Religion=Worthless?

I’m sick. I’ve been sick for a long time. Sick of our actions as “Christians” if that’s how i feel…imagine the world.

I personally don’t like when people categorize them self’s into “religions” I hate when people categorize them self’s into denominations. I call it religious/denominational barriers, yes barriers.

Barriers are put into place to…STOP you..

You may be asking why I think this…here we go…
James 1:26 [NLT]
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

We are to be examples of a loving God right? We are supposed to be Brothers and sisters in Christ, regardless of you’re background, church denomination or current life situation…right? Honestly are we? Most of us are not.

allot of the time we pick out friends biased on our “religion” or “denomination” we all hang out with CHRISTIAN or we all hand out with “CATHOLICS” or “SINNERS” how about this “Oh, your Christian?! Me to! What kind of church do you go to? Assembles of God…Oh………well I go to a Baptist………………
It’s stupid.

Its bad…but not as bad as the “church”
A Non-denominational church assembles of God church wont do a function with a Baptist or Catholic Church.

WHY?!

I think….
The word religion now a days is worthless…why? It has been watered down! Honestly we have ruined it with our actions and life’s. Every one and their mom are involved with a religion and out of every one in a “religion”…how many are in a RELATIONSHIP with Christ?! Not many.

I don’t care if you are AG, Baptist, Catholic, non dom ect…Jesus loves you. I love you.
I believe that God the creator of heaven and earth sent his only son to die on the cross to save us! I believe in spiritual gift, miracles and healing. I believe that God loves us so much that he has all given us a choice to follow him or not. I know when we die our body and possessions will stay here and we will go to heaven or hell. We all have a mission to complete. We are here to be ambassadors of Christ and to love one another as we would love our self.

If you are a follower of Christ. You are to be “Christ-like”
Period.

-Abeld

 

Dead End…..or Detour?

The last 3 months have been the most stressful and depressing in our life. We have also learned more in that time than we would have ever expected. We are being stretched and broken.

We have doubted allot of our recent decisions and actions. Understandably, We lost our income in November 09. Bills, loans, cars every thing is past due, first time in our life. I have gone to interview after interview with no positive results. I got to the point that I was willing to take anything.

So yes…Dead end…we have felt like we are at the end of the road and there was no where to turn…Did we make a wrong turn? Did we miss our turn off? No…We seen what WE wanted…we knew what WE wanted to do…WE knew where WE where going…what WE didn’t see was the “detour” sign.

God told us to come here… Yes
Once we got that we didn’t ask anything ells. We assumed that God was going to use us to “change life’s” we thought that our talent, skill, life stories and experience was why God called us. Now we are here at the lowest point that we have ever been. Yes we have had ALLOT that has happened in our 23 years of life and yes I do believe that God will line up people for us to minister to here but the MAIN reason…Reason number 1 was to bring life change to our life!

So what needed to change? Pride.
Yeah pride. When we got here I had interviews and job offers about 10. I turned them all down because I felt some where shady and honestly I thought that I was “better” than the other. I never noticed the pride until we moved. It’s hard not to get prideful when you are 21 with a wife that can stay at home and raise your kids, new cars, nice house…everything we needed…and now we have nothing.

The last 2 years we have devoted our self’s to ministry and even though we played a part in life change our spiritual life, marriage and family all suffered. Our pride got the best of us. We sit here now and look at how we always wanted “more” we wanted better cars, bigger house, better job, more pay and new everything. When I had my last “real” job, I was always stressed because God forbid, I might make under $35.00 an hour, $25.00 an hour or even get the point that I hit the lowest possible of $16.00 an hour. To me, the world would have been over.

Right now I am praying that God will provide me with a job, any job. Out here the minimum wage is 7.25 and I’m okay with that. I’m looking for 2 jobs and I think about the fact that I’m going to be working 80+ Hours a week and what ill be able to bring in, it’s sad but I’m okay with that.

There is so much we have learned that it’s hard to put it into words. We feel so blessed to have learned so much. When we decided to move I said that we have become complacent in our life, we where very comfortable with everything. To be comfortable= not growing. We are not comfortable at all! So in know there is still more to be learned. Weather we like it or not.

So ill leave you with this…

“It takes no faith to trust God when He is obviously moving. Real faith is holding on & believing when God SEEMS absent” –Rick Warren

 

Still unemployed…

[getreadytohearmevent]

Still unemployed…
Well here we are again friends…No Job, No Income and it’s almost been 3 months. I feel like some-what of a failure. I moved my family 1,500 miles away from home with nothing more than a feeling of God calling us here, sold 96% of what we own and for the first time we are living with family, not the other way around. When we decided to move my plan was to have a Job and be in our own place with in 1 month, 2 months TOPS! My plan didn’t work out.

Some one asked me if I would consider moving home…That has NEVER crossed my mind because no matter how many challenges we face, I KNOW that I know…that I KNOW God called us here and I will not let any stupid attack by satan make me second think God. Period

It’s been a month or so since I have brought in any sort of “income”. Saving’s is now gone and Christmas is coming quick, so is the stress. I know God will provide, that has never been the question but im getting to the point where I just don’t know what to think any more.

I have been waiting for my second interview with FSG [thejobiwant] for 3 weeks now. I have been in contact with them about once or twice a week but they are just very busy. Just after I lost my income I had my first interview, so I wanted to wait before I got any other job. I didn’t want a new job to interfere with interview dates or times but I didn’t think it would take this long.

Waking up every morning with out a job kills me. Most of you who know me know that I have no problem working 3 Jobs, 7 days a week and working 17 hours or more a day…I’ve done it before ill do it again. It’s built into me. Growing up I seen my Parents, Grand parents and aunts and uncles work 12, 15 17 hour days, 5, 6 or 7 days a week. A hard work ethic was programmed into as a young child. I hate not having a Job.

So how long is too long to wait? I know that God will not allow my family to undergo anything that we cannot handle but I think it’s time to get a job, any job. If FSG is where God wants me, then so be it. He can arrange the schedule.

Needless to say I have set up an interview with state farm tomorrow. Pray…That’s all I ask. Pray.

Godbless
_AbelD.

 

No title…just venting

I need to vent a little.
Today has been hard. I haven’t got a response from my unemployment, waiting to hear if I will get any more benefits from them. The problem with EDD is the fact that I can’t get them on the phone, I have called 30 times this morning. The last check I got from them was for half the amount it was suppose to be and it was 10days late. Looking at my bills I need $agoodamount.00 by the end of the month and that’s not counting extras…I have about 10% of what we need. I don’t know why I get my self so worked up? I KNOW God will provide and I KNOW he has never ever left my family hanging. I know he has provided more if the past. I know that he called us out to Texas for a reason and I can not let something so stupid [money] blind me from what God has in store for us! I will not be blinded.

I called the company I interviewed with on Tuesday and He said that they where thinking about setting up seconding interviews and would call every one today. If they do second interviews they would be the Tuesday and thanksgiving [December 1st] At this point the only thing I can pray/say is for God’s will to be done, not mine. If this Job is NOT what God wants [no matter how bad I want it] then I do not want it. Its in Gods hands. Thank for all for your prayers.

I know this. God will not put my family and I through something we can not handle. Period [end of story]

_Abel D

 

Im fat… P90x time baby

In August 2007 I started the P90X work out programs with Pastor Devland Lister and Aaron Lyons. I lost 30Lbs. In July of 2008 I started the program again and lost 35lbs, so I have lost a total of 65LBS! [Note: I did gain the fist 30lbs back…plus some] Since we moved to Texas in September I have wanted to get started working out again but I will be honest. I have been lazy. I did start but I also stopped.

I am writing this Blog to do a hand full of different thing’s.

1. Motivate some other people to work out and most importantly get healthy.
2. Might want to start a competition to see who wants to lose weight with me.
3. I want to lose 20lbs by January 1st and I need the you to help keep me accountable.

Now I know this is the WORST time of year to start a diet/work out programs but we can do this. If your interested just leave me a comment with your contact info and we will get this going. The official start date is November 23, 2009 [yes, I know…Thanksgiving week. 😀 ]

“I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” [1 Corinthians 9:27]

 

faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

What is Faith to you?

*A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny

*Having faith chooses the spiritual over the material, the eternal over the temporal

*Believing in what you cannot see

I believe Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [Hebrews 11:1 NKJV]

My wife and I have been married for almost 3 years now. Since then Tonya and I have had allot of up and downs everything from being told that we will never have any more children, marital problems, life and the one that has got us the most and hit us the hardest has been Financial. Together we have lost a total of 9 jobs in the last 3 years.

I wouldn’t be able to count how many times we have been to the point that we didn’t know where the money for rent, bills, food or even gas was going to come from. We have had $6.00 in our bank account and we have had our account deep in the negative.

We always get to the point that we think we are in the clear. That we have made it out of the dark water and yet we find out self back in the same situation again. I don’t know why and I don’t understand but I am okay with it. I have not seen the full blessing that God has for my family but I know its coming. God has never left us hanging.

Last week I got word that my unemployment was cut and the check I was waiting for was still coming but it was for half the amount I normally got. As of today I still don’t know why it was cut, EDD (unemployment) said that they would call me with in 1-5 days, it’s been 6. After paying bills and gassing up the cars we where left with $8.43 and still no job. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Today we got our final check. Its 9 days late. I almost got worried and stressed out but God has never left my family hanging and I knew that this time wouldn’t be any different. I don’t know how the rest of the bills will be paid but god does and I’m okay with that.

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. [Hebrews 11:1-2 MSG]

_AbelD

 

Update on the Dominguez family-Video Blog #1

Fist of many possible video blogs??? maybe…

 

7 things…

We all know that God doesn’t enjoy watching us screw up; at least I don’t think he does. I can’t picture him sitting around waiting for us to stumble. Most of us read the bible and know biblical standards like right from wrong, good from bad and not sinning from sinning.

This morning I was reading in Proverbs and came across chapter 6:16-19 it tells us that ¹⁶ “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable (deserving to be detested; abominable; hateful) to him” after reading this I started to ask my self this one question, The BIBLE says that God Hates these sins…why do we keep on doing them if they are laid out right in front of us, in plain English. We don’t need a special degree or training…There’s nothing to decode.

I have read this allot over the last 5 years and it has never really stuck with me so I wanted to write them out and share with you so that we could just know what God hates…

I would say that most of them are just common sense but some I had to do a little research to make sure I was truly understanding.

V.¹⁷

1. Haughty eyes. (Scornfully and condescendingly proud) I would say Basically having your nose up in the air…as my mom would say… “some one who thinks their own poop(being kid friendly 🙂 ) doesn’t smell” or seeing yourself as being more superior that others.
2. Lying tongue
3. Hands that shed innocent blood,

V¹⁸

1. A heart that devises(plans) wicked schemes
2. Feet that are quick to rush into evil

V ¹⁹

1. A false witness who pours out lies
2. A man who stirs up dissension among brothers. (disagreement among those expected to cooperate)

That’s it…7 things that we should…well need to avoid. I’m sure we can handle this.

-AbelD

 

What is a Disabilty?

 

Today I was able to have dinner with 2 men that the world would classify as “physically disabled” Jesse and Jame’s.

15 years ago Jesse was addicted to drugs and one day he barricaded himself in a room, long story short- Los Angeles S.W.A.T was called in to take him out. Jesse was shot at 9 times, hit 5. Instantly he was paralyzed from the waist down along with loosing half a lung and kidney. He died that day, not just once but 3 times.  

James’s was the all America. He was a 17 year old cyclist that had qualified for the Jr. Olympics’ and was training with the best riders in the world. His world changed 20 years ago when he was cut off by a car and crashed into a parked school bus. That was his last day on a bike. James said “the ironic thing is…it was a short bus…a disabled person’s bus”

Both men have been in wheelchairs ever since and have had their worlds dramatically change!

As I was sitting there hearing them talk about “Disability’s” I couldn’t help but 1st. Thank God for blessing me with legs, arms, feet fingers ect…! 2nd I started to feel bad, not because of their situation but because I let the world distort my view of people who are disabled. See Jesse and James do MORE than me! (I don’t know about you but when I see someone with a disability I feel bad, I wonder what they CANT do and how much they are missing out on life.) They have wife’s, kids, and grand kids! They drive, swim work and live every day life’s like you and me not only that but they live fulfilled lives. They work with many organizations going in and out of hospital counseling people who have just become paralyzed. They said there is such a lack of preparedness when you come home from a hospital that most people have no idea what to do and most go into a deep depression mode…some for years!

_abel d

PS: They also said…every one is disabled in one way or another…you can just see theirs more. The difference from them and us is how they handle it….

Life with out Limbs Check it out….

 

 

Victory!

As most of you know we have been fighting a claim with unemplyment office for 2 months and over the weekend we got a letter from EDD saying that our claim was approved! We also got our first check! Now we are waiting for 2 more…God is so good! Some times I really don’t understand Him….but I like it that way.

_abel d