year before that I believe was a boy, and with boys dominating the Vasquez Family, I was in dreamland holding my baby girl!. I could not see the end to being pregnant. I loved being pregnant, I loved the process of childbirth, and I loved the sound of hearing my baby’s first cry, and I absolutely LOVED when the nurse would place my newly born baby in my arms and they were mine to take home. I’m getting ahead of myself here since this is what I’ll write about in my #7 Favorite Things.

I saw no end to my childbearing years so Duane and I were on the same page. Duana was technically my 4^th child and I knew more babies were in my future. So you can see how Duane is My Favorite Husband. He wanted a large family as much as I did too. We had settled that we would have six children. I know our friends thought we were crazy and we would get looks. “I” would get looks and as I look back in our photo albums I can see where people thought what was this young teenage girl doing with 3 kids. Our tax dollars are paying for her to raise these kids! Little did they know that I was 28 and had a good husband supporting his house and family.

Duane went to work Monday through Friday and when opportunity arose he worked Overtime. He was a hard worker and he worked just as hard at home too. Even when he had a year he was out of work he took over in the home while I worked a part time job. He did a much better job keeping house And he also homeschooled the kids. One day I came home and he told me that he knew what he wanted to do as a job. He wanted to be A HOUSEWIFE! I told him if he found ME a job that paid 40K a year I’d be glad to work full-time! Well, that never happened. He did take on odd jobs whenever he could. He worked in the Social Security Office he worked The Postal Convention and earned his certificate in Mail Room Management. Among other odd jobs he even worked as an Aide for an Adult Education School. Times were tight that year but God saw us through. If he ever did get depressed about not being able to get a job in his field he never showed it to his family. Duane made it priority and his family was in church every Sunday. His faith in God has never faltered.

Duane is the best husband any woman could ever want! I just celebrated 32 years of married life with him. I know I am more in love with him today than I was the day I married him. Life hasn’t always been smooth every marriage has its ups and downs. Those bumpy times when you wonder will this marriage last? Through it all Duane has loved me every single day. Duane has taken to heart Ephesians 5: 21-33 which is what our wedding ceremony was based upon. “²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” Yes, My Duane has given up his life for me. He has always wanted to make me happy. He has always stood up for me. Even when I felt unlovable, He loved me. Duane has sacrificed for me and his family. 

When work was looking bleak he took on a job assignment that took him to La Grange, GA for 5 months. I was fortunate enough after that first month he was gone that I was able to visit him for a few days. I couldn’t see going through the summer months without him so I packed up our six kids and drove across the U.S. to be with him. He worked the night shift so I would take the kids out during the day to let him sleep for a few hours. Then he would join us in the afternoons before he took off for work. That was a wonderful summer spent in Georgia.

Another time he was sent off to Saudi Arabia. His first trip there was just for 3 weeks. He went again and he was away for 6 weeks. His last trip there would take him away for 12 weeks which was a difficult decision for him since he knew he would miss some important months in his little boy, Billy’s, life. Little did he know that during this time his father would be diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I kept Duane updated on his father’s condition on a daily basis and the emails I sent him turned out to be joined by other family and friends from around the world that were praying for Duane’s Dad. Even from the other side of the world my Dear Husband sent his father a touching email that would help his dad fight for his life. I was proud of my husband. He has such an incredible way with words. I believe he gets it from his maternal grandmother who was a poet and wrote many poems and published a few books of poetry. Duane's latest travels has taken him twice to the North Slope of Alaska. He has been in extreme heat to extreme cold! Believe me, he prefers the 120 degree weather to below freezing! We both prefer the Hot weather.

This brings me to tell you about how my husband, Duane, has supported me in the ministry I work in with Young at Heart at CCV. He didn’t want me to just be taking people places without some sort of meaning to the places we would visit. From the very beginning he was writing Devotionals for me to read during our trips. I believe my favorite one he wrote was for the trip we took to The Kodak Theater. I’ll have to find a copy of it and publish it and add it to this blog. Although my husband has never written me an actual ‘love letter’ he once wrote to me in a card what he loved about me. I think it was for our 30^th Anniversary. It was very sweet and I will cherish that the rest of my life. I feel very lucky to have a husband that loves me the way he does.

The main thing that attracted me to him was his love for God. I did feel inferior to his Bible knowledge in the beginning years. As time went on he taught for the High School group, then College group he would teach in our Young Married group. Then we became the “old” Married group and he would teach every now and then. I admired his teaching style and the vast knowledge he had. I felt if I just stayed married to him his knowledge would rub off on me! I did learn so much about the Bible under his teachings. I have to say that he did teach me everything I ever needed to know about the Bible. So he kept his word in Ephesians 5: 26 “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…”

Yes, Duane is My Favorite Husband. I have a great respect for my husband and even though I am not commanded to love him I do love, love, love, love Him! God knew what he was doing when he put us together. My confirmation from God came when I discovered that my Birthday is on 7/12 and Duane’s Birthday is 12/7.  7 wonderful children God gave us and 12 because; They Come Cheaper by the Dozen! I feel so very blessed to have Duane in my life and to have the opportunity to grow old with him.

Ephesians 5:”²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

More of My Favorite Things - #5 Day Spa's!

On my 45th Birthday my daughter, Duana, took me for my first PEDICURE! I very well may have had my first manicure also. Being the mother of seven there wasn’t money in the budget to do such things let alone trying to find the time to get away from the family to do such a thing. I did enjoy it and it did become a regular seasonal thing. Pedicures can last at least 3 months so I’d go towards the end of spring and that would last till nearly the end of summer and I’d go again at that time. I tried the acrylic nails but when I would have them taken off I didn’t like the way my nails were left so thin. In March of 2007 for Bobby’s wedding Duana had introduced me to silk wrapping and I kept them up through Duana’s wedding that took place the end of June. With the kids getting older getting away for an hour or so was easier and since I started working money wasn’t so tight any longer.

Another way of being pampered was the massage my nephew and his wife gave me as a gift for catering their wedding. It was for Peaches & Cream in Glendora and that was the first full fledge massage I ever had.

I had a SPA Experience with my husband once a long time ago for our Anniversary and it gave you a little bit of everything in about an hour’s time. That probably was about 20 years ago. It was a place where men and women were split up so I basically went through it by myself. I remember going into the Sauna then I was taken into a hot tub filled with mineral water, showered off then was given a robe with some flavored water to sip while laying down on a wooden bench listening to soft music. I had an Edward G. Robinson experience which is a part of the movie in "Soylent Green" where he goes into this place and is laid on a bed to relax while watching a video with scenery of beautiful green grasses & flowers with this type of soft music playing and then he falls into a deep sleep never to awaken. If you have never seen this movie I encourage you to rent the dvd and watch it but it may hamper your ability to ever be able to enjoy a SPA Experience again!

 

 

In most recent years I have been to Cote d’Azur in Pasadena. I should clarify that I have been there twice. I was able to get a half-price discount so I tried it and absolutely loved it. I especially loved the hot stone treatment they give you. I took my mother since she needed to have a massage for medical reasons and this was her first ever experience too. She really enjoyed it too.



This past Mother's Day, my children went in together to buy me a gift certificate for Glen Ivy. I've had mixed emotions about this place. I had no idea what to expect. I know I have looked at their website before and read about the different things you can experience there but I never would have imagined in a million years that I would do The Mud Thing. People really put mud all over their bodies? REALLY? Well, let me tell you about my experience I had on Monday, June 20th.

 

The Friday before was Duana and Billy’s Birthdays so I had arranged to take Billy and his friends from school to go see “Green Lantern.” His brothers were available to join us too so it was a day spent with my boys. So on Monday I would be spending my day with my girls. Well, at least with Duana and Diana. Dawna had to work so she wasn’t able to join us. Diana and I left the house around 10am to pick up Duana. We stopped by Chick-Fil-A to get some breakfast then proceeded on our way to Glen Ivy in Corona. We took the same exit for Tom’s Farms so I knew when we were done we’d have to stop by there. When we arrived in the parking lot I was in total awe. We had to park in the overflow parking lot and as we were walking up the path I could see the line of people waiting to get in. We weren’t even up to the sign yet that read, “90 minute wait from this point.” Oh my goodness! Are you kidding me? After about 10 minutes a lady was walking by the line asking if anyone had appointments made. I said we did for 1:45pm. She said to follow her. She took us up toward the beginning of the line on the left side where there were about 10 people ahead of us. It didn’t take much time at all to reach the entrance and then we were taken to the locker room area to check in. While walking to that area the lady was showing us the different areas. We checked in and then put our things in the locker. By now it was about 11:45am so Duana suggested we start at the hot tub. We went to the covered one but it was full so we opted for the one that was in full sun. It did have a nice view of the hillside in the distance but being that it was a hot tub and the water was rather hot and we were in full sun we didn’t last long in there. We decided we would try the covered hot tub again and even though it was full we walked into it anyway. While standing in the center a few ladies did leave so we were able to sit at the edge and enjoy ourselves. We must have stayed there for at least 20 minutes. Next we would make our way to the wading pool but on the way we saw the sulpher tubs and thought we would wait for one to open up but they were full and other people were waiting to get in so we passed on those.

The wading pool wasn’t any better. All the rafts were taken so we walked over to the pool area but looking at the water it looked a bit murky with the various sunscreens people put on themselves. I kind of have a thing about stuff in pool water. I told the girls let’s just go sit at the edge of the wading area. We would at least have our feet in the water and it wasn’t long before someone asked if we would like their rafts to lie on. But of course! There we were, lying on the rafts with the chattering of people everywhere. Bumper to bumper in the wading pool, you could hear the pleasant music playing so we relaxed. Relax? We did the best we could.

After another 30 minutes it was time for The Mud Thing. Club Mud I should say. I think as a young girl I made mud pies once. Now I was going to be rubbing this mud all over my body. REALLY? I should call it Red Clay Mud. Is there really a difference in Mud? I saw the Mud pool but I do have a thing about murky water so there was no way I would get into that pool of mud! Good thing they have an area where they bring out a pile of mud you can grab by the handful and rub it all over yourself. Am I really going to do this? I started with my feet and worked my way up. Diana rubbed it on my back then the girls helped each other rubbing the mud on their backs. My Indian blood is coming out in me. I’m of Navajo decent and they do have a rather red tint to their skin so I was getting in touch with the Indian in me. The last part to do would be my face. I am really doing this. Good Lord! Now we are to allow the mud to dry. We went into the hot room to try and let it dry but it wasn’t drying on the girls’ skin. We went back outside so after about 10 or 15 minutes it was dry enough to start brushing it off. Diana brushed it off my back and I started on my arms. I kept rubbing and rubbing but it didn’t appear to be coming off! I thought to myself, “This is supposed to be fun?” It’s NOT coming off! Diana was explaining to me that this is exfoliating my skin. I could feel the tiny grains in it and it was hurting a little trying to brush it off. The girls had already started washing off in the shower so I went over their way and waited till they were done. All I could imagine was trying to wash this off and just looking muddy. It was washing off pretty easily. Now was the moment of truth. I stepped under the shower and started washing it off. Oh my goodness! I couldn’t believe what I was feeling! My skin, it was so soft! Wow! Our phrase of the day was, “We’re going to look like a baby!” If you haven’t seen the Wal-mart commercial of the little girls smearing cream all over their grandpa’s face you need to look it up on YouTube! I was astonished although I it did look like I rubbed off my tan that I had.

Now it was time for The Grotto. This was our saving grace that we were able to get into  Glen Ivy since we had an appointment set. This is probably one of the least expensive services you can do and if it helps get you through the line quicker by all means, do it! None of us had been through this experience so this was something new for all of us to try. It was explained to us what the process would be. We would go down the elevator to start at the first station. We were painted with this mixture of shea butter, aloe vera and coconut oil. It was on heavy. In the next room we would sit there and just rub the mixture all over our body. It was very slippery and if you rub it on the bottoms of your feet walk very carefully as on the ground can slide easily. We were to be there for no longer than 10 minutes. At that point we went into the next room where we would shower off al the cream. This made our skin feel even softer. Truly amazing! The last room is where we would sit as long as we liked sipping on hot tea or cold water. They also gave us a crisp green apple to munch on. We were all feeling so relaxed.

Now it was time for lunch. The food is so delicious at their restaurant. I think we had the Goat Cheese and Pear Salad and the Margherita Pizza that the 3 of us shared. They serve you so much food so you would be smart to share whatever you order. It was all so good! We took our time. By now we determined that we would be staying until they closed. We took our time eating and then we went and found a place to lounge.

Around 4pm Diana wanted to go to the Sauna. I followed her and once she walked into the Sauna she realized that wasn’t where she wanted to go. I followed her around until she found where it was she wanted to go. It was the indoor Roman Bath she wanted to go in. I joined her so we stayed until 5pm. We had to wait a bit for shower stalls to open. I had thought of waiting until I got home to bathe but then thought again that it would be nice to go home feeling so nice and soft and squeaky clean! The shower stalls have shampoo, conditioner and body soap. It felt so good. There is also an area where you can use the hair dryer and put on your makeup. By 6pm we were done!

We took a few pictures by the entrance before we left. This really was my first true Day Spa Experience. Would I do it again? Of course! Would I do it soon? No. This is something to look forward to once maybe twice a year. It will probably be at least 6 months before I felt I needed to do this to peel off a couple layers of skin. From what I understand you can get in free for your birthday. My birthday is in a couple weeks so I may not do this again till next year. If my kids get me another gift certificate for Glen Ivy I will hold on to it. I’ll come for my birthday and then I’ll use my certificate the following January. It would be fun to try this experience in the Wintertime. Everyone should try this at least once in their lifetime!

On the way back we did stop at Tom’s Farms. I bought rhubarb, strawberries and mangos. They were delicious! On the way home I received a text from Duane letting me know he had a board meeting to attend. I was already in bed by the time he came home. He wanted to hear about my day. I gave him all the details like I did here. We were laying in bed while I told him the story and I could tell he was starting to doze off. I finished my story and we just laid there. I finally had to say to him, “Aren’t you going to feel my skin and see how soft I am?!” I may wish I looked like a baby but I am so glad I am a woman. What is that song Shania Twain sings? “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” REALLY!

 

¹² Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. Esther 2:12 NIV

I experienced just a day. I can’t imagine a whole year!

#4 Of My Favorite Things - Mexico Missions!

I can remember soon after accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior I would say, "Lord please don't make me go to the mission field!" Little did I know how the Lord would prepare my heart to serve him on The Mission Field. As a young girl I attended GA's, Girls Auxiliary and learned about Lottie Moon who went to serve the Lord in China. It sounded scary to a young girl like me to leave everything that was familiar and go to a foreign land.

Only the Lord knew what he would have me do in my adult life. As a very little girl I would visit Tijuana with family. It always felt exciting to be there. When we had foreign exchange students I only took one girl with me who was Yugoslavian but came from Germany to Mexico and gave away clothing and toys to a community outside of Tijuana. She had never done anything like that and really enjoyed it!

Entering the Border

In the mid 90's a friend of mine moved to Mexico to manage vacation homes for various people that lived in the community of Bajamar. She invited me and my family to come for vacation and stay at "Casa Garcia." After about 5 years I finally took her up on her offer and couldn't believe why I didn't take her up on this sooner! We only had to pay for the cost of cleaning, it was such a deal! We did spend 4 years vacationing with her. She showed me places around Ensenada and helped to acclimate me to the culture. It was funny being that she was the blond, blue-eyed American showing this Mexican how to respond to her people. She took me to places to eat and I had my first fish taco with her at La Bufadora. During this time visiting Mexico I would hear about these Mexico Missions trips sponsored by Family Ties from CCV. There was that word again, Missions. Lord, I know you aren't sending me anywhere to do Mission work. The Lord knew what he was doing. He had already been preparing my heart for Mexico through my friend.

The Entrance to Bajamar where my good friend lived for many years.

I finally heard the call to serve in Mexico but I told the Lord I wanted to stay somewhere where I would be comfortable. My friend allowed me to bring people along and stay at "Casa Garcia." It was a 4 bedroom villa with a courtyard in the center. Everyone I would bring absolutely loved staying there. I had no idea how easy it was to serve in Mexico. We helped at a Casa Hogar where children are brought so their parents could get back on their feet. With my love of cooking I would give the kitchen help a break and fix lunch for everyone. I had no idea I could serve the Lord in this way! I did this for a number of years until my friend had a brain aneurysm and died two years ago. Shortly after this things at Casa Hogar weren't going well and we had to leave the ministry we were doing there. This was a very sad time as I was enjoying the work we were doing.

The Church/School we have partnered with.

Ready to serve at the BBQ!

In time the Lord would lead us to two new places to do ministry. This past March we had a meet and greet BBQ at the church/school and the ladies with their children from the Restoration Home joined us. Once again I was back feeding The Multitudes! This past week we had a 5 day Mexico Missions trip where my husband went from Wednesday thru Sunday and I came Friday to Sunday. The foundation was being laid for the school that is at the Church we support. There was also work done at The Restoration Home for the women and children. On Saturday was an outreach held where we all worked together to minister to the community of El Zorillo and Pipila. It all went very well! The parents were involved in workshops learning how to parent while the children were told a Bible lesson, watched an experiment done by my husband filling a balloon with hydrogen. Then we had a carnival and then ran an obstacle course. Everyone had so much fun!

I didn't have to do anything with the food on this trip but I did help with cutting up watermelons. It was while doing that I felt the Lord telling me to come spend my birthday at the Restoration Home in July. I told Rebeca what I was planning on doing and she asked me if I wanted to stay in the dorm with the ladies or in the triangle house? I opted for The Triangle House. I have known since last October at The Women's Retreat that the Lord wanted me to stay with these ladies at The Restoration Home. It seems like it will be the best time for me to go is during July when I have my vacation scheduled. I am excited to go! One friend has already asked if she could come with me. My mom is even planning on coming but she will be stay with the Pastor and his wife. Lord only knows who else he will send.

The Rebecca's!

This is where I will live for 10 days at The Restoration Home.

So here I am ready and willing to serve on the Mission Field in Mexico. I get such a wonderful feeling inside when I see the hillside as we cross the border into Tijuana. In July I will spend 10 days with the Ladies at the Restoration Home. I don't have the comforts of "Casa Garcia." I will be spending 10 days in one of the triangle houses. No running water, no heating or air conditioning but I will have electricity! None of the comforts of home but if I am to suffer for the Lord I know of no better way than this!

God has truly changed my heart for Missions and I am so happy for that!

Another one of my Favorite Things...COOKING!

I wasn't sure I even had anything to write about tonight but I have made Tuesday nights my Blogging night so when I looked at my list of my favorite things I saw COOKING on there. It seems very appropriate to write about this since I watched my niece, Jyll, compete on Food Network Star this past Sunday night. It was fun to be at her Premiere Party and to hear her commentaries that went on behind the scenes. She didn't know how it would be edited so it was fun to hear the inside scoop. It was so much fun to see her on the show and to think this is on national tv! What an experience! On one hand I think it would be a blast to be a part of something like that but after hearing Jyll talk about it, I'm glad it's her competing! She has the personality but I think after the first show Jyll appears to be much "too nice." I hope after her experience with Howie and how she wanted to be a "team player" that she learned you have to take care of your part first then if there is time you can help out the others. This isn't the norm I'm sure for Jyll but this is clearly a competition and you do what you have to do. I am so glad the air was cleared though and the truth came out as to how much Jyll did to help out Howie but was so sad she wasn't able to plate her food in the team effort. I do hope Jyll has her opportunity to truly shine in future episodes! I can't even imagine all that she went through although right now she can't really divulge too much. I so much enjoyed watching all the dishes being prepared and it has inspired me to want to do more cooking.

I have been in my own competition that has actually been going on for some time. My competition has been in getting organization to my home. I am fully convinced when you run a family you need a third adult in the mix. I can see where it may be a help for a husband to have more than one wife. A man could use a wife to clean up after himself. Another for raising the children. Another for doing the regular household chores. One that cooks wonderfully! Then another for the, let's say it in a PG form, for doing "the marriage act." But alas in our day and time for a man to have more than one wife is rather looked down upon. So here we are as the wives that we are and we do all of these things listed above. As the saying goes, "man cannot serve two masters" you can relate this to being divided if one works outside the home and tried to keep up with everything at home. One area will suffer. I believe women may excel in one area and fall short in other areas. I believe I did a good job and am doing a good job raising my kids, I am a good cook...just look at the husband. Where I fall short is in the area of "keeping house." I have had help in years past while the kids were young. I am a firm believer also that a family should have "servant/s". When I read Proverbs 31:15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. Look at those last words, "and portions for her "female servants." If we strive to be The Proverbs 31 Woman we should have servants in the home.

Granted I could get into how we do have these "servants" with the dishwashers, washers and dryers that were invented to ease our load. It was always my hope that these children I gave birth to would grow up and "be helpful" around the house with some of these basic chores. They did their share but as they grew older they outgrew some of the basic chores. At 16 we relied on them noticing when something needed to be cleaned up and would do it on their own. Well, that didn't exactly happen. The basic chores did fall on the younger ones and we reorganized the charts but the kids kept growing older and before I knew it I was left with one child under the age of 16 who in no way would be able to keep up with ALL the basic chores. With having some children move back home they noticed the upkeep that the house needed and would freely give their "advice" as to how it should be handled fully knowing that I didn't NEED their advice. What I needed was action on their part. One said he would be willing to help out in order to not have to pay "rent". Rent...oh now there is another issue to be dealt with but will have to blog about that another time. So this "said" adult child offered his help but it didn't last. Now I have the second adult child who we have had a bit more success having his help. He is the "third" adult in the home that we needed to make headway in getting organization around here. His goal this week was to "uncover" the dining room table. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have tried to tackle this one. It's always been one of those "Catch 22" scenarios. You clean one area only to find you have to clean other areas to make the room to put the things away from the first area and so on.

Well, today was the day the dining table was done and ready to have a family dinner around. FINALLY I could do some REAL COOKING! It was around noon when the table was ready so I hunted through my freezer to see what I could cook up.

I found a chuck roast, I won't even get into the date it was purchased. I took it out and put it in the microwave to defrost. Usually with a roast I use onion soup mix sprinkled all over with a little bit of water and cook it in the crockpot and it comes out so moist. I didn't have enough time to cook it in a crockpot so my only option was to put it in the oven. 300 degrees for 4 hours. I didn't have the onion soup mix so I used some dry beef bullion with onion powder, salt and pepper then sprinkled dry dill weed all over. Wrapped it up in foil and put it in to cook. In a few hours the heavenly smell was permeating throughout the house! The house hasn't smelled that good in a long time! It was a wonderful feeling to be cooking again. Not that I haven't been cooking but this time I knew I was cooking a meal that we would be sitting down to at our dining room table. I haven't felt this anxious to cook in years! If I had a bag of potatoes I would have made homemade mashed potatoes but I opted for box potatoes. I did peel carrots and made candied carrots. I had bought two bags of carrots thinking they were each a pound but when I saw how few carrots were in the pan I realized those were 12oz bags. I had picked up a bag of salad mix. God bless the company that came up with that idea! Salads are probably one of the few things I don't care to make. This made for a very nice meal for dinner time.


At 6pm I received a call from my dear husband who gave me the news that he was going to work another hour. I should have known it would happen since he was taking the next 3 days off work. So I turned everything off and took the meat out of the oven. Good thing I did that! Turns out the way I wrapped the meat in foil it didn't hold any of the juices in so my chuck roast was as dry as could be. I thought there goes my gravy. I remembered seeing in the recipe book how to make gravy from pan drippings which was about all I had left. I heated up half a cup of water and poured it into the pan and started stirring it to melt what it could of the pan drippings. I ended up with half a cup so I could make gravy. It turned out great! So there was gravy for the mashed potatoes and to pour over the dry meat! Thank you Lord!

I had a wonderful feeling of "success" putting all the dishes on the table for dinner. I may never compete on TV for my own show but when I can take meat that has been in the freezer for nearly a year and even though the juices all dried up I was able to come up with other options and make it work. Rachael Rae, Bobby Flay...eat your heart out! This girl is COOKING!

The CHALLENGE

April 26th I took on the challenge with a fellow blogger to write a corresponding word to go with a letter of the alphabet. I decided to make my challenge to use a word from the Bible and write a scripture verse to go with it. Part of the challenge was to say why I chose that particular word and for the first two letters my reason was because I liked the music of that particular group. For 26 days, just noticed how my challenge began on the 26th, these were the words and groups I came up with:

A - ABBA
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

ABBA - cuz I love their music. :-)

‎B - BREAD

"I am the Bread of Life." John 6:48
Bread - I love their music too!

C - CARPENTER'S

"Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" Matthew 13:55 KJV
The Carpenters - I absolutely LOVE their music!

D - DOORS

"the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple." 1 Kings 7:50

The Doors. J

E - EAGLES

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Exodus 19:4

The Eagles

F - FAITH

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this “hill”, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Can you guess? Faith Hill (ok, so it’s a mountain! Lol)

G - GRANT 

‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty. Haggai 2:9

”Do you see it? Huh, huh? Amy Grant

H - HILL

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

There ya go again…see it? Hillsong.

I - ICE

The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. Job 37:10

ICE CUBE

J - JARS

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Jars of Clay

K - KISS

She Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. Song of Solomon 1:2

KISS

L - LIMP

Every hand will go limp; every leg will be wet with urine. Ezekiel 7:17

Appears to be appropriate for the music of, Limp Bizkit

M - MERCY

have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Psalm 86:3

MercyMe

N - NO

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 1 Corinthians 11:19

No Doubt

O - OCEAN

"Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths," Psalm 148:7

Ocean was a gospel rock band formed in 1970 in London, Ontario, Canada. They are best known for their million-selling 1971 single "Put Your Hand in the Hand"

P - PRINCE

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

PRINCE

Q - Queen

Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:17

Queen

R - Righteous

Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 1 John 3:12

Righteous Brothers

S - SPICE

[ Jesus Has Risen ] When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Mark 16:1

The original Spice Girls

T - THIRD

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, Luke 24:46

Third Day

U - USHER

A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. Proverbs 18:17

Usher

V - VINES

The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” 

Song of Solomon 2:13

The Vines…You know, Pastor, no really they are an Australian group.

W - WHO

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

 ¹ Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

 ² “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? 
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! 
   Who stretched a measuring line across it? 
 ⁸ Who shut up the sea behind doors 
²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, 
²⁸ Who fathers the drops of dew? 
²⁹ Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens 
³⁶ Who gives the ibis wisdom
³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? 
   Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens 
⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven 

The Who

X - XERXES 

I would have been fine with my original word for "X" but the Good Lord gave me a new word. "Xerxes"
"Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics." Esther 2:12

Oh yeah, I want to be pampered like this! LOL....

SO my group is XTD-Xerxes The Dark http://www.xerxes-band.tk/

Y - YES
Just came home a short time ago from decorating my table for the Tea in the morning. I have my word for "Y".
"But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." Matthew 5:37 NKJV
A lesson for each of us to learn when our plate is full. ;-)
Without a doubt my group is "YES".
I've seen all good people, Roundabout.

Z - Zac

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zac, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:5

Zac Efron

It was the Start of Something new for Zacchaeus.

There you have it. My list of words from A-Z with verses from the Bible and names of a musical group or musician. You know, sometimes you may start something one way and without realizing it it turns out to be something completely different? I enjoyed coming up with this list for the 26 days I did it. They say it takes 30 days for anything to become habit. This exercise helped me to realize how much I do enjoy writing and since I've always wanted to start "blogging" this helped me jump in to that. 
Maybe it is "The Start of Something New."