Source: https://laurianncruz.com/category/blogging-2/
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 12:39:20+00:00

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I haven’t been able to update this blog because I’ve been studying and working online. You see, I am taking a course so I can move from Puerto Rico to Texas. It’s not an easy move, it took me a while to take this decision. I’ve been living in Puerto Rico for more than 40 years but the time has come to do something drastic and adventurous. I’ve been praying and it hasn’t been easy; but the door has opened and I just went for it. I had an orientation with Region 4 (this is a company that visits Puerto Rico like 2 times a year to recruit bilingual teachers). I liked what they offered and I took my chances. I started their course on October 11. It has been good, but I’ve been reading like crazy.
You might think that that is not much to do, but the studying thing is taking a lot of my time right now. Like in this week alone, I have to read 7 chapters of 2 different books, watch presentations of each chapter, make graphic organizers, do assignments plus complete an assessment of each class. As you can imagine, I still haven’t finished the reading part, some of the assignments plus the assessments. Yeah, still lot to do….
I’m doing this to get prepared for the TeXes tests that I will take in the following months so that I can be a certified bilingual teacher in the Houston area. What I’m still wondering is….(and I know that I’m not the only one), if I pass these courses but don’t pass the TeXes, what then???
I know I still have to pay the course, but at least they should use these grades to add some points to those TeXes scores. These courses are really exhausting. I constantly read about other candidates taking this course, who work and study in other colleges, they whine about how much work they have and how difficult it has been for them to do this.
I wonder how much we have to keep sacrificing from our lives just to achieve a better live for ourselves and our loved ones. I know I’m not the only one and many more will follow after me. I just pray that everything will be all worth it.
Give The Lord a Shout!! ….Or Not?
Click there -> Post by Triunfo 96.9fm.
For those of you who found the video a little confusing, I have to tell you that the language spoken in this video is mainly Spanish. I understand clearly what the preacher is saying but there are other Spanish speakers who may start criticizing what’s going on in there.
The video took place in a Congress of Pentecostal churches inside a Coliseum, here in Puerto Rico. All the churchgoers in this video are basically just praising the Lord, shouting with all their hearts and voices.
The critics of this video describe this scene as: a disturbance, a mess, a turmoil, a racket, a brawl, full of violence, hostile, a revolt, turbulent, a riot, an uprising…some may even compare it mockingly to a WWE show.
But, do their opinions really matter? What does the Bible say about this? What did Jesus do about this, when he saw people praising and giving a shout to God?
So, should we praise God with our voices or should we keep silent?
What did Jesus do when confronted with people giving a shout of praise?
I ask you now: Are you a Pharisee or are you a disciple of Christ?
Is Heaven a silent place where nobody shouts and praises the Lord?
My conclusion: those who praise the Lord with a LOUD voice, please the Lord. You don’t have to like it, they are not praising you. God is the One who has to like it, He knows our heart, He knows if we are thankful to Him.
But beware!!! Do NOT become like a Pharisee and start criticizing what you do not understand… or worse: may you never become a person who mocks the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. There’s a very, very thin line between criticizing and the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost which is the ONLY unforgivable sin.
Be thankful, give a shout to the Lord with all your voice and your heart. God is pleased when you do it.
This is the story of an old lady named Iris V. She was my neighbor; lived only one apartment away from mine. Her only living relative was a brother, but she lived alone. I think she was divorced but never had children. She took care of her sick mother. She would often share her experience about how her mother passed away on her arms.
She spent her lonely days sewing, knitting and making all sorts of beautiful handicrafts. She was a member of a nearby church. Even though she was my neighbor, I met her at a Bible study in the apartment below mine. Her pace was slow and so was her speech. But she understood everything clearly; her mind was alert and she had lots of memories to share.
On a very sad day; she fell in her bedroom and broke one arm. Nobody could hear her screams for help; she couldn’t get up. She spent all night crying with pain on the cold floor of an empty apartment. The next day a lady neighbor from the floor below was the one who discovered what was going on because she was the one who visited Iris V. constantly to check on her.
Iris V. was taken to the hospital and after a while there; she was back in her lonely apartment. But soon after that, she fell again and this time her brother made the decision of taking her to a nursing home. Iris V. was happy because she thought that she would continue with her handcrafts; at least she wouldn’t be alone anymore. She was wrong.
Today I saw my next door neighbor Maria. She told me that she went this past Saturday to visit Iris V at the nursing home. There she was informed that Iris V. had passed away since June 7. Her brother had taken care of all the funeral proceedings and never told anyone about it. Why would he, right? If her church didn’t bother to visit her, her pastor didn’t even call or send anyone to comfort her, her old neighbors were too busy with their lives….why should he call?
I feel guilty because I only saw her once. I’m not proud about what I did and I regret not being a good neighbor. I wasn’t even a good Christian. And I know I’m not the only one who should feel like this. She had a church, she had a pastor, she had people who promised to seek her but failed to keep their promise. Nobody came; just one neighbor who’s not even a Christian. Shame on us!
While God forgives us this sin; let this be a lesson on how to treat our neighbors. God really meant it when He said: “Love thy neighbor”.
It would have made a whole lot of difference in the last days of Iris’ life. We would have obeyed His word…. RIP Iris V.
A Christian drama could be a good idea….
I like to read and I like to write. But, I can be very lazy sometimes, specially when I write. But for some time now, I’ve been sketching in my mind an original story. It’s a romantic drama in the Christian world. As many of you may know, Christians do fall in love and have lots of drama in their lives. You only have to read the newspaper or belong to any congregation of any denomination to really understand what I’m talking about. It will be a short story with original characters but I have to add that any similarity to an actual living person is purely coincidental.
So those of you who like a little Christian romance, drama and happy endings might enjoy what I will hopefully post soon on this blog. So, should I name it a Christian fan fiction? Maybe…but I just hope to commit myself to start the story and finish it. I already have the whole story in my mind. Let’s hope it finds the light of the internet. God Bless You!!

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