Breathe.Accept.Renew
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Car, Job and Apartment Search.....
I need to catch you all up regarding to the last two weeks. They have been a total whirlwind, and for the best I may add. On the first week of October Kenny went for an interview in a city near Stockholm and it seemed pretty positive, but we held on to our excitement until we knew 100% that he would be getting the job. A few days later, Kenny was budgeting and looking for cars online, just to have an overview of what cars cost. He set his eyes on an automatic Saab, hatchback, and decent price. It seemed like a potential car for the future. Ha little did I know! The day after, on a Saturday, we decided to go and look at the car and have a test drive. In the middle of us about to get into the car, his job calls him and tells him that he has received the job. I had no idea what to say, I jumped up and down and was so happy for him, but of course I had to deal with the matter of the car first. Long story short, we ended up buying the car and having the job all within the span of 30 mins. My adrenaline was sky rocket, we were walking on cloud 300 lol It was a total blessing. After 9 months of moving to Sweden, and him going from interview to interview, he was blessed with a good job as an Engineer! It's in Stockholm, which means that finding an apartment will be very difficult, but if people live there, we can too!
Kenny is now gone from Mon-Friday evening and spends the weekend with me in Nora. But it's only temporary. The apartment system here is tricky, and I wont explain it to you because it's that difficult to explain, IT'S A MESS!!! I have no desire to even think about the process, just have to do it.
The weather in Sweden is gorgeous! I love Autumn! I've been blessed to see the colors of the trees changing and feel the crisp air and enjoy the wonders. Unfortunately, it's getting darker earlier but never mind that. You have to enjoy one thing first!
Love you all,
Ileana
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Update, Fall and Future Blogging Ideas
School: Ah! So happy to finally say that I am using the language more than before. I know that I want a bright future and the fact that I am going to school for free means that I better take full advantage of that. Waking up early for school reminds me of my early days of dragging myself out of bed and learn something while you're still half asleep. But I like it once I am already there. I have finally nailed the pronunciation of ö, ä, å and y. Those suckers were hard, especially since you have to put your lips in an O shape, haha that was a fun learning experience.
Marriage: Kenny and I celebrated our 1st Anniversary (again) and every time we do celebrate, we get reminded of how far we have come and how much we have grown. We do acknowledge our love daily and continue to work at any area that needs to be worked on but there's just something awesome about recognizing another year has gone by and the two of us are still together. A lot of marriages fail in a year and the thought of that is hard to imagine. When Kenny and I got married, we promised to not even mention the word Divorce because the more you bring it up, the more it seems like an escape right around the corner. Different situations can lead there but that's not a topic for today. Today is happy news. Kenny is having plenty of job interviews, so keep him in your prayers.
Mya & Niklas a bit far ;)
My new love: I am falling in love with everything makeup! Good grief! I know. But there's something fun about makeup and colors and just empowering women. Let's see where that takes me.
Book: I am currently reading It's Your Time by Joel Osteen. Long overdue but I think the timing is fitting.
The Weather: Sweden is getting cold. Right now it's around 47 F at 3:30 p.m! But seeing the trees change color and feeling the crisp cold air warms my heart a bit. PUMPKIN EVERYTHING TIME!!!!1 Yayyyyyy.
I have a lot of ideas running in my brain but I will write them and set them aside. Probably publish them weekly?
I hope everyone is having a fantastic Tuesday.
Love,
Ile
Friday, July 12, 2013
Hey God, I deserve that......or do I?
There are two situations that have not occurred yet, but I know once they do, they will make me feel as God has lead me to these most joyous moments. They are: to become a mother, and to have my own place with my husband. When we moved to Sweden, I believed that everything was going to happen as rapid as flipping the switch.....I was wrong. For months and months I prayed to God for my deepest desires to come true....I meant, come on now, I left my own family to do Gods will. I felt like I deserved it...selfish by all means.
After a few months, I noticed that my heart became hard, and the joy was leaving my heart. It was like a bratty child whose mom had taken away their candy and would no longer speak to her mother and held a grudge. I remember speaking to my husband about this situation and when I actually heard what I saying, it felt so undeserving to God. Everything started and ended with the word "I". "I want this", "I want that", "I deserve it"..etc. I looked within myself to feel like I deserved things, and point blank, I don't deserve anything. That realization brought me to my knees.
God, who is the Almighty God and full of love...smacked me lol not literally but with the Bible and His truth, he sent the one word that would change my attitude.....Surrender! For so long, I carried all of my worries and burdens without releasing them to the only who will carry them for me and see that my hearts desires actually come true. In Psalm 55:22 it says "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."-ESV How great is He? Let me tell you how great is he. He is so great, so beautiful, so amazing, that the biggest sin committed before Him, is forgiven. Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while WE were still sinners, Christ died for us". As I cried about the selfish desires in my heart, I felt a sudden rush of comfort and a rush of truth. I don't deserve the Love of God, but he sees something in me, that he himself created, that his son died a brutal death for me. I surrendered my desires and also repented for my selfish heart. I asked God to guard my heart, for I know that my human flesh is deceitful.
Instead of focusing on the reward, I want to enjoy every moment I get to work for God, to bring glory to His name and not mine. I want people to know who God is and see that life, with it's joys and also trials, is beautiful. It is never about us, it is about the one who created us! Colossians 3:23-24 " Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."
As I end this blog, I pray for every heart who has felt lost, burdened, not content with their walk with Christ, and anything else that may harbor pain in your heart. Remember, our lives are never ours. We belong to an Almighty God who will reward us. Not with treasures or material things on this Earth but eternity with Him.
With a lot of love,
Ileana
Sunday, June 30, 2013
What does Fear have that God doesn't?
This sudden FEAR of flying didn't start as a child. I flew when I was younger all the time but with upcoming movies with planes crashing and Denzel Washington flying upside down, this sister right here, is freaked out by flying. I have heard that car crashes are more common that airplane crashes, but does that help to hear it, eeeeh noooo. Haha. Nevertheless, as I think of all my family and friends and the grace of God, I depend on that flight to reach me to my loved ones & back. Getting on that plane doesn't mean I will not be fearful of them, I still will be, still I will hand over that fear to God. I will haunt that pilot until we land and gracefully thank him for landing me safely. *wink*
Beside my flight paranoia, have you ever been afraid of cutting your hair, asking someone to marry you, going out into the public and speaking, going to funeral, driving a car, moving 400 miles away, moving thousands of miles away, making love to your spouse, have you ever been so scared that you felt like there aren't answers or cures? Let me tell you, that the one and only person who was able to help me through my fears was Jesus Christ. My fears are not just about flying, but about not being the wife God created me to be, losing a loved one, moving to Sweden, and our life in Sweden, dying, etc. Before I became a Christian again, I feared being caught for my lies, being alone, feared that I was the reason for so many wrong things happening ,I feared a man's anger, I feared for my life. My fears kept me from sleeping, also I actually became really jittery that I didn't eat for a while. It stopped and paralyzed me from my dreams. I remember the day that I had asked my sister for the address to Calvary Fellowship. Fear didn't want me to go to church, fear wanted me to stay at home freaking out, however, I got the courage to go. And boy, did my experience change. I felt a huge weight of fear leave my body as I decided to accept God back into my life. This whole time, I knew that my fear wasn't mine to carry but His. He loves me so much that He gave His only son Jesus Christ and die for my sins!
I also discovered that fear comes from the Enemy. He sits waiting for the next prey to fill lies and fear into. But as children of God, we have the power from the Holy Spirit to rebuke fear and lies from our path so that we can trust God with all we have. There are promotions that people have rejected because of fear, marriages that have gone sour because of fear of moving up to the next stage, fear of having a baby, lies made up to cover fear, whatever your fear is today, I am asking you, Is it really worth living in fear than giving it to God and having Him deal with your situations?
If you are living a life of fear or confusion, I pray that you remember Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for hope and a future." I pray that you give Him a chance. Your life will never be the same ;)
God Bless,
Ile
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Update :D
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Rain and my tea
Sorry I haven't been around on my blog lately, so much going on physically, mentally, spiritually and all that stuff. On the physical aspect, Spring is here and that means cleaning, chopping wood for next winter, organizing, enjoying nature although I havent been feeling so great lately.
Spiritually and mentally, I'm feeling challenged. Some days I feel great and feel God's presence. Other days, the feelings of doubt and frustration take over. I am trying to really understand God and his plan, although I need to really be willing and not afraid. Easier said than done.
There's a sense of lacking being close to anyone. Now don't get me wrong, I am closer to my husband now than before, but the friendships and relationships I had in Miami, feel so stretched out...literally. Some days I get upset but Id rather stuff it down. Im not sure if they realize than how important a relationship is still needed no matter where a person goes. Swedes are nice and beautiful people in their own way but their culture is very different from mine. I don't feel very personal here. I base relationships on where they can help one another with and where they are heading to. If they can truly know me through the good and bads and if they are living with a purpose and know wisdom from wrong deeds, then I know I can be the same back.
I need to pick myself up and look straightforward, but some days, I know that I need to let all my emotions out so I can get back up again.
Besides all this going on, I have started my SFI (Swedish For Immigrants) and it's been exciting. I will meet new people and do my best. I've also discussed some plans with my husband about the future and things that I want to accomplish. ..more on that later. But so far, I want to do more natural things and share them along here.
Well, this is it for now. It's raining here and I have a nice cup of tea :)
Sleep well and blessings.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Just a spoonful of (brown) sugar makes the medicine go down.....
(and not to mention the added stress of moving and my grandma in the hospital).
Today, I decided to take step-by-step snapshots of doing a Brown Sugar (babe), Honey & Lemon Juice Facial....without the babe of course haha.