Month: April 2022

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As Seen in Heaven

Thank You Lord!

From my Ecclesiastes 3:11 Journal

Thank the Lord, takes you from darkness to light !

Thanks, as seen in heaven!

The first thought and word that comes out of me when I wake up each day is: “Thank you Lord for this day.”

On the first day of 2021, when I woke up and sat on the edge of my bed to get up, I asked myself: 

“Will God receive my thanks? What effect could this have on God Almighty? Or is it just a cliché of mine?”

I find myself so bereft of the right word to express the vision the Lord gave me.  He showed me what “Thank God” looks like in heaven.  “Thank God”, is not a mere noun.  It is a living agent that flows and delights the city of God.  And quiet my spirit, casting out fear and strengthening me with joy.

As I begin to thank God, my world may be dark bronze, as the picture shows and I may be walking in a valley of the shadow of death. But, by giving thanks to God my world is changing in flashes of glory!

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High.”  (Psalms‬ ‭46:4‬ ‭MEV‬‬).

The vision given to me was like a display of animated, lively, grandiose, jazzy light that pours out of diamonds.  Each time “Thank You Lord” reaches heaven, those amazing flashes of light radiate different heavenly colors unknown on earth!

So, every time I say, “Thank you Lord,” I get a glimpse of that agent of joy flashing dazzling colors before the throne of God! Failure to recognize the Creator God, darkens your mind and you become foolish and empty. 

“Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Every morning and during the day, I am so conscious of this brief, but profound revelation!  And know this the will of God. 

‭‭(Romans‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭MEV‬‬).

“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1Thessalonians 5:8).

This is My Story? What is Yours? 

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The Outcome of Missing a Loved One

WONDERFULLY COMPLEX

From my Garden of Exotic Thoughts

My treasure, my grandchildren!

Excerpt from my Ecclesiastes 3:11 Journal; Nov. 13, 2017

The result of missing a loved one is a lingering emptiness in the soul. It feels like an abyss unable to reconcile. It is not a weakness, it is that we were created with that necessary emptiness in the soul that only one Person can fill, His name is Jesus. All kinds of human relationships are wonderful, but only Jesus can fill that lingering void.

God created us to live in community, not alone. He made us emotional beings and placed within us glands that produce chemicals, hormones, and neurotransmitters in our central nervous system to produce the natural drugs of happiness.

Psalm 139 states we were fearfully and wonderfully made, we can produce dopamine, serotonin , endorphins and oxytocin all these neurotransmitters are happiness producers !

All these natural substances allow our relationships to be more pleasant. And let us fully enjoy them on a soul level. Because God thought of everything good for us! God is very good!

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They cannot be numbered!” (Psalms 139:14, 17).

This is my Story! What’s Your?

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What She Taught My Son!

From,  My Garden of Exotic Thoughts

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last: but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.” (Proverbs 31:30 NLT).

Although, 12 years after her departure, that woman continues  repairing the deepest cracks in my soul with her wisdom.

She was no more than five feet tall, but her heart was beyond measure. She planted 28 churches in different states and in the Dominican Republic. She founded a foundation to help the injured to provide them with wheelchairs and everything necessary to be able to rehabilitate themselves.

She also founded several medical centers for the poor and homeless.

 “Reward her for all she has done. let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” ( Proverbs 31:31)

She became so violent when her first grandchild died that she sued to snatch ten thousand souls out of darkness and bring them into the Light.

She also built different kinds of schools, from literacy, languages, home economics, agriculture and her masterpiece was the Kelbyn school in Santo Domingo.

Space and time do not allow me to say everything that little woman did in her shorts, but very well used 86 years on this earth. And she won her claim for ten thousand souls, exponentially.

She told my son, “Everybody is selling something”. He asked. “What do you mean?” She explained, “people want you to believe their opinions or their excuses. That’s doesn’t mean that you have to buy what they’re offering.”

That brief, but profound lesson left me dumbfounded. I miss her wisdom so much, I never got to fully know the depth of her wisdom. She was my pastor, my mentor, my friend and my mother. And as I am her daughter, surely this statement will be part of my patrimony. A little morsel of wisdom for my garden of exotic thoughts.

“When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.” (Proverbs 31:26 NLT).

This is my Story! What’s Yours?

From, My Garden of Exotic Thoughts

Pastor María Arias, 1923-2010

1997 My Mom and me.

A little morsel of wisdom for my garden of exotic thoughts.

“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all”
(Proverbs 31:30 NLT).

This is my Story! What’s Yours?





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Daily word from my Garden of Exotic Thought 

Critical readers notice what others miss.  Then how much more so when the Spirit of God dwells in said person. My dad had such an intimate relationship with the Lord that he spoke alone out loud, to my understanding it was a soliloquy.  Later, as I grew up, I understood that my dad felt the presence of the Lord so real  with him and it was normal to respond to God and start a conversation.  Those were the home morning events of my childhood.

My parents never gave me a formal spiritual education of words and rules.  They instilled in me a deep love for God and His Word.  Their passion for Jesus captured my heart at a very tender age.  Listening to them and seeing their dedication to the Lord, was the lasting education I received from them. I constantly heard my dad blessing us every morning  with this:

“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”  (John‬ ‭17:17‬ ‭MEV‬‬).

This is my Story! What’s Yours?

My Gardden Garden
of Exotic Thoughts