Yankees themed baby shower

Happy Monday!
This past Saturday we celebrated my sister and my soon to be born nephew. Though my sister selected the date and location, the them was a surprise to her. We grew up with a Yankee loving Grandfather, who passed down the love of baseball and all things Yankees to his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The theme was appropriate and a very emotional one to plan. In every detail I had not only my sister in mind, but my Grandfather as well. Is it possible to say that I blew myself away when all was done and set?! With God's creativity and the help of  friends, this baby shower was more than I had imagined it to be. Can I be cheesy and say it was totally a God thing? Oh, I just did! God's presence showered us, and He was celebrated, praised, and honored. For this child we have prayed and our awesome God has heard and blessed us.

the moment she realized the theme was Vintage Yankees! 

Stadium Snack Bar : Vintage Coca Cola bottles, Pretzels, Sunflower Seeds, and Peanuts 

Stadium Snack Bar: Cracker Jacks, Triple Play Brownies, Dug Out Chow, and lots of chocolate bars 
Vintage Yankees Plaque from Kirklands (glare from the light, navy blue in person)

Onsie Garland

You can purchase here from Storenvy

These two onsies are gifts from our cousin. Martinez is the baby's last name and 14 his year of birth 

baseball lanterns throughout, Party City 

table decor: Thanks to The Mungers for their baseballs and gloves, Ikea frames

table decor: Thanks to The Dominguez family for their gloves, and The Pelnavar's for their "old dirty balls"

table decor: Ikea laterns  

every guest received a vintage Coke & baseball cake pop

Over the gifts table hung this gorgeous frame purchased at  Amazon

We asked guest to help build the baby's library, this 1955 book stood outside the "library box"

We ordered unused, in mint condition, original Yankees Stadium tickets from 1982 and 1984, the years of birth of my sister and brother in law, and these are their baby pictures. Ebay for the tickets.

Card Box, with a famous quote from our favorite movie to watch as sister, A League of Their Own (watch this scene from the movie here). And Don Mattingly her favorite Yankees player. 

In her own words:
Yesterday my sister threw me the most perfectly themed baby shower. The flood of memories from my Yankees-loving past mixed with the gratitude I feel for those in my present and the jitters I feel for him that is to come. It was overwhelming (in a good way), so I cried for about 3 hours! Thank you to all who participated, especially to Raquel and all her fellow worker bees. Edgar, Elias, and I love you very much. 

Special thanks to:
Liz Funez Photography for capturing these lovely shots. She is the best Miami based child photographer.
Little Cakes Big Taste for the delicious and adorable baseball cake pops.
Town Kitchen & Bar for the perfect location, fantastic service, and best food in South Miami.
Bowersink for the table cards of the Yankees players. They brought to life the vintage feel.
FlutterBugFrenzy for the great photo props. Phenomenal work and great attention to detail.

The Most Important Person In The Room

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.Hebrews 4:12

Happy Monday Friends.
It's been in the back of my mind to share a message I heard back in September. It really did pierce my spirit.

It is a church service, and the video starts with their worship team, church news, and then the message. If you are limited by time, skip to 33 minutes.

I'm ready to sit and listen again. Enjoy:

Check out this message from Calary Chapel Fort Lauderdale

Lyrical Friday - The Art Of Celebration - Joy

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Happiest of Fridays to You!!!

This past Sunday, my cousin treated me to see Rend Collective as they opened for Kari Jobe. I counted down the days to see them, and when the day arrived I was beyond excited. After their loud, rambunctious, and festive opening song they shared a thought that left: "We are not Worship Leaders, we are worshipers and the Holy Spirit is the worship leader." From that moment, the hype of seeing Rend Collective fizzled, and a greater emotion evolved for the worship that was about to come. For that hour I was an Irish worshiper, lol.

They released The Art Of Celebration, their latest album, this Monday on St. Patrick's Day... genius! (only $9.99 on iTunes) It's a gem!
The Holy Spirit definitely orchestrated each word, strum, and beat, to compile a collection of artistry and beauty. His fingerprints are all over the album, and theological truth is embedded in the core of each song. Thank you guys for not leading, and allowing Him to create something marvelous in and through you.

The story behind The Art Of Celebration (you will be blessed by this video.. yea, so don't skip it!)


Rend Collective has written a 7-day YouVersion Reading Plan, check it out:

A man learns a lot during the lead up to his wedding.

I learned that the women in my life have very strong, informed opinions about things I didn't even know were things.

I learned how to fake having opinions.

I learned that my family and friends are even more supportive, caring and generous than I had previously dared believe.

I learned that my wife still radiates grace and beauty when she's under stress.

And I learned that joy is a discipline and celebration is an art form.

You would think that joy and celebration come naturally and don't really require effort, as though they are our default factory setting. And I think maybe this was true until Adam and Eve made that earth-shattering decision in the garden. All I can say is that now there is nothing automatic about joy.

That's why planning a wedding celebration takes so much effort and preparation, and why "party planner" is a real occupation. If everything in our world is not perfect and there isn't an abundance of cake, balloons, fireworks and confetti, you just can't trust humans to choose joy. Since the fall, negativity and cynicism have become our "go-to" states of mind.

God knows this about us. That's why there are so many commands to celebrate in the Bible. Think of the Old Testament Law... God's people are told they must have a Passover feast, that they must have a "Year of Jubilee," that they must have a day of Sabbath rest. The Psalms are full of exhortations to sing at the top our lungs and jam out on the psaltery (whatever that is!). Even Communion, the time during which we remember Christ's sacrifice, is not a time of mourning. It takes the form of a feast with friends.

He wants us to choose celebration. He commands us to choose celebration.

I know we all experience heartbreak and sorrow. I don't say this lightly. But "the joy of the lord is your strength."

Even in the shadows and the sorrows, we always have a reason to sing. Even if it is the "cold and broken hallelujah" Leonard Cohen sang about.

Jesus and his gospel are still worth celebrating: choose joy in defiance of your suffering and lift up your trust as a song and an offering.

This is the discipline of joy. This is the art of celebration.

Joy, Rend Collective 



She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. Proverbs 31:25

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Sentence Tuesday

The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; 
It has feet, it runs after me; 

It has hands, it lays hold of me.

–Martin Luther

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Let's be REAL. Christians Hurt.

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Let's be REAL. 

Christians hurt. Contrary to popular belief, Christians do hurt, and they cry. 

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I am tired of hurting people being pushed aside simply because they are hurting and not getting over it.

We can so easily forget that Christians are human, not some strange creature that has the supernatural ability of only experiencing three emotions: happy, joyful, and cheerful. Too often, those who hurt are afraid of speaking up because they “shouldn’t feel that way” or “should get over it”.

I am not free of guilt.

I once had a friend who was in deep despair. Her hurt was bottomless. It wasn’t difficult understanding that her heart and mind were crushed. But after a few weeks of her crying over this ruin, I grew tired of it. I purposefully planned to not meet with her many times, to avoid hearing her talk about the same old thing. And even though I genuinely had remorse for what I was doing, the thought of her ongoing hurt made me cringe a bit. When would she get over this? This version of my friend was an inconvenience and I wanted my happy, joyful, and cheerful friend back.

It wasn’t till I went through a similar season of gloom that I realized what a terrible friend and sister in Christ I was. In my agony, and through the depression, I simply wanted a friend to hear me out. At other times, my need was for a friend to sit in silence while I cried. But I wasn’t honest with many people, faked the funk, and displayed a bogus joy. Sure, publicly I acted indifferent to my circumstances but in the face of worship and God’s Word, I would fall apart. In solitude I deteriorated and feared what others may think of me if they found out I was broken and weak.

I decided to write my feelings out in a blog post. Unbeknownst to me, someone would read my words and be a friend.

She wrote to me,“Raquel I will be writing more to you. You are a brave woman...People will never see us as having found a Savior if we never confess we struggle. Otherwise, they think they don’t have it, or it doesn’t work for them. On my real blog I have a few posts about cancer: keeping it real... This is wicked nasty stuff that God uphold s me through, that Jesus rides in the boat with me through.”

She didn’t tell me that as a Christian I am to be strong for those around me, or strong period.

She told me to be real. And she prayed with me. 

I shied from being real because after all, I am to be joyful at all times.

I hid behind the façade that I was getting over it.

But the truth is:

Christians do hurt.

Christians experience wicked nasty stuff.

Christians struggle.

Her words began to mend a part of me that had vanished. It was then that my wounds began to heal. She didn't dismiss my hurt, but let me know it's ok to hurt and she didn't think less of me because of it. I engraved her words in my heart, and I cry every time I go back to the wisdom she shared with me. Cancer took her life but her legacy is still with me.

We can’t ignore the hurt or cover it as with a Band-Aid.

We can’t ignore the person who hurts, or push them aside because they inconvenience us.

Words spoken to a person who is hurting, though well meaning, can’t diminish the pain they are experiencing.

We are to be Christ-like, long-suffering with those who are hurting.

We are to be a safe haven for them.

We are to be a refuge where hurting people are free to speak or sit in silence, where they can cry, and struggle.

We are to be a lighthouse, guiding those who are hurt out of darkness and into the light.

We are to show hospitality to those hurting in solitude; share meals, time, space, and love.
We are to be shepherds, pursuing after the hurting Christian.

We are to be warriors, warring with them through prayer.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically, rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:9-17

A friend is always loyal, and a sister is born to help in time of need.

There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a sister. Proverbs 18:24

What's going on in Venezuela in a nutshell (English version)

Oompa Loompa

Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-do
I have a perfect mask for you
Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-dee
If you are wise, you'll listen to me

Oh happy day! 

Pinterest has got me hooked again! I have another wonderful mask for you. I purchased red Moroccan clay online: here. Received it within a few days and quickly opened the box to try this clay. This has got to be the easiest mask I have ever used.

Oompa Loompa faces get ready!

Recipe (or follow this video):

In a small mug I mixed 

1 teaspoon of clay 

1 teaspoon of water

Leave for 15-20 minutes... or 30 if you're watching New Girl like me. 

As you can see in the picture above, once mixed it becomes a smooth terra-cotta-colored paste. Hence, why I am calling it the Oompa Loompa Mask. It makes a generous amount that fully covers the face. It dries rather quickly. And if you have something to say, say it quickly because it also dries rock hard. 

There ya go, my face looking ridiculous again! 

Removing the mask is just as easy as the preparation and application. It rinses off comfortably with water. 

This wonder working mask is great! I tried it with two of my friends and they can vouch for how amazing their skin looked right after removing it. I highly recommend purchasing the clay.

Benefits:
Its tendencies to readily cleanse, exfoliate, absorb impurities and detoxify the skin, combined with its ability to improve conditions of dryness, scaliness and to clarify skin texture and firmness make it very desirable. Perfect for sensitive skin in need of detoxification to remove impurities and in need of a smaller pore size and tighter skin tone. This product is guaranteed to be 100% natural.

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-da 

If you're not greedy, you will go far 
You will live in happiness too 

Like the Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Sentence Tuesday

Being impossible for man

has never stopped God from doing anything. 

- John Piper