Category Archives: WoMEn

>What this Blog is Not About

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>After almost two years of blogging I can say how beautiful it has been to make new friends and keep in touch with old ones. I have also discovered that some words are noble indeed and deserve to be published, that taking pictures is fun and helps me capture beautiful moments that otherwise would be lost. I have learned that coffee goes really well with a keyboard and I have discovered the joy of writing, sharing and  reaching.

Today I just want to say what this blog is not.

It is not a place to find the Word of God. Please do not read it, never, if you read this instead of God’s Word!

It is not a place to look for words that will make you feel better. My goal is not to make you ponder about yourself, your own emotions. The world is full of that. Full of emptiness, of selfishness. Always trying to find an easy way out from the guilt that sin brings.

I am not pursuing a New Age type of Christianity or Contemplative Spirituality. I believe in meditation, but only on God’s word and the way God commands it. I believe that the waiting and the being still should flow from my relationship with God. Waiting must be always under His sovereign Providence. God’s word is the only Truth. Jesus is the only Way and salvation is by grace. I am Reformed in my Theology and that is my stand.

It is not a place to find yourself. The only safe way to look inside yourself is to examine your walking with the Lord in the light of the Scriptures.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
2 Corinthians 13:5

My prayer is that my words will bring grace to you, but I also pray that His perfect, all-sufficient Word brings life to you, and that His Word will be all-sufficient for you!

This I pray, Daily On My Way to Heaven.

Are you memorizing the Scriptures or are planning to start soon? Then enter my giveaway.

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>Out of the Land of Hurry – a Tale for Moms-

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Time runs incessantly by like a waterfall, violently. Clock and Watch seem to have the power over the days of men, they are such cruel rulers. The Sun and the Moon are no longer the Masters of the biological clock of the people in the Land of Hurry. Tic Toc; Tic Toc is the sound that can be heard all over the land, no time for listening to the birds’ song or watching squirrels, or kissing longer, or hugging tighter. Moms run from here and there, tirelessly, dragging feet and children. Dads go and go and go….

– But wait!

– Wait? Who dares to say THAT word in this Land of Hurry?

– It is me,  Quiet-Slow-Mom

– Are you talking to me? Sorry… I don’t have time to stay, I have to go. So many things in my list. I just can’t wait!

– Wait, please. Please, listen to me…

For some strange reason  Rushing-Busy-Mom always in a hurry stopped. For the first time in months she stopped and even felt her heart pumping blood through her body, and without even thinking stared for a moment at a few small beautiful flowers beside the road, and felt her little daughter’s hand holding hers.

Quiet-Slow-Mom said,

-I used to walk like you, enslaved by the cruel Clock and like you, I loved to be running all day. It made me feel… so… productive. Yes, I felt more important if I could handle more things than I wanted to do. I murmured a tiny prayer whenever I had time and sometimes  I read a Bible verse that had been on my fridge for years. Yes, I had the same endless excuses, the little ones, the laundry, the money, the husband, the Bible study, the bills, the gym, the so longed for “Time-For-Me”, who, by the way, is the most shrewd deceiver around Moms.  But one day I stopped… well actually , He made stop…

–He? I barely remember any of His Words… It has been so long…I hadn’t have time.

– Yes, He made me stop; the Owner of my Days; the One who fixed the Sun and Moon in place to give us a day to work and a night to rest. He spoke clearly to me, I remember well. It was one day when he opened my ears to hear my voice, my dialog. I was scared. The two words that my children were listening from me  all day long were terrifying: Hurry Up! 

Rushing-Busy-Mom had a lump on her throat and a tear made of minuscules particles of wasted time, rolled down from her cheek. 

Quiet-Slow-Mom kept on saying,

– When I realized how many times I had spoken those words I broke into pieces. I knew in that moment that those words I kept saying all day, all days were exactly the opposite of what my heart longed for… I did not want to rush the hours, I did not want to make the time pass by so quickly, I did not want to hurry the moments… O Beautiful Moments that were disappearing without no one noticing them, and I just let them go by while Clock and Watch observed, and they laughed at me.

Rushing-Busy-Mom sat on the grass, and held her baby girl in her arms who was now sleeping. She took her tiny hands and took a moment to see how much her hands had grown and how beautiful her hair was.  The rays of the Sun were particularly beautiful that day… or so they seemed. She looked at Quiet-Slow-Mom and whispered to her…

– Do you think it is possible, really possible, to stop living under the cruel, rude, and powerful dominion of Clock and Watch? Is there a way out of the Land of Hurry?


– Yes, there is a way out of the Land of Hurry. It is that tiny door over there; it is just like the Door to Paradise which is narrow; it is a door through which you must enter on your knees, face down, with a contrite spirit… slowly, very slowly. You must leave behind all that doesn’t matter and walk through it humbly. When you hear the Owner of Time, the One who holds the days of mankind in the palm of His hand calling you, do not hesitate and walk through it. He will teach  you to number your days; He will teach you to live wisely in the Land. He will help you to kiss longer and hug tighter, and slow down to play and read a book. He will renew your strength every day with the power of His Word; when You come to meet Him early in the mornings you will find out how to live in this frame of time, serving Him and not Clock or Watch. You will find rest under His shadow and peace under His wings. You will  soon find yourself loving more, smiling more, baking more, making love more… It is when we stop and deliberately seek Him that Time stops ruling our days and we start living, fully living under His sun and by His grace…

>New Year’s Name, "Living in the Sacred"

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I did this last year for the first time; I gave the year a name. I walked through 365 days thinking of the name of the year, its theme, “Yes, I am Listening”, and how much I learned from it! How many times I came into my prayer closet asking my God to help me. In order to listen I had to learn, to practice being quiet; in order to say yes to others, I had to say no to my own desires more than often.

This year again, after praying and thinking, and talking with my husband; I have decided to do it again. This practice has worked for me much better than writing “New Year’s Resolutions”.  So here it is, my new year ‘s name (or theme):

Living in the Sacred

The last chapter on the book The Holiness of God by RC Sproul was decisive for me into choosing this theme (actually the whole book was!) I need to live purposely, knowing that  because of Jesus, I live in Holy Space and Holy Time, every day, every moment; I am living naked before a Holy God.

C.S Lewis said,

“Where, except in the present, can the Eternal be met?”

I want to live fully aware of this truth. Whatever I do, I want to do it for Him, because of Him, to bring glory to Him. I want to meet Him in my daily journey through continuous prayer; I long to live praying without ceasing (I Thessalonian 5:17)

This is a year in which we are expecting many big changes in our family, changes that will certainly make us grow. The only way I will be able to walk through them glorifying God and not being anxious is knowing that I am living in the Sacred. He has written our life’s story. He is the Author. He holds me and my family in His hand. Our times are indeed in His hand. I don’t want to miss this awareness.

Living in the Sacred, means living before God in prayer.

J.R Miller says,

“Think what it would mean to have every word that passes our lips winged and blessed with prayer—always to breathe a little prayer before we speak, as we speak. This would put heavenly sweetness into all our speech! It would make all our words kindly, loving, inspiring words—words that would edify and minister grace to those who hear.”

“Think of a woman amid her household cares—taking everything to God for His blessing, for His approval, for His direction. These are not by any means impossible suppositions. Indeed, this is the way a Christian is to live, should always live—doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus!”

This is what I long for this year; to Live in the Sacred; to live breathing out prayers.

May God help me.

Living in the Sacred… What it means? A Reflection on Psalm 63, A desire to be in the Holy Place.

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Related Posts Around the Corner:

>Giving Thanks to God and Others

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Pixels and Stories (mom and daughter image)

Have you thought that sometimes it is easier to give thanks to God than to others?

This month, a month which some of us have set apart to give thanks, I want to be practical; I will give, first and foremost, thanks to God from whom all blessings flow, but I also want to show gratitude to those around me. How? Well,  I will be writing  “thank you” notes and “thinking of you” notes to many of my friends and relatives; some living in the same area, some others far away; and I will be doing this the beautiful and traditional way, with pen in hand and stationary paper… I have so much to thank each one of them!

Once, while in a journey, I walked in a bookstore that was on clearance and I bought this little book, for less than five dollars,  it has good and simple advices on how to write thank- you notes; so I thought you might enjoy reading some of her ideas:

1. Focus on the giver. Think of “the person who originated the act of kindness…”
2. Name the gift early. “Always connect the gift with the giver”
3. Don’t force or falsify a thank you. “rather, remember that by continuing to exercise your thank-you muscles you will begin to recognize the elements in every gift or kind act for which you can honestly be thankful”
4. Give a thanks on time. “Responding on time is important; but more important  is responding”
5. No- ocassion thank yous.  Give thanks to those who make your life richer and special.
6. Teach your children to give thanks and write thank you notes.  You can start as soon as your child starts to print.

The author includes some “Points of Etiquette” (page 40) few are here:

*Verbal thank yous for gifts don’t substitute for written ones.

*Stay away from general statements; make your thank yous specific.

*Don’t let your prose go beyond your true feelings.

I am planning on starting today! One every day, and mail them at the end of the week. My husband and children will receive one too. I have so much to thank them.

Pixels and Stories (mom and daughter image)

Well, today I raise my voice to say (#873) THANK YOU, LORD FOR SO MANY GODLY FRIENDS (including my best friend, my sister) that you have given me. That is a blessing indeed, even though many of them live in other countries or continents and I get to see them only once a year.

I am thankful, Lord, for all the technology that we have used to keep in touch with each other on a regular basis. I am so grateful for this! It is much easier to keep up building long-lasting friendships in this time than 15 years ago.(#874)


What are you grateful for today?

Join the Celebration here

The little book:

Find it here

>The Fruit of Her Hands – Part Three-

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I am so enjoying the conversation with you, my friends. Thank you for reading along and  tell me, isn’t this book, The Fruit of Her Hands by Nancy Wilson great?

Chapter Five. Contentment

“If we would have peace in our souls, we must maintain a war against our favorite sin and never leave off until it is subdued” Thomas Watson

“While sin in others is often blatant and obvious to us, our own sins are sometimes disguised. Because we don’t see them for what they really are, we can trick ourselves into fighting and confessing the wrong sins altogether.
One such sin is morbid introspection…” (p.69)

This is the way this chapter starts; it is a great and important chapter to read because we are so blind and so many times we “fail to see that we are responding to self-accusations, and not to the Holy Spirit”, as the author says.  Have you been there?

I have.

I have been in that situation when you just feel you are the worst mom, wife and daughter, that you don’t cook great recipes, don’t quilt or sew, and you feel so far from the Proverbs 31 woman.  Did you notice those little words: “feel”  We are reminded in this chapter that we need to dismiss “those vague accusations  grounded on nothing more than vague feelings” and  “which are not objective sins”.

O this is so true, so true!

We know that we should not walk by feelings and yet we fall into the trap. Nancy Wilson says it well,

“Remember, it is God’s Word that is the standard, not your feelings -good or bad, late or early. In the light of day it is easier to see your weaknesses, call for grace, confess your sins, ad thank God for His love and forgiveness. Like other sins, the sin of introspection can become a habit”

The chapter goes into a different direction and now the author talks about the big lie of  the world today: live fit and healthy, “for only the healthy and fit have fun”.

When we believe this lie, we become hostages of fear.

“for the Christian, there should be nothing to fear in this…review your theology to deal with these fears. Sound theology is the cure for fear. Consider that God is in complete control of  His entire creation. Do you believe this?” (p.74)

Again, this is why I love Nancy’s books. Her counsel goes right to the heart of the matter, where are you grounded? What do you believe? This is one of the reasons we ought to encourage one another to read big books, theology books, to the study of the Word. We must abide in the Word, in the whole counsel of God not only in some verses here and there taken out of context. O, how I love the Word of God!

The 7 closing words of this chapter are powerful, read them twice and think about them:

“Do not be afraid, but fear God.”

Chapter Six.  Duties of Homemaking

This is also a very powerful and practical chapter, in which Nancy reminds us that our calling has to do with the things that fill our days, such as diaper changing, doing dishes, cooking, kissing foreheads, and listening to our beloved ones.

And because God himself has called us to do this “all the mundane things {we do} are sanctified, holy, purposeful, and honoring to God, and  {we} shall offer them all to Him” (p.75 I tweaked the text and wrote it on 1st p. pl present tense)

She talks about hard work, about being joyful while we pursue our calling. She encourages us to learn how to manage our households (I Timothy 5:14)  but she also addresses the sin of idleness, the sin of “having to know”.

Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander.  (I Tim. 5: 13 -14)

From the text I made up these questions that can help me examine myself:

How do I use my time?

Am I being idle behind this screen?

Am I wandering from one blog (house) to another “just because”, just to visit? -and here, I would like to add a little more; next time you browse your favorite sites, blogs, etc, try to think and jot down 5 things you learned during those visits. Can you do that?  Be careful, I have noticed that sometimes I have had to answer to this question in a negative way.  Most of the time we are skim reading; maybe we will  be more blessed if we use that time to read a book, or pray, or read the Word, or memorize more verses, or sit besides our son just to hug him.

Can I afford spending all this time visiting?

“A woman’s God-given duties must necessarily be neglected to carry on such extensive visiting”

This chapter closes with a great encouragement:

“…our homes should be practical extensions of what we believe to be true about God and His world and demonstrate that it is all under His ownership”

What is it in your heart today? What did you learn in these two chapters?

Let us encourage one another to be godly wives and moms.

Related Posts:

The Fruit of Her Hands -Part One-
The Fruit of Her Hands -Part Two-

Ten Reasons for Contentment at Femina  (“Here are ten reasons why we should find contentment, found from the matchless works on the subject by the Puritan ministers Jeremiah Burroughs and Thomas Watson”)

Keeping up family Worship.
A Mom and a Wife in the Making

El Fruto de Sus Manos -Parte Tres- (en español)

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>The Fruit of Her Hands -Part Two-

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When the lights go off, I open my book to read, and I think of my day and in all the areas I need to grow more into my Lord’s likeness.

Pondering about His holiness, studying Philippians and tasting sweet drops of honey from this book, have me writing a lot on my journal.

How can you be a great wife and mother?

Nancy stated it clearly, we need to be “good Christian women”; and how can you be such a “good Christian woman” if you haven’t met a Holy God in the quietness? “How can I meet Him, the Holy One, and not be crushed”? you might say; it is only through Jesus Christ, through His saving power that we can come confidently before Him and find grace.

And Paul says,

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4: 4-7 ESV

What a joy! Through Jesus, we can come and meet the Holy One and  pray and pour our heart in prayer and supplication at His feet, only to find peace; a perfect peace that is able to guard our hearts and minds in Christ, while we pursue our calling: being the good woman God wants us to be.

Chapter 3. Respect

“Let the wife see that she respects her husband” Eph. 5:33

Respect, is a verb, we  need to “do respect”. Four words that the author emphasizes in her definition of the word are:

1. honor
2. esteem
3. deference
4. courtesy

In this chapter Nancy teaches that respect to our own husband is a command from God; and she points through out the pages, different practical ways on how we can show respect for our husband.

What about a “respect letter”? Yes, this is different than a “love letter”, it involves more. It says more, it builds more.

Respect involves lots of things that can be done. It is more than a nice feeling towards our husband.

“Do not share your husband’s weaknesses, problems, blunders, sins, poor decisions, or failings with anyone. It is disrespect if you do. He is not perfect, we all know that. But when you share unwisely, it does two things: it causes you to disrespect him more, and it causes the hearers to think less of him, too. Sharing problems is totally unproductive unless you are talking to someone ina position to help you. (i.e., your pastor).”

The author reminds us that if we have sinned by not being respectful we need to repent before the Lord, ask our husband for his forgiveness and then we will be ready to  “take concrete steps to respect and build up our husband”

Nancy goes on to explain to us how 1 Peter 3: 5-6  can be applied in a day to day basis,

“For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,  as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”

Four things we must note  as on how to “adorn” ourselves:

1. We are to trust God (v.5)
2. We are to be submissive to our own husbands (v.5)
3. Do good (v.6)
4. Be unafraid (v6)

For the sake of space and time I won’t talk about each one of these (I encourage you again to get the book and read it all, believe me, it is worth doing it!) but one if the things that stand out for me is this: Trust God.

Here is where doctrines found us “in the kitchen”, if we say we believe in God’s Sovereignty, then we must not complain or have a critical spirit against our husband.
 
Nancy says it well,

“Trust in God is a great protection from fear because we see God in complete control of our lives. The more a woman studies the Word and comes to understand God’s character, the easier it becomes to trust in Him. Submission frees a woman from many fears if it is rendered in an atmosphere of faith and trust in God”

Ephesians 5:33b says,

“let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Again, we are reminded that respecting our husband is one of the holy duties we have before the Lord. We are to examine ourselves, these questions are good starting points:  Am I respecting my husband on the way I talk to him and on the way I talk about him? 

“Remember that respect and submission are not what your husband requires of you, but what God requires of you”


Being respectful covers different areas of our lives including our finances. On this, I will share some of Nancy’s words:

“When you are tempted to criticize your husband (and you will be), when you want very much to ‘let him have it’, pray for love–‘Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins”(Prov. 10:12). Turn to the Lord for comfort, strength, silence!”

Some times being respectful means being quiet, and this last part of the chapter is addressed to women who are married to an unbeliever or a man who does not lead his family in a godly manner.

“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—” 1 Peter 3:1-3

 Quoting the author:

“”Flaunting your spirituality is not being quiet. (“I hope he sees that at least I am reading my Bible, even if he isn’t”) What he needs to see is your sweet and courteous attitude, not how many books you are reading or how many prayer meetings you attend each week. Leave the results to God…You are to be obedient  to God regardless of the results.”

Chapter 4.  Principles and Methods

OK, I now I took a lot of space and time to write about  the previous chapter, so I will use few words to talk about this one.

“A Christian woman must learn to think biblically; she must derive her basic principles of living from God’s Word… if we learn to think like Christians, we can discern between worldly and Christian principles”

Not so hard right? Just abide in the Word!

In this chapter I learned that I should NOT criticize (even in my heart) what methods this friend or that family follow; what matters is the principle behind the method, and not the method per se.


“We ought to rejoice in a common commitment to biblical principles and in a variety of methods God’s people employ”

How true is this!

We tend to judge our fellow brothers and sisters (or children and husband) on how they like to do things and we get mad and are hard on them… we should not. Methods are not God’s principles.

Let His grace abound as we grow in our Christian life.

Get the book at Monergism

The Fruit of Her Hands- Part One – My comments are found here.

Nancy Wilson blogs at Femina

If you know someone who speaks Spanish invite them to join the conversation around this book at  Delicias A Tu Diestra Para Siempre. My friend Faby, is our guest blogger and she is a joy to be around.