Tag Archives: Family

If I had a time machine

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One Sunday morning, I watched my daughter walk to the room at church where she serves small children that have her on her toes during the morning service. Back home an hour or so later, my son said something funny as he always does, and my wife and I couldn’t stop laughing. “This is good!” I thought to myself. And I also wondered.

So the dreamer in me took charge. What if I had a time machine? Where would I go? What would I do? Who would I meet? Maybe I could go back in time and place myself into history and help win battles, or I could witness the declaration of independence. Who knows, since I was dreaming I could go anywhere. What about the moon? I can sit down, history books on hand, and choose where to go or what to do. What would it be? What would make me feel whole and happy? Fulfilled? What would I do if I could go back on a time machine?

And I wondered again. And the idea came to me as I reflected. I knew exactly where to go and what to do. It had nothing to do with history but happiness. It had nothing to do with money but with relationships. I would go back in time to my own life to relive the most remarkable moments. I would be there again the day I first saw her. I would relive the moment I kissed my son the day he was born and the moment when my daughter’s face graced our lives for the first time. I would embrace every second of my smiling son and daughter. I would contemplate the refreshing laughter of my wife and listen to her beautiful voice intently as she sings. I would be more present, more alert. I’d make less money but live more life. The best moments in my life had nothing to do with earthly possessions or career achievements. But the most significant moments, the times in which time itself seemed timeless, were the moments in which joy and happiness where are their highest.

What about the times I remember with pain? What about those moments that I wish not to relive? And I stopped for a moment. Could I change them? I have a time machine here. Can I fix the past and create a new future? But then a sobering thought overcame me. Being immersed in the wonder of life and taking it in completely, being present and awake, would help me confront those difficult times. And I abandoned this idea of changing the past and embraced the one of changing the future. I cannot change the story of what has already happened. But I realize that I can still change how the story ends. So today, everything can be a new beginning. It doesn’t matter where it started, but how it ends. Pain is real, but grace and hope stand tall.

So the question remains, what would I do If I had a time machine? Simple, I’d do it all over again, happiness and yes, the pain, because it has been in the low moments that the Almighty has shown up and shown off! So as I snapped out of the dream mode I was in, I realized that the future is before me, and I walk with the Maker of the heavens and the earth, and He can change anything. I just need a grateful heart and desire to live full and free.
I’d do it all over again; yes, the happiness and the pain, If I had a time machine.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2014

Don’t Quit!

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There’s a scene from the movie Facing the Giants, in which coach Grant Taylor tells Brock Kelley to do the death crawl with a teammate on his back. The kicker is that he had to do it blindfolded, and the only direction he would received was the voice of the coach, not the sight of his eyes. It is a very inspiring scene. It represents life in many ways, yours and mine. We go through life many times crawling, because that’s the only way we can advance. And we also we find ourselves crawling blindfolded with extra weight over us. A perfect combination for a quitter.

We have all had these seasons in our lives. Moments that make us question everything. Times when our sight is clouded, blindfolded, and we have no direction whatsoever. Times in which we have an extra weight on our backs that pushes us down, reviving the idea of quitting every second. It’s in moments like these that I appreciate the coach Taylor’s of the world. Those that push us harder and inspire us to continue to move forward, even when we can’t see where we are going. That voice that leads us to the end zone, and helps us realize that we can do more, be more, achieve more. That voice that will not accept a no for an answer, and will expect the best of us, no matter what.

We need those voices. We all need from time to time; a firm voice that will acknowledge the pain, the struggle, but in spite of that will inspire and push you to the end zone. Just when Brock says, “its hard”, coach Taylor responds, “I know its hard, but you can do it”. And louder and louder he shouted on, “Don’t quit, Don’t Quit, your very best!”.

The same I tell you today. Don’t Quit. I know its hard, I know you can’t see anything in the horizon, but trust the voice, even if it is your own, that tells you; Don’t quit! Don’t quit on your family, it might be hard, but you have to give your very best! Don’t quit on your passion, I know its frustrating some times, but you have to give your very best!, Don’t quit on your children; there are many disappointments, but they are full of potential and they deserve your very best. Don’t quit on your God, He is the ultimate voice that leads you to the end zone, that pushes you further, beyond your limits, because He knows you can do more.

You can be a coach Taylor to the Brock Kelley’s in your life. Or maybe you feel like Brock, and just want to give up. I know, I’ve been both. Just follow the voice, push hard. If you do I promise you one thing; You will get to the end zone and everyone, even yourself, will be amazed of what you will achieved.

So above all, DON’T QUIT!

Enjoy the clip!

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”
Want this inspiration of coffee by email every morning? Enter your e-mail to subscribe at the top right of this page under the box for “Subscribe”. Like this writing and want share it? Just add your comment below on “Leave a Reply” or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or by email using any of the buttons next to “Share this:”

© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2014
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

What a ride!

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Today marks the date when we decided to put action to our faith, legs to our dreams. We instilled life to what was being birthed inside our hearts. Exactly one year we embarked into this new adventure of a complete relocation. It just seems like it happened yesterday, and yet a year has passed. I remember how I felt. A new home, a new church, a new everything. Adrenaline was the fuel that kept me going every day, or so I thought. It’s been a year where everything was on the line. A year where every breath we took, was taken with profound expectation. The expectation that the next moment would be better, greater and bigger. This has been a year where our confidence in the ONE that called us to be HIS, has grown in ways unimaginably to our natural minds. It has been a year where our actions have been bold, moving out of our comfort zones like we never thought.

It all started with a promise and a sense of urgency. A promise of better possibilities for those that we love the most, our son and our daughter. It started 5 years before, when Alex was nine and Amy was eight. We understood that even when we’ve had success in our professional lives, our real success is enjoyed when it is seen in our home. For us, success is a life full of God’s grace and mercy. A life that exudes HIS goodness and that delves into his wisdom. A sense of urgency that time is precious and our children cannot be gambled with.

Time and space will not be enough to pen down all that has happened this year. Even when I almost lost my life in the process, I can say without a doubt that HE has been with us every step. We have not walked alone. Has it been worth it? You bet. He has been faithful even when we haven’t. Matt Redman wrote a song called “Never Once”, that I heard when we moved. It describes how I felt and how I feel today, not because of what has happened this year, but because it is a reminder that on every step we have ever taken, even when those steps have lead us to dark places, HE has been there always. The same is true for you today.

So if you think you are alone, think again. He has been there every step, even when you are going through turmoil and uncertainty. Don’t be afraid, just take the next step, HE is there with you.

As for me, when I look back I wouldn’t change anything. God is faithful. It’s been a great year, and it is just the beginning, all I can say is, “What a ride!”.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright Danny Maldoando, 2012

Staying Awake

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Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens – Mark 4:27

It is a little embarrassing but I cannot refrain of telling you the first lesson I learned in the wee hours of the new year. Last night after a full day of activities, we returned to the hotel to get prepared for the New Year’s celebration. We were going to find a spot to see the fireworks and enjoy the show. I was hungry, and tired. You can tell I was hungry because I wanted to eat pizza, which is not my favorite, but that I’ll get to that in a moment. So at the hotel I took a bath and got half dressed and lied down on the bed reading some news and waiting for everyone else to get ready. My daughter was complaining because she didn’t want to go out again and was already in her pajamas and went on to change. I know I saw my wife changing and getting prepared for the night. Then everything started to get blurry. I can vaguely recall hearing her saying, “we are not going”, and I can hear in the distance, even when it was happening right there in my room, my daughter saying, “We are not going anywhere, and I have to get changed again”. Yes, it happened; I fell asleep.

At 2:36 a.m., I opened my eyes and in disbelief I realized that I had missed that moment and I had slept through it. Immediately a small still voice in my heart spoke to me saying, “Don’t sleep through the important moments in life, stay awake.” It might not be a big deal for you, but to me it was important. In life we are so consumed in achieving, succeeding, impressing, and so many more things that we get tired along the way wasting energy in things that are temporal and of questionable significance. And when the important moments come along, we fall asleep, and it is in those moments where life is made, were bonds are tighten and love is nurtured. These are the important moments in life where we cannot go by dozing out on them. We cannot sit down and ask, how was it? It will never be the same as experiencing them. Back to the pizza. I woke up with an empty grumbling stomach and I found two untouched, cold pieces in the fridge. I can assure you that they would not taste the same as when they came a couple of hours before when they were hot and fresh, just like the moment that I had missed.

Just as the farmer in the parable does not understand how the seed he has scattered grows, wether we are awake to the moment or not, life continues to happen to all of us. We will plant seeds this year even if we realize it or not. And that seed will grow, night and day. So what seed will you scatter? And more importantly will you be awake in the moments that matter to see the seed sprout? I was told that my wife kissed me, and yet I didn’t feel or remember it.

Don’t miss the moments that matter. I know you don’t want to find cold pieces of pizza and be the only one asking how it tasted when it was fresh. My new year’s resolution and yours should be as well: Staying Awake

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

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© Copyright Danny Maldonado, 2012
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A message for men

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by DP

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

“Every man has a battle to fight and a beauty to rescue” These were the words of John Eldredge when he took center stage at a conference I attended in 2004. It was a great and an inspiring message. In the past weeks my family and I saw the movie Courageous which stirred many of the same emotions I felt with John’s exposition a couple of years ago.

Since that moment, I find myself wrestling with the need of “quiet time”, some alone time, and by the same token, in need of “together” time too. An oxymoron, I know, but that is how I felt. “Quiet time” to ponder my thoughts, and “together” time to share my heart with my wife, my son and my daughter. Moments that matter. I feel that time is running faster than It takes for me to accomplish what is in my heart. There is an awakening inside for the greater truths that I should have been living long time ago. And synthesizing John’s talk several years ago; Our story is a story of greatness.

We all have this sense of greatness inside. Of being the redeeming knight, the hero and warrior that stands for truth and crushes evil. The man that stands up to the challenge and knows deep inside the values that need to be uphold, and he does so without second guessing. The sea of thoughts assault the mind and overwhelms the soul, as the search goes on for a verse, a passage or a word that might give it hope, strength, comfort and guidance. We want an answer that will appease the soul and tell it that everything will be ok. That we will be able to fulfill the dreams and desires that are rooted in the heart; greatness.

God created us to feel this way, but more importantly to act this way. It doesn’t matter where in life you are right now, you can step up to the challenge and be the man you were called to be. Wether you have a family or not, fulfill your story. And in order to achieve greatness, there will be need to be violent, to fight and be forceful against the menacing forces that are surrounding those we have been entrusted. That fight will be fought by standing firm on our knees. To stand unafraid of the future, to leave the sidelines and embrace life.

As the theme song for this movie states, “May the watchers become warriors, Let the men of God arise”, we are called to do the same as Joshua boldly spoke to the men of Israel, “…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. So today make it your resolution, wherever you are in life today, to take back what is yours, to boldly proclaim that you will lead and not follow, that you will protect and not fear. That the time of idleness is over and that your legacy will not be the same, because you decided to make a dent in the universe and to finish well.

I completely agree with the song when it states, “The only way you’ll ever stand is on your knees with lifted hands”. Change the world, lead to greatness.

Breathe, Live, Move…

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

Want this inspiration of coffee by email every morning? Enter your e-mail to subscribe at the top right of this page under the box for “Subscribe”. Like this writing and want share it? Just add your comment below on “Leave a Reply” or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or by email using any of the buttons next to “Share this:”

© Copyright DP, 2011

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

You can hear and purchase this wonderful statement on the song titled “Courageous” by Casting Crowns at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/courageous/id470669414?i=470669416

Graduation day

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by DP

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” – Revelation 22:12

It was quite a different feeling altogether. I had walked the entire day before, searching for the clothes he would wear. We got the tie, the shirt, the pants, the shoes, (He actually wanted to use sneakers!) and the usual haircut. A day of shopping around, a great day of hanging out with my son. (Ah, and less money in my pocket!)

The day came and we headed out to the graduation ceremony. It was a great moment, and also a moment of deep thoughts and emotions. Emotions got to high level when a slideshow was presented with the students pictures. My son had selected a picture to be displayed from his early school days and then his current photo was shown. I just can’t quite put in words what I felt that moment. Joy, hope, a myriad of feelings that day (and an occasional tear bothering my eyes!). One thing was certain, I hoped for greater things for my son and felt very proud of him.

This day was the culmination and the beginning of two seasons. The culmination of years of studying and learning and the beginning of a season of new experiences, challenges, and victories, and yes, more studying and learning. The graduation was the recognition of the work that was done years before. While sitting there, it also made me reflect about life, about my wife, my son, my daughter, and myself. And I realized that we all will stand before our God one day, we will be called by our name and receive the reward of what we have done in this life. That day is not the day to get prepared. On that day there is nothing that can be done to get a medal or recognition. That day is graduation, reward day.

As I felt that day, I was and I am, proud of my son, will God feel the same about you on that day? If you’re not sure, it is not too late to you turn your heart to Him and amend your ways. He has promised to hear you and receive you. He has made all that needs to be made in order for you and I to be reconciled with Him. We all have sinned and we all have a past, and we all have a future if we want to. – “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future” Craig Groeschel

You and I will receive the reward according to our work, for what we did with our lives. Make it a rewarding one. The day will come and it will be, graduation day.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

Want this inspiration of coffee by email every morning? Enter your e-mail to subscribe at the top right of this page under the box for “Subscribe”. Like this writing and want share it? Just add your comment below on “Leave a Reply” or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or by email using any of the buttons next to “Share this:”

© Copyright DP, 2011

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

May four

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The Big Apple was the setting. Her heart was beating intensely, she knew it was time, she knew this was different. Her eyes moving from side to side and every vein in her face was filled with the pressure of every muscle concentrated in the task. Pain and struggle filled the atmosphere, and in a moment, joy and calm reign the room. It was the fourth of May at 3:00 am when it all began.

That day a voice surged, and it was heard powerfully like prophesying the passion that would guide her steps for the rest of her life. It wasn’t understood that way at the time, like many other great voices that had emerged, it was confused to be “another” voice. But her voice that day was rehearsing to what would be her lifelong task; To praise the Almighty. A strong voice, a humble heart, loving hands, and a firm spirit.

May four, that day it all started. That day a promise was brought to life. A promise of a life filled with joy, hope, potential, and praise. Also a life that would see many obstacles, scars and trials which had tried to silence her voice. But praise always found its way from her heart to her lungs and resounded in her voice.

Today that voice continues to be heard. Sometimes in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, her voice reverbs the words of the One that gave her purpose, and gave her her voice.

May four, that was the day that the woman I love was born, and that day my promise was born, too.

Happy birthday Sandy!