Have you reached your Potential?

My visit to Busch Gardens was surprising, they had several shows related to Christmas, well, that shouldn't’t be surprising, you can think, is the season… Yes, is the season, what was different was, that I have been at several places promoting Christmas, Santa, The elves, the deer’s and even Frosty, but when we speak about the reason for the season, about Jesus, most of the stores or business places are shy to express something that can offend people who don’t believe of Jesus. Well, my surprise about Busch Gardens it was that they included praise and worship songs on the shows, exalting Jesus as Lord. On one of the shows I observe a couple that stand and walked out the theater mumbling something… the rest of the people stayed there. I learn a valuable lesson about conviction, to share what you believe with out shame. May be some one can learn from your strong belief and because of that, you could make an eternal difference on some one’s life.

While I was at home, I was peaceful, quiet, obedient; a perfect angel. But as soon as I walked out home, I turned in to a menace, that caused my mom to have to visit the school more than often, and by the middle of my 4th grade I got expelled from school again. My mother found another school for me, and I was able to finish the 4th grade on that school. One of my mother’s friends recommended her to search professional help, so my mother consulted the priest at our church, and he recommended a religious school, so she applied for a scholarship for me and she got it, because I had a great academic score. The fights at home, were increased and even when my mother hided my behavior to dad, he always found, something, and that increased the fights and the hitting. I was always sad and afraid to be hit so, when dad came to the house I always used a book on my back under my pants to soften the impact and… It worked (Except when he hit me on the upper back). The discussions were always about m...

When you see a picture like this, how can you said if it is a sunrise or a sunset? Tell me what you think is it. What is true is that only the one who was there knows what it were. Well, it looks like is vacation time. I'm taking few days with my family at Tampa, to visit Busch Gardens on the busiest weekend of the year. 2007 is almost done, and we have to be prepared for 2008. Today future looks blurry, just like the trip we are taking, but I trust God will have some surprises for us at 2008 and later.

On our way to Tampa we found a place called Gatorama and we decided to stop and to take a look inside. It was fun and a great experience, particularly my beloved one’s face while she was feeling a little gator in her hands… also I found that I started a great fashion with my antenna hat, now even alligators on the everglades are wearing one… Enjoy the pictures…

Since the beginning I planned this vacation trip to Tampa on a different way. We commonly jump in to the car and I start driving like on pursuit of a prize or something like that, arrive at our destination as soon as possible and that’s it… this time, I started driving slower than usual (even below speed limit), stopping at several places. I also found that is good to have a Tripod with you while you travel, that can allow you to be included on the picture, because on most of the trips I made, I’m never on the pictures. So after the Evangelistic Experience with Paulina Driving, We made a little stop at Okeechobee Lake and took some pictures. Then I drove few more miles north, when I saw a truck full of watermelons, and I noticed a watermelon field on my right, and I stop to explain to my daughter Sol about her favorite fruit process, then Dora told me… look there, some one throw away a lot of watermelons… (She is a Montessori School Teacher) I though she was joking but she looked so s...

What are the experiences you’ll always remember? Those you experience the first time. I planned our trip to Tampa driving the I-27 to allow my daughter Paulina to experience real driving. What was interesting it was that Dora and my other daughters started praying… from the bottom of their heart, it was also a pray full experience. So I putted her on the wheel. On the beginning she didn’t want to try, so I encourage her and explained that I will be also handling the steering wheel and she accepted. A little nervous on the beginning but after few miles she was feeling confident, experiencing how to be on the Speed Limit, the wind effect of heavy vehicles passing on us, also she was required to pass on a slower vehicle. She drove almost a half hour and she was tired. But after a few, she was ready for few extra miles, this time more confident and exited about it. I’m sure she will always remember this day. I have to confess I was also praying and a little nervous too, but when you lead ...

Finally I started my family vacation, and to initiate my journey I got the Idea to get some waffles, orange juice, and some bread before a long day journey, so, if you are looking for a waffle breakfast, you go to Waffle House; Right? Wrong answer… we went to one of my family favorites places to have a nice breakfast, we got a really friendly waitress, some orange juice, and… then the waitress informed us that we could order anything from the menu, except for waffles. The Waffle machine was broken. We already were seated and with some juice in our hands, and suddenly we had to change our way of thinking. The choice was: To stand and walk out. May be being upset and look for some other place, or to explore the menu and order something else… I had to explain to the little ones that they had to order something else, first they were frustrated, but finally they agreed on a ham and egg wrap. We all enjoyed the breakfast and we observed frustrated people walking out, also a frustrated manage...

Christmas is almost here! and I'm tuning in to the Christmas spirit. I got this antenna hat to get a better perception of what's going on around. Christmas is all about what you want it to be. Do you want it to be about shopping? Do you want it to be about gifts? Do you want it to be about great food? Do you want it to be about generosity? Do you want it to be about hope, about faith, about love? The choice is yours. I'm going to make it great for my family, and about the greatest gift of love... About the Love of God and about his son Jesus. Merry Christmas to all my faithful readers. I hope of this Christmas celebration bring joy, love, hope, peace, health and prosperity to your life and the life of all your beloved ones. God Bless you!

Is almost Christmas, but at our Internet Campus Christmas already started with a service last Thursday, and today we will continue with two more services, one at 5 p.m. and other at 6:30 p.m.(Eastern Standard Time). Every service is broadcasted live and Pastor Brian is having a live participation on every service to introduce and dismiss it. A good thing is that we are experiencing our brand new video switcher and other interesting toys that will allow us to have a higher quality transmission for people to experience “One Church Where You Are”

I don’t really remember much about my first year at elementary shool. Besides I was always distracted looking around. While my schoolmates were trying to learn the basics of the alphabet I was fluent in reading and I was doing my first writings… So I was the worst nightmare a teacher can have. By the end of my first year, I got expelled for misconduct, so my mother took me to another school. She explained my situation, and after some evaluation with two teachers, I stepped directly into the 3rd grade. That year, the school did a musical play, I loved the rehearsals and performing in a big auditorium. I remember that as a great year at school. My conduct was always problematic, and my name was well known in school. I was a fast learner and I had the capability to understand what the teacher explained at once, so I got plenty of time to think of other things. At home, things where rough because my father was having financial difficulties and my mother started getting sick from low blood...

According to the Catholic tradition, all the Christian names have a saint, so when you baptize an infant you must give them one saint name to be accepted by the priest. All the saint names are distributed all over the 365 days of the Gregorian calendar and when a new saint is approved by the Vatican, a celebration day is assigned. Why am I explaining all of this? Just because yesterday, was the day of “Saint Arturo”, and immediately I received a phone calls from Mexico, from my sisters, my big brother and two cousins. I used to celebrate my “Saint day” with a big party, and in order to be invited to the celebration, you had to call me by phone, congratulate me, and there you where invited. I was used to receive between 80-120 calls… The first one it was always my mom, I loved that call… I missed that call yesterday. After that, call, after call, and my answer, was “thanks for remember I hope to see you tonight after 9 p.m. will be fun” I used to had live music and some times there was...

Last Saturday, one of my daughter’s friend fell from a bunk bed and ended in the Hospital. Thanks God there was nothing bad, besides few bruises. My daughters told me that they prayed like never before in the life, they where worried for what happened, so we went to the Hospital. We all need encouragement and when we are sick, a visit from our friends is encouraging. We have a popular phrase on Mexico . You know your friends in the Hospital and in the prison.

I was four years old when my dad taught me to read. By that time, my older brother Pepe, was acquiring a weekly publication to build an illustrated encyclopedia. I remember the cover, it had an astronaut, and atom and it was colorful and attractive to read it. Since I learned to read, I started reading… the Encyclopedia. May be others kids were reading tales, but my first readings were about an incredible world. By some reason, the definition of the Atom, was really interesting to me, “Atom: The smallest particle of matter that cannot be divided. Consists of a Nucleus with protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons”… then I liked to repeat that out loud. You can imagine the surprise of the adults when they listened to me… after that, my dad was so proud of me, that when some one came to the house, he called me… “Don Arturo, please explain the Atom”, so I explained and then I was going back to my readings or my wall observations. Those were my main activities. I loved to read anythin...

Today I got a great opportunity to have some fun with all the Flamingo Road Church Team. Our Lead Pastor, Troy Gramling took us on a journey to better understand what is required to be a leader, to have some challenges and also to have some fun. The day included a field trip to a nice park on the highest Davie Area, getting some pictures, that illustrates our Ethos, answering (or trying to answer) some fifth grade questions, voting, driving to a Hallandale Beach Campus, Decorating a big Cookie, finding who was a “Mysterious Santa”, driving to the Aventura Mall, seeking for some stores, and finally we went all together to watch the movie “Fred Claus”… I learned some interesting things about how we act and react when we face pressure, challenge and we develop sympathy or other feelings as we work with a team… interesting day!

Sol and Antonio moved from Cozumel to Mexico City. With no place to live, neither resources to buy anything, he found refuge at his mother’s house. With and expectant mother and his child Pepe, he decided to get a car and start his own business as a cab owner/driver. At this point of his life, everything he was dreamed about was just vanished, and he needed to support his new family and over all, he was back to his mother’s house, to live with her and his young brother, and as a side effect of the Diabetes his temper was getting worst every day. He bought a car and got the license, permits and plate to offer his taxi cab services. He got the plate 5345 that will remain with him for several years. Few months later, on May 12, 1958 Sol gave birth to the first De la Mora-Carrasco, at the Central Military Hospital in Mexico City and they named Alicia Maria Antonieta. Alicia. By December on that year Sol was pregnant again and the family grew with Patricia on August 12, 1959 on the same Ho...

My Church, Flamingo Road Church has a vision to open 50 new campuses to reach 100,000 people. One of the key to succeed will be communications. At this point we have six campuses; one of them is at Lima City , in Peru . 3,000 miles away (more or less) How to be connected? Internet is now the way. Yesterday we got our weekly staff meeting and for the first time, we where able to include Steve Guschov and his wife Dorcas in our meeting. They are running the Lima Campus and thanks to the internet , they were present on the meeting. Times are changing, church too… we are molding to the new era of telecommunications.

Last month, Troy Gramling, my pastor, launched a campaign to raise toys and bikes to give a different Christmas to child in need. He challenged the congregation to reach no more, no less than 600 bikes… Since then, every day I been seeing someone walking in with a toy or a gift to deposit on the groove big box located on the church lobby. Last Sunday he announced that people has donated…. 614 bikes, and the box is full… this is amazing, to be part of something that will give to the parents who are having difficult time an opportunity to give to their kids a great Christmas, and the opportunity to believe that God is always there for them J

Tonight, we officially launched our Internet Campus live from Cooper City Campus. We been working on the setup, moving the server, getting the lanes with the Audio and Video feed from the production room, setting up the lights, camera, cables, decoration, and everything trying to get it ready for today and launch it from the new studio. We got a successful launch. I just remember when we where having a conversation about a year ago, when Troy, our lead pastor dreamed about it, and Raul, our executive pastor, trusted me with the project. We started with a couple who recently moved from Cooper City to North Carolina and after few weeks we launched our first live transmission with an audience of 2 people. After that we researched, compared to other services, test, retest and the audience grown every week with more and more unique I.P.’s from all over the world. Today, we have an average weekend attendance of 1,000 unique IP’s every weekend, we have Brian Vasil as Campus pastor interacting...

Sol and Antonio meet in Acapulco… few days later Antonio was asking my grandpa Eduardo permission to married Sol and to take her to Cozumel, where he was based. More than a permission it was just an advise, because he had to go back immediately to his duties. My grandparents give him a blessing, they married and that was the start of a whole new adventure in their lives. Cozumel Island, it was a primitive tropical paradise, with a rich ecosystem and it was a tactical base, not a touristy destination. The mosquitoes where big, my dad told me that even with leather boots, mosquitoes where able to bite his heel and ankle. Big bugs where all over the place. My dad, Antonio shared with me a story about their first months in Cozumel Island. He started to make home improvements on the house he got at the Island, so he asked some natives to cut some trees to get wood for the construction, and they suggested not to do it, because it was full moon… He was upset and asked some soldiers under his ...

Yesterday was a great day... Everyone on the office was in the Christmas Spirit and they decorated all the facilities on a 60's and 70's feel... Look at the pictures. My Pastor, Troy Gramling is preparing a great new series called "Love Sign, a retro Christmas"... you cannot miss it at any of our campus... That's why I love Flamingo Road Church , because is "A Church where you are"

My mother in law is visiting us from Mexico... every time she came to Fl, she prepares great enchiladas... and other delicious high calories dishes... yummy!!! I'm being at the gym twice a day... and believe me, is not enough... Who can resist a great Mole platter with hand made tortillas?

I know just a little about my grand grand parents, but I have the names and a picture. Lucecita García Luna and Blas Carrasco, they had 19 kids… It's obvious there no was TV on that time. One of their sons, Eduardo Carrasco García Luna, married María Contreras Nuñez, who was daughter of Vicentita Nuñez and Teodoro Contreras. They had five kids: Natalia, Eduardo, Alicia Solveigh, Manuel and Lolita. My Grandpa Eduardo used to work for the city of Tlalnepantla and he was recognized because his honest service. He was also a talented self taught musician, he played piano, violin and other musical instruments. He was always a family man, and he died in the early 60’s. I barely remember when he past away. It is one of my first memories, and it was a painful process for the family. My grandma moved from Tlalnepantla to Mexico city to live close to his two sisters Margarita (Mago) and Linda. Grandma was a faithful woman. I remember her as a devoted Christian Catholic. She walked every day f...

Antonio started a great military career, and he was from the first generation of Pilots who had a formal training with the Mexican Army and US Air Force. He graduated with honors and his generation was called “Los Penicilinos” (The penicillin’s). He was ranked on the 5th place from the Air Force School from 5,000 students. By that time, World War II was on its apogee and German submarines launched an attack against Mexican oil tankers that were providing fuel and materials to the Allies. These attacks eventually caused the Mexican government to declare war on Germany; Mexico was involved on the war and was part of the Alliance, so they needed to send forces to join the battle front. Antonio was promoted to Captain and because of his high qualifications he was part of the leading team of the “The Aztec Eagles” the squad that is historically recognized as the "201". He was trained at Majors Field in Greenville, Texas on November, 1944. Here, he and other pilots received advanc...

A s I look through family history and my past, I realize that I can gain a better understanding of my present and garner tools to help build a better future. So let’s get started: About my grandparents on my father side: My grandfather Antonio De la Mora was married to Martha Montaño Bosques. Together they had three children, all boys, Antonio (My dad), Jorge and Adolfo.My grandfather Antonio was a talented man; Politician, Musician, Composer and Publisher. He was the Master Band and Director for the Mexican Army’s 6th Infantry Band. Years later, he was the Band Master of the 20th Infantry for U.S. Army. He published a few music books in the USA. As a Mason, he reached the 33rd. degree, and participated on political activities in Mexico. He was the Secretary of Defense during the Adolfo De la Huerta Interim Government in 1920. Three years later, when De la Huerta was exiled, he moved to Wichita Kansas. He became a captive of the alcohol and in 1926 died from a heart attack. After my g...

Every time we made a decision, we initiate a chain reaction. The Bomb “H” is based on that: a chain reaction, started by a simple proton movement on a hydrogen atom. We barely can imagine how a big massive destruction force started with the most infinitesimal part of an element… or also the same reaction can be used to generate tons of Kilowatts of electricity to power up a whole city. What makes the difference between destructive and constructive energy release? The difference is based on a decision. Albert Einstein though of Atomic Fusion as a inexpensive energy source to help thousands, but someone else visualized a destructive weapon to be used on a war… Every decision we make will impact, not only our life, but many others… what will be you choice on that decision? The answer… is floating in the air.

I’m being reading a Book of Josehp A. Michelli, “The Starbucks Experience” and it is the story of some one who was able to transform a regular cup of coffee into an extraordinary experience. The Starbucks coffee shops expanded across the world, and on that book, Michelli shares 5 principles that are fundamental for success on a business: Make it your own Everything matters Surprise and delight Embrace resistance Leave your mark The book is great and is a you-must-read-it book. If I where asked what to add to that book could be an extra chapter about how to revert the process. Starbucks has been a successful company on the last few years, nevertheless, on its last financial report they experienced a step backwards on their numbers, having a negative growing. Why this can happens? I don’t know what’s going on inside the large corporation, but I can tell you something about what I can see as regular SB visitor. Success is not easy to handle… they are now so focused on the growing and open...

Memorial day... also a good opportunity to share time with one of my daughters, Tania. For the first time, she was able to build a computer... A friend of mine asked me to build two computers and it was a great opportunity to share the experience with Tania. So, I expended half of the time, because she was doing the same I was doing... We installed the processor on the motherboard, a Pentium D @ 3 Ghz, 1 Gb DDR memory, a DVD burner, A 80 GB Hard Drive, a lot of screws, and few cables all together, made a new computer. One of the principle we live at Flamingo Road Church is to raise leaders, not followers. A good leader on the beginning is a good follower, then he takes of like on their own. When you raise a leader your work load will be less, and nicer... is not the same to do the task by your self, than to make life with others, teaching, learning and having great time! :)

At my church, Flamingo Road Church , we are doing an event called “Christmas Express” and Troy Gramling , our Lead pastor, challenged all the community to be part of this experience, to help us to deliver more than just toys; to deliver hope, dreams, dignity and to leverage the season reaching at least 600 families, delivering smiles and of course, toys. I remember that my Grandma always told me “It is much better to give than to receive… and if you don’t believe it, just ask a pugilist”. And that’s true. I always enjoy more when I give something than when I get something. While I was taking a picture of the toys delivered this morning, one little one came and place two little cars on top of one of the bike’s chair, he suspired observed all the toys and with a satisfaction face continued with his mom to the service… I don’t know what was on this little kid’s mind, but I’m sure he gave two of his most precious treasures… and reminded me about the history on the Bible about the widow w...

Family, Values, Love, Respect, Patience, Forgiveness, Protection, Care, Compassion, Understanding, are some of the most important things in life... What is the right desition? To do what is inside of your own values...

There is something that has no value or has very low value today. It is commitment. Many couples today engage and disengage just like that. Marriage is almost an erased word from the vocabulary of many people. Yesterday, I was invited to witness a commitment between Brian Fuller and Jackie (Now) Fuller at our church . There was a great worship moment and a brilliant ceremony. Garland Robertson conducted the ceremony with some reminders about commitment and encouragement words for the lovely couple. Brian is the worship pastor for Flamingo Road Church Sawgrass Campus and Jackie is one of the core team members on the children ministry at Flamingo Road Church Cooper City Campus. They meet, like each other and they decided to have a life together. They committed each other to be one and now they are Mr. and Mrs. Fuller. God bless them always! Congratulations Brian and Jackie

Every day is a day to be grateful to God, but yesterday was a special one. First, let me share the Gratitude definition I found in the dictionary: “Gratitude is the substance of a heart ready to show appreciation, or thankfulness; it is not simply an emotion, which involves a pleasant feeling that can occur when we receive a favor or benefit from another person but rather the combination of a state of being and an emotion; often accompanied by a desire to thank them, or to reciprocate for a favor they have done for you. In a religious context, gratitude can also refer to a feeling of indebtedness towards a deity, e.g. the expression of gratitude to God is a central theme of Christianity. One of the core indications of being a Christian is being grateful to God regardless of any human action taken towards you...” God is a God of amazing surprises… Today I was looking at two friends who had their I-phones, interacting, checking e-mails and surfing the web. I was thinking; “When will I ha...

Tonight, my pastor Troy Gramling , challenged me to write a name of a person or persons who influenced me on my Christian life, the first name that came to my mind, it was Dora, my beloved wife. When I started dating, she never told me she was a Christian, she never invited me to a church, and she never preached me any sermon. (God knew what was right for me) Instead, she showed me love, patience, understanding, and care. That’s the way I meet Jesus. Every Sunday she was on a congregation… and after few weeks of dating, I ask her to invite me to her meeting. On that day, I surrender my life to God… because her actions, not her words, I got saved. After Dora, there was another person who influenced me on a great way, and his name is Jose Victor Dugand. He pastors a church at Kendall and I got baptized with my daughter Tania at his church, and for me that was the beginning of my ministry. Another man who impacted my life, was another pastor, Vincent Valedon, a man from who I learned many...

The Two D's Decision and Discipline. Those are two indispensable elements to reach sucess. One is worthless without the other. Good decisions without discipline leads to procastination; Discipline without good decision will get you only regimentation without growth. Is just like fries and catsup, nails and dirt, Dogs and Barks... You can't have one without the other to get the good taste of reaching your potential. :)

When I was a kid, I remember my afternoons riding my bike, from my house to the park and vice versa… The park had a track with a complex shape, and I loved to ride there, it was challenging remain inside the track, may be I felt down several times, but I was never discouraged by so. Today I was watching my two little ones riding, Sarai is practicing now how to stop, so she starts, and stops, starts and stops several times… then she rides for a while, then again back to practice how to use the break, and back to ride together with Sol… Then we came back to home and both of my girls wanted to read their brand new books they got a the Book Fair at School… Last night Dora was filling the report sheets for reading for Sol and Sarai. Sarai has to read 240 hours every month and Sol 400. When we summarized their accounts, Sarai got more than 700 hours and Sol over 1,100 hours… They really enjoy reading. What a great lesson I learned today. With Web 2.0 youth has no time for ride a bike or to g...