erindiaz

We have another new family member!

This week Alex’s sister Adriana arrived from Venezuela for a visit.  We are so happy to have her.  She is such an encouragement to us with her cheerful spirit and funny personality.   She is going to be here visiting, helping us, and studying for her exam that is coming up.   

We have a new family member!

This last week we found a cute little kitten that we almost ran over.   She had a cold and looked like she hadn’t eaten in awhile.   No one was around looking for her and she didn’t have a collar so we brought her home and fed her.   We of course fell in love with her and we have since decided to name her an make her an addition to our home.    After much debating, we came up with her name, Tigra, (pronounced Tee-gra).  She is bouncy, crazy, loves to scratch stuff and cuddles when she is sleepy.   Don’t worry, if you are allergic we have a stash of allergy medicine for you!

We Love SoFlo!

As many of you know, The Pursuit Christian Church is showing their love for this metropolitan area of South Florida through random acts of kindness and a card that tells why we want to show kindness throughout this area.  We truly hope we can begin to change the face of South Florida through showing kindness to others.

One unexpected result of this campaign has been the way people at The Pursuit are noticing the good things that people are doing for them in the community.  This was the conversation at this week’s student group.  We talked about the people who have done nice things for us without any incentive.

This week when I was in Walmart, this was exactly what happened.   I was shopping when I realized I left my cell phone somewhere.   I stopped a woman to ask her if I could borrow her phone to see if I could hear mine.   I told her what I had done and before I could ask to use her phone she was already handing to me her phone and telling me to take it up and down the aisles while she stayed with my cart.   It was so generous of her to help me to that extent.  I was so humbled when I realized that I am a recipient of strangers’ kindness just as much as I offer kindness to others.   

To top it off, it turns out that she wasn’t the only kind stranger that day.   I didn’t find my phone in the aisles but someone did turn it into customer service.   They could have kept my phone but they didn’t and I am so grateful.   Maudi could have continued shopping and ignored my request for help but she didn’t.  She went above and beyond.   

I called her to let her know that I found my phone at customer service and her response was, “there are still good people in this world.”   

Our Vacation

Recently we went to a church planting conference where we heard Rick Warren, author of Purpose Driven Life and pastor at Saddleback Church told us all that in order to last in this calling with your life and family in tact, you have to “divert daily, retreat weekly, and abandon annually.”   

Alex and I did our best to abandon this last week to New York City followed by two days at Ft. Myers Beach Florida (to rest from our vacation!).    We did get in some fun time with friends in New York and some family in Ft Myers but we definitely got to escape our daily/weekly routines and have silly fun elsewhere.   

I believe that the moment you turn your brain off to the big giant to do list roaring at you, you begin to create new ideas, new traditions and new thoughts that you weren’t capable of before.   We got to surround ourselves with art, history, entertainment, and rest throughout our trip and I found myself seeing my life from new perspectives and considering things that otherwise I never would have. I also got to spend a fun and memorable time with my husband, which spells excellence for a marriage.   There are so many good things about rest that God designed and we should never feel guilty or afraid to turn off and escape on a regular basis.

What is your favorite vacation memory?