Pleasing

It seems like forever.  I have not written in forever.  Where has the time gone. What have you done in these years.  What have I done, in these 3 years.  Have we ran the race?  Have we let HIM exchange HIS life for ours? I would hope so.  I try daily, to live for him.  But the thorns tear my flesh.

I find the need for repentance daily.  Yes Christ paid it all, of that I am assured.  As HIS bride, my heart feels deep sorrow when I fail my GROOM.  How many of us are certain that we are loved by our spouses, yet we say " I am sorry" when we fail or hurt them.  Would they expect any less from us, or do we expect less from them?  Why then would we not shower our Groom, with the same respect.  I have not yet attained, but ooohhh my soul longs for, and loves Father.

May there never ever come a day, when I no longer feel the need to express my repentance. I rest assured in HIS awesome love and grace.  Yet I must love Him enough to say, "I am truly sorry."  I must strive every moment to live pleasing to HIM.

You will never be able to do anything to make Father love you any less than HE does right now.
You will never be able to do anything to make Father love you any more than HE does right now.
How pleasing you are to Him? Well that is up to you!

In HIS Grace,

God's Tangible Gifts

Praising God for HIS tangible gifts in our lives!

Hi guys, yes, it has been an extremely long time!  Wow, has life been a roller coaster of  Joy in the LORD.  I look forward to sharing with you, more and more.

Lives Exchanging is the name of this Blog for a reason.  We seek everyday more and more to exchange our lives for HIS.  Because HE lives, we live.  What a glorious ride, when the decision is made to Live so that HE may shine through you.  Try it, trust me, you will love it.  Will it be easy, probably not!  Yet God is looking to and fro, for men and women of courage.  HIS eyes roam the earth in search of those that will endure.

Join us today!  Rise to the challenge!  Soar like the eagles!  Rom 8:28, HE said ALL things will work for our good!

Love you all in HIS love and service.

Eric and Carolina

We Are The BRIDE of Christ!

Ephesians 5:22-33
22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

WE are the bride of Christ.  We the members, the church, singularly and corporately are the bride of Christ. 

We are the BRIDE!!  

I have prayed and I have prayed, and I have hurt and I have cried, over today's subject. But God has unsettled me in such a fervent way, that I can no longer put this subject off.  Let me tell you all, that I deeply and truly love YOU!  I never knew I could just fall in love with fellow Christians, but I do.  The result of that love is that I hurt for you, I cry for you and cry out for you.  There are some that will understand what I say, because they feel that same anguish that I do.  There are some that will possibly read this and not give it another thought.  They will go on about their merry way and forget what they have read, because well, it obviously does not apply to them. And then there are some that may be offended.  But I can be quiet no longer.  God has sat me down and quieted my fingers in regards to this blog, for some months now.  I have obediently listened and learned and confirmed.  My God is a gentleman and His Holy Spirit is a gentleman!  So with all of my love I am putting this out there for edification.  For growth to those that come into church on Sunday morning with their hearts burdened and they leave at the end of service in the same fashion.  There is a slump to their shoulders, and a look of emptiness in their eyes.  Bu,t they have complied with the weekly routine.  They can now tell their friends and neighbors and even fellow church members that "yes, we were in church this Sunday".  You may even go so far as to say or give a small account of what a wonderful sermon the preacher gave, or maybe what a not so wonderful sermon he gave.  And if this is you, inside of yourself you hear how empty your words sound, and how empty and alone you still feel.  Why is that, isn't church supposed to fill your heart?  Getting dressed in your pretty clothes and ushering the family into the fourth from the last pew, shouldn't that resolve the questions that you still have within you.  That emptiness, that you can't seem to fill?  Your pretty house, your career, your kids, and even your most fashionable clothes?  But yet another Sunday has come and gone, and your heart remains the same.  Empty!

Let me tell you why.  YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO!  Ever since I was a kid I have heard preachers preach to their congregations, and be very vocal about worship and how in some churches worship is just to get you all worked up!  A concert to get your emotions going! And yet these very same preachers, are hard pressed to obtain an amen or a haleluya! 

My brothers and sisters.  What a lie that we have been fed!  Conviction comes with experience. Let me explain.  If you have any type of walk/relationship with Jesus, you will know when you are in a place that does not honor God.  Now to give those preachers their due, they are correct in some respects, there are places that are only a concert, a show if you will, to boost their very own ego's.  When you are in a place like that, that is not actual concert, but a church service turned concert for egos, then my friend, run!  However there is a huge difference in that, and in being in a church service in which God meets with YOU!  It is not a show, it is worship!  Does it make you emotional?  Of course it does!  You are meeting with GOD!  GOD is speaking to you, you have feeling of adoration to your Lord and Savior, maybe feelings of heart healing, or feeling God whisper in your ear to tell you I love you my child!  How can you not get emotional over that?  Trust me, it is the most wonderful feeling in the world to open your heart up to Lord and let him enter.  Let His spirit hug you as you converse or adore HIM the creator of the universe and author of your salvation!  I do not know about you, but I love my DADDY!  When you have this communion with your Father, it prepares your heart to receive the message.  It prepares you to be open to HIS word, whether that word may bring chastisement or a loving hug.  Your heart is open to GODS word for you.  Not for your neighbors gift, but for your very own.  Remember we are HIS bride.  And like a husband woos his brides heart in order to have an intimate relationship with her, so does our father woo his bride, the church, ( you and I ) so that HE may have that deeper relationship with us.  If a wife does nothing to seek her husbands affection, if she puts him off, if she cuts him short, or is careless in the way she treats him, and vise versa, there will be little to no intimacy in that marriage.  Remember then, that your worship to the Lord, and the love, the gratitude, the adoration that worship evokes for your Savior is between you and your Father God.  Do not let anyone tell you its wrong!  God is a gentleman!  And yet David, who was a man after God's very own heart, leapt and danced in the streets with no shame whatsoever and no worries as to what the neighbors or the preachers may think.  After all the one that mattered, was the very one that said, that David was after HIS heart!  What better endorsement could there have been?  So praise HIM, talk to HIM, lift your arms in adoration, worship HIM with all of your heart and you let God tell you what you can or what you cannot do.  Let no one stand in judgement of your worship!  You tell your Jesus that you love HIM and you and HE can work out the details of what your particular worship may look like!  For those who may judge you, are probably as empty as you used to be.  Maybe they are those whose hearts are not prepared and they feel ashamed to utter even one Halleluiah or a Praise God.  But you might find them thinking about lunch, or looking at their shoes wondering if anyone noticed the scuff on the leather, or perhaps digging through their purse for that finger nail file, because one nail is just not quite right!  You fill in the blank of what runs through your mind while the preacher tries desperately to get you to come to the altar.  Please, my fellow brothers and sisters, I love you!  I have no desire for you to leave the house of God with same emptiness inside, with which you came.  Worship HIM, worship HIM with all of your heart! Let us fill those altars! HE wants so very much to have an intimate relationship with you, HIS very own child.  Let no-one but GOD dictate the way your worship to HIM will be.  For the opinion of our Father in Heaven is the only one that matters in how you worship HIM, and HE alone will guide your heart.  IF, you let HIM.

HE has promised to remember NO MORE!

"For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."  Jeremiah 31:34

How many times have we heard the voice of the accuser, accusing us mercilessly?  satan delights in trying to watch us writhe in agony over our past mistakes, over our past failures, and over our PAST period.  At times he has won the match and i start to feel myself sink into the muck and the mire of my past.  Feeling the unworthiness of my human self.  The unworthiness of bowing before the throne of God in prayer.  Yes satan would like to keep me there, he would like to keep all of us there!

Ha!  No way mister!  My Jesus paid the price for my past! Glory to God, my debt is paid!!

How wonderful it is to discover the Grace of God in our lives!  I love the promise in this verse, because the Lord himself promises, decrees, states, that HE will remember our sins NO MORE!  HE does not say, "maybe i will forget, or if you do such and such i will forget, or in due time".  No, HE is very clear in stating that HE will remember no more!  You may ask yourself, can God forget? Will God forget?  He said HE will and He is a God that does not lie!  HE means what HE says! 

Our Lord is always a God of second chances.  Never third chances and never fourth chances.  It is always a second chance with HIM!  Why?  You got it, because HE forgets!  He throws our mistakes, our sin into the depths of the sea, never to be remembered again!  My friend, when that old fool tries to slither his way into your thoughts, to accuse you and to confuse you and to make you feel unworthy.  Remember that God promised to forget! I read once that when satan comes knocking on your door, just look up to Heaven and say "JESUS, CAN YOU GET THAT?"  Love it!  I love the thought of Jesus answering that particular knock, don't you?  Bahahahaha   Haleluya and Glory to God!
A debt that is paid . . . Is no longer a debt!!!  JESUS PAID IT ALL!
My friend, please remember to rejoice and to give Glory and Honor to our Lord and Savior who has promised you and promised me . . to remember NO MORE!

Thank you Father God for your great mercies that are new every morning.  Help us always to remember, that YOU Father remember NO MORE, and so because of your precious son, we are worthy to be called your children!  In Jesus name, Amen

If you have a prayer need, and you would love someone to come along side you in prayer, feel free to email us.  The Exchange Life Team will be more than happy to respond to any prayer request or question that you may have:  gal220@exchangelifephotography.com

"And,  When they were come in to the boat the wind ceased!"

Matt 14:32



Yes, I have been gone for a while.  I feel a bit "shishkamobbobby"!  I may have made up my own word but most of my friends and family that know me, are very aware that I have no qualms in adding my own contributions to Websters.  Albeit, without his knowledge, or invitation!  LOL

Ah well, such is life!  If life drives me to the invention of new words, so be it!  As long as my Lord and Savior and my friends do not mind, we shall go on inventing.  I know as a certainty that my enemy will not give up in trying to get me to quit my Jesus, so, Webster make room! Ha!

 You know, I love the story of Peter and his "Walk in faith."  I have heard countless sermons on this and have wondered many times, if I would have made it to Jesus.  Do you ever wonder?  If you had the opportunity to try?  Would you make it?  What interesting thoughts to ponder.  

But today I want to talk to you about something that has been on MY mind.  I hear a lot about keeping my eyes on Jesus. I hear a lot about how the storm was calmed.  I hear a lot about how the disciples praised my Savior after the storm was calmed.  And how God WILL calm the storms of our lives!  AND HE WILL! Have no doubt, HE will calm those storms!

Yet, today I want us to take a look at the moments in between, and this is where I fall to my knees in giving praise and glory to my Jesus!  You see Jesus reached down into that deep, dark and stormy water and pulled Peter up and out. 

BUT, JESUS KEPT PETER SAFE FOR THE ENTIRE WALK BACK TO THE BOAT!
My bible tells me that Peter walked for a bit, before he became frightened and began to sink.  It tells me that he reached down to Peter and pulled him out . . BUT it also tells me that it was not until they were in the boat again, that Jesus calmed the storm.  So one of the important parts here that we must all remember, is that Jesus is with us, AMIDST THE STORM!  He walks with us and he keeps us safe and secure, no matter the trial and no matter the outcome.  I believe my Jesus could have calmed the storm instantly to ease Peter's fear.  Jesus could have resolved that immediate circumstance in so many different ways.  

Instead HE chose to walk with Peter through the storm!  I believe to teach Peter and all the disciples, and thereby, all of us, that HE, JESUS himself walks with us through life's turmoils and churning waters!   And boy howdie, does life have those!
You know, you see YOUR storm raging around you, I see my storms raging around me.  While we get battle weary, we must always remember, that right beside us walks Jesus, and we will never again be alone, whether it be on a glorious mountain top or among the raging waves of the storm tossed seas that we call our earthly lives.  
I am reminded once again that Christ himself walks with me and HE walks with you!  Never forget that!

Father, please help us all to understand that it is to you and you alone, that we must turn to in our time of need.   I thank you LORD, because I now understand, that I / we do not have far to run, for you walk right next to me/ us every moment of every day!  In Jesus name, Amen.

While I'm Waiting


"Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby HE is able even to subdue all things unto himself" 
Phillippians 3:21

Waiting, waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting at the doctors office, waiting, waiting and waiting some more!

But what are we really waiting for?  What am I waiting for? What are you waiting for?  Are you waiting for that answer that the healing has come?  Are you waiting for that answer that says your marriage problems are over, or possibly for that financial situation to be rectified?  It is a worrisome and often tiring state to be in, THE WAITING.  Because we are waiting for that one moment in time in which the answer will come that will end our painful waiting.  Oh sometimes it may not be a physical pain we feel, but the anxiousness we feel down in the pit our tummies and the weight of the worry on our minds, is very physical and very real.
I have just yesterday received some very sad news in regards to a dear lady that I admire and love so very much.  I had already been informed in Sunday School about her situation, but the moment that she wrapped her arms around me from behind and whispered in my ear, "My cancer has returned, can you please pray?"
I felt my heart drop to my feet.  It was at that moment that I wanted to drop to my knees and just cry like a baby to my Lord.  I could not wait for the invitation to be given, my poor Preacher could not finish his sermon fast enough!  The pain I felt for this family was almost unbearable! I needed to be at the altar.  I wondered at one point, " Will I be chastised for just walking up and praying before the sermon even begins?"

I wanted to tell her--Look and Live!  No I wanted to shout, "Look and Live!"
"And the Lord said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpene, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, . . . . SHALL LIVE!!  Num 21:8

Now I know that snake on the pole at that time was a TYPE OF JESUS.  But all of us who look to JESUS will be healed!!  Now please do not misunderstand me.  Gods will, will always take place.  But that is just it!!  Your heart will have complete healing in CHRIST, even if our physical bodies do not.  While we are waiting if we LOOK upon CHRIST, we shall LIVE!!  Even if it is Gods will that we join HIM in heaven, or if it is GODS will that we sit a little while longer in the situation in which HE has us, if we LOOK to HIM we will LIVE!!  My friends do not allow yourself to be "BITTEN", bitten by the roots of anger, by the seed of jealousy, by insecurity, by any of satans flaming arrows.  Yes i know . .he has some real doozies in his arsenal.  Memories by far are used most to hurt our Christian walk.  Memories that pop up and rear their ugly heads from time to time, but my friends . .LOOK and you shall LIVE!!  Look upon Christ, walk with Christ, talk with Christ! Develop that relationship, cultivate it, encourage it, devote yourself to it, further it, promote it, pursue that close fellowship with God!  And you shall LIVE!  Oh my, you shall live, while you are waiting!!

Tell me what are you waiting for?
I once heard and explanation of hope.  I took this right to heart. 
Hope is not a wishful thought for the miracle to happen,  it is the waiting time in between when you asked for it and when it arrives.  I LOVE IT!!  I am not sitting here waiting to see "IF" it is going to happen, I am sitting here waiting for the time in which it HAPPENS!  You see?
Oh yes! I am waiting! And while I am waiting . . . . 

"I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord, And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord, Though it is painful, But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident, Taking every step in obedience, While I'm waiting
I will serve You,While I'm waiting, I will worship,While I'm waiting
I will not faint, I'll be running the race, Even while I wait

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord, And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy, But faithfully, I will wait, Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting,I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord"

JOHN WALLER
While I'm Waiting:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9DTwLOxzhE

While you are waiting, make HIS choice, . .your choice!
"He shall choose our inheritance for us."  Ps 47:4

Whilst our enemies would wish the worst for us.  We are not left in their hands!  Praise God that the he will make us STAND and our current place is appointed to us in HIS infinite wisdom.  Thank you Lord that your wise mind arranges my destiny!

"Father God, gives the wisdom to look up to you each and every single day and no matter the circumstances, may we affirm in our minds and our hearts, that while we are waiting, we will look upon YOU and live!"  In Jesus name!  Amen and Amen.

KEEP YOUR FIRE BURNING!

" Meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all."
1 Timothy 4:15

I think that a lot of us are like Timothy.  He was a young Pastor and therefore may have been looked down on by other "older" Christians.  But you know, regardless of your age, GOD can use you.  I was told once "  GOD DOES NOT CALL THE QUALIFIED, INSTEAD HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED!"  Live so that others can see Christ in you.  No matter your age!  Let the joy of the Lord reflect in you.  Some one is watching you, and learning from you.

I once had a very dear friend, whom I admire and love tell me, "Carolina you are burning up!" 
How I long to hear my Savior say that!  So when I finally get to hug my Jesus and kneel at his feet or dance with HIM, I want to hear HIM say, "Mija, you were burning up for me."

You know God gave me a fire at one of, if not the most hardest time in my life.  A fire that I wish I had known many years before.  It has been a fire, that has gotten me and practically dragged me through the roughest time of my life.  Because in HIM I have everything.  I want to burn, and I want to burn so brightly and so strongly I want to scorch everyone I come in contact with!!  I want my JESUS to shine!!

Yet there are moments in which I struggle to fan the flame, moments in which only my spirit can speak for me to my heavenly father, because my heart hurts so much.  Do you have those moments?
I am quite certain that at one point or another, we have all had a heart breaking moment in which we struggle to understand the why's and the how's.
My friend it is in those moments that we must shine and burn even brighter!!  It is in those moments in which we have been driven to our knees in which only our spirit can word our prayers, that we are most effective in reflecting Christ to those that are watching us.  Make no mistake. . . someone IS watching you.  They are learning from you.  They will measure you, they will measure your walk with the Lord by how you react when you forcefully hit your knees.  At this point you need true heart energy!  Do you have heart energy?  I ask myself this question frequently.  And then I pray for mercy.  lol

If we keep our head and our hearts in the word and work of the LORD and give ourselves wholly then shall we profit.  Profit, you may ask.  Yes profit!  Not profit in silver or gold, but profit in knowing that you have a Savior that will hold you in times of trouble.  A Savior that will comfort you when the tears will not stop.  A Savior that stands and fights for you, as the enemy accuses you.  A Savior that removes the debris and clutter from your heart and keeps HIMSELF accessible to you at all times, day or night.  Acts 18:10

My friends keep your fire burning!!  For things that are visible are brief and fleeting yet those things which are invisible are everlasting.
How is your fire doing?  Do you have a fire?  Do you want a fire?
Like Timothy, we must not fear what others think of us, there is only ONE that we need worry about.  Only HE can qualify or disqualify us.  Are you burning?

Father in Heaven:  Thank you Lord for everything!  Thank you for the works you have done and are doing! We praise your holy name. Keep our fires burning and let us shine for you at all times and in all seasons!  Amen