On Making a Difference

As you have noticed by now, it is not easy to be parents. It is not easy to make decisions regarding your life, your future, which movies are acceptable, at what age should you be allowed certain privileges, which attitudes are normal and which ones we should watch for, how to discipline you, when to talk, when to be quiet, how to encourage you, how to motivate you, how to build on the relationship and give you your space, and so on...

It is hard. No question. We are learning and we are so very grateful for your patience towards us. God saw it as a good thing to put us together as a family. To give you us as parents and you as our children. We are so pleased with God's choice... you are perfect for us. You fit just right in our arms when we hug, your smile is a perfect match for our household, your laughs and noise is always missed when is not here, your imagination and creativity is inspiring, your conversations are thought provoking, your character always has something to teach me, you are a blessing to us.

Continue to be gracious to us, continue to walk in the way of the Lord, continue to be a blessing. Continue to be merciful and patient with others. Be quick to learn about them, there is always something good to learn and bad things to discard. There is always ways to show compassion and kindness. And as you grow in wisdom and in knowledge and in stature, you teach us also to grow in humility. Because we see how faithful God has been to you and to us. We love seeing you becoming a that which God started one day.

Be strong and courageous. Make a difference in your generation!

On decision making

My dearest, the subject of "signs" and "God speaking" is of much controversy among Christians. A subject that involves emotions and therefore is very personal and can be interpreted in a personal way. That is the danger. Every person can have their own personal experiences, can have a clear sense in them that the Lord is speaking and find a sense of peace before making decisions. The problem here, is that they can "hear" or "confirm" any decision finding isolated verses in the Bible, or hearing a sermon where they say a key word which affirms the issue they are dealing with.

So how do you make decisions? How do you know what the Lord wants? Are there any mistakes I can make that are not according to His Word? What if I do not have peace.. does that mean I should stop? Is that God warning me? or the Devil scaring me? How do you know!!!

That is why we have His Holy Word. To know what to do. Now, many times, we will find decisions that are not clear in the Bible (homeschooling, the job you should take, the carrer you shoud choose, the outfit you should buy, the music you should hear, the girl/boy you should marry, the car you want to buy ...) So how do you decide? YOU PRAY. The Bible commands us to bring all our petitions before Him. It does not commands anywhere in the Bible to wait for a "special peace" before you decide something. It just commands us to pray. Then you decide according to what will be best for your soul, what will glorify the Lord most. And act after you looked wisely at all the cards, when you seek Godly counsel and when you ask the Lord for His guidance. And trust in Him. If the decision was "not the greatest - or wrong", you know the Lord will help you go through it and He will teach you through this. If it was the "right" decision,  you also know He will help you and teach you through this. You know the Lord is sovereign and if you look throughout His Word, you will see people doing the "wrong" thing and yet they did not got away with it. God's will still was fulfilled. Look at Abraham, Jonah, Moses, Esther... ) Look at the apostles and how they chose Matthias! (they prayed, and then they acted knowing that the Lord was Sovereign). And so you should pray, consider where your soul will profit best, and then act. They waited not for a special "peace" about the decision.

The Lord can change your desires or interests, He can change the circumstances so that you choose one over the other. The Lord is Sovereign. The Lord's will cannot be frustrated even if we choose "wrong".  His will, will prevail. He does as He pleases. We plan, but He decides. You can rest assured that He is your God and that He will guide your steps, not into financial prosperity necessarily, but into a prosperity of your soul.

Remember, God speaks through His Word. And His Word preached. Look not for signs or secret messages. But seek Him always, seek Him in every decision, seek Him wholeheartedly, do not go by emotions or feelings which can be deceiving.  Do not look for signs, because you will find them, but most of the time, will be signs you want to find.

Search the Lord and always go back to His Word, not to the new teachings of today.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Prov. 4:23

Look to Christ!

My dearest children, you will fall, you will sin, you will be unfaithful to the One who gave you life. There will be days of sorrow, but may those days be because you sorrow over your sin. There will be times you will be tired and want to give up. There will be days when mortifying the sin will seem so difficult. When the world may seem so attractive. When eternity may seem so far away. Times of frustration, and you may feel you are losing hope. There will be days when your prayers may seem so empty, when your faith is weak, when your desires are taking over.

Look to Christ. Cling to His cross. Hate sin and love God. Remember His goodness, remember how faithful He has been in the past. Remember His patience and how He is slow to anger but quick to show mercy. Remember His sacrifice and how much He loved you. Remember not your sin, but His forgiveness through His blood and how it washed your sins away. Remember His promises and how we read through the testimony of the past, that He does what He promise! Look to Christ! Look for the blessed hope in heaven! Look for that final rest. Look for the promised crown to those who persevere! Look for the day when all of your needs will be satisfied by Christ! Look forward to that blessed day!

Think of the day when after a long race you will face your God, you will see Him face to face, and how He will be so incredible satisfying and so incomprehensibly beautiful that nothing will be on your mind that day other that enjoy the presence of the Lord! And all your labor, and all your hard work will be rewarded, and you will sit at His table and eat with Him!

And then, your sins will be remembered no more. Your race finished. Your labor completed, your faith will be seen. And there, sitting by your Lord will be your rest. You will walk with Him, talk with Him as a friend, laugh, and not a sinful thought will be allowed in that place, so no more mortification, no more struggle, no more frustration, no more worldly desires, no more losing hope! NO MORE!

So, look to Christ!