Angelina's God Book

How does a child view God? My little friend, Angelina, age 8, graciously gave me permission to share some of the entries she has written in her "God Book" as she calls it. Children know more than we realize sometimes!

Angelina wrote:

God is amazing. God is GOOD.

There are hearts open for God.

I love God.

The Bible contains the mind of God.

God, the kingdom is the best.

Love love…sing to the love.

Put your heart into it. –God

God  MOM  DAD  family  LOVE.

The Lord is the best thing I've ever seen in my holl and tire life. Good thing He’s HERE.

I love the King…..He is so beautiful.

God, I am Yours.

Angelina’s sword is from God.

The heavens open yes they do.

My mom and dad are into God.

I love GOD just the way he is.

God is love to me.

Called to be His Royal Bride

The train arrived in the Redwood City train station at 5:50 a.m. In a rush, as usual, and wearing a dress, nylons and heels, I climbed the three steps of the passenger car with my purse, my lunch sack, and my Bible. Men in black suits, with white shirts and ties, filled the seats all around me. They read the San Francisco Chronicle and I read my Bible. 

For one year I commuted to my office job at United Pacific Reliance Insurance on Market Street in San Francisco. I was twenty years old and my dad got me the job. I typed information  on insurance forms all day—one of the most boring jobs you could ever have—but I grew a lot spiritually that year.

I was not happy at home. My dad had just gone through his second divorce and my three younger siblings and I were not good friends at this point. Most of my friends had gone away to college so I was floundering about who I was and what to do with myself. I didn’t have anyone to talk to—no one except the Lord Jesus that is.

My favorite was Psalms. My heart resonated with the poetic King David crying out to the living God. Each morning I read a page or two of the New Testament, a bit of the Old Testament, and a Psalm.

One day, it was a summer day, the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 45. I was stunned. Could it be true? Could the God of all creation speak to little ol’ me? Yes! There was NO denying it. This particular passage in Psalm 45, verses 10 to 17, jumped off the page and spoke directly to me.

In my New American Standard Bible the heading says “A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage…A Song of Love.” This is the passage that spoke to me: 
"Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear; Forget your people and your father’s house: Then the King will desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The rich among the people will entreat your favor. The King’s daughter is all glorious within. Her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her pure companions who follow her, will be brought to Thee. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; They will enter into the King’s palace. In place of Thy fathers will be Thy sons; Thou shalt make them princes in all the earth. I will cause Thy name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give Thee thanks forever and ever."

My King Jesus spoke to me about being ready as a part of His royal bride, His chosen princess. Just as He called Peter to leave his nets and follow Him, He called me to leave my family and follow Him, day by day. The divine romance between my Lord and I began on the train that summer’s day. Reading now in my old Bible I see I marked down the date, “July 13, 1978.”

Shortly after that, I did leave my family. I rented an upstairs bedroom, for a hundred dollars a month, from a Christian family in a house called The Birch House—right down the street from the train station. Within a few short years I was married and began a family of my own—after twenty-three years of marriage we had one daughter and seven sons! The Lord truly has made them princes, and one princess, in all the earth for they belong to Him too, and they live all over the world. One son lives in Germany, my daughter is in Chicago, and another son is in Redding, California.

The Lord has given me spiritual children as well. I am privileged to help lead a youth group for our church, Deep River. I love those kids like they are my own! I take them with me folk dancing at the Sons of Norway every Sunday night too. We have such a good time together. I tell them I am the biggest kid--after all, I am the tallest at 5’ 8”. Hahaha! I have enjoyed their company in my travels to hear speakers, go shopping, and once we drove to California together to go to Bethel Church for the Open Heavens Conference.

One of the highlights of my Bethel experience was receiving a prophetic word in the healing rooms on Saturday morning. I was stunned to receive Psalm 45—again emphasizing my identity as a part of His beloved royal bride. Whoohoo!

I am good friends with my pastor’s oldest daughter, Camille, age 15. She and I are both the oldest of our siblings, we share a love of dance and colorful, twirly skirts for dancing, and she is also a teacher/leader type, a writer, and a devoted follower of King Jesus. We both love the colors purple and turquoise. One day last summer she told me she was going to paint her bedroom these colors and then paint a rose and a Scripture verse. When I saw her gorgeous art work I shrieked. She inscribed Psalm 45 on her wall!!! I realized another part of Psalm 45 has come true. The Lord has given me these awesome “pure companions.”

For over thirty years I have kept going back to my favorite Psalm, Psalm 45. I also, spiritually, continue to be led forth with gladness and rejoicing to enter into the King’s palace—His very presence! The Lord Jesus loves me and desires my company!

The Lord says, “You are My beloved. You belong to Me. You are a part of My radiant, royal bride—pure, holy and without spot or wrinkle. I remember your lawless deeds and your sins no more. (See Hebrews 10:17.) I love you just as you are 100%. Oh how beautiful and perfect you are to Me! Come away with Me! (See Songs of Songs 4:7,8.) My lover, revel in My Presence; drink My sweet wine and feast on My goodness. Drink, yes drink abundantly of My love, My dear one. 

My Eight Children

Silliman Family at Daniel and Beth's Wedding, March 21, 2009

One of the accomplishments of which I am the most happy about is home birthing, breastfeeding, nurturing, and mothering my eight children. My desire was to give them the best start in life that I could. Though there are many things I would do differently now, I have no regrets because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I’m thankful we were able to have eight—we wanted a dozen, my husband, Cliff and I. I guess God thought “Eight is Enough”. Hahaha!

From personal experience I can testify that God’s Word is true. “Children are a blessing and a heritage of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is the Lord’s reward. They are likened to the arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are his many children in the gates of his land. Happy is the man who has his quiver full.” See Psalm 127. If you were going into battle with only a bow and a quiver with arrows, how many arrows would you want? We wanted as many as God would give us!

Though their lives are their own accomplishments, and a product of their own choices, hard work, and God’s blessing on their lives, I have you as my captive audience so I’d like to tell you about each one of them.

Peter Stanford is nine-years-old. He is sweet, loving, funny, tall, freckled, fun, smart, and good at math. He likes basketball and playing sports. He loves his kitten, Gus. He is a helpful son. He is a Christian and likes to speak and share what he is learning. Peter is not shy a bit. Sometimes he goes with me to the nursing homes when we do sing-a-longs. Today we will dress up in cowboy hats and vests and he will go with me.

Luke Thomas is twelve, but he’s wise and thoughtful and knows stuff intuitively. He is tuned in to how people are feeling, how God sees them, and what potential they have in life. Luke is smart and does very well in school, but it comes easily to him. Luke is a writer and would make an amazing journalist. He has lots of friends and enjoys being a kid, but he can get in serious discussions with adults too. Luke is a talented artist. He has already entered art shows, has a portfolio of his art, and has tried all different forms of artistic expression from photography to origami paper folding. Right now he’s painting his room black and white!

Stephen is fifteen. He is extremely smart and knows something about everything. He collects facts and loves to share them. He has a talent for math and he’s also an athlete. He’s excelled at basketball and soccer, but his favorite right now is track. He throws the javelin, runs fast, and pole vaults over nine feet into the air. He is a leader on his track team and naturally spurs them on to do their best. He’d make an awesome coach. He’s an all-around great guy and will do well at whatever he decides to do in life.

Joshua is nineteen. He is living at home right now, but he is a naturalist and lived in a debris shelter he made himself for six months over last fall and winter. He studies, enjoys, and lives in harmony with nature. He has grown to love our area, the beautiful Olympic Peninsula of the far Northwestern U.S.A. Joshua works very hard, and enjoys serious and deep discussions, but he has an amazing wit and is so hilarious sometimes. He makes me laugh! He is also a poet, an artist, and a good friend. He has a tender heart and intuitiveness and loves deeply. Joshua is extremely strong and is into health and fitness. He works as foreman in my husband’s business, Father and Sons’ Lawn Service, but he’s also in training with Tribal Edge. He naturally passes on what he knows and I can see him training boys for Tribal Edge, or being a life coach/personal trainer.

Michael is twenty-two. He is heading into his senior year at Simpson University and was elected class president. He is leaderful and has a natural ability to see what is important for people’s lives. He is a smart, articulate, and deeply spiritual man. He had training with Youth With A Mission and has traveled to many countries already. He works very hard. He worked for our family business, Father & Sons’ Lawn Service, and in the summers at college he is a groundskeeper. He is pursuing a degree in cross-cultural studies and then will work towards a Masters in Public Administration as he hopes to be involved in community development. He is also will get his teacher’s credential and would like to teach and coach children and will be an awesome role model. Right now he’s getting ready to go to Uganda and has worked hard to earn the funds, raise support and prepare for this trip where he will work at a school there.

David is twenty-five and he’s married to Charisa and they live next door in our mother-in-law cottage. He has a dream of becoming a fireman. He’s worked and is working very hard towards that goal. He is a volunteer fireman in Port Angeles and is also in a training program and serves as a “Residential Firefighter” for the city of Port Townsend. David has completed EMT training, lots of other training and passed many testings to qualify as a firefighter. Right now he is pursuing some college classes to make him more eligible for a position next time he applies. He and Charisa are also a dynamic duo with the company Advocare and they are mentors, coaches, and a support team for those pursuing better health and fitness. David is extremely fit and athletic and enjoys many outdoor activities.  He takes along his dog Charlie and has a blast. He also enjoys fixing things, has been rebuilding a VW bug, he loves antique cars, and riding his motorcycle. David is also a leader and has coached a softball team in Sequim for several years. They were in first place last year!

Valerie Joy, our one and only daughter, is twenty-seven and lives in Portland. Her name means “strong, valiant joy” and she definitely lives up to her name. She is smart, wise, and practical at the same time. Valerie is an awesome writer and communicator and is an excellent counselor/support person as well. She is leaderful and a good friend. She has many friends all over the country. She is musical and enjoys going to concerts, many different types of music, playing the piano, and singing (though she hasn't had much time for singing in choirs or playing piano while getting her Masters). She’s very good with her hands, enjoys making things, types fast, and is a hands-on kinesthetic type. She is also an awesome chef and an amazing hostess. She loves to plan events and cook for a dinner party and pulls recipes off the Internet or gets them from friends, to try new recipes. She's growing a little kitchen garden on her deck this summer. She went to college at University of Portland in Oregon and graduated with her BA in Literature. She amazes me how she bicycles everywhere in the city! She lives there in Portland with her partner, Val. She just finished getting her Masters in Social Work, or MSW, at University of Chicago. She’s applying for jobs now and has a bright future before her.

Daniel, our first-born, is now thirty years old. (How can that be?!) He is brilliant. He is a writer. He has been published many times and continues to write his blog several times a week. My Danny is fun to be with. He turns on awesome music and is a terrific conversationalist and also a story teller. He's also an extraordinary artist, photographer, and woodcarver. He plays Scrabble and is impossible to beat. I think he’ll be a world champion at that game some day soon. He is a deep thinker and a philosopher. He graduated with his BA from Hillsdale in Michigan in Philosophy. He also studied Journalism and worked at several newspapers while in college and then worked as a crime reporter for two years on a newspaper in a city near Atlanta, Georgia. He now lives in Tuebingen, Germany with his wife, Beth. Beth is leading a missionary team at Tuebingen University and works with the students there. Daniel is now working towards his PhD in American Studies while he’s in Germany studying under a professor at Heidelberg University.

Crescent Lake, WA, Summer 2007 when Daniel brought home Beth to meet us.

All of our children have a living faith in the Lord Jesus and are loving, awesome people! I have to give the glory to God because I surely can’t take the credit for who they are today. However, I can tell you I am thankful and I am blessed to be their mother. 

One of my favorite photos! All my children in my kitchen, Summer 2003.