Every once in a while you hear some words tht make such an impact on your way of thinking.
Last night was one of those times. In my efforts to "hook up" a Damas service, feeling like I was in a crunch I called a friend of mine 3 days ago and asked if she would preach on Friday. Turns out there was no need to rush because it wasn't a Dama service but the mix up is an entirely different story.
She did the ultimate favor and preached last night. And God's was glorifed! God surely works in mysterious ways because that mix up made me for an edifying word from God. A word I needed to hear and I'm sure I wasn't alone. The church was truly blessed and the presence of God was felt in a mighty way. God is good.
This is what made such an impact on me Pastora Maria Garcia preached on Ephesians 3 verses 14-19. This is a chapter on appreciating the mystery of God's love. She spoke about the inner person in all of us and how that inner person thinks in the here and now but the person in Christ thinks in the eternal. She went on to share about perspectives and love but the illustration she gave in the way a Christian should think was "WOW" eye opening! (at least for me and I know many more who attended service last night felt the same way)
Here's the illustration;

The Pastora was in her home. Her father was putting up a closet in her room and he was very busy. She was busy as well removing things from the old closet and just basically helping her dad, when suddenly she asks herself "Where is my husband?"
She looks downstairs and sees that he is watching the football game. She thinks "He is so lazy. Instead of helping us, he is watching the game."

ow at this point many of us who are trying to walk in Christ would rebuke that thought as we would rebuke any thought that would make us angry or resentful.
But Pastora Garcia stopped in her tracks(truly led by God) and said to herself. "He is not lazy. He is tired. I should take advantage that I am with my father alone and this could be quality time spent with my father." WOW! Turned it around!

We spoke after the service and I said to her. We think we are doing the right thing when we brush those thoughts aside. We try to ignore it and the thoughts will go away. But what we need to do is "REPLACE" the thought. Because when we try to hide things or brush them aside, they remain in our thoughts but when anything (thought or otherwise) are taken away and replaced with others it is easier to forget them. We should live and think the way Christ wants us to. Not by ignoring, hiding or brushng thoughts that are unpleasing but by replacing them with the new thoughts and perspectives given by Christ. Turn those thought around. Think eternally not temporary. In the "here and now" you are angry but how will that anger work for you in the long run? Will that anger take you to heaven? Replace the thouhts that anger you with thoughts that will bring you closer to Christ. The "replacing" doesn't work alone there has to be a conscious desire to want to change your thinking followed by the action.

It wasn't as if the Pastora said bregrudgingly., "Well this stinks but I guess I should be grateful for the time with my father."
No. She sincerely thought this was a great opportuntiy for her husband to get some much needed rest and for her to spend time eith her dad.

I am going to ask God to replace my thoughts and follow it up with a genuine desire for those thoughts to change and then act on those changed thoughts.
God Bless Pastora Garcia for allowing herself to be used by our heavenly father.

I had a conversation today with someone and we talked about anonymity and the relevance of it. Some were upset that anonymous was not "Coming out". And honestly I debated whether or not to use the option of not allowing anon. to post but the person I spoke to said (and I agreed) that I should not use that option. Why?A few reasons.
1-Anon has every right to express his/her feelings without feeling obligated to reveal him/herself.
2- We have to agree to disagree. Everyone does not have to have the same opinion otherwise life would be pretty boring.
3- If Anon has something in particular to say to someone I'm sure he/she would say it to that person. The opinions are probably general and not toward anyone in particular.
4- Anon can be anyone in our congregation or not. A blog is international so it can pretty much be anyone.

I do not want to squelch anyone's enthusiasm in commenting, on the contrary I look forward to reading all comments.

I ask one favor, use discretion. I am sure anon can find a way to express his/herself without being harsh because although their intent might have not been to anger, in internet text world the tone of the writer is not apparent.

God Bless you and have a nice day!
Pastora Debbie

Filomena and her family they are going through a hard time and need our prayers for strength while they see their dad/her husband through a rough patch of illness

Carlos Medina that the swelling in his hand may go down

Cruz Mendez-He has a doctors appt /follow up to his surgery and the Cruz family will be travelling to Jersey this friday and will not be celebrating New Years with us. They expressed their sorrow in this but they have not spent New Years with family in four years.

Mary Dunne who lost her father this weekend she is a friend of mine. A very sweet lady.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Praise Jesus!
It's also a time when we exchange gifts and gather around the table with family and reminisce about days gone by.

The other day a group of us were gathered together in church discussing our favorite treats. It was hilarious when we thought about the stuff we used to eat as children.
I wrote an article about a year ago on this very subject and promised a few that I would share it. So here it is. Written October 2004

Monday, October 25, 2004

KILLER CANDY- By Debra Roman

Halloween is my least favorite holiday. Not only does it conjure up evil spirits but it conjures up childhood memories of killer candy.
I am not talking about those urban legends of people handing out poisonous candy. I'm talking about the stuff our parents allowed us to consume. Pixie stix is a perfect example of dangerous sweets. Colored sugar that's all it was. I would eat so much of it that the tip of my toungue would burn. The stix came in all sorts of toxic colors, some were even neon. Why are they dangerous? If you swallowed it straight from the straw you would chance choking on powder that was coming down too quickly leaving one with a powdery cough. Sometimes you would share some with your friends by pouring some powder on your hand and inviting them to lick it off. Gross! The good people at Pixie stix started to feel sorry for the little ones who just weren't getting enough of the sugary delight. So hey! why not make them bigger? I'm not talking a notch up from the 6 inch long and 1/2 a centimeter wide stix increasing to maybe 8 inches and a whole centimeter wide. No! the Pixies wanted more. So the tots get a 2 ft long 1/2 inch wide plastic tube of the sugary substance! Our moms, dads and grandparents would quickly buy this stuff to please us. What were they thinking? Oh it doesn't stop there. What about candy necklaces and bracelets and rings. Bacteria you can wear. Remember how we would share the candy necklace with friends without actually taking it off our necks but with a gentle pull of the elastic we would invite our closest and dearest playmates to suck a piece or two of candy off of our necks and return the salivated cord to it's rightful place of adornment. Wet necks! Wet hands and wet fingers.
Then there were those wax filled tubes with some mysterious liquid. We will be glowing in the dark in about 5 years, you'll see. Let's talk about the rock hard bubble gum in packs of baseball cards which if not carefully placed in your mouth is extremely perilous. The gum placed sideways and chomped down quickly can cause the roof of your mouth to tear. What about the dots of candy on a roll of receipt paper? Don't even get me started on red M&M's.
I'm wondering when exactly did the word recall come in to use because hey! we could have used it then. Let me remind you of the huge chocolate ball with a surprise toy inside that was exposed just a few years back. You could hear the gasps of appall by parents throughout the country "What were they thinking by putting a toy in a giant ball of candy (size of a jaw breaker. hmmm.... jawbreakers, that's self explanatory)", anyway, we could have used those recallers back in the day. Killer Candy it's a wonder any of us survived to tell about it. You can tell your grandchildren "Why... back in my day, you were brave if you ate candy. It was life risking, harmful, burned and cut ya and there was always the risk of bacterial infection when candy was shared but we ate it and you know what we liked it!"

Me.
I have woken up with fever every day for 4 days. The fever goes away by midday but returns again the next along with all the pain and discomfort of my illness.
No,I am not pregnant!
I have an appointment tomorrow but I have an appt today in prayer,asking God to strengthen me.
I have been asking God to heal me for quite sometime and I know there is a reason for this disease in my life, just as there is a reason for all things.
I came to this realization/acceptance, a few years back, I know God can heal BUT I may not be healed.
Wow, Pastora, you have no faith!
I have faith that can move mountains and God according to His will has answered and granted me in many things I have prayed for in faith.
He has sustained me when the doctors said I had a year to live. He has seen me through over 15 times under anesthesia in surgery and in biopsies. He is great!
I know I am not the only one in this boat, there are many Christians in this world and in our own church who have asked God for healing and still bear their illnesses. Does this mean they are in sin?
Does this mean they have no faith?
Does this mean they do not pray?
Does this mean that God has forgotten about them?
NO,NO,NO,NO!!!!!!!!!
And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
God is a great God! He has the power to heal. He has the power to resurrect but healing isn't always in His plan. Paul suffered a thorn on his side his entire life and yet never lost his trust in God and Paul's faith was never questioned.
BUT God SUSTAINED him. God sustains me and others who have lived everyday of their lives in pain awaiting healing but trusting God to fulfill His plan in their lives.
I was born with this illness and it came to full manifestation when I was 12. I have not been healthy since but my faith in God grows stronger every day because I am still alive! He gives me strength for parts of my illness others would not be able to take on. But we all know that God does not give us more than we can handle and if this illness is what is keeping me dependent on the Lord, than I embrace it and hold it dear to me.
When I wake up 2 or 3 times a night because I am choking in my sleep, it is because HE wakes me up.
When I undergo biopsy after biopsy (every 6 months) and come out clean as a whistle it is because He has extended my life.
When I have difficulty swallowing and have to pray that the food goes down before I asphyxiate, it is God who helps it go down.
When I am so tired because I haven't slept and I haven't eaten it is God who gives me the strength to do the everyday things.
Recently it has worsened, but my faith in God improves. I am having a hard time remembering things or my speech is slurred. I have started losing many of my teeth and have lost some weight (that's a plus for now.)I am slower to react/process because of the fatigue. But when God needs me to be sharp I'm all over it . To God be the glory!!!! I know God has a purpose.
Just before arriving to Emmanuel I had recovered from a very diffcult slump/crash in my health. I had another Heller Myotomy, my second one. It is a an operation where the doctor removes a portion from the bottom of the esophogus and wraps it around the tube on top of the stomach. The surgeon must go through the chest to do this, needless to say I have more stitches on my body than Frankenstein. Along with the myotomy I had a growth removed and was in cardio /thoracic intensive care for 2 weeks, only to return within 2 days with pneumonia and a lung infection.
God is glorious and merciful!!!! I knew it was my time to go. I felt God preparing for death but I prayed that he would let me do some things. The first on my list was to let me work for Him. I felt I didn't do enough for God for all He has done for me and that is the saddest thing for a child of God to feel.
He granted me life.
He sustains me. He gives me strength. I am rarely 100% but God is always with me and He gives me strength. pray for God to continue to give me strength and to do His will in my life and the lives of others in our church and around the world who are going through the same thing.
God is great!!!!!

7 days left for Christmas

7 days left for Jesus' Birthday


7 days left for Idalia's Birthday

A dear Sister in Christ and well known Missionette leader;Wanda Dortas has passed away. Please keep her family in your prayers. She leaves behind a 10 year old son.
The viewing will be in Pastor Luis Serrano's church today at 7 and tomorrow.

Our condolences to her family
Emmanuel 20th

The alarm clock buzzes with such arrogance, Beth is tempted to pick it up and throw it across the room.. Grunting, she slams on the “off” button. It is 5:30 in the morning. “What a cruel world.” She said to herself. “Arggh!” She pulls the tangled sheets away and sits for a while.
“Five more minutes.” She says.
Pulling herself together Beth forces herself to spring up and quickly go to the bathroom to wash up. She brushes her teeth and looks forward to her morning cup of coffee. As the coffee brews she walks to the front door to retrieve the newspaper that awaits her obediently on her doormat. Beth slams the paper on the dining room table and pours herself a cup of coffee. The front headlines are as depressing as usual and she sighs. She looks out of her bay window to a beautiful and undisturbed world. The table needs to be cleared of breakfast dishes before she gets dressed and ready to go to work.
Beth has an immaculate home. Her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder did not allow for any untidiness. She would not tolerate dishes leftover from a meal to lie around or have beds that weren’t made. She changed her shower curtain lining once a week and scrubbed her floors on her hands and knees until she could see her own reflection staring back at her.
She grabs her coffee cup and paper but the Bible on the corner of the table catches her eye, at first because it was out of place and should be on her bookshelf. Then she thinks in her wild rush to start her day she should pause to read God’s word.
“How did this get here?” She wondered as she replaced the paper and the coffee cup back onto the table.She took it in her hands and slid her palm across the familiar leather cover, a bit worn on the binding from when she wore it out in her teen years. She read the Word religiously. That was so long ago.
The phone rings, a rude awakening from Beth’s daydream. She jumps startled.
“Hello!” she frantically yells into the phone. Her heart is beating so quickly. It always did when the phone rang so early in the morning. She always expected to hear some bad news. But it was not bad news. It was her carpool buddies.
“Beth, it’s seven, we’ve been waiting here for a while, you ready?”
“Seven!?” It couldn’t be she just woke up.
Frustrated she informs her carpool buddies that she will be out in five minutes.
She slams the phone onto the cradle. She slams the worn Bible onto its place on the bookshelf. She slams the newspaper into the recycling can. She slams the door of her room to get dressed for work. This is going to be another one of those days when she is running behind and seems to be going warp speed all day and yet she won’t seem to be making any progress. But this was Beth’s life. As she runs out the front door to join her carpool friends she says a quick prayer in her head. “Thank you God for all you do. Protect me and keep me. Amen” She doesn’t pray aloud because her friends aren’t Christian and wouldn’t understand. She jumps inside the four door and squeezes between her two co workers. After some small chit-chat she looks out her windows and sadly remembers her teen Bible. “I wish I had more time for You, God.” She says barely above a whisper.
“Huh? ” Says the fellow passenger. Beth doesn’t tell her friend that she is talking to God. “I was talking to myself, you know, thinking aloud.”
“Girl, don’t go crazy on me now, we have a presentation this afternoon.”
The presentation, How could she forget she was up half the night working on it. It’s only 7:15 and Beth was longing for the day to end. “I should pray more often.” She thought.
Later on this day Beth would realize the importance of taking time out to pray.
To be continued…..

God Bless You

As we all know there will be a possible full fledged transit strike.
It will begin with private buses today and on Monday if they have not settled it will become an all out strike.
With this in mind, please be mindful of fellow church family members that are dependent on the transit system to get to and from church.
-Hermana Cedeno
-Hermano Joel
I think Ana and Jose have a car now. I'm not sure but if not add them to the list.
-Hermana Militina?
Anyway let's all try to connect with them and see if they may be needing a ride this week or until the strike ends, if it ever begins.

God Bless you
Pastora

P.S Please let me know if anyone can accomadate these members
In this way we can see what arrangements need to be made for them otherwise

How can you discern if someone is God- loving. A fellow Christian who loves God will always be there for you. Sometimes right by your side, sometimes through prayer, sometimes with a friendly note, carefully written, showing support in troubled times or sometimes with a simple phone call. A Loving Christian will love you no matter what. In rainy days and sunny days. Maybe they stayed up all night with you and helped you write a paper or cram for a final. Maybe they listened and empathized with you through your time of trouble.
Praying with and for each other is also demonstrative of love. Giving you gentle and Godly advice. Pointing out kindly when you are wrong.
These are the kinds of loving members of the Christian family that the Apostle Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13

What do we need to improve?
In what areas are we doing well?
If you want to have Godly, healthy relationships with your church family reflect and memorize 1Corinthians 13.

A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17

As in water, face reflects face,
so a man's heart reveals the man.
Proverbs 27:19

Brother Luis Hernandez- He was taken to the hospital yesterday. He has pneumonia. He is a fighter and will be out soon but let's pray for his strength to keep up. He is on antibiotics so that will help. He is at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn if anyone wants to visit. also pray for Filomena who must be terribly worried. Pray for peace.

Jessie- Let's not forget Jessie who wil be leaving to the lovely Carribean on Friday. Pray for a quck recovery for her mother in law Maria Gonzalez

Myriam - Who is healing nicely fromthe operation on her feet.

Robert Pastor- That God may provide a job with better hours so that he cam attend church more frequently.

God Bless You
Love Pastora

Greeting everyone, I pray that God is blessing all of you

This email is for two things first of all, many of us have been praying adamantly for Chuchi's health and will continue to pray so that God performs a miracle in his life and heals him. It is thus why many of us, will wear Pink shirts (dress shirts) in honor of Chuchi this Sunday. The reason is that the pink shirt day was his idea in the first place and he did wear his pink shirt so if you think you are a real man, or woman, wear your pink shirt this Sunday.

Secondly as you know Christmas is only a week plus away and we, the youth ministries at Emmanuel pentecostal church, want to embody what the Lord has stated in his word of being one and participate in something that we will call, "My Secret Angel", it basically works just as your regulars secret thing around Christmas you put your name on a list and then you draw a name and then you get that person a gift, however we will add a new twist to this occasion, instead of everyone getting a list of what people might want you are responsible for finding out what the person's interests are hence if i get Robert Pastor i have to find out what is it that Robert could like and then get him something like that. This will test not only your ability to find information but also how much we as a church know each other. So if you want to participate please reply to this email by Friday December 17th. The cap is $15 dollars, so be creative and act like a detective.

Lastly, we have a youth meeting this Friday to discuss all of the secret angel stuff, the Christmas party stuff and the pink shirt day stuff, if you have any questions please reply to this email or give me a call and remember REPLY IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN "MY SECRET ANGEL"
Thank you very much for tuning in, on behalf of the Emmanuel Pentecostal church youth ministries, I am Joshua Perea, saying "you stay classy, Emmanuel"!

--
Respectfully,


Guesnerth Joshua Perea

I strongly suggest you purchase the new Casting Crowns CD- LifeSong
It is tremendously edifying!

Praise You in The storm- A song that reassures us that in our darkest hour God is by our side!

I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again
I say Amen
And it's still raining


Emmanuel-Our surety that God is with us in the midst of our anguish, trouble, anger, btterness and resentment is so important and so key in our walk with Christ.
Things are going to look cruddy around us. We will get sick. Family members will get sick. We will have to go out of our ways for others. We will be fatigued and overwhelmed. It won't stop (It's still raining, even after we say Amen. Doesn't mean God is gone, Emmanuel.) Keep saying Amen. He is still with us.

And as the thunder rolls
I barely hear
You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"

Emmanuel- God has never left us. Are we pushing Him away from us when we are divided? When we are uncaring? When we nitpick at each other's spiritual growth? When we look at each other the wrong way? The Thunder rolls but if we do not push God away we can hear Him whisper that He is with us. Praise God for He is wonderful!


And as your mercy falls
I raise my hands
and praise the God who gives and takes away

Emmanuel- No matter what happens or has happened whatever God gives us or takes away from us . Let us lift our hands high and shout from the top of the mountains. "I love you God!" "Your lovingkindness is everlasting and Your mercy endureth forever."

And I praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That You are who You are
No matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

Emmanuel- He sees every tear we cry. Every injustice done toward us from outside and in. He holds our tears and He hold us in His hands. Are we acknowledging that at all? Are we making that real in our spiritual life? He's never left our side. And when we are sad we should continue to praise Him solely for who He is. Praise Him in the storm.


I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
you heard my cry
and you
raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find you

Emmanuel- Think, Think, Think about all the times God has seen us through in the past. What makes us think He will not see us through again? As individuals and as a churh family. We must trust in God when our strength is almost gone. We can carry on if we search for Him we can find Him. He's waiting for us to turn to Him to listen to His whispers, to feel His hand upon each of us. There is no right and no wrong. We ALL mess up. We stumble . We cry . We need strength and He is waiting for us to accept the hand that He is offering to lift us up.

And as the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
"Im with you"
And as your mercy fall
I praise the God who gives and takes away

Emmanuel- As your Pastora I implore you to forgive me for any offense that I have done to any one of you and any feelings I have hurt. I have never loved a group of people as much as I love you guys. My church family. A branch of my family in Christ. With tears in my eyes I pray for understanding. That I may understand where you are coming from. That I may continue to see you through God's eyes. That I continue to direct you in the right path through guidance and discipline because I love you so very much. If I didn't love you I wouldn't care if you slipped up a little. I wish I could be everywhere. I wish I could be with Anna , by her side as she goes through the pain a mother goes through when her child is hurt and she feels helpless.
I wish I could be in the minds and hearts of many of you so I can understand why you feel the way you do. How I long to understand all of you because in Christ we are one. When we are one. We feel each others pain. I know at times many of you get upset with me and believe me I try to put myself in your shoes and through God's eyes I can see where you are coming from. But only through God's eyes.
I wish I could be with Hmna Filomena and pray by her side when she worries about her husbands health or when some of you are so overwhelmed with school work or home or family. I wish I could be there to lend you a hand. When you are nervous about flights and seeing loved ones far away. I wish I could sit by you and hold your hand make you laugh and distract you.
When you worry about your children or the salvation of an unsaved loved one. When you are taking that exam I wish I could sit by your side and encourage you. When you are at that job interview I wish I could be there to give you that pep talk just before. I wish I could be there to remind you to eat so your sugar level remains normal or when your son has been out all night. or when you are lonely because you miss your husband who has passed away. or when no one understand you because you think differently through a challenged mind. When you ar e longing for that companion to spend th erest of your life with. When the bill arrives and you have no money to pay it. How I wish I could help.

When you are lonely and want to talk all the time. I wish I could talk to you.
BUT GOD IS ALWAYS THERE THROUGH EVERYONE OF OUR STORMS!

The life of a pastor is much like parenthood. Oh I wish you could feel the love that Pastor Angel and I have for you. How God puts you in our thoughts all the time.
When we fight or exclude each other, much like all families, Pastor and I feel it and want us all to get along. God puts these feelings in each and everyone of us.

You guys may not like us all the time, but know this. Please know this. I wish oh how I wish you knew how much you mean to us and know that and believe that our love for you is so great because it is God's love. We love you.

Don't let Satan take away what we have. Don't give him the upperhand. Don't give up.
Don't let go of God's hand.
Don't let go of God's hand Emmanuel.
Don't let go of God's hand, Don't let go of God's hand.
Don't reach out for hands that are disguised as helpful when in fact it is satan who is trying not to lift you up, but pull you away from God's hand.
Don't let go of God!!!!
I love you.

Let us claim this as ours in thename of Jesus Christ. Let us claim a uniqueness in fellowship and in love for each other. Let us stand out in the crowd as a light not part of the norm in darkness.

Pastora

Chunchi's speedy recovery
Kathy and Emily's mom- She will be undergoing her second cataract surgery
Continue to pray for Maria Gonzalez (Jessie's mother-in-law) I beleive she just underwent surgery also pray that Jessie, Kevin and Marie have a safe flight out to Puerto Rico. Let us also pray for strength for Jessie at this time
Do not forget Diane , Junior and the boys. They are out of sight but far from out of mind. Prayers and good thoughts for them.
Please pray for the upcoming Winterfest- I believe the youth are leaving this Saturday. I pray for your edification, fun and fellowship. Have a safe trip out there and represent at all times. I know I don't have to tell you that. We have a youth society to be very proud of. Make some friends too.

As always if you have a prayer request let me know via email. I know of the above request through those lines of communication. And I am very grateful. My job prevents me from going out and visiting all of you (Some of you are thanking God quietly aren't you:)) But I wish I cna see you in person and offer all the support and hands on prayer

Lots of Love
Pastora