My Conneciton to Tony Robbins "Breakthrough" TV Show Ep.1

“The worst thing you can do for the people you love is doing things that they can do for themselves”

I watched the first episode of Breakthrough by Tony Robbins today and learned a lot about how to be a stronger person not only for myself but for people I love as well. Breakthrough is a TV show about Tony Robbins helping people make positive turns in their life by series of breakthrough events.  He shows them that their life can change and there is hope.

The first episode is about a married couple name Frank and Karen Alioto whose lives changed dramatically on the day of their wedding when Frank fell into the pool and became paralyzed.  Since that day they both lived with grief, guilt, and sorrow because they thought they could never have the life they planned for themselves.  Karen felt extremely overwhelmed with everything in her life and because she loved Frank so much it broke her heart to see him so vulnerable everyday.  It was extremely hard for Frank to see Karen go through so much pain and he felt guilty for not being able to provide the life he promised her. This is when Tony comes into their life to show them that their story hasn’t ended yet.

Tony gives both of them a series of challenges to overcome and through those challenges you start to see hope in their eyes again. One of my favorite part is when Tony talks to Franks family and friends about allowing Frank to struggle.  He mentions the worst thing we can do for the people we love is doing things that they can do for themselves and by doing so we end up being handicapped.  Frank might struggle at first but he’ll figure it out and it would no longer be a struggle for him.  That was a great life lesson to learn.  This was a great reminder that tough love is a form of love that's needed in certain moments of our lives.  This is definitely something I need to practice as well.  I want to make sure I don't handicap the people I love from becoming greater than they think they can be. 

You can watch EP.1-1 below. I encourage you to watch the rest!
Have a blessed week everyone!
 

My Connection to LOVE by Jaeson Ma (feat. Bruno Mars)

The lyrics to this song always humbles me and makes me think.  I even cried a few times listening to this song by myself in my car.  I’m sure you guys all have done before. =)

 I think I listened to it at least 5 times a day for 2 weeks straight.  There are so many parts on this song that spoke out to me.  It really speaks the truth and because it does it’s very humbling and challenging at the same time. 

Whenever I listen to this song it makes me think about the kind of love that my life is reflecting.  Would I be able to die for my enemies?  Does my love keep no record of wrongs?  The truth is I’ve been struggling with showing love to two specific people in my life the past year.  I see them every day because I work with them and every day I tell myself it’s a new day and I’m going to show love to them.  Then I get into the office and they do something to annoy me.  So, all the promises and prayers goes straight out the door.  Their personality is completely different from mine so their work ethic frustrates me sometimes.  I’ve been asking God to give me strength to show love to them but it’s been a real challenge.  Although it’s not easy I will not give up because I know God is working in me.  I also know that the only way anything will change is if I decide to change.  So, I decided to start praying for them and their family.  It’s a commitment but I feel like God is telling me to start there.

The other part that brings tears of joy to my eyes is the way it describes what perfect love is.  It’s so refreshing and humbling.  It also gives me a lot of hope.  Sometimes I think I got it right and I let my ego get the best of me.  Then, I think about how God portrayed his love for us it humbles me.   It truly is unthinkable to think about what Jesus Christ did for us.  That is truly perfect love.

I think if we try to do what the chorus say's, it'll help us along this journey.  It’s not easy with all the temptation around us but there’s no temptation big enough that love can’t fight.  This will be a continuous mission and journey for me but I’m looking forward to learning and growing every step of the way.  I’ll let you guys know how it turns out with my coworkers in a few months.  Please keep me in your prayers.

I also follow Jaeson Ma's blog which has great inspiring stories. You may want to check it out http://www.jaesonma.com/.

Thanks for reading everyone and please share some trials and triumphs you've had as well.  What was your connection to this song?

A Deeper Look into My Heart

Hey Guys,

I wanted to take this time to share about my inner passion to fight against human trafficking.  I first heard about human trafficking 3 or 4 years ago in church through a spokesperson from Oasis.   At the time, I didn’t know something like this was possible and it was all incredibly new to me.  Back then when I thought about slavery I thought about the stories we read in our history books.  I never thought it could be happening now.  I learned about different forms of slavery and they are all equally horrible but the one that broke my heart the most was sex trafficking.  Maybe it's because I'm a woman but the thought of young children and women being sold as prostitutes really bothered my soul.  It was horrible enough to know that people from third world countries were being trafficked but it really boggled my mind when I found out that people in California were being kidnapped and tricked into slavery as well.  Although my heart cried out for these people I didn't decide to get involved until I watched the movie "Taken".  This movie is about a father who goes to the ends of the earth to get his daughter back who was trafficked into prostitution.  I cried uncontrollably after watching this movie because I knew this was happening in real life. I prayed and asked God how something like this could be happening in our world.  Then in return I asked myself or God asked me what I was going to do to make it better.  That's when I decided that I needed to do something to help any way I can.  Through a friend I was able to get a hold of the founder of CAS (California Against Slavery) and I started to get involved with what they were doing to end slavery in California.

This crime seems impossible to end when you look at the growing population of people being trafficked each year.  Even so I truly have faith that this horrible crime would come to an end.   I'm not sure when that'll be but I have faith that it will because I saw it happen in my dream.   A few months ago I had a dream that I was sold as a sex slave because my family was tricked into thinking that they were sending me to a really great school.   The emotions I felt when I found out what happened were so real.  I felt lost, scared, betrayed, and my whole world was spinning.  I asked people to help me but they were so scared of the scary man (the guy in charge) that they ignored me.  Not even the police was able to do anything.  The people who worked for him told me I had to sleep with the scary man and the thought of that made me sick.  I remember praying in my dream and asking God why this happened to me.   I was mad at God but I also knew He was the only one who could save me.   So, I prayed earnestly for a miracle.  Then the next day and I had to go see the scary man.   I remember feeling terrified standing outside his room.  Then, something happened.  The scary man came out and told me I was free to go.  It was words of disbelief, happiness, and hope.   It was a miracle. Then he told me again, “You’re free to go.”  So, I walked out of there as a free woman.  I remember seeing the brightest light when the doors opened.  After that dream I had ultimate faith that this horrible crime would come to an end.  It was my confirmation and I can’t wait for that day.

If you want to know more information or find out how you can help support CAS please visit our website:

www.californiaagainstslavery.org