Striving to Become Holy

This weekend I entertained my Graduate School of Banking friends here at home. We had a great time remembering the great experience we had at the school and the lifetime friendships we formed. Because of that, I wasn’t able to write my weekly blog on Saturday so I’m doing it now.

Today, I want to focus on the topic of holiness. This word can be controversial because we live in a world where this word is never mentioned and people’s lives are, overall, far from holy. But the Bible tells us that we are to be holy as Christ is holy so we can do His work. 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NLT) says, Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children—is holy. For he himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

But, what does it mean to be holy? The first step, of course, is to give your life to Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Then you can start working on your life and taking steps toward becoming holy. To start explaining, I want to share one of the devotionals from my first book, Devotions for Working Women, that applies to everyone:

Lord, Teach Us Your Ways

# 199

Psalm 86:11 (NLT)

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, that I may honor you.

Psalm 86:11 is a prayer I want to keep close to my heart and live out. When we know the ways of the Lord, we can live in His truth. By studying and meditating on His Word, we get to know Him and receive a revelation in our hearts of the truth. We can then live our lives according to what He wants for us.

The King James Version of the Bible says the second part of this verse this way, “Unite my heart to fear thy name.” When we ask God to put in our heart the fear of His name, our heart becomes pure. When our heart is pure, God can mold it and transform it into the heart He wants us to have—His heart. Remember, He made us in His image.

When we live our lives according to this truth, we become a light to the world and are able to influence people for His Kingdom. This applies for our work, home, and community involvement.

To be holy means to have “purity of heart.” It means to have the fear of God in our hearts. To be holy means you separate yourself from the things of the world and seek those things that are pure, true, and honorable to God. The things of the world are those that have the potential to control you and take you away from God such as alcohol, pornography, drugs, lying, and stealing, among other things. The things that are pure are honesty, truthfulness, fairness, self-control, and loving others with the love of God, for example.

When you decide to serve God and to live for His purposes, to follow your calling, and to do “Kingdom work,” you are taking on a huge responsibility. When you choose to do God’s work, you are His representative everywhere you go. Your life becomes transparent to those you help, and the people who listens to you and ultimately follow you as their leader. Therefore, you must strive to be holy. 1 Peter 3:4 (NLT) says, You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

You may be thinking becoming a holy person is impossible while you’re living in this world and are submerged in it. But it is possible. Don’t be discouraged. God has equipped you to do His work and has given you the tools and guidelines that are key to your success in this area. It’s all in the Bible! The first step is to strive to live a holy life, as Christ Jesus did. Yes, Jesus was God BUT He was also human and, therefore, He struggled with sin just like you. Doing what’s right consistently and in every area of your life is key to your success in becoming holy. 1 John 3:7 (NLT) says, Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

I leave you today with the encouragement and hope that you can become holy like Jesus was. As you strive each day toward that goal, God will be able to use you beyond what you ever dreamed and you will help and influence many people along the way. Spend time with the Lord, in His presence. 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT) As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!

The Forgiveness of the Father

Why is it that when we sin we move away from God instead of running to Him? I think it’s because we feel shame—just like Adam and Eve felt when they saw that they were naked in the garden of Eve. We feel ashamed of going to God because we don’t feel pure in our hearts. But that’s precisely when we need to run to Him and put our sins at His feet.

Jesus died on the cross for us and He forgave all our sins—past, present and future—and we cannot forget that. We need to come to the cross along with the big baggage made up of our sorrows, our sins, and our hurts. Jesus will take our burdens and make them light. He will walk the road with us and get us out of the sinful life or behavior we’re in at the time.

We all have sin in our hearts. Nobody is sin free. Jesus was the only human who ever lived on this earth who was sin free. But also because He was a human, He understands the struggles we go through and He wants to help us be free of sin by granting us forgiveness. God the Father loves us so much that He sent His only Son Jesus for that purpose—to forgive our sins, to save us from hell, to give us everlasting life, to restore our relationship with God.

So today friends, I encourage you to run to Jesus and bring all your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. It doesn’t matter how big or small your sin may be. We are to live holy lives and the only way we can do that is one day at a time, asking God to forgive us as we sin.

Writing Your Goals beyond SMART

It’s the New Year and most of you are planning your year and writing goals. Most of you have heard of creating goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) and I’m sure you’re striving to write goals that meet that criteria.

I categorize goals in four main areas: 1) Personal (health, fitness, finances, relationships, family), 2) Intellectual (learning, education, acquire new skills), 3) Career/Business (new job and/or business opportunities, growth goals, improvement goals, networking), and 4) Spiritual (my relationship with God – time spent in prayer, reading the Bible, working for the Kingdom – doing work that has eternal value, fulfilling the call in my life). I write these goals with the SMART concept in mind but when it comes to the Spiritual goals, it gets a little more challenging. How do you measure the impact you have in someone’s life after a deep conversation about God’s love? Is it realistic to think that every person you touch will be changed by the power of God’s love? Can you time every interaction with people that God may put in your path so you can help them? Can you put an attainable number of people you want to minister to each day or week or year? And how specific do you get with the concepts of God explained in His Word? The answer is yes to all of these questions. You just have to plan and set a goal and then let the Holy Spirit guide you each day, each moment, and each interaction with others.

There are some things of course we cannot measure in natural terms like the impact of God’s love in someone’s life but that’s when we trust God that His Word and His love will always produce results. We do our part, which is to share and God does His. We may never see the results while we’re here on earth but we will see them when we get to heaven.

After writing all my goals in all the various categories, I stopped and thought for a while about this key question: Which goal (or goals) will get me closer to fulfilling the call of God in my life? Those are the most important goals that I should focus on because when I am doing what I’m called to do first, then everything else falls into place.

This year, I want to challenge you to write your goals and then prioritize them based on that key question – which goals will get you closer to fulfilling the call of God in your life? If you don’t know what your calling is, it’s time to find out. Seek God with all your heart and ask Him to reveal it to you. He will.

Time to Remember and to Look Ahead

Another Christmas, another year. These last few days of the year, people usually take time to reflect on everything that happened during the past year and also think about the things that couldn’t get done. Some people lost a loved one during the past twelve months and this was the first Christmas without him or her. It was different. It was probably sad. Other families got a new addition, a new baby arrived, and this was probably their happiest (and probably the most tired) Christmas they’ve ever had. Yet other people got married and this was the first Christmas they spent together as a couple.

As the New Year comes along I encourage you to think of the happy moments you had during the year, the time you spent with your loved ones, and also take time to grieve those you may have lost. I personally lost two co-workers within the past thirteen months. That was hard. They were my friends and I miss them dearly. I also got a new nephew, whom I adore and my daughter got married. I got a new son-in-law, whom I love as my own son.

When we remember the happy moments in our lives, our hearts fill up with gratefulness, which helps us then deal with the sad moments we experienced during the year. When we focus on what we have versus what we lack, it gives us a different perspective in life. There will always be people who have more and who have less than we do. That’s ok. God meets our needs and blesses us immensely, each day.

So enjoy today and each day you have left of 2014. Then celebrate the New Year!

Christmas - A Time to Give... A Time to Forgive

Today most of you are probably doing some shopping either at the busy stores or online hoping your orders will arrive on time for Christmas. Some of you may already be done and enjoying family that arrived from various places. The busyness of Christmas often overshadows the reason behind the true meaning of the season. Every year you may say, “next year it will be less hectic, I’ll prepare with more time, or I won’t buy as many gifts…” But each year it seems we spend more money and the stress of the season continues unchanged.

I was talking with some friends at lunch yesterday about how difficult it is to buy gifts for some family members and even the little kids in the family because we truly don’t know what they want or need. The truth is, here in America, most people don’t need anything material, like more toys to play with. Most of the time, people make a list of what they want—their wish list. But true need? Only a few people have real need for material gifts.

However, there is a gift that we all need regardless of our material possessions, social status, or work success and that is forgiveness. Jesus gave us the gift of forgiveness that comes along with the gift of salvation and eternal life. Only Jesus can give us the last two but we can give other the gift of forgiveness. When we hold a grudge against others, we are the one who carry the extra burden with us. When we forgive, we let go of the extra weight and our load becomes lighter to carry.

This Christmas, if you hold a grudge in your heart against someone, it’s time to get rid of it. Give the other person the gift of forgiveness so you can move on with your own life.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones!

The Love of a Friend

How much do you love your friends? How much do you love your best friend? Do you have one or several close friends? I was pondering today on the “love of a friend.” Friendship is something very special. The things we do for a friend are amazing. Sometimes we can love a friend more than our own siblings. Sometimes we love them just as a brother or sister. Many times we hurt our friends deeply too because we break the trust that is the foundation of any relationship. Many of those times when we hurt a friend, we never meant to. Words can be said, things happen, misunderstandings get in the way, and the relationship is damaged—sometimes beyond repair. Why does it hurt so much?

I am the type of person that gets really close to people. Because of that, I have developed many wonderful close relationships that have lasted many years through the course of my life. To me, friends are like a treasure. They are like gold. Every special friend I have is like a unique gift that God gave me, just for me to enjoy and cherish.

One of those close relationships I have developed over the years is with Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Talk about the love of a friend and paying the ultimate sacrifice for a friend? Jesus did it for us, in the most painful way imaginable. I take Jesus with me wherever I go. I always say, “Don’t leave home without Him!” I talk to Jesus as if He were here with me… because He is. He is in my heart every day, each moment of my day. He knows me and loves me just the way God created me. He accepts me and approves of me. He also forgives me when I hurt Him. How do I hurt Jesus? Well, when I don’t share Him with others because I’m ashamed of saying His name or afraid of being judged by others. I hurt Jesus when I don’t help someone in need because I’m too busy to stop and help because it’s an inconvenience. I hurt Jesus when I hurt my brothers and sisters in Christ. I hurt Him when I take Him for granted and don’t even acknowledge Him for days because I’m too busy thinking about other things. I forget He’s there…

So today, I am purposed to be more diligent in spending more time with Jesus, just getting to know Him better, thanking Him for what He did for me as a friend. I will share Him more with my friends and tell the stories of how He has helped me in my life, how I know He’s real. I will also continue to nurture all my close friendships and love them with the love of God and with the love of a true friend. I encourage you to do the same!

Are You Being Led by the Spirit?

Someone asked me today, how do you know when you are led by the Spirit? What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God? I think to answer this deep question, we need to start from the beginning.

When we accept Christ into our hearts and, by faith through the grace of God, we accept Jesus as our Savior, He then lives in us from that moment on and for the rest of our lives. When Jesus left this earth, He left us with His Spirit so He could be with all of us—at the same time. Because we were created in God’s image, He gave us a spirit too so we can communicate with Him via the spirit.

There are certain things that we just know are wrong to do. For example, we know it’s wrong to steal. We know it’s wrong to commit adultery or to kill another human being. We don’t need the Holy Spirit to tell us that or to remind us that those actions are wrong. Then we also have our moral compass based on our upbringing and our life experiences, we know certain actions are wrong. For example, we know that it’s not ethical to alter the company’s profits to show the shareholders better numbers. Yet people across time and generations do all of those things mentioned here. Why? Because they are human beings and humans sin—every day. We have the ability to ignore our own moral beliefs and ethical standards. Our flesh wins over our spirit. We do what we know is wrong. Like Paul said, “I do those things I shouldn’t do and I don’t do the things I should.”

In the workplace, when I don’t know how to handle a specific situation, I ask God for wisdom. I also gather all the information I can so I have facts. Lastly, I go with my gut feeling. If I have peace in my heart with a decision after I have prayed and asked God to give me wisdom, I go that way. If I don’t have peace, I don’t pursue until I do. That is one of the major clues to me to know if I’m being led by the Spirit.

There are other situations when we, out of the blue, have a sense that we need to pray for somebody, for no reason. In those instances, we should stop what we’re doing and pray for that person. Those are great examples of being led by the Spirit. We are to pray for one another and because God knows all of our needs, He puts somebody’s name in our hearts at the precise moment when that person needs prayer.

We also have heard of many stories when feel prompted to do something so strongly we have to do it. For example, we leave home and all of a sudden we feel the strong need to go back home. We don’t know why but we do it. We get home and find something on the stove that could have burnt down our house or we had left the house unlocked. Sometimes these situations are very small and other times, they could be catastrophic in our lives. Sometimes we feel the urge to call someone we haven’t talked to for a while and we follow through. We call them just to say hi. Then a week later, we hear that person died. How did we know to call that person? I believe those are small promptings from the Holy Spirit directly to our human spirit. I take those promptings very seriously and always follow through because I trust that God knows everything. My part is to do the small thing He puts in my heart to do.

Yet there are other times when some of us clearly hear words in our minds to do something or not to do something, to say or not to say something, to hug a person, to say a “word of encouragement” to a person in need. God manifests to us in many ways. Other times, we look to the Bible and the right passage shows up or the Lord reminds us of a specific Scripture at the right time when someone needs to hear those words of encouragement.

Lastly, in order for us hear the voice of God either in an audible way by hearing words in our hearts or by following a prompting in our spirit is to be in tune with the Spirit of God at all times. How are we in tune with the Holy Spirit? By spending time with God in prayer, just practicing hearing His voice, feeling His love, and being receptive to His promptings. This is very hard to do because we’re all so busy and have a hard time being quiet in front of the Lord. We can also be in tune by reading the Bible often, by studying and meditating on what we read, and by asking God to reveal to us what the Scriptures say. When we are constantly meditating or thinking about a specific Scripture in our minds, we become more receptive to the voice and promptings of God.

So, how are you led by the Spirit? How do you know it’s the voice of God talking to you? Because you are His child, you will know the voice of your Father. You will have peace in your heart. Stay in tune with Him and let Him guide your steps each day.

The God Kind of Love

God is love. He loves us immensely and the entire plan of salvation is founded on His infinite love. He created us in His image and, therefore, we have the capacity to love with the God kind of love.

Love is a gift—the best gift we can give to each other. There are so many people that are starving for love and we can give that to them, for free. The more I ask God to help me love others with His kind of love, the more I am able to do so. I like to get to know people at the personal, deep level, and the more I do that, the more love I feel for each person that the Lord puts in my path.

Romans 12:9-10 (NLT) says, “Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” People know when you sincerely care about them. There is no way to fake that kind of love. Genuine people love genuinely.

The ability to love others starts by loving yourself first. Love the person that God created you to be. Accept who you are and let God love you. Let Him hold you in His arms. Let Him forgive your sins and let Him be your friend. Once you do that, He will fill you up with His abundant love and you will be able to love others with His kind of love. It is the only love that lasts forever. It is wonderful to feel loved by God and others. But it is even more wonderful to love others and spill out the love that God put in your heart.

You can demonstrate your love to others by your actions but also tell them how much you love them. People need to know. They need to hear the words “I love you.”

I Am Thankful!

Today I am thankful and grateful for everything that I have and for every person in my life. When I was six years old, I survived the earthquake in Nicaragua. It happened on December 23, 1972. It was the day before Christmas and I remember our tall Christmas tree that fell on the floor shattering all the pretty glass ornaments. That year, we had no Christmas… My family had to move to another city to our grandmother’s house and then to a rented house until our house was fixed from the severe damage the earthquake caused. Even though our lives were changed forever, no one was hurt in my family. God protected us.

After the war in Nicaragua in 1979, when my family had to flee into exile to the Dominican Republic, we lived with my aunt for about two months. Because her house couldn’t accommodate a family of eight, they decided to convert their office into a bedroom for my parents and my youngest sister who was one at the time. The rest of the kids (five of us ranging in ages from 14 to 3 years old) were placed in the garage. Yes, I lived in a garage for two months during the summer months in the island of Dominican Republic. Do you know how hot it gets? And do you know how many bugs there are in the tropical weather? And did you know that mice and rats can get into the garage? Did you know mosquitoes can actually pick you up and carry you? (Just kidding on this one!)

Two months later we were able to move to a two bedroom apartment on a fourth floor apartment building with no elevators and a couple of weeks later the hurricane of the century, David, hit the island at 175 mph. Yes, I remember seeing the waves from the ocean even over three miles away how they were hitting the coast. I remember seeing objects flying through the air as if they were weightless. I remember the noise of the wind creeping into the apartment windows. It was a miracle that the balcony glass sliding doors didn’t explode. They were bowed and could barely stand the pressure of the wind pushing against them. We had about 4 inches of water in the apartment but not one window broke. Through the war and through the storm, God protected us!

I have shared with you through other blogs how when I came here to the United States in 1986, I thought I came here with nothing but I was wrong. I came here with all the values, morals, and the Christian beliefs that my parents instilled in me. I had God with me all my life and that is enough to get through whatever storm we encounter in life.

Today, years later after the earthquake, the war, the hurricane, and from moving to a new country I can only say “thank you” to my God, my Father, who loves me so much that He sent His only son Jesus to die for me. Yes, He saved me from many natural disasters and worldly events but the most important thing He did for me is to save me from hell, to forgive my sins, and to give me the gift of eternal life.

I am thankful. I am grateful… beyond words. It is a matter of the heart and God sees my heart. Today, I encourage you to look back in your life and see how God’s hand has been upon you. Take a moment to thank Him. Happy Thanksgiving to all my beloved family and friends!

Our Lives Are the Result of Our Choices

Bad things happen to good people… But good things also happen to good people. It is what we choose to do with what happens to us throughout our lives what makes the difference on how our lives turn out to be. Every choice we make, since the moment we have the capacity to make decisions at a young age, has a consequence—good or bad. As children, when we knew what our parents told us to be “good or bad behavior” and chose to do the bad behavior, we made a decision that brought consequences to our lives. Maybe at that point was a punishment of some sort that our parents came up with, like missing going to the movies with our friends, or not getting ice cream that day. As teenagers, the world presented us the choices of doing drugs, drinking alcohol, stealing, or getting involved in sexual relationships before marriage. The fact that “everyone’s doing it” doesn’t make any of it right and there are severe consequences to each one of those choices.

As young adults, we chose to finish high school or not. We then chose to go to college or not. Even though for some people it is difficult to attend college when we wanted to due to outside circumstances (like in my own life example), it doesn’t mean we should give up on our dreams and the choice we made earlier in life to further our education. We simply need to do it later.

Our lives move on to adulthood when we have responsibilities of work and having a family. Some people choose to simply have a job with no career aspirations. Others choose to have a career and select each job as a stepping stone to their ultimate goal. Some people decide to get married and others don’t. Some people want to get married but haven’t found the right person and need to wait. Some couples choose to have children and some don’t. As we have children, some couples agree to continue to work and some choose to have one parent stay home caring for their children.

All those choices we make throughout our lives have good or bad consequences. Then life happens. Something unexpected happens that leaves us wondering what to do next. It could be anything like the loss of a parent, a child, a spouse, or a sibling, or simply a loved one. Or it could be the loss of our jobs, which is painful at any age but more difficult to recover as we get older. A natural disaster can hit our town and we lose our home in an instant. Or the market crashed and we lost our entire life savings, which happened to many people in the last financial crisis. Life as we know it is gone. We have to rebuild our lives again.

It doesn’t matter what the life event is or why it happened. What matters is how we respond to each incident, how we get up after the fall, and how our attitude matters each time. There are some things we can do to help us get back on our feet:

1. Never let go of God. Good and bad things will happen to all of us and we need to have God on our side at both times. During bad times, it’s easier to recognize our need for God in our lives and we seek His hand as well as His heart. During good times, it’s easy to forget God and that we still need Him. We may not need His hand (meaning financial help) but we still need His heart.

2. Be humble. At any time in our lives we need to stay humble at heart. In bad times, we need to be humble but confident (confidence doesn’t mean pride or arrogance). Our confidence comes from knowing that God is with us. Being humble is recognizing we need the help from others. In good times, we need to be humble and not forget that everything we have came from God because He entrusted it to us.

3. Get up and start again. With a positive attitude, avoiding a victim mentality, and hard work, we can get up and start again. Being grateful for what we do have in times of loss or lack is key to our survival.

4. Help others. Life is not about us. It’s about helping others. When we help others during their time of need and also during their times of success, they will be there for us when we need a hand.

So when you look at your life right now and find there are some things you don’t like or want, think of the choices you have made along the way. You always have the opportunity to make changes in your life. Some changes may take longer than others to produce results but I truly believe our lives are the result of each choice we have made during our journey.

I Will Miss My Friend

Friday I lost a dear friend to cancer. I will never forget when he told me on June 17, 2013 that he had terminal cancer. I was to communicate the news to the staff and I didn’t know how to do it. I prayed and asked God to help me communicate the bad news to the employees. I gathered everyone and said that I had some news to share about our dear friend then I proceeded to read his text… At the end of the text, I broke down and cried. I couldn’t hold it together.

Leaders of an organization are often expected to have it all together, at all times, and to always be the ones who pull others up. But sometimes leaders also need to be held up and to be pulled up. Also, sometimes leaders think that they are supposed to be super humans. To the contrary, it is when they show their humanity that others admire them and follow their lead. It is in those moments that others realize that leaders, too, are humans, not just leaders.

It was a long journey from the day we found out the bad news until Friday. He wasn’t supposed to make it this far according to the doctors but God gave him enough time to complete his journey here on earth. For those of us who are left behind, we will miss him dearly. For those who went to heaven before him, are now rejoicing to be with him again. We continue our journey and live each day with the hope that we will see him again soon. Goodbye my friend. I will see you soon!

Your Personal Brand

I was just reading an article on “personal brand” and was pondering on questions such as, “What do I want people to think of me when they hear my name? What is my personal brand right now? What would I like my brand to be?”

The word brand as a noun, means “kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, a mark made by burning, to indicate kind, grade, make, ownership, any mark of disgrace and stigma. A kind or variety of something distinguished by some distinctive characteristic.” Brand as a verb means “to label or mark with disgrace or infamy, stigmatize.” (www.dictionary.com)

When we hear a name, a brand, we immediately think something positive or negative depending on the brand mentioned. The same occurs with our own names. People either think something positive or negative depending on the interaction they’ve had with us through the years or sometimes just from one interaction, one first impression.

I like to think about brand in the various areas of my life so, for example, in the business arena, I would like people to think of me as a professional, a personal of character and highly ethical, someone who knows the banking field and has the expertise in risk management, and someone that is an “initiator, executor, and finisher.” At the personal level, I would like people to think of me as a person who is genuinely and sincerely interested in others, someone who cares about her relationships and takes the time to nurture her friendships.

From the spiritual perspective, the other day, a good friend of mine asked me a very deep question. We were talking about our callings and what God wanted us to do with our lives while we are here on earth. The question was: “What do you want written on your tombstone when you die?” “How do you want to be remembered?” After thinking for a moment, I said, I want to be remembered as “A woman who loved God, loved people, and helped many achieve significance in their lives.”

You see, in the end what matters most is not so much what we did here as a professional. We will be remembered by who we were as an individual while we were alive, how we treated people, how much we loved on people, and how we were able to help others.

I encourage you to think of your “eternal brand” and focus more on that rather than your professional brand, not that it is not important but it is temporal. Once you have the eternal brand figured out, what you want to be remembered for, then the professional brand will be a reflection of that and it will be easier to base all your “personal marketing materials” off of that.

My New Business Venture

Several of you have asked me what my new business will be. I am starting a bank consulting practice focusing primarily on two areas: 1) Enterprise Risk Management, and 2) Creating efficiencies and integrating all areas of the bank to increase shareholder value.

More to come very soon. Stay tuned!

Building on a Solid Foundation

These past three weeks have been very busy working on my new business. I’ve met with many people but mostly with leaders of non-profit organizations and especially Christian brothers and sisters who devote their lives to serve God by serving people. One day this week, as I was going from one meeting to the next, I said to God, “You know Lord, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Christian leaders and non-profits. Although these meetings are awesome and I feel re-energized spiritually, they are not ‘income producing’ meetings, per say.” The Lord immediately put in my heart this thought: “You are building the spiritual foundation of your business and that comes first.” Wow! I was speechless when I heard those words in my heart.

How do you build a spiritual foundation for a business? It is by associating yourself with like-minded believers who will hold you and your business up in prayer all the time with no self-interest or hidden agenda. It is by sharing your dreams with people who will be your spiritual “pillars” so you can feel supported and loved no matter how your business is doing. You build a spiritual foundation for your business when you base your business beliefs on Scripture. The two Scriptures that come to mind are:

Matthew 7:24-29 (NLT)

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

I will build my company on the Solid Foundation, which is Jesus Christ, the Rock. He will give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to do the right thing, to do what is right, and to do things right the first time. These are not only Biblical concepts, these are business concepts that create efficiencies throughout the organization and a strong work ethic, which in turn increases shareholder value.

The other Scripture that came to my heart is:

Romans 12: 6-11 (NLT)

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

This Scripture reminds us that God gave each one of us certain gifts and talents. When we operate within those gifts everything seems easier because we’re not going against our nature. Even though we will encounter challenges, God will be there for us to get through them but the work itself is easier when we do what we’re good at. God gives us the “ability to do certain things well.” One key to our individual success in business is to know ourselves well so we can recognize what our gifts are and utilize them in business.

I know God gave me the gift of leadership and I feel the incredible sense of responsibility when leading others. I also know God gave me the gift of teaching, which is why I train others and pass along all the knowledge I acquire through the years. Lastly, I know God gave me the gift of encouragement and I use that gift every day. Sometimes I’m not sure if what I just told someone will have an effect in their lives but I do it anyway. A word, one word of encouragement can change someone’s life when said at the right time.

I also believe strongly in working hard and effectively and I sincerely care about people. I stay away from those who are not genuine. Those who say they love you but their actions don’t reflect their words. Working hard and loving others are strong beliefs that will be foundational for my new business.

So friends, today I wanted to share with you the Scriptures and beliefs upon I will build the foundation of my new business venture. I have a ton of ideas on how to give to the community and support my brothers and sisters who are doing the “eternal” work out there, bringing the Good News of the Gospel to the world and helping people. I will do my part in the mission field that God called me to be—Corporate America.

I Didn't Come Here with Nothing

A couple of weeks ago I shared my immigrant story with you. The other day I was talking to my mom and she told me something that I will never forget. She said, “When you came to the U.S. you didn’t come with nothing. You came with your values, your upbringing, your morals, and most importantly, you came with your Christian faith. “My mom is right. I couldn’t stop thinking about what she said for the past week.

I was privileged to have been born to the society of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. My dad is an attorney and his dad (my grandfather) was also an attorney and author. He was the President of the Supreme Court of Nicaragua for over 25 years and authored several books. My dad is also a composer and was well known in his time (more so for his music than from practicing law). My mom comes from a large family of well-known people as well from Leon, Nicaragua. In the Nicaraguan culture and in many other Latin American countries, it is customary to use your two family last names. So my Nicaraguan maiden name is Marcia Flores Arguello. Flores is my dad’s last name and Arguello is my mom’s last name. When you say your name and two last names, people immediately recognize who you are and there is nothing to prove. In the U.S. we are all a number and most people that are well known come from money. In the U.S. it is easy to make a name for yourself if you are financially successful and it doesn’t matter as much where you came from as far as “class.”

When I came to the U.S. at the age of 19, I had graduated from high school from a private Catholic school in Dominican Republic. I had completed 3 semesters at one of the top Catholic Universities in the country and I had also completed 14 Certificates in self-study courses on computer programming from IBM school. I was the secretary to the President of the University for one year, which gave me administrative experience. I also worked with my mom as her bookeeper in the jewelry business she started in Dominican Republic. My parents sent me to San Francisco, CA at the age of 11 as an exchange student to learn English. Even though it was a traumatic experience being apart from my family during the Christmas season, I did learn the language. I came back at age 12 and continued my English studies through my school and college years so when I came here, I already knew the language.

Moving to the topic of values and morals. Even though I am now simply a non-denominational Christian, I was raised in the Catholic faith. My parents taught me to love God. They used to take my older sister and me to the Charismatic Renewal meetings that their Catholic Church held. Attending these meetings exposed me to hear the Word of God in a different way than a regular Sunday morning mass. I was hearing about deeper concepts and things of God that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. I gave my life to Christ at one of those meetings and I remember one specific night, how the Holy Spirit filled me and changed my life forever. I felt the warmth of His love run through my entire body and I have never left God since that day when I was about 10 years old.

So you see, I came to the U.S. as an immigrant with the morals and Christian values that my parents instilled in me. I came with my high school diploma and some formal education plus some work experience and knowing English. It was because of the job as a bookkeeper I had with my mom’s business that I got my first job in banking as a teller. Then, because I had experience as a secretary I was able to get promoted from teller to secretary in cash management after one and one half years. God had a plan for me and He used everything I had up to that point in my life.

After the war in 1979, the communist regime took all the material possessions from my family. My father had five homes, land, a couple of cars, and his established law practice. The government took it all. But they didn’t take away our family’s values, our morals, or our faith in God. No one can take away our salvation and our faith in Jesus Christ. That goes with us everywhere we go.

Today, I encourage you to think about all the things that you have that are not material, the things that no one can take away, the things that are eternal. Focus on what has eternal value and make the most of it. Thank you mom for reminding me of where I came from. You are right. I didn’t come here with nothing.

The End of this Road

“The End of this Road” –that is the title of the last chapter I wrote to finish my second book titled Your Gifts. Your Calling. How to Connect the Two.

September 30th, 2014 was the last day at my job at the bank I help start 10 years ago. September 7, 2004, my ex-boss and I decided to start a bank. It was his dream and I was purposed to help him fulfill his dream—that was my mission. I told him, “I’m ready to go back to banking but this time I want to be the CFO and learn to run a bank as a business.” He said, “Deal.” I had been in banking for thirteen years when I decided to leave and moved to the non-profit arena in the technology field as the Y2K Project Manager for a church. I changed careers and industries! I did that mainly for family reasons because I wanted to spend more time with my kids.

Ten years have gone by and now it was time to make the next move again. I told the staff when I announced it at the staff meeting, “My kids at home grew up and my kids at work grew up. I hired the right people. I fired the right people. I built teams. I trained you all. I promoted you several times and helped you get where you are now as leaders of your own departments. All my ducks are in a row. I leave you with a well-oiled machine. My mission here is complete.” I was the first employee of this bank and created the infrastructure of the bank but I didn’t do it alone. I never work alone. I did it with a great team of people and with God’s grace and wisdom. It took 9 months to start the bank back in 2005 and it grew from zero to $300 million in assets in the past 9 years and 3 months. It’s a successful bank.

I was reminiscing yesterday on these past 10 years and realized that so much has happened in my life. My husband and I finished raising our two kids. They graduated from high school. They graduated from college. Our daughter just got married this past July. I finished my college degree in 2011 and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking this past August. My husband and I also started two businesses. One was closed and one got merged with the company he currently works with. I wrote and published my first book while starting the bank… Wow! No wonder I was feeling a little exhausted. Those who know me know that I don’t even drink caffeine because I don’t need it as a source of energy. But after looking back, I realized maybe I needed to stop, take a rest, and start the next chapter in my life.

So now, here I am. The Lord is clearly directing my steps to start a bank consulting practice and also to pursue my public speaking career. I will also finish my second book and hope to finally publish it next year. I will continue serving on both non-profit and for-profit Boards and will help non-profits in any way I can. You see, I am purposed to pursue my dreams—ALL of them!

I live with an awareness and sense of urgency because I simply don’t know how much time I have in this life. The time period that we’re here on earth is so short and I feel the responsibility to use all my gifts and talents to help others be successful. I want to love on people and make them feel important. I want to encourage people every day and inspire those who I come in contact with. Right now, at this time in my life, I have an opportunity to pursue my dreams. God is opening new doors that were not there for me before. I just needed to take the step of faith and jump. The thing is, no one has told me that I’m crazy for doing this. People believe in me. All the seeds of encouragement I have planted in others through the years are coming back to me multiplied. People want to help me and want me to succeed. Wow! I’m overwhelmed with the support I have received from all my friends, family and colleagues. Thank you!

My family, of course, has given me unconditional love and support. They believe in me, pray for me, and love me just the way I am, with my faults and weaknesses. They don’t care what titles I hold or who I am in the business community. They know me from the start and they love me just as I am. Thank you!

I will be busy starting the business but those of you who know me also know that I do stay in touch. I take the time to nurture my relationships because each person that God puts in my path is a treasure to me. Each friend that I make is a gift from heaven. I can never have enough friends!

Let my new adventure begin!

Green Card Voices - A Voice for Immigrant Stories

Two weeks ago I was the keynote speaker for Green Card Voices first anniversary event. When I asked Tea Rozman-Clark, Executive Director, what she wanted me to speak about, she said, “tell them why you decided to share your immigrant story with the world.” So today I want to share with you a summary of my keynote speech.

Green Card Voices’ vision is to give us, immigrants, a voice in the U.S. and to show that we are contributors to society, that we start businesses, employ people, are interesting, fun people (with many funny accents) with various backgrounds, and different flavors and cultures. We bring spice to life and are hard-working people who want to succeed in life.

So why did I want to share my story through Green Card Voices? For four main reasons:

1. To help change the perception of immigrants. Most of the time, the words associated with immigrants are negative: illegal, undocumented, poor, burden, uneducated, factory workers, etc. We need to change that perspective to positive thoughts like: interesting, smart people, educated, hard-working, successful, role models, inspiring, encouraging…

2. To remind Americans that we are all immigrants, unless you are a Native American. Our families came from immigrants from all parts of the world. We just happen to be first generation. The United States of America was formed and created out of immigrants from many countries.

3. To share about our contributions to America. When I first came here, I came with no expectations of anyone helping me with anything yet Americans are generous at heart and they are welcoming people too.

4. The fourth reason why I shared my story is because I want to encourage others to help people, whether they are immigrants or not. We will all have opportunities to help others succeed by believing in them and giving them opportunities to succeed. In my life, I’ve had a couple of people that did that for me. The first one is Reid Evenson, he hired me from the teller line to work with him in Cash Management at Marquette Bank Minneapolis. He gave me the opportunity to flourish, learn, and develop as a banker. Because of a merger, we had to part ways but not for long. He then connected me to Jeanne Crain, who became our boss for the next 7 years at a new formed bank, Marquette Capital Bank. Jeanne Crain gave me several opportunities as well. She believed that I could lead and promoted me to Branch Manager when I had no previous supervisory experience. I will never forget that. She opened new doors of opportunity for me. In 1999, I left banking to work for a non-profit and five years later in 2005 Reid hired me back to start Tradition Capital Bank. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime –to start a new bank from scratch. That is something that not all bankers get to do. Now, over 9 years later, the bank is doing great and continues to grow.

            During the last five years, the bank helped me financially to finish my 4 year degree through the tuition reimbursement program. (I shared my college degree story that night but it was too long for this blog.) And most recently, I was given the opportunity to attend the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, WI, which I just graduated from on August 15, 2014.

           Last but definitely not least, my beloved husband. I am thankful to him for marrying me. He fell in love with me, the girl from Nicaragua, a foreign girl that came here with nothing. We have been married now for 26 years and I told him the other day that I would still pick him if I met him today. He liked that! He gave me the opportunity to become an American.

I am thankful to God for bringing these people into my life, who believed in me and gave me opportunities to succeed in America.

There are some things that I find all of us immigrants need to succeed:

• We need to be survivors! No matter what life has thrown at us, we get through it. Life is life. It’s not fair and bad things do happen to good people regardless of who we are.

• We need to have a strong faith. I believe in God and it is evident how He cares about me and my family. I owe it all to Him.

• We need to have strong family ties. My family stuck together through the earthquake, the war, the hurricane, the exile, and then moving here to the U.S. as our last stop. If there is one area we can help America is by demonstrating and keeping strong family ties.

• We also need someone who believes in us, regardless of where we’re from.

I find that many of the immigrants, if not all, have these things in their lives and that’s why we are here. We are successful people. We are hard-working, smart, strong people. We are survivors!

I want to leave you with three things to inspire you, motivate you, and encourage you going forward:

1. Be visible: People need to know you. America needs to know that we, immigrants, are valuable, that we contribute to society by making it a better place to live, that we are important because of what we bring to the table, and that we love this country of America. America is still the land of opportunity and we are blessed to be here in this land. I love America!

2. Help others be successful, pay it forward. Mentor the younger generation, connect people to others, open doors of opportunity for others to go through.

3. Share your story. People need to know your story –whether you call it of “success” or “survival” it doesn’t matter, I believe we live our lives and go through experiences so we can share our stories. That is what we pass on from generation to generation. They are part of the legacy we leave behind.

So, I encourage you all to support Green Card Voices and encourage Tea and her team to continue the vision she has in her heart. She has an amazing story of her own. I told her she better get it recorded too and soon! She promised me she would after this event. Her vision is to have all the stories they can so each country of origin is represented and their voices heard throughout the United States of America.

Below are the links to my immigrant story through Green Card Voices and my keynote speech in YouTube. It is 15 minutes but they broke it down into three sections. Enjoy!

Immigrant story:

http://www.greencardvoices.com/speakers/marci-malzahn/

Keynote Speech: (15 minutes broken down in 3 sections) YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKxjjG_czBw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F1SEZHgIVU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYhyn9wrsC4

Until next time!

Life Is All about Relationships!

Once again, I have not written for three weeks. This time I was attending the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, WI. I graduated on August 15. Even though it feels great to have completed the program, I’m sad that I won’t see my friends again… some of them, I may never see again. Those who know me well know that I do keep in touch with everyone. I try to stay connected via email, lunch or coffee meetings, or a phone call when I can. I don’t let busyness keep me from nurturing my relationships and it has paid off through my life. I have developed deep relationships with many wonderful people and God has blessed me with their friendships.

Because of this recent school experience, I have been reflecting on how much I care and love my friends. Why do I get so attached to people? I believe that family and friends are a gift from God. It’s easy to take for granted those who love us despite our imperfections and mistakes we make in life. Life is all about relationships—relationships we make since we are very young all the way until we die. All the people we touch along the way and throughout our journey here on earth are important and valuable. I think the reason I get so attached to my friends is because I had to flee Nicaragua back when I was 13 years old and had to leave all my friends behind. Then again, when I left Dominican Republic at 19 to move to the U.S. I had to leave all my friends all over again… Now, whenever I make new friends, I hang on to them for the rest of my life! I am thankful for technology these days that allows us to stay connected all the time and as much as we want to.

Today, I encourage you to connect with your friends. Reconnect with some of those friends you used to love to hand out with, the ones that made you laugh, the ones you cried with when you were sad, those who love you regardless of your mood. Reach out to people and spend time nurturing your relationships. It is all worth it. Like the president of my class said the night he received his diploma, “It’s about relationships.”

You can impact somebody else’s life just by a simple phone call or text at the right time in their lives. When you think of somebody, reach out to them. Tell that person how much you care about him or her. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Don’t wait until they don’t even remember your name anymore because it’s been so long… Stay connected. People need to know that somebody cares about them—all the time. You have the power to do that for somebody today.

Let's Share Jesus

It has been a couple of weeks since I wrote last. I’ve been very busy with my daughter’s wedding, which just happened last Saturday. Everything went perfect and I thank God for giving us the opportunity to raise our daughter and see her start her new life together with her husband.

Today, I want to share with you about an event that is going on in our own back yard. Many times we find ourselves asking God for revival in our land… well, it’s happening in the Twin Cities. I invite you to visit www.revivetwincities.org where you can see what God is doing in our land. About 50 churches in the cities got together and provided laborers to go and spread the Gospel. Kyle Martin is the founder of a non-profit organization called Time to Revive (www.timetorevive.org). His vision is to see the Body of Christ revived and making disciples in the United States. He and a small group of people believe that a small group of people can spark change in a nation – and they are doing it! They go to different states within the U.S. wherever they are invited. They work with churches, other non-profits, and with business professionals to get the laborers to go out and spread the Gospel. They also need workers to run the event and sponsors to help pay for everything that it takes to undertake this kind of event.

While I was not able to participate in person this time because of the wedding going on, I was praying for the event and participated financially. But this is only the beginning! Revive Twin Cities has ignited the fire in many people’s hearts and in churches. People will continue to go out in the streets to spread the Gospel and continue the work that started this week. I encourage you to get involved and do the work of God that each of us, as Christians, is called to do – share Him with others.

Sharing My Immigrant Story - Happy 4th of July!

Each year around the 4th of July I reflect on what it means to be an American. As a first generation immigrant, I am thankful and forever will be grateful to God for giving me the opportunity and gift to become an American. I’m sure most of your ancestors came to America looking for freedom and new opportunities. Despite all of our mistakes as Americans and as a nation, I still think God has blessed this country beyond measure. I still believe that this is the land of opportunities where your dreams can come true if you are willing to work hard and dedicate yourself to serve others along the way.

Today, I want to share with you a short video of my story as an immigrant. Green Card Voices is a non-profit organization that creates awareness about the immigrant population in the United States and their contributions to this great country. I invite you to watch it and learn about other immigrants as well.

Here is the link to the video:

http://www.greencardvoices.com/speakers/marci-malzahn/

I pray for America often and invite you to do the same. America needs prayer. Enjoy the 4th of July celebration of independence with your family and loved ones!