Blazing with Rach!

My last week of the year 2014 would be from 22 -28 December.  I have been a home-body this week. Got all dressed up on 24 December to attend church service and the taxi-driver couldn't pick me up at the last minute.   His story:  the police up the road had detained him and were taking their time looking at his papers.   My thought:   "Poor guy, I hope he makes it home early enough to celebrate with his extended family.  You see, he had planned a Christmas Eve dinner with his family". My own reaction about not being able to participate in church service:  Disappointment which turned quickly to acceptance.  No worries. 25 December was really quiet - just me, God and a whole lot of peace.  That's what God promised when one accepts His Son, Jesus (romans 5: 1).  With the peace, there was a whole lot of joy.  Inevitable isn't it - joy in His Presence (Psalm 16:11).  My house in Honduras has nothing Christmassy about it -...

My helper Noella invited me to her church last Sunday.  Iglesia de Dios Olympica was re-dedicating herself to the Lord.  What a celebration it was!  The children, youths and adults celebrated with only one thing on their minds:  Sumergeme En Tu Gloria! Immerse me in Your Glory! It was a long taxi ride for me but I am glad that I accepted this invitation.  This church which still needed some paint was packed.  Everybody worked to make things happen.  The pastor was very humble. I was impressed with their children's ministry - they had a children's worship team and began the service; a seven-year-old was the intercessor and a five-year-old decked in a suit preached from Acts 2: 17 with authority and power!   Acts 2:  17  And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dr...

Thanksgiving is really an American holiday.  And I have too many American friends and non-American friends who celebrate Thanksgiving.  So, here's wishing you all a season of blessedness. Increasingly though, and even in Honduras, the season of commercialized Christmas seems to have superseded the Thanksgiving turkey in all its roasted glory.  I am once again reminded of this season through an overdrive of American retail marketing, the number of likes and re-posts on Facebook.  Don't get me wrong.  I think Americans have a stronger reason to celebrate Thanksgiving than Halloween and it's a great time to reflect on God's goodness. So, how do I, a non-American, respond to this special holiday in a foreign calendar? And this is my way of giving thanks to God Almighty - yes, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: 1.  Take a breather - chill, sit in my most comfortable chair with my Bible in hand.  And let my mind reflect o...

I thought I would try making some tortillas today.  Well, I might as well get used to the food that my Honduran friends are accustomed too. So, I invested in the masa de maiz .  Added some hot water and got to making the dough.  All good now.  Let it rest. Thirty minutes later as my stomach growled "lunch...grrr", I started making little balls of dough.  My helper, 72 year-old Noella said, "Hmmm, I think the dough needs to be softer".  Oh well...added some more water. And she helped me shape four balls of dough into true, off-white tortillas.  The new iron skillet was super-hot.  The shaped dough was thrown on it and it came out in great tortilla character. Served it with frijoles I had attempted yesterday, crema from the store and scrambled-omelette.  I passed my own test.  Noella seconded it. Loving the experience in Honduras and Dios es bueno todo el tiempo! Rachel

People often associate Christians with good moral values.  We are the do-gooders, the prim and proper, the uptight conservatives.  True? I don't think so.  I think true followers of Christ value good morals, give sacrificially to others and know how to have good, clean fun!  But I tell you, this 'morality' thing is bugging me.  I spent a week thinking about this word. I mean, I see and read about daily assaults on Christians and their moral values!   So, how do I respond under the grace of God?  Hey, feel free to stop reading anytime.  The power of choice that God gives us:-) Right and Wrong, Good and Bad The major dictionaries define morality as "a particular system of values and principles of conduct", "principles concerning the distinctions of right and wrong, the good and bad behaviors".  These days, it seems, liberality and deception has distorted the distinctions of right and good behavior.  Then again, it's an age-o...

These verses got me thinking about my non-Christian parents (still living in Singapore).   Proverbs 1:8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. 9 They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. A long time ago. . . . My dad taught me to: 1. live within my means. 2. to owe no one no debt (I had to borrow some money from him for my studies, tho') 3. to honor elders 4. to be respectful to guests. 5. to do my best. 6. to speak my mind. 7. to take it easy. My mum taught me to: 1. to serve elders. 2. to be respectful to especially elders. 3. to be polite to all guests. 3. to never talk back to elders (lasted for awhile, then it became debatable discussions as I grew older). 4. to eat all food on my plate (no questions asked). 5. to behave myself...(oh dear!). 6. to cook rice the traditional way when I was ten years old. 7. to tell the truth (or face the cane). ...

I f you read reports regarding Central American nations, it can sometimes be depressing as the media highlights the negative news - corruption, murders, rapes, trafficking and so on.   Are you telling me that first world nations are clean of these unrighteousness?  Unrighteousness, wickedness as well as some good happens in the world around. We are as safe as can be any where in the world, provided the government cares enough about their people.   There is a better, safer place:  to be safe in the knowledge of who we are in Christ, safe in knowing that God goes before us.  Even when something bad happens, we believe Romans 8: 28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."   How can we then find our windows of peace amidst chaos and disorder?  I don't think anyone needs to be in an idyllic environment to see the beauty in God's creation. ...