To My Children - Like Arrows

 Sons, Time is one of the things that once it is not used, you cannot get back. No wonder why the Bible tells us to redeem our time. To use it wisely. Focus on what is important and use it with whom you love and for His service which will not be in vain .  We learn that from king David and how he fell into sin.  2 Samuel 11 " In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war , David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem ." Kings (as he was), went to battle, but he stayed. That was his first mistake! Not doing what he was supposed to be doing. He stayed, and so boredom, idleness, and time, became his enemy! Learn from him! -Identify what are the things that matter in life most (Bible reading, private prayer, family time) -Be intentional! if we are not (I had to learn this), we fall very easily in killing time instead of using time! Killing time is so easy - it take...

Dear sons,    I just wanted to write to you quickly today!  I want you to know that you are NOT alone in this battle!  Do not be discouraged by your sin... look to Christ. His forgiveness, grace and power to save and forgive are WAY WAY bigger than your sin. You may think that you are "trying hard to become a Christian" but your reoccurring sin makes you doubt your salvation - I have good news for you. One who is not born again, whose heart has not been made new by the power of the Spirit, does not even want to become one. His heart is hardened towards God and hates even the though of being cleansed and resemble Christ in any way shape or form.  "The child of God has 2 great marks about him...." How would you finish this sentence? Faith and repentance? Praise and thanksgiving? Humility and joy? ...?? I am not sure what I would have said - but not this: J.C. Ryle, in his book "Holiness" says: The child of God has 2 great marks about him. He may be known by...

 I am a GRANDMOTHER!!!  I am a grandmother!!! Yes I am! I have now 2 grandbabies.  20 days apart from one another (Apollos and Savannah) Sons,  You are married, and have a family of your own.  My letters will be different from now on.  One time dad and I got married with dreams and plans for the future. We enter into marriage with all our good, bad and ugly... We have learned to adapt , to forgive, to love, to repent, to die to self, to be strong when the other needs strength and cover (with love) multitude of sins, to be patient, to love when we are unlovable, to fall in love daily, to dream together, to consider the other's needs, to be there in health and in sickness.... till death do us apart. But we dreamed. We dreamed of what it would be like having kids. How many? Boys, or girls? Where we were going to live? What life we were going to have?  Dreaming of getting old one day together (gray hairs, wrinkly skin, aging memory, all!) And here we are....

  "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."  Rev 3:16 Dear Sons,  What does cold water do?       Refreshes on a hot day. Doesn't it?       Also awakens those asleep! ha! What does hot water do?      Comforts on a cold day, right? What does lukewarm water do?      Nothing! Neither comforts nor refreshes those in need. It is useless! And so are we when we do not use our lives to bring comfort, refreshment. We are like lukewarm water.  You have given many blessings in your lives, use them well and be useful in God's kingdom. Make a difference in the lives of people you meet. May they always leave you feeling refreshed of comforted! It takes work. Being lukewarm is easy. But being that person takes effort. You will see it is worth it. I am cheering for you. Mom.

    And  the peace of God,  which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4:7 I love this passage! I always understood it that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding meant that His  peace is SO BIG t hat we cannot even comprehend (because of its magnitude and efficiency). And though that is true, It is also good to think of this peace in the sense that sometimes situations will be difficult, will be hard to understand. The why's, how's ... our understanding has limits. Here it is my sons! When your understanding of the situation reaches its limits, when you do not know why or what to do next, When anxiety tries to get a hold of your heart... His peace ! HIS PEACE surpasses that understanding! it goes beyond! It goes WAY further and we can trust it. We can trust in His goodness, in His mercy, in His promises.  Which promises? -Those which He has kept from the begining. -He will be with us thr...

  "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word." psalms 119 Spiritual Life: Regularly attend church and participate in Bible study. Become members, and submit to your pastor and elders. Keep the sabbath (Lord's Day) holy. Confess your sins quickly before the Lord, and believe in forgiveness of sins and the power of the gospel to change and restore the vilest of sinners. Devote time to personal prayer and bible reading (and reflection). Do not read the Bible as a story about you , but look for God's character throughout it. Seek to live a life that honors God in all aspects. Actively share their faith with others. Practice tithing. It is a good way to die to self and experience God's provision through obedience. Avoid crass language and speaking badly of others. (Especially God's people) - there is something good you can learn from all. Practice seeking the good in God's people. They are sinners saved by grace. Be patient with th...

   You are 2 adult men. 22 and 20 years old. One is about to get married, one is living away from home. How did we arrive to this day I still wonder. when the time passed and the memories are saved? All the love and games, and bible reading and sciences and math, and history and geography have passes into a book in my heart where I can re read any time I want. To visit those places of ice creams and talks next to the bed and rating meals, and nerf battles are as vivid in my memory as if they were yesterday.  Here we are now. All the work is done on my end of the table. And no all I have is pray for you. Pray that the Lord will guide you in His glorious way. That you would continue to walk and that he may increase the love in you. To wait and see Him finishing the work in your life and me, learning to rest in Him.  I now, wait upon the Lord. Remember as you walk, that no matter how great your sin is, the grace of the Lord is greater! It will cover any sin.. just come ...

  Dearest Sons, It has been a while since I last wrote. Marco, you are going to University next September and Seb, we will be enjoying you for the last two years before you go to university as well. Here I am, still writing to you, with the hopes that one day you will find encouragement in these simple words. Sons, the world will find it its goal to fill your head with thoughts that you are enough on your own, that you need nothing and no one, that you deserve all good things without even knowing you. They will try to convince you that for as long as you live, you are good enough.. yet, bombard you on the other side, with a false image of perfection, success on what you have and done, telling you that you are not man enough if you do not have a certain type of body and tough attitude, and on the other side they will try to remove your masculinity. Sons, do not listen to these conflicting thoughts of the world. They will accomplish nothing but frustration and insecurity. Listen to t...

 Dear sons, You now are a men. a young men. And one of the hardest things for me to do, is learn how o treat you like one.. you see? you have been little. I have taught you, cared for you, carried you, telling you what to eat and how much, which movies to watch, what friends we would have over, I planned your play dates, your school activities and field trips... I have done much for you, because that was my life. Trying to teach you in all, how to make wise choices, seeing you fall and learning not to run (though I wanted to do). Showing you (some times easier than others) that choices have consequences. But at the end, I was the mom and you were my child. Now, things changed. You are still my children (I think you will always be), but you are becoming a friend. Someone I like to hang out with. Someone whom I can learn, I can seek advice and admire. I love seeing the man you are becoming. Seeing the choices you are making. The friends you are choosing. the activities you are using...

 My sweet boys, now young men. With the weight of the world weighing heavy upon you as you grow older. When the struggles of childhood are fading away and the struggles of adulthood staring you in the face. You are young still, but not a child. You are young men. As I think on the issues you face these days, specially as men, I feel very inadequate in the subject, considering that I had one sister and no brothers to relate. So the way I can bring some understanding is through the eyes of a woman. What would you do if you saw a girl as you are walking by and a man beside her grabbed her forcefully? What if that man hurt that girl? What if you have it within you to stand up from where you are and defend that lady? Would you? Would you defend the girl? Would you stand up for her? ... I really hope you would. I really hope you would protect her, cost what it cost. Why would you (and most men) would say yes to that question? Why would they desire to protect?.. The reason is simple: beca...

 Dearest sons, I see many couples (including me at the beginning of my marriage) who want the beautiful picture of marriage: fun, passionate, romantic, happy, sweet, and so on.  They want from the beginning a picture of the old couple where he is kissing the forehead of his old wife and she is holding him tight to help him (and help herself) cross the street. We all have a sweet spot for that picture, and no one is able to resist a deep breath of admiration when we see them. The problem is, let me explain. Marriage does not start like that. Marriage starts out of passion for the girl you like. That is why God made young girls pretty, because if their character is all you saw, there would be many young girls and boys unable to get married. You will marry a sinner. A girl who has many flaws, who is going to disappoint your ideal of her, she will drive you crazy at times because of her character. And you will do the same to her. But you know what? She is beautiful! And ...

 “He didn’t even get down on one knee or anything?” You boys ask it incredulous, like there’s some kind of manual for this kind of holy. And I’ve got no qualms in telling you no. No, he didn’t even get down on one knee – it was just a box, a glint of gold in the dark, two hallowed words and a question mark. “Boring.” I know .  When you’ve watched a few dozen mastermind proposals on youtube,  shared them with their rolling credits on Facebook, marvelling at how real romance has an imagination like that. Can I tell you something, sons? Romance isn’t measured by how viral your proposal goes.  The internet age may try to sell you something different, but don’t ever forget that  viral is closely associated with sickness – so don’t ever make being viral your goal. Your goal is always to make your Christ-focus contagious –  to just one person. It’s more than just imagining some romantic proposal. It’s a man who imagines washing puked-on sheets at 2:30 am, plunging...

 My sons, Many will come and try to convince you that obeying and keeping God's commands is legalism. They will tell you that you need not holy habits like prayer, keeping the Lord's day, communion, baptism, worship together with other believers, mortification of the flesh, the reading of God's Holy Word, singing His psalms in worship, and hearing the Word preached. Keep your ears away from such, for they follow the desires of their sinful nature. They desire that which pleases their senses. They like little religion, and justify their sins by saying they are 'free'. Legalism is trying to keep the law in order to earn salvation by your 'good works'. But remember, keeping God's commands and obeying them (battling the flesh to keep them even when our plans are disrupted),  is not legalism. You are not working towards something you earn or deserve. Keeping them  is love . Love towards the One who saved you. Towards the One who gave His precious blood as a p...

  "I assure you that any sin can be forgiven" These words fall lightly on the ears of many persons. They see no particular beauty in them. But to the man who is alive to his own sinfulness and deeply sensible of his need of mercy, these words are sweet and precious. "All sins shall be forgiven." The sins of youth and age--the sins of head, and hand, and tongue, and imagination--the sins against all God's commandments--the sins of persecutors, like Saul--the sins of idolaters, like Manasseh--the sins of open enemies of Christ, like the Jews who crucified Him--the sins of backsliders from Christ, like Peter--all, all may be forgiven. The blood of Christ can cleanse all away. The righteousness of Christ can cover all, and hide all from God's eyes. The doctrine here laid down is the crown and glory of the Gospel. The very first thing it proposes to man is free pardon, full forgiveness, complete remission, without money and without price. Let us lay hold on this ...

 It has been 14 years since I became a mother. I almost smell your baby your clothes, feel your soft skin, hear your baby noises and your cry. There is nothing I wanted more for you, than the best in life. Little by little I understood, that the best in life was nothing to be found on earth, but to be hidden in the arms of God. To be loved by Him and to live for Him alone; anything else, was secondary. As I learned to be a mom, I had to die to many things which I had no idea I was attached to, idols I did not know I had, and to see my self not as the righteous person I wanted you to see in me. I wanted you to see Christ in me, and follow my "holy" ways. I wanted to be the perfect sweet loving godly mother I knew I could be if I worked at it. How little I knew myself! I had to learn often the hard way, to approach you with all patience and humility, as a sinner approaches other sinner. Not as a righteous person with no mist...

 O to look to please God and not men! seems so hard for men, specially young. I encourage you my beloved, to seek wisdom and often look at Him who is our standard of perfection, of that which is required of us. It should be an overwhelming thought to be compared to Christ. Nothing less. Yet.... Christ our standard, became our substitute. God's righteous wrath, was satisfied in Him. And His perfect life, accredited as ours! O precious Saviour! Look not to the standards of the world to feel better about yourself, look not to the things that you do well to gain glory for yourself, but look at Christ! His life and His death, His resurrection and His acceptance. Look at the merciful God, who does not look down on you and treat you as your sins deserve, but look at the Sovereign Lord who does as He pleases, whose will cannot be frustrated, whose decrees cannot be resisted; look at the Lord who is supreme over all things; the merciful King, and Just Lord. Look at Him who delights in ...

 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 ...