Round up...

(Key's flower wall art)

There's been a few things on my mind that I wanted to share...

finally watched the grand budapest hotel, with great company (Jerilene, Alyssa, and Kim)! it was good. unfortunately, some raunchy scenes. the film can appear slow but the characters and their dialogue are meant to carry the movie. they did. the actors were excellent. the humor, awesome. again, the dialogue, witty and thoughtful.

watched this video and again it puts me in a dilemma. i've struggled with the idea of deleting my facebook and most recently our instagram. i hate social media and like it. how do these two coexist? i fancy this blog space... i feel it's given me a way to express myself, and i've carved out a little space to do that. it's fun. but facebook and instagram can seem like a way to portray something that's not real-- or half truths (which is not truth at all). i feel like it can be a place to vent, boast, or be indifferent. i'm sure my posts have come off in various of those categories. precisely why i'd like to unplug those two. hmmmm...

being a mexican american can be weird. i've noticed the stereotypes and they bother me. you can be in two camps... poor, uneducated, and uncultured. the other, a menace to society. and there's another that's less noticeable-- trying to get educated, parents are immigrants, life choices or desires are less ambitious than other college age peers. there are times people try to fit me into one of these categories, and if i don't fit, perhaps i'm too "white","asian" or "americanized". growing up, it was rare to find a mexican american who had chosen a path that was well thought out, educated, cultured, helpful to society, and ambitious. i love my people. that's exactly why these stereotypes and true stories bother me. sometimes i feel like i can't relate. but then there's moments when i find someone that blows my own stereotypes away and it's alluring. i must admit, i have stereotypes  too. it's difficult to live in this world without them. sometimes there's good stereotypes that we need and use. than there's others we should refute, rightfully so! i love hearing and seeing mexican americans tear down those stereotypes. on a npr news segment, they echoed what i've been seeing and feeling. they mentioned that latinos won't rush to the electing polls because there's a high percentage of poor, uneducated latinos that are out of touch with political issues. i need to see mexican americans excel like i know we can--by God's grace.

not sure if I shared this before, but it bears re-sharing. such a great article and i find it extremely helpful as i parent my kids in this culture.

i'm excited to "nerd out," as she puts it, on her crafty genius talents, that God has graciously given her! her book is out and ready to be used up by the family! why do I want to be one of her little girls in this video?! ha!

our sunday sermon was intense but SO helpful and needed. thank God for leadership that doesn't hide true struggles of the church! it allows our church community to truly flourish in a Christ-centered way.