I was baptized, along with my sisters Jo and Norma. I remember this because we were older, and my parents gave us a big party. My father had many rolls of quarters and tossed them in the air. As children we dove after them like candy from a Piñata, this is a Mexican tradition in celebrating Baptisms. I had my First Holy Communion when I was in fifth grade and Confirmation in the eight grade. At Confirmation we are to adopt a saint that we are to carry the rest of our lives, but I do not recall the name of the saint I chose. Now that it matters, I need to investigate my saints name.

My First Holy Communion dress was beautiful. There were only two department stores in our small town of Brawley, so my white dress either came from JC Penney’s or McDonalds. McDonalds was the more upscale store and only on very special occasions did we get shop there. My mother made sure I had everything, including a small jeweled  purse, and white gloves. I wanted a blue St. Christopher medal for my necklace but that was too extravagant, so I never bothered to ask. My only regret is that all my certificates were lost in one of our family’s moves.

After confirmation I was sporadically catechized. My walk with God was the object of serious threats brought on by our mother, and I can still hear them. “Remember God can see everything you do!” Our mother instilled the fear of God, humility, and respect almost as if we were in training for a monastery. She did this because attending church on Sunday was nearly impossible. Our brothers had cars, but our mother never learned to drive, and we lived in an unincorporated part of town. We attended Mass on special occasions like Christmas and Easter.

I knew early on of my calling to serve God. It started, at about seven years-old. Our mother had purchased the most beautiful Bible. I loved perusing through these magnificent pages. The pictures of the Pope, Rome, and the Vatican. Rome was a lifetime away but I’d imagine myself there with the masses. The Bible that my mother purchased was only read to us by her because it was too elegant and big for common use. It was put away for safekeeping on a shelf. Every chance I got I would pull it out and run my fingers through the fancy red bold lettering at the start of every chapter. I guess all of us kids were doing the same thing because the ornate gold  cover finally fell apart.

Life was less complicated, as I never knew we lacked anything, and our mother made sure of that. We had food and clothing and the rest of the stuff was only left to the imagination, so at times we went without.

It is our Christian responsibility to instill the great values of God into our children. I was all over the board with this, first being Catholic,  then becoming Born-Agian, and finally retuning to my Catholic roots. Both Mikos and Sonja, along with Mike were dragged into my ambiguous walk and thankfully, both are serving the Lord and teaching their children to serve God as well.

Our grandson Lucas made his First Holy Communion this Saturday and we were all there to witness the blessed event. Maddie is part of youth group at Calvery Chapel, and recently returned from a retreat. It makes my heart sing a silent hallelujah to see her posting Bible verses on social media.  My grandson Will choosing his first Bible added another hallelujah. I know deep down in their little souls they are receiving the lessons to love the Lord.

We all have vices and many times our bad habits leads to sin. Everyday we are tempted to step away from the path that God set for us. The good news is that Jesus understands temptation better than any of us. In Luke chapter four our Lord is Baptized and filled with the Spirit, from there Jesus is lead into the wilderness and for 40 days was tempted by the Devil.

Luke 4:6-7 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Jesus never gave into the temptation.

Today many suffer from different types of temptation, some a lot more serious than others. Sin only leads to one road.  For instance, you maybe thinking of sinning, and  if it becomes a constance thought in your mind, by the time you sin, you are perfectly fine with it. We all justify our actions with positive self talk to minimize our offenses, but in reality sin is still sin.

I Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

I know the God I serve can guide me through this life of questionable doubts, but I have to do my part. I must participate in not only my will, but most importantly His will.

I know God has a great sense of humor because he uses it on me often. This is an examples of my indulgences with shopping: I recently went shopping, but when Mike asked me if I bought anything, I lied and said no. Before Mike went to bed, he mentioned that he was going to take my car to get washed the following day. I remembered the purchases I made and went to my car to get the shopping bag. The Prius is a hatch back vehicle, I opened it, but when I closed it, my pinky from my left hand got wedged into the corner hatch. It did not hurt but it was definitely stuck. I tried to wiggle it free but that did not work. I freed my other hand of the purchases and tried to open the lever of the hatch but that too did not budge. Mike is a sound sleeper, so I knew that he was not going to hear my cry of despair, I did not have my phone either. It was about 11 P.M., I wondered how long I could stand, and if I should start yelling for help, and I also wondered if I could sleep while standing. I prayed and and tried the lever again, and The Lord showed mercy on me and freed my pinky. Then I asked God why this happened to me. The answer was clear, I did not need any of the stuff  I purchased. This was God’s sweet way of dealing with my giving into temptation. God is so gentle and loving that he got my attention by allowing this to happen. This was not a life threatening situation, but nonetheless it made me recognize my sin.

As lighthearted as this message may be, I know that someone reading this is about ready to go into the sin of infidelity, I pray for you not to fall into this deadly trap and that you will listen with your spiritual heart a flee from this, God will honor your holy decision. Remember, God will provide you a way out.

My Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, you know everything about me and what cause me to sin. Lord I ask that you expose any insecurities from my past to bring healing in this area of my life. Help me to depend on you for all of my earthly needs, remove all distractions  that keep me from serving you. Amen

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Southern California, perfect for catching a Little League baseball game. I like to arrive early, but not so Mike.  There is a reason for my early arrival, I need to get on the bleachers so I can sit on the bottom row or use the handrail to go up any higher so that I do not fall. Did you know that falls are leading cause of death for people 65 and older?  I have had my share of falls and am very cognizant of my surroundings. I’m not scared, but just extra careful.

At the game on Saturday we arrived a little late, so that meant the the bleachers were pretty much filled with spectators. To add to my dilemma our daughter Sonja was sitting on the top tier. “Mom, come up here!” she says. I was a little stressed out because these bleachers may only have five tiers, but that is still a long way to the ground if you miss your footing. I squiggled my way up, knocking over  several bottles of water  with my huge handbag, and finally sat down. I wanted to get into the game but my only thought was, how am I going to exit? Sure enough, Mike wanted to leave early. That meant that everyone sitting on the side where the guardrails were, had to clear out of the way in order for me to feel safe. I looked at Sonja and said, “What do I do?” She laughed and told me, “Geez, Mom, just step down!”

The first time I took a really bad fall was about 5 years ago, when Mike and I were walking our dog Shadrach. Right before we turned to our street, I looked at my watch and told Mike that if we walked for 15 more minutes it would complete an hour. Mike said that he was not wearing the right shoes, and decided to go home. I continued the walk without him. Just a few blocks from our home, Shadrach suddenly crossed in front of me and my tennis shoe got caught in an uneven part of the sidewalk. It was dusk, and I was walking on busy street. It happened so fast that I could not free myself to break the fall. I landed on my face. I honestly heard bones cracking, and, my brain rattled, I got up only to discover that a warm gush of blood was flowing through my lower lip. I was in shock, and I called Mike, crying. I knew that I needed medical attention, so when Mike came to pick me up, we left the dog at home and headed to St. Joseph’s hospital in Orange.

I felt so bad for Mike because others in the waiting room of the hospital kept giving him dirty looks. At one point, a man was staring at me and then looking at Mike. Then Mike waved his hand in front of the man to get him to stop staring. Many of the waiting patients thought I was victim of domestic violence. Little did they know that it was the sidewalk that kicked my butt, not Mike.

I called my best friend Helen and she rushed to my side. Helen started to take pictures of my injury, and then texted them to my kids. We got a good laugh from the pictures, and it did make me feel better that both Helen and Mike were there with me.

We waited four hours before I was seen by a physician. I suffered from a fractured wrist, and fractured nose, and I needed sutures to repair my lower lip. I don’t think like a normal person, so my first thought was that I would lose weight because of the sutures, however I did not.

I have fallen going down my stairs twice, once breaking my leg. I have fallen chasing after my grandkids, I have falling  while carrying my grandkids, I have fallen in the Holy Land twice, and I have fallen in my front yard three times. I have fallen, flipping over my therapeutic scooter with a broken leg. Sometimes I feel that the Devil pushes me because my falls happen after a holy experience. I often wonder where my guardian angel Celestina is, but I know that she is there preventing my death.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• One in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
• Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.
• Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.
• Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths.
• In 2014, the total cost of fall injuries was $31 billion.
• The financial toll for older adult falls is expected to increase as the population ages and may reach $67.7 billion by 2020.

The next time I fall on my face it will be done in prayer.