Tag: pandemic

Goodbye 2020.

Myrnaly

Since I was a child, I started hearing about the much-mentioned New Year’s resolutions. Receiving a new year is perceived as a new opportunity in life and where everything can start anew. It is the time to make a clean slate, and propose to achieve what we have always longed for but have not been able to touch.

It is also a frustrating time when you remember all the resolutions that were made at the beginning of the year and to this date have not come true. Always to some extent, everyone reflects on what they experienced during the year that ends and everything they want to change for the following year. Those who reached their goals set out to be more ambitious for this new opportunity and those who didn’t reach them may no longer believe in making resolutions because they gave up in the process.

2020 was a year that surprised us all. The world did not experience a pandemic for many years and there are very few who are alive today who could tell their experiences. In Puerto Rico, the year began with an earthquake on January 7 and it changed our lives since before the quarantine.

Many things have changed, but if God has shown and taught me something from 2019 to date, it is that, no matter how things are on our outside, around us, it is that peace that we experience within us that takes us forward, which allows us to act with wisdom and be anchored amid the ups and downs of life.

The world offers us peace amid economic prosperity, social gatherings, and parties, pleasures, substances like alcohol that numb our problems, all of which were turned upside down this year.

How have those who need constant approval lived? How have those who depended on their work for peace lived and lost it due to the pandemic? How have those who have not been able to meet socially lived? How have those who love taking care of their health to the extreme amid an environment of potential contagion in all places? How have we been able to live for those whose ground has been moved? How have those who find their peace been able to live being informed by seeing news that has not been anything encouraging?

Something I have for sure, the world that has been moving away from God will continue to decline. Everything is governed by selfishness, the desire for power, oppressing others, and living trying to obtain material possessions, without stopping to cultivate family relationships or true friends.

Something that will never change is God. The whole world is under the control of his hands. He is the only one who knows the past, the future, and our present. He is the only one who can offer us peace and truly fulfill it.

I am a witness, although I lack much, of the Peace that God can offer us during difficult circumstances and how our priorities are aligned according to his will and turning our back on the world, that is when what tied us in our plans becomes the greatest of our wishes and resolutions.

The best decision you can make for this new year is to surrender at the feet of the Master so that He is the one who gives you peace and directs your life in unexpected ways but better than you have ever dreamed of. I want his will to continue to guide me and my family. The one who knows everything and controls everything, he is the one who loves me the most and gave his life for me. Have you surrendered to Him? Have you let it guide your life?

I have no resolutions or concrete plans. I have longings that I put in his hands and allow him to change as he pleases. I keep reading his Word and praying for it to guide me to his wellness plans for my life. His plans always come true.

Let us pray to the Lord giving thanks for the blessing that has always been in our lives and that we can surrender to Him every day to live in those works that He prepared in advance so that we can live in them. May we experience the peace of him within us this year amid everything that happens.

Incorruptible redemption

Myrnaly

I heard on the news yesterday of a complaint made by several health workers about the management of the administration of the new vaccine for COVID-19. They alleged that although an order was established that determined the groups to be vaccinated by priority, there had been the issue of administering vaccines to relatives and other people who were not on the list of the first to receive them.

It was evident that although there is a certain scheme, the corruption of human beings affects any plan, however perfect it may seem.

The ideal of communism, socialism, and democracy, pose very viable solutions for the administration of governments, but it is their implementation and their development, contaminated by the evil of man, deeply rooted by sin, that completely changes the expected result.

Now I understand better and am in awe of God’s wisdom and love for us. God did not leave salvation in the hands of men. He showed through the law covenant that we could not, no matter how hard we tried, keep the law, and be fair to our neighbor.

In his inconceivable love for us and his divine grace, He has our salvation in his hands and is accessible to us through faith, believing in Jesus Christ and his redemption.

It is for me a reason for great joy and a feeling of security that everything depends on Him. His justice is not comparable to what we understand by justice in this world and we have some Scriptures that demonstrate this.

We have been living through difficult times and perhaps we have felt unjust in this world, but our justice and our salvation are secure above all else. It is kept in the hands of the one who gave his life for love of you and love of me.

If you still do not know him, it is time to meet him. If you already have him as a Father, surrender your life to him daily and live joyfully for such a great salvation.

Let us pray to God presenting our lives in surrender to his holiness and greatness. Let us give thanks for his salvation and his redemption. May we share with others the news of salvation guided by his Holy Spirit.

Decor Series: Modern Farmhouse

Myrnaly

As part of the series on decorating and studying the Word today we will talk about the “Modern Country House” style. This is a traditional farm and country style setting that incorporates elements that make it elegant with tones that inspire comfort and simplicity.

With this style you don’t need to live in the country, you can bring the country to your home. And we are not talking about farms or old things, but about that concept that invites you to share as a family. The style takes us back to those fields of vineyards, quiet, abundant, relaxing colors and a relaxing atmosphere.

As I think of those vineyards and that environment, the passages in John 15 come to mind where Jesus compares us to that vineyard where he says that He is the true vine and His Father the gardener. As a branch cannot produce the grapes outside the vine, so we also nourish ourselves with that true relationship with Christ. He gives us life and everything necessary to bear fruit that bears witness to Him. You can see that this bush is a vineyard when you see the grapes, which by the way, look beautiful. Likewise, our lives should glorify God and show others that we are his children.

The color palette of the modern country style is neutral colors where the elements that adorn it will be highlighted while the background or canvas of this decoration gives continuity and relaxation.

Warm pieces of wood decorate the floors and ceilings as well as being included in the furniture for the modern rustic touch. Organic fabrics and textures are added to this to give it that magical touch.

Organic, natural details are introduced, which are slightly imperfect for a personalized and unique touch; unique pieces that make each decoration stand out within the same style.

In order to bear fruit we must be cleansed, molded. You can read all of chapter 15 because it is wonderful. The Father loves us and not only gave us salvation, he makes us useful to be his instruments in the Kingdom. We are very different and unique but He fills us with His glory and molds us to look more like Christ every day. For me, the fact that God can use me despite my shortcomings and weaknesses is a source of great joy and serving him and surrendering to his feet brings a delight that I cannot find in anything the world offers me.

In this photo we see the difference between traditional and modern farmhouse style. This modern style combines the contrast of neutral walls with black elements such as accessories and light sources created with iron, for example.

The cabinets should have a clean appearance with no trim or patterns.

As an imperfect piece of art, our testimony gets glory when we contrast it with the holiness of God. An imperfect piece together with many imperfects, only make a conglomerate of defects. However, an imperfect piece together with a neutral, clean and perfect background, makes us see beauty in it. The beauty and glory that we can exhibit only glorifies the Creator and apart from Him we shine nothing. We are light because He is light. As it says in John 15, apart from Him we can do nothing.

Today is a good day to surrender your life to the Lord, and start a new life. If you already know him, it is a good day for you to come closer and cultivate your relationship with him. Separated from him we can do nothing.

Let us pray to the Lord surrendering our lives to enter his delight and his peace. May He reveal to us who we are in Him and how we are without Him. May we rejoice in the midst of our flaws and weaknesses because He uses them for His glory.

Series: Decor- Industrial Style

Myrnaly

This is our third style, the industrial. It is a style that is also trending, and it is practical, strong, and modern.

Little is known about the origin of this style of decoration, but it is understood that it may have started at the beginning of the 20th century. At the end of the second industrial revolution, its characteristics were known worldwide. This caused various industries to pack their things and move to countries around the world, leaving behind empty and abandoned industrial structures, with valuable resources and materials.

By the 90s, the population had multiplied and it was necessary to add more housing. Wise architects took advantage of these abandoned industrial structures and used their bricks as design and gave a unique style to the materials that characterized the industrial age.

A promise given thousands of years ago for the redemption of humanity was about to be fulfilled. And that Redeemer would be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. A whole new era was beginning. With Him came our salvation, grace, and forgiveness. All the emptiness that existed in our lives would find its fullness and its peace. Jesus Christ gave us a new purpose in our lives. He is the architect who gives life and beauty to what was lost. It becomes our strength. Our strong base of life. We had no hope and He called us to reflect His light to the world.

The industrial style uses furniture and accessories made from materials such as aluminum, iron, concrete, stone, wood, and copper. All of these materials are used in industrial structures to make them strong, bear weight, and last. They give a good structure to make the facility robust. They are then redesigned to adapt them to the home but giving that industrial sense.

In God, we feel safe. In the midst of the fluctuations of situations that this world faces, wars, pandemics, political oppressions, envy, injustice, and other evils, we can live confident that our God is the rock where our life is founded. That firm rock on which we can build our family, knowing that nothing will move us. Our abilities and talents are then redesigned by the Creator to give them a new purpose: the edification of the church and to bring the good news of salvation to the world. It is a relief to be able to deliver our burdens to him and put our home in his hands.

The color palette is based on neutrals such as black, gray, and white. Warm colors such as brown and its shades are added to these, although it can be combined with others.

May God put in us that feeling that he put in Nehemiah that when he saw that his city had been destroyed, he prayed and was sorry and made himself available to the Lord to rebuild it. Not only do we have strength, but we must also present ourselves to the Lord as approved workers and help rebuild and love the church, and the lives that need it. We live in times where our faith could falter and we need to depend, as it always should be, more on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and put ourselves in the gap to intercede for our brothers in the faith. Let’s help build with strong material and let’s not be the ones to tear down with words or actions.

Let us pray to the Lord to use us to build with the strong materials that He supplies us. May we stand in the gap for the church in these times and carry the message for those lives that are not yet founded on Him.

Series: Decor-Eclectic Style

Myrnaly

The second style of decoration that we will study is eclectic. It is a style that has the impression of being easy to decor, but it is the opposite.

The meaning of eclectic is “deriving ideas, styles, and tastes from a wide variety of sources.”

It is also said that we can apply the definition to describe a type of person: “it is a person who derives ideas, styles, and tastes from a wide variety of sources.”

Based on that, eclecticism is spoken of as a philosophy of life. It is said to denote membership in a class of ancient philosophers who did not belong to or were founded under any recognized school of thought but to collect doctrines from various schools of thought.

All that philosophy sounds great because it draws the best ideas from different sources. In our case, Christians are going against the tide of the diversity of this world because our foundations, doctrines, and principles are based on the Scriptures and they do not expire or go out of date. The one who wrote the scriptures is eternal and knows all times. God knows the times that we have not yet lived. With such knowledge in his omniscience and wisdom, he is the only one who can give a word that applies to all the times that human lives.

The color palette in the eclectic style is very varied since it is about including variety in the style. It is not only about mixing a variety of colors, but a variety of textures, ethnic elements from different countries, and decoration materials are used.

It may seem very easy to create this style and many people lead the concept to a misperception since the difficult thing about achieving a successful style is being able to create a harmony that can bring together all those colors that collide with each other, those different styles and those. textures that are superimposed on each other, to achieve a beautiful room in its cohesion of elements that could be on the cover of a decoration magazine.

This leads me to reflect on how God creates the church of sinful people with different cultures, social classes, ages, levels of education who come to Him repentant through faith in Jesus Christ, whom He places as the head of this body made up of different parts. And not only that, we have people with different temperaments and personalities, different childhood backgrounds and experiences, hurts, grudges, and battles that through God’s love can coexist in perfect harmony and reflect beauty and light.

It is through the head, which is Christ, that the body can function cohesively since the rest of the body has the struggles of emotions, desires, and impulses. In a style where such diverse parts must come together, each part cannot seek to shine by itself but must flow in search of the whole picture.

As a result of the great diversity that exists in people, God in his wisdom gave us different gifts to exercise together. To meet different needs, different gifts are required, all guided with the same purpose. God has thought of everything! I must delight in the grace that he has showered on me that leads me to serve him in specific tasks, necessary for the edification of the church, and to carry the message of the Cross to those who should listen to it.

The eclectic style is one of the most difficult but when it is worked with skill, it is a true work of art. Each piece of decoration is not seen as isolated, but rather contributing to the room that holds them.

Let’s learn to appreciate and love our differences by seeing it as one work, the work of Christ in this world. From that perspective, we can only surrender so that it is God who places us in the place where we will be best seen, and we make the decorator shine and not each individual piece.

Let us pray to the Lord giving thanks that his wonderful work includes us, uses us for his glory, and makes us part of his family and his church. May it guide us to know our gifts and the use that we must give them so that we do not clash with our brothers in the faith, but on the contrary, we work together with the same goal, and others can admire and praise the Creator.

Series: Decor-Hygge style

Myrnaly

I begin the series with the style in decoration that is “trending” or very fashionable. Hygge or as pronounced in English, Hoogah.

The word “hygge” is a Danish word that means “coziness”. Rather, it expresses a feeling meaning much more than a word. It is part of a ritual of enjoying the simple pleasures of life and looking for meaning, beauty and something special in ordinary things.

The hygge style tries to take us in the midst of the stress created by this world and its rushing, to a state of relaxation, comfort, and enjoyment of the pleasures of life. That is why in its manifesto expresses that relationships, relaxing smells, food, and comfortable clothes are encouraged, to make us feel curled up in the middle of the chaos in which we live.

As Christians, I don’t need that style to feel comfortable, peaceful, and content. Jesus Christ has given me life, joy, and peace. He not only restores and mends my exterior, but transforms and heals my interior, my heart, to lead me to enjoy an abundant life, backed by his power, grace, and mercy. But even knowing him, I can get to feel overwhelmed at times. It is then that I must get closer to Him to live in His rest.

I can seek and enjoy the pleasures in life that will bring me a momentary distraction from what I am living. But I can aspire to a higher state of life where I feel complete in Christ and a joy that remains. In Christ, I find fullness and true comfort. But I can insert the ideas of this type of decoration in my home, and complement it very well with the Word of God.

This style returns to the natural, minimalist, without great complications. With a color palette that evokes trees, sand, soil, organic fabrics.

We can reflect on nature, God’s creation for our delight and sustenance. Remember that the color palettes come from the landscape that God has given us. This is the color palette for hygge.

The hygge style leads us to appreciate the simple things in life. We have even greater power in the Word when it tells us by the example of the Apostle Paul that we can be content in all circumstances, whether in abundance or in scarcity. We can do everything in Christ who strengthens us. It is not an effort from us. It only requires surrender on our part. It is to enjoy every day of his presence in our lives, to raise praise to him, and to delight ourselves in the adoration of the one who deserves it. I should not wrap myself in earthly pleasures to fill myself. I wrap myself in the delight of surrendering to Him, of worshiping and serving Him, and that brings joy, gives me rest, renews my strength like the eagle, and makes me feel loved.

God loves us and teaches us great principles using everything we see and know, as Jesus Christ did when he spoke to them in parables applying the culture and customs of the time. We can learn by talking about this style of decoration to be happy with the minimum. We do not need great wealth or luxury to feel identified or complete.

There are decorating styles for all tastes and personalities. We all look for what identifies us. I like this style because it reminds me of purity, holiness because white is used a lot, and the joy that I feel since God came into my life. It changes your life! You find beauty in everything you see. You are grateful for everything you have.

May your life be reflected in everything you decorate. What you adorn externally does not change your interior. I pray that God leads you to appreciate and be grateful for what you have, that even if you think it is little, it is enough and your greatest wealth is found in your inheritance in heaven.

Let us pray to the Lord giving thanks and exalting his name because he has given us life, and abundant life full of joy and peace. May we be content with all that we have and are. May we reflect on others the character of Christ so that their lives may be filled by his grace. We ask the Lord to keep us from trading our kingdom priorities for the pleasures and vanity of this world.

Series: Decor-Introduction

Myrnaly

I love to talk about home decor. I watch programs, I read, I look for ideas, and I try to apply all that to my home aesthetic.

Decorating is the “placement and combination of functional and ornamental elements in a place or a space to beautify it, adorn it, or create a certain effect”.

In simple words, you take a space and change it to give it beauty, but not only that, you want it to be functional.

In this series, we will see the different styles of decoration, or at least the major categories because there are many variants.

But the interesting thing about this whole series is that we will learn from the Word as we talk about these topics.

From the old testament in the Bible, we can see different illustrations about the decorations in those times. And if you think a bit, did you know that the color combinations used in the decoration palettes are taken from the combinations that exist in nature?

God supplied us with that master color palette. God made everything beautiful and varied as well.

We can be amazed by the variety of species of flowers, plants, trees that we see while new species and new colors are still being discovered. We can relax by observing the different blue tones of the sea. Sunsets are full of stunning sparkle combinations, and each season of the year gives us a feeling of freshness by completely changing the colors we see every day.

And it says in Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him, his eternal power and deity, are made clearly visible from the creation of the world, being understood through the things made, so that they are without excuse.” Through what we see in creation we can see the glory, greatness, and power of God. And every day we continue to discover new things.


But he created man and woman in his image and likeness. Initially, he made us perfect, to be eternal. Sin brought our spiritual death and the need for a savior for our souls.

Sin no longer allows us to be functional. It fills us with attitudes and feelings that are neither beautiful nor perfect. But God, in His grace and mercy, through faith in Jesus Christ, gives us life, cleanses our life, and, guided by his Holy Spirit, transforms us. Through this transformation, God calls us saints “separated for Him”, he changes us, and now we are light to shine in this world.

He made everything beautiful, including us. The best decoration and remodeling is that of our soul, which brings us to life, and to an abundant life of joy and peace, even in the midst of life’s circumstances.

In the next blog I will start with the decorating styles, but now, let’s pray: Lord, thank you for coming into my life to make it new. If I haven’t taken that step yet, may you guide me in order to start there. Thank you because you have given purpose and functionality to my life and every day you continue to renew us until we reach perfection until you come. May we be that light that the world needs reflecting your glory. Amen.

Just thinking I know it all

Myrnaly

Everything in this world is changeable. Everything goes out of style and everything comes back again. The values and morals of this world are as changeable as the swaying of the waves of the sea.

We have advanced in knowledge, and we have regressed in principles. The principle of wisdom is the fear of Jehovah, as the Word tells us, but today the one who fears Jehovah is considered ignorant.

They will call what is bad good and what is good they will call bad.

It is easier to go with the current because swimming against it requires a lot of effort.

Our tolerance will always be minimal towards men, but we are changing as to who we want to tolerate.

Before, as a teenager and young adult, I thought I knew everything better than my parents. Today I think that at that time I did not know anything, but today my children think how I thought.

Nothing in this world is constant. For that reason, there is nothing that I can hold onto. Nothing constitutes a security, because today it is and tomorrow who knows.

But God is eternal. I cannot speak of its beginning and I cannot set an end to it.

God does not change. His words, his law and his advice apply to all times because he is the only one who knows all times.

God knows everything, including the heart of man and its ups and downs. We change our way of thinking in a matter of minutes. What God says remains forever.

Do I tremble at the word of God? Is my life run based on it?

Do you ever stop to meditate on what it says there? Not only in his promises, which by God’s grace we have received. Do you meditate in prayer on the holiness of God? Do I have that reverent fear before God and his work? Do I tremble at his word?

Very little do we take the scriptures before what is convenient for us and before the appearance that we want to have before others. Every day identifying yourself as a Christian will create a bad concept about you in society. Am I willing to keep talking about the gospel? While there are missionaries laying down their lives for the gospel, do I worry about my reputation? Am I so worried about what they say about me? Or my priority is to proclaim the truths of the gospel, exalt the glory of God and be able to be an instrument so that other lives can be saved through faith.

To tremble at his word I must first know him.

It is time to go deeper, to go before God in humility, so that my purpose as Son of God may be fulfilled. God is looking for worshipers, people who love Him with all their might, and people who recognize His holiness.

Religious who only fulfill tasks that are visible, such as going to church, or serving in a ministry as a simple routine, is not going to impact the world. Those who humbly prostrate themselves before the Lord so that his’s will be done in their lives will impact the world and see themselves as servants and not as lords.

Let us pray to the Lord, and if it is necessary to be silent, so be it. Let’s just come before Him recognizing that He made us and not ourselves. May he reveal to us a little of his greatness and holiness so that our lives may be transformed for his glory.

Need for light in the dark night

Myrnaly

I think we all agree that these times of pandemic have changed all of our plans and our routines. The physical distancing has made it difficult for us to do some tasks, to be able to share quality time with those we love and we see how the churches have also been affected.

Meditating on the Lord about these times, it came to my mind the times when the apostle Paul was locked up, in jail, and isolated from the plans he had about his missionary trips. But did Paul put his ministry on pause because he was isolated? Definitely not.

From prison, he influenced people, continued to cultivate his relationship with God, and wrote letters that are part of the Bible as we know it today. The power of God and his work does not stop at four walls. It only took a man called by God, who in complete humility and disposition placed himself in the hands of God.

We read verses like the ones I shared in the beginning and we often raise praise to God telling him to use us, to do his will, but do I make myself available? I am willing? When they call for volunteers for an assignment, do I volunteer?

The world is full of people who go with the flow. The world needs people who remember that they are the church of God and that the church is not made up of a building or a meeting place. Can those who see me say that they understand what the church is? Do you see the character of God in us? How have the lives around me been impacted on a daily basis?

These times call for creative, special measures. All we can accomplish is by the grace of God. What prevents me from serving? What prevents me from saying “here I am”?
Our ministries don’t stop. If I have stopped my ministry and am not doing anything, I must present myself in complete humility and transparency before God and ask him to help me and direct me to act according to his will. What we lack is probably direction, because training is always from God. All the good we can do comes from Him.

In times of greater darkness, the stronger the church must shine, reflecting the light of Christ. It is at night that the moon shines the brightest. The moon has no light of its own, it reflects sunlight. Although we can see it during the day, in the presence of the sun it doesn’t make much difference. It is in difficult times that the church must consecrate itself and be a reflection of God and not the world. If my drawback from serving is my job, my entertainment, my economic situation, that I hope others will do it or that I do not feel qualified, the root of everything is the status of my relationship with God.

Let us pray to the Lord to help us to be the church that the world needs and not people who get confused with the current of this world. May we make ourselves available before waiting for others to come and we can understand the privilege of being used by the Lord to carry his message. May we recognize that there is nothing in us that enables us to produce spiritual fruit except the Holy Spirit who indwells us and convicts and directs us according to God’s Word and his will. May we finally surrender to the Lord and say: “Here I am.”