Laugh Out Loud!

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Despicable Me!

I have just finished watching the movie Despicable Me for like the umpteenth time and I am a die hard fan. I must admit when I first saw the previews I thought it would be a complete flop. Now when I’m having a day where I need something to make me smile I turn to this flick with out hesitating. So please enjoy this video and go watch it if you haven’t and if you have, let it  be your medicine when you need laughter.  I should mention that I love this movie so much that before I received my own copy of it as a gift from a friend, I’d send my kids to my neighbor across the street to borrow it. Enjoy the video and remember to watch this if you have a Dr. Gru or a Vector in your life…it makes it easier to cope with those kinds of people! Oh, And if you happen to BE a Dr. Gru or Vector type of personality watch it and laugh at yourself; that’s good for your health you know :)!

It’s Fruit Season!

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Fruit bowl - containing pomegranate, pears, ap...
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” You shall know them by their fruit…”

Dear Diary,

I went camping yesterday with a few adults and a group of kids. I am new to this church I recently started attending. My Ma avoids going to church because she doesn’t like religious folks so we have stayed away from church circles for a while. I love God and I have a deep faith in Him because my Ma  models Him for me everyday. But just recently I felt drawn to finding a church to call my 2nd home. And, I thought I had done just that until I went on this trip. Boy was I blown away with the things I saw some of these “nice” church people doing.

The leader of the whole group was nice at first but in time I saw his true colors. I heard him talk down to a lot of kids and when one of the adults got hurt he was so lacking in compassion. I thought,’ I’m supposed to listen to him? Why?’

Then there were the various groups of cliques that had formed; I felt just like I do when I go to school everyday. The popular kids hang with each other and the regular kids like me we sought out the ones who were ignored by the popular kids. I thought.’ No wonder my Ma stays away from all this craziness.’

I saw another thing that really made me sad and it was how this one youth leader whom us guys are suppose to look up to was rough housing and playing with some of the girls that came. This guy was trippin’…on his own ego that is. Wasn’t he supposed to be looking out for all of our safety? Isn’t that what leaders do? I saw two girls I had been talking with all week end long get injured under this guy’s “watchful eye” when the raft they were all on was capsized and it landed on both girl’s heads. Hmmmm you be the judge God and you show me if I’m being judgemental or not. If I am forgive me; but if I’m not, help us all act more like you.

Lastly, I read somewhere that we will be known by our fruit. One of the fruit of The Spirit is LOVE. This week end I saw love in some people that came on this trip; there were some parents that came a long to help out the youth leaders; I saw love in them. Then I saw love in a couple of the other youth leaders. May be just maybe, the rest of the youth leaders came along to learn to love by having to serve the whole group. You decide.

I’m glad I went on this trip though because I did get to meet some really cool kids.

Talk more later…

Carlos G.

P.S. To ALL youth group leaders everywhere: Please remember we are still kids and if you are trying to lead us, we watch what you DO, way more than what you SAY.

 

It’s The Little Things

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There have been some very bright spots during the past few days and I can’t let another day go by without a shout out!

Definition of  a BRIGHT SPOT: Any random act or word of kindness that is done or said to you or you do or say to someone else to brighten up their day.

– My sister Heidi texted me at mid night telling me she was weeping as she prayed for me.

– My daughter posting on Facebook that she loves me in several different languages: Te Amo, J’ Taime, I Love you, Ik hou van je, Ich liebe dich, אני אוהב אותך, Ti amo, Amo te, Eu te amo, Я люблю тебя, 🙂 There are hundreds of ways but it all means the same ♥ 🙂 –Esther

– My ten year old daughter giving me weekly mani-pedis and she is quite good at it too.

-A few weeks ago,  I received 3 red roses and my feet were anointed with a fragrant oil.

I’m not going to go on about what I do for others because I know that God sees what I do and He rewards what I do openly because I do it in secret. GO! Find someone to be good to today and see your day brighten up instantly.

J.O.W.K. (journal of an over worked kid)

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Dear Diary,

I can’t believe it! I go to a dance studio 7 , yes SEVEN days a week. I am taking ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap, ball room,lyrical, voice lessons and piano lessons. I go to school for 8 hours a day and then I’m in the studio 4 hours after school. Not only that, I am part of the competition team and we train everyday. I almost regret the day I showed my mom I could dance; there was a song on the radio, I was 2 and I had just taken my first few steps earlier that week. My mom came in my room and she freaked out when she saw me shaking my booty and singing along to “Hit Me Baby” by Britney Spears .

So the next day she signed me up for dance lessons at a dance studio not too far from our home. I have to admit, at first all the attention was fun. The costumes I had to wear for my first recitals were pretty cute too and I felt like a princess in a fairy tale.

It’s been 14 years since that day when my mom discovered I had some talent and I am past fed up. My mom doesn’t really have a life of her own; I almost feel that she’s living her dreams of being a performer through me and I resent her for it everyday. She has gotten really demanding lately because she thinks I’m being lazy; when in fact I have lost some of the flexibility I had when I was younger, due to my body changing and maturing. So now she’s suggested I take diet pills to control my appetite. I hate where I am in my life and go to sleep dreaming of the day when I can walk away from all of this chaos and just be a normal kid.

So I’m posting this video, my friends and I made it. It’s a spoof that describes how I feel inside but I’m afraid to tell my mom. 

Talk to you later…thanks for listening, I’m glad someone does,

Jolette ❤

Kids Say The Darndest Things

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Just the other night I heard my ten year old say the funniest line and as I pondered it, I saw how deep this girl can be at times. Raquel, ” Mom, why do people say they want to be on fire for God? That’s so stupid, don’t they get God wants them to be ALIVE?”

My daughter had heard a man say that  one day  a while ago when we used to take them ice skating. We met a man who had 3 kids and he claimed,” My kids are all on fire for God! Bless God!!”  One by one my kids came to me and told me that when they had spent time with the ” On Fire For God Kids,” they were amazed by all of the filthy things that came out of their mouths when their dad was out of sight.

Today my 13 year old son made another keen observation,” Mom, I notice that people who act like they’re devoted to God, really aren’t. But the ones who don’t act like it, they’re the ones who really are close to Him.” I love the way children just call it like it is.  Kids can smell out a phony from miles and miles away. We need to take great care with what types of behavior we model for our kids; they are ALWAYS watching us!

Don’t let love be a mere outward show. (Romans 12:9)

TFCL (talk from the clothes line)

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Mattina Buon Dio, ( Good morning God/ Italian)

 The sun is shining so brightly that as the singer says, ” I gotta wear shades.” I need you to be my Counselor right now. Of all the roles you play in my life, Counselor is one of my favorites because You never lead me wrong. Your advice is always spot on!

My family is grieved by a relative who is neglectful; he reasons that since he was neglected as a child, then the rest of us around him should pay and pay and pay.

Neglect-  Fail to care for or attend to properly. Habitual lack of care.

ne- Latin for NOT

glect- to choose, pick up

When we study the word neglect and break it down, we see that neglect is a CHOICE. I have had many close friends advise me that perhaps this relative of mine just doesn’t have the tools to care for properly for others. I disagree because this person certainly possesses the ability to care for his own person and might I add, he excels at taking care if his own needs.

Just for an example the other day we all wanted to go shopping; I normally hate this activity but that day I was in the mood. My relative refused to go and so we never went. The next day when we were all exhausted from having been very busy the day before, my relative decided that NOW was the time to go shopping and so off we went. Later on when we confronted him about the spite (definition of spite- malicious ill will prompting an urge to humiliate) everyone felt while we were in the store, he just smirked as he gave himself a congratulatory pat on the back. I was done.

 If you are reading this and you live with someone who fits the description above,you should know a couple of things: Proverbs 3:27 Don’t withhold good from someone entitled to it, when you have in hand the power to do it.

When someone holds back from doing good to you, that is evil; the opposite is true as well.

Proverbs 12:10 …but the mercies of the wicked are cruel. When a significant someone in your life willfully and habitually neglects you, that is cruel. There is no excuse for that. Remember the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Do good to others when it’s called for and the same shall be done unto you.

Thanks for hearing me God, I’m so glad you never neglect me!

Parleremo di nuovo presto!

Just Believe: Part 8

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SET BACKS IN MY JOURNEY.

I have experienced some very low points throughout my battle with kidney failure. I felt like giving up once because it seemed like every time I was closer to getting a kidney transplant, some other new problem would pop up unexpectedly, thereby pushing back my progress. I have lost 5 chances of receiving a kidney because of this.

At one point I found out I was anorexic; I lost 60 lbs in 2 months. I started getting more and more depressed because of my condition so I would work out like a maniac. The only problem with that was that I was burning fuel without replacing it. I would look in the mirror and tell myself I had to stay at a certain weight; so I stopped eating like before only to make my parents and doctors worry more.

Then another time my weight totally went crazy when I was prescribed steroids that were supposed to help stop the bleeding in my lungs. It got to where I hated my whole look and I avoided looking in any mirror because all I saw staring back at me was this ugly, bloated, blow fish character.

My weight issues have messed with me so much that I had to go see a counselor for help. Thankfully, my weight has returned to normal.  I still watch everything I eat and sometimes I feel as if I should lose some weight.

Then there were the terrible mood swings and anxiety attacks I’ve endured. In order to treat the depression that stems from all of my health problems and treatments, the docs prescribed me pills to help me maintain a balanced mood. Well it got so bad at times; I felt like a ticking time bomb on some days, any little thing would cause me to explode just like an unpredictable volcano. I’m sure I was no fun to be around.

I became a human yo-yo and I hated it. So in order to deal with all of this I decided to change my whole image. I lost all the weight and  I tried to boost my ego with tattoos and piercings; I got as many of them as I could believing they would make me feel better about myself, but of course they didn’t because all that is superficial. The inside of me, my spirit man needed healing and no tattoo or piercing was going to heal THAT.

Just Believe:Part7

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I have been living with kidney failure since I was diagnosed with it when I was 14 years old. As I look back , this has put a strain on some of my relationships, especially the ones with my siblings. Being sick all the time has forced my parents to always be focusing on me and I know this made Tony, Amanda and Daniel feel less loved by them and more resentful towards me. At times this has put our love to the ultimate test.

When you’re a kid you don’t see life from the perspective that an adult has. You think you are the center of the universe and everything revolves around you. I have to be honest, at times I did use my illness as a way to get out of doing chores around the house that were my responsibility. I knew my siblings were onto me every time I got by with it and now I hate that I put them through that.

I know now that my parents never favored me; I’m quite sure that if it had been Tony, Amanda or Daniel who was sick instead of me,  they would have done the same for them as they’ve done for me. When I was younger, at first the extra attention was great, but now I’ve grown to despise it because I know everything can’t be about me and when you’re sick, everyone doting on you and constantly worrying gets old at times.

                                                                           

Sometimes I wish I could roll back the clock hands and go back to before all this started. I look at my family and I see that they are as tired of this as me. I’m a pretty basic guy and all I ask for at times is to have a single day when none of us are anxious about any of this and we can all kick back and live one normal day without worries about what lays ahead for me tomorrow.

We’re all grown up now; I moved out of my mom’s house and I live with Daniel in an apartment we share. He still looks out for me just like when we were back home. My sister Amanda always stops in to check on me too. Life is not cured; you learn to manage it or it’ll manage you. I believe I can speak for all of us that we’ve learned, by God‘s grace to manage my living with kidney failure and still find time to love, laugh and live.