If I Lived in Bible Days

What would my job be, if I lived in the Old Testament Bible days? As a woman, my choices are limited, but since I love to dance and sing, I would choose to be like Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. As a little girl, she was such a genius at how she saved the life of Moses. I also like how later she inspired the women, put starch in their spines, and led them in praising and rejoicing in the Lord. To rejoice and make His praise glorious with flags and dancing are some of the greatest joys of my life. Three Scriptures come to mind…

“LIFT THE BANNERS HIGH!”

(See Isaiah 62:10.)

Honor His name; Make His praise glorious!

Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works!’

(See Psalm 66:2-3.)

Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang…

Sing unto the Lord,
for He is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider 
He has hurled into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him,
My father's God, and I will exalt Him!

(See Exodus 15:1-21.)

We see that Miriam is a leader of the women. They followed her. She has musical ability and she is a dancer. She takes her place of leadership, but her leadership directed them to the Lord--in praise to the Lord.

I want you to notice the word that is used to describe her. What was it? Prophetess! What’s a prophetess? A female prophet! What’s a prophet? A prophet is one to whom and through whom God speaks, revealing Himself and His will.

God gave us information on prophets in Deuteronomy 13. It says that if a person says he’s a prophet and he says something’s going to happen, and it happens, then you can say he is a prophet of the Lord. If it does not happen, he is not a prophet of the Lord, and the Lord didn’t send him. The test of a true prophet is that if what he says comes to pass; but the emphasis must not be on foretelling the future, although the prophets do that—a prophet practices forth-telling the Word of God. God uses people to speak His Word. When people, both men and women, communicate what God reveals to them to the people, they are being a prophet or, as in the case of Miriam, a prophetess.

If I’d lived in New Testament Bible days, I would choose to be one of the disciples. I can’t think of anything I’d like to do better than to have been one of the followers of Jesus. When they met Jesus, they dropped everything to be with Him. I like to think that’s what I would have done too—followed Him, hung on His every word, learned from Him first hand, and copied Him. Maybe I would have been one of the seventy disciples sent out by Jesus when He sent them out two by two. (See Luke 10:1.) Surely some of those seventy disciples were women?

As disciples of Jesus, who are sent to represent Him, ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, it is part of our function in the body of Christ to know what our gifts are and to use them, for His glory. In Romans 12:6-13 it says each of us has been given a gift--let us use them!

However, no matter what my particular gifts are, no matter what else I do in my life, no matter what day or age I live in, I consider it a priority to get closer to Jesus and to worship Him. Today I read a bit of the Passion Translation of the Bible from the Psalms and it was so powerful and beautiful and expressed my heart so well I thought I would share it with you.

Every evening I will explain my need to Him.
Every morning I will move my soul toward Him.
Every waking hour I will worship only Him,
And He will hear and respond to my cry!

(See Psalm 55:17.)

The Passion Translation by Brian Simmons www.passiontranslation.com

A Healthy Life

My size 20 jeans from 2003 "before".
I lost 75 lbs. in 1 year eating raw vegetarian.

Wearing size 4 now "after" 9 years.

One of the things I am most thankful for is a healthy life. I am slim, energetic, and have no health issues. At age 54 this is unusual! In the year 2003 the Lord helped me to successfully lose 75 pounds and continues to help me keep it off. Here’s the short version of my story.

In the year 2003, at age 45, I weighed 222 pounds. (I now weigh 143 and wear size 4.) That summer a friend took a picture of me, wearing size 20 with a big belly, double chin, and a puffy face. I knew that it wasn’t me—I felt like a prisoner inside of an obese body. I was miserable. I had tried every diet I knew about and had lost and gained hundreds of pounds since my teenage years. However, I didn’t know how to maintain after losing excess weight and I would always gain it back.

In addition to being obese, I had headaches, neck, back, and knee pain, arthritis, and I was constantly sick and tired. After I saw that photograph of me, I desperately cried out to God for help. “GOD, I AM SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED AND FED UP WITH BEING FAT! PLEASE HELP ME!”

A friend shared a story of a woman who lost excess weight and regained her health by eating an all raw vegetarian diet. I had tried eating 80% raw vegetarian—but it amazed me she ate this way 100%. The author wrote that the raw fiber, raw fats, live enzymes, perfect pH, high water content, and high oxygen content of raw produce are all satisfying to the appetite and that cooked food (especially cooked carbs) trigger overeating.

I read about twenty books and dozens of websites and people eating this way all said the same thing—they felt great and lost excess weight. I read I could eat all I wanted of fruits and vegetables as long as they were raw. The normal weight loss to expect was 20 pounds the first month, ten pounds the second month, and about five pounds per month thereafter till reaching the ideal weight range—then weight loss naturally stops. I knew this was my answer. I said, “Thank You, God!”

I talked to my husband and he said, “I think you should do it. I will fully support you, but the boys (four sons) and I are going to eat normally.” I agreed. (They continue to eat differently than me, but thankfully they all like fruit and eating salads, so there is a lot of good healthy raw produce in their diets.)

Just like predicted, in one year I lost 75 pounds and all my health problems went away and I became a new woman. That was about nine years ago and I am still rejoicing and enjoying being slim and energetic and healthy! Here’s what I normally eat in a day.

For breakfast I enjoy two or three pieces of fruit and a whole avocado —whatever fresh fruit I want—till I’m full. Before lunch I grind up a tablespoon of golden flax seed mixed with chia seed that I have in a jar on my kitchen counter. I grind it in a little electric coffee grinder that I bought at Wal-mart for about $15 that I only use for this purpose. I either stir this into water and drink it, or sprinkle it on my salad.

I enjoy my main meal in the middle of the day. I use about a fourth of a cup of extra virgin olive oil with fresh squeezed orange for my salad dressing. I eat sort of a “Waldorf” style salad every day with the following ingredients: orange, apple, grapes, grated carrot, celery, red bell pepper, raspberries, berries of other types if available, sprouts, other veggies, and 8 ounces (10 cups or so) of dark green leafy lettuces or “spring mix” with spinach, romaine, green and red leaf lettuces. I also have a couple of hard boiled eggs from my friend’s free-range-naturally-fed-happy chickens. For dinner I have a couple more pieces of delicious, fresh fruit (whatever I want) and a banana. (I am very active in the evening, dancing and flagging a lot, so I eat my evening meal after I get home.)

A "Waldorf" type salad is my main meal of the day.

See my YouTube video "Raw Vegetarian--How I Eat" for more info.
Here's the website:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk_c9-PDdvM 

I also enjoy a handful of raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds (or other nuts and seeds) each day. Nuts and seeds can be ground with the flax and chia seeds and sprinkled on my salad, or I will enjoy chewing them. (I limit nuts and seeds to about a tablespoon to ¼ cup a day at the most because I don’t feel well if I eat more.) Best source for truly raw and fresh nuts and seeds is: www.sproutpeople.org and lots of nutritional information is free on this website.

Once in a while I enjoy fish—I especially enjoy some baked wild Alaskan salmon with a double order of steamed vegetables (with no butter or salt). This is what I will order if my husband and I go out to eat to celebrate an occasion. At times I splurge and eat something else, but then I’m sorry because I don’t feel well. People ask how I have such will power. My answer is from Philippians 4:13 Amplified: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me. He infuses me with supernatural willpower!”

My sweet treats are fruit. For example, right now persimmons are in season. Yum! I also enjoy cherries when they in season, nectarines, plums, black berries, figs, mangos, etc.—delicious and nutritious fresh fruit made by God especially for us!

I went through healing events or natural detoxing when I started eating this way. Our miraculous bodies layer the toxins in the fat stores, so as we lose weight and the fat is burned off, the toxins are released into the bloodstream and we don’t feel too well. I just rested, took hot baths, and drank plenty of water and these times of feeling weak and tired and flu-like passed. After a bout of detoxing I would feel really great and lose weight, so it was worth it. The detoxing went in ever decreasing cycles—heavier bouts at first, then lighter and lighter. Sometimes I detox for an hour or two and get through it and feel great. I use no medicine, no pills, no potions, and no powders. I use no stimulating substances like coffee, chocolate, or soda and I use no pain-killers of any kind. My beverage of choice is Kangen Water—that’s all I drink. (More on Kangen Water later!)

I do not eat like the average American, but I’m not sick and overweight like the average American either! Most Americans die of heart disease or cancer. I would like to die surfing in Hawaii when I am 107. Hahaha!

Eating this way has plenty of the macro nutrients—protein, carbs and fats, and plenty of the vitamins and minerals we need, for example: sodium (natural salt of the type our body uses) and B12 etc. There is no need to add a thing! It makes sense too. In the beginning God put us in a garden and basically said, “Here is your food and it is very good!”

My meals with lots of raw produce with raw fiber, lots of chewing, high water content, high nutrient content, along with extra-virgin or raw oils, all seem to produce “satiety” (satisfied appetite). I used to struggle a lot with overeating—I just couldn’t stop eating—but now when I finish with a raw meal, I naturally stop eating and my hunger is satisfied.

I have learned to not eat anything different for special occasions. For me to splurge on cooked food seems to lead to overeating. For holidays, birthdays or other celebrations, I will eat my normal fare. I enjoy my delicious raw food and to me it is a celebration to enjoy my awesome healthy life each and every day! With every meal I say thanks. “Thank You God for delicious raw produce and for a healthy life!”

My Eulogy (A Difficult Writing Assignment!)

Jenna at age 54, Feb. 2012

Jennifer Elizabeth Vick Silliman (Jenna) was born on February 18, 1958 and died at age 107 on March 1, 2065. Born in San Francisco, California she was the daughter of James Allan Vick and Jacqueline Frances Pearson. She was married to Clifford Arthur Silliman (Cliff) who preceded her in death. Together they had eight children, Daniel James (Married Elizabeth Jarvis), Valerie Joy, David Arthur (Married Charisa Nelson), Michael Aaron, Joshua Andrew, Stephen Matthew, Luke Thomas, and Peter Stanford. They had ____ grandchildren… and ___ great-granchildren… [It will be glorious to have a long list of all the grandbabies here!] Jenna was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Canada, a community college, for two years studying general education. She married Cliff at age 22 and homemaking was her chosen career. She resided in Sequim, Washington for 65 years. Jenna met the Lord Jesus at the age of 16 and was a devoted follower all her life. She delighted in meditating on Scripture and sharing spiritual insight through her writings and teachings. Jenna was a world traveler. She was a glory dancer, and a flagger in worship of the Lord Jesus and wrote a book about this called “Shall We Dance?” She also taught folk dance to both children and adults. She was a member of the Sons of Norway for ___ years. She was a published author and also self-published many booklets on a wide variety of subjects regarding mothering, healthy living, and the life of the Christian. Jenna visited nursing homes every week and enjoyed leading sing-a-longs and dancing for the residents. She was known for her colorful clothing and joyful attitude and will be missed by many.

Jenna's Dance of Life

Jenna’s Dance of Life

By Jenna Vick Silliman

I turn to You, Daddy, at the break of dawn.

We talk things over as the day goes on.

Your love is sweet, my God, my King,

I love You more than anything.

I read Your Word till You speak to my heart.

You give me grace and a brand new start.

I give You my burdens, so I live carefree.

You show me favor; I dance with glee.

You stay right with me, I stay right with You.

I give You thanks the whole day through.

I keep the music going and praising Your name.

Ever since I met You, I’ve not been the same.

I dream about the future and to You I pray.

Now I have hope and I love life Your way.

I leap for joy and dance and twirl.

I’m glad I am Your little girl.