Christ

I am thankful for you!

November 28, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Message

Family vacation

Happy Thanksgiving from Biloxi, Ms.

First, I want to thank you for your unfailing prayers and support. The FHL Breakfast Fundraising was a success. With God’s grace, you made it happen!

After more than 5 years, I am also thankful for my family vacation. God has shown my family and I things that we have not noticed in our lives while being with each other for almost 2 weeks together! We are learning a lot about and from each other. Nothing more exciting than loving and being loved by your family.

This Thanksgiving, please slow down and put a set of eyes as you spend time with your loved ones. You just might see the obvious things that are just behind the facade of our paradigm.

God bless you!

Merlin

Thanksgiving and sound of melody

November 28, 2013 Merlin Gonzales blog, Message

Happy Thanksgiving!

Please take a few moments to ponder what you are thankful for. Then, take another minute to think about the instances in your life that you should be thankful for. Consider this except from the FHL Blog:

I thought of asking you rhetorical questions. Feel free to make Comments on this Blog as well.

Which one would you rather be:
- a person who has the ability to donate food and time or a person who rely on others for the next meal?
- a person who can help someone to do strenuous physical activities or someone who is hindered physically?
- a person who give his/her time, talent & treasure because God had graced you or a person with different circumstances who receives from you?

Keep in mind that it could be reversed. For example, by helping those who are “weak”, you realized you are strong. By giving of yourself to others without expecting anything in return, you suddenly receive blessings in unexpected ways.

What if we take a few moments to meditate on the passages of Isaiah 51:3,

“Indeed, the Lord will comfort Zion;
He will comfort all her waste places.
And her wilderness He will make like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.”

Whatever situation you found yourself in, you can release the joy and gladness and thanksgiving to provide a melodious aura in the atmosphere.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Paradox of Giving

October 29, 2013 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, FHL Indiana

An Indy policeman giving so much of himself for others

In Acts 20:35, Apostle Paul wrote – “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Many things had transpired in the past few days:

4 food pantries
4 Kindness Days
Ride along with IMPD Police Officer at one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Indy
- I’ve seen people put in jail, smoking marijuana while driving, small children in a car without car seats, theft, domestic violence, hunger, homelessness, etc.
I have shared MORE DETAILS here

Just in 10 days of seeing the hurts and the needs surrounding us, the verse above spoke to me in a deeper level. I thought of asking you rhetorical questions. Feel free to make Comments on this Blog as well.

Which one would you rather be:
- a person who has the ability to donate food and time or a person who rely on others for the next meal?
- a legally blind person living by yourself or a person who has good sets of eyes and able to help a blind person?
- a person who can help someone to do strenuous physical activities or someone who is hindered physically?
- a person who give his/her time, talent & treasure because God had graced you or a person with different circumstances who receives from you?

I’m actually writing this to remind myself of the paradox of giving. Sometimes, I question myself, “Why am I doing all these?” It’s easy for us complain and make excuses rather than see the blessings in disguise. And, in many instances, transcendence happens in the act of giving one’s self.

In the next few weeks, ask yourself:

“Who can I bless today?”
“Where is God calling me to gather resources for others?”
“How can I see the blessing in disguise?”

God bless you!

Merlin

NOW, NOW, NOW

October 11, 2013 Merlin Gonzales KIOM, Message, Ministry, Testimony

On early Sunday morning 10/6, I was awaken by a short but vivid dream. I was looking at a piece of white bond paper. On the top of it (the Title) was written 2 words.

(I can’t remember the first word) but the second word is NOW.

There were 2 subtitles, each with a descriptive paragraph. Both of the subtitles were a single word that has NOW in the middle of it. They look like this:

____NOW____

I didn’t remember the exact words but here’s the example – ackNOWledge.

So, my dream contained 3 NOW words and all capitalized. I’m not a dream interpreter but when a same thing appeared 3 times, it means it’s happening now!

For those of you who are parents, you can appreciate this – parents want to speak to their children all the time. However, when children grow up, they are normally too busy to talk or to listen to their parents. As adults, we have crammed so much in our 24-day. Many times, we miss some intimate and sacred moments with God.

Biblically, God speaks to us in many ways, one way is through dreams. I believe that God is reminding us that the Kingdom of God is in our midst (Luke 17:21) – NOW. Where ever you are, if you are a Christian, the Kingdom is within you…NOW.

Similar to the 2 words that encapsulated the word NOW, our lives could be busy or we are just not paying attention to what God is saying to us. If you look closely in life circumstances, within a seemingly chaotic event, God is there with you. You might be traveling, doing business transaction, happy or sad…God is saying to us, “look again!”

Apply this principle with your family and friends who are in a difficult situation. Encourage them; you can actually speak life in their lives that can change their perspectives and give them hope. A simple word change a person’s eternal destiny.

Last Sunday, at a church, I shared my dream with 3 people whom I thought would be receptive to the word NOW. Although each of them are in different stage of their lives, I saw immediate change in their posture and demeanor. They were very thankful and it gave them courage and confidence that God is always there for them.

If we ackNOWledge God, we will experience more of His Kingdom manifesting in our lives. Even if you think NOWay or you are sNOWed under. He is there with you. Look again!

I know, there’s more to the dream, so I encourage you to give me feedback or let me know what you think. God bless you! Believe me He is with you right NOW.

It’s not a coincidence

October 4, 2013 Merlin Gonzales blog

On September 01, 2013, my wife and several other people who are involved in the ministry of FHL, decided to set a table at a large Flea Market south of Greenwood, IN. This flea market attracts hundreds of people from 7a to noon. We were not going to rent a space in the flea market but rather we thought of walking around the flea market to pray and to give cold bottled water to people. Somehow, we ended up renting a space to put our table (Free Prayers & Water).

I was surprised to see how open people are for prayers at a market place such as this flea market. Our team got busy giving away free bottled water and praying for people.

At the end of our outreach, I found out from our prayer team that a couple whom they prayed for paid for the rent of our space. I was touched by their gesture and the story stuck to my mind for a couple of weeks.

On September 28th, our friends from out of town visited Indiana and invite my wife and I to have lunch with them and their Hoosier friends. We visited Carmel Art Festival and later ate at a famous burger joint in Carmel, IN. While eating, we exchanged stories our new friends. Later in the conversation, the husband said that he and his wife visited the flea market in the south side just a few weeks ago. He said that a bunch of people at the flea market prayed for him and his wife. As soon as I heard his story, I almost fell out of my chair!

They were the same couple that our group prayed for on September 1st. Keep in mind that it was the first time that we did this kind of outreach-in a flea market. There are hundreds of flea market in Indiana and there were hundreds of people in this particular flea market. All of us were amazed at the story and we became instant friends. We glorified God for connecting us once again.

Up to this moment, I still get goose bumps whenever I remember how God orchestrated the series of events. No one could have planned the occasion. God used our friends from out of state to have lunch with them and their new friends. Their friends who live in Central Indiana, happen to visit the flea market we visited on Sept. 1st. They were the ones we prayed for at the flea market.

There is more to the story but this is all I can reveal until the proper time. And No, It’s not a series of coincidence. God is on the throne and He is in control.