Coffee…

 

I am on a blog roll today!

Let me tell you a little of my coffee fixation. I absolutely love it! It’s awakening, refreshing, delicious, strong, tasty… I could go on and on forever on this subject. I have had to admit though… I am an addict. It’s not too bad of an addiction! Many people are like this!

Let me show you something I have found which is very interesting.

A single cup of coffee a day can produce “caffeine addiction,” according to a study from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, which has declared caffeine the most “behaviorally active drug” on the planet.

Caffeine withdrawal is a genuine “mental disorder,” according to the study, which was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“Caffeine is the world’s most commonly used stimulant, and it’s cheap and readily available so people can maintain their use of caffeine quite easily,” said Roland Griffiths, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Hopkins, and the study director.

Based on his findings, Dr. Griffiths anticipates that caffeine withdrawal could be included in the next edition of the national Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, compiled by the American Psychiatric Association and considered the veritable bible of such things among medical professionals.

That would make “addicts” out of an awful lot of people. According to industry statistics, about 80 percent of American adults regularly consume caffeine, averaging 280 milligrams a day — two mugs of joe, or three to five soft drinks.

Meanwhile, I have already enjoyed three cups of coffee today, and it’s just noon!

The Power of Prayer (& Sacrifice)

Where do I begin!So on my last blog I mentioned that I nailed the job! So let me tell you a little of what happened before. So I did have a job before this one. I just didn’t enjoy it as much. I didn’t get enough hours in, I didn’t enjoy most of it. So I decided to not only pray but fast. I said “God, I really need a new job! You know my heart and Lord, I am going to fast my coffee for 15 days!”. Now fasting my coffee for fifteen days is like a person not eating for fifteen days for me. This was major! So I started it! My first day was alright, just minor cravings and a lot of prayer. Tuesday though, I got some light. An elder from my church called me saying that she heard of a job opening and that I should apply. So I called the place and asked what I should do. They told me I should just send my resume over. So I did, that same Tuesday. So on Thursday I called the place to ask if they had received it and they said they hadn’t. So I faxed it again, this time calling right after to confirm. I said to God, “This is no coincidence that I get a phone call the week I am fasting huh?”. Well once I called they told me they had received it but that my resume didn’t have the locations of my previous work places and the phone numbers. So I gave them the information through the phone. They said that they would call me back. They called back but I was in class and my phone didn’t show I had a voicemail. So around six in the afternoon I decided to check my voicemail. It was from that job and they said that they wanted to see me. I called them back on Friday morning as soon as I woke up. I told them who I was and the manager immediately sounded exited and said if I was able to be there for an interview. Of course I was! Well, I had the interview and both managers told me if I could wait for them outside while they decided on something. While I waited I was praying to God that if this wasn’t the place where He wanted me at, then I would understand. The managers came outside and said… “We have made our decision and we want to ask you if you will join us and be part of our company. We see that you are what we are looking for and we don’t want to let you go just like this.”.  And this is how I got my job! Wahooooo!

Appreciation

When something good happens in our lives we say “Oh thank God!”. But do we really mean it? Do we really live our lives in appreciation to God like we say we do? We cease to realize what comes out of our mouths. It’s only talk when action is not included. If we don’t put into action the words we speak, then they aren’t really valid. At least not in this case. Living a life in appreciation to our creator will be a life surrendered to Him. A life understanding what lengths He has gone through to get us what is right for us. That is true love. And us understanding and living devoutly unto Him is TRUE APPRECIATION.

I was inspired to write my thoughts the day of my job interview (that I happened to have nailed!), on the 21st of this month. I was ready for the interview and had enough time to go to starbucks, grab a hot cocoa and write it down on my phone (unfortunately I wasn’t near a computer).

Moved

So I just moved to a new blog! The previous one was valencianb.wordpress.com and all I’m going to do is copy & paste my blogs onto this one..

The Beauty of Simplicity

 

Constantly I am in awe of what God does.

Rarely, though, do we appreciate it. For instance, the beauty of nature itself. How amazing is it. Come to think of it this very moment, it’s as if God was just trying to win us over. Truly and sadly, that is the case. You see, just when one goes through that dating scene… we have the man attempting to create the perfect setting to win over the gal. So the man may turn on a candle, set the table with wine, rose’s maybe. Then the gal is blown away (most of the time) by his attempt. I see God doing that for us. He sets a beautiful sky, the sun, the beautiful clouds, and the rain, just EVERYTHING so we can notice Him. But do we? We don’t. We complain about how hot it is. Or how cold and wet, how windy, too bright. It’s never just right. Then when we do get the chance to really admire the beauty of what God has placed for us, we don’t thank Him. How selfish have we become? Why do we think we deserve it all? When in reality we don’t even try to deserve it. We think we have to have it just cause. Just cause why is what I ask? God wants to blow us away… He wants us to see how much He loves us. He wants us to see what lengths He has gone through to make us fall in love with Him. He is just that amazing, yet we lack to admire that.

(Originally Posted on the 19th of March, 2008)

Growing Pains

Life is filled with many surprises.

It is also filled with sadness. Experiences. Many things one has to confront with growing up. I, myself am going through many experiences… I called them “growing pains”.

I believe this is the chapter of my life that will equally define who I will be in the future. Yes, God does ultimately define me. But in reality, whatever action I take now will affect my life; positively or negatively. I feel like I am going through this stage where I am constantly asking myself: Who am I? What do I stand for? What do I want in life? I have learned so much from life already. I know I yet have many battles to face. My life is just beginning. I see myself only having one chance to get my life right, one chance to conquer my dreams. But I also believe that at this one chance, I get many tries at it. You see… I have a God. Such an amazing God He is that He forgives my misdemeanors against Him. A God so loving, Who is willing to give me another chance. How many chances will it take to get it right? I truly don’t know, and surely, don’t want to mess up the first time. I want to get it right the first time. I know I will stumble, fall, but my God will always be there by my side, lifting me up.

My (not to long lived) life has already taught me many things.

With God’s wisdom, I have been able to overcome many of the challenges that have come my way. Sometimes it seems like life would be cleary so much simpler if I was like the other people my age. For example; Drugs, Partying, Sex..etc. Why would it be easier that way? For one; it’s going with the flow, not against it. Unfortunately it’s how our society is now shaped. It would be easier just because I would not have to deal with the issues I am dealing now. Lastly, it would be easier just because people would expect less of me. But ultimately, I would not be able to be like my generation. I wouldn’t be able to be like them… because I have seen the truth in God. And by being like those people, I wouldn’t be able to fool anyone, not even myself.

 

You see… I feel that I am meant to shine. I am meant to stand out. God has placed me where I am at for a purpose, just like He has for everyone else.

I was talking to my best friend last night, she lives in AZ, well; let’s just say she is a big dreamer. I on the other hand, am more of a realist. So this is an interesting friendship we hold. Anyhow, we were talking and she said that God had spoken to her. She had for so long wanted to move back to her hometown. She was so certain that it was going to be done. No doubt, no matter what it would take, she would go there. She wanted to be there by the summer. She cried tears of solitude. She felt so alone in AZ. All she had was her parents. In anger she would cry sometimes just because she felt tired of living there. She was determined she would leave for this summer. God spoke to her yesterday and told her: I have bigger plans for you, greater than your own. Suddenly she was confused. Allowing God to do His will on anybody’s life is hard. We are human; we want what sometimes is not best for us. But God, God has greater, bigger, and better plans for us. Where we are at right now in life is for a purpose. Although at the moment we may feel like there is no purpose for the situation. But there is.

When I lived in Washington, I felt like there was no purpose for me there. I cried, struggled, felt lonely, but ultimately, I accomplished something there, regardless of how I felt. Getting up and asking God what He wants to do in our lives is hard when we are going through difficult situations. 

 

But I believe that just shows willingness to advance in maturity. 

Originally written on March 17th, 2008