40 Years….

40 years ago – January 20, 1982 – my dad gave his life to Jesus Christ. At a time when he was losing everything – his wife, his children, his job – a time when he wanted to kill someone – he was at the end of the rope and didn’t know where else to turn – he finally turned to Jesus.

I know of many people, including myself, who have fallen throughout their walk with Jesus. When adversity comes, many get angry with God and go back to their old ways of living. Many come back, but some don’t. I can honestly say that my dad has never looked back. From the day he said yes to Jesus, he has lived a life that has honored God.

In 2005, he was the founder of a ministry that the enemy tried to destroy. The vision was stolen by man, and in 2016, Dad chose to leave that ministry. I was so hurt and bitter because I knew that was a vision that God placed in my dad’s heart, and the enemy tried to steal and destroy. The enemy tried to rewrite the story. But God said NO! God said that Dad would continue elsewhere to fulfill that vision in the community of Poteet. These last 6 years have been rough, but they have also been amazing as God rebirthed the vision and wrote out the blueprints. I would pray so much that Dad would live long enough to see the vision completed in our new home, that he would live long enough not just to get into our new home, but to enjoy the fruits of his labor and continue to lead our flock under his wing. I am extremely grateful that God is answering that prayer and that my parents are where God planned them to be. It’s no coincidence that we completed our home in 2021 as Dad turned 77 years. 7 is the number of completion and this was my prayer in 2021. And it’s no coincidence that we celebrated this past weekend with people who have been in Dad’s life throughout these 40 years in ministry as he was celebrating his spiritual birthday this month.

40 years! That’s a long time!
40 years I have watched my parents in ministry, sometimes walking through the desert feeling alone, feeling betrayed, feeling broken. But I can honestly say that Dad has never ever lost his first love – Jesus Christ! And that fire still burns bright within him! I thank God because that life-altering day changed the destiny of all our lives.
Happy 40th Birthday in Christ, Dad! ✝️🤍🕊

2021

As we close out this year of 2021, I reflect on the high’s and the low’s. My highlights of 2021 include:

January started out with me celebrating my 47th birthday with family and friends watching my favorite superhero – Wonder Woman! It was also our first time back in a movie theater since Spring of 2020.

February brought some historical snow to San Antonio. Valentine’s Day was pure magical as we saw the snow flurries come down and eventually begin to pile up on the ground. We enjoyed the following day with snow all around us. But our joy quickly turned to sorrow as we also lost electricity. Our whole city and state suffered massive power and water outages, which quickly made South Texas go from loving the magical snow to hating the mess!

In June, my last baby graduated from high school. Senior year in quarantine was definitely a struggle for Brandon, and he had moments of depression and senioritis. But he pushed through and finished strong. He is now loving his first year at Palo Alto College.

Jacob is getting ready to finish his last semester at Palo Alto College, and he will transfer to a university. Christian finished up his second-to-last semester at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, where he will graduate in May 2022. Hannah continued in her career in management at HEB, and she was promoted in July.

June brought our church family through some pivotal times. God told us that it was time for us to move from our temporary home and start working hard to get into our permanent home. The big push came, and everyone was on board. We had moments of doubt and discouragement, but God continued to see us through the desert. We did more in 6 months than we had done in 3 years, and we finished our last service of the year with our Grand Opening Celebration Service. We are now in our Promised Land and can enjoy the fruits of our labor.

In July, most of our family went through the most trying time of the year. Christian, Jacob, Danny and I all contracted COVID. Christian and Jacob went through it fairly smoothly and didn’t have major symptoms, but Danny and I had a different experience. For Danny, he had very high fevers that worried us. For me, I was lacking oxygen on one specific day. Our prayer warriors really came through and fought hard for us. So many poured out their love by bringing us food and supplies. It was one of the worst things we went through, but it was a time in our lives that we felt the most loved ever. I thank God that He brought us healing through the deadliest virus of the year. So many others lost someone, and it is by His grace that we are here today.

In November, I went on my first trip outside of Texas that didn’t include my immediate family. It’s something I never imagined I would do, but I learned the importance of Girl Time and time to myself. It was only Louisiana, but I conquered a fear that I had of driving so far without my husband, and now I realize I can do it.

In December, we had our Grand Opening Celebration Service for our ministry, Resurrected Life Church. This was the happiest thing that happened in 2021. After years of praying that my dad would get to see the vision that God placed in his heart years ago, we finally got to see it all come to fruition!

And to end off the year, the one thing I am most proud of this year is that I finished reading the entire Bible! My sisters-in-love and I began this journey together starting in January. I just finished reading today on 12/31. This was so challenging, and many days I didn’t want to continue. But I’m grateful for the support system that I had with my sisters, Cassie & Jen. We stuck it out and encouraged one another. In almost 40 years that I was raised in church and have led a Christian life, I never took on the challenge of reading the entire Bible. This was definitely my biggest accomplishment this year!

Friends & Family, no matter what this new year may bring, always focus on the Goodness of God. He never promised us a perfect life with no storms, but He did promise never to leave us. Set your eyes on Him and surrender to Him in this year. Tomorrow is not promised, so make that decision today!

Highlights of 2021

I’m Sorry I Didn’t Say Goodbye

On August 10, 2021, my parents dog, Blue, passed away. He was with them for about 10 years; he was old and he was getting slower each day. My dad was going to cut grass and noticed that he was moving even slower and lied down, looking very weak and tired. Dad had a thought of going over to pet him and comfort him; but time was passing, and he needed to cut grass. He walked away and got sidetracked cutting the grass. The next moment that he walked back to the area where Blue lied down, he realized that Blue was no longer breathing.

Dad took this loss very hard. He sobbed loudly with every shovel full of dirt, as he buried Blue. Dad carried so much deep regret for not giving him that last stroke and comfort before he took his last breath. During those days, Dad heard the song “Scars in Heaven” and related to the opening stanza very much. Since that day, he has made a more conscious effort to value the people in his life and not take it for granted that he will get that “later” moment to give those extra hugs, that extra comfort of words, and those extra moments of love. He wrote this poem a month ago, and I waited to share it until today, as Wednesday marked the 3-month anniversary of Blue’s passing to heaven.

Blue passed away and entered heaven on August 10, 2021.

“I’m Sorry I Didn’t Say Goodbye”

I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye,
I didn’t know that day that he was going to die.
A friend so loyal, a friend so true,
The friend I speak of, is my dog named Blue.
Blue came to us in the year of twenty-eleven,
When I first saw him, I thought a gift from heaven.
When he arrived, he didn’t come alone,
He brought his brother with him, and then I named him Red.
Always together and never apart,
With Blue now gone, it now breaks my heart.
My memory takes me back to that dark day,
When I didn’t share the words I wanted to say.
To stroke his back and touch his head,
To let him know how much I cared,
And for the years we both had shared.
As tears ran down that dreadful day,
I dug the grave where he would lay.
God taught me a lesson I’ll never forget,
Love family, love friends, and you’ll never regret,
The memories of you for those left behind.

P.S. Tears ran down my face for the memories I’ll never erase. For a dog, a friend, who was so true, remember my friend, his name was Blue.

Author: Robert Robles, Sr.
Date: October 14, 2021

“Scars in Heaven” by Casting Crowns

Christian Daniel

Today we celebrate my son, Christian’s 22nd Birthday!

Christian is my second-born child, my firstborn son. All 4 of my kids were “surprises” and not at all planned like many other couples do. He came at a time that I was thriving in a new job, but marriage was tough. We had only been married a few short months, and I definitely hadn’t planned on having another child so soon. But God had other plans, and He blessed us with our first son. Christian was definitely my toughest labor and delivery and the most difficult to come out. But once he arrived, he has been a joy and brought an energy that is indescribable.

Christian is definitely a natural born leader. He seems to always stand out in a crowd and has a personality that lights up the room. He is outgoing, sensitive to others, and an amazing and loyal friend. One of the things I’m most proud of is how he has led others to Christ simply by inviting them to church. He planted the seed, and God did the rest. He is a role model and example to his peers and all those who look up to him.

At the age of 13, Christian went through such a traumatic experience in life when he witnessed Danny and me at the lowest points in our lives. I know that he will never forget that experience, but I am grateful that instead of him allowing that define his life and who he became, he broke that chain and rose above that. He allowed God to bring him healing and used that experience to make him stronger and mold him to be the amazing and resilient young man that he is today.

Christian is in his final year of college, and I am extremely proud of him and his accomplishments. I know that God has an amazing future planned out for him, and He is just waiting to open new doors and opportunities for him, not only in his future career, but in ministry. Even before he was born, I dedicated him to God and declared prosperity and ministry in Christian’s life. He is already leading the young adult ministry at our church, and I only see things growing from there.

Happy 22nd Birthday to Christian – my Butterball, my Treasure Box! I love you!

Hannah Monique

In Fall 1996, I was told that my endometriosis had gotten so bad that I had a lot of scar tissue blocking the fallopian tubes, which would cause a blockage for an egg to ever pass through to be fertilized – in simple terms, I was told I would never be able to have a child. I did not want to believe that, so I sought the opinion of another doctor, only to be given the same heartbreaking fate. My dreams of being a future mother were shattered, and I fell into a dark place of depression.

In the coming months, I acted out my anger and rebellion against God. I was not in a committed relationship, but in my loneliness and depression, I reacted irresponsibly and recklessly. To my shock and disbelief, in March 1997, I found out that I was pregnant! While one part of my heart was overjoyed at this miracle, the bigger part of me was saying OH CRAP! I was not in a relationship, so of course not married, which went against everything I was ever raised in to learn at church and in my Christian walk. Even at 23 years old, I dreaded having to tell my parents and break their hearts and hopes for me. My dad was a pastor, and I knew this was the forbidden sin and fate in the churches that I grew up in.

Sure enough, it was one of the worst days of my life when I told my parents and seeing their reactions. I felt like an absolute failure in my family and felt like I was better off dead than going through this. Abortion wasn’t an option for me because I was not going to commit murder over something that was my own fault. I prayed for death…I prayed for a miscarriage…I prayed that my baby and I would be in a fatal car accident so we wouldn’t a burden or an embarrassment to my family.
BUT GOD! He had other plans…

Soon after telling my family, I began to experience very bad abdominal pains. I thought I was having a miscarriage, so I went to see my doctor. They did a vaginal sonogram, and there she was….this tiny peanut-shaped little being inside of me. And there was the heartbeat!! I could see it, and I could hear it. This was the most life-changing moment for me because this experience became more real, and I was changed in that moment. I went from having fear and shame to having unconditional love and protection against anything and anyone who could ever harm my baby. I really wanted a boy because I didn’t want any of those “payback” stereotypes the older generation would talk about if I had a girl. But again, God had other plans.

When I found out my baby was a girl, I decided on the name Hannah Monique.
Hannah – the name of the woman in the Bible who could not have a child, but God blessed her with Samuel; and she immediately turned around and gave him right back to God, making sure that he was raised in the House of God under the mentorship of Eli.
Monique – just another form of my own name. I figured if it was just Hannah and I, then I wanted her to have a part of my name.

Hannah’s time in my womb wasn’t as blissful as I see in other moms. I was sick and nauseous the entire pregnancy. Hannah was due on October 25, but on October 6 during my checkup, it was found that I had Preeclampsia, formerly called toxemia. This was a dangerous condition for both Hannah and I, and I was immediately put on bedrest. But on the morning of Tuesday, October 7, 1997, my water broke at home and I went to deliver my baby. The labor and delivery was an absolute dream from heaven! Hannah just slid right out without even pushing – there was no pain, no tearing, and no cutting. But in the minutes following, things got scary. The toxemia had worsened and my blood pressure was too high from the excitement of seeing my baby. The nurses demanded that everyone leave the room, and she turned off all the lights, leaving me all alone. I pleaded for her to let my mom stay, but she got in my face and yelled, “Do you want to die? Do you want that little girl to grow up without her mother? Now close your eyes and go to sleep!” It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I’m grateful that it all turned out okay, and I was able to heal from all that and went home within a couple of days. I had so much support from so many people everywhere.

Hannah’s story is so much longer than what I share today. But today I only wanted to focus on her beginning. Fast forward 24 years later, and I am beyond blessed that God gave me Hannah! On top of that, God blessed me with 3 more children, all boys! God is so amazing and fulfilled my desires for children in every way possible!

Hannah is 24 years old, and she is who I wish I could have been when I was her age. I was a single mom at her age without a job and nothing to show for materialistically. Hannah has her Bachelor’s Degree, her career with HEB as a bakery manager, her home, her car, and her fur babies! She’s absolutely the one that God used and sent to me to save my life from that dark place. My heart was filled with a love I never understood and that has only become stronger throughout the years. I am forever grateful for the 4 blessings that call me “Mom.”

Happy 24th Birthday Hannah!

Day 14 of Quarantine – July 24, 2021

Some of you have asked what brand of home testing kit we used. This was the only one we found when we were looking, and it was very accurate. We’ve since found out there are others out there, but I highly recommend this one. My cousin works for a pharmacist and also recommended this “Abbott” brand. We have bought 3 of these – one was negative, then 3 days later I had positive results. Then yesterday we bought another one and it was negative. Two other infected also used them and they were accurate.

We found this at CVS for $25 and also at HEB for $20. It comes with 2 tests.

Update: results are supposed to take 15-minutes. But when it was positive, it didn’t even take 5 minutes for that second line to show up. Just like a pregnancy test! 😂😂

It’s easy to use, but you DO have to put the swab up your nose, but not all the way to the brain! It does tickle and feel uncomfortable, but it’s not painful. You’re doing your own test, so it didn’t feel invasive at all. If you didn’t watch my video, it’s still there and I show you how I used this. Hopefully this information is helpful! ♥️🙏🏻

Day 13 of Quarantine – July 13, 2021 (part 1)

Let’s just address the elephant in the room now. I didn’t want to discuss it last week because I didn’t want the debate. I still don’t. But a few of you so called “friends” just can’t seem to shut up about it. The VACCINE! I am sick and tired of reading passive aggressive posts that I know are aimed at me, and they are about getting the jab.

First of all, NO ONE has the right to enforce something like this. You cannot force a person to inject something into your body, not knowing what the effect will be. Just like everyone has had a different experience with being sick – some minimal and some even dying – it is the same thing with the jab. You have no idea how it will affect you.

I have tons of family and friends who are vaccinated, and not once did I feel it was my right or my business to tell them they’re stupid for doing it. I have remained quiet because it’s THEIR decision, not mine. I don’t go posting junk about the vaccine because it’s offensive and unethical. And yet you people have no problem doing it.

Let me start by saying this – the person who initially got sick was fully vaccinated. And yet he still got it, and he still spread it. From that one person, 10 of us got sick. Some were mild, and some were really sick. The poor young man who was vaccinated spent a week in the hospital and needed two blood transfusions. He had the worst experience from all of us. So the theory that a vaccination will protect you from the hospital is a joke! Wrong!

Next – by me choosing not to get vaccinated, this does not make me stupid or selfish, or un-American, or the funniest one – suicidal! (as I’ve read about me). I’m also not siding with the devil because of a theory that it came from bats, and this person thinks bats are aligned with the devil. So silly! God created bats….how are they aligned with the devil??

I am here to just shut all of you up and tell you to leave me alone. If you don’t like reading my journey, if you don’t like me giving praise to my Healer and Savior, Jesus Christ – then I kindly ask that you unfriend me. I sincerely won’t be hurt. You’ll be doing me a favor by removing your toxicity from my life. You haven’t been there for me through this journey anyway. Not once have you spoken up to offer prayer (probably because you don’t pray to my God), and you haven’t offered even a tiny bit of encouragement. You’ve only used my posts to create your own warped version and tried to question me and belittle me to your own psycho Facebook world.

I have no doubt where I’m going on the day that God calls me home. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I have been kind and I have been loyal. But do not mistake my faith for weakness. You are messing with the wrong person!

God, shut the mouths of those lions and remove them from my life! ⚔️⚔️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Day 12 of Quarantine – July 22, 2021

Today’s Update:
We are doing so much better! The only lingering symptom is that nagging cough. But even that’s something that I’ve experienced worse in my life before. I know it’ll be gone soon!

One more time for those of you in the back, in the dark, and in denial of a thing called Satan: Covid is absolutely an attack from the devil. This is a demonic force that has tried to instill fear, anxiety, depression and isolation!

Fight!!! Fight on your knees in Prayer!! Use the medicine and vitamins by those God gave the skills to treat this.

No one, not anyone can ever tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about! I have the experience now and I will not be called naive! I saw firsthand the Mighty Hand of God and the Power of Prayer!!

If you don’t believe, I truly feel sorry for you because one day, you WILL believe, but it will be too late…..🙏🏻💔

My God is Too Good to Not Believe! ⚔️🙏🏻Love the sinner, not the unbelief.

Photo Credit: Kevin Carden

Day 11 of Quarantine – July 21, 2021

Hallelujah! We are on the downside of the mountain now! 🙌🏻🙏🏻⚔️♥️

We have been without fever, body aches, headaches, chills and sweats for a second day now! The only lingering thing right now is the cough. That pressure still hurts our head but not to where it’s a headache. I’m still monitoring my oxygen but it’s been okay. Praying that God removes all side effects and restores our taste and smell at 100%! Danny tastes a high salt taste in everything so he’s trying to eat bland foods. But I think the metallic taste and smell he previously had is gone! For me, I can’t smell but I can slightly taste most things. 🙏🏻

Thank you to each of you who has reached out in prayer! My faith is through the roof because I have seen the hand of God and how He worked in my family! We had literally an ARMY of people praying for us and bringing us things. ♥️🙏🏻🙌🏻⚔️

One thing that surprised me was that some of the people I expected to hear from more really weren’t there. Many of the people who came to our rescue weren’t who we expected. God used a whole different set of people to be our angels to carry us through! And we are forever grateful! ♥️

The enemy is walking away in defeat and I hope he learns not to mess with this little Pitbull Christian again!! ⚔️🙌🏻🙏🏻♥️

MY GOD IS TOO GOOD TO NOT BELIEVE! ⚔️🙏🏻