Feast of Trumpets 2011

Feast of Trumpets

It is always a joy to celebrate the feasts of YHVH.

This year was unique.

It felt as though someone did not want us to celebrate.

We had to deal with some spiritual warfare.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  (Eph 6:12)
 

But it was beautiful to see the men anoint the children with oil and pray over them. We witnessed the power of the shofar as we blew them on this set apart day. We were grateful that YHVH gives the victory when we trust in Him. He is truly our Salvation, our Rock, and our Deliverer.

Once the spiritual attacks were dealt with, we had a wonderful day. The air was delightfully crisp and pleasant. We had plenty of good food. We enjoyed each other's company. The children blew paper shofars as they marched around the house. (I see a wonderful connection to Joshua here!) We also danced and spinned and played on the soft green grass.

Here are some glimpses into our day.

 We hope you had a lovely Yom Teruah!

How to rejoice when the car breaks down

When the unexpected happens, it is hard to rejoice. It is hard to be happy when you pull into a parking lot and discover that you have no steering. That is what happened to me today. But, Praise Yah, He helped me to rejoice in the middle of it.

This morning, Doug had the great idea that I go to town and pick out a new kitchen faucet. Our is dripping so badly that it can fill a 16 qt stockpot overnight. My mother in law was very sweet to offer to buy me a new one. So I found myself in a rare position. I went to town with my mil and only Elisha and Noah. Wow! We pulled into the Home Depot parking lot and suddenly I could not steer! I wrestled with the steering wheel and managed to get into a parking spot. What now?

1. The first step in a crisis is to not think too far ahead. If you begin entertaining what ifs? and whys? you will not be able to rejoice because you have just entered a panic zone. Stay out of the panic zone and take things as they come.       

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  (Mat 6:34)


I chose to not borrow trouble and walked right into Home Depot and picked out a faucet. It's a gooseneck faucet, by the way! Doug and I are going to install it tomorrow hopefully.

2. Make people want to help you. If you give in to the flesh and start ranting, raving, complaining, and otherwise spewing your emotions on innocent bystanders, no one is going to stay around to help. Put your chin up and smile.

 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  (Pro 18:24)


We chose to engage in cheerful conversation on our long hike across two parking lots to the auto parts store. We smiled as we went in, and I calmly explained the situation to find out what needed to be done. To my delight, the salesman offered to walk back to my car and take a look! He then walked back to the store and sold me some steering fluid. He hiked back and poured it in, and hiked back again when it didn't work. I never even asked.

3. Find something to be thankful for. It can be a little thing, but find something and bring it to the front of your thoughts. Thankfulness is an enemy of negative thinking.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of YHVH in Yahshua the Messiah concerning you.  (1Th 5:18)


We chose to be thankful that we went to Home Depot first. If we had stopped at Walmart first, the hike would have been very difficult. We were thankful we had only brought two kids instead of six. We were thankful for the lone orange we found way out in the parking lot. We joked that we may need it if it takes a while to get home. Looking for the little positive things helped us to rejoice.

4. Be on guard. Satan likes to poke his head into our affairs whenever he can. He wants to see you stumble and fall. He can make a mockery of you through your conduct. 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  (1Pe 5:8)
 
Whoopsie! I forgot this one! I got a bit upset with my husband because I felt he wasn't compassionate enough about our situation. Next time I must be more on guard.

5. Be ready to overcome. Sometimes we still have to take the mountain, because YHVH chooses not to move it out of our way.

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.  (Jos 1:7)
 
I had to be very brave. The hose was busted. The fluid simply poured out on the ground. I had everything arranged for my dad to come fix it, only to find out that the part would have to be ordered. So I chose to have courage and walk back to my car and drive it home. Turns out, it's really not so bad once you get the hang of it. Surprisingly, a moving car steers much easier than a parked car. And isn't that true in any scary situation. Once you start moving, each step is easier than the last.     

So, Praise YHVH, I lost my steering today, but I still had plenty of reasons to rejoice.

What about you? How do you keep your chin up on bad days? How do you rejoice under pressure?                 
             

Thoughts on the Old Testament

I have been reading through the Bible in 90 days. I have never done this before, and I am awed by what I am seeing. YHVH preserved His truth and His people, even when they did very wicked things and left Him. He preserved their geneology, so they would know who they were when their hearts returned to Him. He preserved His commands, so they could follow Him once again. For as quickly as they turned away from Him, they would repent and return and find forgiveness once again. Thanks to His preservation, when their hearts would return, they were able to restore the Levitical priesthood, proper worship in the temple, feast days, and proper offerings.

As I was reading about Ezra and Nehemiah and how they returned to Jerusalem from Assyria, my heart cried out. How long until we can return? When will we be able to rebuild what is broken? He is turning our hearts back to Him. He will restore all things as He has done before. The only question is how long. It doesn't matter if we are direct descendants or choose to join the direct descendants, He freely forgives when we repent and turn to Him. May our hearts first repent of the our own wickedness and the wickedness of our fathers, and then turn to wholly obey Him. As He sees our repentance, may He begin the restoration of all things.

Helpful posts

I ran across some blog posts this week that were a blessing to me. Perhaps you will find them helpful, too.


The Summer My Parents Turned Off the Computer

Can extended family impact a child's faith? My Mamu sure did!

Focused discipleship

Parenting takes real commitment. It takes some "on our knees" time. I want to do better and be more purposeful in guiding my children and teaching them scripture. Do you have ways that you share your faith with your children? Please share in the comments! I am anxious to grow in this area.

As I wait

I am up early this morning. It is getting harder to sleep comfortably, well harder to even move in the bed lol. I find myself in an unexpected position. I am anxious to meet Noah, and wonder often, was that a contraction? But I feel enveloped with great peace that he will come at precisely the right moment. I pray that I will know for certain that I am in real labor. (No more false alarms, please! I have a bad history of that.) I pray that those helping me will not be inconvenienced. I pray that the birth will be peaceful and all present will be at ease and trusting YHVH. And somehow, this time, I know He has heard my prayers. I know He takes care of His own. I thank Him ahead of time for the amazing time that it will be. Will it be today? He knows. Noah knows. But they aren't telling me yet lol.

I came across this birth story this morning. (Thank you, Lusi, for linking to this site.) She put into words my hopes and dreams for my sixth baby also. I hope you are blessed by it. No matter what circumstances come our way, we should have this perspective.

 It is the first story, "Why I chose faith, a homebirth story."

Shabbat Shalom!

Priorities

I have been doing some soul searching lately. I am not what I would like to be in some areas of my life. What should I try to change? What matters most? Where should my effort be spent?

I'm sure the most obvious answer is that my relationship with YHVH would come first. But how does that translate into everyday life? If I read my Bible more, does that improve my relationship? What if I spend more time in prayer? What if I have a detailed prayer list? Somehow these answers just aren't ringing true for me. They seem to be a superficial way to measure a relationship, and they seem paved with cliches. "Prayer is like talking to God on the telephone, and you never get a busy signal."

For me, lately, my relationship with YHVH has been visible in different ways. I have spent moments knowing He was speaking to me, and then I acted on it, and had incredible peace. I was able to witness His provision first hand. It has been similar to my relationship with Elisha. We don't have an academic relationship, or even much communication, for that matter. He simply gets up in my lap, sucks on his fingers, and puts his other hand on my neck. He will sit there completely relaxed for quite a while. I have felt that way lately with my Heavenly Father. There doesn't have to be a lot of talking, simply a restful, relaxing peace. Seems fitting that Noah means "rest and comfort."

All Rise!

And the verdict is.......

We have a beautiful, healthy baby boy!

He looks great and is measuring about 2 weeks ahead of what we were anticipating.  I'll have to adjust my pregnancy ticker a little lol.  I don't seem to have excess fluid, so we're not completely sure why I was measuring big, but we are delighted to know he is healthy and growing well at about 2.5 lbs.

We were emotionally and physically prepared for twins, so there was a little bit of a let down, but we could feel nothing but blessed for this wonderful gift!  Praise YHVH!  He gives life and we are so thankful to receive it.  And one baby to care for suddenly seems like a breeze!

We are also thankful that our traveling went well, and the kids all did well at Gramps and Marme's house.  Even Elisha, who is a serious momma's boy, did well.

Now to officially introduce our baby boy, his name is Noah Ephraim.

Thank you everyone, for your prayers.

Psalm 37:7 Hebrew word study

“Be still before YHVH and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”


Damam - Be still - This word, when taken back to ancient Hebrew, is almost disturbing. The concept of flowing blood and the color red are closely connected to this word. Why? Because when an animal’s red blood is shed, it becomes still and silent. I immediately think of the concept of dying to self.

Khool - Wait patiently - Okay, this word really threw me. When you go back to the ancient Hebrew, the idea of waiting patiently doesn’t exist. Rather you find first the idea of drilling a hole, then piercing, then pain and sickness, then twisting and dancing (like the drill.) Then it occurred to me that we might be experiencing pain, sickness, an unsettled, whirling spirit. At that moment we are to wait.

Kha rah - Fret - This word means to burn, even to the point of anger.

Tsalach - Prosper - This word means to move forward or advance.

Ra a - Evil - to remove the function or purpose of an object or person.

Now, here’s this verse in my own words. It may look a bit different.

When your whole world is out of sorts, and your head is spinning, you must wait. When you feel pain, emotional or physical, you must wait. You must be still as a dead animal. You can bring nothing of yourself to the table. Your opinions, solutions, fears, questions, must all be left behind. You will find yourself a whirling contradiction, full of emotion, yet empty of yourself. This is where YHVH will meet you. This is where He will bring His solution. You will be tempted to burn with anger at those around you. They always seem to have a solution. Everything seems to go their way. But they have used their own ideas, and followed their own way of doing things. In the process, they have trampled on the very design YHVH put into them and the people and things around them. Deep down, they are a broken bowl that cannot be used. But you, you have given up your own ideas. Now YHVH can use you for the purpose He intended. He can fix your hurts and pains in the most perfect and beautiful way. He is your designer and He knows best.

Psalm 37:6 Hebrew word study

Psalm 37:6

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.


Tsedeq - righteous - This is the idea of behaving right, walking a straight path, and performing justice.

Ore - light - Refers to light that brings brightness and order, enabling you to see where things are, etc.

Mishpat - judgment - This word involves making a judgment with discretion and according to the law.

Tsohar - noonday - This is a light that shines bright, sometimes described as a double light. A shimmering, glowing olive oil is also involved in this word. It is interesting to note that the olive is crushed before you get to oil. Some roots of this word involve pressing and crushing.

So here is my humble attempt at a better understanding of this verse.

Each day, decide to do what is right. How do we know what is right? By following what is prescribed in the law, YHVH’s law. The weightiest matters of the law are justice, mercy, and faith. We must use discretion and fairness in our dealings. We must have compassion on those around us, particularly those less fortunate. We must trust YHVH to keep His promises as we do our best to obey. When we do, He promises to make our efforts shine like a bright light. Those around us will be able to see clearly and know what to do because of our example. They will be able to bring order to their lives by seeing the law obeyed in our lives. In order for our light to be extra bright, we must undergo some testing and growing. We must do right even when it’s hard. But we can trust that YHVH will use our righteousness to help others to do the same. They will be blessed through us.

 

A little praise

I would like to share something exciting that happened to me.  It may be a small thing to others, but it was a big thing to me.  I was talking on the phone to Doug at work, when it felt like I got something in my eye.  I had to hang up the phone while I tried to blink out whatever was in my eye.  I couldn't see anything, and it was impossible to get some drops in.  Doug is always warning me, "Don't rub, or you'll scratch your eye."  Well, I was quickly becoming convinced that I had probably scratched my eye from the beginning.  The "object" had never moved the whole time I was trying to get it out, and I couldn't see anything.

So I had awful pain in my eye.  I couldn't open my eye.  I checked on the internet for scratched eyes.  This was an adventure, since it was hard to see.  Basically, everyone warned that you need to see an eye doctor asap.  Doug would not be back till at least lunchtime the next day.  There was no way I could get to an eye doctor.

So I began to pray.  I prayed for healing and thanked Him for the answer.  As I prayed, it occured to me that if my eye was in pain, perhaps my perspective was wrong about something.  So I began to search my heart, and discovered that I needed to fully trust YHVH with this pregnancy.  We have alot of unanswered questions right now.  It had been very tempting to just freak out, but YHVH wants me to trust.  I prayed for a right, biblical perspective, and then I went to bed.  It was challenging to go to sleep with a painful, bloodshot eye, but I did eventually.

When I woke up the next morning, I could open my eye.  It wasn't in pain at all, and wasn't even bloodshot.  Praise YHVH!  He is so good.  He completely healed the scratch and I am so thankful.

Shabbat Shalom!

An unexpected bike trip

I would like to retell a story that was a real blessing to me.  I heard it from Thurman Scrivner on one of his teaching tapes.  It may not be an absolutely faithful retelling, but I will do my best to keep the spirit of  it.

A man, happily married for many years, decided one day that he wanted to increase his faith.  So he prayed and asked God to give him a greater measure of faith.  Satisfied that his prayer would be answered, he went to sleep.  The next morning, his lovely wife rolled over and made a simple comment.  He simply thought, "How dare she talk to me that way?"

The day began and again, she made a comment.  "This woman is out of control!"

By the time a third innocent comment came out of her mouth, he completely lost it.  "I've had it with your bickering and complaining!  You always nag and talk to me so disrespectful!  I'm leaving!"
His dear sweet wife simply asked, "We only have one car.  How are you going to leave?"
To which he responded in exagerrated tones, "I'm taking the bicycle!"

With that he was gone.  He rode that bicycle like it was a mad bull.  Or was he the mad bull?  He fussed and fumed, and the farther he rode, the madder he got.  Eventually his adrenaline and anger gave out and he fell off the bike into a heap.  He soon found himself in the bottom of a ditch covered with crawling ants.  He jumped up and began to yell at God.  "How dare you let this happen to me?  I asked for more faith and here I am in a ditch covered with ants!"

He heard a very simple, quiet response.  "You failed your test."

As the truth of this statement sunk in, he fell on his knees and repented for his awful spirit.  God was quick to forgive, as He always is.

But now the man was in a ditch, with no idea where he was, and nothing but a bicycle.  He saw a gas station across the street, and began to make his way there, to get directions.  But before he made it inside, a familiar car pulled in.  It belonged to some friends of his.  They saw him and rolled down their window.  "What are you doing here?  We were just on our way to visit you and your lovely wife!"

Yes, his dear lovely wife that he had yelled at and abandoned at home.  His friends asked to follow him there to make sure they didn't get lost.  "Where's your car, so we can follow you?"

"Well, I don't have the car."
"So how'd you get here?"
"I took the bicycle."  This response was, of course, as quiet as possible.
"You rode the bicycle?  You're 50 miles from home!"

But the gracious and loving God we serve not only sent friends to this dear man, but they were driving a truck that he could throw the bicycle in.  When he reached his home, he immediately ran inside and begged his precious wife for forgiveness. 

She simply responded, "I thought something funny was going on, so I just prayed for you the whole time."

When we seek to grow in our faith, we must prepare ourselves.  We seek to climb a hill, but our desire to climb the hill does not make that hill flat.  Faith and growth comes with testing.  We have a wonderful, loving God to help us when the testing comes, but the testing will come, all the same.  Sometimes we will "fail," and He will pick us back up so we can try again.  But sometimes, we will remember to lean on Him, the author and perfector of our faith, and we will climb to greater heights of obedience and faith.  But, no matter what, we must never stay in the ditch, covered with crawling ants!

The womb

Why are you having a sixth baby? How will you take care of them all? How will you feed them? How will you pay for their education? How will you give each one individual time? Are you crazy? Don’t you have any self control?

Yes, I’ve heard all of these questions, many legitimate. What is my answer to why I’d have another baby?

Simply put:

I have been counted among the blessed.

My muddy, noisy, rambunctious, sweet, intelligent children with large appetites are truly a blessing to me. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

Sure, it’s a challenge to manage a large household where every recipe is tripled. Occasionally the dirty laundry pile ought to have its own summit. It’s hard work to raise animals and butcher them so I know my children are getting plenty of good quality meat. I work hard to make sure my children are well schooled, not just in the 3 R’s, but in the very foundation of life, the Scriptures. I pass out hugs and lap time liberally and do my best to know what’s going on in each of my children’s minds, often a challenge. Sometimes I think I’m crazy, but that’s because I got sloppy and let things get ahead of me. As for self control, that could be worthy of its own post. But let’s suffice it to say, when you look up self control in the dictionary, you will find our picture.

So life isn’t perfect at our house. We face challenges. We have problems. We sometimes mess up. But last I checked, we were all living outside the garden. (Even outside the garden, the scenery can be beautiful, and the walks to the mailbox with little helpers can be very refreshing.) So why does YHVH choose to give children to parents who are bound to mess some things up?

Because YHVH intended for us to give life (torah) to our children. Our children would give life (torah) to their children. They would give life (torah) to their children. And as this continues, all the world is blessed. The beautiful irony of it all is that children themselves are called a blessing.

Now I’d like you to read some of the many Scriptures that beautifully show just how important the fruit of the womb is to YHVH. To have a child wrap their arms around you and say, “I love you mommy,” is to see the heart of YHVH.

When YHVH saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

                                                                        (Gen 29:31)

He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.

                                                                          (Deu 7:13)

Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.

                                                                          (Psa 71:6)

Behold, children are a heritage from YHVH, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

                                                                        (Psa 127:3-5)

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

                                                                           (Ecc 11:5)

Thus says YHVH who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

                                                                             (Isa 44:2)

Thus says YHVH, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am YHVH, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

                                                                             (Isa 44:24)

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

                                                                         (Psa 128:3)

The voice of YHVH makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

                                                                          (Psa 29:9)

He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise YHVH!

                                                                         (Psa 113:9)

But Yahshua said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

                                                                        (Mat 19:14)

 

So these are a few of my thoughts, and many thoughts from our Heavenly Father. Ever think about how big a family He has?

For those of you moms out there, with one child or nineteen, I salute you. May your children rise up and call you blessed. YHVH already has. Shalom to you all. I shall now return to my anxious wait for that first kick.  :)

That still small voice

I have felt very overwhelmed the last couple days.  I have a college assignment to finish, sheep to butcher, a house that just isn't good enough right now, homeschooling, and sick kids.  And pregnant hormones have the wonderful ability of making things look twelve times their normal size.

And then, in a rare moment of silence, YHVH whispered in my ear.  "Why don't you just ask me for help?"

That's a very good question.  Why did I fuss and fret and basically freak out? 

So, right there, in the middle of changing a diaper, I simply called out, "YHVH forgive me.  I need help.  I neeeeed help."

And next time, YHVH please help me to remember to call on you first thing.

EDITED TO ADD:  Please read comments for the rest of the story.

Healing, Part 3

Yahshua healed many people, and usually said something to the effect of, "Your faith has made you whole."

So what is faith?  Is it simply believing?  Is it an emotion?  If I have a weak moment of doubt, is it all over?  I hope not, because in the last 6 weeks, I've had some moments of doubt.  My husband would literally get two inches from my face, and say, "By His stripes we are healed.  You are healed.  There is no scar!"  I needed that from him, and I'm very thankful for it.

I've been trying to figure out what faith really is.  I did some word study, and went over to Brad Scott's website, Wild Branch Ministries.  Be sure to check out his free four part article on faith. 

Here is my humble understanding of faith, after much prayer.

The world gives us a picture of many religious roads, all of which lead to the same god.  I think there are many roads, but they all lead to different gods.  How do we know what god a person is heading towards?  By identifying the path they are on.  Each god has certain requirements, and if you are fulfilling their requirements, you are on their path.

YHVH's path is heading in an opposite direction from the other paths.  What identifies his path?  TORAH!  Who completely embodies torah?  Yahshua the Messiah!  How do you know you are on YHVH's path?  You follow Yahshua and keep torah. 

Faith is defined by what you do. 
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (Jas 2:17)

Faith is obedience, and trust.  The idea of trusting a father is also implied in the Hebrew word.  Do your children worry about whether they will eat dinner or not?  Or do they show up at the table and expect a plate of food to be put in front of them?  Hopefully they say thank you lol!

The same goes for us.  YHVH promised to care for us and heal us.  He wants us to rely on Him for everything.  Will we trust Him as a little child, expecting to be taken care of, with no questions?  Will we show that YHVH is the god we trust by following HIS path and doing what HE says?

I have had to say out loud that YHVH is the only God that can heal me.  He is the only God that promised to heal me, and I'm going to show I have faith by obeying torah and thanking Him ahead of time for healing me.

YHVH, help my unbelief!  You are the one and only true Elohim!

Healing, Part 1

This is about my prayer for healing. Let me give you a little background first. My first baby was born by c-section. My next three were vbacs. Then I had another c-section. I want to have as many children as YHVH blesses me with. My birth history is beginning to work against me.


July 3, 2010, I listened to part of a teaching by Thurman Scrivner. It is called “The Tongue” and can be found at http://tlsm.org/ListenOnline.cgi. His teaching got me thinking. I have spent my entire life basically not believing in modern healings. Healing ministries were considered frauds. Healings only took place at the time of Yahshua. But Thurman was showing scripture that very clearly says YHVH wants to heal us.

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
(Isa 53:5)

Heal me, O YHVH, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
(Jer 17:14)

If those scriptures are true, then healing is accepted as a matter of fact in scripture. If our five senses don’t line up with scripture, then we need to go with scripture.

Wow, that is amazing! I had this overwhelming sense to ask YHVH to remove my c-section scar and any evidence of a c-section. I prayed the scriptures, claiming them for myself. Talk about a spiritual rush. But the next morning, my scar was still there. Now, looking back, I know that YHVH was planning to use this to teach me a great many things. So the scar was still there, but noticeably softer to the touch. I soon learned that when YHVH heals, he doesn’t always do it instantaneously. Does that make the scriptures not true? No, we just have to keep believing scripture, even though our eyes are telling us something different.

You see, if by Yahshua’s stripes we are healed, then my scar was removed 2000 years ago, when Yahshua took my place on the tree. It’s already done. The natural world just has to catch up with the spiritual.

Praise YHVH! I’ll continue my story in the next post, and I hope it will be a blessing to you.
 
Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

Shalom

We are all on a journey.  I'm traveling on my journey in rubber boots, of course.  I am learning so much that I want to share.  My two track driveway looks much like the one in the background of my blog, and much thought and prayer takes place on the trip to the mailbox each day.  So please join me on this long journey made up of little steps and trips to the mailbox and leaps of faith.  In hebrew, halacha means walk, so I endeavor to make my halacha pleasing to YHVH, our creator.