Laine of Laine's Letters has passed into Glory

Our dear sister Laine Amavizca, who wrote Laine's Letters back in the 1990s and early 2000s, passed away last week after a long illness.

Laine was a godly encouragement to homemakers in the days before blogs became popular.  She e-mailed her letters to a group of women, and more and more wanted to be added to her e-mail list.

I personally found her in 2006 after she wrote the article, "Why I Love Homemaking," which was published in the Above Rubies magazine, a free magazine written by mothers to mothers. (Nancy Campbell, Editress)

Whenever I woke up in the very early morning, such as at 4 a.m., I would always think, "Laine is up reading her Bible and conversing with God right now." In her letter Holy Habits, she says, "He speaks to me through His Word, and I speak to Him in prayer." (At the end of this post I have an excerpt from, and a link to, the full letter.)

 

Where Laine's Letters can be found

Eventually, with her permission, someone started a website corralling her compiled letters, which can be found on the Way Back Machine.

Other websites also have compiled some of her letters, such as The Legacy Collective.

Laine last wrote on her friend Annabel's webite The Blue Birds are Nesting on the Farm. You can do a search for her name on this site.  The link above, at the end of the post, contains the announcement of Laine's passing.

Celebration of Life Event Nov. 22nd, 2024

There is a livestream link to view her Celebration of Life on November 22, 2024 at 1:00 pm (PST) for those not attending in person. (Thank you, Carolyn, for finding this!)   https://www.facebook.com/events/9294441307273879  If the link doesn't work to FB (which will give you another link to the actual event), then go to Facebook and search for Laine Amavizca, or Hannah Williams.  There is an About page and a Discussion page which has a few pictures.

 

Videos from Laine's Letters

In June 2023 I was thinking about Laine and wondered if she would mind my reading her letters on YT. I found her address and wrote her a letter.  Weeks went by with no answer.  Then I went on vacation for a week, and when I came home there was a letter!  Laine had been on vacation for two weeks! And she wanted to write me a letter back, instead of e-mailing or calling.  She was thrilled and delighted for me to read some of her letters on YouTube!

I've only read eight so far, and I'd be delighted to read your favorite letter in the future, if you let me know the title and where to find it.

Here is the link to my playlist of eight videos of Laine's Letters.

May God bless you, and may Laine's life and letters be an encouragement to you in providing a "slice of heaven on earth" for your family,

💟 Janine

Here is an excerpt of her letter Holy Habits:

Dear Sisters,

Holy means "set apart for God."   I love the verse that says:

 

"And whatsoever you do, do it heartily unto the LORD, and not unto man."

 

The LORD sees it all, so nothing is wasted done heartily unto Him, and nothing is gone unnoticed by Him. It's awesome working for His Eyes.

 

Holy Habits, for me, are habits set apart for my LORD. They are done heartily unto Him. I've developed quite a few habits in my 41 years of marriage, child raising, and the keeping of our home - some good and some not so good. I've tried to turn the not so good into good as much as I can over the years. I keep trying to learn how to get better in my very important job of being a wife, a mother and grandmother, and a homemaker. A job I treasure so much from the LORD!

 

Here are some of my Holy Habits set it apart for Him:

 

~ I have to start out with my first and foremost important habit, and that habit is getting up early to spend time with the LORD in His Word. It is a precious time, and something I have been doing for 29 years now. He is my soul, my strength, my shield, and my strong tower. It is to Him Who I run. I love knowing Him through His beautiful Word. I can't do this job without His guidance. His Word is so rich and full of help and strength for the day. He speaks to me through His Word, and I speak to Him in prayer.  A Holy Conversation every morning in my kitchen chair before the day begins. It gets richer and richer with each passing day.  It's the best time in the world!

 

"I love you, LORD, my strength."

 

~ Be kind to my husband. I remember years ago when the children were very little that I decided to be kind to my husband and love on him. Just like we were dating all over again. It's been an amazing journey of kindness and love. Recently, I had a colon resection surgery. My husband took full care of me for 12 weeks due to complications. Over and over I would thank him for every little thing he did for me, and then tell him I loved him throughout the week. He'd say, "Laine, you're so polite even in pain. You don't have to be so polite." He said it with a warm smile. But I had made up my mind beforehand that no matter how much pain I was in, I would be kind to him and love him with my words - by God's great grace - especially when I couldn't with my actions. I thanked him for every little thing, as he did it for me. This verse has helped me so much over the years:

 

"The law of kindness is on her tongue."

 

[and it goes on from there. JS]