We All Have One

We all have one...
Some more than one.
Sometimes we are better off
Not exercising it...
Because when we stop
To think about it...
It will hurt others
Including ones own self...
But some of us blurt it out
Scream it from out our lungs
Because we feel entitled...
Regardless of what another may feel...
What we think is irrelevant...
What about what we feel...
What about what another feels...
The innocent bystanders...
Our opinions can be like a drive by shooting
Rat-tat-tat-tat...that's just the way it is.. (Tupac)
How careless we can be with each letter
That turns into words... and into sentences...
Creating our phrases,  opinions,  and sayings...
They have the power to kill,  to bash,  to heal,  to care for,  to love,  to change our neighbor, our neighborhood,  our town,  our city,  our state,  our country,  our nation,  our continent,  our world...
Words formed into opinions can make someone's day or destroy someone's life...
Cause peace or start wars...
And in this I believe,
None of us are perfect...
If this is something we can believe
Then be the first to forgive...
Put down the stone from out thy mouth
And send love instead of hate...
Love changes hearts...
Love changes roads...
Love changes lives...
Love can change the way we communicate...
Love can make opinions facts...

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

Galatians 2:20
And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. And that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself for me.

1 John 4:10
In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.

If we can not love with our hearts...
Let us love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ...
He could have blasted them
When they persecuted,  beat,  whipped,  tortured Him.
He could have destroyed the cross with a snap
Of His fingers, 
Instead He carried it to His death...
He must have humanly had opinions
Upon opinions about the pain He endured...
Instead He remained humble and chose
To love us so much that He said:

And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots.                     Luke 23:34

What a man,  what a human being,  what a child of God...  Jesus Christ was,  is,  and will always be... Before we think...  Pray...  Before you speak,  pray...  Before we send out messages...  Let us ask God if this is something He would approve of...  And before we judge another...  Let us remember this fact:

John 8:7
When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

Blessed be God...  Praise be to You Lord Jesus Christ...  Come Holy Spirit...  Ave Maria...  And all the Saints say: Amen.

Mark David Grijalva Peres
Copyright©️✝️2017.2.20

Let God's Love Rule

Preparing for a day
Which we give a heart
Filled with candy
And cards of cheer
Maybe even roses
And glasses filled
With red wine
As some dine
Exchanging love
Through several expressions...
Confusing what?
What with where?
Where with when?
When with who?
And who with why?
Why?
I don't know!
Because we don't know
Or is it we do what we are taught...
Love is love?
Love comes from above
Love is dying for what you believe in
As did St. Valentine
On this day so far back in history...
But before then...
Was a man in the flesh
But within Him
A love that shined wherever He went
And this love spread worldwide
Upon a cross for us all...
Which with His blood
That dripped from off His body
Shed light,  shed mercy,  shed grace, 
Shed love for all life...
And through His death
And then His resurrection...
The greatest love story ever...
Gave us all a way to reach the gates
Of which all our souls do desire...
To eternally live in heaven...
Until that given day...
The greatest of all love
Keeps us safe,  keeps us alive,  and
Keeps us connected to our Father,
Our Father,  who arts in heaven...
Happy Valentine's Day to each of you,
Remembering St.  Valentine...
But above all accepting,  living,  and loving
This eternal love given to us
Through Yeshua,  from God.
Amen

Mark David Grijalva Peres
Copyright©️✝️MDGP 2017.2.13

Acknowkedge

Sitting here alone
Eating dinner
With an uncomfortable toothache,
To lose attention on the pain
I pray with every bite
Shifting the food
To the side of my mouth
That is not aching...
And focusing on the crowd...
Some eating alone,  like me...
Some eating as a couple,
With eyes of love...
Some eating with friends
As they speak about their
Current daily affairs...
Some are with their families
Enjoying the time...
Mom with kids alone
Others Dad, mom, and kids...
Either way...  I analyze myself...
I have been in each scenario...
Alone,  as I am now
With a good friend
With my kids alone
With my significant other
And with the family...
In each scenario
I have been blessed with life
Regardless of the time:
Infant,  toddler,  adolescent,  teen, 
Young adult,  parent,  friend,  husband, 
Alone...  As I am now...
Or am I truly alone...
If I can still feel her hand grasping mine
My children's laughter
Or my friends conversation
As if it were yesterday...
God has blessed me with life
In each scenario,  I have been blessed...
Nothing more and nothing less
But the gracefulness of God...
I wonder if these brothers and sisters
Around me eating right now
Realize how blessed they are...
To have a friend,  to be a child,  to be parent,
To be a significant other,  or alone
With the thoughts of thankfulness
To be blessed with life...
Everyday we are faced with challenges...
Everyday we grow one day ahead...
Everyday we are blessed with life.
Thank You God... 
I acknowledge Your grace
And offer up this discomforting pain
For You alone to heal.  Amen.
Do you acknowledge God on
How truly blessed you are?

Mark David Grijalva Peres
Copyright©️2017.2.8✝️✝️✝️

She came to me...

The night meets me
With its lonely whispers
Reminding me
That I am all alone
The things of past
They sometimes haunt me
Within the rooms and chambers
Of both my heart and mind...
I close my eyes praying and
My Blessed Mother Mary sends her roses
Soothing my tired and ailing body
As she reminds me of her Sons loneliness
While carrying His cross to His death...
Alone He walked the trail
On which blood dripped
From off His crown of thorns
And tortured flesh...
Nail after nail which punctured his hands and feet
He felt alone,  holding our hope
For a better tomorrow
With each breath He took...
She saw Him through it all
Feeling hopeless and filled with sorrow...
Alone He carried our sins
Down to the flames of hell
To rise again anew
Giving us a chance
To start fresh...
She caressed my head
And assured me that my loneliness
Is nothing more than my senses
Crying out for His touch
Upon the mind and heart...
She reminded me to pray the Rosary
And kissed my head good-bye...
My eyes opened... 
I had fallen asleep...
Was my lonely night
Met by my Blessed Mother Mary
Through a dream...
Either or...
Thank you...
Blessed be God...
I am never alone.

Mark David Grijalva Peres

Copyright©️✝️MDGP 2017.2.7

We all fall short...

Sin is sin! whether you you are Jewish,  Catholic,  Protestant,  Mormon,  Jehovah's Witness, etc.  God forgives us all,  if we ask Him to.  I grow weary of people using religious titles/sects/choices to segregate people...  "Oh, those Jews... Oh,  those Catholics... Oh,  those Born Agains... Oh,  those Muslims and Oh,  those so and so's..."

Romans 3:20-26

20 Because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now without the law the justice of God is made manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
22 Even the justice of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe in him: for there is no distinction:
23 For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God.
24 Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption, that is in Christ Jesus,
25 Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins,
26 Through the forbearance of God, for the shewing of his justice in this time; that he himself may be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus Christ.

Sin is sin...  We are all born sinners.  It is by the grace of God we are saved from this sin.  Let us remember this before we become spiritually racist...  Let us see one another as God sees us,  as His children through the birth, the life,  the death, and the resurrection of His Son,  our King of Kings,  Yeshua. If I sin as a Catholic,  I cannot think I am better than a Protestant, a Muslim, a Jew,  or any other religious individual. It is through the blood shed on the cross where Yeshua was crucified, that we are all forgiven... for Catholics,  Muslims,  Protestants,  Jews,  Mormons,  etc. He died for us all.  We are all connected by Yeshua's death and ressurection. 

Let us pray,  think before we express,  and be humble above all.

God bless us all and guide us all.

Mark David Grijalva Peres

Ave Maria

At such an early age
You heard your calling
From the most high
While others squandered their time
And so many still do…
You began your journey
Not knowing exactly the steps
But through blind faith
You accepted this powerful path
So young, your body began to change
While a man you never met
Filled with what many men
Tend to do from time to time
Question and doubt;
You accepted and obeyed,
Marrying this man
Who was placed there to protect, guide and care
As the gift for us all grew within you
Life was happening all around you
And so many must have questioned
The who, the what, the where, the when and the why?
You did not wander off, but stayed on course
Never denying the truth that was presented to you…
When the time came, there was nowhere to deliver
The stress of a mother, from place to place,
But even then, your faith stood strong,
Alongside the man placed to guide your family…
Leading to the most humblest place imaginable
Hope, salvation and healing for humanity was birthed;
To rush away in order not to
Let the greatest of all miracles
Fall into the hands of the enemy…
Watching time go by
You trusted with great faith;
Alone, as the man once by your side
Left and a single mother you became…
Raising the child, like so many today…
You know the feelings so many single mothers face today…
So on you went with the love for the most high
And the love for your son, nurturing and building Him up
like any other mothers love for their child would…
Knowing what was to be
You trusted and never left course
As many others might have,
Escaping the fate, not so likeable…
When the time came
You had to let Him go about His Father’s business,
But not before showing us even greater
What a true Christian is…
You did not claim to be the mother of …
Or the true bride of the…
But told the men to do as he said,
Not what you said…
You never asked to be acknowledged
For you show what true faith & obedience is…
You show what true discipline and humbleness is…
How proud of your son…
To hear him coming out of the wilderness
Uncompromised and unharmed…
To hearing of the great works
And confrontations against the enemy
Leaving a victorious outcome…
Yet in the back of your mind,
Knowing what was to come,
And all you could do is intercede in prayers
As my very own mother has to this day
For her four children and grandchildren
And those she calls family and friends
Neither does my mother take glory,
But gives glory to God;
Just as you did, do and always will.
You nurtured Him within your womb
Held him so tight in your embrace
Taught him as a mother does…
Watched him grow;
Watched him move on to his path;
And walked towards Him through His passion…
With nothing within your grasp to do, nothing could stop His destiny…
Watching Him be ridiculed, mocked, whipped, beat until his crucifixion;
The horror, terror of seeing blood dripping from off his face and body
When you once tended to his every need,
Nothing could be done, even though as any mother would
Try and stop this torment for their son…
You keep your faith and obedience
For you knew your son was born to die…
There he hung, dying with every breath
And you wept the tears of a mother
But with each tear, you interceded with prayer
As when the nails went through his flesh
They too went through your flesh
And your cries of justice for your son
Were handed in faith to the most high…
As they took him down, lifeless from the cross
The human pain, you felt of seeing your son dead…
I can imagine the thoughts as you held him close to your heart,
Once there was life and they cheered him,
To kill him and left alone within your arms and the few next to you…
The days there after, what were you thinking?
In mourning, but in prayer…
Asking for the most highs will to be done.
And on the third day He rose…
What joy must have rushed through your heart…
After all you had been through as a human being, a mother, a wife…
The losing of and feelings of loss
The will you so were faithful to,
obedient to, and trusted in… paid off.
For your tears of a mother and prayers of a mother
Interceded for our Savior, our King,
our Hope, our Healing and Salvation…
Oh, sweet blessed Mother Mary…
In all this, you never did or have asked for us to worship you…
But through this you led us to your Son…
And you continue leading
so many lost children to our Shepherd.
Your humbleness,
your obedience, your faith and trust in and toward Yahweh
Is the example of what a true Christian is to be…
I do not worship you,
but I do admire you, I do respect you, I acknowledge your faith
and I ask that you intercede for me and my family
As my own mother has and does,
That we may reach heaven one day
But as I walk here on earth,
Let me have the heart of King David’s love for God,
Let me have your willing heart to serve our God,
And lead me to your son, Yeshua…
That his pierced hands touch my life
And teach me to completely forgive and be forgiven…
To heal and be saved from all that is of the liar.
Blessed be Yahweh… Blessed be Yeshua… Blessed be the Holy Spirit…
And blessed be your faithful, loving and caring heart for all the children
Of the most high, in which I know right now,
even with those lost children
Who once believed in your intercession for our prayers,
but rebelled and live without the true truth,
you love us all the same,
as a mother loves her children here on earth.
I have felt your loving embrace through the prayer
Gifted to us in the most Holy Rosary
And can witness to your interceding of my prayers.
One last thing oh, sweet Blessed Mother,
I love you

Written on 2.1.2015

Mark David Grijalva Peres

Copyright ©️2015MDGP✝️