Robyn Carillo Albuquerque New Mexico

Father's Day Thoughts

6/20/2015

            My earliest childhood memory is of my Dad pushing me on a swing at a park and teaching me how to tie my shoelaces there. I think I was around four years old. It’s funny because my husband’s earliest childhood memory is of his Dad teaching him how to tie his shoes also. I don’t know if that memory has any type of deeper meaning, other than the obvious, . . . that both of us know how to tie our shoes today, thanks to our Dads.

            That was the first of many things I learned from my Dad. This list includes:

Mowing the grass

Trimming trees and rose bushes

Swimming

Driving a stick shift car

Changing a flat tire

Changing spark plugs (which I have never needed to do, by the way)

Charging the battery in my Volkswagen Rabbit while I was away at college

Balancing a checkbook

Algebra I (2 years!), Algebra II, and Geometry

            He also . . .

Read every book report, research paper and story I wrote.

Listened to every speech, oral report, drama performance and speech team event I gave.

            More importantly, he . . .

Taught me that being the first to apologize is important in a relationship.

Said winning an argument in marriage is not really a win-win, and keeping score does not promote love in a marriage.

            And he took me to church when I was young and showed me how to pray and ask Jesus to be my Savior.

            It has been easy for me to believe the God of the Universe cares about me, loves me, wants to hear from me and has my best interest in mind . . . because that is how my Dad treated me.

            I know not everyone had an earthly Father like mine. But thankfully, we all have a Heavenly Father who values us, delights in us, has good plans for us and loved us enough to die for us. He longs to talk to us, always listens to us, forgives us, and has a wonderful future planned for us that gives us purpose and hope.
Happy Father's Day!

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Ask Me

5/4/2015

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    At our church the Hospitality team wears blue shirts with the church logo and the words Guest Services on the front. Written on the back are the words: Ask me. I can help.” First time visitors to the church easily identify the shirts. They know we are able to help with such important information as, where the restrooms are located, where the children’s rooms are, how they can join a small group or sign up for classes or baptism. Any question people have about helping to serve at the church or getting involved, the people wearing blue shirts are able to answer. We can also pray with people who are hurting or direct them to the Pastor if they need counsel or prayer. The shirts work well in letting people know we can help with questions about the church.

    One Sunday, on the way home from church, I stopped at the grocery store. I sat in my car and thought about wearing my Guest Services shirt into the store. Everyone wears t-shirts with words on them, and nobody thinks anything about them, as least I don’t. I decided my shirt would blend in with all the other random t-shirts with words on them, and nobody would notice.

    At the self-check out there were four checkout stations on one side and four on the other. I chose one on the end and was almost finished when a woman approached me from behind.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I am having trouble with my receipt. One item got scanned twice, but then another item is not showing up even though I already scanned it. Can you help me with this?”

I looked around for a grocery store employee.

“You should probably ask someone who works here. I can’t help you with that.” I said.

“Well your shirt says to ask you and you can help.” She persisted.

“Yes, but I don’t work here. I know it is confusing, but this shirt is for my church. I help people there.”

I apologized and we both laughed.

    Had she asked what aisle the bread was on, I could have actually helped her and she never would have known I didn’t work there.

    It made me think about the shirts. If Christians wore matching shirts that said, "Ask me about God. I can help.” I wonder how many people would stop us and actually ask questions. Of course we wouldn’t have all the answers about God, but we certainly could answer some: How do we get to heaven? Is the Bible true? Who is Jesus? Does God really love people?

    Having matching shirts could easily identify us as followers of Christ, like other world religions do with their clothing. Then I remembered, we are supposed to be easily identifiable to others. Jesus said, “Everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another.” It would be easy to put on a t-shirt that identifies us as a Christian, and then act however we want, like we do with Christian bumper stickers.

    It hasn’t happened to me, but wouldn’t it be great if people asked us about God because of the way we acted? If we really were so different from others and easily identified as true followers of Jesus, that people stopped us in the grocery store and asked for spiritual help?

            “You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that                                   cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14

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Reluctant Obedience

4/15/2015

11 Comments

Like the commercial with the ‘most interesting man in the world,’ I think Moses is one of the most interesting men in the Bible.

- He was adopted by a king.

- Raised in a palace with all the royalty that went with that.

- Killed a man, and then ran from his crime.

- Hid out, and then started a humble life as a shepherd in the desert.

- Was called by God in the most dramatic way, from a burning bush.

Moses saw the burning bush and knew it was God speaking to him. He took off his shoes because he knew he was standing on holy ground. Then, when God told him what to do, Moses argued with God! Not once or twice, Moses has five excuses as to why he didn’t want to do what God called him to do.

I have often said to myself and others, “If God would just send me a burning bush, then I could be sure of what He wants me to do.” But the truth is, if God asked me to do something I thought was impossible, I would probably argue too. Of course, it is ridiculous to tell the God who created the universe that something is impossible. Since He can do anything and the Bible says all things are possible when He gives us the strength to do them.

Moses’ excuses to God as to why He called the wrong guy to lead two million slaves out of Egypt to the Promised Land are interesting.

First, He tells God he is not qualified for the job. This seems to be true because at the time Moses was tending sheep. Then again, maybe herding sheep was the right skill, since he would be herding people for many years.

Then, he says he doesn’t know enough to do the job. As an example he tells God he doesn’t even know His name.

Third, showing his pessimistic side, Moses says he doesn’t believe he can do what God wants because he doesn’t believe the Hebrew people will follow him.

Then grasping for straws, Moses tells God this can’t be his calling because he doesn’t speak well. This one is a little hard to believe because he was raised in the palace and probably had the finest education a king could provide. (And certainly in the movie, Charlton Heston had no problem delivering eloquent speeches!)

Finally, Moses tells God he doesn’t want to do it and He should find someone else to do this huge job.

We know from reading the book of Exodus God did not take no for an answer from Moses. He equipped Moses to do everything He called him to do and Moses liberated two million people from slavery in Egypt. It is an amazing story.

Do we use these excuses with God? I’m not qualified to teach kids at church or home school my kids because I am not a teacher. I don’t have a teaching degree.

I often think I don’t have enough knowledge to do the task. I need to read, study, ask questions and take a class before I feel I have enough knowledge to do something.

Number three is a biggy. We (I) just flat out don’t believe God. We say we do, but we don’t trust that He can do what He says He will do.

I wrote about giving my calling to someone else here, when I knew God was asking me to do it. That was not one of my proudest moments.

We don’t want to do it. We don’t want to stay home with our kids, when all our friends have fun, fulfilling careers. We don’t want to work outside the home, when we would rather stay home with our kids. We don’t want to move when our spouse is offered a great job opportunity. Or when the going gets rough where we are, we don’t want to stay and deal with it, when it seems easier to move.

Moses reluctantly obeyed God and he became one of the most admired men in the Bible.

I don’t want to be reluctant to do the things God calls me to do. I want to be all in with God, and enthusiastically obey, knowing He will equip me and give me the strength to do whatever He calls me to. It helps to start by making the decision to say yes to God, no matter what the assignment. It is easier to do what He calls us to do, if we have determined we will say yes ahead of time.

Have you ever been reluctant to obey what God asked you to do? Have you ever used one of these excuses?

We have all heard this verse before,

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

but is it enough to cause us to say yes when God calls us to a seemingly impossible task?

11 Comments

Press 1 for Prayer

4/13/2015

12 Comments

            It is frustrating to make a phone call and get trapped in the endless automated system. Hearing the robot lady’s voice say over and over:

Press 1 for this.

Press 2 for that.

Press 3 to leave a message.

Press 4 to return to the main menu.

            She asks for my account number, but then when a real live customer service rep answers they ask for the number again, like it was just a stall tactic by the robot lady. I have started immediately saying, “customer service rep” as soon as the robot lady starts speaking. Even then she will say, “I understand you want to speak to a customer service rep. If your question is about this, press 1. If it is about that, press 2.” Aaugh!

            Recently I was at the hospital for my son’s surgery. They needed me to call my insurance company and find out what I owed. It seemed like a simple request, surely there was a simple answer.

            First, my husband called. I could tell by his deliberate answers he was talking to the robot lady. After 20 minutes he gave up and said it was my turn. I called. I answered all the robot lady’s questions just like he did. Finally, I tried to override her and said,

“Customer service! Customer service! Customer service!”

Somehow this baffled the robot lady and she sent me back to the main menu.

“If this is a medical emergency, hang up and dial 911.”

“If this is a mental health emergency, press 1.”

            That was interesting. They must have added the mental health option, because after being on hold for 20 minutes they knew there would be a mental health emergency.

            Finally, she said, “You are caller number 14. Press 1 to leave a message and someone will call you back. Press 2 to continue holding.”

Since this was not my first rodeo with the robot lady, I knew better than to leave my number. I tried that before and nobody ever called back. I lost my place in line and had to call again and wait another 20 minutes.

            Sometimes I think we view prayer like that. We call God and we want to:

Press 1 to have a good day

Press 2 to bless the food.

Press 3 for help on a test.

Press 4 for God to be with us.

Press 5 for a close parking spot.

And if we have a bigger request we become frustrated when we have to wait longer than 20 minutes for the answer.

            Prayer is so much more than that. God is not a robot guy dispensing immediate answers. Prayer is talking to our heavenly Father who loves us more than we can understand, about things that truly matter to us. It should be like a continuous conversation with our best friend. It is more about our relationship with God, our love for Him, our reliance on Him, and our faith in Him than it is about Him blessing our food.

            I never did get through to a real person that day in the hospital. No doubt they will bill me what we owe for the surgery. Thankfully, God never puts us on hold or makes us wait to get through to Him. He is always with us, always hears us and truly cares about the details of our life.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14

**************************

Don’t you love that God always hears us when we talk to Him?

12 Comments

Finish

4/12/2015

5 Comments

            Well, it’s finally happened. My word for the year, chosen in January, is ‘Finish’, and it is now April and I finally finished some things. I started working on this website in November and voila! Here it is finally finished.

            A family member, who shall remain nameless, suggested the word Finish when I was trying to decide what to focus on for the year. Last year I chose the word Joy, and that was a good year. I wanted to choose another word like Happy, Cheerful or Fun, but those didn’t seem right. After looking around at all my unfinished projects, stacks of paper and writing assignments lying around, I agreed the word Finish would be a good focus word for the New Year.

            I love to start new projects, but after a while my enthusiasm wanes, and sometimes I have trouble finishing the projects, especially with mundane tasks like balancing the checkbook or filing insurance claims. So, after much determination I focused and attacked the piles of paper clutter that had accumulated on and around my desk. It took some hours but now that these things are truly finished, I feel like a huge burden has been lifted.

            During Easter week when we are reminded of Jesus’ famous words on the cross, “It is finished,” I am grateful for the burden He took on for us. To know that He took the burden of our sins on Himself, and paid the price with His life, is overwhelmingly humbling.

            A woman whose husband recently passed away told me she was so grateful she learned that Jesus loved her and forgave her for her sins. She became a changed person a few years ago, after the burden of carrying her past and her struggles were forgiven. She said she knew about Jesus and Him dying on the cross, but never knew He did it for her personally and that she could come to know the God who loved her. She said her husband received Christ as his Savior on his deathbed, and told her it was because he had seen her life change when she started following Christ. Amazing.

            I’m thankful Jesus finished His work on the cross to pay for our sins. But I am also thankful He is not finished with us. The Bible says,

“ I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6.

Do you have any unfinished business, personal or spiritual, you need to do this year? Feel free to share my word for the year. Finish.

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Once A Month Cleaning

4/6/2015

8 Comments

I love to read organizing blogs and articles. I like to read about systems, simplifying, becoming more productive and yes, even better ways to clean and organize my house. Many blogs like this also cover organizing meal plans. One of the concepts I tried, without success, is once a month cooking. I read about it. I planned. I bought all the food. I even attempted to chop, sort, bag and freeze some of the items. I’m not sure where exactly it fizzled out, somewhere between the prepping, chopping and freezing. It seemed easier just to cook everything.

As I was vacuuming this week I contemplated why I was not more successful with once a month cooking. Then it hit me. I may be a once a month cooking failure, but when it comes to once a month CLEANING, I am a rock star! I am a natural at once a month cleaning. It must be a gift! I have never had to read a book or a blog about once a month cleaning. It never occurred to me that this is a skill or something to be valued. I am considering starting a new website dedicated to once a month cleaning!

Why and how does once a month cleaning work for me?

1. First, it helps to be a minimalist when it comes to home decorating. I think I fell into being a minimalist naturally when I couldn’t decide how to decorate and what to buy, so I didn’t. The house we are in now has a lot of windows, thus very little wall space to hang things or put decorative items.

2. I also realized having kids helps. I know this seems contradictory because kids are the ones who mess up the house. But, when they are old enough to do chores and value money they can be bribed rewarded when they clean the house. (i.e. a dollar to make their bed, a dollar for cleaning the bathroom, a dollar for cleaning and picking up the living room.) As they have grown older it seems they always want something from me. So, I attached that something to a house-cleaning chore.

When they want to go to a friend’s house - “Sure, as soon as these clothes are folded and put away.”

When they want a friend to come over - “Sure, as soon as your room is cleaned and vacuumed.”

When they want to play video games - “Sure, I need the trash taken out and the kitchen mopped before you start.”

The list goes on and on. Just this week, “Mom, can you order something for me from Amazon?” “Absolutely. While I am doing that please empty the dishwasher and clean up the kitchen. Thanks.”

This seriously cuts down on the amount of cleaning that is left for me to do.

3. At least once a month we have some type of event at our house. We have a meeting, a Bible study, a party or have friends over for dinner. That is when I do my once a month whole house cleaning. It works out great. The house is not too dirty because little cleaning chores have been taken care of throughout the month.

Instead of kicking myself for being a once a month cooking fail, I decided to embrace the skills I do have.

Being a Pastor’s wife, I see people who treat worshipping the Lord like I treat cleaning house. Studies show the average church goer attends about once a month. If there is an event or a special holiday like Christmas or Easter, more people attend.

As much as I am in the habit of once a month cleaning, I know it is not the best. There are definitely gaps that could be filled, . . . or cleaned, if I was more consistent. I think it is the same with our worship of God. There are gaps. We miss out on worshipping the Lord who loves us. We miss out on learning and applying God’s Word. And we miss out on the friendship and community of the family of believers.

“We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” Hebrews 10:24,25

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Welcome!

12/18/2014

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    After blogging at Adventurous Life With Christ since 2008, I finally made the move to an official website. Through doubt and insecurity I realized the Lord was calling me to do more than just blog about funny stories and the lessons He was teaching me. My desire is to be an encouragement to others in their journey with the Lord. So, with this new website there are several avenues I hope will provide encouragement.
    You can click the tabs at the top to read about them in detail, but basically, because I have grown in my spiritual journey through other women investing in my life, I love mentoring other women as well. My husband Vince or I would be honored to speak at your event, if that would be encouraging to you. And lastly, a life changing trip to Israel caused us to believe every follower in Christ should have the opportunity to experience the land of the Bible for themselves, so we love hosting tours for anyone who would like to go.

I hope something here will encourage you. If it does please let me know and share this site with others.
    Thanks and God bless you as you journey with Him!
Robyn

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Robyn Carrillo

Hi, I'm Robyn! Welcome! If you are looking for encouragement in your walk with the Lord you came to the right place. Stay awhile, look around, join the conversation. I pray you will leave with a smile on your face and Sonshine in your heart!

Father's Day Thoughts

Ask Me

Reluctant Obedience

Press 1 for Prayer

Finish

Once A Month Cleaning

Welcome!

Robyn Carrillo

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