Spring... A Time to Produce New Fruit

 I love spring. Even though the beginning of it looks dry, boring, and with no colors at all, I know what’s coming. I know the trees “look dead” but they have life inside. They just have been sleeping and resting during the winter and now they’re ready to give birth again and bring forth fruit. Spring also reminds me that summer is coming, which is my favorite season because I love warm weather.

Like the trees, sometimes we may feel dry, boring, and with no excitement in our lives. Some of us may even feel dead inside because of life events that affected our lives. But it is during those hard times, when we can reach out to God to help us bring life again. Spring reminds us of the opportunity we all have to start fresh. We have a new year to try things out, to forgive those who hurt us in the past, and to move on.

Today, I encourage you to look inside of your heart and if you’ve experienced a dry, cold winter these past few months, it’s time to revitalize yourself. It’s time to get going and produce some fruit—good fruit.

Enjoy spring—every moment of it!

We NEED Rest!

I have been meditating about the concept of rest. Those of us who are type A personality have a hard time resting or making time to rest and slow down. You add to that the American culture of doing more with less—both at home and at work. And on top of that, you add the fact that you need to work harder to make it and get ahead. You now have the perfect recipe to eliminate the concept of rest from your life altogether. How can we slow down when there is so much to do? If our kids are not involved in fifteen activities the whole family may feel like it’s being left behind! Once you’re on the treadmill of life, it’s hard to get off—especially when you intentionally want to get off.

Last weekend, the pastor at church talked about the Sabbath and how it relates to us taking a sabbatical from work. Take time to refresh and do other things different and away from your daily work. I once did a research on sabbaticals and every person that I interviewed that had taken a sabbatical said it was the best thing they had ever done in their lives. Some companies now are starting to require the executives to take sabbaticals so they can come back refreshed and renewed.

Right now in my life I feel God has given me the opportunity to take a sabbatical from my bank job. But I have decided to start my own company so I have invested a lot of this time into the business startup. In a way, I feel that I should be resting. On the other hand, I feel the pressure to produce and get going with the new business venture. So what is the right thing to do? I think there has to be balance and I’m purposed to do both during this time. It may take me longer to get the business going but I will be more rested and energized to grow the business. I am also using this time to invest in volunteering for non-profit organizations, which is one of my passions. If not now, when?

I just got back from one week of vacation and the purpose was to relax and do nothing—no workouts, no work for the whole week… By day three of not working out I was going crazy so I decided to go lift weights. By day four I felt the urge to check my emails so I did. I told my husband I was only reading the e-newsletters so when I got back I didn’t have so many emails to go through. The truth was I wanted to work. But why can’t we have both—work and leisure at the same time? Work and rest integrated into our lives all the time? I think that’s the best way to always feel rested. The same way athletes take time off after working out certain muscle groups, we need to take time off every so often to rest our minds.

So today, I encourage you to make time to rest. Schedule time to slow down. Yes, even us type A personality people can do and should do that. I leave you with these Scriptures that reminds us that God can help us rest.

Hebrews 4:9-10 (NLT)

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God’s rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world.

Exodus 23:12 (NLT)

“Work six days, and rest on the seventh. This will give your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It will also allow the people of your household, including your slaves and visitors, to be refreshed.”

The American Dream – Freedom!

Last Saturday I was on the plane on the way to Cozumel, Mexico for our family vacation and as the plane took off and the sunrise was in the horizon, I was thanking God for my life. I then started to ponder on the “American dream.” I asked myself, “What is truly the American dream? Is it having money? Is it being educated? Is it owning a home, being married with a couple of kids, two cars, and a dog? Is it having a job or high paying occupation? Is it being an entrepreneur and thus being your own boss?

The answer could be all of the above or any of the above but I think it’s none of the above… The American dream is to have Freedom! The freedom to choose what to do with your life. It’s the freedom to pursue happiness—whichever way you choose to do it.

The first settlers came to America because they wanted to be free. Freedom is an innate desire of all human beings. God created us to be free with a will to choose. Having lived through a revolution in my country of origin, Nicaragua, where the people lost their freedom to a communist regime, makes me appreciate the freedom I have by being now an American.

Those of you who had the privilege of being born in this nation, always remember there is a price to pay for freedom. Those of you who came to this nation as an immigrant and chose to become an American, don’t forget what it took to accomplish it and obtain that gift.

Either way, all the people who live in this country enjoy the freedom to choose what to do with their lives. America is still the land of opportunity. It doesn’t matter so much what you choose to pursue, what matters is that you have the choice to pursue happiness.

It doesn’t matter, really, what your background is, or where you came from. What matters is your desire to pursue happiness. What matters is your passion and enthusiasm for life and the realization that you are able to succeed if you choose to.

There is one choice I hope you make during the course of your life and that is the choice to pursue God above all. Once you do that, He will ensure the rest is taken care of. When you choose to have God in your life then He will be there for you and with you through all your hurts and tribulations as well as all your successes. Then you can share Him with others throughout your journey.

Enjoy your freedom and thank God every day for it!

BUILT on a Solid Foundation

Back on October 25, 2014, I wrote a blog titled “Building on a Solid Foundation.” I was reading it today because I was reflecting on the fact that, since I wrote that blog, I have worked very hard to get this new engine going and now it is ready. I am “open for business” like they say. In that blog, I refer to two key scriptures that I chose to be foundational to my business:

Matthew 7:24-29 (NLT)

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Today, I want to remember again what I shared in that blog: “I will build my company on the Solid Foundation, which is Jesus Christ, the Rock. He will give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to do the right thing, to do what is right, and to do things right the first time. These are not only Biblical concepts, these are business concepts that create efficiencies throughout the organization and a strong work ethic, which in turn increases shareholder value.”

Romans 12: 6-11 (NLT)

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

In my new role, I believe I will be operating within my gifts. I will be doing both sales as well as the work itself for a while until the company grows. As a sales person, I will need to identify and discover the prospects’ needs and see if we are a good match to work together. I will need to listen more!

As a worker, I will need to focus on each project and ensure the “billable hours” are truly billable and that I don’t spend any other time on anything else at that moment. I have to stay focused!

Being a good sales person, in my opinion, goes beyond having sales techniques and knowing when it’s the right time to approach a prospect or what to say. It’s about being a person of integrity, character, and truthfulness. An exceptional sales person is genuine, sincere, and truly wants to help others. That’s what I want to be!

When doing sales, you need to connect with people, at the heart. You also need to be ok being yourself. You need to believe in your product. If you are a consultant, you need to believe in yourself—you are your product. Your reputation is all you got. The work you perform once hired, also has to be done with the highest level of integrity and following the highest standards. Like my marketing person told me once, “Your brand is your promise. It’s what you promise to deliver when they hire you.”

So as I start my new adventure, I build this business on the foundation of Jesus Christ, my Rock while working hard and reaching for the highest standards. Doing the best that I can and being the best that I can be with God by my side every step of the way. Please pray for me that I can bless many people through this new business.

You can visit my new business website at www.malzahnstrategic.com and send me an email with your comments or feedback either through the website or as a comment on the blog.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is a special day because we’re supposed to show our love to our loved ones. It’s a day to celebrate love and even though it’s traditionally marketed toward couples, I prefer to think it’s a day to show our love for everyone. I love people! I love to love on people. It’s amazingly rewarding to love others because, most of the time, it is reciprocated. And when it’s not, God fills in the gap.

God loves us with an unconditional love with no expectations of us loving Him back. But when we choose to love Him back, a whole new world of love opens up to us. God fills us up with His love and then we can pour it out unto others. I want to learn to love others unconditionally, with the love of God and with no expectations.

Today, I want to encourage you to tell the people you love the simple three words that can change a life, “I love you.” Then show them how much you love them by doing something special for them. Sometimes written words can express way better than actions so you need to tell the special persons in your life how you feel. Other times, a small gesture, like a hug, shows appreciation and a deep love that no words can express. Praying for others is also a silent, private gesture of love. God listens to all our prayers. Tell the ones you love that you prayed for them. You have no idea how far those simple words and gestures of love go for a person.

We all need to be loved because we are human beings. God made us that way because we were created in His image, which means He also wants to be loved. The best gift we can give to others and to our God is to love people and love Him back.

To all my friends and family, I love you! You each have a piece of my heart that is reserved just for you. God has my whole heart.

This Sunday Is the Big Game. Is Your Life a Big Game Too?

The “game of the year” is happening Sunday. People across America prepare and plan who they will invite to their party, what food they will bring or serve at their home. This Sunday, church attendance is low because everyone is either at the grocery store buying food or preparing the house to have guests. Many people plan way ahead and are so excited to see the new commercials that debut for the first time during the game. Then the anticipation of watching the half-time show builds up until it finally comes and they can see it. Soon the game is over, the party ends, everyone goes home. Those who hosted have to clean up the mess and everyone talks about the game, the winners and losers, the food, and the commercials. Life goes back to normal until the next season starts and culminates in the big game again the following year. This annual event takes probably an entire year to plan. Thousands of people across America plan for it—from the stadium workers to the commercial producers to the cleaning crew—everyone does their part to produce an amazing show.

While all of this anticipation and planning is a lot of fun, and there is nothing wrong with doing it, sometimes we focus too much of our time and energy on the external things. In other words, are we spending the same amount of time, resources, and our energy on the things that really matter –the eternal things? Today, I was meditating on the thought of “The Game of Life.”

Your life – is it a big game too? Do you approach your life like a game? Do you take the time to really plan your life out and take the steps to make it happen? If you don’t take the time to plan your life, who will do it for you? If you don’t plan your life, you will never realize your dreams. You may not be able to do all you want or make all your dreams come true but if you don’t plan at least some of them, you will get to the end of your road and will have a lot of regrets.

Life is not a game. Life is real and everything we do here on earth is preparation for our eternal lives in heaven with God. That’s what I believe as a Christian. Many people live through their lives without ever thinking what they really want to do or be. They let life happen to them. They never figure out their calling and thus never pursue it. Many Christians don’t plan their future with the hope that “Jesus is coming soon.” I think that is unwise. No one knows when Jesus is coming back. Therefore, we should live our lives as if He’s coming today while planning for the future as if we will be here until the end of our earthly lives.

I encourage you today to plan your life out. Take charge of your life. Discover your dreams, plan them, and then do them. Create your plan and give it to God. Trust God with your plans. Let Him change your plans and redirect you if necessary. Let Him guide you.

Just as the big game of football takes a lot of careful planning, preparation, and practice so does our lives. Except we only have one life to live. At the end, it’s game over! There is no next season or the next game. There is no more time to plan it again, prepare, nor to practice… It’s done. At the end of our earthly lives comes eternity. Everything we did here will affect our eternal destiny. So let’s make sure we spend our time here planning, preparing, practicing, and doing the things that really matter—the things of God and His Kingdom.

Enjoy the game and enjoy planning and living your life too!

From Success to Significance

Most people you know, and probably including yourself, strive to be successful in life. But, truly, what is success? What is success to you? And once you are successful, are you also achieving significance in life? Are you making a positive impact in other people’s lives? Are you accomplishing anything to build the Kingdom of God? Do you know your personal and unique calling in life?

Today I want to share with you about The Master’s Program – for Men and for Women. Bob Shank authored this program to help men and women achieve their highest potential and fulfill their calling in the Kingdom of God. He founded The Master’s Program with the mission "To prepare Christian leaders to change their world and build God's Kingdom through their irresistible lifestyles and influential works of service."

I am privileged to know Bob Shank personally and to sit under his teachings while I’m in training to lead the first Women’s program in the Twin Cities, which I started last April. I am preparing to start my second women’s group in Minneapolis, MN on April 16th and possibly starting one also in Chicago, IL. There are several men’s groups starting across the nation as well.

I encourage you to look into this program as it will take you from success to significance. If you want to find your Kingdom calling and then pursue it, this program is for you. If you feel you’re stuck and are not sure how to jump into doing the things of God, or want to make a difference in people’s lives, this is the program for you. It’s a three year journey of discovery with quarterly meetings with a group of other believers seeking the same thing as you are—their unique calling of God in their lives. They are small groups of 10 to 15 people and it’s a confidential and professional setting where you will learn how to become the person God intended for you to be. You will have a positive and godly influence in those around you and leave a legacy of significance in your life.

You can find information on the men’s program at www.themastersprogram.org and the women’s program at www.themastersprogramforwomen.org. Enjoy the journey!

Striving to Become Holy

This weekend I entertained my Graduate School of Banking friends here at home. We had a great time remembering the great experience we had at the school and the lifetime friendships we formed. Because of that, I wasn’t able to write my weekly blog on Saturday so I’m doing it now.

Today, I want to focus on the topic of holiness. This word can be controversial because we live in a world where this word is never mentioned and people’s lives are, overall, far from holy. But the Bible tells us that we are to be holy as Christ is holy so we can do His work. 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NLT) says, Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children—is holy. For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

But, what does it mean to be holy? The first step, of course, is to give your life to Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Then you can start working on your life and taking steps toward becoming holy. To start explaining, I want to share one of the devotionals from my first book, Devotions for Working Women, that applies to everyone:

Lord, Teach Us Your Ways

# 199

Psalm 86:11 (NLT)

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, that I may honor you.

Psalm 86:11 is a prayer I want to keep close to my heart and live out. When we know the ways of the Lord, we can live in His truth. By studying and meditating on His Word, we get to know Him and receive a revelation in our hearts of the truth. We can then live our lives according to what He wants for us.

The King James Version of the Bible says the second part of this verse this way, “Unite my heart to fear thy name.” When we ask God to put in our heart the fear of His name, our heart becomes pure. When our heart is pure, God can mold it and transform it into the heart He wants us to have—His heart. Remember, He made us in His image.

When we live our lives according to this truth, we become a light to the world and are able to influence people for His Kingdom. This applies for our work, home, and community involvement.

To be holy means to have “purity of heart.” It means to have the fear of God in our hearts. To be holy means you separate yourself from the things of the world and seek those things that are pure, true, and honorable to God. The things of the world are those that have the potential to control you and take you away from God such as alcohol, pornography, drugs, lying, and stealing, among other things. The things that are pure are honesty, truthfulness, fairness, self-control, and loving others with the love of God, for example.

When you decide to serve God and to live for His purposes, to follow your calling, and to do “Kingdom work,” you are taking on a huge responsibility. When you choose to do God’s work, you are His representative everywhere you go. Your life becomes transparent to those you help, and the people who listens to you and ultimately follow you as their leader. Therefore, you must strive to be holy. 1 Peter 3:4 (NLT) says, You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

You may be thinking becoming a holy person is impossible while you’re living in this world and are submerged in it. But it is possible. Don’t be discouraged. God has equipped you to do His work and has given you the tools and guidelines that are key to your success in this area. It’s all in the Bible! The first step is to strive to live a holy life, as Christ Jesus did. Yes, Jesus was God BUT He was also human and, therefore, He struggled with sin just like you. Doing what’s right consistently and in every area of your life is key to your success in becoming holy. 1 John 3:7 (NLT) says, Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

I leave you today with the encouragement and hope that you can become holy like Jesus was. As you strive each day toward that goal, God will be able to use you beyond what you ever dreamed and you will help and influence many people along the way. Spend time with the Lord, in His presence. 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT) As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!

The Forgiveness of the Father

Why is it that when we sin we move away from God instead of running to Him? I think it’s because we feel shame—just like Adam and Eve felt when they saw that they were naked in the garden of Eve. We feel ashamed of going to God because we don’t feel pure in our hearts. But that’s precisely when we need to run to Him and put our sins at His feet.

Jesus died on the cross for us and He forgave all our sins—past, present and future—and we cannot forget that. We need to come to the cross along with the big baggage made up of our sorrows, our sins, and our hurts. Jesus will take our burdens and make them light. He will walk the road with us and get us out of the sinful life or behavior we’re in at the time.

We all have sin in our hearts. Nobody is sin free. Jesus was the only human who ever lived on this earth who was sin free. But also because He was a human, He understands the struggles we go through and He wants to help us be free of sin by granting us forgiveness. God the Father loves us so much that He sent His only Son Jesus for that purpose—to forgive our sins, to save us from hell, to give us everlasting life, to restore our relationship with God.

So today friends, I encourage you to run to Jesus and bring all your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. It doesn’t matter how big or small your sin may be. We are to live holy lives and the only way we can do that is one day at a time, asking God to forgive us as we sin.

Writing Your Goals beyond SMART

It’s the New Year and most of you are planning your year and writing goals. Most of you have heard of creating goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) and I’m sure you’re striving to write goals that meet that criteria.

I categorize goals in four main areas: 1) Personal (health, fitness, finances, relationships, family), 2) Intellectual (learning, education, acquire new skills), 3) Career/Business (new job and/or business opportunities, growth goals, improvement goals, networking), and 4) Spiritual (my relationship with God – time spent in prayer, reading the Bible, working for the Kingdom – doing work that has eternal value, fulfilling the call in my life). I write these goals with the SMART concept in mind but when it comes to the Spiritual goals, it gets a little more challenging. How do you measure the impact you have in someone’s life after a deep conversation about God’s love? Is it realistic to think that every person you touch will be changed by the power of God’s love? Can you time every interaction with people that God may put in your path so you can help them? Can you put an attainable number of people you want to minister to each day or week or year? And how specific do you get with the concepts of God explained in His Word? The answer is yes to all of these questions. You just have to plan and set a goal and then let the Holy Spirit guide you each day, each moment, and each interaction with others.

There are some things of course we cannot measure in natural terms like the impact of God’s love in someone’s life but that’s when we trust God that His Word and His love will always produce results. We do our part, which is to share and God does His. We may never see the results while we’re here on earth but we will see them when we get to heaven.

After writing all my goals in all the various categories, I stopped and thought for a while about this key question: Which goal (or goals) will get me closer to fulfilling the call of God in my life? Those are the most important goals that I should focus on because when I am doing what I’m called to do first, then everything else falls into place.

This year, I want to challenge you to write your goals and then prioritize them based on that key question – which goals will get you closer to fulfilling the call of God in your life? If you don’t know what your calling is, it’s time to find out. Seek God with all your heart and ask Him to reveal it to you. He will.

Time to Remember and to Look Ahead

Another Christmas, another year. These last few days of the year, people usually take time to reflect on everything that happened during the past year and also think about the things that couldn’t get done. Some people lost a loved one during the past twelve months and this was the first Christmas without him or her. It was different. It was probably sad. Other families got a new addition, a new baby arrived, and this was probably their happiest (and probably the most tired) Christmas they’ve ever had. Yet other people got married and this was the first Christmas they spent together as a couple.

As the New Year comes along I encourage you to think of the happy moments you had during the year, the time you spent with your loved ones, and also take time to grieve those you may have lost. I personally lost two co-workers within the past thirteen months. That was hard. They were my friends and I miss them dearly. I also got a new nephew, whom I adore and my daughter got married. I got a new son-in-law, whom I love as my own son.

When we remember the happy moments in our lives, our hearts fill up with gratefulness, which helps us then deal with the sad moments we experienced during the year. When we focus on what we have versus what we lack, it gives us a different perspective in life. There will always be people who have more and who have less than we do. That’s ok. God meets our needs and blesses us immensely, each day.

So enjoy today and each day you have left of 2014. Then celebrate the New Year!

Christmas - A Time to Give... A Time to Forgive

Today most of you are probably doing some shopping either at the busy stores or online hoping your orders will arrive on time for Christmas. Some of you may already be done and enjoying family that arrived from various places. The busyness of Christmas often overshadows the reason behind the true meaning of the season. Every year you may say, “next year it will be less hectic, I’ll prepare with more time, or I won’t buy as many gifts…” But each year it seems we spend more money and the stress of the season continues unchanged.

I was talking with some friends at lunch yesterday about how difficult it is to buy gifts for some family members and even the little kids in the family because we truly don’t know what they want or need. The truth is, here in America, most people don’t need anything material, like more toys to play with. Most of the time, people make a list of what they want—their wish list. But true need? Only a few people have real need for material gifts.

However, there is a gift that we all need regardless of our material possessions, social status, or work success and that is forgiveness. Jesus gave us the gift of forgiveness that comes along with the gift of salvation and eternal life. Only Jesus can give us the last two but we can give other the gift of forgiveness. When we hold a grudge against others, we are the one who carry the extra burden with us. When we forgive, we let go of the extra weight and our load becomes lighter to carry.

This Christmas, if you hold a grudge in your heart against someone, it’s time to get rid of it. Give the other person the gift of forgiveness so you can move on with your own life.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones!

The Love of a Friend

How much do you love your friends? How much do you love your best friend? Do you have one or several close friends? I was pondering today on the “love of a friend.” Friendship is something very special. The things we do for a friend are amazing. Sometimes we can love a friend more than our own siblings. Sometimes we love them just as a brother or sister. Many times we hurt our friends deeply too because we break the trust that is the foundation of any relationship. Many of those times when we hurt a friend, we never meant to. Words can be said, things happen, misunderstandings get in the way, and the relationship is damaged—sometimes beyond repair. Why does it hurt so much?

I am the type of person that gets really close to people. Because of that, I have developed many wonderful close relationships that have lasted many years through the course of my life. To me, friends are like a treasure. They are like gold. Every special friend I have is like a unique gift that God gave me, just for me to enjoy and cherish.

One of those close relationships I have developed over the years is with Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Talk about the love of a friend and paying the ultimate sacrifice for a friend? Jesus did it for us, in the most painful way imaginable. I take Jesus with me wherever I go. I always say, “Don’t leave home without Him!” I talk to Jesus as if He were here with me… because He is. He is in my heart every day, each moment of my day. He knows me and loves me just the way God created me. He accepts me and approves of me. He also forgives me when I hurt Him. How do I hurt Jesus? Well, when I don’t share Him with others because I’m ashamed of saying His name or afraid of being judged by others. I hurt Jesus when I don’t help someone in need because I’m too busy to stop and help because it’s an inconvenience. I hurt Jesus when I hurt my brothers and sisters in Christ. I hurt Him when I take Him for granted and don’t even acknowledge Him for days because I’m too busy thinking about other things. I forget He’s there…

So today, I am purposed to be more diligent in spending more time with Jesus, just getting to know Him better, thanking Him for what He did for me as a friend. I will share Him more with my friends and tell the stories of how He has helped me in my life, how I know He’s real. I will also continue to nurture all my close friendships and love them with the love of God and with the love of a true friend. I encourage you to do the same!

Are You Being Led by the Spirit?

Someone asked me today, how do you know when you are led by the Spirit? What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God? I think to answer this deep question, we need to start from the beginning.

When we accept Christ into our hearts and, by faith through the grace of God, we accept Jesus as our Savior, He then lives in us from that moment on and for the rest of our lives. When Jesus left this earth, He left us with His Spirit so He could be with all of us—at the same time. Because we were created in God’s image, He gave us a spirit too so we can communicate with Him via the spirit.

There are certain things that we just know are wrong to do. For example, we know it’s wrong to steal. We know it’s wrong to commit adultery or to kill another human being. We don’t need the Holy Spirit to tell us that or to remind us that those actions are wrong. Then we also have our moral compass based on our upbringing and our life experiences, we know certain actions are wrong. For example, we know that it’s not ethical to alter the company’s profits to show the shareholders better numbers. Yet people across time and generations do all of those things mentioned here. Why? Because they are human beings and humans sin—every day. We have the ability to ignore our own moral beliefs and ethical standards. Our flesh wins over our spirit. We do what we know is wrong. Like Paul said, “I do those things I shouldn’t do and I don’t do the things I should.”

In the workplace, when I don’t know how to handle a specific situation, I ask God for wisdom. I also gather all the information I can so I have facts. Lastly, I go with my gut feeling. If I have peace in my heart with a decision after I have prayed and asked God to give me wisdom, I go that way. If I don’t have peace, I don’t pursue until I do. That is one of the major clues to me to know if I’m being led by the Spirit.

There are other situations when we, out of the blue, have a sense that we need to pray for somebody, for no reason. In those instances, we should stop what we’re doing and pray for that person. Those are great examples of being led by the Spirit. We are to pray for one another and because God knows all of our needs, He puts somebody’s name in our hearts at the precise moment when that person needs prayer.

We also have heard of many stories when feel prompted to do something so strongly we have to do it. For example, we leave home and all of a sudden we feel the strong need to go back home. We don’t know why but we do it. We get home and find something on the stove that could have burnt down our house or we had left the house unlocked. Sometimes these situations are very small and other times, they could be catastrophic in our lives. Sometimes we feel the urge to call someone we haven’t talked to for a while and we follow through. We call them just to say hi. Then a week later, we hear that person died. How did we know to call that person? I believe those are small promptings from the Holy Spirit directly to our human spirit. I take those promptings very seriously and always follow through because I trust that God knows everything. My part is to do the small thing He puts in my heart to do.

Yet there are other times when some of us clearly hear words in our minds to do something or not to do something, to say or not to say something, to hug a person, to say a “word of encouragement” to a person in need. God manifests to us in many ways. Other times, we look to the Bible and the right passage shows up or the Lord reminds us of a specific Scripture at the right time when someone needs to hear those words of encouragement.

Lastly, in order for us hear the voice of God either in an audible way by hearing words in our hearts or by following a prompting in our spirit is to be in tune with the Spirit of God at all times. How are we in tune with the Holy Spirit? By spending time with God in prayer, just practicing hearing His voice, feeling His love, and being receptive to His promptings. This is very hard to do because we’re all so busy and have a hard time being quiet in front of the Lord. We can also be in tune by reading the Bible often, by studying and meditating on what we read, and by asking God to reveal to us what the Scriptures say. When we are constantly meditating or thinking about a specific Scripture in our minds, we become more receptive to the voice and promptings of God.

So, how are you led by the Spirit? How do you know it’s the voice of God talking to you? Because you are His child, you will know the voice of your Father. You will have peace in your heart. Stay in tune with Him and let Him guide your steps each day.

The God Kind of Love

God is love. He loves us immensely and the entire plan of salvation is founded on His infinite love. He created us in His image and, therefore, we have the capacity to love with the God kind of love.

Love is a gift—the best gift we can give to each other. There are so many people that are starving for love and we can give that to them, for free. The more I ask God to help me love others with His kind of love, the more I am able to do so. I like to get to know people at the personal, deep level, and the more I do that, the more love I feel for each person that the Lord puts in my path.

Romans 12:9-10 (NLT) says, “Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” People know when you sincerely care about them. There is no way to fake that kind of love. Genuine people love genuinely.

The ability to love others starts by loving yourself first. Love the person that God created you to be. Accept who you are and let God love you. Let Him hold you in His arms. Let Him forgive your sins and let Him be your friend. Once you do that, He will fill you up with His abundant love and you will be able to love others with His kind of love. It is the only love that lasts forever. It is wonderful to feel loved by God and others. But it is even more wonderful to love others and spill out the love that God put in your heart.

You can demonstrate your love to others by your actions but also tell them how much you love them. People need to know. They need to hear the words “I love you.”

I Am Thankful!

Today I am thankful and grateful for everything that I have and for every person in my life. When I was six years old, I survived the earthquake in Nicaragua. It happened on December 23, 1972. It was the day before Christmas and I remember our tall Christmas tree that fell on the floor shattering all the pretty glass ornaments. That year, we had no Christmas… My family had to move to another city to our grandmother’s house and then to a rented house until our house was fixed from the severe damage the earthquake caused. Even though our lives were changed forever, no one was hurt in my family. God protected us.

After the war in Nicaragua in 1979, when my family had to flee into exile to the Dominican Republic, we lived with my aunt for about two months. Because her house couldn’t accommodate a family of eight, they decided to convert their office into a bedroom for my parents and my youngest sister who was one at the time. The rest of the kids (five of us ranging in ages from 14 to 3 years old) were placed in the garage. Yes, I lived in a garage for two months during the summer months in the island of Dominican Republic. Do you know how hot it gets? And do you know how many bugs there are in the tropical weather? And did you know that mice and rats can get into the garage? Did you know mosquitoes can actually pick you up and carry you? (Just kidding on this one!)

Two months later we were able to move to a two bedroom apartment on a fourth floor apartment building with no elevators and a couple of weeks later the hurricane of the century, David, hit the island at 175 mph. Yes, I remember seeing the waves from the ocean even over three miles away how they were hitting the coast. I remember seeing objects flying through the air as if they were weightless. I remember the noise of the wind creeping into the apartment windows. It was a miracle that the balcony glass sliding doors didn’t explode. They were bowed and could barely stand the pressure of the wind pushing against them. We had about 4 inches of water in the apartment but not one window broke. Through the war and through the storm, God protected us!

I have shared with you through other blogs how when I came here to the United States in 1986, I thought I came here with nothing but I was wrong. I came here with all the values, morals, and the Christian beliefs that my parents instilled in me. I had God with me all my life and that is enough to get through whatever storm we encounter in life.

Today, years later after the earthquake, the war, the hurricane, and from moving to a new country I can only say “thank you” to my God, my Father, who loves me so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die for me. Yes, He saved me from many natural disasters and worldly events but the most important thing He did for me is to save me from hell, to forgive my sins, and to give me the gift of eternal life.

I am thankful. I am grateful… beyond words. It is a matter of the heart and God sees my heart. Today, I encourage you to look back in your life and see how God’s hand has been upon you. Take a moment to thank Him. Happy Thanksgiving to all my beloved family and friends!

Our Lives Are the Result of Our Choices

Bad things happen to good people… But good things also happen to good people. It is what we choose to do with what happens to us throughout our lives what makes the difference on how our lives turn out to be. Every choice we make, since the moment we have the capacity to make decisions at a young age, has a consequence—good or bad. As children, when we knew what our parents told us to be “good or bad behavior” and chose to do the bad behavior, we made a decision that brought consequences to our lives. Maybe at that point was a punishment of some sort that our parents came up with, like missing going to the movies with our friends, or not getting ice cream that day. As teenagers, the world presented us the choices of doing drugs, drinking alcohol, stealing, or getting involved in sexual relationships before marriage. The fact that “everyone’s doing it” doesn’t make any of it right and there are severe consequences to each one of those choices.

As young adults, we chose to finish high school or not. We then chose to go to college or not. Even though for some people it is difficult to attend college when we wanted to due to outside circumstances (like in my own life example), it doesn’t mean we should give up on our dreams and the choice we made earlier in life to further our education. We simply need to do it later.

Our lives move on to adulthood when we have responsibilities of work and having a family. Some people choose to simply have a job with no career aspirations. Others choose to have a career and select each job as a stepping stone to their ultimate goal. Some people decide to get married and others don’t. Some people want to get married but haven’t found the right person and need to wait. Some couples choose to have children and some don’t. As we have children, some couples agree to continue to work and some choose to have one parent stay home caring for their children.

All those choices we make throughout our lives have good or bad consequences. Then life happens. Something unexpected happens that leaves us wondering what to do next. It could be anything like the loss of a parent, a child, a spouse, or a sibling, or simply a loved one. Or it could be the loss of our jobs, which is painful at any age but more difficult to recover as we get older. A natural disaster can hit our town and we lose our home in an instant. Or the market crashed and we lost our entire life savings, which happened to many people in the last financial crisis. Life as we know it is gone. We have to rebuild our lives again.

It doesn’t matter what the life event is or why it happened. What matters is how we respond to each incident, how we get up after the fall, and how our attitude matters each time. There are some things we can do to help us get back on our feet:

1. Never let go of God. Good and bad things will happen to all of us and we need to have God on our side at both times. During bad times, it’s easier to recognize our need for God in our lives and we seek His hand as well as His heart. During good times, it’s easy to forget God and that we still need Him. We may not need His hand (meaning financial help) but we still need His heart.

2. Be humble. At any time in our lives we need to stay humble at heart. In bad times, we need to be humble but confident (confidence doesn’t mean pride or arrogance). Our confidence comes from knowing that God is with us. Being humble is recognizing we need the help from others. In good times, we need to be humble and not forget that everything we have came from God because He entrusted it to us.

3. Get up and start again. With a positive attitude, avoiding a victim mentality, and hard work, we can get up and start again. Being grateful for what we do have in times of loss or lack is key to our survival.

4. Help others. Life is not about us. It’s about helping others. When we help others during their time of need and also during their times of success, they will be there for us when we need a hand.

So when you look at your life right now and find there are some things you don’t like or want, think of the choices you have made along the way. You always have the opportunity to make changes in your life. Some changes may take longer than others to produce results but I truly believe our lives are the result of each choice we have made during our journey.

I Will Miss My Friend

Friday I lost a dear friend to cancer. I will never forget when he told me on June 17, 2013 that he had terminal cancer. I was to communicate the news to the staff and I didn’t know how to do it. I prayed and asked God to help me communicate the bad news to the employees. I gathered everyone and said that I had some news to share about our dear friend then I proceeded to read his text… At the end of the text, I broke down and cried. I couldn’t hold it together.

Leaders of an organization are often expected to have it all together, at all times, and to always be the ones who pull others up. But sometimes leaders also need to be held up and to be pulled up. Also, sometimes leaders think that they are supposed to be super humans. To the contrary, it is when they show their humanity that others admire them and follow their lead. It is in those moments that others realize that leaders, too, are humans, not just leaders.

It was a long journey from the day we found out the bad news until Friday. He wasn’t supposed to make it this far according to the doctors but God gave him enough time to complete his journey here on earth. For those of us who are left behind, we will miss him dearly. For those who went to heaven before him, are now rejoicing to be with him again. We continue our journey and live each day with the hope that we will see him again soon. Goodbye my friend. I will see you soon!

Your Personal Brand

I was just reading an article on “personal brand” and was pondering on questions such as, “What do I want people to think of me when they hear my name? What is my personal brand right now? What would I like my brand to be?”

The word brand as a noun, means “kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, a mark made by burning, to indicate kind, grade, make, ownership, any mark of disgrace and stigma. A kind or variety of something distinguished by some distinctive characteristic.” Brand as a verb means “to label or mark with disgrace or infamy, stigmatize.” (www.dictionary.com)

When we hear a name, a brand, we immediately think something positive or negative depending on the brand mentioned. The same occurs with our own names. People either think something positive or negative depending on the interaction they’ve had with us through the years or sometimes just from one interaction, one first impression.

I like to think about brand in the various areas of my life so, for example, in the business arena, I would like people to think of me as a professional, a personal of character and highly ethical, someone who knows the banking field and has the expertise in risk management, and someone that is an “initiator, executor, and finisher.” At the personal level, I would like people to think of me as a person who is genuinely and sincerely interested in others, someone who cares about her relationships and takes the time to nurture her friendships.

From the spiritual perspective, the other day, a good friend of mine asked me a very deep question. We were talking about our callings and what God wanted us to do with our lives while we are here on earth. The question was: “What do you want written on your tombstone when you die?” “How do you want to be remembered?” After thinking for a moment, I said, I want to be remembered as “A woman who loved God, loved people, and helped many achieve significance in their lives.”

You see, in the end what matters most is not so much what we did here as a professional. We will be remembered by who we were as an individual while we were alive, how we treated people, how much we loved on people, and how we were able to help others.

I encourage you to think of your “eternal brand” and focus more on that rather than your professional brand, not that it is not important but it is temporal. Once you have the eternal brand figured out, what you want to be remembered for, then the professional brand will be a reflection of that and it will be easier to base all your “personal marketing materials” off of that.

My New Business Venture

Several of you have asked me what my new business will be. I am starting a bank consulting practice focusing primarily on two areas: 1) Enterprise Risk Management, and 2) Creating efficiencies and integrating all areas of the bank to increase shareholder value.

More to come very soon. Stay tuned!