I Cannot Keep Quiet with Cristina Melena

On today's episode we will be discussing a very important and sensitive topic. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2018, 48,344 Americans died by suicide. That same year, there were an estimated 1,400,000 suicide attempts.There's a stigma around suicide, causing people to typically be "hush hush" about anything related to suicide. Suicide is real, and it is preventable. Suicide is not just "a bunch of statistics," it is real lives feeling intense psychological pain and extreme hopelessness. Someone around you may need your support more than you know. Tune in to know the signs, and know how you can help.website: http://icannotkeepquiet.comStatistics taken fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Data & Statistics Fatal Injury Report for 2018

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #16 is Cristina Melena. Yes, that's me!! A little bit about myself: I'm 25, going on 26. I absolutely love God, my family, my fiancé and all of you! I am from Long Beach, CA and I attend Iglesia Cristiana Peniel in Wilmington, CA. God has never stopped working in my life, and I could not be more grateful to Him. I praise God for everything He has done, everything He is doing, and everything He will do.On my hunt to find my purpose, I ended up in the world. At that point I was further away from my purpose than when I started looking. When I came back to God, I was filled with regret, shame, and self-doubt. The enemy took me to the darkest place I've ever been, but God never left my side. Whatever the enemy intends for evil, GOD CAN WORK IT OUT FOR OUR GOOD... AND THAT IS WHAT HE DID. Tune in to hear more. webiste: icannotkeepquiet.com

Todos somos llamados para compartir la palabra de Dios a nuestro prójimo. Sea un familiar, un vecino, o un desconocido, somos instrumentos de Dios llamados a servirle. El mensaje es impartido por Marcos Robles. website: icannotkeepquiet.com

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #14 is Elizabeth Cabello. Elizabeth is a Creative from Long Beach with a heart of gold! She is a PK (Pastor's Kid) and loves serving the Lord at her church. Elizabeth shares how severe anxiety crippled her life for 8 years. As time went on and she navigated the anxiety, she began to think that it was God's will for her to be an "anxious Christian." "I was so wrong," she says. On a Friday night bible study, she went up to the altar and the unexpected happened. God healed her from anxiety!! He literally took the weight off her back!Tune in to hear this powerful and inspiring testimony.Website: icannotkeepquiet.com

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #13 is the sweet, caring, and humble, Yuliveth Cortez. Yuli and I have been really good friends since childhood. We grew up together at the same church, and I can confidently say that I've seen my friend come to be an amazing woman. Yuli and her husband, Henry just moved from California to Texas. Yuli is a pursuing a career in nursing and plans to finish her schooling out in Texas. Today she comes on to share a little bit of the so many ways that God has worked in her life. She testifies that since the age of 10 the enemy filled her mind with confusion and questions about God's existence. Regardless of what the enemy threw at her, she always held on to her faith and never allowed the doubts to take her from God's path. Tune in to hear this amazing testimony!

There are times when we've docked our empty boats and decided to call it quits. We quit on our dreams, our career, school, our family, we quit on ourselves, and even worse, we quit on God. We bring our empty boats to shore and think nothing can makes things better. But then there's Jesus. Through the story told in Luke 5, we'll learn about He who can fill our lives, just as Simon's boats were filled. Simon Peter, previously known as Simon, obeyed Jesus three different times on this specific occasion. We can see that blessing comes to those who are obedient to His word. Simon Peter fell to the feet of Jesus and said the words "GO AWAY FROM ME LORD, I AM A SINFUL MAN." He acknowledged that he didn't deserve this miracle, just like we don't deserve His everlasting love. It gets even better when Simon Peter leaves behind two boats full of fish to follow Jesus. He didn't care about the catch, more important to him was to follow the Master. website:icannotkeepquiet

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #11 is Miguel Perez. Mikey is the first brave young man to share his testimony on the podcast! At age 16, Mikey has a lot to share and hopes that others will learn and be encouraged by his testimony.We will hear his story starting from middle school. As it happens too often with our children and teenagers, he was lured into drugs and alcohol after being around negative influences that he called friends at the time. Mikey’s parents always talked to him about God, encouraged him to go to church, and pray; but at age 12 he decided to choose a path of his own. He kept everything hidden from his parents, until one day things got out of hand.Mikey was in handcuffs in the back of a police car outside his school, when he caught sight of his mom in their home. She was mopping, and had no idea what was happening. One of the officers went over to talk to her, and as the first tear ran down her face, Mikey put his head down in shame.Listen to hear how God saved this young man from the world. He was baptized last year, June 2019. He is now one of the youth leaders at his church, he uses his voice to sing to God, and today he shares his testimony with all of us. Praise and glory be to God!!(Parental Consent was given for Mikey to share his testimony on I Cannot Keep Quiet Podcast. One of his sisters was with us while recording. Mikey only talked about what he was comfortable and willing to share.)

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #10 is Jaqueline Orozco. Jackie describes her life as being like a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs. At a young age she faced a difficult, life-changing event, that she now looks back on as being a pivotal role in what shaped her character and formed her strength. She continued her life without having a relationship with God, and instead had a relationship with the world; because that's really all she knew. Jackie was judged, and criticized by others, as people didn't know her battles. She was desperate for peace in her life, and she didn't know what her purpose was. Everything changed when someone finally spoke to her in a very direct manner about Jesus. This person told her that she was looking in all the wrong places and in all the wrong people, and that all she needed was Jesus. That night she cried for hours, and her life began to change. This man who spoke to her about Jesus is now her husband. They have a beautiful family, and Jackie has found peace and purpose in God. Tune in to hear this extraordinary story that the Lord has written and continues to write!website: icannotkeepquiet.com

Every single one of us need healing from some sort of wound at different points in our life. Our savior, Jesus Christ, offers us healing from any wounds!Unfortunately, many people don't go to Jesus for healing. Many go to people, like family of friends. They expect loved ones to heal their wound, and make them whole. Other times it's vice versa, because loved ones can be adamant about "fixing" you and making you whole. Truth is, no one can heal you but God. We see a great example in the story of Job. In the middle of Job's suffering, three friends how up to comfort him. For 7 days and 7 nights that sat with him without saying a word. Eventually they spoke, only to add more distress onto a distraught man. But then God spoke... Another very common mistake is relying on time. We are told "give it time," "you'll get better in time." Although God does use time to heal, time is not what heals us. Time allows for perspective, maturity, and forgiveness. It is essential for our human experience to go through the process instead of being granted healing from night to morning. In John 5, Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been invalid for 38 years. He would lay next to the pool in hopes to jump in when the water stirred so that he may be well. The most that "time" would do is to grow him accustomed to this way of life, growing accustomed to pain, or temporarily hiding it does not equal healing. This man would have likely been invalid for the rest of his life had Jesus not stepped in. What is breaking your heart today? What wounds have you tried to heal with time? What wounds have you tried to heal with people? What solutions have others offered you? Bring your troubles to God. Only He will bring you healing. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3website: icannotkeepquiet.com

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #8 is Annabel Salvatierra! Just as promised, here is the rest of the conversation from last week. Make sure that you listen to episode #7 first, and then continue to part 2. You don't want to miss any of it. Marriage brings forward a lot of change. Anna shares about a big challenge that she faced after getting married, involving her ministry. She has always loved serving God, and found herself in a dark place when she started congregating at a new church. Anna and her husband Gustavo, have two daughters. You will hear about her youngest, Leah, who has faced some health issues. Like she says "everyone is fighting a battle that others don't know about." Lets come together and pray for beautiful Leah and the rest of the family as well. Tune in to hear all of this!!website: icannotkeepquiet.com

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #7 is Annabel Salvatierra. Anna is a wife, and a mother of two beautiful little ones. She says she is a "mom of drama" because both her little ones are daughters. She and her husband both run A + G Photo & Video, she captures the pictures and Gustavo captures the video. Anna is a Sunday school teacher, she sings in her worship team, and she has a full time job.. she is busy, busy, busy.I broke her testimony into two because we talked for almost two hours! This is part 1 of 2. If you have teenagers or young adults, you're going to want them to listen to this. Especially if you have growing daughters. Anna talks about dating, specifically the testimony of how God got her out of a bad relationship she was in at the young age of 14. Anna was ready to leave her family and her home to live with a young man who at the time was 19. Her parents were wrecked, and in fear that Anna would make a decision she would regret. Tune in to hear what happened! (Spoiler Alert: Based on the first paragraph you probably know this has a happy ending)Next week we will hear Part Two of Anna's testimony.

Christmas and the New Year are just around the corner!! I can't believe how fast time flies. As the year is coming to an end, many of us will reflect back to any "New Years Resolutions" that we placed for ourselves at the start of the year. Some will cheer in victory, and others may shrug their shoulders and hope for progress in the coming year. On today's bible study we will talk about resisting temptations. As we're challenging ourselves with resolutions for 2020, I challenge you to take temptations by the horns, head on! You may scrunch your nose, because this isn’t the typical resolution to lose weight or save money, and you're right!! This is even better! God wants us to build healthy habits, He wants us to RESIST temptations. Temptations don't make us into bad people, everyone is tempted, even Jesus was tempted. Jesus never fell into temptation, He was and continues to be perfect and holy. We know that because He was tempted in every way, we can turn to Him and expect empathy for our God. Turning to Him will allow us to strengthen our relationship with Him, and be filled by the spirit with our triumphs. Listen to hear more about the 5 steps to resist, not only as a New Years resolution, but every day. Even in October when many have forgotten that a resolution had been made. Any day is a good day to get back up and start again, for the glory of God.website: icannotkeepquiet.com

(SPANISH EPISODE)My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #5 is Yolanda Melena. Yola is a wife, a mother, and an amazing person all around! She and her husband run a photography business, JYJD Videography and they make a great team! Yola talks about family, and marriage. She shares what has helped her and her husband to keep their relationship strong. Yola opened her heart and let us hear about the amazing and extraordinary way that God moved in her mother's life during her last few months of life. Though we can hear pain in Yola's voice, we can also hear the peace and joy that God has given her! Glory to God! Website: icannotkeepquiet.com

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #4 is Jessica Alcaraz. Jessica is a Medical Assistant who mainly serves the homeless population, and is continuing school to become an RN. She cares about the underprivileged population, including the homeless, the low-income, and Latino communities. After her father had a stroke, she was convinced to continue pursuing her career as a nurse. Through her father's stroke, she called to God and was able to hear Him assure her that He was working. Jessica continues to share her powerful testimony of how God worked in her life and in her home. She questioned the purpose of her pain and suffering and although she was broken, she went to God and surrendered her life to Him. He healed her wounds after going through abuse as a child, as a teenager, and as a young adult. In God's timing, she understood that only He is enough, only He is faithful, and there is no greater love than His.This girl is on fire for Jesus! Her testimony left me in awe of how amazing our God is. What a privilege to have been called to serve the Almighty God. Her story inspired me, and I know it will inspire you too. Our Website: icannotkeepquiet.com

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Remember to Give Thanks1. Luke 17:11-192. The ten lepersGod Gives Us More than We Deserve 1. Numbers 112. The Israelites complain about the mannaGive Thanks Even Through Trials1. Romans 5: 1-52. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Give Thanks Out loud1. Psalm 105:1-22. Psalm 40:10

My guest for I Cannot Keep Quiet #2 is Andrea Torres. Andrea is a wife, a mom, a worshiper, and student among many other amazing things. She is a student at the California State University of Long Beach, aspiring to be a cosmetic scientist. She dreams of one day having her own cosmetic line, her own perfume, and other beauty products. Andrea has already started making her dreams come true by launching her brand, Torres Towers. Guys, Andrea blew my mind. This girl is so brave! She shared her story publicly for the first time. As a young child and teenager, Andrea battled insecurities that led to binge-eating. She fought in silence as she felt that she had to be strong enough to do it alone, not wanting to burden her family nor God. How wrong she was! God was there will her all along, and He continues to be with her as she shares her testimony!

Crystal is my very first guest on the show. What better way to start off than with a good friend. I love this girl! At a young age she learned to lean on God’s strength as her father and pastor dealt with health issues. He lost his ability to walk on his own two feet. Through the years her family has been in and out of the hospital, and at the age of 18 when his health deteriorated, Crystal reached a season of loneliness. She praises God because she has seen His hand work miracles in her dad's life. Let us praise God too!She also talks about being a “pastors kid,” and dealing with rejection from social groups as a teenager among a few other things. You have got to listen to find out.