In awe...

About two years ago we started trying to get pregnany and start our family. Well we quickly found out it was not going to come so easy. I had been told in the past by my Dr. that I might have trouble getting pregnant due to having polycystic syndrome.

Dorian and I both have a love for children. This was truly our hearts desire to have children. We began to pray and pray and ask God to bless my body and give us a child. After a year went by we got very down and out and frustrated. Wondering if this was even ever going to happen. We finally searched out for help with fertility drugs. We tried several options with no avail. Finally we tried a different one where we would take a series of injections.

After two years of trying we finally were expecting in April 2011 . It felt so unreal. After waiting two years which seemed like eternity. I clearly remember the nights we would lay in bed and pray and pray to God for our child. At times I thought he wasn't listening. It became hard on me and I began to those faith. It hurt deep down in places thinking that I would never birth a child. Although once again I have to remember God had things planned and in his perfect timing, not ours.

I am coming to find our baby boy is truly a miracle baby. We had so many odds against us but we had one bigger than all of those odds on our side too....GOD.

I had a near to perfect pregnancy! Just felt great all of the way around. Korbin was to be born around December 31st. Just in time to ring in the new year. Well things turned out a little different. He made his way into the world November 21st, 2011 . We were suppose to fly home the 22nd. We thought 6 weeks before we as due was plenty of time, well we sure were wrong. My Dr. was even shocked to see that Korbin made his way onto the world so soon.

Soon after Korbin was born I developed a blood clot, deep vein thrombosis. We got back to the states to have further testing only to find out I have Factor V Leiden. Women with this disorder usually have many miscarriages and it is very hard to carry the baby to term alive. We were even more humbled how God had his hand in all of this. Well now we came to find out I have a heart shaped uterus. Even more odds against us. Our GOD truly is amazing and so ever faithful. He is bigger than anything!! Nothing with him is impossible. We are so ever grateful for Korbin our miracle baby. I am just reminded when we call on Jesus and believe all things are possible!

Don't stop believing! He will carry you through! Call on Him and give him the desires of your heart and believe that whole heartily, but you must remember it is in His timing not ours.

Hungry

I Am Hunger

read›
Lamentations 2:18-20
Lift up your hands to Him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in
every street they are faint with hunger (v.19).

In a previous article, I wrote about four severely
malnourished siblings that I have been daily feeding.
The children—Joshua, Mirika, Ashaba, Katseme—
look drastically different now that they’ve been receiving
nutritious food on a regular basis. Their stomachs are no
longer bloated and their skin is no longer covered with
sores. And their hair is no longer falling out in patches.
Often, I think back to the unusual way I first met the
children. The oldest, Joshua, was caught stealing food in
my house. When I asked him why he chose to steal rather
than ask me for food, he replied, “Because I am hunger.”
Lamentations 4:9 claims, “Those killed by the sword
are better off than those who die of hunger.” If being
stabbed is a more pleasant way to pass on than starving
to death, it’s no wonder hunger drove Joshua to steal.
Intense hunger depletes a person’s strength (Job
18:12). It causes children to faint (Job 17:5; Lamentations
2:19), and causes the lowly of society to scrounge for
food in desolate places (Job 30:3).

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), “The new estimate of the
number of people who [suffered] chronic hunger [in 2011]
is 925 million.” Our God is a God who surely desires
that these hunger statistics improve. Just as He “satisfied
[the Israelites’] hunger” by providing meat and manna in
the wilderness (Psalm 105:40), God longs to open His
hand and “satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing” today (145:16).
Let’s join Him by praying earnestly for the millions of starving people around
the world, and by seeking tangible ways to help “satisfy the hunger” of His
“treasured ones” (17:14).

Love

I'm sorry for passing judgement instead of extending LOVE.

I think we all need to try a little harder at extending our arms wide open with love.

Keeping the evil one away

There is power in HIS word! We must be on guard and ready for the attacks the evil one will throw our way.
Satan is always looking for His next chance to tempt us (1 Peter
5:8). That’s why we need to guard against weakness and isolation through
accountability with fellow believers. We can also memorize Scripture that will
help us face and defeat temptation. Then we’ll be equipped to resist the devil
and send him packing (James 4:7).

Martín Luther King Day

Enemies

read›
Matthew 5:38-47
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the
children of God (v.9).

I am forced to preach under something of a handicap
this morning,” said Dr. Martin Luther King on a
November day in 1957. His physician had instructed
him to stay in bed, but King insisted on speaking.
Paraphrasing the words of Jesus, he declared to
the congregation at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery, Alabama: “You have heard that it has
been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine
enemy.’ But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye
may be the children of your Father which is in heaven”
(see Matthew 5:43-45).

As an African-American living in the southern United
States, which was stained with the sin of racism, Dr. King
preached under an even more virulent handicap that gave
his words all the more validity. “How do you go about
loving your enemies?” he asked. “Begin with yourself.
There might be something within you that arouses the
tragic hate response in the other individual . . . When the
opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy,
that is the time which you must not do it.”

As we consider our enemies and the animosity we
harbor toward them, we’re wise to remember that we
were once enemies of God! (See Romans 5:10.) But now,
as we have believed in Him, “our Lord Jesus Christ has
made us friends of God” (v.11). We now have the “task of reconciling people
to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:18). That’s why God tells us not to avenge ourselves,
but rather leave it to God who says, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back”
(Romans 12:19).

The way to defeat our enemies is to show them the astonishing, Spirit-filled
love of God.

Grateful

There is no luck in my life. I am just BLESSED!!

Thank you again to all of you who have prayed for us through my health issues and Korbin's birth. We are blessed to have such great and caring people in our lives. The encouragement is what keeps us going. Satan so easily would like to steal our joy. Which is easy to do when we loose our focus. I pray that this year is a year that our focus is totally and completely on HIM.

Dec. 2011 Update

December 2011

Happy New Year to all!!!! Hope that you all had a great New Year's Celebration and Christmas. Hope it was full of making new memories and spending time with friends and family.

We made it back here to the states to celebrate Christmas with my family. I think everyone was a little bit more excited about spending time with and celebrating the birth of Korbin.

Korbin is thriving and doing wonderful. As for me we are still working on blood tests and Dr. visits to see what we can find out. Hope to get some answers and determine if any treatment is needed.

To start the month off we had an appointment with the American Embassy the 1st of December to apply for Korbin's U.S. citizenship and his passport. We got all of the papers completed and handed in the same day and even got his passport the same day. Which was a miracle in it's self.

Upon arriving here to the states Korbin and I both have had Dr. appointments. Thank you so much to all who continue to remember us in prayer. Korbin has a clear bill of health but Dr.'s recommend I continue to get health treatment and testing done here before returning to Honduras.

Many of you might remember me talking about two little kids named Any(Annie) and Yair a few months back. They were only with us at Casa for a short period of time. The judge made a ruling for us to return the kids to their mother. Well that did not last long at all. They were soon put back in the system at IHNFA (children's services). We have been waiting for about two months for them to do a full investigation and get their paper work done to get them back to CASA.

Well right before Christmas they were given back to us. So we went from 19 kids to 21 kids. Pray for them and their adjustment, the other children as they adjust to new kids in the house and the staff especially their Tia Mirian who will be taking care of them full time.

This year we had one child in kindergarten, Guadalupe. She graduated the first week in December and will be going on to first grade in February. The kids continue to be on their "summer break". Enjoying all of their extra free time. February and the start of a new school year will be here before we know it. Although not too sure it can come fast enough for the staff that is with them 24/7 right now!

Thank you again for all of the prayers and encouragement for Korbin, Dorian and me during this last couple of months. Wishing you an abundant of blessing in 2012!!!!

Blessings~

Dorian, Karen & Korbin Guido

Resolutions

I never have been one for resolutions but here are a few things to think about. Hope you are challenged to make a difference and step out of your comfort zone be HIS hands and feet to those around you. Don't wait till next year start NOW!!!! 2012 just might be the year for changes.

Shane Claiborne's 12 Resolutions (Hopes) for 2012

12. Do something really nice – that no one knows about.

11. Spend more money on other people than I spend on my self. Love my neighbor as I love myself. And love myself as I love my neighbor.

10. Laugh often… especially at advertisements that try to convince me that I must buy more stuff in order to be happy.

9. Learn a new life skill – like carpentry, pottery, or canning vegetables. Teach someone else 1 life skill I know how to do.

8. Love a few people well, remembering that what is important is not how much we do but how much love we put into doing it.

7. Write a letter to someone I need to say thank you to. Write another letter to someone I need to ask to forgive me.

6. Track down a critic or someone I disagree with and take them to lunch. Listen to them.

5. Compliment someone I have a hard time complimenting… and mean it.

4. Choose life. Do something regularly to interrupt the patterns of injustice – do something to end violence, bullying, war, capital punishment and other mean and ugly things.

3. Pause before every crisis and ask “will this matter in 5 years?”

2. Get outside often and marvel at things like fireflies and shooting stars. And regularly get my hands into the garden… so when I type on the computer I can see dirt under my fingernails.

1. Believe in miracles. And live in a way that might necessitate one.

---
Shane Claiborne is a founding partner of The Simple Way and author of books including The Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President.

Birthday's

A little behind with the Casa birthday's.

Doris & Guadalupe had a birthday Dec. 12th!!! Doris turned 14 years old and Guadalupe turned 7 years old.

Jose had a birthday Dec. 26th and he turned 10 years old.

Ana's birthday is today Jan. 4th and she turns 11 years old.

Then Jackson's birthday Jan. 11th and he turns 10 years old.

Have been horrible at blogging lately but hope to get back on track real soon. Here is hoping that 2012 is a better year of blogging for me.

happy new year!!!!

Happy New Year to all! Hoping that 2012 is a blessing for all. Excited to see the ways God continues to move and work in our lives!! We are so blessed to being doing what we do. So unworthy to be chosen to do the work we do but are grateful for the opportunity placed before us.

May 2102 be a year we get all are challenged to get out of our comfort zones and do something about those hurting around you. Be HIS hands and feet!!!!!