Here today and gone tomorrow...

Well, just a few short hours ago a very precious friend and sister passed from this life into the next, Judy Yoder. She was an incredible mother and wife and her family all reflect just how precious she was. I was blessed to know her.. sadly for only about 21 months. She spoke SO much wisdom to me and really shared her life with me. She encouraged me to love myself as YHWH does and often told me He doesnt make junk. She encouraged me to live a life of forgiveness and to let go of bitterness. She encouraged me to love my husband and communicate with him at all times no matter how hard it might be sometimes. She encouraged me to cherish even the stressful moments with my children because life is so short. Oh how that really hit home today for me. At lunch today we got a phone call from a friend in our fellowship that Judy was breathing less and less and had not been able to eat in days. She had been unresponsive for the last day and they were sure she would pass soon. It was only a few minutes after we hung up that phone call that we got another message saying she had taken her last breath and was now free from the awful disease of cancer. She had returned to the Lover of her soul, the one who had created her just 54 years ago. She truly ceased from work on this Sabbath.. what an appropriate time for her to pass. We are all so sad and dealing with the grief but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We know that someday we will be reunited with Judy and spend eternity praising our Creator with her. My oldest son who prayed for her so faithfully said when hearing she passed, "Well mom, God must really have special plans for Mrs Yoder and needed her. Maybe in a few days Yeshua will return and take us all up to see her and be with her forever." It was so precious and brought tears to my eyes. Even our 4 yr old knows he will not see Mrs Yoder again on this earth. And so life goes on and we continue to live on earth until He calls us home or returns for His second coming. I will never forget Judy and the godly influence she had on me. I am SO blessed to have been able to call her my sister and dear friend. I am reminded today more than ever that life is but a vapor.. we are here today and gone tomorrow. Life is a precious gift and we should be thankful for every breath we are able to take. I know I am a better person for knowing Judy and I pray I can be just half the amazing, godly and loving woman that she was. We love you Judy and look forward with great anticipation to the resurrection of the dead at the second coming of Messiah.. when we will see you again!!!                   

Walking By Faith

Well, its been a long two years with lots of wonderful things mixed in with some not so wonderful things. My husband lost hours per week at his job in 2010 and that loss of several hundred dollars a month took a toll on our budget. Then in the beginning of 2011 he was let completely go from his full time job which he had been at for several years. It was a good paying job and the medical benefits were something we could afford which was a nice treat. However all of that ended in March 2010 right after we found out we were pregnant with blessing #3, Ava. We were so behind on all credit bills and our home that we made the decision to file bankruptcy and to go into foreclosure on our home. We had spent a year trying to sell our home with only one offer the entire time and it was for thousands of dollars less than what we needed to break even. Up until this point we had perfect credit. Ever since our bankruptcy we have been waiting to get that notice that says we need to leave our home. Our attorney had told us the average time was 12-18 months but he knew some people who were in their home for 2-3 years before being kicked out. So began the wait. All has been quiet for over two years now and we were sure our time was about to end. This past Sabbath I opened our mailbox to find a letter from an attorneys office stating that our mortgage company was officially pursuing the debt we owed and in 30 days they would commence foreclosure actions. We are told in the state of PA we will have 60 days to move out. So, if this is true and if they move the soonest they can.. we will need to have a place to live by February 1, 2013. With our price range and desire to live in a safe area the project of finding a place to live seems like a HUGE mountain to get over. We really would like to find a place with a yard and my husband believes that for the times we might be facing living OUTSIDE of the city would be a wise thing. My little faith mind just cannot see how this is gonna happen. Of course I know that my Father has just the place for us and we just need to pray, listen and wait on him. This is the hard part for me :)  We do have a pop up and I am sure some families from our fellowship would be willing to let us live on their land if we needed to but there is no heat in our pop up so if we need to be out in Feb, that wont work. We had wanted to get an old camping trailer with our tax return so we could have somewhere to live if we were kicked out but until tax time we dont have a dime for that. And so begins another journey of learning to walk by faith. I am asking that anyone who reads my blog could remember us in your prayers that Yehovah would guide and direct our steps on this matter. I am excited to see what HE will do and where He will place us. Thank you for your prayers and for caring enough about our lives to read my blog posts. May Yehovah bless you and keep you! Shalom!                  

Shabbat Is Almost Here!

Well, I cant believe its been a week since I have unplugged from facebook and I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels! I am so peaceful and just know that I made the right choice in obeying Jehovah and my hubby. I have had more time to study the Scriptures and read some books that I have had sitting around for awhile now. Plus I am able to be very active on a forum that is just a great place to learn and share without being treated rudely for differing beliefs.

So its after 1am and yes I am still awake! LOL My littlest one just drifted off to sleep and I need just a few minutes of quiet time to myself. So I figured I would update my blog as a way to unwind before bed. When I wake up I have tuna casserole to make and a huge crock of chili for our fellowship that meets this Saturday afternoon. House is pretty much tidied up and I even made a special treat for Sabbath... Peanut butter m&m cookies!

I cant wait till sunset tomorrow when we sit at the dinner table and share a meal together over candle light. When daddy plays guitar while we sing worship songs with the children. While we huddle around while I read a Bible story and share alittle about the Torah portion for the week. I cant wait till we have our  bread  and grape juice and the children hold it up and help us sing the blessings over them in Hebrew. I cannot wait to sleep in a little extra on Sabbath morning and wake up to fresh coffee and warm cinnamon rolls. I cant wait to study Scripture with my husband and uncover amazing gems along the way. I cannot wait until we get to go to our fellowship and hear some more teaching on the Scriptures and then we get to discuss it and eat a wonderful meal together as one big family. I cannot wait for this incredible weekly gift that my Father has blessed me with! Its one of the greatest gifts He has given to His children. Its a time to cease from working and to rest in HIM. Its a time of spiritual renewal and physical renewal. Its a time for families to draw closer to one another and to the ONE who created them. Thank you Father for your Shabbat! May I never forget what a blessed gift it is from YOU to me. Shabbat Shalom!

Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating (Gen 2:1-3).        

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Ex 20:8-11). 

This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.… And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer….If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken (Is 58:2-3, 5-6, 13-14).

There must still be, therefore, a seventh-day rest reserved for God's people, since to enter the place of rest is to rest after your work, as God did after his (Heb 4:9-10).

Quotes from Charles Spurgeon

We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority.” (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon on Dec. 24, 1871).

 When it can be proved that the observance of Christmas, Whitsuntide, and other Popish festivals was ever instituted by a divine statute, we also will attend to them, but not till then. It is as much our duty to reject the traditions of men, as to observe the ordinances of the Lord. We ask concerning every rite and rubric, “Is this a law of the God of Jacob?” and if it be not clearly so, it is of no authority with us, who walk in Christian liberty.” (from Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David on Psalm 81:4.)

Our family no longer celebrates Christmas for many reasons but I just wanted to share this as I thought it was really interesting that Spurgeon shared our belief not to celebrate this day. We do love to celebrate Messiahs birth around when He was most likely born which would be the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. A week long celebration in the Fall and one our family now looks forward to every year!

Storm Update

Just figured I would update everyone on here as to the status of the storm in our area. Hurricane Sandy is set to make landfall early this evening and already our wind gusts are around 40 mph and are expected to rise to 75 mph. Our Governor has declared a state of emergency and many of our interstates have been partially shut down and will most likely be totally closed tonight. We were told to prepare for power outages of up to a week in worst case scenario. We are as physically prepared as we can be with flashlights, candles, water, food, camping stove and kerosene heater. But what is most important is that we are spiritually prepared and we know that safety is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of Jehovah! We appreciate all the prayers and I will update when I can.        

Honor Your Father and Your Mother

Ok.. wow. I cannot believe how Yehovah works in our lives and brings things to our attention. Many times He uses other people and sometimes those people bring something to our attention in a way we do not like. I know I had just that experience a few days ago and I was NOT happy with the way my Father was trying to speak to me. Looking back now I am extremely grateful for the gentle and loving rebuke because it really made me see myself for what I really am. So thank you to that sister who obeyed Yehovah and lovingly rebuked me.

For those who dont know I grew up in a home where my parents were almost always at odds with another and I was often put in the middle of the situations which I resented very much. I dealt with watching and receiving alot of emotional and mental abuse and really became familiar with all the ways of a dysfunctional family. My parents always stayed married (still are) and presented themselves and all of us as an amazing and wonderful family. But behind closed doors my home was not a safe place for me emotionally and its something I have struggled with into my adult life. Sadly I carried alot of the baggage of childhood with me. I have worked through alot and done ALOT of healing in the past year  thanks to an amazing sister who has been a mentor to me and an even more amazing Father. I was always the strong- willed child (still am today) and I was always a leader, never a follower. Mom always told me this was a wonderful trait if used correctly and I see what she means now. My spiritual journey has taken a turn from the traditions and ways in which I was brought up in and that has been a source of contention between my parents and I. From my perspective my parents have become less interested in the things of God and more interested in compromise. I feel my life has gone the opposite way and it bothers me to feel like spiritually I am losing the connection with my parents. I do love them but they can tend to be a source of frustration, anger and sarcasm for me. In my most recent "issue" with them I left the conversation feeling very angry, very hurt, very frustrated and so many other negative things. I vented to some friends like I typically do and it was brought to my attention that I was violating the 5th commandment - to honor my father and my mother. I felt convicted and so I decided to study just what honor really meant and I will share below what I learned.

The Hebrew word for honor is "kabed". It is literally a word about weight. It means "to be heavy". Honor is to give weight to someone. That is a metaphor for important, respect, consideration and value. Honor means to treat your parents with the gravity that their position demands. The opposite of honor is "kalel". The word is always translated as "to curse", but its literal meaning is to make light of. One curses ones parents not only if one directs curses at them, but if one treats them lightly. h

The Bible has some pretty strong things to say about this and below are just a few of the verses that speak about this.

       
Proverbs 30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Proverbs 20:20  Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Leviticus 19:3  Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

Exodus 20:12  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

I know I have been convicted and need to talk to my parents and ask their forgiveness for not truly honoring them. I am so thankful I received a rebuke from the Father. There is so much flesh still in me and I try to crucify it daily, but I often fail. These are the times I so thankful for grace and mercy.

What about you.. if your parents are still alive, in what ways do you honor them?  Just something to ponder and pray about.   

















  

Unplugging!

What a journey these past two years have been for me and my family. The depths of the Scriptures have been a treasure we have uncovered too wonderful for words. The change it has brought in our family has been nothing short of amazing. It has not been without its difficulties I can assure you, but it has been worth every hardship and tear we have endured. Living life abundantly (and I dont mean financially) has been the theme of these past two years for sure! So now its been over a year since I last posted on this blog and I thought it was time to resurrect my blogging skills! I have been so caught up in the Facebook world that I could hardly remember what life was like before it. Now dont get me wrong.. it has been a source of truth, wisdom, encouragement and growth for me these past few years for sure. However, it has recently become a time waster for me and a source of confusion, stress and frustration. After some recent events the Father made it very clear to me that it was time to UNPLUG! It was time to BE STILL and just KNOW that HE IS! My husband confirmed this was what I was to do and I knew it was time to be obedient to my husband and to my Father. I cannot tell you the sweet relief that rushed over me when I hit the DELETE button for my FB account. It was as though a weight lifted off my shoulders and I was free! I no longer had to worry if there was a "fire" somewhere that I had to put out or a post that I had to research the validity of. I didnt have to hear the latest nonsense about a teaching that I believed based on the WORD was totally false. I no longer had to see people parrot information that was inaccurate and I no longer had to hear sad tales of those who had walked away from my Messiah Yeshua! Of course I realize that I still have to live and I live in an imperfect world and will hear negative news for sure even outside of FB. But for now.. the FB drama is behind me! I can now focus on Scripture and submitting to the Spiritual leadership of my husband. I am SO blessed to even have a husband who cares about the things of Yehovah. So this is my first blog entry since I have unplugged and it feels wonderful. I will try my best to write regularly on here and to share as I feel the Father leads me to. I hope you all will along on this journey and feel free to comment and share your life with me. I have much goal setting to do and priorities to set in order now that I have unplugged from a very addictive social media outlet. I cannot wait to begin this new journey.. one of more peace and quietness than I have experienced in the past I believe. Thank you for taking an interest in my journey and I pray the Father blesses each step you take on yours! Shalom!

A Sabbath Rest Poem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy7WXAS8_tI