As difficult as it is to deal with the death of someone we love, the Christian has this important consolation: Death is not the end. Death is only the beginning of real living! Because we see things with human eyes, it is easy to think we are bodies with souls within. But is it not better said that we are souls with bodies? In light of eternity, our life in this body is but a "vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

...Just a little while, and we will be with our Abba Father. What a precious time awaits!

"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Corinthians 15:54-57)

I know some people think I have some strange ideas about certain things. My family and I are not your typical Christian family in many ways, but to be honest, we don't feel that "typical" should describe true believers. Are we not called out of the world to be a peculiar people? (Deut. 14:2; Titus 2:14; I Peter 2:9) Not that we do or don't do things just for the sake of being odd, but when we study God's Word and decide to walk in His ways, we do stand out from the "typical" variety. I would hope that from my blog posts, my ultimate motive comes across: that I want to be a true follower of the Lord Jesus and His Word. If I can share truth, and provoke another believer to consider it, then perhaps I have gained a fellow pilgrim with whom to walk the narrow path.

I think most of my readers know our stand on Christmas and other holidays which have no Biblical origin. It is a lonely stand indeed, but even if it's not popular, I believe it is right. We do not hope to have a lot of company in this, but I must say it is very encouraging to discover that a godly preacher that many hold in high esteem felt the same way about the observance of Christmas as we do, and proclaimed it boldly from the pulpit on Christmas Eve.

"We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon on Dec. 24, 1871)."

Not that Spurgeon is the all-in-all authority on matters of doctrine and practice of the church. But his points here are true and correct, and biblically sound. Christmas and the traditions that surround it have no place in the homes and hearts of the followers of Jesus.

Did you know that the observance of Christmas was outlawed in Colonial America for years? And it did not become fashionable to celebrate it until the mid-1800's. Why did our godly forefathers feel that way about it?

I challenge you to look into this deeper. Here are some articles to get you started:

The Plain Truth About Christmas Good information from both secular and religious historical sources.

The Pagan Origins of Christmas From a Messianic-Jewish point of view.

YouTube Christmas documentary video

"..What communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial: or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

II Corinthians 6:14-18

NOTE: I do not endorse nor agree with all of the content of the above-mentioned websites, but am taking advantage of the facts they present about the origins of the Christmas festival. I do, however, endorse AND agree with all of the scriptures mentioned above. :o)

Can a mother be too proud of her little girl? I am struggling with that right now, as I attempt to write what is in my heart about our firstborn, our daughter Jessica Faith. The Lord gave her to us eleven years ago, and we were so ignorant, so unsuspecting of the treasure we had acquired in her.

When she arrived, I became a mother. I learned for the first time what it was like to carry a part of me outside of my body. So small, so vulnerable, so beautiful, she quickly won our hearts. Our lives had changed forever, and we never looked back.

As she grew, we learned so much about ourselves, about humanity, about God. We denied ourselves so that Jessica might have what she needed, and it was our joy to do so! We taught her God's Word, and promised to teach her to walk in His precepts. In training her, we were being trained in valuable life and ministry skills. We made mistakes. She readily forgave, and adored us as the gods in her little universe.

All too soon, she was no longer a toddler, but a spunky, happy little girl full of boundless energy. Her younger sister had arrived by then, and she eagerly took on the task of showing baby sister the world. How she made us all laugh! I might have kept her a little girl forever, but God knew better. He knew the best was yet to come..

As the years passed, I marvelled at her intelligence, her charm, her individuality, and her growing faith. She often surprised me with the thoughtful things she said, many times displaying wisdom beyond her years. I wrote many of those things into a journal, lest I forget them. We often talked about God and the Bible, and she loved to sing about Him! One day, she told me she wanted vida eterna, to be with God forever. That day she gave her heart to Christ.

And now she is eleven years old. Practically a lady! She chooses for herself to love God, to walk in His ways and seek to please Him with her life. She still adores us, her parents, but she knows we are not perfect. We still make mistakes. And she still graciously forgives. Whereas once we led her entirely by the hand, now she is beginning to walk by our side in this grace of the Christian life. I catch a glimpse of who she is becoming. A Christian. A lady. My friend. I am breathless at the thought that this beautiful person is my daughter.

Thank You, Lord, for giving us our Jessica for these eleven years!

And now, here are eleven things I love and admire about Jessica:

1) Her sweet, friendly personality.

2) Her kindness toward others.

3) Her willingness to help her mom.

4) She is so good with handicrafts and sewing.

5) She loves to give to others.

6) She loves and honors her parents.

7) She enjoys helping care for her younger siblings.

8) She readily memorizes God's Word, and is quick to recall key passages.

9) Her godly desire to learn how to be a keeper at home.

10) Her lovely, feminine ways which delight those around her.

11) Her sweet Christian testimony she maintains among her friends.

Happy birthday, sweet Jessica! I love you!

This morning's devotional thought was I Cor. 16:14 "Let all your things be done with charity." This word "charity" is the Greek word agape, which means love, as in affection or benevolence. It's thinking and acting toward a person with kindly affection, and giving willingly of oneself for their sake, desiring to promote their prosperity and happiness. Some things are easy to do with love, but ALL things? Not so easy..

When it comes to performing certain tasks, doing them with love comes almost naturally. Things like making a gift for someone, or fixing up a surprise for a spouse. But what about the daily, mundane things, like washing dishes? picking up after someone? changing a stinky diaper? It's not always easy to conjure up affection while doing some of those! But the verse above says ALL things.

Agape love simply does not come naturally to any son of Adam or daughter of Eve. It takes effort, on purpose. Most of the times it takes denial of self and feelings. It's just not possible to feel affectionate and benevolent toward others, while having a mental pity party for yourself! ..But I'm finding out that that is one of the beauties of doing all things with agape. Once "self" is out of the way, there is real joy in doing those mundane tasks!

Monday is always Catch-up Day around here. Between weekend activities, and the fact that practically NO housework gets done on the Lord's Day, there is always plenty to catch up on.

So while I am at it, I think I'll do a little catching-up on This Pilgrimage..

This weekend we enjoyed a wonderful Youth Meeting with a few other churches in the state. Our group prepared some special music with a chorale, acoustic guitars, and flute. The preaching was just excellent, and I think I am going to post the outline here later. Signs of a false Christianity. Convicting.

'Tis rainy season in Guatemala. The house is cool during the day, and nights are cooler. I haven't been blogging much because we have dealt with some illness, and I myself am still coming out of the fog of a monster ear/nose/throat infection. We don't take antibiotics unless the situation is out of control, which almost never happens, so we use a lot of home remedies around here. My favorite? Garlic Lemonade, a hot drink that feels sooo good on a sore throat. (That recipe is right here.)

Another reason I've been MIA, in a word, Facebook. My brother persuaded me to sign up. He said we can keep in touch better, and I'll find so many old friends from my past on there, and catching up is so much fun! All that is true, but it certainly does create a time conflict. My blogging friend Jungle Mom told me that "the younger folks prefer Facebook, the busy people want Twitter, and the rest of us like Blogger." That sounds about right! Facebook can be fun, but Blogger is where I can be stretched. I have found that great is the temptation to simply post one-liners on Facebook, and never get around to a blog post, which requires much more thought and effort. Repenting!

So now that I have expunged my guilt here, I must go refill my cup with hot tea and get back to household duties. May you all have a happy Monday, and a blessed week!

That seems to be the theme around here as we are trying to finish the top of our house! It was just a flat concrete terraza with a half-wall, and when it rained the water just sat there, causing dampness and mildew in the rooms below. So we are completing the walls with wood and adding a graded roof to throw off the water. I can hardly wait until it's done! Right now, it's cold and wet up there on the terraza, but soon it will be a dry, habitable place.

I think you will agree that there's a lot of peace, safety and comfort within walls. Think of the ark that Noah built, wherein his family found shelter and safety from the storm of God's wrath. Can you imagine the security they felt within those walls? They had been carefully built according to God's specifications, a sure ticket to safety. "And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of..." said the Lord, and "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." What if Noah had taken some shortcuts when he built the ark? I'm sure the Lord would have spared their lives in spite of it, but they might have been bailing water for several months!

I think of Nehemiah when he saw the sad state of the walls of Jerusalem.

And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me...and viewed the wall...

Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

(from Nehemiah 2:12,15,17)

What is the state of the spiritual walls of my own family? I know that as a wife and mother, I have the power to build them up and make my home a safe haven.

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." Proverbs 14:1

Is there an area of the wall that's a bit broken down and sadly neglected? Shall I just sit and shake my head, despairing at the state of things? What did Nehemiah say? Come, and let us build up the wall! I will arise today, and build!

From Genesis 29 and 30:1-24

Daniel's Sunday sermon inspired me to set the record straight!

Sisters. I never had one, but have often wished I did. Many times when I've expressed that wish to someone, they emphatically say something to the effect of, "Be glad you didn't have a sister!" While I still think it would have been neat to have had a sister, now that I have daughters of my own I have an idea of the unique complexities that present themselves between sisters.

Two well-known sisters in Bible history are Leah and Rachel. I actually had to change the title of this post, because I originally listed them, "Rachel and Leah". Isn't that the order in which they are always mentioned? Why is that? Leah was the firstborn. She also became Jacob's wife first. Upon the most casual Bible study, one realizes that she was by far the more virtuous of the two sisters. But the fact is that Rachel was the favored one, in spite of the fact that all the good we see in her is her beauty.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain...

It is not recorded that Jacob ever consulted the Lord in choosing a wife. Evidently, Rachel's charm and beauty were blinding to Jacob, and she maintained the facade for seven years while Jacob worked in order to gain her for his wife. Either he didn't really know her character, or he didn't care that he was marrying a spoiled brat, albeit a beautiful one.

(I know, I know, Jacob deserved her. His character wasn't exactly flawless, but that's another post.)

But take a look at Leah. "Tender-eyed," yes, but also quiet, long-suffering, and acknowledging the hand of the Lord in her life. Jehovah opened her womb and blessed her with sons. She named her children with her eye on the Lord and/or her husband. (Rachel named hers with a green eye on her sister.)

I believe Leah was God's choice wife for Jacob, and he should have been content with her, even if he was fooled by Laban into marrying her first instead of Rachel. We know that from the beginning, God created one woman for one man, and that is His perfect design.

God in His sovereignty and goodness gave Jacob the better woman. Jacob bought himself a lot of trouble when he married the second time. (That's a lesson in being content with what God gives us!) It is true that Rachel and the handmaids brought forth some of the twelve sons of Israel, but there is no doubt in my mind that God could have given all twelve tribes of Israel through Leah alone.

Setting the record straight: Though Rachel was favored by those around her, Leah was favored by Jehovah!

...But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

I've been reading through Ezekiel (in English), and this has been a time when I'm glad I went to Bible College, because little of his visions would be making sense if I hadn't! The four-faced creature in chapter one must have been quite a mystery to the prophet -- it was intended just for us Christians in the church age. Four faces, four gospels. One face was that of a man, which describes the gospel of Luke, which portrayed Christ's humanity. The next face was that of a lion: the gospel of Matthew, which portrays Christ as King. Another face was that of an ox: the gospel of Mark, which showed Christ as Servant. And the last face was that of an eagle: the gospel of John, which takes us to the heights of Heaven, Jesus is God!

I loved verse 8 of chapter 2, "But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee."

...I'd like to use that one on my children sometimes, ha ha.

Then there's the sober warning in chapter three to the Watchman. Those of us who are aware of the danger of God's wrath are obliged to warn others, lest their blood be upon our hands! Heavy stuff.

Some verses in chapter fourteen really grabbed my attention. From verse 22, "Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD."

We are living in an evil day, much like Israel in those days, when many are turning their backs to God, and we will surely face God's judgment as a nation. But there were children raised up back then who loved God and walked in His ways, and it was a comfort to their parents.

I want my children to be part of that remnant in these days!