Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!!! I hope that y'all have an awesome day merrymaking with family and friends, eating good food, listening to festive music, and watching those Christmas movies that ABC only show once a year!

Even though our Saviour might not have been born on December 25th, we can still take this time to honour Him with abundant joy and kindness towards others, and thank Him for all that He's given us during this celebration! :) 

Ephesians 5:20 "And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Wishing you a joyeux Noël with love,

P.S.: Who else is having a green-brownish Christmas? Where's the snow!? Haha!

You Are Loved! - Dealing With Sadness & Loneliness

It's true, you are marvellously and incredibly loved! Not only by the people around you, but by the Maker of infinity above all! God loves us in such a way that words could never describe, and we can only begin to fathom how grand and eternal His love is towards us!

Yet amidst all this loveliness, perhaps today you feel under weather. You are melancholic, distressed, or even lonely, as if nobody is there to listen to your pain. You can't quite put your finger on it, but you are most definitely not "okay". Circumstances change, friends walk away, or you even turn your back on this whole Christian thing for a while. Because you tried to talk to Jesus, He just wouldn't listen. You asked for a miracle, but you got misery. What did you do wrong? Did He simply get fed up with you and replaced you with better, holier people? One thing's for sure, you're absolutely confused and angry.

Making Jesus Your Everything

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

When we make Jesus our #1 priority, suddenly everything falls into perfect place. We wake with purpose, we work with joy, we speak with kindness, but most importantly, we live with confidence knowing that He is right there beside us, living and rejoicing with us!

Out Of The Ground... (What's In Our Garden)

Genesis 2:9 "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

Yesterday my family and I planted a garden in our backyard! Last year we had the blessing of cultivating zucchinis, tomatoes, and herbs in a small area close to the shed, but this year we had to plant something much bigger! :)

Jeremiah 29:5 "Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;"

It is astonishing to think that tiny seeds (and short plants) can grow into strong, healthy greenery for food! Yahweh is SO amazing!!! 

Mom planting radish seeds with Sara... We had wonderfully rich soil, thank You Jesus!

James 5:7 "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."

The seeds we planted...

Red radishes...

Round baby carrots...

Rainbow carrots...

Sugar & snow peas...

Red & green lettuce...

Simpson lettuce...

Zucchinis...

Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

I have learned so much whilst gardening... Not only how to arrange the seed rows and other tips, but how God is our ever rich soil! 

Matthew 13:3, 5-8 "And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; ... And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."

Me carrying the fresh herb plants... :)

Proverbs 15:17 "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

The herbs we planted...

Sweet basil...

Oregano...

Cilantro...

Spearmint...

Parsley...

Garlic (not really an herb)...

Rosemary...

Sage...

Chives...

Stevia...

Catnip (hopefully we won't have too many visits from our neighbourhood cats... Wait, that'd be cute!)...

I am thrilled with all the possibilities of health remedies I can make from these herbs! Did you know that catnip is very good for humans? No, it won't make us crazy and hyper... It actually relieves respiratory problems, insomnia, anxiety attacks, toothaches, stomach aches, heals wounds quicker, ... Just to name a few!

Here is the final result! 

Our finished garden! Everything is there except for a few herbs, the pumpkins, and the butternut squashes. We are planning on adding 2 more soil boxes, so this is why there's a big pile of dirt in the back! :P

The vegetables we planted...

Red, purple, orange & green sweet peppers...

Big boy tomatoes...

Beefsteak tomatoes...

Pumpkin...

Butternut squash...

Scotch Bonnet hot peppers...

Cucumbers...

Isaiah 58:11 "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."

John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing."

I hope that you enjoyed looking through our garden! :) I pray that we all become like tender plants grounded in God's good soil, bearing an abundance of fruit!

Have a lovely week!

In all sisterly love,

P.S.: Thank you all for your prayers about my grandpa! He is still at the hospital, but finally got a room (he stayed in the hallway because the hospital didn't have any available rooms). They are still trying to find what is wrong with him, but so far so good. Praise the Lord!!!

Modesty Is Not Just About Appearance

It is about your heart... Your speech... Your motives... Your attitude... And ultimately, the way you dress yourself.

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Two years ago Jesus laid on my heart to lead a life set apart for Him... Very different than how I was before. These changes included more love, devotion, attitude changes (uhh, He's still working on that!), and a more decent wardrobe and motives. 

But what IS modesty? Is it simply the wearing of skirts and fully covering shirts? For some, yes. I love wearing skirts (I mostly always have, especially dresses!), and I think that in some cases it is easier to leave more to the imagination in them. But if another sister wears pants, as they can be decent too, will we give her a judgmental, condescending glance (in our hearts without realizing it)? ... Would Jesus have done that?

John 8:7 "When they persisted in asking Him questions, He straightened up and said, “The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her."

This verse above tells the answer of Jesus concerning an adulterous woman (who broke God's 10 commandments), yet Jesus (Yeshua) told her, "...Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?” The woman answered, “No one, sir.” Yeshua said, “I don’t condemn you either. Go! From now on don’t sin." John 8:8-9 And we all know that adultery is a very different subject, so if Yeshua Himself was able to forgive this woman, just imagine what is expected of us when we want to judge others! Remember that Paul advised us to "dress with modest apparel" (1 Timothy 2:9) and the word "modest" means "Properly, restrained by a sense of propriety; hence, not forward or bold; not presumptuous or arrogant; not boastful; ..." and to dress with "good works" (such as love and non-judgementalism). Remember that if the other person's clothes are not up to your modesty standards, it does not make them less of a Christian.

Matthew 7:1-5 "Stop judging so that you will not be judged. Otherwise, you will be judged by the same standard you use to judge others. The standards you use for others will be applied to you. So why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to another believer, ‘Let me take the piece of sawdust out of your eye,’ when you have a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye. Then you will see clearly to remove the piece of sawdust from another believer’s eye."

Sisters, I know that we all want to love and never judge one another... But sometimes (I am including myself), we are prone to judge quickly without even thinking about it, or wanting to hurt the other person. This goes for everything, not just clothing... Can we take our eyes off (yet honor) outward modesty for a second and look up to Jesus, and His teachings here on earth? He said,

Matthew 6:25, 28 "So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? And why worry about clothes? Notice how the flowers grow in the field. They never work or spin yarn for clothes."

Clearly appearence was not as much of a concern to God compared to our attitude towards each other and love for Him, the Father. So even though it is a good thing to dress with sense and prudence, why make it so serious? As much as I support and enjoy it, wearing skirts is not the 11th commandment. 

I pray that Yahweh will give us good judgement towards ourselves, and love to others. I love you all and hope to walk the narrow way joyfully with you and Christ!

Have a wonderful (almost) weekend!

In all sisterly love,

He Is Not Here... For He is Risen!

Jesus revealing Himself to Mary Magdalene
as said in Mark 16:9

Matthew 28:1-6 

"In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

For almost 3 whole days our Lord was dead. On Friday before the weekly Sabbath they rolled the stone upon the grave door, thinking rocks and guards could keep the Son of God out of sight... Surely He would fail to reveal Himself to His disciples as He had said. They thought of Him as a liar and blasphemer, remember? That's why they crucified Him. They denied God Himself, even though they appeared to be following what they thought as true and righteous. But no, God could not let these fools do away with His promised Messiah, the One He had revealed to His people and prophets long ago... The accusation, the abuse, the shame, the final death blow... These could not defeat Jesus, the very Son of Man! He endured the painful suffering and then He opened His eyes and walked out of the grave just for us, so we could live forever with Him and our Father!

John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"

John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."

The once ugly, murderous cross now turns into a beautiful emblem of life and salvation! Jesus Christ forever defeated Satan, death, and everything that could keep us from His love and eternal life!

1 Peter 3:18" For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

Lord, no imagination could think of the suffering You went through, nor words say how our hearts are so abundantly grateful.. Thank You, thank You, THANK YOU!!!

I truly hope that you all have a joyful weekend celebrating the gift of eternal life in Jesus and remembering the final days where He would walk on this earth until His awaited return!

In all sisterly love,