Makeover Time!

I apparently have creative talent for making something better with little or no money.  I also have  very expensive taste, that I like to 'mimic' as much as possible.  Some things just MUST be expensive, but not everything and certainly not when it comes to making a house a home, there are so many things you can do without it costing a fortune.  I would like to share some ideas with you as they are being done here.  I have a husband and three children that help me turn my ideas into reality as well, each in their own talented way. 

My husband David takes my ideas and runs with them...they usually get done quickly, but not always exactly how I have pictured them, he is way more artistic than he realizes, that is for sure!

Our son Joshua, who is 20 now...really?  When I need him to help, he is always there to do what he can...in his own speed...which is often turtle-like...he has great ideas, he loves to make electronics and computers work when they are broken and he is a super good cook and enjoys it. 

Our son Carl, who is almost 18 now...crazy how fast time goes by...has my abilities in seeing possibilities, he dreams a bit larger than life, where I tend to be more practical.  He is artistic and loves improving things and making them new again. 

Then there is our daughter Abigail, she is 14...unreal...she is a super great helper and loves animals.  She takes care of so much around the house so I can do other things when I need to and know that the necessary household jobs will get done. 

We have been in this house now for two months...is that all?  Yep. It's true. Two...months.  Seems like we have been here...well...for at least a year...maybe because we were totally unpacked in what...like three days...maybe four?  I don't know...it was so long ago now I can't remember...could have been five...We have already accomplished many projects besides unpacking and hanging pictures...shelving, light fixtures, cabinet makeovers, curtains, even some yard work...since this post is already long, I will show you what I did with this room: 

This room is long and narrow.  There is a cabinet behind the door to the right and there is a baseboard heater behind the other door.  The lighting fixture is small but is hooked up to a dimmer.  There are  blinds with a large closet bar type curtain rod and a very low triangular blue and white striped curtain over the window. 

This is how it looks now:

My son Carl and I took down the light fixture and replaced it with the dining room light fixture.  We also removed the bulky curtain rod from the window.  It was about an inch shy of fitting across the room, so Carl made brackets out of 2x4 scrap, which worked perfectly.

This room is multifunctional, it is Gramma's room when she comes to visit, it is the sewing/craft room, office and a place for outdoor plants that can't survive the winter.  It is also our extra seating for our Shabbat meal, Abigail sets the table for her friends and they have a great time around their special table. 

Hope this has inspired an idea for you!



 

 

 

A Weekly Rest and Reflection ~ Torah

Learning how to study the Whole Word of Yahweh has been very helpful in understanding what the New Testament, otherwise known as the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Hadashah) actually is about.  There is an actual plan of study each week, starting with a portion (Parashah) of Torah, which is the first five books in the Bible, then a reading from the prophets or writings, called the Haftarah and if you are a believer in Yeshua the Messiah you end with a reading from the Renewed Covenant.

For example, this weeks portion is Exodus 35:1-38:20, it is called Vayak'hel which is Hebrew for "he assembled" and comes from the first verse, as do all the names of the portions.  This portion starts with a restatement of the command to keep the Sabbath (Shabbat), going into the building of the Tabernacle (Mishkan).  It is interesting to point out that out of the WHOLE congregation it was those with willing hearts who offered items for the building...so much so they had to be stopped and that it was  those who had wise hearts who actually did the building.  There were those who did neither.  This is still the pattern today with people in the congregation.  This portion also introduces us to the man named B'tzal'el, whose name means "in the shadow (or image) of EL (God) and who is from the tribe of Judah and is the one who builds the Tabernacle.  Oholi'av, whose name means 'tent of the father' and who is from the tribe of Dan, is the teacher and assistant for the building of the Tent of the Father.  This is very exciting to learn about as we begin to see the connections from the beginning that Yeshua was making with the two on the road to Emmaus!  This is the Gospel of Yeshua. 

The Torah is not a confusing compilation of stories after all.  It is our foundation.  The wise man built his house upon a rock (Matt. 7:24-27)...that rock is the Torah, Yeshua is that Torah made flesh who dwelt (tabernacled) among us.  If we love Him we are to keep his commandments...what are these commandments?  They are Torah.  It really is that simple and we, as people, have a tendency to make it hard.  His commands are not hard.  (1 John 5:3)  If we love Him, we keep His commands.  This is out of love, not to save us.  We are saved by grace as was Noah and his family from the destructive flood.  We are saved by grace, because Yahweh is 'merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth...' (Exodus 34:6)  Yahweh never changes, he has always been merciful and gracious to us, from the very beginning through the generations since to today.  Thanks be to Yahweh for His indescribable gift!  Yes and Amen! 

~May Yahweh bless you and keep you this week!

For more about the Gospel of Yeshua check out 119 Ministries teachings, they also have transcripts for most of their teachings, here are a couple links:

What is the Gospel? Part 1
What is the Gospel? Part 2

A Weekly Rest and Reflection ~ Shabbat

Shabbat Shalom!

It is after dark on Friday night, which is the beginning of the seventh day, called Shabbat, Shabbos or more commonly known as Sabbath on the Hebrew calendar.  It is a day that has been given to all of Israel and the stranger sojourning among them for rest. So why is it ignored and disregarded as 'done away with'?  What do we believe? 

 Exodus 20: 1-17 (Amp)

Then God spoke all these words:

I am (Yahweh) the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.

You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I (Yahweh) the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not use or repeat the name of (Yahweh) the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for (Yahweh) the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

[Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, But the seventh day is a Sabbath to (Yahweh) the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the sojourner within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That is why (Yahweh) the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes].

Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, and courtesy) your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land (Yahweh) the Lord your God gives you.

You shall not commit murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not witness falsely against your neighbor.

 
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

This is the foundation.  The first four statements (commandments) are about how to love Yahweh.  The last six are how to love your neighbor as yourself...These two commandments sum up and upon them hang all the Law (Torah) and the Prophets.  Matthew 22:40 AMP  

I love Shabbat! I look forward to it every week.  Learning how to 'remember it earnestly' has been challenging at times as we live in a country that does not acknowledge Shabbat...but, this does not mean we should just go with the flow and not worry about it...I mean God knows my heart...right?  Yep.  It is deceitful, who can know it?  The way is narrow and few find it...if I 'go with the flow'  I quickly find myself swept away and on the wide path that leads...well...you know...and no one wants to go down that road! 
  
More to ponder scientifically:  NEWSTART - Rest

An apologetic study to watch:  119 Ministries - Test Everything, The Sabbath Day

A few more verses to ponder...

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. And God blessed (spoke good of) the seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had created and done. Genesis 2:2-3 (Amp)

Wherefore the Israelites shall keep the Sabbath to observe it throughout their generations, a perpetual covenant. Exodus 31:16 (Amp)

If you turn away your foot from [traveling unduly on] the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, the holy day of (Yahweh) the Lord honorable, and honor Him and it, not going your own way or seeking or finding your own pleasure or speaking with your own [idle] words, Then will you delight yourself in (Yahweh) the Lord, and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage [promised for you] of Jacob your father; for the mouth of (Yahweh) the Lord has spoken it. Isaiah 58:13-14 (Amp)
 
I came to be, in the Spirit, on the Day of (Yahweh) the Lord; and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet,...  Revelation 1:10 (CJB)

Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.  Matthew 24:20 (Amp)

And (Yeshua) Jesus said to them, The Sabbath was made on account and for the sake of man, not man for the Sabbath; Mark 2:27 (Amp)

So He came to Nazareth, [that Nazareth] where He had been brought up, and He entered the synagogue, as was His custom on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read. Luke 4:16 (Amp)

.... For from ancient generations Moses (Torah) has had his preachers in every town, for he is read [aloud] every Sabbath in the synagogues.  Acts 15:21 (Amp) 

Some of these passages have been twisted or ignored and made into something they were never meant to be and in 325 AD the course of time (Yahweh's calendar) and the seasons (Yahweh's appointments) were changed and outlawed by the Council of Nicea.  We live in a time of restoration of the ancient paths..Stand at the crossroads and look; ask about the ancient paths, ‘Which one is the good way?’ Take it, and you will find rest for your souls.  But they said, ‘We will not take it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16), We want to be those who do take the ancient path.  We want to be those who Hear and Obey (Shema!)  

This is why we remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. 

 May Yahweh bless you and keep you, my His face shine upon you and bring you peace!

Shalom! (Peace)

~Anita

A New Adventure

Today marks the beginning of a new adventure for my daughter, Abigail and I as well as a couple of friends who have contributed in creating items.  Abigail and I have just opened our own ETSY shop, Seems Simple to help fund our trip to Israel. 

We have quite a selection of items we will be listing from homemade hats to healthy cleaning products and body care made with doTERRA Essential Oils made by my dear friend and I.

It is a work in progress...right now all I have listed is hats, but keep checking for more items!

Thanks for checking it out!   Gotta run!

~Blessings

New Beginnings

It's been a year since I last posted...wow...where have I been?  Not blogging, that's for sure!

Good thing I don't HAVE to do this blogging thing...

but, I do! 

I need to do this! 

I have new goals and new plans, I have dreams and desires, that aren't new, just newly awakened, I have a new home to care for and make better, I have a new direction.

 I have purpose again. 

I didn't realize how much I was fighting for a purpose until now.

A month ago, we closed on a house...something I really never expected to have again.

I am still recovering from the shock!  We have been busy making it our own, it has been fun to have that outlet again.   I was slowly dying from lack of creativity where we were renting for nearly two years.  Having a home again is a big help to helping me fight for my purpose, it is a dream and desire fulfilled, but, I have a much larger dream and desire...

I want to go to Israel, I want our entire family to go, if possible, this fall.  There are five of us.  This is HUGE to me.  I don't know how it is going to happen, I just know it CAN and it WILL happen.  I just need to stick with my goals and plans.  This is why I must blog...it's part of the plan.

What is my purpose?  I am a helper...this is what I have told myself for a long time...and what I have become...but I am more than that.  I have gifts.  We all do, right?  My gift is not limited to 'helper extraordinaire'...there is more to me than that.  I can write...sort of...I sew (some people don't, or can't),  I apparently am artistic, (at least that's what 'they' say), I LOVE to paint (it brings me peace), I am creative...I am more than that, but that is enough for now.  (HA!)  Most importantly, I do have worth, I am beautiful, I am what others see me to be and I need to accept it and move forward. 

This battle is over, has been for a long time but I was frozen in terror. 

No longer. 

I am moving forward once again. 

Deep breath...(and some tears). 

You can do this too. 

You are amazing as well. 

What is your purpose?   

Take a deep breath...shed some tears and move forward...

Blessings to you!

~Anita