The Powerful Sandwich: A Book of Heavenly Nuggets

By Florence Cruz

The Powerful Sandwich will give you stripped-down, unbiased, practical life lessons that many, if not all of us, have experienced or can certainly relate to. It is a message of good news in the midst of things that we all may consider to be bad. God would like us to look at these bad things through His eyes. Much of the sting is alleviated. More of the hope and possibilities of something good replaces the old feelings of failure, fear, and loneliness. It is a very quick read and yet a very powerful one. Just a tweak in the way we process our thoughts can turn the entire direction of our lives around. Good reading to you. May you receive a nugget or two that resonates in your heart and touches your soul

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781643496627

Book preview

Chapter 1

My Story

My spiritual journey began before I had the ability to remember the events because I was an infant. My mother told me many times of the first event, and it occurred at my birth in the moment they handed me to her. She said I looked deeply into her eyes, and for the first time in her life, she knew that there was something infinitely greater than she had ever known. The second event she did not share with me until just a few years ago. When I was an infant, she went into my room, and she saw a halo-type shroud over my crib. All the other events in my life that have brought me to this day, knowing that my God has called me to be His minister, is clear as a bell to me and in chronological order.

I will give you some background into many things that formed the way I believed and believe about myself and others. I am the oldest of three girls. I am four years older than Dottie, and seven years older than Dawn. We were very close growing up and still are very close. One thing growing up that had a huge impact on me was the enormous responsibility my parents placed on my young shoulders to take care of my sisters. I was nine, so Dottie was five, and Dawn was two. My folks would go out for a big evening and return in the early morning hours. I never told them, but I would sit in the middle of the living room floor after putting Dottie and Dawn to bed, frozen, unable to move a muscle, and barely able to breathe. I was so afraid. I would hear them pull up, and I would greet them and tell them everything was fine. I was so relieved they were home, and I certainly didn’t want to disappoint them in any way. I realized how wrong that was of my parents to burden a young child with that responsibility, but it is part of who I am. I was a very obedient child and never wanted to let them down. I started to say what an honest child I was, but as I am writing this, I feel the pain of that little girl and the absolute necessity that I was able to do what my parents asked of me. Some of the last things of late that I have learned is how to set boundaries with folks. I see where this problem area started.

We belonged to All Saints Episcopal Church in Corpus Christi. I loved that church. My mom was on the altar guild. My dad sang in the choir. I helped with the toddlers in Sunday school starting when I was ten. I also remember the wonderful potluck suppers and even smoking cigars at the table! I got to go to church camp when I was twelve, and this is where my first religious experience took place. We had awesome events, including swimming, crafts, singalongs, and small group discussions about God and the Bible. I was ready for my parents to pick me up, but I also remember wanting to start reading my Bible. I went home and into my bedroom and was thoroughly enjoying reading my Bible. My mom came in and had a strange look on her face, and she asked me what I was doing. I told her I was reading my