Reviving the Spark {marriage mini series}

Hi Treasures and happy Tuesday to you.Thank you so much for joining us. 

Today we continue with part 3 of the Marriage Series collab with some sweet, faith filled, women of God, beauty bloggers;  Andrea of Wink For Pink Blog, Maria-Isabel of Agape Love Designs and Tawny of Glamorously Mommy.

You can see last weeks posts HERE.  Each of us  link up our posts for your convenience. Be sure to read all of the posts as they have been great!!

In honor of my five year anniversary, I am going to talk about keeping the spark alive or reviving the spark and while this does include behind closed doors (if you know what I mean) that is not my focus. 

In five years, a lot can will change.  I mean think about it for a moment, where were you five years ago?  Heck, things can change in the blink of an eye.  This is where we come in. 

Proverbs 14:1 tells us that "Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands."
I am more than positive that all of us want to be a wise woman because let's face it who has ever strived to be foolish?  We don't want to tear down or destroy our homes with our own hands. We want to build it up. We want to build up our husbands, our children and establish a safe haven.  We want to build up  a house of prayer, a house of love, a house of peace, a house of kindness, a house of  patience.  When these are at our foundation, they will flourish and grow out and touch others.

Proverbs 24:3-4 The Voice (VOICE)

³ Wisdom is required to build a house; understanding is necessary to make it secure.
⁴ Knowledge is needed to furnish all the rooms and fill them with beautiful treasures.

This is how we keep the spark alive in our marriages, in our homes. This "spark" must always continue to be aflame. We can never get to comfortable. This especially holds true in our relationship with God and it is very true for our marriages. We must continually pray over our marriage.  We must continually bless our husbands.  We must fan the flames in our relationships.

We can learn a lot from Proverbs 31.  Take some time this week and read these VERSES and let me know what God speaks to you.

Proverbs 31:11-12 The Voice (Voice)

¹¹ She inspires trust, and her husband’s heart is safe with her, and because of her, he has every good thing.¹² Every day of her life she does what is best for him, never anything harmful or hurtful.

I love this entire portion of scripture and it is a goal of mine to attain Proverbs 31 wife characteristics.  I want my husband to know his heart is safe with me and that I only desire good things for him.  I want to always do what is best for him and never hurt him in anyway. My husband is a true gift from God. I want to love him and value him and treasure him just as God does.

Our hashtag for this series is #revivethelove2014.  We encourage you to make that extra effort, or to eat humble pie, or to step out of your comfort zone and just do something you know will just get the flame going in your marriage. We all know our husbands and we know what will work.  Each marriage is at different stages, each marriage is unique so only you know what you can do this week that will be extra special or a pleasant surprise.

For me, I am stepping out of my comfort zone big time for our 5 year anniversary getaway.  Mr. Aguila works a lot, like a lot a lot and he goes to school full time.  He gets back from a business trip just in time for our anniversary. Have I told you all how amazing my hubby is? Well yes he is but don't get me wrong he's not perfect, just like I am not perfect but honestly he's perfect for me and I love and appreciate him more than I show him.

I decided that I would stop being my selfish little missy prissy self and agree to go out to a lake resort where there are many outdoor activities to do such as jet skiing, ski boats, paddle boats, kayaks and well you get the picture. Water sports and I don't even know how to swim.  We will go out for a hike and do all the stuff Mr. Aguila likes to do. I am going to agree to the activities and I  won't complain. Treasures, THIS IS HUGE, like really HUGE but you know what, my husband has been looking forward to this trip and he totally deserves this.  We will of course get pampered with massages and all that fun stuff that I like as well. 

This small agreement has sparked up some excitement for us. Something to look forward to with the move and finals and business travel, this couldn't come at a better time.

Now it's your turn Treasures, share with us via a comment or a message or an email, (vra23@live.com) how you will take that extra step for your spouse. We want to hear all about it.  We are here to listen to you, to encourage you, to pray with you.  Revive the Love ladies. We can do this. God is faithful.

 

Puritans Free Blogger Opp

Hey Treasures, there are 2 FREE Blogger Opps that you can sign up for. I found this in a group and wanted to be a part of it so I am all signed up. See details below.

FREE BLOGGER OPP 

Bloggers Receive (1) Free Link in the Giveaway + Chance to win a FREE CO Host Spot.

Use this FORM to sign up for one or both !

Pretty mark.girl Products

Hello Treasures and Happy Monday!!  So it's been awhile since I have done a Make Up Monday post so I decided to get in on this fun again.

I am a make up junkie. I like to buy buy buy a lot of make up just because. Why do I say just because well because on most days, you will catch me without make up especially at work. I try to get better at it but thus far it hasn't happened but everyday is a new day so I buy make up to keep the hope alive that I will wear make up daily. Ok well moving on....

I am also an Avon Lady ,  "Your Avon Girl". I sell Avon and Mark and you can shop with me anytime, on my Avon/Mark website and you can stay up to date by liking Mrs. Aguila's AVON and MARK Shop on Facebook and also follow me on Instagram @mrsaguila09.  I share a lot of photos* of the great products Avon and Mark have to offer. 

Here is a sample of what I share.  These are some items available from Avon. Photo reposted from @AvonInsider's Instagram.

Post by Mrs. Aguila's AVON and MARK Shop.

From this photo I have tried the Mega Effects Mascara and you can read about it here and read Maria-Isabel of Agape Love Designs review HERE.  I also have the eyeshadow quad, Super Shock Eyeliners  and the Mark Chic Frills Blush.

This lace blush is so beautiful.  Who needs beautiful packaging when you have a beautiful product like this one.
Mark. has so many great products that I feel get overlooked and I want to change that.  You can go to my website and browse through the Mark.girl ebrochure. 
Go to http://victoriaaguila.avonrepresentative.com/ and click on Shop my brochure tab and click on cover of the brochure to view and order.

Another beautiful piece I recently had to order from mark. is the Mark. Blooming Pretty Highlighting Face Powder

Here is another photo of some of the beautiful items Mark has to offer including this highlighter.



I ordered these last month but haven't shared on here (I just have so much to share)
Pictured below are mark Primed for Perfection Face Primer, mark Please Hold Eye Primer, mark Snap To It Mid that holds four mark I-Mark Wet/Dry Eye Shadow, 22 reformulated shades to choose from.

Since it's Monday and this post is about Make Up and it's been forever since I have done so, I am linking up here:

~~Disclosure~~
Even though I am an Avon/Mark representative and I do make money if you order from my website, I am also a customer and buy and use these products. All opinions and information I share are my honest opinions.

*Disclosure:  Some photos are taken by me with my Nokia Lumia 920 phone and some photos are from Avon and Mark Girl's social media.

Love and Marriage {mini series}

Hello God's lovely Treasures, I am so excited that you have stopped by today.

This is part 2 of the Marriage Series collab with some sweet, faith filled, women of God, beauty bloggers;  Andrea of Wink For Pink Blog, Maria-Isabel of Agape Love Designs and Tawny of Glamorously Mommy.

Last week, I just went right into it and I didn't even give any background on Mr. and Mrs. Aguila.  I did mention that this month is our 5 year wedding anniversary. I am super excited to go on a little getaway to celebrate.  Mr. Aguila and I have been in love since 2005.  We have known each other about 10 years or more and we started off as friends. We met at work and yes we still work together and love it but that is a whole other post that I have been wanting to share.

When we initially starting dating, neither of us were serving God.  My husband was raised in the church but I wasn't.  I was a crazy broken girl when we started dating but he didn't know it because I have always known how to mask my emotions. In April 2006, God just begin to tug at my heart so I asked my co-workers about their church and kind of invited myself and started visiting on Wednesdays.  I kept wanting to make Sundays but I was still not fully transformed at the time. Through a few situations, eventually both of us had encounters with Jesus and He begin a good work in us.

The bible tells us in the book of Philippians this (I like this bible version on www.biblegateway.com:
Philippians 1:6 The Voice (VOICE)

^"I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world."

There is still work being done in the both of us and one thing that I have learned from my marriage is how to love.  God has used my husband to be an extension of His amazing love and in turn this has taught me how to love.  I have not always been lovable or loving.  It is not until we learn how to receive love that we can give it out.

God has poured His love into my heart. One of the promises that I have that has changed my life and helped my marriage is Romans 5:5.

Oh this here scripture right here! I remember when I got the revelation for it. It was a happy day for me. I was like I don't have to try to love on my own. God's love has been poured out into my heart through the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, God's love has also been poured out into your heart. Isn't this great news? 

You know that 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love? We don't have to strive for it, it's already in our hearts and we just have to let it come forth and pour it out into others, into our spouses.

I know I mentioned this scripture last week and here it is again because it's the love chapter and you can't talk about marriage without talking about love so here is what it says. I like this version.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a  (ESV)

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never ends."

I think next week I will break that scripture down for us.

Since to love and be loved hasn't always been easy for me because of the many walls I built up, this Love stuff is a big deal for me.  What about you? Is accepting an unconditional love, like the love that God offers easy for you or are you like me and maybe it's a little bit more difficult? Jesus tells us that all things are possible in the gospel according to Mark.

Mark 10:27 (ESV)

^"Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”"
 

It is possible for us to love our husbands with a love that is patient and kind, that does not envy or boast, that is not arrogant or rude, that does not insist on its own way. that is not irritable or resentful, that does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with truth. A love that bears all things (remember your vows), believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things and a love that will not end.

My prayer is that we will put this type of love into practice when it comes to our marriages and of course any relationship but this is a marriage series so let's pull out that love that is already in our hearts and lavish our hubby's with this love.

1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

^"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Be sure to read the other posts that are linked up and come back every Tuesday in March.

God's love to you Treasures!

 

Marriage and Respect

Welcome Treasures to the start of a new Mini Series that God placed on Andrea of Wink for Pink 's heart. She asked me to team up with her and some very inspirational Christian Bloggers who are beautiful both inside and out. What a blessing it has to been to get to know them and learn from them.

This mini series will go throughout the month of March. These posts are going to be very candid, possibly lengthy and very personal because our hope here is to restore or even ignite that truly madly deeply love that you so desire in your marriage.

Each one of us ladies has a different story. God has placed something different on each of our hearts to share with you. Below you will find a link to every writers post. I encourage you to take a moment and visit them.

This month marks 5 years of marriage for me and Mr. Aguila so when I was asked to participate and told it was on marriage and having God in our marriage, my Spirit man just leaped.  I knew this was God sent.

What God impressed on me to share is on RESPECT I will now give a disclaimer before I go any further.  I have NOT mastered this area.  As stated above our blog posts for this series will be candid.  I will be honest about certain struggles. It's not an easy thing to open up.

 

I recently seen this photo and while it is a little funny, I have to admit I am guilty of only sharing our positive, happy, smiley photos and stories on social media.  Not so much to paint a picture perfect marriage but I don't like to do rant posts or share my dirty laundry, however for the purpose of this series and the mission that God gave Andrea, I am going to step out in faith.  If we can offer hope to hurting wives and help bring THE LIGHT to struggling marriages than let's do this.

Now let me say that what I do share on my social media is the truth and as real as can be however there are certain times when it's not all pretty, all the time. I am really hoping this is normal. Most times are all smiles with Mr. Aguila.  He is a truly amazing, God sent husband.  He is so patient, so loving and so thoughtful quite the opposite of me.

So moving along and on to RESPECT which means to esteem; the state of being admired; thoughtfulness.
Ephesians 5:31-33 instructs us and is titled in the New Living Translation version, Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands
³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” ³² This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. ³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

While doing my research I found the word deference as a synonym for respect.
Deference means respect:  polite respect; especially putting ANOTHER person's interest FIRST.

We must follow Philippians 2:3

I like this version.
Philippians 2:3 The Voice

³ Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others.

And this one..
Philippians 2:3 New King James Version (NKJV)

³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

We are now one with our spouses.  We are not better than them or deserve more or entitled to more we actually should honor and respect each other ABOVE ourselves.

Romans 12:10 instructs us in the New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
These two scriptures are speaking against selfishness and showing us not to be self-seeking.  It is not all about us.  We did not get married to put the pressure on our spouses to make us and keep us happy.  We must always allow God to be our joy and happiness.  "The Joy of the Lord to be our strength."  The bible does not say the joy that comes from my spouse.  God must take center stage in our marriages.

If we can love with that First Corinthians 13 kind of love than respect will begin to show up and show off but many of us wives know that it is not always easy, easy to be patient, or meek or kind or selfless.  I know for me it's not and there are times when I am not patient and if I miss one then I miss them all because when I am not selfless I am not patient and I am not kind and I am not meek.  I get frustrated and start being disrespectful and yelling at my husband all because I didn't get what I wanted.  Our bickering is over the smallest dumbest things but if Mrs. Aguila doesn't get what she want, everyone will know.  Lately Mr. Aguila has been bringing my crazy outburst to my attention and lets not talk about all the rolling of the eyes, the sighs and the whatevers I throw in from time to time. That is all disrespectful. 

We must see respect as a noun plus a verb.  Respect is not jut something we know, it has to be something we show.  It requires action on our part.  A daily decision to put into action that First Corinthian  Chapter Thirteen love which will pull out that respect we are instructed to have for our husbands.

Maybe you feel your husband doesn't deserve your respect or that you don't have to submit to him.  If you feel that way then try being obedient to the word of God, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ as Ephesians 5:21 tells us.  Most times I feel as if I don't deserve my husband's love to be honest.  This is one of my struggles and being open and transparent before God and being accountable is a great start for change.

Matthew 6:33 in the New Living Translation says, "Seek the kingdom of God above ALL else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."  I do believe that this is not only material stuff but it includes wisdom and respect and above all else love.  These are all also things we need.

Oh did I mention this is a link up so be sure to read the other posts here from other awesome woman being candid.
As always, if you have a prayer request, please reach out, you email me at vra23@live.com or private message me on social media. I have access and respond quickly but most of all I will be praying for your needs.
 

An InLinkz Link-up

Hello March

Hello Treasures,  blessings to you and hello March.

Today here in Los Angeles, California, it is raining. I am talking about real rain.  Oh how I love the rain.  It's a little bit crazy to be driving in the rain though.   I had to go out but made it home safely however not dryly.

I was hoping to get my eyebrows threaded but it begin pouring down so hard I decided to just come home.  So how is the weather where you are today? 

Many people I know don't enjoy the cold rainy weather, they prefer hot summer days. I dislike the summer. I think I can say I loathe hot summer days. What about you, cold or hot weather?

So anyways, on my last blog post I gave you an update on Life as Mrs Aguila and let you know that I was moving and today marks my first week in my new place.  I still have some organizing to do but so far it's coming along pretty well. It's starting to feel like home.  I lived at my other apartment for 5 years and I really liked it but this new place has more space so little by little with some help from blogs and Pinterest, it will get done.

I have tried to take some photos of some of the décor I have found and used so look for a couple of posts on that.  I will be posting again more frequently, now that I am semi-settled plus miss blogging. Also I am teaming up with Little Miss Andee of Wink for Pink for a biblical marriage series for the month of March, which begins on Tuesday so be sure to check back for that.

I confess (hmm now that I think about it, I miss those confessions blog post) I typed this yesterday and surely thought I had posted it but found out that I hadn't when I was going to work on a post for today. Woooppssy

Either way, hope you had a good weekend and come stop by and say hello through out the week.

Update on Life as Mrs. Aguila

Hey Treasures, praying you are doing well and thank you for stopping by today.  I know I am not consistent on here and surely I thought that would improve in 2014 but it seems like it got worse. Two whole months without blogging, say what?  I am wondering if any of my other fellow bloggers struggle with this?

I honestly have so many topic ideas to blog about BUT I just haven't had the time to sit and dedicate it to this here blog.  I guess I didn't realize initially, how much time goes into each blog post. I admire all bloggers who post daily plus include amazing photos. 

There is a lot going on in Life as Mrs. Aguila right now and well I just don't have the time to dedicate to my blog.  It does make me sad because I love blogging and writing my heart and sharing about make up and my outfits and my shopping and my shoes and well Life as Mrs. Aguila.

I am very blessed, I can not speak about my life without speaking about Jesus and what He has done in my life. He has transformed me and while I am still a work in progress, I have also had a lot of progress in the past 8 years and if I continue to focus on what still needs work, it takes away from what the Lord has already done. 

God has healed my broken heart, He has filled up the many voids I felt in my heart, He has delivered me from addiction, He has filled me with LOVE, He has given me purpose, He has blessed me with an amazing husband, He has restored my life and lit up my path that leads towards my destiny.

Blessed is the only word that comes to mind when I think of the season that Mr. Aguila and I  are in right now.

We are in the process of moving. I didn't think moving would be so tiring.  We don't have a lot of stuff or so I thought.  Funny thing my kitchen has taken me the longest time and I am not even a cooker or baker or home maker although right now I am blogging while dinner is on the stove. 

So this week is packing time.  We got the keys to our new place yesterday so today at lunch time, me and the Mr. dropped off our first load of stuff. Saturday is the big moving day so more busy days ahead but once I am settled in, I will begin to blog more and share all the ideas I have for this here little space of mine on the world wide web.

Thanks again for stopping by and you can always find me on social media. The links are on the upper right hand corner.

And be sure to enter this $500 Cash Giveaway. There is still a few more days left.
For the Love of Cash Giveaway