Purim ~ The Story of Esther

Scene from "One Night with the King"

 We are getting ready here for Purim!!!  It is such a fun 'minor' holiday filled with SO much meaning for us as followers of Yeshua.  If you don't know the story, you can read it in the Bible, watch the movie "One Night with the King" and/or you can read 'Cliff's Notes' here. 

Esther Scroll (Megillah). Bezalel School, Jerusalem. 1927. Maker: Ze’ev Raban (1890-1970). Case: applied and cast silver. Scroll: watercolor and ink on parchment. B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz.

Why is it important to know about this holiday?  

Everything in the Bible is there for a reason, the Book of Esther is part of history, history repeats itself.  The Tanakh is full of life we should take time to understand, without it the back of the Bible, the Renewed Covenant, gets messed up with the traditions of man. Yeshua (and Paul) are then misrepresented and misunderstood and doctrines are invented out of thin air based on interpretation.  The Renewed Covenant writings must be backed up by Scripture, the Tanakh.

   Esther is a story of salvation, redemption, kingship courage and honor.  It is as rich and vibrant for today as when it happened.  Everyone has a place in the story.  Mordecai is from the Tribe of Benjamin.  Haman is from the Amalekites who were tormenting the Israelites during the Exodus, attacking the weak who had fallen behind.  Later, when Saul, from the Tribe of Benjamin, is King of Israel he is told to destroy the Amalekites.  However, he keeps Agag the King alive and from this disobedience Haman the Agagite comes into play years later in Shushan.  It is a repetition of a theme, the defeat of the enemy of Israel, that will replay itself over and over until the end.

Please visit Servant of Messiah Ministries Blog - Esther is Prophetic for more on the significance of Purim.

Some of the fun things about this holiday are eating yummy foods and dressing up.  Here are some more fun and informative links to explore:

From Shiksa in the Kitchen: She has a lot of cool recipes and history, explore it, it's a fun Blog!
Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese filled Hamantaschen and the Story of Purim
Making Perfect Hamantaschen
Purim Masks


 
How does Puwriym (Purim) Point to Messiah? Awesome had to add!
Purim - Hebrew4Christians
Looking for a quiz or questionaire?
Understand and Celebrate Purim

AND finally, just for fun!

 Enjoy learning about this great holiday and remember we have all been born for such a time as this in the end days, be strong, be strong and may we be strengthened!!!

~Blessings

Hear and Obey, Shema!

Hear O, Israel Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one.

Blessed be His glorious name whose kingdom is forever and ever.

Yeshua the Messiah is Yahweh

Phillipians 2:  ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  ~NKJV (emphasis mine)

In the Aramaic English New Testament it says in verse 11:  

and that every tongue should confess that  
Master YHWH is Y'shua Mashiyach to the glory of Elohim his Father.   
 ~AENT (emphasis mine)

Can you see the difference?  Not only is it clear who the 'Lord' is, but the order is switched.   The Shema (hear and obey) from Deuteronomy 6:4 clearly tells us that YHWH (Lord) our Elohim (God) is ONE.

So what are we, Israel,* suppose to hear and obey?

Deuteronomy 6: ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God (Yahweh your Elohim) with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  ~NKJV

This is what we are to be doing, loving Yahweh, hiding his word in our hearts and teaching and speaking of Yahweh's instructions (his Word).

*The children of Israel are those who listen to His word, follow and do His will.  See Ezekiel 37, Romans 11, Exodus 12:38, Book of Ruth, just a few examples of those who are Israel. 

The Birth of a Nation

Last weeks Torah study was all about Israel leaving Egypt after the first Passover.  Our focus was on Exodus 12 with special focus on verses 43-50 as they are not in chronological order but instead have thematic significance.  The theme in these verses is about circumcision and the Passover...basically you can not eat of it unless you have been circumcised.  This section of scripture is what is called a parsha, in this case verses 43-50 are a parsha stumah, which is a minor. The parsha before this one is verses 37-42 (parsha p'tuchah) and the one directly after is verse 51 (parsha p'tuchah).  These two sections speak of Israel leaving Egypt 'to the day'.

(Page 3 of the study will tell you the difference between the two parsha types, you can find the study Bo here:  Restoration of Torah - Torah Study)

430 years 'to the day' of what?  We know that the covenant was made with Abraham and part of that had to do with circumcision.  So we can go back to Genesis 15 and find that: Abram is promised a son, Abram is imputed righteousness because of his faith, Yahweh makes the covenant with Abram, and tells Abram his descendants will be enslaved in a foreign land for 400 years.  In Genensis 15:17 it uses the same words...'on the same day'...

If we look at a genealogical timetable we can see that the period of exile begins on the same day Issac was born and would end on that same day.

Going back to the main theme of the Exodus 43-50 parsha and reading forward to Genesis 17 about Yahweh and Abram's covenant, circumcision instituted as a sign of the covenant, the promise of Isaac and Abram fulfilling circumcision of everyone who was with him.  The two passages both deal with those who are not blood born Hebrews.  

Yahweh was now going to fulfill his promise to Abraham by delivering them from Egyptian bondage, their side of the covenant was for Israel and all who joined them to be circumcised and then follow the directions of the Passover sacrifice to save life.

Life in Hebrew is chayim, the first letter is chet and looks like this: 

Looks somewhat like a door:

This letter is often used as an abbreviation for the word life.  Pretty cool huh?

It get's better actually.  This is the birth of the nation of Israel!  Israel went into Egypt as a family and is coming out of Egypt as a nation.  You see, they went into their homes as slaves to remain inside while all over Egypt there was screaming and crying as all the firstborn died, then they all came out of those blood-stained doorways similar to a child born from the womb, as a free nation!  (See Ezekiel 16:1-6)

The Torah clearly teaches about  the 'new birth' or 'born again' experience, think about Yeshua's conversation with Nicodemus...interesting....

Why is this all important to know?

The Torah is a picture of what is to come, in this case the first Passover is a picture of a future Passover.  Examination of lamb from the 10-14th making sure it is 'without blemish', 1 Peter 1:18-19 and John the Baptist being a Levite, the priest declares a lamb fit for sacrifice...'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  The blood of the lamb and the blood of Messiah give life from death.   No bones were to be broken in the lamb is a prophecy that no bones would be broken in Messiah.  The Passover sacrifice redeemed Israel just as Yeshua the Messiah's sacrifice redeems us!  The Passover sacrifice was the price of redemption which paid for their salvation (firstborn life) and deliverance from Egyptian bondage.  Yeshua the Messiah's sacrifice also is the price of redemption which pays for our salvation (life) and deliverance from the bondage of sin if we put our faith in the blood of the Lamb.  The Passover is pre-Torah...simply put, you cannot be saved by keeping Torah.  Keeping Torah comes after we are saved because we want to show love to the one who saved us!

There is SO much in this study...

One more thing I will share just to make the connection back to the passage about circumcision.  True circumcision is of the heart Romans 2:29, Abraham was circumcised outwardly but also of the heart, Romans 4:11 tells us that this was a sign of his righteousness he obtained by faith.  Do we also have this seal of righteousness?  Ephesians 1:13 tells us that the Ruach Ha'Kodesh (Holy Spirit) is our seal of righteousness through being born again!

This is just some of the study, there is so much more and my ramblings could even be a bit hard to follow.  If you would like to know more I encourage you to go to the above link, under Shemot (Exodus) click on the download of Bo.  I love learning how to tie all of scripture together, it is making a solid foundation out of rubble.  It is showing how important ALL of scripture is.  Without the front of the Book we can NOT understand what the back of the Book really means as it is not the scripture 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is talking about, it wasn't considered scripture yet.  So, "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth".  2 Timothy 2:15

~Blessings

The Names of Our God and Why it Matters

It is amazing how much is buried in translation.  For instance, the true names of God...translated as God, Lord, Lord God, God Almighty or Lord our God for instance.  The real names are SO important to understanding everything!  In Exodus 6:2-4 it says this:

 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord.   I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.  I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. (NKJV)


In the Complete Jewish Bible it translates Lord as Adonai, which isn't correct either as it is still disguising the name of YHWH, which is important.

God is Elohim
Lord is YHWH, (Yahweh)

So what this verse is saying is essentially, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew me as Elohim but did not know me as YHWH as I will make myself known to you.

However, we see when we go back into Genesis that God does make himself known by both names.

In Genesis 1-2:3 the name used is Elohim, it is associated with him being the Creator and the relationship to all he created to be fruitful and multiply and walking with Adam in the garden in the covenant with each other.

In Genesis 2:4-3:24 his name changes to YHWH (you can even see this in the translations, it goes from God to Lord God thus becoming a different name, which is lost to us if we just read it).  This name is associated with the garden (land) and what happens there, the curse and the blessing after they must leave the garden including the fact that He would judge those who sin.

In Genesis 15:1-20 we see the name YHWH being used again in this passage as regards to the covenant made which has to do with the land (vs. 8-19) and there is a connection with their eventual enslavement and deliverance from Egypt. 

In Genesis 17:1-14 the name is again Elohim in regards to the multiplying of Abraham's offspring and the relationship that exists between Abraham and Elohim and how there is again another covenant made as at the beginning.

So, we are at the place where God makes himself known as YHWH miraculously bringing them out of the land of Egypt and its bondage.  This is what he is referring to in Exodus 6:2-4,   how he will make himself known to them now as their Redeemer.

We find out that Pharaoh is very, very stubborn and does not let them leave and so, Egypt goes through a time of judgement, the 10 plagues.  Through this YHWH shows the Egyptians that He is the only true God (Elohim), he judges them by their gods, including Pharaoh.  Here is what Exodus 6:6-8 says will happen and how it lays out the remainder of the Torah in a sort of outline.

Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’”  (NKJV)

Remember Lord here is the name of YHWH. 

1. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 7:14-13:16)
2. I will rescue you from their bondage.  (Exodus 13:17-14:14)
3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. (Exodus 14:15-18:27)
4. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. (Exodus 19:1-Leviticus)
5. I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage.  (Numbers-Deuteronomy)  

Four of these "I will's" correspond to the Passover Seder as the four cups as follows:

1. Cup of Sanctification ( I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Exodus 7:14-13:16)
2. Cup of Plagues/Wrath ( I will rescue you from their bondage. Exodus 13:17-14:14)
3. Cup of Redemption (I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Exodus 14:15-18:27)
4. Cup of Praise (I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Exodus 19:1-Leviticus)

All four cups speak of the work of the Messiah.  The letters that make up the name YHWH have this meaning:

1. The letter yod (Y) comes originally from the picture of a hand.
2. The letter hey (H) comes from the picture of a window.
3. The letter vav (W) comes from the picture of a nail or hook.

Thus it would be through the hand of YHWH (God), pierced by a nail that salvation and deliverance would come to His people!  The name YHWH teaches us about the work of the Messiah.  Without this, we miss way too much.  

If you want to know more, please visit these sites:

Restoration of Torah - This is the study we are using right now, there is also a children's version for each lesson.  (The study above comes from Va'eira under the Exodus tab)

Test Everything - 119 Ministries - Really appreciate this site, very good teachings.  


May YHWH bless you and keep you!  

~Have Courage

Moses' Life from Death

As a family and with friends we have been studying the God's Word, the Torah (first 5 books in our Bibles)  thematically.  The study we are using helps us see how important everything that was written is and why it was written the way it was.  It really isn't just a hodge-podge of information, but a well thought out, very directed writing of events and instructions for us to follow.  If you are interested in studying God's word this way, here is the link:  Restoration of Torah - Thematic Studies

We just started on Exodus this last week, focusing on chapter 2 we learned many things about Moses and how this part of his story is thematically related to Noah, Joseph, Jeremiah, Hadad the Edomite, Jacob and to Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. 

Moses was suppose to be thrown into the river, his parents hid him for three months then placed him in a basket (an ark) that was pitched within and without.  Like Noah, he was saved from the judgement of death, through water in an ark that was pitched.  The reasons for the details are so we can see a connection.  Here is why:

With Noah, we see a judgement on mankind. 
With Moses we see a judgement on Egypt.

With Noah we see how the righteous was saved through that judgement.
With Moses we see how the righteous are saved through the judgement on Egypt.

God establishes a covenant with Moses.
God establishes a covenant with Israel.

Moses is to inhabit the new earth with the hope that people will then follow God's instructions.
Israel is to inhabit the new land in hopes that people will then follow God's instructions through their example.

Moses grows up, becomes, more than likely, a co-regent in Egypt, and tries to stand up for what is right by standing up for the oppressed which backfires.  His timing is off.  He knows he has a purpose, tries to make it happen and has to flee for his life.  He stands for the oppressed three times:

1. He ends up killing an Egyptian taskmaster
2. He breaks up a fight between two Hebrews, his brothers so to speak.
3. He defends Jethro/Rehuel's 7 daughters from the other shepherds and waters their flock.

This all teaches us about Moses' character and how he hated injustice, and wasn't afraid to stand up for the weaker person(s). 

The next connection is how he meets his wife, at a well.  Abraham's servant meets Issac's wife at a well, Jacob meets Rachael at a well and now Moses meets Zipporrah at a well.  There is also a tie to kindness, Rebeckah waters all the camels, Jacob removed the cover off the well and then waters all the flock and Moses waters the flock after defending the 7 daughters.  Interestingly there are three instances in the Torah and the forth is Yeshua meeting the woman at the well...what is the connection?

As a leader we learn that Moses has to go through a period of persecution/tribulation similar in some regards to Joseph.  Thus showing us that Moses will be used to secure life for Israel in a way similar to that of Joseph.

1. He has a conflict with one of his 'brothers'.
2. Is then rejected in a similar fashion..."who made you judge and ruler over us?"
3. Moses flees or is exiled from his brethren.
4. Moses marries the daughter of a priest from a foreign land.
5. Moses goes to see how his brothers are doing.
6. Moses is reunited with his brethren who now accept his leadership.

How is this important to know?  Here are just a few reasons:

1. Moses leads Israel out of Egyptian bondage of slavery/ Yeshua leads us out of the bondage of sin.
2. Moses was tested/trained in the wilderness for 40 years/ Israel was tested and purified in the wilderness for 40 years/ Yeshua was tested in the wilderness for 40 days.
3. Moses was given signs/miracles so Irael would believe that (YHWH) sent him/ Yeshua said they should believe because of the signs/miracles He did.
4. Moses was given power over leprosy/ Yeshua had power over leprosy, which was known to be the sign of the Messiah.

In 1 Kings 11:14-22 we find Hadad's story and the connections we can make to Moses, Joseph and Yeshua:

1. Hadad, Moses and Yeshua all male children are killed.
2. Hadad, Joseph and Yeshua, all destined to be leaders had to flee to Egypt, Moses had to flee from Egypt.
3. Hadad and Moses were raised in Pharoah's court.
4. Hadad and Joseph were given wives from royalty in Pharoah's court.
5. Hadad and Joseph found favor with Pharoah.
6. Hadad, Moses and Yeshua all returned to their people/homeland after the death of their enemies.

In 1 Kings 11:39-40 we find the same type of story with someone destined to be a leader/ruler fleeing to Egypt to spare their life.  It appears the lesson we are to learn here is to be a true leader, you must experience persecution/tribulation. Even David goes through this type of persecution/tribulation/exile from his people.  We are all called to be leaders (kings and priests), in God's kingdom, why should we expect anything less than this? 

The Haftarah is the name given to the special readings from the Writings and the Prophets read alongside the Torah portions.  For example, the Haftarah reading for last week was Jeremiah 1:1-2:3.  The connections to the Torah portion is as follows:

1. The calling of both Moses and Jeremiah to be a prophet to the people.
2. Moses and Jeremiah are both reluctant, feeling inadequate.
3. YHWH God puts His words in Jeremiah and Moses' mouth.
4. An allusion is made back to the Exodus calling Israel the first born, judgement will come against those who harm Israel.

So, why is all this important to know?  Because Yeshua states that Moses wrote of Him!  When Yeshua is talking to the two on the road to Emmaus he tells them of Him from the beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, so it is important to understand what Moses wrote and why or we miss it all and come up with our own doctrines based on what we 'think' Yeshua said and not on what He REALLY did say.  This is why there is so many denominations/divisions among us, we do not know or understand the WORD made flesh who dwelt among us teaching us ALL things that were written.  You see, at the time of Yeshua, there were many divisions, based on the oral traditions.  Any oral tradition that went against the WORD of YHWH God Yeshua denounced.  He did not come to do away with the Torah (instructions of God) he came to fulfill...not one jot or tittle will pass away until He returns.  Has He returned?  Then we should be following His instructions....right?  What are His instructions?  Most would say, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and strength and your neighbor as yourself" leaving out the rest of the context which says, all the commandments (instructions, Torah) HANG on these two...that does not mean that is it, but ALL the rest can be hung from, these two summations. 

So, what do we learn of the future Messiah in Exodus 1-6:1?

In Genesis we learn that anytime we see:

1. Pictures of resurrection,
2. Pictures of renewed life as a result of deliverance from impending death
3. Pictures of victory and life as a result of death

the Torah is trying to teach us about the Messiah.

Examples are:

1. The first living things were created on day THREE.
2.Torah's picture of resurrection of the Messiah is found in the Holy Days of YHWH God.  Specifically, Day THREE of the Omer (First Fruits), Omer Wave Offering.
3. Jonah, should have died, but was delivered from the belly of the great fish on day THREE. 
4. The binding of Issac (akeida), where Issac was being offered as an Olah (whole burnt offering) on day THREE, hints that Issac died and was resurrected from death figuratively.  See Hebrews 11:17-19

So, in Exodus chapter 2 we find that Moses was suppose to die based on the Pharoah's decree that all male babies were to be thrown in the river, thus being killed.  In Matthew chapter 2 we find that King Herod put out a similar decree to kill all the male children 2 years and under to prevent Yeshua from living.  His life was spared as well, of course!

Moses' parents hid him for THREE months. Then, she 'obeyed' the decree by putting him in the river.
He was drawn out of the water by Pharoah's daughter, thus cancelling Pharoah's decree and giving him LIFE.  This is a picture of life from death!  Resurrection!

Joseph and Moses are thematically linked and therefore we can begin to see how knowing this changes how we study scripture.   Joseph has a strong Messianic connection and therefore as a connection with Moses is visible we shall see how Moses and the Messiah are linked, I encourage you to go back and study the last 2 studies in Genesis on Joseph from the above link, it is a powerful story.

Moses is a shadow of the Messiah:  Moses was set apart from the Hebrew slavery, he was raised as royalty and then had to become common, like his brethren, to lead them out of slavery and bondage to sin.  Yeshua is royalty being YHWH God's only begotten son, became a common man, to lead us out of the bondage of sin and death.    As Moses did not participate in the slavery of Egypt, so Yeshua did not participate in our sin nature, being perfect (keeping God's instructions).  Moses stepped down from his position in Egypt to identify with his brethren, as Yeshua.  See Philipians 2.

Moses' very life is a picture of the Messiah!  There will be more connections as the story unfolds in the next few weeks, I can't wait, this is exciting!!!

~Have a blessed week!

In Spirit and in Truth

<sup>How do we follow YHWH God?  In spirit and in truth, no matter what the truth may be or how uncomfortable it is to us or those around us.  Right?  What does it mean to follow YHWH in spirit and in truth?  

John 23-24</sup>

A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.  God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).  ~AMP

For the last 12 years my family and I have been learning this along with our friends who we have mutually agreed to 'stick it out together' with through the many discomforts of the truth, which does by the way, set us free from bondage in ways never imagined.  It is wonderful!  Hard, yes, but so, worth it!  

I encourage you, in the grace of God through His son Yeshua the Messiah to be set free as well!  Yes, we are saved by grace, there is nothing we can do to earn that!   THen we are to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling.  Righteous fear of our God, YHWH.  Do we fear Him as we should?  Do we do what He has laid out for us to do?  Please take some time to pray about this, watch these teachings below and search it out to see if it be true.  Be freed from the trappings of the world!  

Without the front of the Bible, (TORAH, Prophets and Writings) we cannot understand the back of the Bible.

 

 For more teachings, please visit:  119 Ministries, Test Everything

Empty Words

Being at a loss for words for months on end...I have decided I better just write something...anything to fill this void on my blog page.  Is this who I am?...It is not who I want to be...this wishy-washy writer who can't get her ideas out of her head.  I figure if I at least write something then maybe, just maybe something more will come to me...

Where is the poem?
Where is the song?
It is gone from me like a cloud that has no rain...
I am empty...

Fill me up again
Give me words to praise You
Help me live the life You want for me to live...
I am empty...

There is no song in me it seems, and yet it is there, I just can't access it...The joy of the Lord is my strength!  I will hold onto that until the song returns.  It is slow in coming, but I will hold on to Yeshua and be patient in this dry place.  I will rejoice in His Name!

Now...to post or not to post?...that is the question...

   

A Break...

There is a great wealth of information in the world today, and thanks to the internet it is right at our fingertips.  For me, this has been most helpful over the years as I have struggled to find gems of truth among the dross and mud that has covered the narrow way and made it hard to see.

Some of the things we have learned together as a family and alongside our friends have been paradigm shifts.  From learning about the pagan origins or outright apostasy of so much of our belief system, to learning about and keeping God's appointed feasts and the foods we should eat for our health, it has been quite a journey and it isn't over....I am thankful for this journey, even when it is overwhelmingly hard and all I can do is sit on the couch watching Julian Smith or Messy Monday videos to make me laugh at life again!
  
Today is one of those days where everything has caught up to me, and although I have only watched one video today as my computer balks at anything I do these days (being it is 8 years old), I have played Spider Solitaire THREE times and checked Facebook FIVE times! All intermixed in with making breakfast smoothies, swimming lesson, water kefir, granola, trip to Walmart, Safeway, & Settler's Market, laundry, dinner, and cleaning the kitchen!  It has been a day...now I must go for a walk....but, I just wanted to jot something down to let you know I am still here and thinking of what to write next.....

The Love of God

Yesterday a song came to mind that I hadn't thought of in quite some time...all I could think of were the first few words...The Love of God...  So, I looked it up.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the history of the song as well as the lyrics on the first page I went too...but was this the real history? 

From http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/o/loveofgo.htm a direct quote:

"Words: Fred­er­ick M. Leh­man; he wrote this song in 1917 in Pas­a­de­na, Cal­i­fornia, and it was pub­lished in Songs That Are Dif­fer­ent, Vol­ume 2, 1919. The lyr­ics are based on the Jew­ish poem Had­da­mut, writ­ten in Ara­ma­ic in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Ne­hor­ai, a can­tor in Worms, Ger­ma­ny; they have been trans­lat­ed in­to at least 18 lang­uages.

One day, dur­ing short in­ter­vals of in­at­ten­tion to our work, we picked up a scrap of pa­per and, seat­ed up­on an emp­ty le­mon box pushed against the wall, with a stub pen­cil, add­ed the (first) two stan­zas and chor­us of the song…Since the lines (3rd stan­za from the Jew­ish po­em) had been found pen­ciled on the wall of a pa­tient’s room in an in­sane asy­lum af­ter he had been car­ried to his grave, the gen­er­al opin­ion was that this in­mate had writ­ten the epic in mo­ments of san­ity.
Frederick M. Lehman, “History of the Song, The Love of God,” 1948

Music: Fred­er­ick Leh­man; ar­ranged by his daugh­ter, Clau­dia L. Mays"

As you can see above I have highlighted the text I found to be interesting...does anyone know what was happening in Europe during that time period?  THE CRUSADES!

So...I decided to dig deeper, which took some time. Translations of words are sometimes written differently so I could not seem to find this elusive Haddamut poem...until I typed in the name Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai and this was what I found in the webpage listed below:

From http://www.herjc.org/cantor/Shavuot.html

Akdamut

Sung in part during Shavout (that would be the Feast of Weeks or commonly known as Pentecost)

"Akdamut was written in Aramaic by Rabbi Meir ben Isaac Nehorai (c.1030-c.1096) of Worms, Germany. Rabbi Meir is known to have been a great scholar and a Hazzan, as well as the author of many liturgical poems and prayers, most of which have been lost." 

Some of the Akdamut is on the site above but I found a more complete history and poem translation here:


http://www.ou.org/torah/article/akdamut_and_ketuvah has this to say:

"Akdamut" - The Background

Akdamut is a "piyut," a religious poem, which was composed during the First Crusade, which began in 1096, as an effort by Christian Europe to recapture the "Holy Land" from the Moslem "infidels" who had seized it. On their way to the Middle East, the Christian knights would, in general, visit terror if not outright destruction upon the Jewish communities which happened to be on their route. It was a time of oppression, of cruelty, of ignorance on the part of the Jews' neighbors. There was absolutely nothing attractive in the dominant culture in Europe at that time.

Nevertheless, the Christians tried to force their religion upon their Jewish neighbors, often at the threat of death. Sometimes, mock "debates" were held, in which Jewish rabbis were forced to participate, knowing that the juries, consisting of church officials, were rigged against them, and that nothing they said would have any effect on their listeners, or upon their own fate. The author of Akdamut was the unwilling participant in such a "debate."

This then was the background of Akdamut, composed at that time by Rabbi Meir son of Rabbi Yitzchak, who was the "Chazan" of the City of Vermaiza, in Germany. The position "Chazan" is not directly translatable as "Cantor," which is its current meaning, for at that time, there was the additional connotation of great Talmudic scholarship associated with the position and, indeed, this particular Chazan is supposed to have been one of the teachers of the great Bible and Talmud Commentator, RASHI.

The poem describes the words of the author as he "debated" the truths of Judaism to a hostile audience. But they are disguised for posterity in the Aramaic language, which was not understood by the Christian world or its censors. The author, who died shortly after the "debate," left behind a priceless inheritance for the Jewish People, the piyut of Akdamut. The practice began to chant Akdamut on Shavuot, with its characteristic melody, at the beginning of the public reading which includes the "Aseret HaDibrot," the Ten Commandments.


They go on to talk about the structure of the poem which is very interesting...

 "Akdamut" - The Structure

Akdamut has ninety lines; the first forty-four begin with a double Aleph-Bet; Aleph, Aleph, Bet, Bet, and so on. The first letters of the next forty-six lines make up an acrostic in which the author expresses the prayer that the L-rd will bless him with the ability and opportunity, even in the extremely hostile environment in which he found himself, to grow in knowledge of Torah and in the performance of good deeds.

Each line of the poem, written in Aramaic, as mentioned above, ended in the letters "Tav," the last letter of the Aleph Bet, and "Aleph," the first letter of the Aleph-Bet, to show that when one reaches the last letter, the "end" of the Torah, so to speak, one immediately turns and restarts the Torah from its "beginning."



Then the poem is translated:


"Akdamut" - Free Translation of Content

Before I begin to read his Words (The Ten Commandments),
I will ask Permission,
Of the One Whose Might is such that -
Even if all the heavens were parchment,
And all the reeds pens,
And all the oceans ink,
And all people were scribes,
It would be impossible to record
the Greatness of the Creator,
Who Created the World with a soft utterance,
And with a single letter, the letter "heh,"
The lightest of the letters.

And Angels of Heaven of all kinds,
All full of fear and terror of their Master,
Have permission to praise him only at set times,
Some once in seven years, Others once and no more,

How beloved is Israel!
For the Holy One leaves the Angels on High,
To take the People of Israel as His lot -
And they make Him their King,
And declare, "Holy! Holy! Holy!"
Twice a day, Morning and Evening -

And all His Desire is that His Chosen People
Will study His Torah and pray to Him,
For they are inscribed in His Tefillin,
"Who is like Your People, Israel,
One nation in the World!"

Thus it is the will of the Holy One,
That I speak in praise of Israel,
And though all the nations come and ask,
Who can it Be, for Whom you give up your lives,
O most beautiful of the nations?
But come with us,
And we'll satisfy all your desires!

And Israel responds with wisdom,
Only a bit of the truth do they reveal,
What is your greatness, say they to the nations,
Compared to the reward that He has in store for us!
And when He sheds upon us His great light,
While you go, then are destroyed in darkness!

Yerushalayim will be rebuilt!
The Exiles will return,
The Gates of Gan Eden will Re-Open,
And all their Brilliance will be Revealed to us -
We will enter those Gates and take Pleasure,
In the Radiance of the Divine Presence,
Whom we will point to, and say -
Here is our G-d, in Whom we hoped,
He will save us!

And each righteous one under his canopy will sit,
In the Sukkah made from the skin of Leviathan,
And in the future
He will make a dance for the righteous ones,
And a banquet in Paradise,
From that Great Fish and the Wild Ox ,
And from the Wine preserved from the Creation -
Happy are those who believe and hope and
Never abandon their faith forever!

Now you my listeners,
When you hear your praise in this song,
Be strong in your faith!
And you will merit to sit in the company
Of the holy and righteous ones
In the World-to-Come!
If you've listened well to my words,
Which were uttered in holy majesty -
Great is our G-d!
The First and the Last!
Happy are we, for He loved us,
And gave us His Torah.

So...we go from an insane asylum to a prison to maybe neither, an insane Jew to a persecuted Jew who may have lost his life for what he believed...I will leave it to you to decide...

As for me, I do not believe the first report above by Mr. Lehman, I am saddened that he believed that Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai had gone insane and I am relieved to know more about the time now with so much at our fingertips, after all it was a time of great turmoil and loss of life in Europe, if you were not a Catholic, you were a heretic or a Jesus killer...sigh...how absolutely wrong they were...  I am thankful for Mr. Lehman's tribute of the Akdamut/Haddamut in "The Love of God".  It is a great song and now I know why the 3rd stanza always makes me cry when I sing it...so much the Hand of God in those words!

Here is a version from Mercy Me.
The 3rd stanza has been moved to the middle in this version...enjoy!

The Love of God - Mercy Me



  

Where do I Belong but Right Where I am...

Life really is like going on a long trip.  You get on the highway and stop at rest stops, places to refuel yourself and your car, and, if you are traveling from the west side of the Cascades to the east side as I have done many times in the past few years, you will also find places of desolate landscape. The highway also has a lot of side roads you can take as well as get lost on, depending on your strategy or destination, not always the best of choices but sometimes worthwhile learning experiences. 

A couple of years ago, we found ourselves in our Suburban pulling a 26 ft. trailer taking many of those side roads as we neared Moses Lake from the east.  I-90 was closed in this section due to a dust storm and we were stuck on the wrong side of it trying to get home, another 4 hours away.  So, off the main road we went, it was quite an adventure and there were times we couldn't even see the road in front of us.  I will never forget that trip and how relieved we all were to find our way back to the main road.  It wasn't all bad, there were beautiful sights and interesting things to see on our side road trip.  We basically traveled parallel to the highway as much as we could and were alarmed when we veered too far away from it.  We felt safe as long as we knew where we were...but...to get us back to the main road we had to make decisions based on nothing concrete to get us there in the end.  The roads were blocked all around us and it seemed we were never going to find our way back.  How similar that is to life.  When we are following God's ways and take a detour to avoid a wait or a discomfort of some kind we often find ourselves in a place that looks right and seems right, but then the dust comes and totally covers our way and we can't see a thing.  It clears again and we find we cannot know our way back, all looks hopeless and blocked off to us.  Then we find we are back on the road again not really sure how we got there...but by the grace of God!

 Our lives for the last 10 years have been like that, somehow we found (about 10 years ago) we had veered off God's road at some point in the past and for years He was slowly bringing us back to His road, although we didn't know it at the time, we had made a commitment to follow Him no matter what came our way and He was faithful to show us His ways little by little so we would not be overwhelmed by all the conflicts and changes this would bring to our lives.  We have always known the road was narrow, we heard that so often, but the road we were on didn't seem to be narrow as we read His Word, in fact it started to look rather wide as we started to leave it behind to follow the true narrow road. Since we have found this narrow, straight road, we have left it a few times for an easy way around an obstacle which never quite turns out right. Thankfully, through repentance and forgiveness we are always brought back to the road.   We were confused by traditions and doctrines that were not biblical nor had any possible connection to the truth but were intertwined with the truth and all these types of half truths, myths even, have had to be brought into the light of God's word and shown for what they are.  There are great differences between the road we were on...it was quite wide (although we did not see that), there were a lot of others who believed as we did which made it seem right, and it was comfortable, to name a few...as soon as we got onto the right road, we noticed how absolutely narrow it truly was and it was then we started trying to stay on this road because we saw the danger in the wide road appearing as something it was not and how subtle the lies were that we needed to weed out regardless of how we felt about things we thought we could do, or things we believed were true but were not actually, or what other people thought about us.  The dust storms are very intimidating and easily blinding and it takes a very long time and lots of hard work to recover from the blindness that surrounds one, especially if one believes one can see.  The blindness is a deep blindness, it seeks to destroy not just sight but gets right down into the heart and changes truth into what is believed to be true but is more often than not just a lie perpetrated on us by a very crafty deceiver. Would you eat a cookie if you knew it had chicken poo in it?  I mean it looks good...right?  We have recovered much of our sight...but I am sure we still see dimly and always will have some dimness with us somewhere that needs bringing into the light and examined thoroughly.  We see through a glass dimly, but then face to face...

Right now, if you don't know me or don't know me too well, you are probably wondering WHAT in the world is she talking about?  All I can say is read the Bible, the word of God and pray for understanding.  The WHOLE Bible, not just bits and pieces.  It may clear some things up for you.  If you don't have one you can go here, this is a great place to start:  http://www.biblestudytools.com/cjb/ 

As the years have gone by since that trip through the dust and side roads of Eastern Washington many things have changed.  We have had many trips to the east side of the state and each time have felt we would eventually end up there somehow and we better get used to that idea.  So we did, we prepared for the inevitable as we had been preparing for couple years already, but all that seemed to happen was our friends moved to Wenatchee.  The adjustment was painful and hard, but it was fun too, (isn't that how life is), as we now could spend days with them instead of just hours.  After they were settled into their new home, we went home and I settled.  I settled for where we were, I hung up pictures in the hall.  Yes...that is how I settle.     Then, I told my mom basically this...'now that I have hung the pictures, we will probably have to move', and I laughed because it was funny and most probable to my life.  Nothing happened of course, months went by and the year turned...then it was February and we were forced to make a choice.  So, the choice was made again with much prayer and all of a sudden we were going to be moving across the state, it was clear that this was what we were to do, which is what we had been waiting for.  It still seems unreal and it was SO hard.  Hard because in most ways I really just wanted to stay where I was, I was comfortable and had my routine as exhausting as it sometimes was for me.  My kids were happy with their routine and their activities and visits, Grandma's, Aunt Karen's, CAP, quilting, clogging, Awana's...My husband was totally happy with his position at work, guns and keys and such, fun, fun!  We were settled...and then all of a sudden, it was time to go.  I wonder if Abraham ever had this difficulty...he must have, right?  No, stay, keep staying, ok, yes, you could go, but no, stay it's not the right time, yes it is time for them but you stay......alright GO, now...it's time to move!   

The actual moving day...week...6 weeks actually...was surreal.  I really am still having a hard time with realizing where I am.  It is so different.  We went from a place of lush greenery, beautiful lakes and streams, wonderful views of the mountains...to utter desolation...we are surrounded by a desolate landscape, one that offers little 'natural' protection.  Desolation is a beautiful thing though.  I love driving through Vantage, I love seeing the desolation of what I believe to be the remnants of a catastrophic flood,  fountains of the deep bursting open...this is what it reminds me of anyway, it is true to me one way or another there was a flood in the Columbia River Gorge.  I love watching the brown and yellow hills turn green in just a few short days brought to life by the rain.  I love that it does rain even here, just not as much.  Desolation is where God does his work raining down on the dry earth to make it bloom and turn green.  If it is lush and green and lacks nothing there is no need of Him.  I love that this area reminds me of that.

I am thankful for the rest stops along the way where we could rest.  I am so glad for the last three years living where we did, the neighbors, the mountains, the kind landlord.  It was a lovely rest stop.  Much needed at a time when I wasn't sure God cared where we lived.  He gave me the Olympics to see on clear days, a wish I only mentioned in passing, and the means and provision to live there even when my mom had to move out.  I am so thankful for that much needed resting place of beauty. 

 Refueling comes in many forms and our friends have a great part in that, the chatting online, the visits with friends going to Wenatchee in the fall and our one visit to Beit Tefillah and Beit Aveinu online have been a great part of our 'refueling' as well as just resting on Shabbat.  Learning from God through and with others is one of my favorite things to do.  Eating the right food, 'refueling', is really important to your health both physically and spiritually.  You eat the wrong foods, it kills you slowly but surely and you become diseased and sick.  Still, I am recovering from sicknesses I picked up along the way. 

 It is an amazing journey we are on, I don't want to miss out on anything and this keeps me moving forward.  So, this is now where we live...it is much larger than it looks...and I will grow and learn and settle a little faster here as apparently I need to learn to settle and enjoy where I am.  All the pictures have been hung too...  



Many Blessings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Yeshua HaMaschiah! (Jesus Christ )

~HaveCourage

   

 

Who Am I?

This is the question I have been pondering for months...YEARS actually!  It is also partly why I have not been on here to post...so much to process and so much to learn.  Other reasons include upheaval and change, we have been busy and gone a lot, not bad, just hard with some fun thrown in!

My whole life has been about giving up...things and people.  Some, me included for most of that time, see it as losing...things and people.   For instance I could say, I lost my brother or dad or I lost my house to a fire or to foreclosure.  I didn't actually lose anything, it was taken and I have a choice, I can be a loser or I can be a giver.  I have given up these things in my heart and mind...does this mean I don't miss my brother or dad, NO...but my outlook is different now, I will no longer be a loser!  God (YHWH) gives and He takes away.  These things happened for a reason and I will now choose instead to be a giver and give them up to YHWH.  I haven't liked looking at my life and seeing all I have 'lost'.  It drags me down to do that...I go into this weird spiraling place where I then find myself crying over my dog who died 30 years ago! 

True. I have done that.  Not lately.  LoL! 

I bring this all up for one reason.  My friend is all moved away.  I have no friends close by who think and believe the way I think and believe right now.  I have other friends...fun friends and family friends...but my understanding friend needed a different climate to get well and my gift to her is to be as supportive as possible even though my heart is broken and lonely and fighting against fear and jealousy almost daily.  Jealousy?  Fear?  Yes...it is hard to be left behind...This is how I am feeling and it gets to a point where I can't take it...really, I get tired, too tired to fight and just want to let it win...but I know I can't.  It is a battle...I clench my teeth, I get headaches I dream bizarre dreams I can't recall...and I still fight with the WORD and prayer.  One friend I hardly know from Facebook helped me the other day by asking me a question about our life...it was a great help to reflect on our recent struggles and blessings and all YHWH has done in this family and the battle with jealousy and fear was over for a time.  It was nice to have a break, hope it lasts for awhile.  I just don't want to be left behind.  This has always been my thing..."God, just don't leave me behind!"  So I needed to give it up.  God knows I don't want to miss out on anything, why should I be afraid I will?  He is faithful to complete the work He started in me and my family.  If I trust Him. 

I should let Him.  No matter what the cost?  YES! 

I do not know when I will post next, I still must find out who I am in Him for the next step in this journey...just wanted you to know I was still breathing.  :)   

~Have Courage!


 

Overwhelming Circumstances

There is a place inside my heart that is easily wounded and frightened.  I have been brought to this place more times than I can count and each time all I want to do is hide until it is over, which is always unrealistic and not what I need to do.  The circumstances are never the same and it is always overwhelming.  This is where I must trust that God will give me courage, that I am not actually alone, no matter how I 'feel' about it and that these moments are always for my good.  How else will I grow if there is no adversity, no sadness, no pain? 

Right now I am overwhelmed by many small things.  Changes in how we eat, gardening that I can't get to, the kids and their learning...and...most of all, the fact that our friends will be moving away.  That is the hardest thing of all to deal with for me right now.  I am so happy for them and so sad for us.  I fight selfishness because it is best they do move.  I fight jealousy because I wish we could move too.  I fight fear because now I will be more alone than before.  I fight sadness because I want them to be well.  Basically, I am a mess and can't say it.  So, I will write it and whoever reads it can please pray for me.  

I love my friends very much and can't wait for them to be well. 

Here is a link to their blog, please keep them in your prayers as well:  TheLymeofOurLives 

This is a hard journey, but I wouldn't trade it for anything and neither would they.  :)


UPDATE:

Being honest is so important.  Sometimes being honest is such an emotional experience that all you can do is write or it turns into something more than what it actually is.  After writing about how I was feeling and my struggles, I went into my Email Inbox where I had several unread David Wilkerson devotions from his blog that is being continued for an unknown time with his writings even though he is gone from us.  I also read some of Michael Boldea's Homeward Bound posts which also helped to ease the battle of emotions and anxiety I was experiencing.  As I have been pondering these things over the last couple days the overwhelming feeling has left and I once again have peace knowing that God cares for us all so much more than we know and everything is for our benefit.  I have no desire to mope and feel sorry for myself but to be lifted up by His gentle hand and know that all things will work together. 

In my reading last night I was reminded that He cares for us, we are his sheep, He is the Good Shepherd that watches over us.  All we are to do is trust Him.  When we find ourselves cast down, He knows where we are and will lift us up again.  I learned more about sheep in this lesson.  Sheep can find themselves in a postion where they can't get up and they panic and only make their situation worse by ending up completely on their backs, this is called 'being cast down', or simply 'cast'.  They can't get up on their own and are in complete danger of dying of toxicity or of prey until they are found by their shepherd.  This is what is meant by Jesus' parable of the Good Shepherd that he will leave the 99 and go after the one lost sheep.   Once found by the relieved shepherd he then gentley turns them over and pickes them up rubbing their legs and holding them until they can stand on their own again and return to the flock. 

Interesting huh?  I love learning new things, especially when they have a deeper meaning for me.  God is always there watching over us and when we are cast down he lifts us up again in our weakness and holds us until we are strong enough to walk forward again with Him beside us.  Lovely, isn't it?  Thank you Father for your indescribable gifts!  Especially for Jesus our Good Shepherd! 

This is what I was reading:  The Amplified Bible and A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

Am I Still Breathing?

Once in a while we have to stop and ask ourselves this question;  Am I still breathing?  Obviously, physically I am still breathing or I wouldn't have any need to ask such a question...What I am talking about is my spiritual life's breath.  Am I still breathing God's new life for me?

Sometimes it is quite a fight to keep breathing, sometimes we have moments where we feel as if we are drowning, or feel out of breath, exhausted by life's challenges.  There are times when we are bombarded by the arrows of darkness and forget to breathe nearly passing out in disbelief of the circumstances surrounding us.  No matter how much breath we have left, God is always there to revive us.  He never will leave us.  No matter what we are going through.  Keep our hearts pure.  Set our mind on His ways, which we cannot comprehend.  Keep our eyes on Jesus.  He is able to deliver us from all we find ourselves in.  Am I still breathing?  Yes!  I will continue to breathe as long as He is with me.  I would be lost without Him...

 

When it looks like all hope is lost. God comes and reveals Himself.  Since March 11th, there has been a myriad of bad news from Japan...the earthquake and ensuing Tsunami, all the deaths, the radiation poisoning...but God is there, I see that He is there in the following ways:  The 60 year old man rescued 10 miles off the coast 2 days after, floating on his roof...the 4 month old baby swept away from the parents (who both survived) found alive on the 14th with no injuries...the 70 year old lady found alive in her home that was swept away...the man found 8 days later...the 80 year old grandma and her 16 year old grandson who was given enough energy to pull himself out to get them saved, who 9 days after were found alive!  These are great examples of hope in a most horrible situation, God is truly there!  They are being called miraculous...and rightly so, they are miracles!  How could one go on without hope in all this devastation?  There will always be hope, a reason to keep breathing...God NEVER leaves us without hope!  Therefore, we can still breathe...He always gives us a reason to keep breathing, sometimes we have to search for it, sometimes it is small and seemingly insignificant, but there is always hope.

We don't know what each day will bring us, the world is in turmoil, on the brink of all out war.  The earth is rumbling and shaking, the storms are harsh and devastating, even the waves of the ocean are said to be larger now.  Our food is being destroyed by torrential rain, freezing temperatures, extreme droughts and now radiation leaks.  Inflation of necessities coupled with lost jobs and decreased pay are crippling many nations creating a huge foreclosure and bankruptcy problem.  The world as we know it could change today, we just don't know.   We live in a world of unknowns.  Are we prepared for the unknown calamities?  Are we still breathing the Word of Life?  Or have we become distracted by all this turmoil?   Do we have faith in God?  Do we trust Him to be our protection, our provider, our hope when it all falls apart?  Are we to a place where we can say, no matter what, I will trust God?  Probably not entirely...if we are totally honest with ourselves.  I sure would like to be at all times fully trusting Him, but I waver still.  I still have fears....but I will fear Him above all.  I must, my very life depends on trusting Him!  He is my breath.  Without Him there is no breath of life...no hope...

In all things I will praise His name.  He is my Rock, my Fortress, the righteous run to Him and are safe, He is my Refuge!  God is in control, the whole earth belongs to Him!  He knows what we need and when we need it.  He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us, if our minds and hearts are set on Him.  These are promises I hold close to my heart.  Please keep breathing, don't give up, keep moving forward, fight the good fight until the end.  Just breathe!        

~Courage

Be Anxious For Nothing...

It is easy to get wrapped up in the headlines and become anxious or worried about how we are going to 'make it' in the coming weeks ahead.  This is when our eyes become distracted and every little thing that might be a picture of what is to come catches our attention.  We must be careful here, anxious thoughts lead to delusion and fear of everything.  In Luke 12, Jesus talks about anxious thoughts which mirror the things we are facing here in America as the economy crumbles around us.  Possible food shortages, soaring gas and energy prices, wars, natural disasters, epidemics real or not, terror threats, the list goes on and on to what we are exposed to on a daily basis.  It can be a stressful time for all of us, but more so if our attention is given to these things and not to following God.  Please take these promises to heart and keep your eyes on Him who is able to keep you through any storm of life.

LUKE 12:22-34

Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

JEREMIAH 17:7-9

“ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
      And whose hope is the LORD.
      For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
      Which spreads out its roots by the river,
      And will not fear when heat comes;
      But its leaf will be green,
      And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
      Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
 
Remembering always that God is with you, in whatever difficulty life brings, keeping your heart and mind on His ways being higher than ours, having faith in Him when all looks hopeless, trusting in Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, because He is God, the Creator of the universe, worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, rejoicing always and in all things in Him who will sustain you and hold you up with His righteous right hand giving you perfect peace that passes all understanding.  I encourage you today to keep moving forward, don't give up, press forward with all you have in Him.  In weakness you will be made strong!  In sickness you will be made whole!  In hunger you will be filled!  Stay close by His side.  He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you!  Praise the Lord!!!

~Blessings!


Passages from NKJV BibleGateway.com (I took out the verse numbers)

Something Special

The boys all went away this Saturday so Abigail decided we should have a
Tea Party!

 She wrote out her own invitations for Her doll Emily and for Me.

Abi got out the Demitasse Set I just found at the thrift store for a special occasion like this...

...and she set the table herself.

She wanted to dress up so we put on special dresses and I let her wear Grammy's Glass Beads.  They are so special to me and Abi loved wearing them too.

She decided on special hot cocoa with peppermint and cream for our 'tea', M&M's, Cinnamon Croccantini, and Pizza and I had to pretend to just arrive, she even had an 'English' accent as she talked with me about our Tea Party.

Here she is serving Emily her special plastic foods.  Emily had a great time!

So did I, what a special blessing she is to me!