The Power in Revelation

"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." - Revelations 12:11

This is a revelation that came directly to me from the Lord.  As the scriptures instruct us, we conquer the enemy through Jesus' blood and sharing our testimony.  I am compelled to share my testimony of this revelation.  On January 6, 2012, I was driving to work and I was having a good morning.  As I was getting my praise on in the car, I was really jamming, out of nowhere a deer hit my car on the passenger side.    I swerved to the far left lane and even honked my horn to avoid hitting the deer.  With a loud "BOOM!", I felt the impact of the deer.  As my car sat on the side of the road, I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that the deer was a little disoriented and his hip was probably sore. He got up off the ground...shook himself and ran away.  I knew right then and there that I was going to have a good day and that the devil was obviously trying to block it from happening.  The day was awesome and at the end of the day I was in the right place at the right time and I was able to minister to my co-worker and lead her into salvation.  I thought that surely this deer hitting my car that morning was supposed to stop what just happened at work - I just didn't know the full details of its meaning.  

It was not until Saturday night when I was speaking to my mother on the phone that God showed me what the deer meant.  God said that the deer represented a distraction that had come into my life.  The distraction caused "minor" damage but had I not swerved into the left lane, it would have killed me.  The distraction came to destroy my life, my anointing and my reputation.  It came to destroy everything connected to me.  The plan for our lives from the enemy has never changed - the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy but God comes to give us eternal life.  God said that it came out of nowhere while I was giving Him the praise because the enemy often blindsides us when we are doing what we were created to do - Worship!  We are to always be alert and focused.  When I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that the deer got up and shook itself, God said that the distraction will eventually shake itself, live and move on.  As I surveyed the damage, I saw my life flash before my eyes.  God shared with me that the devil sent the distraction but He (God) sent it away.  

I encourage you men and women of God to take hold of the things that God says.  Trust God with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding.  Survey your life and see if when "it" entered your life, has "it" brought you peace or calamity.  According to Webster's Dictionary, a distraction is designed "to stir up or confuse with conflicting emotions or motives."   As the scripture shows us, no man can serve two masters, either you'll love one and hate the other.  I encourage you to introduce your distraction to God and give it its walking papers. God says that we must rid ourselves of distractions and seek Him with everything in us. Stay in a mode of prayer and worship to God.  Stay focused...Be bold...Be strong!

-Sincerely,

Alecia Jones

So long...farewell...

Well, my trip is shortly coming to a close.  I must say that I met some wonderful people like Phyllis and her son Jonathan from Seattle and Hope from Chicago.    You guys were the best shopping buddies ever.  Now, I have a reason to come to both of your cities.  I know that we walked forever but we found some good deals along the way.  The shops off the beaten path really are the ones with the best deals.   Seeing the firecrackers and standing downtown with the thousands of people as they prepared for their festival, Las Fallas, was amazing.  The Mercado Central was so massive and I've never seen so much ham, chocolate and seafood in one place in my life.  All I can say is that Sama Sama on San Martin is the best store in Valencia...I almost lost my mind in there.  Today I stumbled upon a store called Intermon Oxfam (Oxfam International) where women from developing nations created all of the products in the store.  It was great and all the proceeds go back to those developing nations to end poverty, hunger, and promote social injustice.

I still didn't get to try the tapas :( but I'm sure the opportunity will come available to try some.  The people of Valencia were beautiful.  The city was colorful and I saw a lot of Africans in Spain.  True story...we were in a store, off the beaten path, getting some good deals and so were the Africans.  A few blocks later, the same dudes that were in the store were trying to sell us the same stuff we just bought back to us.  Really??

I had anointed taxi drivers who could wheel those smart cars in and out of traffic like nobody's business.  God was gracious to me because He allowed me to have a taxi driver, Jacinto, who spoke and understood English fairly well.  I was able to witness to him...planting seeds. 

Excellent food...wonderful weather...great trip...amazing shopping...wonderful country and a very good conference.  God is Good!

The Big Picture

Hola chicos and chicas.  I've posted a few pictures from Valencia, Spain.  I will post more when I actually get back to the states.  I have a lot of pictures.  Today was the last official day of the conference and tomorrow we will gather for a double decker bus tour of Valencia.  How exciting?  The conference was great.  I learned so much and was so amazed to meet so many down to earth people and I hope that the connections that were made this week will be lasting.  God blessed me to make some good connections with professors from Norway, Colombia and the U.K.  Hopefully we can do some research together in the near future.  We'll see!

Before I do anything else tomorrow, I must go try the tapas, which are small "mini" meals.  Everyone is saying you must do the tapas.  They are a must have here in Spain.  I did try flan for the first time today and that was okay...it still doesn't compare to my tiramisu.  I'm on Team Tiramisu now!!  Enjoy the pictures.

 Team Tiramisu

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Downtown Valencia

Beautiful architecture!

  

That's me in front of the plaza de la reina.  It hadn't 

opened yet.  

This is the cathedral in Valencia.  It was a part of the 

tour at the plaza de la reina, which allowed you to

tour the historic churches.  This is where the priest fussed

me out for being in closed quarters.  I didn't know...the

door was open so I thought it was a part of the tour.  :)

I snapped some nice pictures while being back there. 

                

Who says that McDonald's isn't everywhere? Located
in Ciutat Vella or the center of town.  You know I had
to go in and order something.

Yay!

That's me...right before my presentation began.

A professor (conference neighbor) and game designer 

from Romania.

Graffiti or "street art", which was all over Valencia

Day 4 - Relax Mode

I must say that God is soooooooo good.  My poster presentation went so well yesterday and I knew people were praying for me as I presented...I felt it.  It was the first day of the INTED 2010 conference and I met some amazing students, professors and researchers from all around the world.  Feedback from my poster session was amazing.  While I was presenting, people fromTurkey, the U.K., Norway, India, Columbia, Romania, Germany, Canada and so many other countries all stopped by and talked to me about my research. They were impressed.  I spoke and stood for 5 hours.  It was a busy busy day.  I ran my session like I do my bra parties...I kept them coming and engaged them.  I even laughed at myself because being a bra lady paid off :)  At my station, one woman from the University of New Delhi said that, "this was the best presentation and should get best in show."  Of course there is no best in show but I was grateful for the compliment.  Another man from Canada commented and said, "it is rare to see a presentation with substance."  That blessed me far more than you can imagine.  Doing things with a spirit of excellence is the only option and that was taught to me at church.  Truly all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord.  I give God all the praise for the connections that He´s allowed me to make, the doors that have opened and the doors that have closed. 

After presenting yesterday, I went back to my hotel and was fired up...ready to go as President Obama often says.  I went walking, did some shopping and went to El Corte Ingles, which is a massive shopping center.  I believe it had to be about 10 stories high and the lower level was a shopping market (mercado) and that was amazing.  I had a blast there.  Then I got hungry so I walked and walked and walked until I found a place that I thought I would enjoy.  I ended up at Osaka Japanese Restaurant and had some yakisoba...muy bien!!  Yes, Anita, I came all the way to Spain to eat Japanese...I know...but it was good.  After eating, I walked back to the hotel and crashed...I was exhausted. 

Now, I am in day 2 of the INTED conference.  We are on a coffee break and when they have a coffee break, they do it in style.  Fresh orange juice, pastries and a whole lot more food.  I am relaxed because I no longer have the pressure on me of presenting.  Whew!!!  Now, I am off to attend more presentations to see what trends are out there in educational technology.  Today, I am definitely going to do more touring and have found some new friends to hang out with.  I have my eyes set on going to the Mercado Central because of the amazing silk and other vendors I have heard so many talk about.  I will post pictures when I return this evening.  Thanks for reading my blog everyone. 

Adios!!

Day 3 - La Presentación

It's day 3 here in Valencia and the moment has arrived - the poster presentation.  I didn't get much sleep through the night.  My body wasn't tired but next time I'll have to force myself to go to sleep at least by 11:00.  I'm looking forward to this opportunity to present this research.  My poster is ready to go (thanks Kinko's) and I'm hoping that in the five hours of me being available to talk about the research to inquirers that my poster will generate attention.  That makes the difference.

Yesterday, I had a blast touring the city.  I looked for inexpensive ways to explore the city and ended up in the center of the city.  I did a lot shopping!!!!!!   When I arrived it was early afternoon and boy was it busy.  I thought people were coming from a soccer game because it was mad packed.  Kids were playing on the sidewalk, saw a McDonald's and Burger King, people were firing off firecrackers all day long (literally) and I've never seen so many well dressed people in all my life.  Even the homeless people looked fashionable :).  Graffiti or street art is big here in Valencia and street vendors for eating are also big here too.  In Valencia the must have food is paella.  So, I decided that I was going to try it.  I went to this quaint restaurant named La Sardineria.  They love to serve bread (pan) with every meal and tapas (mini meals) are the thing here in Spain.  I ordered seafood paella and when I received my plate, I was greeted by some sea creatures that stayed right on my plate...yuck.  I pushed some of those sea creatures to the side and ate the shrimp and some of the oysters.  Other than that, it was a lovely meal.  I have fallen in love with tiramisu.  I think I've had one each day since I've been here.  Es muy deliciosa!!  After eating...I had the best waiter who told me in his thick Spanish accent that I didn't have to leave a tip.  He said, "In America, you have to leave a tip but in Spain, you do what you want...it's freedom of choice."  Hey, I like the sound of that Mauro.  I have to go and prepare myself for the presentation in a few minutes but when I return, I'll tell you how I ended up in Catholic Mass and how I was fussed at in Spanish by a priest because I was in the wrong room :).  

So here's my checklist before I leave for the convention center: Poster (check)...Macbook (check)...digital camera (check)...euros for the taxi (check check check check).

Day 2 - Valencia

I awoke this morning still trying to convince my body that we are in a different country and a different time zone.  Those 6 hours really make a difference.  Did my alarm clock even go off?  I wouldn't know and I certainly didn't hear it.  Well, I knew that I needed to hurry along if I wanted to catch breakfast before 11:00.  The Spanish breakfast or desayuno is very different that the American breakfast but there is one thing in common - pork.  They love pork  and it's in practically everything.  I had to pick the bits of pork out of my scrambled eggs.  Olive oil and roma tomatoes are a staple too.  Valencia is right along the Mediterranean Sea, so I can understand why olive oil is a main part of the diet here.  On the breakfast buffet bar there were some dishes that I certainly didn't want to experiment on today.  I tried their version of pancakes but there was no maple syrup, just caramelo or chocolate.  That was different.  The fruit is perfectly in season...hadn't had a good watermelon in months. 

Today is Sunday and everything is closed in Valencia and as my housekeeper says.  Oh how I miss church and my KCC family.  Now, I'm going back to my room, read my word and listen to some William McDowell.  Then I'm going to hop on the train to Madrid and spend the day touring the city.

As Dora the Explorer says...Adios!!

Madrid, Spain - Day One

I am soooooo exhausted!!  My flight left Norfolk at 6:40 pm and arrived in Philly before 7:30.  Then I hopped on the plane from Philly to Madrid.  I must say, that Airbus was massive.  I've never seen anything like it.  After seven hours of flying over the Atlantic Ocean, I finally made it to my next to the last stop - Madrid, Spain.  I am so tired, I can barely even type but I wanted to send this update before I forgot.  The people here are friendly (some of them) and apparently there's not a rule about smoking in the airport...yuck.  I can smell the stench even now.  Alright...I'm signing off in order to find a spot to eat.  Next and final stop - Valencia.  All I need is a comfortable bed and clean water.

Voyage To Spain

Just 43 more days until my trip.  Here lately I've been running a lot of errands, working and going to school.  I realize that it's important for me to take care of the minor details so that I won't have to worry about it later.  Since I'll be going to Spain, I think I might need to brush up on my Spanish...bien!!