Yesterday, Valeria and I went and had an ultrasound done.

It’s a boy!!!

We thank God for him…our third son.  Valeria is 17 weeks, and the boy is due October 18. He measured weighing 7 ounces already.

When we came home and told JJ and Eli that they were getting another brother, JJ literally raised his hands, jumped up and down and begin yelling “Yeeeyyyyyyy!” It was awesome!

Psalm 127:3 says “children are a heritage from the Lord.”

God gives them. We do not take them for granted. JJ and Eli do not deserve another brother. We do not deserve any sons, much less a third. All of this is undeserved grace. We are humbled.

Psalm 127:5 “blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” Three isn’t a lot, but it is a start.

But remember, its not me or Valeria that can fill it…its God.

He gets all the attention and glory. We are humbled.

Thank you, Jesus.

I totally realize that no one cares, but I still want to say it.

Almond Joy pieces are my favorite candy. They are so good. Reese’s Pieces are awesome too. But these are incredible.  If you ever want to get me a surprise gift, this would be best.

So delicious! Does anyone else love these? Please let me know, I’ll get you some.

This past Sunday, I opened up my sermon with 2 different ways of learning.

1)     You can take someone with experience’s word for it.
or
2)     You can learn the hard way.

The Bible teaches us to take advice and instruction from people. Especially from those who have gone before us and know better than we do. And the Bible teaches us that to not take instruction is foolish.

Proverbs 8:33 “Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.”

Proverbs 1:7 “fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

One thing in my life that I regularly seek after is older men who will help me. Older men that clearly know more than me and have experienced more than me.  God has given me several of them, and I am so grateful for that.

This week I was speaking with one of them. And I was telling him how much I need older men who are willing to invest in me…. Invest their mind and experiences with me.

Here is what he said.

“Experience finds itself wasted on old men.” Wow! That is true.  In other words, experience is only good if you give it away. Experience only has its value when it is given away.

I had never heard that before. It is sticking with me.

If you do not have older people mentoring you, please go find one today. Simply go to someone you admire and ask them to give you advice for life regularly. And at the same time, be looking for a younger person that you can share all your knowledge and experiences with.

Or else, it will be wasted.

(I am 30 years old. The men that influence me with simple life lessons are 58, 58, 75, 80 & 81.)

Here are some things that Valeria and I remind ourselves often to help us in marriage. Marriage is primarily about Jesus. I hope these help you too.

1)     Don’t Keep Score! = (Marriage is not a competition. Who cares who’s winning? Why would you want to prove to your spouse that you are doing better than them at marriage?)

2)     100%/100%, not 50%/50% = (Being a good husband or wife is not and should not be dependent upon whether your spouse does his/her job. You give your 100% no matter what!)

3)     Approach all issues thinking “I am the issue!” (In every marital issue you face, look first to your own flaws and selfishness and sin. There is no room at all for pride and arrogance.)

If you are passionate about “every tribe, tongue, people, and nation” like the King Jesus is then you will absolutely love this video. Please watch.

It gives me goosebumps each time I watch.

This week I was watching a video of some wedding vows.

Something the groom said really caught my attention. He said, “I vow to lay down my life everyday for you.”

Wow! That is something strong. But it is so true. So accurate. So marriage-proper. So Biblical. And so Jesus.

Every husband needs to make that vow to his bride and then stick to it.

Jesus already has. For that I am redeemed. For that I worship.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us…”

In the evenings, I have been slowly reading Words to Winners of Souls by Horatius Bonar. Proverbs 11:30b (KJV) says “he that winneth souls is wise.”

Here is an excerpt: (he is addressing the minister’s life, but it certainly speaks to the life of every believer)

“Our position is such that we cannot remain neutral. Our life cannot be one of harmless obscurity. We must either repel or attract- save or ruin souls! How loud, then, the call how strong the motive, to spirituality of soul and circumspectness of life! How solemn the warning against worldly-mindedness and vanity, against levity and frivolity, against negligence, sloth and cold formality!
Of all men, a minister of Christ is especially called to walk with God. Everything depends on this; his own peace and joy, his own future reward at the coming of the Lord. But especially does God point to this as the true and sure way of securing the blessing. This is the grand secret of ministerial success. One who walks with God reflects the light of His countenance upon a benighted world; and the closer he walks, the more of this light does he reflect. One who walks with God carries in his very air and countenance a sweet serenity and holy joy that diffuses tranquility around. One who walks with God receives and imparts life whithersoever he goes; as it is written, out of him “shall flow rivers of living water” (john 7:38). He is not merely the world’s light but the world’s fountain, dispensing the water of life on every side and making the barren waste to blossom as the rose. He waters the world’s wilderness as he moves along his peaceful course. His life is blessed; his example is blessed; his intercourse is blessed; his words are blessed; his ministry is blessed! Souls are saved, sinners are converted, and many are turned from their iniquity.”

Oh Father God, make us like that!

When I was a boy, I played baseball and loved it. I pitched. I was never really that great. Often times, I was unable to throw strikes. This would really really upset me. I have memories of me leaving the field furious. I recall even crying sometimes because I was playing so poorly.

No matter how bad I was playing, there was always my dad or a coach to yell at me “boy, keep your head up.” In other words, don’t let it get me down, don’t let it ruin me, don’t let it get the best of me, make me give up, stop trying or quit.

I didn’t. Thank God!

Now that I am 30 and baseball days are long gone (sadly), I am learning that life is like this too.  There are so many times when “things” attempt to get the best of us. We shouldn’t let it.

The Bible teaches that Satan wants to deceive, discourage, distract and destroy us.  So often times there are good godly people who get discouraged in all their faithful efforts.

Hear Galatians 6:9 “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

God’s Word calls all of us “to keep our heads up”… up at Him. He cares for us and He carries us.

If you are give out today, worn out, tired, discouraged, ready to give up, seeing all your efforts as useless, meaningless, unfruitful, or hard. DO NOT GIVE UP! Paul says that to them and to us.

By God’s grace, lets stay faithful.

Eli had a birthday party on Saturday. Valeria’s brother, Andres, was in town. He took several good pictures. They are on his website. Click the link below to check them out.
Notice how much Eli destroyed the cake!

Eli’s birthday party!

Today we celebrated Eli’s first birthday. His actual birthday is not until April 30th.

Valeria and I are so blessed to have Eli as our son and JJ his brother.  Many friends came out to enjoy this occasion with us.

We believe that children are a gift from the Lord, and we pray for grace in raising them up to honor and follow Christ with their lives.