Meli's world

  I tried to write this while we were in Trinidad last week and I was inspired by my surroundings. Mountains!!! Something we never see in Florida. It's funny cause just a couple of days before that I heard Usher blaring somewhere and I remembered what I considered my favorite song at one point ::: Moving mountains. You know the sappy love-break up R&B song???    About 5 years ago I could relate to everything that song was saying. A love gone wrong. The bad taking away the good. lyrics from Usher's "Moving Mountains" Trying and trying and nothing seeming to work. I really contemplated divorce at this point in my life. My husband and I had been married close to 6 years and had a baby boy. We were struggling to make it out of my parents house and everything seemed to be a fight. I don't know looking back I felt a lot of resentment for entering marriage so young with nothing, struggling to find an affordable place where we could feel ...

As I sit here an write this on my lunch break at work, I realize its the first lunch break in a while where I'm not running errands. I started so strong in my lunchtime walks, and then things just started coming up and well they just were no longer my priority. I realize life gets so hectic and all I want to do is scream sometimes:::: ahhhhh!!! This was the same thing that was trying to keep me from making it to church last night. I rushed. Got the kids dressed and fed but after rushing around, several tantrums, I was exhausted and just didn't want to go. I didnt want to go to the thing I needed the most : God's presence... Worshipping Him and taking my mind of everything that stresses me, and just getting into His word hearing what He had to tell me. Thank God I have a husband who promised me he wouldn't let me skip church service anymore. I find that before I knew Jesus, I was always trying to do. To accomplish and boasts on my academic achievements or awards...

For the past 6 and half years, I have worked at an endoscopy center. I work for a group of gastroenterologists who perform their procedures here. Colonoscopies, a scope that looks into the colon and intestines, and Endoscopies, a scope that looks into the esophagus and stomach. Since then, I have learned first hand the effects of what we eat on the body. Indigestion, heart burn, diverticulitis, ulcers, polyps and even cancerous tumors. I rarely think of it since I work up front. I check them in, get them registered and rarely see them as they leave. Most of them are cranky from not eating the day prior or weak from the prep they take to clean their body. Some are scared. Some are nervous. People come for many reasons from constipation to diarrhea, abdominal pain, or bleeding. I have become so used to working here, I rarely think of the people that leave her with bad news. Until yesterday. Yesterday I was reminded the importance of getting your body checked out whenever you fe...

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to win through the radio, registration for a marriage retreat about 1 hour away from us. It was being held at the Marriot in Delray Beach. This was the perfect getaway for my husband and  I to spend time with each other and learn more about marriage. Marriage after all is one of the most important missions we have as we create and raise our family. I was so ecstatic when I received the call, that we had won! It was an amazing privilege because one: its hosted by Focus on the Family, one of the ministries that helped us get our marriage back on track a couple years ago, and two because this year is our tenth anniversary and I always envisioned having a wedding and renewing our vows. Though that isn't possible just yet , the conference did end with us renewing our vows! It was an amazing experience to be able to have this romantic getaway, but also to see over 300 couples from 23 states gathered to improve their marriage. Some couples ...

Today was a beautiful day here in Florida...hot, sunny and humid. Typical for an August day. We spent it at the park at a picnic from my husband, Emerald's job. With all the things I witnessed today I figured it be a perfect time to follow up on my blog series: MIA Marriage is awesome. Today's topic: boundaries. My husband works as a customer service representative at an A.C. Company. Its like a store and a warehouse where he sits at a counter making sales to customers or clients that walk in or call on the phone. Its a mostly male dominated field and he's had great opportunity to move up from warehouse manager and driving deliveries. Now its a great job, and I've always trusted my husband because as I've said before we tell each other everything, but recently a female got hired to work there to do the same thing he does. Sitting at the same counter 40 hours a week. I have to admit, it was a little difficult to get used to the idea, but having learned so much...

As I sit down to write this, I keep thinking of the AT&T commercial made popular by the cute kids yelling we want more! More is better. More money, more house, more car, more friendships, more clothes, more shoes, more fun.... sure that sounds harmless enough. But while we are hoping, waiting for more, could we be missing out on enjoying the "Less" we have? Could what we have even be "Less" at all? Growing up to my two parents who came from Colombia to this country looking for "More", they were very careful in letting us know that although we should do all we could do to pursue a better lifestyle, we should be thankful and appreciative of what we have in the present moment. As we raise our kids, this is something we try to instill in them. MORE stuff will not always mean MORE LIFE, or MORE JOY, or MORE PEACE. The music and movies and even celebrities.... that have saturated our everyday TV, magazines and headlines are living the lifestyles of t...