Be Prepared for a Splash!

 Ok followers! I finally put all my writing in one place.. So come on over and visit my new home! Hope you will decide to follow me there as well!
 I will be writing my own daily devotionals in the very near future. You will also see a page called "At the Well",  where you will find post about my "life"  testimony,  with some Mennoite history. (including the ones I already wrote here)
  I  love taking nature pictures! I will be adding some there with quotes and scripture. Right now I still have a few things to organize before I will begin all of that!
 Thank you for joining me  and would love to hear your comments and insight over at the new place!

 Hop on over for A Splash of Living Water .... Hope to "see" you there!

Turning Back Time

  I shared about my own childhood experiences and my first [false] impressions of God. I wasn't taught at that point what it meant to have faith and so there have been dark periods and hard times for myself and others who were like  I was.
  Mennonite history however is based on faith in Jesus Christ who died for our sins. I have done a little research over the years and I really am amazed about where we come from! Our ancestors were persecuted for their faith in extreme ways.
  They had left the Roman Catholic Church, were re-baptized and were not willing to take part in war.... Hearing and reading stories about Mennonites who lived in that time, I am convinced they whole heartedly loved the Lord and were willing to stand for their faith!
  Through the generations our people moved a lot. Some of my own ancestors moved from Germany  to Russia, from Russia to Canada and later on from Canada to Mexico. I believe it was their faith that lead them in their travels.
  My grandma who was born in Saskatchewan, Canada has told me a bit about her own journey to Mexico in 1930. Their reason for this move to Mexico had to do with the schooling that the Canadian government  at that time was forcing on them.
  Based on the things grandma has told me, her father was a great man of faith. I can almost picture his strength in such a kind and loving way.  Somewhere along the way though , many lost sight of that faith. Life became about following man's laws rather than faith in God and living according to HIS standards. Eventually people gave up completely it seemed. They could not meet all the expectations and rules that had been put together by man, rather than the word of GOD. I imagine this is what led to hopelessness and a lot of damage!
 It is time now to go back to God's word and spread the GOOD news to all the nations, including those who came from the same place I did!
 I will continue to share my story of the pass but will be adding the message God puts on my heart as I do so. As promised more to come on some of the different topics I already brought up and yes eventually some pictures! :)

“

For true evangelical faith...cannot lie dormant; but manifests itself in all righteousness and works of love; it...clothes the naked; feeds the hungry; consoles the afflicted; shelters the miserable; aids and consoles all the oppressed; returns good for evil; serves those that injure it; prays for those that persecute it."  Menno Simons 

Searching for Truth

What does the phrase "the fear of the LORD" refer to?

The dictionary definition of fear is 'An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.'
This would probably describe my initial feelings when introduced to our Creator. To me he was a judge who would send me to hell because I could never meet up to His standards. Out of this fear, I tried daily to be "good." What amazes me though is that as I spoke to God daily in a childlike manner, HE began to comfort me rather than scare me when life itself got scary. Deep in my heart I just knew there  had to be a way that this God I spoke to daily would somehow save me!
  Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." The word fear here in my way of thinking now would mean  to acknowledge our Creator; to recognize that He is the Father , we are the children. He is the master, we are the servants.
 The way I was being taught  made me believe I needed to be scared of God. I don't know if those around me actually realized just how much thought I was giving these things.  God's power is able to go beyond our circumstances and earthly teachings. He put the desire in my heart to search for the truth in these matters. He brought my heart some hope but I still didn't know just how I would make it to heaven!
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
 These are verses I did not yet know of at that time, but I was searching, seeking and knocking. Children in our community did not go to church or have Sunday school.  We weren't taught about Jesus as a Saviour in a way we could understand. In fact I do believe most the adults (though I can't speak for all of them )around us didn't understand salvation either. This brought a lot of hopelessness to the communities. These were also not the original teachings of the Mennonites. Somewhere along the line man's rules and traditions in our area there became the main focus, which took them away from knowing GOD.   People were spiritually giving up. Many (not all) fell into different traps , like alcohol and depression pills. Marriages were in trouble, children grew to be teens and also began to smoke and drink. Many were also abused.I was however still very protected even though our family was not free of these traps. I was never physically abused. I enjoyed school and had friends I loved! I did however fall into some traps as well, which I will tell you about on another day!

*This is not the way one would describe all Mennonites. This is only what  I have seen where I come from.  I am only explaining my own memories and experiences. There are many Mennonites out there who love and serve God in spirit and truth!



  

Longing for Heaven

  In the coming post I will tell you about the bondage of fear that so often took hold of me as a child. My hopes by sharing this part of my life is to help others find freedom from such things. I believe though I can only tell you these things, God is the one able to free us.  I had moments where I felt I would one day go to my home in heaven but for the most part it just seemed too good to be true! Did I ever long for it though! God's arms were around me.  I couldn't fully understand His words but he kept speaking gently .. He never gave up on me!

I got to know some beautiful songs while singing weekly with a group of ladies last year. Many of the songs I took very personally as we sang.

GOING HOME

Many times in my childhood we'd travel so far
By nightfall how weary I'd grow.
Father's arms would slip 'round me and gently he'd say,
"My child, we're going home."

Going home, I'm going home.
There is nothing to hold me here.
I got a glimpse of that heavenly land;
Praise God, I am going home.

Now the twilight is fading, the day soon shall end,
I get homesick the farther I roam.
But the Father has blessed me each step of the way,
And now I am going home.

Going home, I'm going home.
There is nothing to hold me here.
I caught a glimpse of that heavenly land,
Praise God, we are going home.

Praise God, we are going home.

my little girl

Talks with God

I told you a bit about my childhood  last time. Today I will tell  you about  one particular day when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old that is very significant to me now... I only realized a few years ago what role this day had played in my life and would have in my testimony for years to come! Let me go back and tell you a bit about this little friend I had next door. It all started with our moms. They were best friends and were always there for each other! Both ladies were expecting their first baby around the same time. Baby #1 (my little friend) arrives December 25th, 1977 and baby # 2 (me) arrives January 4th, 1978. We were born very close to the same time, both given the same first name and became best friends.

A mennonite home in Mexico

It was another day of playing outside, climbing farm equipment, playing in puddles and running around like children do. Often we would be very silly, laughing and just having fun. At times we would also argue and fight. Well, on this particular day we were doing all of those things, when my little friend suddenly told me I was now going to go to hell because I had said a bad word. She began describing hell in a very scary way. It was that moment that I began to "fear" God. By fear I mean I was afraid of what He would do to me yet. I began asking others many questions and the answers I got only confirmed that these things were true; not only were they true but it was also hopeless to get into heaven . However , I  thought there just has to be something I can do to fix it! So, began my talks with God.. I would tell him each morning , I will try to be good. I had only been taught memorized prayers in a language I did not understand. (There is more than one form of the german language. At home we spoke Low German and our reading and prayer was done in High German.)So talking to God the way I did was not taught, it began to seem very natural though!  He was drawing me to Himself but yet I did not know He gave a way for me to join Him in heaven one day.  I did however believe God heard everything I was saying to Him. Through these talks I began to find comfort  in Him and some hope deep within my heart. It helped me get  through many days ahead but would a way come for me to find my way to heaven?

As a child I was willing to trust Him but had been told by many we cannot know where we will go after death until we meet God at the judgement seat. A child is willing to believe what they are told.

 Luke 18:17  says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” or Matthew 18:4, “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Memory Lane

  I will attempt to tell you a few things about what  life was like when I was a child. I was born in Mexico. Some of you are now thinking ... What! Mexico! Yes, there are groups of German Mennonites in Mexico. Perhaps some time in the future I will tell you how that happened to come about. For now though I will write about  what  life was like as I knew it in my early years.

 I remember things that happened from a very young age. Some not so good memories and some very special memories. I will focus today on the good memories. As I already told you we did use horse and buggy as our transportation. Cars were not allowed at this time yet. We lived on a farm, same as everyone else I knew. Life had daily routines of feeding the animals, milking cows and cleaning the barns. Our milk was always poured into big jugs and brought to the road daily. The milk man would pick up every one's milk and bring it to the cheese factory. This was our source of income.

milk jug

 I spent much time outside  when at home, often doing things like playing on haystacks, (with my brother and often the neighbours' kids) helping in the garden, feeding the chickens, gathering eggs and  doing laundry, (yes, outside) Laundry was not an easy chore and required almost a full day.
 We did not have hydro.  In our house you would see oil lamps and a wood stove for heating when needed. Speaking of our house... It was made of mud bricks with a total of three rooms. One of the rooms was built for food storage and that left us with a kitchen and a living room in which we also slept. It was a small place and often it would rain through the ceiling but my mom always kept things very organized and clean! When playing indoors, I enjoyed my dolls! I think I must have had more than the average Mennonite girl! I would treat my dolls as a mom would treat her own baby. I remember asking my mom to babysit while I was away from them.  The thought of my own REAL baby some day was quite exciting!
 This all sounds so innocent and pure. That is how children are but they are born into a world that wants to steal and destroy that from young on! God protected me from a lot through those years. Things did happen around us that made me a target in the line of fire and many things could have happened to me that didn't.  I look back sometimes and remember things that make me shiver but I think on these simple memories I have of just being a child and I know that God was there watching over me!
 One more very special memory I have (going back a bit)is a moving day. For a while we lived in this big house before moving to the one I already spoke of. I can't remember the place we moved away from at that time but I remember the place we moved to! I sat in the back of our buggy, hanging my feet off , with my aunt who was seven years older than I. Slowly we moved along with our furniture on a few buggies like a train. As I sat there in great excitement, swinging my feet back and forth, a herd of cows was what followed down that road. I told my mom about this a while back and she was very surprised I  could recall that. She says I was about 3 years old.
I will be back  with some pictures I have from when I was a little girl and also I will tell you of the day I started "fearing" God.

Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Thank you Lord for your protection over me all these years and when all else failed, you never did!

"Horse and Buggy Days"

 I am working on putting together  some pictures and stories from my childhood. Just be patient with me , I do no have much time at once to work on this.
 To some of you,  the things I will share will be familiar but to others it may seem strange and it might remind you of pioneer days. You see, I grew up in a mennonite home. First of all don't jump to conclusions yet, for there are many different types of mennonites and my life wasn't all "mennonite."  Yes we did drive horse and buggy at one point while I was a little girl but no we were not Amish. I want to tell you about these things because it's a big part of  where I  come from. I will leave it at that for now but come by again to walk  along this journey with me!