Love that will sweep you off your Feet

What are your plans for today? Do you plan to go shopping for those last minute items or are you just beginning your Christmas shopping today? Are you already in the kitchen preparing treats and goodies for your Christmas dinner or party that you plan to attend? Or are you sleeping in and trying to get caught up on your honey do list since you are off for a few days? 

Well we are already up and we have begun our busy Christmas holiday. The kids are watching a Christmas movie, we have cookies in the oven, and I snuck away from the busyness of my long list of to do items to talk to you. I feel that the Lord has given me a message to share and I just could not wait to tell it. So please take a moment from your busy schedules and read this.


This season we have blogged about our journey through the advent. We talked about hope, peace, joy, and today I want to share with you LOVE. Do you know God loves you where you are? He does not care how many gifts you have under the tree, how many casseroles you have to prepare for dinner, or the things you must complete over this holiday. He only cares for you. Jesus is our gift, but we are also a gift for God. This is the gift that keeps on giving and the gift that made ALL the difference. 


My pastor reminded us on Sunday to know love is to know God and to know God is to know love. John 3:16 tells us for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Bible also tells us in Romans 3:23 for all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So none of us are perfect. None of us are worthy. But if you confess that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and resurrected three days later for your sins then you are saved. God is speaking to you and telling you that He doesn't speak to the perfect but the imperfect. God wants you all bumps and bruises. He is here to heal you, cover you, and to Love you. Romans 10:9 says if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It is that easy. To know God is to know Love. Jesus was born on Christmas day so he would live a life as a sinless man and then ultimately pay the price for each of us on a hill in Calvary. So let me ask you again. What are your plans for today? Can you pencil in at the top of your list to say Thanks to Jesus for being born and for paying the price for each of us? The gift that keeps on giving and the gift that made ALL the difference.

Merry Christmas from the Aguirre's

Feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of Peace

Jesse and I teach preschoolers for Sunday School and this month we have been sharing about the birth of Jesus. Well last week we talked to them about Mary and Joseph and how the Angel of the Lord appeared with a message that Mary would be carrying God's Son, Jesus. We talked about the Inn, His birth, the manager, and we talked about the Kings. We then talked about the gifts they brought and related it to the true meaning of Christmas. At the end I asked them what gifts they wanted for Christmas. Well one said Mac & Cheese, another said a puppy, and finally one of them said they wanted a toy. I asked Mr. Jesse (as I call him to the kiddos) what he wanted for Christmas and he said he wanted clothes. And then he said Mrs. Krista what do you want for Christmas....... I really didn't have an answer and what is funny is I knew if I asked him the question that he was going to ask me the question. What do I want for Christmas?? Hmmm.... Then one of our preschoolers said you want a baby.....Wow she was right. I do want a baby and immediately tears welled up in my eyes and I said Yes I do want a baby for Christmas.


What is Peace to me? Well I always think of peace when I think of Silent Night. This song reminds me to be calm, to be still, and to be the light as God is the light. John 14:27 says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God." These verses always give me a sense of calmness and I can feel the Holy Spirit wrapping His arms around me. So as I was reminded that day in Sunday School of my hearts most deepest desire, I was also reminded of God's peace within me. As Christ adopted me 20 years ago He even at that time was wrapping His arms around me. He loved me before I knew who He was, He shielded me from harm, and He took away all of my fear. You see God has shown me over these past 20 years what it is to be a parent. I have already began loving this little one before I even know them, I will shield them from all harm, and I will let them know to never be afraid.

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child. Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

Jumping for Joy

What is joy? It's funny when you start to think about the joy we have in our lives and how we easily mistake our happiness for joy. Is joy the type of job we have, our social status, our bank statement or even our friends? Or is true joy knowing that only by grace and by grace alone that we are able to know how blessed we are for having Jesus Christ in our hearts. 

Joy comes from God....

Joy was born in the person of Jesus Christ....

And we are called to spread the Gospel and to bring the message of JOY to others.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.- Luke 2:10-11 NIV

Lately I have sensed the urgency to spread the joy that I have had in my heart. I have had to step back from the busyness of my schedule and had to make time to share with others. I had this chance this past Saturday as I joined a friend on a day trip to Memphis to help hand out clothes, food, and Bibles. We went out early on Saturday morning with 30 bags. Each bag had nonperishable foods, water, socks, gloves, and some hygiene supplies, we even had men's clothing and about 270 Bibles. We set out to share God’s joy and His word to everyone or anyone. We first began by driving around the south side of Memphis. We would stop people in the middle of the street and ask if they wanted to be blessed. Most of people looked at us like we were crazy. But once they understood our intentions they came around. Every bag came with a Bible and an instant prayer. It's interesting to see people's reaction to two guys just driving around handing our bags and praying for people. 

I would never forget this one lady name Linda. As we stopped she came over and asked what we were doing, I immediately said we are handing out blessings and prayers. She accepted the blessing and I handed her a bag of items and then I handed her a little Bible. Her face immediately lit up. She asked if she could really keep the bible, I said yes. She began to tear up, I then asked her if I could pray for her and if she had any prayer request, she became overwhelmed with joy. Asking me why I am doing this? Why would I come all the way from Nashville to Memphis just to hand out bibles? I told her it's because Jesus loves us so much and I wanted to share His love and joy with others. So we began to pray... After about 2-3 minutes of prayer I looked at my friend Linda, she was so moved that she began to cry. She admitted that she needed something special that day.

What about JOY now? Are you being challenged? Go out share your joy with others. 

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.- Matthew 5:14-16

I Hope the Shoe fits

For all of you who know me and how Grinch like I am around the holidays would be so surprised to know that our tree made an appearance right after Thanksgiving this year. I guess you could say that maybe I am changing.There is something to be said about preparing for motherhood and for this little one to come. Talking with my sister earlier as they were hanging up all the handmade ornaments that she has already collected and waiting to see what this year's ornament may be gave me a great sense of Hope. 

My pastor asked this Sunday what does hope mean? I didn't answer aloud but the first thing that came to my mind was expecting and then of course expecting a child and then I hope we have a baby soon. Yes I sometimes have ADD and I totally lost it and went there. But then he started talking about what do you think Mary thought of when she found out she was pregnant and that her baby boy would be the Messiah. Wow I was given chills. I put myself in Mary's shoes for a moment. A huge honor but also a great task that she had in front of her. What a woman of great love, strength, and faithfulness. I hope that I can be this strong and loving when my call comes. 

This advent season I would like to share my journey through life and through adoption. If I look back over my life I can see that by having Hope I was able to get through many situations. Romans 12:12 NIrV tells us that When you have hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful. What a powerful message here of truth, faithfulness, and power. God is going to be with you at all times just keep hoping, be patient, and keep praying. 

Here are some of my hopes:

• I hope and pray that I will be a good mom to this little one.
• I hope this little one comes soon.
• I hope that those overseas fighting and defending will return safely and soon.
• I hope that they find a cure for all cancers and for all diseases.
• I hope that all food and water will be clean and that no one will ever go hungry again.
• I hope that Human Trafficking ends.
• I hope all members of my family accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

Some people think I am very optimistic, I like to think I am a dreamer. I also know that dreams do come true. So what are some of your hopes and dreams? What are you expecting? 

the First Step is Always the Hardest

We promise we have not left you guys... we have just been a little busy and haven't been able to continue telling you about what the Lord is doing through our adoption. Let us first start off by saying THANK YOU so much for your prayers. Please keep them coming. You do not know how much we feel them every day. It is so encouraging when we hear that you have our picture on your fridge and every time you see it you pray specifically for us, our birth family, and our child. If you do not have a photo of us and would like one please email us and we will make sure we send you one.

Not sure if you aware but this month is National Adoption Month and a year ago this Sunday is when we officially began the adoption process. As you know I have described the adoption process as a rollercoaster ride and I haven't really been very specific on some of those details. Here are some details that we can share of what just happened last week. Please note that we are not allowed to share any more because of the confidentiality of the process. 

Well last week we received our first call from the adoption agency and they told us that a baby was born and that the mother wanted to know more about us to place him in our home. After prayers and tears Jesse and I agreed to show the birth family our adoption profile. You could only imagine the excitement and nervousness we felt. This was totally different than we thought. This baby is already born.  I thought we would have a couple of months to finalize our nursery, to get a car seat, and a name. How long can you have a baby without a name? These were all things that I knew we could get in the typical two months after the birth family chooses you. But this was getting REAL at this point.

Sorry I cannot share the details after that since it is confidential but the end result was that the family decided that the Lord had prepared them to raise this little one. I will tell you that I know the Lord guarded our hearts and guess what we had perfect peace about it. I told the counselor that we did not need any extra counseling because we knew that this was not our baby. I was amazed that we didn't completed lost it, and we still even today have perfect peace.  

John 14:27 says Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Now here is how you can help... Please keep on praying for us. The Lord and your prayers helped us get through last week. I can't wait to share about the feeling of knowing when I have perfect peace that this child is the one. Also you can help us share our story. A few months ago our closest friends Leslie and Alan came over and allowed us to share our testimony with you guys through a video. This video will also be included on our GoFundMe account if you could share this online. We want people to be able to hear our testimony all over the world. God has a plan and purpose for this story whether it will be viewed by our birthmother herself or maybe inspire someone who is dealing with cancer or infertility. Lastly thank you to everyone who purchased our T-shirts. We still have some available if you would like to buy one. Just email us and we can mail it to you where ever you are.

Now get out the popcorn and gather your family and friends and check out our adoption video. (BTW- Jesse and I are 40+pounds lighter than we are in this video.. more to come on that story)

got "Rhythm in my Feet" and music in my soul

If you would have told me several years ago that I would be a writer I would have laughed. Writing is not something that appeals to me, I actually do not like to write. Writing is just not something that I feel called to do.

It is pretty amazing that when you sit down at the computer and you know you have to write something and when the time comes to actually put something on paper. You may know the topic, you may not know the topic. All you know is that something is stirring in your mind that needs to be heard or meant for your readers. So you put your hands on the keyboard and something amazing happens...you begin to type.. and letters and words appear on your screen. You just keep on going and before long you notice that you have 5 paragraphs. This happened last month when I was writing another blog.

Well after you finish you go back and you read your words and you are amazed that you actually wrote that. You began to say wow that was me and wow I am a pretty good writer. Well I feel like I am a good writer, but not a GREAT writer. I think over time as I begin to build confidence and as I learn to reveal pieces of myself. I think I may become a GREAT writer. But for now I just want to write from my heart. I just want to share stories that mean so much to me. 

The story that I would like to share this week is a story of my friend Melody. Every time I hear or sing the song, "In my heart there rings a melody" I think about my friend Melody. She is such an encouragement and true inspiration to me. She has strength and courage and she has a spunky personality. I believe God placed her in my life for many reasons, one being that we are alike in so many ways. We love Mexican food, we love Southern Gospel music, and we just love to laugh. Spending time with Melody has been the highlight of my week. I know that every Wednesday we get to spend time together worshiping the Lord and studying His word. I just want to thank Melody for being that inspiration to me and encouraging me throughout the week with her smile. 

A few weeks ago Melody inspired me more than she will ever really know. See we typically share our hymnals and Bibles during Wednesday night study. So just like any Wednesday I was prepared to share with her. But God had another plan... As I sat down my purse a Gideon New Testament Bibles popped out. She saw it and was like ohhh what is that? It never really crossed my mind that we share my Bible each week and that she doesn't have one with her. I immediately offered it to her. She of course took the Bible and placed it near her heart and hugged it. What a precious gift it was for her! It was Melody's copy, something she treasured and valued. Something that she could bring by herself on Wednesday nights and of course she did for several weeks. Well one night Melody didn't bring her Bible. I believe she looked at me several times to see if I noticed it, but to be honest I didn't even realize it. She then told me that she was so sorry that she didn't bring the Bible tonight. I told her no worries I have mine we can share. I later found out from her sister that she placed her Bible in a safe place so it wouldn't get washed, but that Melody was looking everywhere for it and thought she had lost this precious gift. 

Let me ask you something. Is that what God's word means to you? Well this was a question I needed to ask myself. Does God's word ignite your heart, nourish your soul, evaluate your desires, illuminate your path, reveal the real you?? Ask these questions daily. Because God's word will do these things. Hebrews 4:12 tells us the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Thank you Melody for this constant reminder that God's word is powerful and that we should not take it for granted. That my Bible is a precious gift and that I need to read it every day and to be obedient to what the Lord would ask me to do.

In my heart there rings a melody 

There rings a melody with heaven's harmony; 

In my heart there rings a melody 

There rings a melody of love!

"Lord, plant my Feet on higher ground"

1. For the first time in the adoption process I had a weak day or moment. One day last week I had a I want my baby now kind of a day. I haven't had one of those this entire time and remember I talked about the roller coaster ride. Well this is part of the journey.   

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1. God revealed to us early on that he placed us on this journey to tell others our story. And wow...we have had numerous opportunities to share our story. We were able to be on the news and were in the Tennessean. This is really not what I had in store for us but God opened this doors and we were obedient. As we shared and continue to share our story we pray that God would use our story to honor and glorify His name. Please be in prayer as God isn't done yet.

1. Last week I lost focus. I took my mind off the call and was disobedient. As I was speaking with a friend this scripture came to my mind. Philippians 3:14 says I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This scripture is pretty much the mission that God has placed before us. I took my eyes off the prize. I decided to not follow the path that God had laid out for me, but to venture down a side road. This road was dusty, rocky, out of GPS service, and seemed to have no light at the end of the tunnel. This road took me far away from where I was supposed to be. When I reached the end of the road all I found was jealousy, greed, and sorrow and I didn't like being there. I hit rock bottom and I began to pray. God revealed to me this song: 

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2. I’m pressing on the upward way,
3. New heights I’m gaining every day;
   Still praying as I’m onward bound,
   “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
   • Refrain:
     Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
     By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,
     A higher plane than I have found;
     Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
4. My heart has no desire to stay
   Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
   Though some may dwell where those abound,
   My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
5. I want to live above the world,
   Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
   For faith has caught the joyful sound,
   The song of saints on higher ground.
6. I want to scale the utmost height
   And catch a gleam of glory bright;
   But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
   “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

This song spoke alot to me. I want God to plant my feet on higher ground. I want to be able to continue this journey and to not worry about taking shortcuts to get to the end. My path is clear and I am back on this journey. The final verse that was spoken to me is 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. As I look back on this blog in a few years I hope and pray that I can say that I kept on fighting, I finished the race, and I was forever Faithful.