Something Sweet...

There are days when one just craves some good old ice cream with friends far or near, while sitting on a field of green, green grass. It was one of those days- sorta. My prima Kristy is in Orlando- she joined us with her popsicle. My sister is in Dade county- she joined us with some vanilla ice cream in a mug. And I'm here in Broward- joining them with a little strawberry sorbet. Yup, we are all in different areas, near, far, working & doing life.... but we came together to share some sweetness. I love you girls. You deserved that ice cream all the way!

Proverbs 17:17a- "A friend loves at all times.."
Proverbs 17:22a- "A cheerful heart is good medicine.."

A Quarter of a Century Old.....

Okay, so I don't like to make a big deal about my birthday but I can't believe I have turned 25 years old.  Yikes!!  It's a little nerve wrecking, but I could only thank the Lord that He would choose to bless me with another day and hopefully another year and many more to come.  I truly am grateful.  Lord, thank you, thank you for life! 

It's been a great morning and I have felt very blessed and loved.  First, my hubby made me a present- my very own boxset mix of '08- with some cd's that I have been wanting.  He burnt me (because the originals are coming later) the new Hillsong Kid's CD, two cd's from Brooke Fraser, the new Marty Sampson CD, and the Killer's SawDust.  So, I'm here at work enjoying the music.  

The ladies at work are taking me out to lunch today to Panera Bread.  Melissa S. brought these beautiful tulips and a balloon.  She is so cute.  Everyone here is spectacular.  Yesterday, other staff members sang happy birthday and cut a cake for me.  Thank you ladies: Nef, Jackie, and Charlotte for the cake and Jackie thanks for calling me to blow out the fire. Lol.  Nefertiti got me a heater for my office. THANK YOU!!  Alot of you know how offices and churches can me so freezing, so I am very grateful for that.  :) 

My parents text me last night with a picture of a cake.  Ohhhh, how I love them.  Thank you mom, dad, gabo, and chants. Hopefully I will see you tonight.  And thank you for all who called me this morning, really you didn't have too, but thank you; it brought a big smile to my face.  Can't wait to go home and see my Heredes.  He was a bit sick last night.  :(  Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow..It's about time...

Life has been moving pretty quickly in the Ribeiro residence. I've been wanting to blog and catch everyone up on what's been going on with life, but everyday it just seems harder and harder. Today though, is the day that I WILL BLOG!!! I made my first comic life with pictures of events that have happened within the past three weeks.

First, our church just finished up The Domino Effect series. I had the privilege of making a prop for Pastor Troy's message- clay dominoes. The final pieces are not shown, but they came out very nice. (Sharon did a great job finishing up the paint job) Pastor Troy clamped them and then with a hammer would smash them; illustrating those things in our lives that need to be broken so we can move on and be healed and transfer that over to our future generations.

Second, we are now in our Love Sign- A Retro Christmas- series which kicked off this past weekend. The message was "Being a Love Sign to the Persecuted". Heredes, video team, & Pr. Troy flew to NY for a video shoot that was used as part of the teaching moment during the service. The message not only hit persecution as we would usually think of, the government overpowering the people, etc., but also in our daily lives. We are persecuted financially, spiritually, physically and in those moments of our persecution God's word says that our God is a Refuge. So, when you feel persecuted or overwhelmed, call out to God your/our/my Refuge. He is always a present help in trouble. Amen?!
The offices had a Christmas decorating contest last Monday. We were each to decorate our office with a Retro feel and include our ministry. Since I am the receptionist, my tree is a supply room Christmas tree- with pens, mini tape dispensers, etc. We had a 4 way tie- and I was one of the winners. I was very excited. The pictures of Heredes and I was a project I did with some of the staff people in the office. I took their pics and then added them as part of my room.

Third, there were weddings in the month of November. We had four in total, of which we could only make three. Our friends Kenny & Amy got married about three weeks ago. They had a lovely beach wedding and a wonderful, gorgeous, umm, delicious reception. :) Then my cousin got married two weeks ago and that was another beautiful wedding. It was some busy weekends getting ready and dressing up. My sister was my date for most of time, which I never complain. Our friend Tammy got to join us as well, and Tammy thank you soooo much for my makeup and hair and for making me laugh soooo much.

Lastly, I never got to post about Thanksgiving. Last year I baked an apple pie, pumpkin tart, and mashed potato all from scratch. This year I told myself I would keep it simple. I baked the same pumpkin tart and this time it was much easier. Then, I decided to make Sweet Potato Gnocchi with a maple and sage sauce. OMG, I was tired. Dough is never easy, but it is my goal to perfect it- one day. At the end of the day, I felt really frustrated that they looked funky and that they wouldn't taste good, but thank the Lord they were a hit. Usually for thanksgiving, we have friends and family come over, we pray, share, and sing. This year we prayed and then ate. I know it may be horrible, but I had fun meeting some new people and seeing people just talking and getting to know each other a bit more. I was just really thankful for my husband, family, our new church, and those close special friends. Above all, I am just so thankful that I have a God that is real and really loves me. Jesus thank you.

Once again, this has become a long post and I will try to post more often so they are shorter. I am excited for the month of December. God has a lot in store of all of us and I can't wait to see the beautiful things that are going to happen.

Alot of Catching Up...

Last week, daylight savings began. Even though it doesn't feel like we have gained an hour, last sunday was one of those beautiful mornings you just had to take a picture of. So, I did. I love the view Heredes and I have from our balcony. There is a tree, which I think is dead because nothing grows from it, that I love to just look at. Sometimes, birds just sit around the branches and other days you have a view like the one in the picture.

Since there is a bit to catch up on, I will begin with Trunk or Treat. I know, so like 2 weeks ago but I have to share. It rained like crazy on Halloween, but the rain could not stop what God wanted to accomplish that night. There were some thousand families come by, rain and all. Though there was alot of preparation, from games to food to music, that seemed to have been a waste, it wasn't. The band still managed to play live music, there was candy every where, I had a Winnie the Pooh and an Alligator walking around (Thank you Amy, Chief, & Josue), and we played some games with the kids that were there. I want to say thank you to our friend Alex Comesanas for his game ideas. (I will have pictures of the boots and hats I made)

I have to share the prayer that has been answered for Heredes and I. I now work at FRC as the- Yup you guessed it- Receptionist. Wow, the job just follows me around :), lol! It has been a great 2 weeks. Everyone in the office has been very helpful in answering my Many questions. Sometimes I feel so bad, but it's better to ask than mess up really bad. I've already had some pretty interesting phone calls, from mean ones to ones where I have been able to pray for people and listen to them speak. It truly is an HONOR to be working there.

This past week was pretty hectic. Heredes and I would leave the house at 6 am and get home around 11:30 pm almost every night. We had Tuesday staff meeting, which all I can say is Wow. Pastor Troy you rock! There was 1st Wednesday, which once again WOW. Then Thursday, Heredes had a dress rehearsal for our friends Brian & Jackie's wedding, and then Friday was their wedding. Can I tell you that it had to be one of the most beautiful weddings. Brian & Jackie Fuller CONGRATULATIONS! And guys, know how much we love you because right now I am watching the Hillsong United Conference that Heredes and I missed. : P We love you guys and can't wait to talk about the "kits"...lol!!!


Not only did we celebrate our friend's wedding, our friends Ashley and Darwin had their beautiful baby boy: Darwin Alberto Ortiz. Congratulations guys!!! We are going to try to visit tomorrow.

We had another wonderful Sunday at FRC Doral. I've got some great volunteers. Thank you all for jumping in and subbing, being there on time, and just making it wonderful for the kids. Thank you , thank you!! Our virtue for the month is RESPECT. As I was reading the lesson yesterday morning, I was just realizing how much that lesson or that virtue is for me. How important it is to "Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's, and God's what is God's". God wants our obediance and love, and in the midst of those times where we have authority that we don't agree with, God wants us to still show respect because we will never know how that alone can make a difference in someone's life. So, to those who have been in authority over me at one point who I have lost some respect for and have allowed my flesh to kick in, I ask for your forgiveness.

Pastor Troy also started the new series: The Domino Effect. This weekend he taught about making the right choice; making good decisions. And he shared the verse where I believe Christianity is pretty summed up in: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And though at the moment I misplaced my notes, I know that He hit some pretty hard stuff, that is so needed- for all of us, trust me.

Well, as I wrap up one last exciting note: THE AMAZING RACE STARTED LAST SUNDAY AND I AM ABOUT TO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW WITH MY HUSBAND. Mark my words, it is our goal to be on that show someday. IT IS THE BEST SHOW EVER. Well, so is Heroes. :) And another goal is going to Australia to sight see and attend Hillsong Church- which Hillsong Kids came out with their new album- CAN'T WAIT TO BUY IT AND OWN IT. "Pastor Troy, please don't take Heredes to Australia without me." Hope this makes up for my poor neglected blog. Eveyone, have a great night.

What a Day....

Yesterday and today was like "one of those days". One of those days where your thoughts want to eat you and say, "yes, victory!" But God always has a way to remind me to look back to Him. I think it's the Holy Spirit...:) Pr. Ray Sanchez taught yesterday at church, and it was really good. He spoke about temptation...EEK!! Temptations can so easily entrap us- trust me I know. Little sins or big sins, they all lead to death- separation. But praise be to God who forgives because of what Christ Jesus did on the cross for me and the world. "God doesn't love me because of who I am or what I've done, but because of WHO HE IS!"- Sanchez. That was so refreshing to hear and sometimes it is so hard to even believe. But God wants me to trust and believe that and believe who I am in Him and who He believes I am in Him.
Today at Doral I thought I was going to have a melt down. I rushed through set up, tried to video tape something while setting up, felt so disorganized, some of my volunteers were late, etc. But in all that "emotion commotion" like my friend HP would say, God did something so OUT OF THIS WORLD. Our 9:30 am service had 5 children, which is great. And our 11:00 am service- are you ready for this- had 26 kids in total. TWENTY-SIX!!! We were all blown away, excited, and thankful.
After tear down, I had a short meeting with my volunteers and had lunch at Macaroni Grill with Heredes of course, and our friends Ivan, Lizbet, Mike, & Connie. I had the best Eggplant Parmesean. Later, we went to Dolphin Mall and Heredes got some nice, new sandals with a gift card he got for his birthday. Then we made a short pit stop at my parents house and went home.
I did something today that I hadn't done in a LOOONNNNGGGG time. I went by myself to the park and rollerbladed for about 35 mintues. Ohh it was awesome!!!! I loved it!
Now I am at home about to rest a bit and work on some stuff that I really need to get done by tomorrow night. God is good and made it a "What a day" day. In other words, a really great day. He is reminding me to just trust Him in every aspect of my life: emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially, etc. Goodnight...

MyNakedPastor & other stuff

It's getting closer and closer: FRC's MyNakedPastor.com series is almost here. Now, we aren't talking about naked literally, but being AUTHENTIC and honest about who we are, what we go through, & how we deal with those things. Our Pastor Troy will be filmed live 24/7. (at least that's what i've heard) The topics are as follows: I get angry, I Fight, I'm insecure, I'm tired, & I'm tempted (my life).
The cool part about this series is the fact that the kids will be doing the same series & topics. Our creative kids team has been working very hard to come up with the curriculum and I must say the team is filled with fun, gasy (lol), creative people who love children & the ministry. It's going to rock. So, if you are at any campus, check out the adult service & pass by the kids and check out The Real LIfe of Isabella & Gianmarco: My life in a Fish bowl.


Before I head out, wanted to ask you guys to pray for our Peru team that leaves today. Pray for safety and that they can do exactly what God wants them to do . I wanted to give a big hug and shout out to my family/friends: Maria, Bob & Kristy Selecky. A whole family on a mission for Christ. Isn't that awesome. I love you guys. Bring Alfajores...lol...

Learning to truly trust Him...

Yesterday, I was talking to my friend Katrina R.. She is a special woman in my life. There aren't many who fill up my list of women who truly mean something to me. I don't know if that is a bad thing or a good thing, but I do know that those few women that set an example for me, mean the world to me. Katrina was my youth pastors wife. His name was/is Joshua Jefferson. To some of us who are in ministry today have very grateful hearts for his life and ministry while here on earth. You see, my youth pastor, softball coach, & leader passed away 3 years ago- August 4, 2004.

I can remember the day so clearly when we found out the news. I was at summer camp with my old church. The pastor called a few of us in to the lunch area- it had to be like 10 of us- and he told us that Joshua had just passed away. At first, it didn't click that it was my youth pastor, I thought it was another Joshua. When it sank in, I couldn't believe it. I ran, with my husband & friend Tati, outside to call Katrina. And after our short conversation, I remember going back in the lunch area, hugging my sister and Heredes and just crying. Oh, as I write this I am in tears, though I know he is in Heaven and having the time of his life! Amen!!! (He battled with a sickness since a youth & passed away at the age of 27. Katrina you can correct me on that.)

Katrina is a woman with a story- a beautiful story- that God has written and is still writing. God has blessed her with a new husband, that I have only met once, but know he is incredible. Katrina- THANK YOU! I love you with all my heart. I just want to scream it out!!!

You must be wondering why I am writing about this. Well, yesterday I found out that an ex- co-worker from Christ Fellowship Academy (I worked there like a year ago) passed away on Monday due to stomach cancer. I really didn't know her, but I do remember praying for her and seeing her face around campus. Also, FRC lost a dear member, but Heaven gained another soul. I remember my friends, the Riling's, who lost their husband and daddy to cancer not too long ago. Katrina's friend, who is 15, is also fighting a disease and taking medication and visiting doctors, etc. My friend Jescel, has just gotten back from her home country- the Philipines- visiting her ill mother and father, who are both fighting cancer. Check out her blog. She is an incredible woman, who will inspire you.

I don't know, but right now I'm thinking that this is a pretty sad post. I have yet to encounter such difficulties in my life and sometimes I think, Lord, if that day ever comes or when it comes, please help me be strong and hold on to You. I'm a weakling and I don't want to be.

I read this incredible devotional yesterday by Beth Moore. The title is "Songs in the Night"- Job 35:10; Acts 16:25-31. As a summary to the story in Acts, Paul and Silas are put in prison for casting a demon out (in the name of the Lord) of a young girl, because she was prophesying & being used as business. While in prison, after being beaten and locked away, they are praying and praising God. One night, the prison walls fell and the warden for sure thought that all the prisoners escaped. Just about to commit suicide, Paul yells and affirms him that everyone is inside; no one has left. Because of this, Paul and Silas' song & example, the warden asks what he must do to be saved. The end result: his whole household and himself accept Christ as Savior.

Here is Beth's conclusion: "When we sing a midnight song or speak praises in the darkest hours, the chains of hopelessness not only drop from our ankles but sometimes from the ankles of those who listen. The message is never clearer than when God's people refuse to cease their praises during intense suffering."

In the midst of every pain, every loss, every unanswered question, God is real, God is great! There is power in prayer and song. There is power in a life lived by praise. I am learning that- slowly but learning. I know that those I have mentioned above, have or are doing that. If you are not, can I encourage you to start today.

I share this for all of you, especially those who are going through the storm that will just make you stronger, and for me, a weakling who needs to hold on to this truth and live it out.

As I conclude, may you be blessed and remember to live a life of praise no matter what the circumstance. And if you can you please pray with me for: Peru that just got hit by a 7.9 earthquake. Things are looking okay, but just pray that nothing will arise during the night. For our campus, my family, and those who lost family members.

Also, for my husband as he goes tomorrow morning to court for his immigration situation. We are trusting God.

"Thank you God for your goodness, mercy and forgiveness. Thank you because You are a great God! I thank you for the good and the bad that comes our way. Thank you because suffering produces: perseverence, character, and hope. Thank you for those I know who have already gone through some suffering and yet, have been such an example of true faith and trust- in the midst of the pain and confusion. Thank you that Your will is perfect and I and all of us can trust that. Be with those today who are hurting, have questions, and are Yours. For those who don't know You, may they turn to You and not away from You. Give them the strength that they need & the song that will bless Your Name. In your powerful name Jesus, Amen."

Hanging with my friends

I've been taking care of my buddies Jonathan and joshua. They are both being a little bit grouchy. But we have been having fun taking crazy pictures of our faces on photo booth. Here are some pics that I want to share with you guys. Jonathan starts school tomorrow. He is entering K-4. Read his mom's blog for more updates. And if she isn't updating, go remind her to do it.

I want to finish by saying, again, that my husband ROCKS my socks off. You are the best baby. Thank you for loving me. muah!