Author: Maria Cervantes

Hi everyone,

We got back from Georgia late Monday night.  It was a wonderful trip, I enjoyed spending time with the family. We went to Lanier Lake, the zoo,  we spent a lot of time at the pool and just hanging out. It was nice not to be in a rush the way we normally are.  We agreed to make a greater effort each summer and visit.  As much as I enjoyed seeing our families over the last month I was sure glad to be back home. I missed my Bruce Willis (our beagle), my vegetable garden, my wonderful bed and pretty much everything about my home

Tomorrow is my last day of my sabbatical who would of thought a month would go by so fast. I’m grateful and thankful that  I was able to have this opportunity.

“And when you pray, don’t be like those people who don’t know God. They continue saying things that mean nothing, thinking that God will hear them because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7

God already knows what we need even before we speak it. Whether its long or short or if we don’t even have the words to express ourselves he understands us. Now that is a truly beautiful thing.

This is the view that I have been enjoying every morning since we got to Georgia, its the perfect place to read my devotional, have my reflection time and drink my coffee.

After crossing 3 states 998 miles later we arrived in Cumming, Georgia yesterday at 7:42pm. I have a total of 7 brothers so it is very difficult for us to be together at the same time. As a matter of fact we haven’t all been together since we were kids. For this gathering only 4 of us will be together.  Having your family close by is a true blessing that not many of us have.

Our stopping point was in Vicksburg, Mississippi we visited the National Military Park and of course the Mississippi River.

My 2 other brothers Eddy and Emanuel will arrive on Friday to join us they will be traveling about 9 to 10 hours. Prayers for safe travels is greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone

This week has been a blessing, I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my mother.  We did a bit of shopping and lots of gardening and cooking.  Her week wasn’t as busy as it would be back home but that was my goal. My mom does so much for others back home that at times she forgets how to just sit down and have someone else take care of her.

So today we begin our 998 mile long journey to Georgia to meet up with my brothers. We will be stopping in Vicksburg, Ms for the night. Prayers for safe travels is greatly appreciated.

Day 12 of my sabbatical I figured the time would go by slow but I was wrong.

Last week we went back to Brownsville I was surprised how well our grandson did on the long 8 hour drive, we were  able to visit South Padre Island and go to Schlitterbahn  it was a great time.

I was able to visit my grandfather who will be turning 95 in September and I also saw my great aunt who was visiting from Nuevo Laredo she is turning 80 this year.

On Saturday we had our nephew’s graduation and I have to be honest it was the longest graduation ceremony I have EVER been to. Close to 500 kids graduated which is absolutely wonderful but LONG!

We headed back to Abilene on Sunday arrived close to 10pm and my mom came with us. She will be here for a week and then we will be traveling to Georgia to meet up with 2 of my brothers that we haven’t  seen in over a year.

Today my mom and I worked on the vegetable garden and on the rose bushes. I love gardening and its nice to have someone volunteer to help you versus forcing my husband or son be out there with me.

I have been enjoying my quite time, it’s usually early in the morning about 6am I still haven’t mastered the whole sleeping in thing not sure that I can. My daily devotional is 30 Days with Jesus todays passage was on making every day a Sunday and about 4 years ago  that would of made no sense to me but now I can say I find myself praying about everything and frequently throughout my day. I’ve also been reading God Loves Broken People ( and those who pretend they’re not) my reading for the day ended in a good spot it reads “When you are broken in the hands of the Master, you would never, ever go back to living the illusion that you are, in your strength, whole.” Its a really good read talks about how God uses our brokenness to bring us closer to him. I still have a long way to go but now I know I don’t have to face it on my own.

Till next time.

Hi everyone. It’s day 6 of my sabbatical and its going good.  We traveled to Brownsville Tx over the weekend for a Quincenera on my husbands side of the family. We stayed at my mom’s house whom I hadn’t seen since Christmas. I really miss her. I love her company, advise, fresh homemade flour tortillas, café, mole, barbacoa  just to name a few.  In a time span of 2 nights and 2 1/2 days she fed me almost all my favorite meals.

My son and I have been helping at the West Texas Food Bank which has been really great and on the plus side for me I get to spend more one on one time with my 16 year old. We have managed to clean and pack 3 huge bins of canned products. So if you are still unsure of what your service project should be please call Chad Kirkland at (325)695-6311.

I have also been able to dedicate more time to my vegetable garden and its looking great!

We will be heading back to Brownsville on Thursday for our nephew’s high school graduation wish us luck our 5 year old grandson will be traveling with us.