“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)
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Conforme a la fe murieron todos éstos sin haber recibido lo prometido, sino mirándolo de lejos, y creyéndolo, y saludándolo, y confesando que eran extranjeros y peregrinos sobre la tierra. Porque los que esto dicen, claramente dan a entender que buscan una patria; pues si hubiesen estado pensando en aquella de donde salieron, ciertamente tenían tiempo de volver. (Hebreos 11:13-15) You know what? I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that people have to judge biased to anothers. Worse, Christians have to judge other people by whatever they do. Isn't it a bit draining? Meanwhile, we can't agree on one of the simpler things in life: music. Take the modern Christian Contemporary Music, the new musical movement that started on the 60's. It has become a full-fledged ministry. Many singers and groups -you name them- are from this gap of movement. Still, many discredit this as a false music! Many people think that putting a beat up to a Christian lyric is from the devil. Why? If God created music, He knew that was to praise Him! And I'm conscious that some types of music aren't appropiate for this, but the term is just a misnomer. It should be "music with Christian lyrics", and anyone can write. Others say because it is a spiritual milk, not like the hymns, that have a spiritual strenght to. I'm not discrediting hymns- I love them-, but this doesn't mean we can't have music with an upbeat tempo. The bigger controversy is rock. Rock is just... music! Rhythm! Just because some... people don't use it the way they're supposed to do doesn't make it condemned. Just because someone uses a pop/rock tempo in a Christian song doesn't make it condemned, neither. I know that metal is just plain creepy -and crosses the line-, and many put up an emotional show of powers, but that doesn't make it satanic. Am I from the devil for hearing a song with a tempo and repetitive chorus? NO!!! What is your postition with music? As a young generation, what are you supposed to hear? Many preffer secular music to hearing CCM, and many prefer anything to that. What is Christian? What can I sing that won't harm nobody? It just makes me angry, sad, and annoyed. Where are those who are open to worship with any beat -minding what it should be appropiate-, those who can sing "I'm not ashamed" with its rock-like tempo and not be judged? When will it be time for us to have shows that we want, songs that we want, music that we want? I know that we shold keep holiness every day, but thi doesn't mean to shut ourselves down on life. WE have one life to live, one life to sing, one and we shouldn't criticize someone that wants to use a beat that looks like pop, rock or R & B. What can we sing that will make everybody happy!!!???? What can I sing, what can I sing, to the glory of the Lord? He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (Revelation 2:17) Uno hace diferencia entre día y día; otro juzga iguales todos los días. Cada uno esté plenamente convencido en su propia mente. El que hace caso del día, lo hace para el Señor; y el que no hace caso del día, para el Señor no lo hace. El que come, para el Señor come, porque da gracias a Dios; y el que no come, para el Señor no come, y da gracias a Dios. (Romanos 14:5-6) I’ll be moving sometime this year to Maryland, in the USA. God knows the woes that I’m suffering!
I guess I’m having some separation anxiety. It’s just that 15 years of my life were lived in Puerto Rico, and I won’t be shutting up about this thing for a few weeks. At first, I was opposed to it -on account of my patria, school, friends, etc.-, but we thought about the new experience we can have on Annapolis. It’s not easy to bear leaving my comfort zone. My dad is in Seattle with my uncle -he has some bone cancer- but, thank God, he has bettered himself. Even though cancer is physical, it can also be a mental challenge. He is now used to have somebody caring for him. He’s SOOO anxious for us to be with him. Hope has given him a strength to battle… to go. And if he has hope to see us, then I’ll give him my support. We don’t know many details yet, but one thing is certain: !Vaya! Escribo un "devo-blog", y no he dormido casi toda la noche. Para el que no me conoce, soy un fan de Hillsong. Me encanta sus himnos con forma de rock, pero que no se apodera del mensaje. Sea lo que sea, yo sé que Dios me ha ministrado en algunos de sus himnos. Y sí, es en inglés. Pero no es el propósito. Estaba escuchando "Emmanuel" el miércoles pasado. Es un tema simple, pero profundo, por lo menos para mí. Y esto lo dice en Isaías: Por tanto, el Señor mismo os dará señal: He aquí que la virgen concebirá, y dará a luz un hijo, y llamará su nombre Emanuel. (Isaías 7:14) Emanuel quiere decir "Dios con nosotros". Sólo eso. Ya. Pero una definición en tres palabras dice mucho del carácter de Dios en nuestras vidas. Siempre está con nosotros, y nunca nos dejará. Y ‘el significa Dios. Y lo más hermoso es que la profecía se cumplió con María, quien tuvo a su hijo Jesús. Dice la Palabra: Y ahora, concebirás en tu vientre, y darás a luz un hijo, y llamarás su nombre JESÚS. (Lucas 1:31) Jesús quiere decir "salvador". Dios ya le preparó el nombre de muchas personas en la Biblia, ¿cómo no lo preparará para Su Hijo? Dios con nosotros, es el Salvador del mundo. My sister just read to me “Una Semana de Siete Días (A Week is Seven Days), by Magali García Ramis. She is a Puerto Rican writer, thus written in Spanish; but I have found a translation in a thesis by Rebecca Garotznik here.
(Look after page 24. The rest is an explanation.) It is a story of a young girl who goes to Puerto Rico with her mother to see her dead father and her mother has to do political stuff. But there is something I want to share, in the last paragraph: Now I am on the balcony waiting for my mamá to come and get me, because I know that she will come for me. I think about her every day and what I remember most is that she had big brown eyes and that she was a woman who made men cry. Oh, and that she never lied to me; that is why I am here, on the balcony, with my knapsack, waiting for her. But it’s been more than a week, I know because I’ve learned how to measure time by now, and because my blue and white dresses don’t fit me anymore. |
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