Ruth Nieves

We are already at the end of September. Can you believe that?! I am in the dining room as the boys sleep and hubby is at the church watching the Giants game with the guys and I am listening in the quietness the ticking of the clock. When you think about it every tick is a second gone by. It can make you a little anxious when you know the laundry has to get done, and the week has already begun and you aren't quite ready. Listening to the ticking and the tocking makes me think of a couple of things. One, that I want to spend more time loving on my husband and boys. I want to spend more time with my parents and siblings. I don't want to waste a second being mad or frustrated. I don't want to harbor anger and resentment. I don't want to hang on to past hurts. I have one life to live and I want to live it free from toxins and poisons that can rob me of my peace and joy. Secondly, the ticking reminds me of the Lord's return. It is getting closer. I am not a scholar and ...

Enjoying life right now. Choosing not to dwell on all the negative and bad stuff from yesterday and beyond. Choosing to saturate myself in the love of my husband and sons, in the love of my family and friends and in the love of my heavenly Father. I can't change yesterday. But I can change me so that today and tomorrow my response would be different. I know that bad days will come. Storms will brew and the "suddenlies" of life will happen, but I pray that when those days come, though I will not be ready for them, I pray that I will handle them with grace and hope. I hope that today, despite your crazy life, you will remember all that God has done for you, all that He has brought you through, all that He has given you. Tomorrow isn't promised but you have now, so relish in it, love in it, dance in it, laugh with abandon in it. I hope that you will join me in loving today!

Last night I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack. I am not even kidding a little bit. I have never had one before but I have known people who have described the experience of one and I think I was on the verge of one. There have been so many changes in the last few months, year. All natural, nothing crazy. I am one that loves change. I crave it. I look for it. I totally don't mind it. But lately it's beginning to affect me in not such a cool way. Sort of like last night. I knew exactly what brought this on. I was not unaware of the reasons for the heart palpitations and the feeling of wanting to stop the world while I caught my breath...you know, till I was able to process what was happening. But that was not the case. I had to pray through it and relax....trust. Not only are the changes occurring on my head (read previous blog...grays) but also in the lives of my family. First it was Joey last week. Can you believe he is starting middle school in the fall? Well, I a...

My conversation with God went something like this.. "You know, God, this whole aging thing is not cool! I really don't like it and I especially hate the gray hair and the little lines coming up around the eyes. And other gravity realities...." This whole not-liking-the-aging-thing started when I found my first gray hair. I yanked that sucker out. And I as I winced in pain and from the one half-opened eye I see this silver, shining looking strand of what I know is my hair. I could not believe it. It was actually happening. I was, I was really getting OLLLLDDDDDDD....waahhhhh!!! This was not supposed to happen to me. When did this all begin to happen. I guess in the middle of planting a church, having children, moving from city and state, having more children and having the dailiness of life it all crept up on me. I was supposed to be prepared for this. I always said that I would age "gracefully". I would do the natural look...all gray. No hair dyes. But that ...

There are days that I just feel, blah! Just. Plain....BLAH! Today isn't one of those days but not too long ago that was a totally different story. These blah days can last for weeks and sometimes longer. It goes something like this... I feel fat. I feel ugly, puffy and round. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm not hideous but I think as women we all feel a little of these things every once in a while. But wait, I'm not finished. I feel stupid and like a terrible mom and wife. I get really down on myself and feel like everyone else thinks these things too. Does this sound remotely familiar at all? Joe doesn't know exactly what to do with me when I am so nutty and screwy. He tries to "get it" but I can see by the look in his eyes that he is REALLY confused.  I can just see him now looking at the calendar to see if "Aunt Freida" is coming for a "visit." Just to let you all know that we don't have an Aunt Freida and I don't know many...

What I wouldn't do for a day on some exotic beach somewhere. Ahhh, to lay on a hammock, drinking some exotic drink (non-alcoholic, of course), underneath a palm tree, with a balmy breeze lulling me to sleep....sweet surrender! Smelling the sweet, salty air. I'll even settle for Myrtle Beach these days. As long as it's warm, beachy and they're selling exotic drinks. Hey, I'd be happy. Some of you may be old enough to remember those Calgon commercials...where the woman is having a crazy day with the kids, her husband, work, and the house...and after everything has culminated a storm, she yells out, "Calgon, take me away!" Hoping that this soak in the tub would make it all better. Well, the beach would be my Calgon. Except that I have an incredible husband who helps me tons and two boys who are amazing kids. No, I am not living on Mars. This is my real life. But it does get super nutty and there are days that seem like they are not about to end. There is t...

Lately I have read, received texts, gotten calls from friends, family and colleagues who are in this very hour experiencing one of the toughest battles of their lives. Not too long ago I also experienced physical pain, mental and emotional turmoil. It wrecked havoc on my body like I never experienced before. Sounds like Midol would be in order, but it wasn't that type of pain or turmoil. I couldn't understand where it was coming from or how I got to that point. Waking up drenched in a cold sweat, not sleeping, worrying and fearsome. Totally not  like me at all. Especially with the whole sleeping thing (just ask Joe and he will tell you just how much I love my sleep!). Then I would get up in the morning and do it all over again, sick and exhausted. Right now, someone very close to me is experiencing this very same thing. The tests are all coming back negative. Sonograms and blood work. Doctor's are not sure why she is having so much pain. Why she can't sleep. Why she is...