Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! As you all know ours was hectic but we got there in the end. Since I last wrote we have moved accommodation twice and been homeless once, lol. Praise the Lord He is a constant provider and a comfort in a time of storm. I thank God continuously that He is our Rock that never changes, and the only One who will never hurt or forsake us. We truly have a wonderful Lord.
I wanted to briefly share something that I was shown in the Bible not long ago. The Bible talks about us being the 'light of the world' and a light that 'cannot be hid'. The Bible talks about the lamps that were used in those times, with the oil and the wick. Any time I have heard about being the light of the world, people have spoken in reference to witnessing or being an example. In Leviticus God gives His requirements for His temple. Leviticus 24 says, "Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually." In order to get the pure oil from the olive the men were required to beat the olive. Apparently if the oil is obtained in different methods it can cause smoke, but this being a temple for the Lord it needed to be perfect.
The Bible promises that we are the light, and sometimes in the trials I find it easy to be discouraged into thinking that there is no purpose, it is all "vanity of vanities" and why did I sign up for this? When I was shown these verses it reminded me that there is a reason, there is a purpose, and there is a higher calling than what we can see. It's all very well being a lamp and having a wick sticking out, but without the oil there can be no flame. As my body is the Lord's temple it is His right to have the beaten olive oil in His lamp, and the longer or greater the beating, the more oil the lamp will have and the brighter it will shine.
I have made up my mind about some things, and this is one of them: I love God enough to withstand some trials, but I do not love man enough. I think this is why the Lord advised us to work as unto the Lord, not unto man. For example, no man alive (pooooor Chris ;-) could make me get up and go to church every Sunday morning. That is something that I do for God. No man could make me wake up each night to a wailing baby, but if God asks me to do it there is a tiny extra reserve of strength just for Him. So I pray that with His grace He will give me the strength to get the olives beaten and in my lamp, so that one day after I am gone (if He tarries!) my little great grand kiddies can look back at the flame I left behind and say something that I cannot, that they had "a goodly heritage".
This photo was taken at Ricardo and Angela Portillo's wedding last week. I was so blessed to have been able to help with the wedding preparations, a long time dream of mine. Angela was very sweet and allowed me to visit florists with her, help find boleros for the bridesmaids, and have long brainstorming sessions over low-cal chocs.
Chris and Manny were the two handsomest car parking attendants ever, and I was in charge of the self-catered reception (sooo fun!), but the greatest blessing was that I was asked to be in charge of the procession, making sure that the littlies walked at the right time and that the doors were open and shut on cue. This came with the honour of preparing the bride before she entered the church, adjusting her dress and making sure she was ready for her entrance.
Ang and Ricardo have since returned to the States so that he can finish his college education at West Coast before they go on deputation in preparation for going to El Salvador. We miss them and wish them all the best :-)
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