CHM172. Mama, Minister, Author: Building Legacy Through Bilingual Books with Gracie Ramirez

Zero. Oh, actually gonna remove. And Hi everyone, Welcome to the Christian Homeschool Moms Podcast. I have a guest today that I'm super happy to have. We have our paths crossing in different a few different ways, and one of which is that we attend the same church. And so I'm so excited to have my first local guest here with me today, Gracie Ramirez. She's a wife, a mom, and a passionate servant leader that's devoted to building christ centered community. I'm so happy to have you here with us today. Gracie, thank you for being here. Thank you so much for inviting me. This is exciting, so welcome. I'm excited. So Gracie has a lot of things going on, So I want you to tell us a little bit first, just to so we get to know who you are. Tell us about yourself and your family. And then you are in ministry, so we want to know a little bit about what fuels your passion for building community. Yes. Well, my name is Gracie Ramirez and I'm a wife. I have been married for about twelve years and I have two kids, and I also serve with my husband at Three Crosses Espanol. My heart for ministry started when we started coming to church and serving here together and we saw a big need for disciple people who came hungry to know God. Just like we did. So that's how it all started. That's a great start, and that's that's what it's all about, wanting to help people and disciple to the fact that you listen to the call that God had on your life and you said yes, and so that's everything, and that's what we're going to be talking more about today. So you are an author, so I wanted to share what you've been doing. I found your books and there's a whole story behind that. But what inspired you to begin writing your faith based children's books? And then how so your mom of two so your role as a mother and a minister, all of it that you're doing. How does this influence what you do as an author. It all begain when my son Matteo was born he's now nine, and I was just searching for simple, meaningful books to read to him as a baby because I always wanted to speak to him about the Bible, and I also had the desire to dedicate book for him. So it all started like that, just being inspired by my first child, being a mom, and then watching him grow and develop. He loves books and he's a great reader, so that began to feel like more in me though it was basically him like my inspiration, and I wanted to like reach out to more kids and moms who are probably dealing with the same things as we are. That there's not enough resources, especially in Spanish, like simple face books that we can simply read, So something like that could really help people and me, you know, my family, So that's how it all started. I love that you were inspired by your son, that he was your inspiration, and then it started with your family. But there's so many people that need those resources and have them in Spanish. Is like that that's so helpful because there's not many bilingual there's not many resources that are in Spanish for children. For as far as like in the homeschool community, I know that we could definitely use more. So I love that you offer that. And then your your books are like deeply rooted in faith and in character building and scripture. So what is it that you hope that children and families take away from reading together. We always talk about making it a family affair and doing things with their kids. So what do you. Hope Yes, well, my initial prayer was that families can walk away with from each of the stories in the pages with something simple that they get to like understand God better and also like doing it as a family is very very important me. So I hope that it just sparks conversations and like even you know, my son he was kind of correcting my spelling in English and he was kind of coming and like, mom, you have to fix this, And I was like, well, that's perfect because like I can always you know, do a number. Two book or something like that, come up with something else. But but yeah, that was my hope, so that kids can interact with their parents and just ask him simple questions. And I think it's done that with Matteo. Like he's very into the book and he loves it, so I think it it was like perfect perfect. I love that. I love how Matteo has played such a huge role in your book, the inspiration of it, but just even like the growth of where it's going and what may happen later with the part two. So yeah, yeah, Start is like rhythms in the home. As homeschoolers, the thing that we always talk about is keeping that family rhythm there and keeping faith as part of that rhythm. And it's not being like okay, so we're gonna have faith over here and then math over here and then separating everything, but integrating that. So how do you see your books kind of fitting into that faith and learning rhythm at home. M That's a great question. I think they can easily become part of a daily routine. Like for example, I used to read to Mattel every morning before he went to school and before he started the. Day, and as we you know, eat breakfast together. I would incorporate more fun activities for him later in the day. But life is busy, so I would say, like even starting in the table with something simple as. A prayer or like a. Quick more being devotional to have like kids engaged. That's simple and easy and we all can do it. And at night of course, like we always pray together. So just incorporate it in your life because I know life can get busy, but just try to, you know, bring God into the picture. You know, with the books and with whatever you can. Exactly bring God into the picture. And He should always be in the picture. So on the show, we talked to homeschoolers who are at home either full time with their kids, but some are hybrid and have their kids homeschools later in the evening or tutoring part time. So we have a lot of different ways that we're educating our kids. But said, life is busy, So regardless of how we choose to have our kids educated, life gets really really busy. And he first is everything. So I love what you said about like integrating the devote and the books that you offer into our daily lives. And then you also you do a lot more than that. You are a women's minister. You create space for women to grow and to people, and God knows we need healing and so you help us do that. And you're leader. So how has this calling shaped your work in ministry and in even what you do as an author. I think my own healing journey gave me a burden to walk with women, and I saw that, like whether I'm writing for children or leading women, like I want to create a safe space that it's led by the Spirit and where people are seen and equipped in very simple ways. And women are super important for the ministry because most of our church's attendance is women's and women spend a lot of time with their kids and their you know, the so it's important that we are healthy and that we are well equipped so that our kids can also be equipped because they're are next generation. I'm reminded of Timothy's mom and grandma, and we need more women like that, like women that can really equip our children. And also every year I make a collective book with women from our church because everyone has a voice. Everyone is important to the ministry and I think they have something to say and they feel important, they feel, you know that, like they belong. So this helps us, you know, grow and become one as the church that we are. I love that. I love that, and I love that you said that we we're kind of that we make up the body of Christ and such a drastic number. Women are a huge opponent or proportion, I should say, like a huge percentage, and we need to be healed in order to pass our legacy onto future generations. We need to have personal healing and so when we build each other up, it's everything. And that's what you're doing at the church. And I just love that. Thanks. So how do you speaking on balance? How do you balance being a minister a mom, author, and all the things you do. We always talk about women do everything. We were all the hats, wear all the shoes, But how are you are you doing it all? Wow? That's a very loaded question and very important, and to be honest is a big challenge. Is not always perfectly balanced. I'm going to be honest, and some seasons are heavy, they're in different areas, but I'm learning to invite God in the tension. I would say, like, don't chase perfection, stay in your calling and let God lead you. Because the first thing is like enjoy your family. But I would say, like, just the number one priority is my kids, and if I'm distracted like doing other things, it's not going to be okay. So I usually just grab time when they're sleeping or you know, when they're distracted, so that I can create. But it's not easy. Some seasons are dry, some seasons are more productive, and I think that's okay. Yeah, what you said about finding how to interact and engage with your family, keeping them first during different seasons of your life. So every season is different and you'll just have to find what works in that season. But I think that's kind of a main theme in the last couple of shows, we've been talking about season and God is in each of them, but they're all different. And so I love that you said that just being led by the spirit and letting the Lord show you what to do to keep your family first and working around their routines right when they're distracted or busy or sleeping, and then you're getting things done that you need to get done, but not putting them on the back burner. That's so important. I just love that you're leading in that way. That's such a good example. So what has God taught you in like through the process of being an author, writing, leading, creating space for other people? And like you said, all these different seasons we're having the challenging seasons of what have you learned through these? I think the most important thing that God has taught me is to depend on Him and not on my strength. It's not my creativity. It's like something he placed in me, something he gave me and is precious and I have to take care of it. But I also seen like when I'm weak, like he gets stronger in me and he calls me to never waste anything that he gives me, even when it's quiet, even when it's low. Also, rest is super important because it helps us depend on him, knowing that he is the one who is giving this gifting to us, and he will renew us. He will give us more creativity if we rest, But if we don't, then that's when it gets tough. If we rest, and to be open to resting when he tells us to us to sit down, to just glean from him and hear his voice and just not do anything like that's why he rested, right, So God, you should rest too. And I thank you for that reminder. And I just I would love to hear more about your projects, anything that you have going on in the future that we should know about, Any new books or anything you've got on the horizon you want to share with us. Sure. Mostly everything I do is in Spanish because, like I told you, like, the need is very big in Spanish and I see the calling there. And I recently submitted a proposal for a book for a Spanish publisher. It's named E six five, so if you speak Spanish you may know him. The book I want to write about abuse and how to help church feel equipped and to deal with these topics. That I don't see a lot of resources. In Spanish, and also I want to write something about mentorship in the future, so we'll see. Very cool. I can't wait to hear about what happens and so we'll definitely want to up with where you're going and what's happening in your books. So what you have so far, you do have quite a few books, So how can our families connect with you and to find out what you're doing in the ministry as well as purchase any books markets. Yeah, they can reach reach me on Amazon. My books are there, it's with just my name, Gracie Ramirius. Also YouTube. We have a podcas me and my husband. It's also in Spanish, but it's fun if you speak Spanish to go there and you can reach that at three Crosses Espanola. And we're going to leave links to three Crosses espanel and too or Amazon link for all the books. All the books are there right on the Amazon. Yes, okay, everything's there. And Gracie, you have been a breath of fresh air. You have been so inspiring to I know that many listeners today are thinking, okay, I want to start writing a book. So do you have any maybe less words of encouragement? On the show today for moms listening who are inspired and would love to like move in the direction of becoming an author. Also, yeah, I think you should do it for sure. You have a voice if God is sparking anything, and you use that. Be patient with yourself. It doesn't have to be done in a day. It can be a process, it can be a year, it can be longer. But just start, slow, start, but start, you know, And I think it would be great because we do need a lot of voices, you know, speaking to especially our own children, about God. Yeah, thank you so much for being here today. You are so awesome, so I enjoy talking to you. Thank you so much for inviting me. I hope that this podcast is great and you're doing a great job too. Thank you. Thank you for equipping moms. Thank you so much. Grazie.