One Day at a Time

By Daniel Beteta

This book deals with some of the most worrisome matters in the family today. Each chapter will encourage you to think and make decisions as you raise your children, their values and principles, to change the course of their lives.
We trust God will fulfill our commitment with our family, and offer hope in this world of opportunities and cause a positive effect in your own life.
This book is not dedicated exclusively to parents, but it is dedicated to those who would want to make something better of their lives and cultivate new hope for future generations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palibrio
• Release date: Jun 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781463386795

Daniel Beteta

Daniel Oswaldo Beteta Castillo is a native of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He is the tenth of his parents’ eleven children. Ever since he was young, he showed artistic and cultural talents. He was a public speaker during his adolescent years. He studied Accounting in the Western Commercial Sciences School in Quetzaltenango and Economics at the Dr. Mariano Galvez University of Guatemala. He earned a Master’s degree in Multicultural Education as well as a doctorate with an emphasis on leadership and missions at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He has been an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for more than twenty-six years, and has served in different ministries. Daniel is married to his beloved wife, Ruth, and together they have three handsome sons: Daniel Oswaldo, Juan Alberto and Ronald Josué. God likewise gave them their beautiful daughter, Ana Ruth, all of whom reside in the United States. Daniel has written other books: Cuentos cortos de mi pueblo I, Estate quieto; Una nueva estrategia de misión para la iglesia loca; Cuentos cortos de mi pueblo II; Los tigres audaces; Almas en silencio and now this one, One Day at a Time, the English translation of Un día a la vez, in Spanish.

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Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Beteta.

Scripture taken from Reina-Valera Version Bible © 1960 Bible Societies in Latin America; © renewed 1988 United Bible Societies. Used by permission. Reina-Valera 1960™ is a registered trademark of the American Bible Society, and may be used only under license.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2014910717

ISBN:   Hardcover         978-1-4633-8681-8

               Softcover           978-1-4633-8680-1

               eBook                  978-1-4633-8679-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Rev. date: 26/06/2014

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604599

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

SPECIAL DEDICATION

PROLOGUE

OH, WHO CARES!

HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH

THE BICYCLE

IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM

THE FAMILY

A TEAR

IN JAIL

ANOTHER ENCOUNTER

RETURNING HOME

ANOTHER CHANCE

CONCLUSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Impossible to hold him back!

      Lock him up, never!

            He only wanted to live!

                  To be free and take wing!

Be different from the rest!

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DEDICATION

To Our Lord God, who at every moment is with us. Who guides us with his divine hand, lighting our way, rescuing us if we fall, strengthening us to be able to arrive at the end of our journey.

To the families who struggle everyday in raising their children.

To the lonely mothers and fathers who devote their entire lives to their children getting ahead, teaching them to strive diligently and courageously before the challenges of the future.

To adoptive parents and those who help families, may they wisely excel in the enormous responsibility of building strong, secure societies based on one faith and one hope.

To my parents, Don José Valentín Beteta Urizar and Doña Fredesvinda Otilia Castillo Rodriguez de Beteta, who with much effort and sacrifice made of me what I am now, for having imbedded in my heart the presence of God and the love of humanity.

To my beloved family, without whose support and shared love, this array of ideas and testimonies never would have been completed. Most especially to my wife, Ruth, who has shared with me the difficult task of establishing and developing our home and who gifted me with the beautiful privilege of being the father of three handsome and talented sons: Daniel Oswaldo, Juan Alberto and Ronald Josué. And to our beautiful princess, my daughter Ana Ruth. They reflect all the immense family love, and bear on their brows the strength of God and the courage to challenge life and come out victorious. To Zoe Espinoza, who is always ready with professionalism for my projects to succeed.

To you, with kind regards, who share with me the emotion of forging lives and to whom, I trust, this book will become a fountain of knowledge and power to confront the different situations that life presents. This book will help you know how to resolve bravely, faithfully, firmly and with confidence the responsibility of raising and training your children and those whom you love, knowing that God will bless and go with you in your effort.

Be filled with courage and accompany me as we tell this story that may be like your own or that of a family member.

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SPECIAL DEDICATION

I would like to thank Sister Eleanor Wright for her professionalism in editing this book.

To my son: Dr. Daniel Beteta Jr. for translating this book from Spanish to English.

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PROLOGUE

A confused and conflicted society has thrown us into turmoil. The identity and values we knew in our youth seem to be dissolving in a maelstrom of poorly interpreted ideas and thoughts accommodated to the prevailing situation. A permissive society that accepts everything as equivalent and allows anything that flouts any moral or ethical principle. The cultural crisis is emphasized even more in a diverse public lacking values that stands in the way of the human happiness.

The circular currents of religious thought crash against materialistic, dogmatic or esoteric icebergs. Whatever is mystical, tasteless, psychological or occult gains increased credibility. The corruption of juvenile minds destroys the faith of many, making them susceptible to terror, anguish, fear, instability, panic or even suicide, while they leave God in the background and forget about God as divine and sovereign.

Parents feel limited in their right to raise and train their children. They fear retaliation and false accusations from children who manipulate their own rights and even control their parents in a simple, uncomplicated manner so they have the power to do whatever they feel like doing, just as a legislative system sometimes unintentionally harms and slows the implementation of education and discipline.

Some parents tremble at the thought of correcting and guiding their children, since it is much easier to let them do what they want. They are often prevented and frustrated in their attempts and desires to establish a good comprehensive training: soul, body, mind and spirit in their children’s lives. Other parents have given up the task and have given in. Their inability to exercise their parental privileges has limited them to be the providers and sustainers of a careless, lazy, unproductive and futureless generation.

This book will deal with some of the most worrisome matters in the family today in a pleasing and descriptive manner. Each chapter carries a message and thought that will encourage you to meditate and make decisions you have thought about for your own family as you raise your children, so they revise their values and principles, change the course of their lives, and show confidence and assurance. We are trusting in God to fulfill our commitment, offering you a hope of love within this universe of opportunities, when properly ordered will produce a positive effect in your life and that of the whole family.

As the format suggests, this book is not dedicated exclusively to parents. Rather, it is dedicated to all those who would like to make something better of their lives and have the privilege of cultivating a new hope for a future filled with victory, satisfaction and hope.

I should also admit how difficult the collection of this material was. It was interrupted for more than two-and-a-half years for the lack of a happy ending to give testimony of a change in our main character. Although the story appears fictitious, what is written is somewhat biographical, with the names and persons who dramatize some of the incidents disguised by a little exaggeration and a lot of imagination, but which embody real truths and testimonies for the simple reason that they can happen anywhere.

I wholeheartedly wish that all the young people who have the opportunity to read this book will also benefit from the content and that they will not think it is just another story, but rather that it is something they think about and extract the best from to address those things in their lives that urgently need to be changed.

So thank you very much for your choice and let’s get on with the story!

The author

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OH, WHO CARES!

He came stumbling through the door, his tattered black backpack hanging loosely over his shoulders, matching the rest of what he was wearing. He was swinging the backpack from side to side, intentionally hitting anyone who came within range. Under an old raincoat, he had on black pants so long they bunched up at the bottom like two mops he deliberately wiped along the ground. He had folded over the voluminous waistband a couple of times and used a slender, gold-buckled belt to hold up his pants. You might think he had dressed the wrong person since the pants were big enough to cover Santa Claus’s belly. His white T-shirt was so long it almost reached his knees. Way down under everything the toes of his shoes timidly peeked out. You wouldn’t need to be very bright to figure out these were low, white tennis shoes, so clean they looked like they were bought yesterday.

Oh, what a boy! his grandfather would say. In spite of everything, he’s good looking and likeable. If only he would use his intelligence to get ahead and be a better student and athlete! God bless him!

Alex was very tall for his age, all skin and bones. His dark eyes looked intensely out of an face that usually expressed insolence. He would take hours, an excessive amount of time, according to his mother, styling his hair with a mountain of gel to stiffen it and make the look last. Though hard as

Reviews for One Day at a Time

[moonshineandrosefire · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega bestselling author who writes under the pen name of Florence Flowers and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood's top producers. They are not your typical family by any means...Jane has lived with her partner Liz, in a solid, loving relationship for ten years. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco - a law school dropout, turned dog walker - is her family's black sheep, who has fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane's luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a matter of days. It turns out Jane's house comes complete with an unexpected house guest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who is fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn't be more different. Their attraction couldn't be more immediate.Suddenly, Coco is seeing things totally differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he is a loving single father with an adorable six-year-old daughter. Her mother's not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she is a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of all - into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood's hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their new lives, old wounds are healed and new families are formed - some traditional and some not so traditional.As I have said before, I consider Danielle Steel to be my "guilty pleasure" author - the type of author that I read in order to experience my "Calgon, take me away" moment. Usually, I can count on Danielle Steel for fluffy, feel good plots and characters. Unfortunately, this particular book had no such plots or characters for me to enjoy. I found that in the 320 pages of this book, Danielle Steel concentrated almost too much on the minutest details of characters' reactions to events, and not as much as she should have on furthering the plot.Perhaps I didn't enjoy this book as much as I usually do when I read a book by Danielle Steel, but I did end up giving this book a B+! I still enjoy Danielle Steel as my "guilty pleasure" author, I just don't think I will read another Danielle Steel book for several months.

[codiebelle78 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I felt that I had read this book before, probably in another of Danielle Steele's books. Nice love story, but there was a lot of fluff in between the good parts.

[kimsalyers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

was a good book. have several of her books.

[dbhutch_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Coco who is almost a recluse, she walks dogs and lives on a beach.. She house sits for her sister and her lover Liz and while she is staying at thier house a friend of theirs needs to hide out there .. his name is Lesile Baxter he is the biggest movie heart throb there is. The meet fall in love.. deal with the curves that his job tosses them with the papparizzi that hurt her physically in Venice when she visits him on location .. after awhile he shows up and they agree to live together and get married