Thank you Sally for this fabulous Five Star Treatment – I am honored to be featured on your wonderful blog!
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Invitation to TONIGHT’S Facebook Chat w/Paulette Harper & WNL Virtual Book Tours
Dear family, friends and fellow bloggers:
We will be discussing Running in Heels: A Memoir of Grit and Grace with WriteNowLiterary Book Tours hosted by Paulette Harper. This is a new endeavor for me. If you are a Facebook user, I welcome you to join us tonight @ 7:00 p.m. CST, 5:00 p.m. PT, 8:00 p.m. EST Click the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/367434043358166/
From the Heart,
Mary A. ~
PS. Please stay connected with Running in Heels book tour by catching the latest on my new News & Event page.
Filed under Book Tour, Facebook Chat
Joy Comes in the Morning
My heart is heavy, Lord. I can’t go another day.
The sun is hiding its face from me. Dreams are shattered. My heart is torn. Sleep escapes me. My eyes are swollen from the never-ending tears. My head hangs low. My shoulders slumped over. My feet feel like they’re walking in concrete.
Yet You say: Trust Me.
I don’t know if I can hold on longer. I’m not sure I can take another step – another hour, another minute, another second. I can’t today, Lord. I feel like a failure. I have nothing left to give. This darkness doesn’t lift. There’s trouble on every side, darkness all around. The burden is too heavy. The valley is too long. The ocean too wide. The pit too deep. God, please don’t leave me like this! Don’t forsake me now! Whom do I have besides You, Lord?
Please, God. Help. Me. To live.
Yes, child, He whispers. I am here.
Maybe … just maybe, I’ll try again tomorrow.
Personal Note: I felt compelled to jot these words down. I don’t know who this is for, but you know who you are. May hope arise within your spirit, and may you sense the Father’s peace as only He can grant in the midst of the storm. May He fill the void from within and heal the pain in your heart. Yes, He loves you just the way you are, but too much to leave you that way.
Love,
Mary A. ~
Filed under Inspirational, Prayer
A Bigger Picture
Worth repeating!
A message I heard in church a few years ago was about three kinds of enemies. I’d like to share this insight with you, trusting that it’ll help you the way it did me.
- HOLDERS – Those that want to hold you back.
- PULLERS – Those that will pull you away.
- CLINGERS – Those that keep you behind with them.
We probably all know someone in either category. We may have an idea, a vision, a dream, a desire, or feel passionate about something that we may share with somebody, but then that person does not share in our enthusiasm but merely seeks to crush our spirit. Before we know it, we are pulled back, stifled, crushed, and beaten down. I’m not saying there won’t be times when we are to make ourselves available in helping others. I am saying there will be times when we need to be around those who care enough to pour something back into us.
I need to be refilled. You need to be refilled.
MEDIOCRITY HATES VISION.
See the bigger picture of something greater and something better.
If we don’t grow, we die. This was me about four years ago. I wanted to grow, move forward, and better myself but only felt squashed and discouraged by those around me. Yet, they were moving forward. So in my prayer time, I sought guidance and courage. And when I heard my pastor’s message a few days later, it hit me.
Image source: thinkstock by Getty Images
I took a leap of faith and moved on. Why? Because I knew God had something better for me.
I had to make a choice and yes, it was frightening. It took a few months, but it was the best decision I made for me. Still today I am in a much better place and in a much better job position. I am challenged, fulfilled, and continue to grow. I am encouraged for doing my best and appreciated all that I do. I work for a phenomenal boss and some pretty phenomenal people.
Sometimes you have to give up something good to gain something better.
© M.A. Perez, 2015, All Rights Reserved
Filed under Devotional, motivation
You Light Up My Life
So many nights I’d sit by my window
Waiting for someone to sing me his song
So many dreams I kept deep inside me
Alone in the dark, but now you’ve come along
And you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days
And fill my nights with song
Rollin’ at sea, adrift on the water
Could it be finally I’m turning for home?
Finally, a chance to say hey, I love you
Never again
To be all alone
‘Cause you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days
And fill my nights with song
‘Cause you, you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days
And fill my nights with song
It can’t be wrong
When it feels so right
‘Cause you, you light up my life
Happy Twenty-First Wedding Anniversary to the one who continually lights up my life.
Here’s to twenty-one more years together. I love you, babe.
April 6, 2015 · 12:00 AM
Reflecting on Easter
Found a beautiful poem written by Helen Steiner Rice titled
Easter Reflections
With OUR EYES we see
The beauty of Easter
as the earth awakens once more…
With OUR EARS we hear
The birds sing sweetly
to tell us Spring again is here…
With OUR HANDS we pick
the golden daffodils
and the fragrant hyacinths…
But only with OUR HEARTS
can we feel the MIRACLE of GOD’S LOVE
which redeems all men…
And only with OUR SOUL
can we make our ‘pilgrimage to God’
and inherit His Easter Gift of ETERNAL LIFE.
Today’s Featured Author: Mary A. Perez
I got to do a guest blog today! Thank you Susan, I am honored to be here!
Today author Mary A. Perez stops by my blog as part of her Running in Heels virtual book tour.
Interview
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am Puerto Rican descent, meaning both my maternal and paternal grandparents, as well as my father, were all born and raised in the Island of Puerto Rico, which by the way, I have yet to visit!
Where were you born and where do you call home?
I was born in the Bronx and raised in Miami. In the year ’77 we moved to Texas. Although Houston has been my home for the past 38 years, I am far from having a Southern country accent. I am told that I sound like I am from up North. Go figure.
What is the best thing about being a writer? The worst?
The best thing about being a writer is that writing can be therapeutic. It…
View original post 1,320 more words
Filed under Author Interview, Featured, Running in Heels
Girls Night Out University
A little update to continue this journey with you all. Last night was new territory for me, as I had the honor and the privilege of speaking 
before several women at my church. I was asked to share my heart about overcoming some of the adversities mentioned in my book, Running in Heels. There were six of us speakers who were each given a classroom to hold two 25-minute discussions on different topics. Although this was out of my norm, I felt an unusual calmness while delivering my message. You can rest assured that this entire event was saturated with prayer!
To be surrounded by precious ladies–many who had read my book, many who hadn’t–all attentive to my every word touched me in a special way. Many came up to me afterward to give me an encouraging word. But I couldn’t be more blessed than to have the honor of praying for others hurting as they walked through their own struggles.
We should never be ashamed of our pain. Whether you’re going through the valley, or over the mountaintop: WE NEED ONE ANOTHER.
© M.A. Pérez 2015, All Rights Reserved
Filed under New Territory, Speaking Event
Reflections From the Heart 