Have you reached your Potential?

One of the things that is surprising to me today, is the low value that many people assign to their own promises. Teenagers don't believe their parents, because they never fulfill their promises; Couples say "I'll stand by you forever" and few months later they walk on the opposite direction; politicians make promises to earn votes, and once the election is done, they forgot about it. I remember one of the first things I learned from my grandmother it was the value of my word. "A gentleman always fulfill his promises, a man with no word has no honor" and I learned to live by that principle. Few weeks ago, I was having a discussion with one of the leaders on the youth ministry at Flamingo Road Church about some technical difficulties we were experiencing during the broadcasting of our Student Service online, and I challenged him to fix the failures, so if he would complete the task with no errors, I will do my hair like him... (He had a Mohawk haircut with ...

Last January we were on the process of buying our house, by that time we really did't knew for sure if we could get the property for what we offered... at that time, it was uncertain the purchase of the property, but we saw a tall Christmas tree and I always wanted to have a tall tree at home and I told Dora: "We are going to buy that tree, on faith" I knew that we didn't know for sure if we were going to get our dream house, but on faith we decided to buy the tree (It was also 75% off), so we bought it and stored until we purchased our house... then it was the first box to be placed on the attic, besides other Christmas purchases and we decided to bring it on before thanks giving, so here is a picture of the just unpacked and lighted tree of the faith... Decorations will come soon!

I had the opportunity to share just a little bit of my life on a short video at Flamingo Road Church. Here is it... Arturo De la Mora Testimony from Arturo De la Mora on Vimeo .

After some research, I found the Family Crest and it is just like the one I remember it was on my Grandmother's house. I always wonder why it was there, just hanging on the entrance, no one gave me an explanation of it, it was there just like any other picture on the wall. There was always a lot of mystery on the stories of my Granddad, all I knew, he was a great band director and musician and that's all... no other comments, except that my grandmother told me once that she remember when the elected president, Don Adolfo de la Huerta visited the house when my dad was born in 1924 he came on a big limousine to visit my granddad and to meet the newborn. After few months, the president was derogated and he moved to USA, also my family moved to Wichita, Kansas because of political pressure on my granddad who was Minister of de la Huerta's cabinet... after that, in 1927, my granddad died at the age of 42 because of overweight and alcohol. My grandmother moved back to Mexico with...

Today at Dania Beach, we had the privilege to baptize more than 500 people, who decided to commit their life to Christ and have a fresh start. At Sunrise, we walked in to the waters of Atlantic Ocean and we saw how person after person, kids, teenagers, adults and people from all ages got baptized. One very special baptism was my daughter Paulina, she decided to recommit her life to Christ and follow him on baptism. I will always remember this Easter morning.

Last Friday, my beloved daughter Sol celebrated her 9th Birthday, and it was a two day celebration... so early on the morning we sang "Las Mañanitas" and "Happy Birthday to you " and on Saturday we had the party at our new home, so on the middle of all painting and repairs, we had her friends and my beloved prepared some nice art activities for the girls, we had fun, pizza, and we had the traditional Piñata and few games. We just remember how nine years ago, we were on our way to Fort Lauderdale from Mexico and while we were at Orlando, she was born. Here are some of the picture of the party:

After several trials, I got the color/texture I wanted for my bedroom. Since We moved to our new house, it has been a trial-error process, from demolishing to paint. I really wanted for my bedroom a special finish on the paint, and on our first trial, we were unsuccessful , so, we tried again, and again, and finally, I got it... and as my Pastor, Troy Gramling has encouraged us to reach our potential, some times we get discouraged after a failure, and we have two options, give up, or apply our values, think and try again. Never take a failure as a destination, failure should be always only a stop on our way to success!

From 2009 Arturo's Birthday Yesterday my beloved prepared me a surprise party at our new house  and we got Tacos with green and red mole , also Sarai , baked a cake, and Tania decorated it. Paulina and Sol helped with the decoration, and my beloved she coordinated everything. I got 264 messages on my facebook page, 28 email messages and three comments on my blog. I also got a surprise at the office from my friends with balloons and a singing "Happy Birthday" balloon with Elvis voice, a special treat with chocolate, mousse and delicious strawberries, and multiple cards. It was a very special birthday, I'm now 48, but celebrating at our new house it was a great blessing. Thanks to every one who send me a message or text or email or comment or card... it is so great to see God's love trough others.

I'm celebrating my 48 th Birthday with a new house for my family, it has been a loooooooong process but finally, last Wednesday we sign our first house in US, and we start the process of moving in and adapting the house to our likeness , our colors, ideas and more... It has been fun painting, demolishing some walls, choosing colors, selecting some new furniture, discussing some changes... but the most important thing, is that we are doing all as a family, and is helping us to share leadership, tasks, duties, games, and fun... God has been really good with us. Tomorrow we will celebrate my b-day at home, between dust, paint, tools, love and fun.

Last weekend, Troy Gramling , my pastor, shared a great teaching about what is important, while he launched the Series " Hell no, It Matters ". What is relevant about this series, is that we have to remember that is not about us, but others. At the end of the service, people was able to write the name of at least 3 persons to pray for, and placed on the walls we prepared for that purpose at church. On the Internet Campus , we also created a special form that allowed people from all over the world to connect and to participate on this task, they wrote the names on the form, and the Campus Pastor was able to write those names on different cards and put it on the wall. The line between a physical campus and an Internet Campus is getting blurred , I think soon the Internet Campus will be, just "Campus". 

Yesterday I went to eat with a very good friend seeking for a Healthy place to eat, and we found a Salads Place... and we got a mmm ... delicious Salad, healthy, nutritious , but before start eating I was wondering if that is enough to have my body running, and I just remember, that some like my plate, is what real food eats... so if a cow can survive with this, I'll do it too...  Well seriously... I'm so used to eat unhealthy that will be hard to me to get used to healthy  food, but I already make that decision . I will eat healthy by choice, and may be some day, I will see a plate like this like real food for me... 

On the XVI Century, Leonardo Da Vincy created the Master Piece "La Gioconda" and it was the prototype of Renaissance . Last week we went to Key West and I got a picture that was my own and personal Gioconda, so here is my own graphical version of it. This is one of my three Master Pieces, so enjoy.

Yesterday was President's day in US, so we had an opportunity to have a quick day off, and since we have been at Florida for almost 9 years now, and we have never visited The Keys, we drove all the way down to Key West, it was a fun experience, we had an opportunity to explore the 2nd largest Coral Reef... and I realized that I have not been swimming on the sea in the last 12 years... at least... Thanks God I'm been at the Gym recovering physical condition, because you need all your streght to swimm at open sea... My daughters swimmed like dolphins and me as a whale... It is good to remember how important is to keep yourself in shape, because time will send the bill and it will be really high when you are not taking care of yourself.

Last weekend, my Pastor Troy Gramling teach about Marriage, and how important is to seek for the symptoms of what can be a massive "Heart Attack" and some suggestions on how to prevent it, if you missed it, check it at the FRC Archives. My sister in law has been married for almost 10 years, Her husband was the one who introduced my beloved to me 12 years ago. Sadly she and her husband were having problems since the beginning of their relation fighting all the time. She accepted Christ a couple of years ago and she start praying for her husband, with no response, the problems grew and finally decided to end the relation and moved from California to Florida with her four kids. She came on faith and started attending Flamingo Road Church. On that period of time, her husband moved his eyes to Christ and accepted him as his savior, and he Fly from California to FL and he got baptized at FRC. That was their start of a new age on their marriage, they started conversations, and final...

While I was loading the container today, I experienced the result of react, instead of act. I start passing the boxes to a friend who was helping me, and at some point we piled up the boxes on the Dolly to take it to the container, when we saw it, we just laugh about our common sense. Some times in life we are so busy doing what we have to do, that we are unable to apply common sense, that is no other than stop for a second, think and execute… so act not react.. My little ones were really helpful and we had the opportunity to experience collaboration, thinking and fun. This moving story will continue… soon!

It's funny, I started my day with Romans 12 , later on my pastor had a meeting with the lead team sharing the same chapter, and two people more called me today about the same scripture... Is God talking to me? I think so. I’m on the middle of a complex moving process, so I have to store all my stuff, and in a few days I'll be moving in to a new place. It is really complex to move out! Why? We carry a lot of things in life, and many times unnecessary objects. At this point I and my beloved are reevaluating what to keep and what to discard, and Paul said on Romans 12:2 that we have to renew our understanding, discarding what is useless, keeping the functional and opening space for what is coming new.  If we keep a bunch of unnecessary possessions, at some point we'll be with no capability to acquire new something, you name it. I needed to have a POD (Portable on Demand Storage) to move out, and to store my furniture while I'm able to move in onto a new place. I'll ta...

There is a lot of fun on outside camping when you are a kid. All you need is a tent, some grass, and a lot of imagination. Sol and Sarai, decided to camp outside tonight to enjoy the open sky and to see the stars, the Orion Belt and other constellations. They got a couple of quilts, some cushions and we all lay down to watch the sky... Looking at the Universe I cannot understand how some one can believe all of that it was an accident, just a Big Bang and Kaboom! Everything was created in perfect harmony. All I can do is to thank God for all of its creation, for my family, for my life.

At Flamingo Road Churc h we encourage our staff and volunteers to live accordingly to FRC Ethos: Diversity : Is there someone not like me? Movement : Which direction am I going? Collaboration : Who am I doing life with? Potential : Is this the best that I can do? Environment : How does it make me feel? Thinking : Where am I thinking? God created us with a great potential, the problem is that very often we are unable to reach ours, just because lack of direction. Working for Flamingo Road Church has helping me to understand the importance of this rules in my life and my pastor, Troy Gramling has given us great direction on how to do life together. Living accordingly this ethos is not enough, because I believe I have to teach my little ones about it, I started late in my life to take care of my body, so it has been not easy for me to get in shape, start eating healthy etc... and I'm not there yet... as my friend Heredes said, "The best is yet to come", and now my beloved ...

Today I got a lunch invitation from a very special and beloved person, I´m talking about Sarai , my littlest one, she also invited her sister Sol and we were able to have lunch together. I'm glad I can have this opportunity often, I really enjoy having lunch together :) The time never stops and every minute you lost, is gone forever, you cannot do anything to recover it. Pictures are little reminders of what you did and what you don´t. Do not procrastinate your family time... it will never get back. Give always quality time as well as quantity time.

History is being written every day and today it was a historical day. Barack Obama protested as the 44th president of the United States. Competition concluded, now is time to work. Democrat or Republican, the competition is done. 2009 it is a challenging year and as I watched the new president of USA gave his first speech as ruler of the most powerful country in the world, I was thinking on the responsibility that every one who lives on US has; being less critical and more proactive. No matter how big or small is our roll on this country. This is the time to give our best effort to continue writing today, what will be history tomorrow.

Thanks to Martin Luther King, we had today some extra family time, so we went to Makham park to have some delicious Tostadas of Shrimp Ceviche made by my beloved. The girls were running and having fun and we enjoy the time together. We wanted to rent some boat but there was no service there today. We played volleyball , took some pictures and rescued our lost ball from the lake... a lot of fun. There is no more valuable time that the time you expend with your family. It will never be a lost of time. Family is the root, not only of society but also of success. God is my priority number 1, My beloved my number 2, and my family number 3. After that, you can name any other priorities. A strong family is the foundation of any great dream, vision or project.

Some of my friends believe I’m a genius, but the truth is that no, I’m not. I’m just persistent; once I have an objective, I refuse to give up, and that is what makes a difference. A friend of mine has this poster on his office and I really like the clearness of the concept, so I got a picture of it and here is it. Why I'm telling you this, because I’m working on a really ambitious new project and I was discussing this venture with my son Alejandro and he reminded me how persistent am I. He inherited that determination and I’m sure he will accomplish whatever goal he set in front. Life is challenging all time, and when you give up you are missing the battle without fighting. One of the rules to reach your God’s potential is being persistent. What do you procrastinate that is holding you to reach your goals? What are you thinking to quit? Don't quit now... keep on it and you'll reach your dream.

Yesterday I went with Sol and Sarai to get her Hair cutted, and first they complained that they don't wanted their hair cutted... "I love my hair", Sol said, "I want it long", Sarai complained, but after I explained the advantages of having shorter hair, finally they both agreed... then today it was the time for me. So, I went to Prime Cut, with my friend Jack, that he always does a great job and help me to have, not only a hair cut, but also to look contemporary. Changes came from the strengt of leaving behind our "Old Hair" and accepting the posibility of something diferent in our lifes. If we don't accept the changes, then we became rusty. Today, me and my girls look great, with shorter hair and longer ideas! :)

The higher you’ll set your expectations the biggest your disappointment will be. Some times I’m getting confused between a dream and an expectation. The true is that the line in between is really blurred. The dictionary said that an expectation “is eager anticipation, is what is considered the most likely to happen. An expectation, which is a belief that is centered on the future, may or may not be realistic. A less advantageous result gives the rise of our expectation, and then it turns in to a surprise” Wow… so all dreamers are condemned to the disappointment? Do we have to be so realistic that our dreams never hurt us? I believe that the difference between a dream and an expectation is Vision. The Bible said that where is no vision, people perish and a vision must be part of the dream.

It is funny to have the same quote from two different sources on the same day. Today on the morning, I got from a Latin music forum a post quoting Scott Adams, and later on, from my pastor, the same quote… “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep”, then I had a conversation with my beloved about Maria Montessori, about mistakes. Error and trial; that’s the way we learn; a child is not seeking for mistakes, but part of the learning process it to miss the bulls eye and learn from it. That is where the “Guide” or teacher has to be observing the children, not to do what he has to do, but to letting the children have the good side of the mistake. It is very important that the teacher evaluates what kind of lesson the kid can do to allow the experience to be a learning one instead of a frustrating one. We as adults some times we miss the point, we want to play “safe”, making no mistakes, staying on our own security zone, or we go to the other extre...

On 1984 I started working with a very successful man in Mexico. He was a very wealthy man and he was always easy, humble and a great friend. I asked him what he tough it was his key for success, and he answered me: “I’ll tell you on one sentence: I am a loser”… I got surprised with that answer, because to my eyes he looks like a successful man, then he told me… I cannot tell you how many times I failed on some project, or idea, or business, but I can tell you that just few of my projects succeeded, and that’s where I got my current assets. That answer really made an impact in my life and made me believe that I want to be that kind of loser. I believe life is not about success, is about being disciplined and persistent. That is what can lead you to a better stage on your existence. How many times have you failed on an attempt to reach your goals, your dreams?

Difficulties are always challenging. On my quiet time I was praying for the health of people near to me. One of my sisters in law has been at hospital since the 27th of December due to a meningitis problem. Also one of my friends is at hospital with pneumonia; the stepmother of another friend is at the Intensive Care Unit, after a difficult surgery… I was praying for all of them, and others, and during my prayer I just remembered that this is not our final destination. This is just a sand grain on the eternity that God has for us. We are so attached to this life forgetting that this is just a stop on our way. All I can do is to pray and thank God for all I have now. That’s why we have to live our life full of giving. Giving our best today… because may be tomorrow we’ll continue our journey.

Last night I was thinking about the true and real meaning of friendship. Being a friend is no just to know some one and hang out with him/her, but it is a good start. It is not just some one who listens to you; It is not just some one who laughs with you, cries with you, and encourage you when you are experiencing bad times… I believe that friendship it is the opposite… don’t think me wrong, but friendship it is not about my needs but his/her needs… Being a friend, it is about of care for him/her, it is some one to listen to, to laugh with him/her, to cry and encourage him/her on those moments when everybody else looks to be missing… and I believe that a good leader, is someone who knows how to be to be a good friend, because when you can care about of someone besides yourself, naturally you are going to be able to lead them with respect. What kind of friend do you think you are?

Here is chapter 11 on my personal history. It has been a while since I completed chapter 10, so if you want to check previous chapters, click here  After I completed the fifth grade, on summer time, I went with mom to the Military Hospital, and it looks like she got something serious... for the first weeks she was every day getting treatment, she never told me what she got, and every session was about one and a half hour, so she also arranged for me to have an appointment with the dentist, and I believe I had a lot of cavities because I got the doctor working on my mouth for several weeks... I never got engaged with kids my age, but I always was able to talk with the adults, and being every day at that hospital area it was a great opportunity for me to talk with the doctor and nurses... after few days, I started helping the doctor putting the instrumental on the sterilizer, cleaning the floor and I also helped preparing the folder for the next appointments to the nurse... I loved to b...

Have you walked near to a panaderia (bakery) while they are sweltering bread? It smell so good that invites us to walk in and get some recently baked bread; Or have you been at a restaurant where they bake their own bread? The aroma is delicious, the texture and the flavor, incomparable and with that starter, melting some butter on the yet hot bread, will make a great food experience. Once the bread it is cold, it looses its aroma and some of its flavor and texture. One of the reasons I love Flamingo Road Church is because its worship. What is this related with the bread? Because it is like a bakery on duty. This weekend we got a breathtaking worship concert… not once, but five times, and every time, it was like that fresh baked bread… At Flamingo Road Church the excellence level of the worship band it is amazing. Every detail, the lights, the sound, the arrangements, the chorus, the voices, the instruments… all together melted like the perfect recipe for bread… and its aroma was sprea...

This is me 10 years ago, and now… I was checking some of my old pictures; every one is a memory, a moment in my life... It is good to look to your past, and get some nice memories; it is also good to remember what helped you, on the past, as well as what refrained you from achieving some goal, to pursuit some dream, in one sentence… to reach your God’s potential... Why am I talking about this? Because I’m been thinking on the current situation, worldwide… and this is a challenging moment for everyone… you can see this as a problem, or you can see it as an opportunity. When everything is good, I can relax, I can be on my comfort zone, but when difficulties come, I prefer to stand and fight for my family, for my beliefs, seizing the opportunity that will come and getting ready for that moment… that’s why your past has a great value. It is called “Experience” so this is not a time to relax and enjoy our memories, it is time for action. Difficulties help us to hoist our creativity, so get ...