Find a need and meet it!

This season brings back many memories from last year's holidays. Being a family who went through a very rough time these past few years financially my heart is saddened when I hear of parents who are concerned with how they are going to be able to provide a memorable Thanksgiving or Christmas. I want to take time today to speak to you who wonder that same thing. I also want to speak to those of you who are in a position to bless others in need.

First, before Hector was laid off from his job we were a family who was more than able to be a blessing to families in need and to give when there was a need. We were never boastful of what we could do and never asked for recognition of what we gave, all the glory goes to God for his goodness upon our lives. We simply would hear of a need or knew of one and wanted to help with whatever we could! Whether it be opening our home to victims of Hurricane Rita or purchasing and buying extra Thanksgiving meals to buying gifts for needy children during Christmas we wanted to do our part.

Last year, it was completely different. Christmastime was especially hard knowing we couldn't buy gifts galore for our girls or perhaps even buy or cook an extra meal for someone else's family. As believers in God's word we stood on the promise that all of our needs were going to be met and that we wouldn't have lack in our home. We still had a roof over our head, food on our table, clothes to wear and shoes on our feet. We were thankful for everything we had in life. Our church always helps when it comes to the needy in our community and we wanted to help. We knew that if it meant blessing someone else so that they would know that God loves them we would sacrifice for our family. So we did! We decided to be a blessing knowing and trusting that God will provide a Christmas for our girls. We are not a superficial family so our girls weren't upset about not having gifts or the BIG gifts like everyone else. They were happy to help other children. I say that to say this, when you help someone else God will help you. When you put your faith in what God tells you to do he is not going to let you down! NEVER!!!! God is true, he is faithful, he is everything you need him to be! When it all came down to it we still didn't have the finances to buy a big meal for the holiday celebrations and we had to miss out on the fun holiday parties God still provided. He provided amazing friends who blessed our girls with gifts (not knowing what we were going through personally) and we were invited to many activities that gave our girls gifts.

This year, I am already planning what I want our family to do for others who are still in need. I know what it means to have your kids go without the gifts, or a tree, or even lights outside the house for Santa to see your home in the night! I know how that feels and I don't want any child to go with out. I may not be a millionaire (YET!), but I know a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he will help me meet a need! That's the thing. MEET A NEED! You may not be able to meet a hundred needs but you can help meet ONE need.

Today, go out and find a need. It may be your best friend who is embarrassed to tell you what they are truly facing. It may be a single mom at church. It may even be that business owner that looks like they have it all together when deep inside they know that they are in need. GO out and meet a need this holiday season. In return, the bible says you will be given back that which you give!

Let this be the best holiday season we have lived! Generosity warms a heart like no one's business!

Love you all! I pray for those of you reading this that are the one's in need that God will move heaven and earth and send an angel in this community to help you. Keep your heart believing, keep your faith in God, keep expecting for things to get better! Life can and WILL get better for you, in the name of Jesus!

~Patty~

Zealous Youth Blogs: The Biggest Lie I Ever Told

Zealous Youth Blogs: The Biggest Lie I Ever Told: I've meant to confess this, my greatest mistake as a minister, my blunder of all blunders, the biggest lie I ever told!  As a young youth ...

Stronger

Wow! What a journey we have been on. I still remember the day we found out that Hector was laid off. The memory is there as if it happened yesterday afternoon. The wonderful thing about that is it doesn't hurt to think about it anymore. This December will be 4 years since our lives were turned upside down. Had it not been for hope in who God is, hope in his word, love and encouragement from friends and family, especially our church family we would not be who we are today. We are nothing away from God's love. 

It has been a long 4 years, but I am happy to say that life is better for us and things, a lot of things are lookin' up. My husband suffered a heart attack last year 2 weeks before his 40th birthday and as of a few days ago he is off of his medications (except cholesterol) and is doing great. His heart is doing wonderfully. I love that heartbeat! Sometimes I find myself laying on his chest just so I can hear that beautiful sound. I thank God for my husband's life. I am doing great. God has brought some amazing people in my life who have built my faith and have encouraged me to step out in new things. 

I wanted to write this to tell you not to give up! I know what it means to go through something so hard and hurtful that makes you feel like life as you know it is over. Today, I'm glad the life as I knew came to stop because this new life that God has given us is far more amazing than what we had. In the midst of your pain you may want to curl up in a dark room and stay away from the world, mostly from those who love you. DON'T do it!! You need them. God sends us the most beautiful people to get us through those tough times. Stay around people. I encourage you to stay around the people who are there to lift you up, and pray with you, give you words of wisdom, keep your faithatude in check! Yes, I said it! FAITHATUDE! We need to be sure to keep our faith in check. Keep your faith in God. He knows your ending from the beginning! He is fully aware of your current situation and he knows you're going to get through it. 

Stay focused on God and not your problem. Keep your eyes up towards heaven for all good things come from above. He knows your every need and he will take care of those for you. I don't have enough space to tell you how God met our needs through these last 4 years. He is just so amazing to his children! 

Hope! Hope and don't waver in it. Your life can and will get better! Trust God. He has a plan for you! 

Enjoying the journey, 
Patty 

Be a Giver of Hope

Choose not to let the problems of the world get to you. You can not afford to lose your joy. So, just because someone you know is going through a hard time or maybe it’s an event that has occurred in world and millions are living in anger doesn’t mean that you have to walk out those same emotions. Anger drains you. Frustration drains you. Sadness & depression suck the life right out of you. When someone is going through a battle in life or just having a bad day at work the best thing you can do is to be yourself. Lend an ear. Give some of your happiness to them. It does no good to your friend if you too, take part in their anger or frustration.

A reminder to those of you facing a difficult time right now would be to take a minute to look around & see what is good. There is more good than bad in this world. Look for it.

Hope is not.....

“Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it. Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.” Armstrong Williams

What is Fourth Day?

I recently was asked to minister at Victory Church of Highland Lakes in Marble Falls, TX. In preparation for the message for this church God gave me the message of Hope in the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. This place was the 1st time I had the revelation of the "Fourth Day" and from there I have continued to receive new words and understanding concerning God's Love and our Hope in Him. 
In a time when hope seems to be fading in the hearts of people in this world I feel that God has given me a message that surpasses hope as we know it. Christians stop at the 3rd day, when Christ was risen. I have found that there is a fourth day that we all seem to have forgotten about. This project, Fourth Day is the continuation after the 3 days that took place when Jesus went to the cross and rose again. The Fourth Day symbolizes victory, power, restoration, increase, and so much more. Here I will show you just that! 

Who is Patty Garcia?

I'm glad you asked! I am married to an amazing man, and together we have a 7-year-old daughter named Jessy Nicole, and a 3-year-old little girl named Nina Sophia. We love God with everything we have and are. I love my family and am so blessed! I spend most of my time with my hubby and little girls.
We are apart of the team at Life Unlimited Church in Lockhart, TX where we enjoy serving in the church and being a part of changing people's lives. We thank God each and everyday for this life he has blessed us with and thank him for the breath that we have and the food that is always on our table. We serve a mighty and good God, and if you don't know Who I am talking about, I hope I have the opportunity to introduce you to him.
I gave my heart to Jesus at the age of 12 at the same church I am still a part of today with my own family. I was baptized in the holy ghost shortly after that. In May 2000, I graduated from Lockhart High School and headed out to Texas Bible Institute in Columbus, TX ! After graduating from TBI in the year 2002 I made the decision to come home and serve my pastor at my home church. I have been a youth pastor, children's pastor, ministry of helps director, and I also serve on the praise and worship team at LUC.
In 2008, our lives were completey disrupted by an unexpected attack concerning my husband and his job of more than 10 years. Due to the economy and the hard times we were all facing in this country he was let go from his position. Hector was one of the top paying agents there! This was a huge shock, dissappointment, and in the midst of uncertainty we chose to stand and stand on the Word of God. Here we are 4 years later! We had lost so much because our finances were not the same. No matter how hard we worked or the extra odd jobs we did to try to make a living for our girls things just couldn't get back to normal. We had no choice but to remain focused on God's promises! Our marriage never took a back seat, our girls needs as well as our's were always met, and today we are further along in life than we would have been had we taken our eyes off of Jesus and on our problems. Today, I am experiencing my FOURTH DAY in Jesus.
I look forward to sharing more of my life with you here at Fourth Day! Thank you for visiting and may you leave this site knowing that God is good, and you will rise above whatever it is you are facing! God is on your side!

God is Able. Are you Willing?

Check it.

Is Sure Enough Good Enough?

Didn't I tell you that you will see God‘s Glory if you believe? - John 11:40

How many of us have heard God asking us that same question? I know I have more times than he probably should have to. As I read in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John I have come across many times when Jesus has asked this question. He hasn’t only asked this question to non-believers, but also to his disciples, his followers. His disciples even questioned what happened to his body after he was buried. They were in shocked when they found only his grave cloths left in the tomb. When his followers needed a miracle they always doubted their situation. Sometimes they would call on Jesus to come help or save them. Other times Jesus would just step in and show them how it’s done. I believe that there are people of God, children of the Most High God, righteous people who are living like the disciples some times did. You see, Thomas was one of the ones who had to SEE Jesus before he could believe. He had to make sure that Jesus had truly risen before he could believe what was already spoken to him (John 20:24). He put God’s promise to him and others aside. He put faith aside. In Luke 24 you’ll find what took place on the Walk to Emmaus. There are two followers of Jesus who were walking in deep conversation about what happened 3 days ago. This stranger appears to them out of no where and asks what the talk is all about. This stranger happens to be Jesus. The bible tells us that God placed blinders on these two men so that they could not recognize Jesus. They begin telling Jesus about what has taken place. They tell him about the women who went to see him and came to tell Jesus’ followers this amazing news! He has risen! They go on to say that some of the men ran out to see if what they were being told was true. They came back to tell them that SURE ENOUGH Jesus’ body was gone. Sure enough! Wow! Just reading that in Luke 24 made me instantly think this next phrase. Sure enough is not good enough! 

What if we tell our husbands that we love them. Will it take a life threatening situation for them to finally believe that we do love them? Sure enough, my wife really loves me! Uh, no I don’t think so! He better believe that I love him! What about our kids. Do you want them thinking that they might have a place to sleep when they come home? What if our kids tell their friends, “Sure enough, I had a bed to sleep in when I got home from school today.” Sure enough is not good enough! 

In Mark 16:14, it says that when Jesus met with all the 11 disciples he rebuked those for their unbelief. Remember, these were his followers. Men who had been with him for so long. They didn’t just start following Jesus yesterday! These were the men who were with him and right by his side during the signs, wonders, and miracles he performed for others and themselves. How could someone like them have that “sure enough” kind of belief in their Lord? We can ask ourselves that same question. Mark 24 goes on to say that they were rebuked for their unbelief- their stubborn refusal to believe. Wow. Stubborn refusal to believe. Do you find yourself in that stubborn place? It’s not that your heart towards Jesus has turn cold, or that you are a doubter in His Word. Maybe you find yourself still waiting on this one promise from your Savior to come to pass for years now. You find yourself hanging on to that promise. 

I want to let you know something. Whether you have the stubborn kind of faith or the certain faith, you have faith! Do you hear me? YOU have faith! After Jesus showed Thomas what he needed to see to believe he still loved him. Thomas still did great things for Jesus. He just had a moment. Jesus reassured him. I don’t want to get in that lifestyle of  “show me 1st” faith. I want the kind of faith that says no matter what my situation looks like I am going to trust in Jesus. Even though I may not have everything in my hands that I have believed God for I am still going to believe that it will happened, in Jesus’ name! 

Take hold of the faith God has given you! Don’t let circumstances make you waiver in your faith! Stand firm in what you believe! If God said it you can be certain that He will do it! 

One more thing! Even the guards were convinced that Jesus would rise! They arranged for extra guards at the tomb because they even believed that Jesus would do what he said he would do! Now isn’t that something? There should be more believers in God’s promises, His Words that are spoken to us than non-believers who know more about what God will do. While the guards were preparing for Jesus’ resurrection his followers were wondering if Jesus would rise on the 3 rd day. Some even thought his body was stolen! 

In closing, I challenge you to get God’s promises in your heart and in your mouth! Hold on to them with everything you have. Have them ready when circumstance comes against you! They are your’s! They belong to you! Go forth in knowing that God is with you and He lives in you! No one can take what has been given to you unless you give them the permission to do so! Just as you lock the door to your home or vehicle do that in your heart that holds the power of believing! 

Believe it, receive it, know it, and move forward in Jesus’ name! 

It was in you all along!

Quick! Grab your Bible. Go with me to John 5. Are you there?

In John 5, you will see we are going to be talking about the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. Have you heard of it? The Pool of Bethesda was a pool that when stirred by the angels anyone needing a miracle could get in and immediately be healed. I find this certain story of a lame man very interesting. You see, being in the church for most of my youth days and now adult days I have only heard this particular message as one of healing for the body of Christ. Never, have I heard it the way I am about to explain it to you. Open your heart to receive the word I am about to give you. I pray that as you are reading this blog, this message, that the Holy Spirit would teach you something new. That you would step away from this blog and walk in the power that God has given you, that lives right on the inside of you.

Here we go! Read John 5:1-5. My version is the New Living Translation.

(John 5:1-5) Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.  Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.

We are going to talk about the man who had been sick for 38 years!!!! Can you believe that? 38 years! Wow, why did it have to take him so long to get to this moment? Well, I believe it was an inside thing, a spiritual thing more than a physical restraint.

If you continue reading in John, verse 6 says that Jesus asked the man if he was willing to get well. Other translations say, "are you earnestly seeking to get better?" or "are you seriously trying to get well?" Today, I wonder how many people in today's world are living like this lame man. He went to the pool every single time it was stirred to try to get in. I don't know about you but if that were me and I had been dealing with this annoyance for 38 years don't you think I'd do whatever I could possibly do to get my rear end in that pool!? Yeah, I thought so.

Keep reading. We're in John 5:7.  The lame man's response to Jesus was somewhat like this, "I can't sir. Every time I try to get in the pool someone else always gets in before me."

Does that sound like someone you know? Someone you know very well? Let me bring it closer to home. Here are some of the things we may catch ourselves saying.

• I believe you've healed me, but I want the doctor to take another test.
• I want to buy that house, but I don't think my credit score is good enough.
• I walk by faith and not by sight, but man Lord, times are hard right now.

I can say the same thing for myself. I have come to the conclusion that no more will I allow myself to fall back in my faith (my believing and speaking). There is no way I am going to allow certain situations or hard times linger in my life like this man did. I hope you'll do the same.

After the lame man tells Jesus all about his situation he then tells the lame man to "get up". That's all it took. The lame man got up and walked on. He walked away completely healed!

Why did this happen so suddenly for him? After all, he waited 38 years for this. I believe there are some of you who have been waiting around for the perfect condition, for the right answer, for the green light from God, or perhaps you are waiting in fear, you're at a complete stand still in life. Whatever it is that has you waiting around the "Pool of Bethesda" your time is now. God is already in you. He has already equipped you with every tool you need in this life to be an over comer, a champion in Him, and he's left you the Holy Ghost.

So, if you are reading this and you are asking yourself what happened to the lame man? Why did he have such a quick turn around? Let me show you. This is what I believed happened to him.
The first thing I want to point out to you is that the man didn't even step foot into the pool. Jesus had all the power in the world to stop the pool and stop everyone in time at that moment. He could have easily done that for him and had the man walk into the pool to receive his healing. Why didn't he? Well, two things happened here. One, Jesus responded to faith. The lame man said he was TRYING to get there to the pool. He said EVERY time he tried someone always got in the way. Jesus is moved by faith not by need. He is moved by faith! So, I believe that's what Jesus heard. He heard faith. He wanted this man to get well. He wanted this man to be able to move ahead in life. It was his time! Our words of need can sometimes keep us in need. Be careful of the words you are speaking over your situation. Speak life. Speak faith. Speak healing. Speak prosperity. While you are speaking he is listening. Get the "BUT" out of the way. We are not "BUT" people. We are faith people. When are you are willing always remember that God is able. Your willing and God's able can become a "suddenly".

Instead of saying, " I want that house, BUT........" try saying, "that house belongs to me, in Jesus' name!". Faith speaks of those things that are unseen in the natural but seen in the spiritual. No more is it going to be "I feel a little better, BUT......" No! It is I am healed of God. That's it! God said it, that's settles it.

Okay, let's move on. One more important thing took place here at the Pool of Bethesda. Remember, the man never had to get in to the pool. After Jesus healed him he left him. While the man was walking around the town people asked who had healed him. The Bible says that not even the lame man knew who healed him. WOW! Wait a minute there! He didn't even know it was JESUS, the Healer himself who had healed him. So, that's it! There is the second thing. Check this out. Remember, I told you that Jesus could have kept the waters still in the pool? He could have had time stand still for this man to walk himself down to get in to the pool? Well, I believe he didn't because there was more that this man needed. It was more than just having him get in the pool. You see, too many believers are wanting a "Pool of Bethesda" moment in their life. They have a mentality that tells them they have to have someone pray for them. They have to go to the next big conference to get hands laid on them. Or maybe it is always need to get the next big book on healing, prosperity, or whatever the need is. My friends, I believe Jesus was trying to show this man that what he needed was right on the inside of him that whole time. Jesus just gave him an opportunity to believe it.

Now that we have Jesus living on the inside of us we have access to anything we need. The power is on the inside of you and me. The bible says in John 14: 12,  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do."

What are you asking of the Lord? Whatever you ask know it is done! You don't have go on living in need of hope, faith, peace, wisdom, direction, healing. Those things are yours! Today, right now, where ever you may be, I want to you take a moment and truly believe in Jesus. He is every thing. I completely believe that God is on the inside me. I know that God is for me. I know that when I speak healing, it is done. When I speak help, it is mine. When I speak peace, it is mine! What do you need from Jesus? Ask it and it is yours.

Let us be people who not only believe what he says, but a people who walks it out.

Pray with me.

"Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank you that I have the same power living on the inside me that raised Jesus from the dead. Today, I believe now more than ever that I am equipped. I have all I need because I have Jesus. No longer will I go on wondering if you hear me. I am a child of the most high God. I believe Lord, therefore I will speak. My life is getting better, in Jesus' name. Amen."