2 for 1

A "Two Birds, One Stone" situation (horrible, don't go around killing birdies! Or I'll find you).

 I hope to shine some light towards this season of elections, and encourage you to make the wise choice of sticking to your gut and what you believe. 

    While we prepare to vote, the media seems to make it harder and harder time after time. Sometimes putting physical appearance, relational connections, stature and personal matters of each candidate as a priority, that honestly affect and blur our opinion whether we like it or not. I recommend that individually we look at their agendas, place our priorities as individual and as a country, and choose those who stand for what you believe. I don't believe in standing on a party alone, but rather looking at what the people around them (working for them) are doing. A lot of time it is not necessarily the candidate's words, but what his public relations committee would like him to say or appear to be. They want to please the people and say what you or majority of this country want to hear. Thus, if you know you disagree with the position each candidate takes on matters that are very important to you, make your case (explore, get informed, ask around you), but don't refuse to vote. I suggest you keep in mind the next generation coming behind you, and how they will be facing our decision today. Remember that we form our government, it is up to us to choose. (And not for them to tell us what to do.) 

So with that being said, what are some topics you should keep in mind? (And take a stance on!)

This is BOUND4LIFE (http://bound4life.com/), an organization that stands up for life (or against abortion). Life is a gift, not a curse. The future victims of this crime (killing innocent babies) could get a chance by the way you vote. Abortion has been a "touchy" subject since the day it became allowed. In my opinion, it is that way because of all the emotional chaos attached to the word. It is also rooted in selfishness and increasing in revenue every passing moment. I think that life is life, given by God and not allowed to be taken away by us. (In NO circumstance). Thus, abolishing abortion is not taking away a right or our choice. 
I encourage you to take up the responsibility to do what's right for the world. Do not be intimidated by the big words, the super-knowledgeable people or the constant oppressors that may stand against what you believe. For a long time, I really thought I was uninformed on subjects like this one to speak up. (And I still don't know a lot on it). I do know that I can't just know a little bit and still do nothing. And many, many organizations are not passive when it comes to letting everyone else know. 
Here are some links to movements/organizations standing up for millions of unborn babies:

http://backtolifemovement.com/

http://www.whyprolife.com/

http://www.operationrescue.org/

http://www.everylifeisbeautiful.com/

Do take consideration for the people that have been part of this or know women that have had an abortion, and choose to love them. A lot of times, in hopelessness and in desperate times, we long for someone to shine some light and bit of hope, and you could be it. There is help and options, but abortion is not one of them. 
  

I believe this is a battle for my generation and generations to come. Get informed! 

One more thing, I also recommend you watch the movies "180" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y2KsU_dhwI&feature=youtube_gdata_player)  and "October Baby" (http://octoberbabymovie.net/)  
(Do it!! :) Please!)

“Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9)

The foundation of my values is Truth, and it is the base of my stance in this matter. 

Pray and stick to your gut as you vote, 
Estefania. 

Girl Talk?

I want to share with girls some of the encouraging websites I visit from time to time. They have been encouraging and have challenged me in my walk with God. These also have some good advice on topics I might not have been bold enough to ask about...

Captured. (http://www.iamcaptured.org/)

This is definitely a website with some great pointers on life for young women like me. Especially on areas that affect our every day life, such as relationships. They give multiple point of views, and just fantastic encouragement. I truly look up to the founder of it, Laura Allred. I could not have found a more inspiring, godly women directing to women and standing up for life. She is also the founder of Back To Life that has hit big all over the news this year. She's definitely a world changer I look up to.


Love&Respect Now. (http://loveandrespectnow.com/)

If you're looking for some spunk in your life, you need this. Although it reaches a wide spectrum of subjects, recently this has been my "relationships advice" go-to. I learned a lot on how to handle situations and it kind of broke many myths I had on relationships. It is easy to grasp and most importantly it is the truth. I have received answers to so many questions, and if you email them, they will respond to you! I just love how Joy (the funny girl in the videos!) is so honest, transparent, and has opened up this subject to our generation!


Crowned With Purpose. (http://crownedwithpurpose.com/)

I read this blog on and off, but it has been a great up lifter in the area of prayer for me. It really has been a helpful tool when it comes to making bold prayers and just increasingly standing in faith. I admire Dr. Iris Delgado as a writer, a mother, and a woman of God. I have heard her testimony, have seen her life pretty close and I have watched her as she shares the liberating love of God to many, many women. I definitely love her writing, her family and her very much.


Girlfriends in God. (http://www.girlfriendsingod.com/)

This is the website where I get my daily devotionals. I love the way they relate to women and our daily lives. God has definitely used these amazing women to speak to me through the devo's. When I need it the most, God has spoken. I recommend every lady I know to sign up for their daily devotionals. They are very encouraging, and they have also helped me meditate on God's word throughout the day.



Check them out! :)


Estefania

(Oh, I purposely used a picture of piano keys instead of keyboard keys! They're keys!)

Ya Basta!

To continue the list of great organizations, campaigns, causes and charities, I must tell you about this one. It is not in "English", but it is for everyone. Before I introduce you to this organization let me just say: Props to a fully prayer-based, SPANISH-speaking, eye-opening organization. 

Photo obtained from www.yabastausa.org

      This organization is opening the eyes and making aware an entire Spanish-speaking culture of the world we live in now. YA BASTA!  is composed of world-changers, prayer warriors, mainly college students in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. They are taking the gospel view into our world today. They are opening the eyes of the church to subjects like Human Trafficking, Prostitution, Sexual Abuse, Pornography, Abortion, Homosexuality (that it is rarely discussed in Hispanic communities, but a real struggle and battle in our society today). This organization is not passive towards the battle against these, starting off with prayer. 

    Ignorance may be have been bliss for the past generations, but I have encountered the effects of it in mine. Many times I have heard that a culture cannot be changed, unless the culture decides to change itself. Meaning, it is the individual transformation that leads to an impacting change to an entire culture. So I believe that, although it is a greatly corrupted society we live in, there's individuals standing up for what it is morally right. Standing up for morals, godly morals, period. This organization has been a loud-speaker for these and impacting an entire culture. YA BASTA! has partnered with associations like Pozo de Vida, Traffick 911, and have been active in Pro-Life activities. They also have an innovative program that has freed people from the great battle of pornography (Pasos A La Libertad/ Steps to Freedom).
This organization is fully aware that these aren't just statistics or made up numbers. These are people found in hopelessness, blinded by or slaved to the philosophy of a selfish world, in need of freedom. And some of these people could be your sister, your brother, your father, your cousin, or you. 

If you are Hispanic, speak Spanish, or know someone that does, I'm asking that you share about this organization. They need your help! Although a lot of their informational workshops have been held in Mexico, you can help them spread knowledge through the entire Hispanic community here in the United States and many more countries. Visit their website. Stay up to date on Facebook. Or follow them on Twitter. Watch them and about them on YouTube.

I'm all for organizations that are passionate about much needed change, taking initiative, and standing on prayer. And even more so because it is reaching out to my very own. 

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no priest to me: because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children." Hosea 4:6. Another version says, "My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge..." Once you know it is up to you to take action. 

Estefania. 

Please Check out my campaign, http://mycharitywater.org/estefania-21 

Ps. They're actually having a Car Wash on September 29 to raise donations for Traffick911 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=403893523009429&set=a.142849039113880.29902.100001663550062&type=1&theater

Rough Week: It's the little things.

"In my attempt to sound sophisticated as I complain, I won't even try." (This is actually the first thing that 'pop'ed into my head as I tried to explain my rough week). Instead of talking about my very random, not-so-great week, I'm gonna tell you about some of the stuff I'm truly grateful for! 

One, my family (this is not a list, by the way. I don't know why I started with 'one'). During this week they have brought nothing but laughs into my life... (Really, really grateful for laughs. Especially when you think you really won't be able to laugh again or just can't laugh).

Definitely coffee. It is tasty. It wakes me up. It is just a delicious magic potion. Yes, I'm grateful for coffee. 

Good reads. Stuff that make you wonder and definitely take you places by just reading... (Mind-blowing stuff man!) Grateful for that!  

The World Wide Web. The infinite amount of information at your fingertips. CRAY-CRAY! (I don't ever use that phrase for crazy, but it seemed appropriate. I also don't think you'll ever hear me say it... but never say never, right?!) Anyhoooo, grateful for that! (And Facebook?!) 

Friends. Those that are happy to feed you (not literally feed you, but get food for you) once in awhile. Thanks! 

I want to give a special mention to sports. NFL, you're killing me (your amazing ref's have been the jokes of the week).  >.< Maybe that is not a nice thing to say... (even if everyone knows it). Grateful for sports! (Watching my brother play football is just a plus!)

Music. Music. Music. Best form of expression ever. I personally can't play or sing to save my own life, but trying to figure it out as I "touch" the piano is FUN. Definitely grateful for pianos. (I was probably lost in a piano room with no track of time three times this week, and I loved it!) Grateful for cheerful songs, inspiring lyrics, and their composers. 

(Oh man, and the Composer of composers. Seriously, the One who knows what my souls needs. That's where all my praise goes to!) 

I love birds. Grateful for them too!

**If you know me, you would know that I am truly grateful for these things and there is no sarcasm found  in it... (I figured some would think I was being sarcastic, considering the NFL comment). 



I'll leave you with this today (something I need to take in myself): 

Love life; what comes with it and what surrounds it. Smile; to yourself now (look how far you've come), to the past (the person you use to be; with no bitterness) and to the future (your dreams). Fly; soar through your imagination with anticipation of encountering greatness. Let it go; trust God. (Anything that keeps you down, preventing you to look further, to fly higher, let it go. God can handle it.) Hope. Hope for the best always. 


If you know who you are and what you want, things and circumstances can't change that. Only what you choose to change about you will. 


Love LOVE, 

Estefania <3

Please visit my campaign: http://mycharitywater.org/estefania-21  Thanks!

Charity: Water

I know I took a little break from posting about amazing organizations, causes, charities and such. So today, I'm going to tell you about the coolest thing. An opportunity to give like no other. And for this I'm giving up my birthday!!! (Super Stoked!!) 


        First, let me introduce you to Charity: Water. This organization radically does the impossible to take clean (drinkable) water to millions. There are about 8 million people that cannot access clean water on the earth today. Therefore, it is a major factor in the many deaths of infants and horrible diseases in adults all over Africa. 
       By providing clean water, many of these children will have the opportunity to attend school (instead of being sick or traveling to get water) and women can be involved in the community and usual home responsibilities (instead of walking long miles and putting themselves in danger of horrible assaults). 



        So, I'm giving up my birthday. No birthday celebration (actually, it is bigger than that!). I am asking YOU for an amazing favor. Instead of getting me a gift (if you were planning to or not;), I am asking that YOU would please donate $21 (since I am turning 21), or any amount you can, to this lovely organization!!! 
Here's where you can go and do so: 

Go to my campaign: http://mycharitywater.org/estefania-21

I really can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday, so join me! 

B.T.W (by the way!!!): There's only ten day 'till my birfffday! 
Thank you!! 

Estefania <3 

PS. If you donate to this campaign and any other charity or organization I have mentioned, please email me that you've done so! THANKS!! 

Going in Circles

    

   Usually, I follow a rigid routine. I wake up, take siblings to school or work. Come home and get ready for work. Work. Pick up siblings. Gym or church. Dinner and back to sleep. Usually. 

This past week I had the privilege to attend a one of a kind conference. Circles Conference 2012. The conference took place at the Palace Theater, Grapevine, Tx (too lovely!!). And it was all put together by the amazing Creative Director, Ismael Burciaga. 

I was definitely blown away by the greatness of these minds I got to be surrounded by. (I was a little bit starstruck) Truth is, it was not just helpful, but beyond inspiring. Each and every one of the speakers had something just so key to the life of a creative. And each night was a battle with sleep as I digested such an amazing day. 

This is (from right to left) Kyle Steed (plus dot com), Cory Staudacher (http://withheartsablaze.com/), and Sean (http://seanwes.com/) and then me! 

And this is Ryan Rushing. (http://ryan-rushing.com/) !!! 

The amazing Ish! 

I had such a blast, especially meeting new people!

Estefania.

A21

Keeping it short and simple (impossible):

This cause speaks volumes. It speaks FREEDOM. It represents millions of  hearts mending due to corruption, brokenness, injustice and evil of this world.

A21 (Abolishing injustice in the 21st Century) does more than stand in the gap for those being forced into human trafficking, they are getting their hands dirty. The rising number in human trafficking represents, it takes life, in the numerous victims. Some of these precious women are suffering every hour, "servicing" an ongoing clientele. In reality: raped, forced to have sex for money, addicted to drugs, deceived, mistreated, used, broken. Under a great INJUSTICE.

This campaign opened my eyes to a million captivating stories. Stories that belonged to girls like me. My age. With families. I grasped that their story was their reality. A hard, cruel, evil reality. Their reality was hopelessness, but through A21 their lives were transformed. A21 works with preventing human trafficking (due to so many factors in society, such as poverty, but still inexcusable). They also take in and help the victims overcome their fears, their past, their hopelessness, their brokenness, their slavery, and bringing them FREEDOM. They bring HOPE.


 If you are a women, understand that your value is great. Many try to undermined it. Many try to ignore it. Many try to make it disappear. But rather, it is mean to be admired and appreciated. Yet, we will never capture the reality of this suffering if not encountered and faced. Help fight. 
Please, take some of your time to read about the reality of our society today. Please, take sometime to get informed about such injustice. Take some time and tell your friends about it. Take sometime and check their apparel out. Here's 21 ways you can HELP! http://www.thea21campaign.org/21-ways-to-help.php

On October 18, 2012, (International Anti-Slavery Day), YOU can join them (and I!) in raising awareness of the facts by simply wearing a key. Get to their website and join me!!


Facing reality being aware of others' reality,

Estefania

All Girls Allowed

You can also find them on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/AllGirlsAllowed

        It wasn't long ago when I first heard of All Girls Allowed. I cannot stress enough that organizations like this one represent and stand in the gap for millions of faces that no one has ever heard about. My heart breaks at the thought that so many women suffer by being forced to make a choice between keeping their baby and suffer great consequences, or aborting, killing them, or abandoning them. No one should be standing in such place of hopelessness.

All Girls Allowed has been working to gain support of nations to end gendercide in China. This government specifically has been forcing women to abort their children due to the "One-Child Policy". This only allows a Chinese family to have ONE baby or in special occasions two IF the first born is a GIRL. And because of the higher demand for strong, manly man, many families choose to give up their daughters, abandon them, and even kill them for their chance to have a boy.
(The cause of this has been an incrementing rise of human trafficking, abortions, and orphans.)

Through this movement, many women who chose to give life are now being helped and taken in through their "Baby Shower" program that helps them facilitate a mother so that she may keep her baby.


Recently, I was able to read about some GREAT NEWS! (if you could only see my excitement!! I seriously leaped for joy! Click on "great news" to read why). Because of the policy, many parents that were to have a second child must abort it (no matter the stage of the pregnancy). But through the fighting, many fervent prayers of Chinese Christians and because of all that China is involved in (foreign policies and United Nations regulations), they have now left it up to the parents to choose if they want to abort the child.



Expose, Rescue, Celebrate from All Girls Allowed on Vimeo.


I urge you to check their website, to donate, and/or to spread the word. Not many know that if not stopped, this epidemic idea can spread and make millions upon millions of babies, baby girls, mothers, women its victims. Please, follow their link and share it with others. If possible sponsor a mother for only $20 dollars a month. Please keep them in your prayers as well. 

All women are valuable, carriers of life, they are a God-given treasure to a filthy world. 

From a woman, 

Estefania. 

(Videos are from their Vimeo account. I have included their links on the underlined words, where you can get more information, sponsor, and purchase products.)

Invisible Children

Look up them up! www.invisiblechildren.com

Invisible Children. I remember sitting in my Geometry class when the teacher announced that we had a special day planned for us. (Field trip in high school?! What?! Not really.) The day included meeting in the conference room were we would watch a movie. (I attended a school were each class was an hour and a half long, so that was made possible often!) Of course, a lot of my classmates and I were not expecting what was about to display before our eyes.

They introduced the film with brief words because they knew the film spoke for itself. And it did.

This is the story of a group of guys who were searching for an adventure. When they got there, they were faced with the story of a young boy that represented just about a million more like himself. Children that hid every night. That slept in fear. Children that were not allowed to be children. No place to truly rest. Always on the run. They ran from the Lord’s Resistance Army or LRA. The LRA is an army formed in opposition of the government, led by Joseph Kony. The war against this group of people has been the longest war in the continent of Africa. Alone it has caused the death of millions of people, captured and forced children to kill, and have sold many girls into sex slavery.



Living out the reality of the children there, they could not keep quiet. They also had proof, and that made it possible for the rest of us to see the reality of the children in Uganda.

At the end of the film, my heart was broken and my face covered with tears. (The video posted is not the film, just an informative announcement from their website. But Y'all should go watch it!!)

After that moment, I joined student council. This group of students in my school made it possible to raise awareness for the years to follow. We were able to donate a lot of books for the schools they had built. And we were also able to see the schools we had sponsored for the children recuperating.


Now, this war isn't over. Joseph Kony is still committing crimes left and right and continues to feed off the fear of the children. They've made pretence of peace, but plan for genocide.
What you can do is make yourself aware of this. Recently, they made a big multimedia movement. And  I could see that until the day they saw it in their social network page, not a lot of people knew that this was going on.  I ask that you take time and get informed. And if it is in you to help, help financially. But spread the word. Watch the films. Buy the shirts. Post it on Facebook. Tweet about it. PRAY about it.

This is not only a cause or a movement of peace, but it is an organization (that is a group people like you and I) laying down their life for another group of people.


Get informed, don't just take my word for it.

Estefania

(The links will take you to their website, where you can find more information.)

Countdown Beats Me

Quick and fast update.

You don't know this, (of course not, unless you're part of my family reading this (and I guess you're about to find out...)), but on all seriousness (or not so much) I have no MacBook Pro until I get a charger. Apple refused to take it in saying it was considered "physical damaged" (so cool) and was not covered. Umph! So, now I need to get a charger... Which they sell for $79 plus taxes. Boo.
This is actually not the first time it breaks! The charger really is super sensitive to anything. (In fact, it is the third time it stops working.)

Well, with that being said... I have tons to post and not enough time to get them typed. I am racing against the countdown. And well the countdown is beating me (haha, it'd be funny for that phrase to be literal).** I have 23 day until my birthday and I have only posted 3 entries. Wow. I need to post a little more often. You might see two posts in one day.

Also, I want to announce to all that I did have a couple of sick days in between, and as much as I tried, I couldn't get myself out of the bed. But I am healthy now! Thanks to prayers and an amazing nurse, my momma!

If you have any requests on what you would like to see as a post, let me know! I've sorted out topics, but could use some input from those who want to give it...

Awesomeness, racing against time, here I go,

Estefi :)

**I amuse myself easily...

(First picture from http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?tag=social-media)

(Second picture is a file from masterfile.com)