About Becky Pliego

I am grateful because God, in His grace, called me out of darkness and into his admirable light. When I did not look for Him, He found me. When I was in a pit of sin, He rescued me. I am not walking this road alone, my family is always with me, and we love Him, because He loved us first.

>My Favorite List -Every Monday-

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“You say grace before meals.  All right.  But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. ” ~G.K. Chesterton

Living in the Sacred is also about living giving thanks…. 

1054. My favorite tea “flying” from Spokane to my kitchen. Thank you, Teri. I love you.

1056. One orange balloon, many smiles.

1057. Tea Time with Mrs. Kanga

1058. Having fun doing Botany.

1059. P2R. Week one memorized.

1060. These free useful charts to help moms organize themselves.

1061. My Daughter and I talking photography.

1062. Husband and Son talking and completing paper work for college.

1063. The Plazas. An answer to our prayers.

1064. My son willing to play with our little one and me.

You can see the whole series of this moment here.

1065. A new chanter for my son.

1066. Books that nourish my soul.

1067. Staying home.

1068. Homeschool.

1069.  Creative angles.

1070 . Being invited to sit at the King’s table.

1071. Watercolors and brushes.

1072. Hot chocolate for 30!

Would you lift your voice with me today and praise God from whom all blessings flow?

What are you grateful for today?

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 65-

 

Psalm 65

O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
   and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
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Lord, I praise You today. You alone are worthy to be praised!
Lord, I am so grateful because “You hear my prayer”
These four words are so powerful,
and full of meaning.
This statement, should be enough for me
to come to you in prayer day and night,
this statement should encourage me to
pray without ceasing.
Thank you, O LORD, because it pleases You
to hear the prayer of your saints.
LORD, thank you, thank you because you not only hear my prayer,
but you atone for my transgressions which are many.
Father, I am blessed indeed;
and the greatest blessing
that you have bestowed upon me is that You have called me to dwell in your courts!
You have chosen me and You have brought me near to You,
by bringing me near the Cross.
O, yes, yes Father, let me satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple,
the sweetness of each word I read on my Bible.
Lord, forgive me when in my foolishness,
I am deceived and seek satisfaction everywhere else.
Lord, we pray small prayers, and yet You answer us with awesome deeds
with righteousness,
O God of our Salvation,
You alone are my HOPE;
You alone are my strength.You who has established the mountains,
has established my life on the Rock of Ages.
I shall not be moved, that is my HOPE.
Lord, I am in awe at your deeds, your signs;
Your hand is always orchestrating our lives according to your perfect will.
Father when a storm comes against me, against my beloved ones, against your church;
help us remember that YOU, You alone has the power to still the roaring seas,
the roaring of the waves,
the tumult of peoples.
Thank you, for each morning and night,
for rhythms in our lives;
for rain and snow,
and good soil to plant,
and food to eat.
You crown our years, our days, our minutes with your bounty;
you have filled my home with food for us and others;
You have filled my home with food for the soul too;
good books and Bibles, and beautiful music;
all fill our rooms.
You have rescued us from from the spiritual famine in which we lived
so many years.
I raise my voice today with all the saints whom you have called
to draw near you and we praise Your Name, O Mighty God!
Amen

>Fridays are for Visiting Friends

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Friday is here, and my friends, while you relax I would love to share with you some great news that are happening just “one-click” away!

(Two) THREE wonderful giveaways that you don’t want to miss this weekend are found here:
and 
Heavenly Springs

AND …. I almost forgot the one at Persis’ place:

Tried by Fire

Have you stopped by Theology for Girls lately? Diane is hosting every Thursday a “Compact Course in Systematic Theology”. I would really encourage you to follow along; specially if you don’t have time to sit and study the Systematic Theology books while you teach, cook, clean, and change diapers!

Do you remember my friend Eileen from our Philippians Study? Well, I want to say two things here, first, if you missed her Inductive Study through this Epistle and are memorizing Philippians with P2R, maybe you would love to study in depth what you are memorizing! Go here if you are interested in doing so.

The second thing I want to say is this: I recommend you to visit Eileen’s daughter’s blog, The Rejoicing Heart, and recommend it to your young friends! Rachel is a young lady who writes a beautiful and God honoring blog.

If you feel like reading some poetry, Petra wrote a beautiful piece here.

And lastly, I would love it if  you have time to visit my photography blog, My Daily Journey -through my lens-  (if you haven’t had a chance to do so.)

May this weekend be one in which you find time to be with those friends you love so much!

Under His sun and by His grace,

>HOPE… A Precious Promise

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These are some of the lines I have highlighted on Romans by R.C Sproul.

The only difference between hope and faith is that faith looks to what has already taken place, and we put our trust in it. Hope is merely faith looking forward” 

Hope is the anchor that keeps us from being blown all over the place. It is the hope that God is going to do in the future every single thing he has said he will do. The fruit of justification is that kind of hope.”

“Hope is not taking a deep breath and hoping things are going to turn out all right. It is assurance that God is going to do what he says He will do…. It is the solid stability that anchors the soul.”


Lord,
We don’t know what lies ahead.
We can’t see beyond the moment we are living,
However, we can see YOU in your Word.
We can see the promises
that we have in Christ Jesus.
All Yes and Amen.
HOPE.
Hope is one of them.
No mountain will raise that you can’t  help us climb.
No valley is to deep where we can’t  see You.
No tomorrow is too uncertain
because You have been there.
Thank you, O God,
because You have justified us,
and in our justification we find
what we most desperately need:
Peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ;
Access by grace into this wonderful grace
in which we firmly stand,
and rejoicing in HOPE of the
glory of God.
*****************
Praying for you, that your life may be anchored in that solid stability:
HOPE




>Celebrating the Incarnation of our Lord – Epiphany-

>This is the last post on this series, Celebrating the Incarnation of our Lord.

Matthew 2: 1- 12 (ESV)

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
   who will shepherd my people Israel.'”
 7Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”

The shepherds heard the angels; the wise men followed a star… but wait, look carefully, take a second look. The star did not guide them at first to Jesus; the star was their guide to Jerusalem first, not to Bethlehem. It was in Jerusalem, however,  where the wise men found the only way to the Saviour. It was there where they heard what the Scriptures said about Jesus’ birth. It was, then, by the Scriptures that they arrived to Bethlehem. Luther says “They followed the Word, and God comforted them by putting back the star”

This is the only way we can come to Jesus, to know Him, through the Word of God. The wise men believed what the prophet Micah had said, they believed God’s Word and so they walked towards Bethlehem, the mad and troubled king with its troubled city were left behind. Jesus revealed Himself in the Scriptures to them and to us; we won’t find Him through Science, or Astrology, or “prophetic voices”; He is the Word; His Word is the only way to know Him, to see Him.

I don’t understand how people sell only New Testament Bibles, or why people give away only the gospel of John to unbelievers. We need the whole counsel of God. It is in the Law that we find our sin, it is in the Old Testament that we see Jesus veiled, only to find Him shining as the Bright Morning Star in the New Testament.

The Scriptures is the best gift we have received, many have given their lives for it; it is also the best gift we can give. Tonight children in Mexico go to bed expecting the coming of the wise men to leave them presents by the tree while they are asleep. Children leave one of their shoes by the tree, just to make sure that the wise men won’t get confused about which gift goes to which child.  This year we want to give, to bless children around us that haven’t heard the gospel, so we bought bibles, illustrated bibles to give away to them. We are excited about this little project; my prayer is that they will find, through faith, Jesus in the Scriptures, that as they open up the unexpected gift, they’ll unwrap Jesus.

Tomorrow is Epiphany, and tomorrow we will give the gift of the Scriptures to little unbelievers, because Epiphany means just that; “In the context of the Christian Church, Epiphany has a more specific reference: it celebrates the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. The feast of Epiphany is observed on January sixth, twelve days after Christmas.”(1)

I encourage you to take advantage of this beautiful opportunity, to meditate on the marvelous gift we have received: The Scriptures that point us to Jesus.

Let’s read the Word, let us abide in the Word, it is the only way to know Jesus.

A related post around the corner:

Gene Veith writes on Epiphanies.
At Conjubilant Song read about The Feast of Epiphany.

>Living in the Sacred – Desiring to be in the Holy Place-

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Martin Luther says about the Psalm 63,

“The 63rd Psalm is a psalm of prayer in which David, when he had to flee into the wilderness from Saul, desired to be in the holy place and hear God’s Word. He laments over the “Saulites” who seek his life so that he cannot come there and thus is deprived of the Word of God. But he meditates, nevertheless, on the promise and God’s choice of him to be king, and he comforts himself with these in the meantime.” (1) (emphasis added mine)

Living in the Sacred, is to live having the same desire that David had, he desired to be in the holy place and hear God’s Word even when Saul was seeking him to destroy him. He knew that clinging to God was the only option he had  in order to live.  Living in the Sacred, is abiding in God’s Word, so when trials come and “Sauls” come to hunt our lives we will have His Word in our hearts sustaining us.

Living in the Sacred, is living thirsting for God, for His Word; it is longing for nothing more than the Living Water to satisfy our soul. It is reading His Word, mediate on His Word, live His Word. It is abiding in His Word (v.1)

Living in the Sacred is knowing that God’s steadfast love is better than life. (v.3) What else beside this, do we need, but His love surrounding us when Saul comes against us? This should make our lips praise Him! This should move me to love those around me passionately; like God has loved me.

Living in the Sacred is to live blessing God until my last breath under His sun.(v.4) Blessing God… blessing my children, my husband, my neighbor; speaking words that bless those around me; I remember what the Scripture says, from one same mouth cannot proceed life and death; we either live blessing, imparting life, or we are spreading death. Living in the Sacred has to do with what comes from my  mouth too.

Living in the Sacred means living worshiping God, raising my hands and bowing my head to adore Him (v.5) It is feasting at His presence, no matter how many “Sauls” seek my life; I shall not lose the joy of feasting on God’s Word, of feasting at His table; of praising my Sovereign God with joy when sadness, or anxiety try to take over my heart. (v.5)

Living in the Sacred  is laying down to sleep, even in the wilderness of our lives, and count His blessings, meditate on Him, on His goodness, on how much He has helped us;  Why should we fear Saul? We are safe, always safe in the shadow of His Wings. Only there,  the safest place for our being, is where can we sing for joy when the world seems to dark to sing for joy. (v.6)

Living in the Sacred is is clinging to God, every day, every minute, every second. O but I love this, I love how David reminds us that our clinging to God is sure not because of our hand is strong enough to hold Him; but because HIS right hand upholds me!  (v.8)

Living in the Sacred is knowing that I am not call to take revenge against “Sauls” it is God who will judge them. It is God who will remove them from my life at His appointed time; my call is to Live in the Sacred, desiring to be in the holy place, hearing God’s Word. My enemies are not in my hands but in His. (v.9-11)

Psalm 63

My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

 1O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
   beholding your power and glory.
3Because your steadfast love is better than life,
   my lips will praise you.
4So I will bless you as long as I live;
   in your name I will lift up my hands. 5My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
   and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6when I remember you upon my bed,
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7for you have been my help,
   and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8My soul clings to you;
   your right hand upholds me.
 9But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
   they shall be a portion for jackals.
11But the king shall rejoice in God;
   all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

I pray God will teach us to Live in the Sacred today.