DAMARIS U. AVILA
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Everyone has a story to tell. When we make the connection between our story and God's great story, we come away with HIStory, which involves each and every one of us.

An Easter in quarantine

4/11/2020

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Easter has a way of making me think about it’s meaning. Even more so than Christmas. I mean Christmas is the sweet story of a baby King. But Easter, it’s not a pretty celebration that comes wrapped in a beautiful red bow. And this year, more than ever, is it making me think! I mean Easter at home? That’s just so crazy!

I was already working full time when I graduated from college. So as you can imagine, I was one of the oldest graduates in my class. And even with that said, I was still too young and immature to understand my calling, and so I pursued a degree in a field I would never actually work in. Preadolescence, I knew my calling, but I didn’t fully understand it. And as a college-aged adult, I think I lost it. Or maybe I was limited by choosing one of the majors offered without even thinking or praying about my calling. I’ve heard of people who change their careers in their 40’s and 50’s. I love this! But I feel like it’s a bigger waste when you know it and ignore it versus just not knowing until you’re older or having more than one career because that’s what you were called to do. I was called and I didn’t listen.  

One of the things that surprised me most while on this journey, is that God gave me gifts I didn’t realize I had. Art was nowhere near my extra-curricular activities and much less curricular. I was a type-A book-smart hard worker who enjoyed Math and English. So I was extra surprised at how much I loved photography, especially exploring this art with Tachu the years we dated. Well, maybe he was the inspiration, but nevertheless I loved it! Our love of photography, and each other got more serious. And one of the first things we did when we got married was create a dark room. It was so rewarding when you had that contact sheet and could see a glimpse of the black and white images you had taken and developed. Fast forward 10 years and now I was doing photography on the side while raising my girls at home with Tachu. This was a gift. But I have to be honest, I was terrible at marketing my business. I’m a natural pleaser and the thought of disappointing a client devastated me. And I didn’t want to price out the images, I wanted to give them all of the images for free. But that wasn’t a sustainable business. 
So I created an app called Dreamhouse Tasks that would help my girls learn to do chores around the house. I led the art process and the engineers and released a successful app. But ask me if I could sell it… you know the answer. It was free. 

Then I began writing. And that was an art I couldn’t get enough of either. I could write for days and I could storytell with unlimited characters. It was therapy. And then I published a book. I was ecstatic when my book came out. But I realized that writing it was only the first part of this journey. So again, I crumbled at the thought of selling my work if I wanted others to read it. You put yourself out there when you snap an image someone is purchasing and even more so when selling your writing that you’ve spent years compiling and have made yourself vulnerable to. So this time I decided I could share my book but I much rather give it away than sell it.  

And as I shared my home more, designing and styling became a passion I didn’t realize I had. I began helping friends and our community with creating and recreating spaces. Renovation and bringing new life and meaning to spaces became my new art of choice. But only as a volunteer.  

So here I am, a lover of these art forms, yet I can’t sell them if my life depended on it. And honestly, it’s not that I lack worth. Because if there’s something I know it is that I know who I am because I know Whose I am. And I believe God has given me these gifts to bless others and I feel so good doing them. 

But I have realized something of infinite worth. I have understood this by simply doing it from the heart. And that is that nothing, and I mean nothing I’ve ever done nor will ever do is as rewarding and as life-giving, as when I get the opportunity to share about Jesus with friends. Sharing Him requires zero accomplishments or awards or degrees. All it requires is an open heart willing and wanting more of Him. And He will fill your cup to overflowing. Your life to maximum fulfillment. Your heart to breakthrough truth. Your soul to endless joy. 

And now Easter makes absolute sense. It all comes together in this perfect yet devastating package filled with death, a crown, and blood. It’s a disfigured Savior who allowed Himself to be beaten to DEATH. He broke so we could be whole, He cried so we could sing, He separated so we could be united to Him. Do you see, He’s the God who did it all for His children? He didn’t ask us to sacrifice our lives for Him. He’s a giver, not a taker. 

And alas, I understand my calling, and it is to share and live for Jesus! And I don’t crumble at sharing Him. I don’t feel like I’m going to disappoint. Because the One won’t ever disappoint. 

So in the words of my Sophie, when asked what Easter means to her, Easter is LOVE! 
​

As you are home celebrating Easter during this quarantine, take this gift! He’s giving it out for free and it lasts FOREVER!!!
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walking forward after the loss of a parent

1/14/2020

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We are coming on 2 weeks since my Father-in-law passed away. For those of you that know me, when thoughts and emotions are rumbling about in me, I find peace in writing them and sharing them with all of you! The death of my Father-in-law was quick from the moment he was diagnosed. Less than a year. And then at the end his health declined rapidly. Watching my husband try and process the news was hard for the girls and me. We wanted to make his pain go away as he traveled back and forth to see him. It was excruciatingly painful. 

The death of a father forces you right back into that childlike state as you remember your life from that very first memory you are able to recollect. And it takes you on this painful journey of all the good coupled with the bad. And when you reach the present on this timeline of memories, the realization that your time with your father is up, hits you like the hardest/baddest news you could ever receive. 

How do you move forward from this? You don’t want to remain stuck here...

My father-in-law was a believer in Jesus. He was a seeker of God. He respected his children and he never imposed his beliefs on anyone. But as we all have seen, sometimes the last days are so very telling of all that has been stored in your heart. And we got to see this firsthand. His loving heart. His quest for forgiveness. His desire to make things right. The Spirit in him leading him through his final moments, his final words, his final conversations. And there he lay, a humbled and forgiven man. And is this not the very essence of the gospel of Jesus? His daughters and sons at his feet, cared for him, cried with him and loved him with the greatest love my eyes have ever seen. With arms spread wide open, there was an uninhibited exchange of hearts. Nothing being held back. God allowed these final days to be an example of His extravagant love toward His children. 

With great sadness, yet peace and joy, my girls and I watched my husband and his loving family bring peace to their father as he transitioned from this world to his heavenly home. Our hearts can only have this peace that surpasses all understanding because we know he is in the presence of his heavenly Father. What inexplicable joy it gives us in knowing that because he believed in Jesus eternity in heaven has only begun for him. Though we miss him and wish we had more time with him to make more memories, we rejoice in knowing that our time together was only a glimpse of the beginning. We will see him soon!

And maybe that’s how you keep walking forward as you allow the past to catapult you into the future. By allowing God to transform you from the inside out you allow Him to continue the work he started in your father. You pay honor to your father’s life and death by allowing our heavenly Father to continue the work of the gospel in our family.

My eldest daughter, Arianne, had the honor of keeping my Father-in-Law’s Bible. It is perhaps the sweetest gift from him as we are able to read his handwritten notes on the pages of his Bible. As we turned the pages, God’s Spirit led us to a Psalm he had highlighted. This has become our year’s verse as we remember our dear Granpa Eric. So this is our prayer for this year and we hope it will be yours too…

Psalm 90:12
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Salmo 90:12
Enséñanos de tal modo a contar nuestros días,
Que traigamos al corazón sabiduría.

​
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WHEN WEAKNESSES LEAD YOU INTO GROWTH

12/16/2019

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I stare at my sweet little and ask her to turn around so I can take a picture of her. Watching her stand there in the prettiest skirt my mother-in-law just made her I think about how grown up she looks today. It happens slowly but it really feels like it happens overnight and you don’t know where the last 365 days went of teeth falling out and adult teeth coming in. Cheek bones becoming more defined. Smile becoming sweeter and her coming into her own. The long days all of a sudden feel so short and you realize that every day, every hour, every minute, every second with her, growth was happening. Her life has been in constant change and growth since she was born.

And isn’t mine too? My life in constant change and growth? It definitely doesn’t always feel that way. Change, yes. Growth, not so much. Since God led me to leave my corporate job and stay home with my girls now over 10 years ago, I’ve not always felt growth. And it’s definitely harder to see when you’re no longer sitting down with your boss at the end of the year for your performance review and maybe a nice bonus attached to it! There really aren’t any fair visible metrics to gauge performance and abilities on this job. Well, at least not in the way that I was used to. But actually, there is an even better performance review I’ve just realized. 10 years later! And I’m feeling rather passionate about sharing it with you this morning because I don’t want you to miss out on seeing it, like I did!

In the last 10 years I’ve gone through seasons of feeling stuck and irrelevant. Seasons where everything was pulled from under me that I couldn’t take care of my girls. Seasons of feeling bad at everything I do. And sure, I have felt good at some things but somehow the stronger and longer-lasting feelings are the failures. Well, “failures” because I can now see that they aren’t failures at all, just stepping stones and seasons of growing pains. 

I often fill up with despair hoping and praying that God would change my circumstances instead of praying that God would grow me through my struggles. I’ve thought about this for a few days now and God has reminded me that we are not supposed to see weaknesses as weak. I know that sounds weird and maybe doesn’t make sense. Let me explain. We are to see our weaknesses not as indicators of failure, but as indicators of future growth. Our weaknesses aren’t meant to drive us into despair or debilitating frustration. They are meant to grow us. They have a purpose. And the truth is that in the end, weaknesses become strengths that point us not to our own abilities but to God’s ability to turn a weakness into a victory.

All of these less-than ideal seasons I went through, God used to write His story in my life and lead me to my purpose:
  • so that as a young 3rd grader long ago when I struggled with reading and writing because of poor comprehension and dual language at home, that was deemed a “language barrier,” God used to grow me into a writer today as I was given the opportunity to share my story through my latest published book (well, God’s work!). 
  • so those 5 months in bed in absolute despair and solitude weren’t days where I couldn’t take care of my girls, but were days where I slowed down enough to greet my girls after school on my bed where I lay 24/7. Through hugs and kisses and giggles I got to embrace them for hours on end.​
My girls were in constant change and growth and all they needed was a present and loving mom, and that’s exactly what God did in our family. Though I couldn’t have known that there was purpose in those days of weak health, now I see my girls grown up (and still growing), and can say thank you God, for slowing me down enough to only what was needed. 

And now I see that those days have grown me into the woman I am today. Those days, have grown my girls into the women they are today and still into the women they will become. I don’t know my full story yet and I don’t know theirs. But I do know that when I am living out God’s purpose for my life, I am growing and I am victorious in His strength. Because if I have to depend on my own strength, I lose focus. But if I depend on His strength, I will be victorious, EVERY SINGLE TIME!

So as I look at the lives of other moms, or other women, I want to constantly remember, that I am not to view myself as less-than because my life doesn’t look like theirs. When I see a career that is booming and growing, I am not to see myself as less-than because my career isn’t advancing. My life is unique. My purpose is unique. So my identity as a woman is not in who I have become as the world sees it, but in who God created me to be. 

And that is my new performance review, am I becoming the woman God created me to be? Because that is all that matters! So really, it’s not about performance but about purpose!
​

So my prayer is this, “God, take my weakness, my lack, and in Your strength make it victorious that I might live out Your purpose in my life!” In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

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The Sweetest Easter

4/18/2019

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“For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” (Psalm 57:10) “I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.” (Psalm 71:22)
​

Today marks the almost 2,000th Holy Friday since Jesus gave Himself up to be crucified for the salvation of all Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles). Today is the day we celebrate that He, though in excruciating anticipation, did the will of His Father. This year I really didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meditate on Him during Holy Week. To quietly walk through His journey by reading all about it in the Gospel of John. Yet there hasn't been anything quiet about this week. Earlier in the week we saw the furnace that was created within the Notre Dame. We saw the flames that threatened to completely destroy this Cathedral. As Ann Voskamp so beautifully put it, and yet we saw “A secular world still seeks the sacred.”

And as our family observed this, we also experienced a very sad night on the Wednesday of Holy Week. My younger sister’s two sweet little fur babies, attacked by a neighborhood dog, didn’t recover from the injuries. In a matter of hours both dogs were gone. It was tragic for my parents who had been caring for them the last year. It was tragic for my sister who had cared for her sweet dogs for the past 8 years. And it was sad for the sisters and cousins who grieved for her pain and loss and for the days that they will no longer be able to play with these sweet pups. And you realize life is so fragile. And it amazes me just how much room we have in our hearts to love on these companions and love them as our own. So, our hearts are broken today. And somehow I’m able to see the good in this bad narrative. That while our hearts grieve for the pain my parents and sister are living, can it not bring us that much more vulnerable and closer to the cross this Holy Friday. That though we are reminded how painful this life really is, we can all the more be filled with an enormous amount of gratitude at what our Savior did on that dark Thursday night.

That through sweat and tears He got up after praying to His Father the following: “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39) His sweetest most obedient words “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” The words that led to His obedience, led Him to the cross. The laying down of Himself for all of us.

So today as you celebrate one more Holy Friday, may your aches and pains and disappointments and grieving make you that much more vulnerable to feeling His pain and receiving His gift of perfect, extravagant, precious love. Don’t fight the pain, the grieving or the loss. But let it catapult you into the sweetest Easter you have ever celebrated. Keep seeking the sacred. Keep seeking Jesus. 

Wishing you a heartfelt Holy Friday, 
​Damaris U. Avila


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A Letter of Hope to Paradise and all Affected by the Fires

11/15/2018

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How do I begin to express the sadness in my heart watching the devastation unfold, hearing hurting hearts cry out after the loss of a home and even a loved one. And you’re left with an aching heart for the community you once knew and cherished. I read about your stories of boundless love and bravery taking your family to safety. I hear about the minute-by-minute decisions made to drive away from the inferno surrounding you. You have lived hell on earth. I am so sorry.



I think about Paradise, California. And I’m reminded that our Father has promised us a paradise. A Garden of Eden where the waterfalls overflow and the fields whisper His name. Where the flowers abound and the breeze delivers a sweet aroma, and peace, love, hope and joy are endless. And so I say to you dear survivors, that there is hope. Tomorrow will be a better today. We can feel it on the horizon. And in the meantime, we pray for rain. We pray for a miracle to the God who has prepared a place for us no eyes can imagine. And when your heavy heart can't pray, we will pray!


And to all of us affected by the air. We don’t appreciate the oxygen we so desperately breathe and need until it becomes contaminated and toxic to our lungs. May we breathe in the oxygen of His truths and His promises: that if we pray He will answer. So tonight like never before, pray for rain. Pray that He would open the floodgates of heaven and send us rain. Believe in His promises. Believe in Him.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6

Earnestly praying alongside you,
Damaris U. Avila
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The worst day of our lives

1/19/2018

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Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  - John 12:25

And there it was, the verse that God was revealing to me after enduring one of the worst days of our lives.

She fell asleep like every other night. Except this night, she had crawled into her little sister’s bed because she was not feeling well. By 11p.m. she was in my bed uncomfortable because her stomach ached. She said it was about a 3 on a scale from 1-10. She moved all night long, insomnia is what we figured. She was restless.

By 6am, her entire countenance had changed. Pale and with pain-stricken eyes she cried, “my stomach hurts, I don’t know what to do.” She curled up and soon enough her cry turned into screaming and panting. What to do? We woke up her younger sister and got her out out of bed, dressed her and we all ran out the door to the emergency room. As we drove, a song I will never forget, played on the radio. My husband turned it up as he drove: 

“You’re an overcomer
Stay in the fight 'til the final round
You're not going under
'Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when he reminds you
That you're an overcomer”
-Mandisa

With tears in her eyes for her older sister, my youngest looks at me and says “mami, this song is so perfect.”

We knew that holding on to God was the only thing that was going to get us through today. And these songs got us through that unbelievably long ride to the hospital.

We arrive and they see us immediately. We are in the room within 15 minutes of arriving. In record time for any ER visit, I must say. The doctor comes in and they draw blood. You don’t want to get bad news, but you also want to get some news because the unknown might kill you faster than the truth. But we are sent home with a clear. Blood work and urine sample are negative. Well, a virus for now that my sweetheart will have to ride out. We leave the hospital. But just as we pull into the pharmacy near our house to get her some meds for the pain, she gets worse. “Why couldn’t this have happened while still in the ER,” I ask myself. She’s throwing up and in so much pain. All I could think of doing is calling her Pediatrician to see if he had seen patients with the same symptoms. He might know what to do.

Her Pediatrician calls back right away and calms us. It will pass, it’s going around. There’s some relief in knowing that others have it. But then again, it’s awful to think that anyone else could have such a horrific virus. Two o’ clock comes around and it’s the worst episode yet. My sweet girl begins panting and kicking and screaming. The pain is unbearable this time. She curls up and screams and can’t find a comfortable position. Standing, sitting, laying, crawling, it all hurts the same. Oh my heart, what to do. They didn’t want us giving her anything more than tylenol so as to not mask any other symptoms in case it is appendicitis or something worse. There’s nothing I can give her. Another call to the doctor because she is telling me she doesn’t want to go back to the ER. But I have to do something. The doctor tells us to bring her in, right away.

I don’t know what was worse, hearing her in pain at home or in the doctor’s room and still feeling helpless. Hearing her scream “I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore. I don’t have any energy left. Why does it hurt so much?” So I cry out, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” I cannot conjure up anything more. When all you can do is cry out His name, you hope that the army of prayer warriors you have texted, are lifting you up in prayer because you’re just barely holding on. So when you’re barely holding on, you let others lift you up so that ultimately Jesus is the One lifting you up.

Too many minutes had past and the doctor was still not in our room. It felt like forever. He finally comes in as he hears her screams through the walls. My poor baby girl, sits up and explains her symptoms through her tears. He checks her, and he sends us to the Children’s Hospital ER, immediately.

We arrive and they call for more tests. Ultrasound, blood work, IV. She had not eaten for almost 24 hours and had not been able to keep fluids down.

The agony of the wait. Why is this so hard?

But praise God, the ultrasound comes back negative. We have some answers. But then, what is it? It’s clear, it’s viral. My goodness, how can a virus cause this much pain? By now, she’s feeling hungry and thirsty. No doubt this whole ordeal was the most intense workout of her life. She’s famished. We get the clear to give her some water and juice. After keeping that down, we give her some rice. She’s able to keep that down and has earned some motrin! I don’t think she’s ever been happier to drink medicine in her life. Finally, some relief.

January 16 is a day I will never forget. Seeing our daughter in so much agony and unable to take it away, felt like my oxygen had been taken from me. But we saw a miracle. After 12 gruesome hours, she was healed. He heard and He answered.

I have to be honest with you, though. The question still simmered, “but why?” As she recovered the next day, we heard the story of Lazarus on Haven Today Radio. She looked at me and said “in the same way Jesus raised Lazarus, Jesus healed me yesterday.” And there it was, the first answer to my “why?” You have to let your kids endure these hardships. God is writing His story in her life and she has her own story to tell. Her own story of pain, suffering and victory. I absolutely hate what happened, but I absolutely love that her faith is stronger. You can’t have faith without adversity because it’s the only way to know for certain that your God exists.

The following day she wakes up so ready for school. She has never been so happy to get back to the day-to-day school life. As she leaves I’m able to sit back and reflect. Once again I listen to Haven Today Radio. As I listen, there it is, it hits me like lightning:  The second answer to my “why?” "Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:25) Another version says: "Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity." I love when things become so clear to me where I can grasp the meaning and the purpose of it all. A revelation from The Father to a mother. Our lives are not meant to be easy. They’re not meant to be without difficulties. Though I never, ever want to go through that again, I realize that if my daughter falls in love with this world, she has not grasped the reality of where God wants to take her. He wants to take her to an eternal home. A home where she will be with her Jesus, with her eternal Father. A home where pain, suffering and sorrow will not exist. It will be perfect. So at the young age of 11, my sweet girl has learned a very harsh truth, life is hard! But with Jesus within us, we will not only get through it but will be victorious!

So I leave you with the words to the last song we heard in the car that morning:

“He's making diamonds, diamonds
Making diamonds out of dust
He is refining and in His timing
He's making diamonds out of us”
-Hawk Nelson

In His Grip,
Damaris U. Avila



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On that dark and fearful night...

12/24/2017

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Picture
​On that dark and fearful night when Mary carried our Savior in her womb, door after door, knock after knock she was sent away. The One who invites us in, was not invited in at any inn. The One who makes room for us all was met with no room at all in all of Bethlehem. A weeping and desperate Mary carried Grace and Love in her womb. Yet door after door, knock after knock she was sent away. The One who gives us His warm and gentle heart was met with a cold and hostile heart inn after inn.

Upon entering an open door, Mary found herself in the darkest, loudest, dirtiest most uncomfortable room; a cave, a barn, designed for the very animals the Savior in her womb had created. Surrounded by wailing animals, I imagine the Baby’s cry penetrated Mary’s and Joseph’s heart and soul. The first sound of their Savior’s voice, the first touch of His fingers, the first warmth of His breath – The One who brought love, joy, peace, redemption and healing, rested in Mary’s and Joseph’s arms.

He came down to us to to meet us right where we are. No amount of sin could keep Him away so He came into our reality that we might fall to our knees in awe of who He is. Though not destined to come in external royalty or status, He came in the most dark and rejected of realities and He brought His glorious kingdom down to us.

Only He can make beauty from a dark and fearful night. May we open our hearts to Him this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!
Damaris U. Avila
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Interruptions: Make a Moment

12/12/2017

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  “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” -John 4:15


On this incredibly special day right at noon, The Samaritan woman’s daily routine of filling her jar with a day’s worth of water, was totally interrupted. Like you and me, she had her list of “to do’s” and I quite doubt she had factored in time to chat with a stranger - much less to receive a lesson on water. She knew it was necessary to her survival and that is why she visited this well to collect the very needed jar of water.

This woman saw a parched and tired Jesus that afternoon. She stopped and listened to Him when He asked her “Please give me a drink.” (verse 7b) She was stunned that He would talk to her. Even more stunned that He would ask her for a drink. She was a non-Jew, non-male, Samaritan Woman. Not someone He should have been talking to by Jewish standards. But Jesus always sees and speaks to the unseen and the unheard - to those no one else makes time for.

On this special day, a woman received the greatest gift she could have ever imagined. The disciples that had been on this journey with Jesus, were not there at this moment as they had gone into the village to get food. So Jesus made a moment to speak with this woman. And this woman made a moment to speak with this Jesus. Through a series of reciprocal questions, she learns that this man before her is THE Jesus. THE Messiah. THE One this earth had been waiting for. And even after the truth of her 5 past husbands surfaces, she realizes Jesus knows and still chooses to talk to a non-Jew, non-male, Samaritan Woman, with 5 ex-husbands. It’s astonishing during an era where society likely shunned her because of it.

When we envision this story we see Jesus walking, tired and parched. He sits at the well and begins an amazing conversation with this woman. He wants to offer her so much more than the water she is there to collect. He wants to offer her His living water. “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life,” He explains to her. The woman could have very well answered “I’m sorry but I need to get back quickly. I can not speak with you,” and then walked away. She could have ignored him altogether. But she allowed herself this interruption - she was intrigued. He did the unimaginable so it allowed her to do the unthinkable. She answered Him.

Had she not allowed this mysterious and abrupt interruption that day, she would have missed Jesus altogether. Had she not allowed this precious and life-giving interruption that day, she would have missed His gift. She would have never asked for this, “give me this water!”

I wonder what life would be like if I allowed myself to be interrupted to chat with a total stranger. It’s hard to fathom because there are days I barely have time to eat and drink let alone, time for chatting with a stranger. But how would my life be transformed if I allowed for interruptions in my life, particularly this Advent season? How might someone's life be transformed when I allow a moment of interruption? I might respond like The Samaritan woman: “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone…” Oh the beauty that would ensue if I made a moment to leave what I am doing to run and tell others!

So my dear reader, allow interruptions to slow you down. Make a moment for Jesus. Receive and give the gift of Living Water this season and every season.

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You were planted for greatness

10/31/2017

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​It’s kind of interesting how trees have become a sudden interest of mine. Maybe it’s because I await the day our newly planted trees block the window in my neighbor’s home. Searching for the fastest growing tall trees became a mission for my husband and I. It had me looking at trees like never before. I mean fixating on trees in gardens, roadways, freeways, and parks – everywhere! I promise I’m not the un-neighborly type. It’s just that we haven’t received very warm fuzzies from that part of the house. In fact, the neighbors have made it clear they do not like us nor want us here.  So any privacy mechanisms that will help alleviate the tension are very much appreciated. 
 
So when we finally planted the trees and they didn’t grow more than an inch over a few months, we knew we hadn’t planted the right trees.  So upward and onward.  My husband researched and finally found the ones that would do it.  They are planted now and we patiently (ok impatiently) await the outcome.
 
So as I think about these trees, I find myself reading from the “Uninvited” study series by Lysa TerKeurst and something totally stands out to me. The study asked me to write down “promises that you long to see fulfilled in your life” from Isaiah 61.  I read, “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” A “planting of the LORD” – so I think: rooted in Him, watered by Him, Lit up by Him, to be displayed like flowers. So I look up the characteristics of an oak tree and I read: “exceedingly strong, heavy and durable, resistant to fungal attack, long lifetime.”  It hit me.  I want to be an oak of righteousness, firm, steady and ready.  I want to be planted and rooted in Him for the “display of his splendor” that I would walk like a flower - a beautiful, blossoming, ripe, colorful, cheerful, bright and joyful flower - that my stem would be straight and firm, steady through any kind of weather pattern. One that would move so elegantly with the shifting winds and one that would remain ready for any rainfall, hail or storm.  One that would overcome resistance and overpower temptation - a force to be reckoned with like an oak tree that is strong, durable and resistant to attack - a long lasting oak tree.
 
All of a sudden I find that this should be my response to my neighbors. They may not like us but we can still love them - because like an oak tree, we are firm and durable, fully rooted in His love. So I can come from a place of fulfillment to replace bitterness with endearment.  And not just with an unfriendly neighbor but with every facet of my life.  Because this isn’t something we haven’t received, but a promise that God has already given us.  This promise is ours for the taking.  This promised has been fulfilled and is right there for us. 
 
So I challenge you today to stand firm and to live boldly in His promise ” I am an oak of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
 
Damaris Avila
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The Back-to-School Blues

9/7/2017

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September is the beginning of a new school year, a new season in life, yet it always comes with such mixed emotions. And this year in particular we find ourselves in such turmoil within our hearts, our cities, our country, our world. Apocalypse-esque floods in Houston, monsoon floods in South Asia, continued hurricanes and fires throughout our country; all in addition to all we see unravel in our personal lives and that of our family’s. Not to mention the financial burden of back-to-school supplies, clothes shopping and tuition for some. Or maybe being confronted with the new season of teenage changes and the teenage blues that come with it. No wonder it feels so overwhelming when we add the back-to-school schedules and activities.

Some of you might even find yourselves in the back-to-work reality for the first time since giving birth to your new baby. It all leaves very little room for dealing with our own emotions as we and our children enter a new season of life. Maybe your child is off to kindergarten or entering a graduation year and you've just dropped them off for their last first day of school.

They say children don't come with a manual and neither does motherhood. I received a lot of advice when my kids were born and into their preschool years. Sometimes even unsolicited advice from strangers at grocery stores. But no one ever told me how hard September would be. I find that every year I forget about the previous Fall and then find myself in this reality of complete exhaustion - still recovering from the summer months with my kids at home.

But not this year! I finally learned my lesson - oh the hard way. So today, sweet mom, I hope that these words might encourage you and lift you up wherever you find yourself on this spectrum of motherhood. Maybe you're the “I can't stop smiling mama” because your kids are in school or maybe you're the “I can't get into a groove right now” mama. But I bet one things for certain for all of us, we’re all feeling a little spiritually parched. Most Bible Studies and groups take a break in the summer and unfortunately so does our spiritual well-being. But there is hope!

When I vacation from reading His Word I realize that it is no vacation at all. Because true rest and peace comes from being in His Word, no matter where you are. Because even if you find yourself in the middle of the storm, your heart can be at peace because you are walking and talking with your Savior. Because even if you find yourself in the depths of disaster, when you rest your soul on His Truth, you can get up each morning and thank Him. Thank Him even in the loss.

So as this year's first day of school approached, this forgetful mama finally remembered what she already knew: remain in Him. Only then was I able, for the first time, to embrace the moment and be present for my kids not letting the otherwise crazy running around and scrambling to complete the "back-to-school to do" list saga get the best of me. I want God to get the best of me because then my kids and husband get the best "me." Not an anxious mama who doesn't know how to handle the moment she walks back into the house and reality strikes. Or the moment she walks back into the office and the painstaking reality that she dropped off her son or daughter at college hits her like a thousand needles piercing her heart. Then the regrets of what she failed to do.

So… pray, and pray some more. Become a prayerful mom who knows that she knows that she knows, that He will sustain her. Read Scripture. Read a verse, a chapter, a book in the Bible. Study His Word. The Bible is a mine with all kinds of goodness waiting for you to read to be replenished. And surround yourself with women who will encourage you when you need it most.  
In His Hand,
Damaris Urizar Avila


ENCOURAGEMENT
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 (NIV)

TAKING ACTION
Open your home to women in need of encouragement, just like you. Walk alongside one another and pray for each other. Start a TEA Time (Totally Encouraging all the Time) Group where you lead women in a time of Biblically-based inspiration and encouraging words and facilitate open conversation about life and personal struggles. There’s something so powerful about women encouraging women and then praying for one another throughout the week. I’d be happy to share more with you. Just send me a message on the contact page.  

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    Damaris U. Avila lives with her loving husband and their two inquisitive and sweet girls. Through personal storytelling, she invites women to share and see themselves in God's story. She leads young girls through BeYOUtiful Girl Time, a sisterhood where girls are encouraged to become the women God designed them to be. 

    "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." 
    - Ephesians 6:18

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