LENTEN ALIYAH 2.28: Rachamim

Today was a mixture of things – ugh – better  – wonderful!  Storm is coming so joints hurting kept me tossing and turning all night.  But then – when I managed to squiggle myself out of bed and get to the gym, things began to improve.  Gym buddies make me laugh as we stretch the muscles and groan.  Pool buddies get me hungry because the conversation always turns to food. But as I travel between the saltwater pool and hot tub, I notice the pain has subsided to tolerable without having to resort to meds.  Then I realize it is Wednesday.

Sundays and Wednesdays have always been two of my favorite day in the week.  Sundays have those warm fuzzy memories.  Times of walking to church with the parents. Eating actual made-from-scratch-foods at either Grandma Mac’s or at the cousins. When I was older, it was seeing-the-friends/cousins at Sunday school or singing at church and then even more fun times with friends/cousins in the afternoon. Even as I aged, Sundays were still all about reading, singing, teaching, volunteering, and just plain getting to spend time with family.

Wednesdays – when I was little were the “hump” days in the school week and since I was a teacher, it remained that way.  Lesson plans were usually aligning – or not – and I could see that “relax-and-enjoy-home” time just up ahead.  Even as a kid, I loved being home, so I could read, write, and talk to GOD in my “Thinking Tree”. Later, I loved being home with hubby and kids – tending gardens and our few farm animals – playing with the kittens and dogs – having extended family come for dinners in the home we had created. But most of all, in those rare moments of quiet – reading, playing piano, singing, writing……and learning to listen as I continued to walk my path back to My Father.

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore, I will hope in Him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

But often, in the stormy darkness of these latter days, there just seems to be no easy words to write or speak – even the poetry that has always flowed through my life has dried into flakes of small dust on top of all my writing stuff. But – when there are no words, there are the merciful groanings of the WORD by the Holy Spirit – Rauch Ha’Kodesh – that comforts and brings a peace beyond all human understanding, carrying my prayers, my dust, my tears to the One who is ever constant in His covenants and love. 

Jeremiah, often known as the weeping prophet, knew the words that he was given well. He watched destruction of the city he loved and his own people scattered to far off lands. Yet he wrote: Rachamim. Rachamim is often translated into English as ‘mercy’.  But notice the ending in this Hebrew word: ‘-im’. In the Jewish language, this suffix is indicating a plural ending.  It is used to denote “more than one” …. just as the suffix ‘-s’ is used in our language. 

Other words in the Jewish language that mean “more than one”.

Elohim.

Cherubim.

Rachamim.

Yerushalayim 

However – today my heart has been focusing on the word – rachamim: a plural noun meaning mercies.  Interesting to note, YAH’s mercy is not singular. It is unending – as eternal as He is.  Sin in Hebrew is a noun more like traditional English in that it is written with a singular spelling.  We see the word and think it means awful bad things.  However, in Hebrew tradition it means: a walking away from GOD’s path by accident or with deliberate intention.  Good news?

YHWH’s mercies cover all those “walking away from His path” and never reach a limit.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Yerusalayim; and Yerusalayim shall be called the City of Truth; and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts the Holy Mountain’”

Zechariah 8:3

And that begs the question – why is this one special city dubbed with a plural ending. You gotta love Abba GOD’s sense of humor when He created- breathed the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. He just wants to keep us asking questions, praying with words unspoken, and learning to listen for an answer – – – His answer.

But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
       Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will arise;
though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.

Micah 7:7-8

#latterdays #rapture #Hedrawethnigh

Greg Olsen artwork “Lift You Where You Stand”

Be Still Advent 12.18: New Covenant in Moving On

“Behold, the days come…”

The past couple of days, I found water on my kitchen counters.  At first, I thought it was just me being a sloppy dishwasher – after all – I haven’t been a daily dish washer for many years.  That’s what dishwashing machines are for, right? After drying off counter, setting aside sopping wet paper towels in hopes that they will dry out eventually, and after drying off all the things sitting on the counter, I figured that was it. My mess – done – complete – fini.

NOT!

Next afternoon water appeared on the counter again. Finding a small leak where there isn’t an obvious leak, is somewhat challenging for this ol’ gal and her ol’ eyes.  Next best thing: dry off kitchen counter and items on said counter – AGAIN – then put a dry towel where you think the leak is and go to bed.

Let’s just say – good thing I put a towel in the right place, and that my landlord is so responsive, because the repair man was here by the time I got home from the gym and from getting my car winterized. Better yet – he had a hard time finding that elusive leak as well, so I didn’t feel completely inept. Best thing?  He got a new faucet installed and no leaks tonight.

“…saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…” 

I love my gym and pool buddies.  Nothing like exercising to Christmas music, laughing and sharing life with people from all different life experiences – from true Southerners – to transplants (like me) – to every kind of divisive nomenclature that I could write to describe people – to even a people that could care less about anything in the world or out of the world. People are fascinating, so I tend to like listening more than talking most of the time. Besides – I get a lot more exercising done that way. 

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel…

A few weeks back, a pool friend brought me the Jesse Tree advent book and crafts box as a welcome-to-your-new-home gift. It has been a fun journey of reading scriptures from the OT/NT and creating simple, symbolic ornaments to hang on a Christmas tree.  Ornaments designed to tie the lineage of a baby born in Bethlehem to our modern understanding of that momentous event.  It’s guiding devotions have helped add a little more continuity – a link – of the past to the future……giving me a different lens through which to look at Yeshua’s journey here on earth.  Small things that I had been taught long ago, but had pushed into an unused file drawer and not looked at or pondered over for many a day. 

However, the most fantastic thing about today has been this revelation – while humans chose to break – over and over – the Covenant that YHWH made with us – YAH chose to never forsake the Covenant that He made with us – despite the pain it caused Him…or His Son…or His Holy Spirit. While outwardly the covenant appears to be dissolved here on earth – the essence of that Covenant still stands secured in His love. He is ever faithful and does not forsake His promises. From Genesis to Revelations – His promises stand as firm as the Rock that He has placed under our feet to remind us of His steadfast love and grace.

There is no easy walk away from His Covenants or covenants made in His presence.

The celebration of this joyous time of year is embedded in traditions and treasured memories of times and those times long gone. Even secular books, movies, and songs cannot ignore that there was a “Gift” that was the basis at the birth of this new covenant. Listening, pondering, wondering about those old physical miracles and wonders leading to this night long ago, is a reminder that, it goes back to all those Covenants that Our Father chose to make – even though He knew humans would break them – even though He knew humans would whine and reject Him –  He kept loving and honoring those Covenants He made with and for His children.

YHWH sees the ends that we don’t see.  He understands that while the old Covenants appear to be broken – through His lens – His all-seeing lens – they are still as they were in the beginning.  He even adds new Covenants to help clarify all things between each old promise and each new promise of things yet to come by His WORD.

A New Covenant 2000+ years ago.  A New Covenant soon to come.

“After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be My people.  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Jeremiah 31:31-35

#Advent #latterdays #Hedrawethnigh #rapture

Be Still 3.11 – A Refiner’s Fire

But who may abide the day of His coming,
and who shall stand when He
appeareth?

– George Fredrick Handle, Messiah, [Malachai 3:2]

Standing is not always easy as we grow older.  Seniors lament that their body is not so happy about these golden years. Joints ache. Muscles weaken. Minds wander. Homesteads are abandoned. Dreams narrow. Circles of family and friends grow smaller.  And yet – there is always hope –

BLESSED HOPE.

In the midst of a life journey that could be entirely full of lamentations, there is always spark from a long-ago remembrance that surfaces over and over to stop the continuous weeping. It starts as just a small spark of fire that ignites circles of light. Light that encompasses the pain, the heartbreak, and whatever changes that are upsetting the orbit of everything around our planetary selves, as it lifts us out of the dark space of lament with the amazing grace of His presence.

“Surely my soul remembers
and is humbled within me.
Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore, I have hope…”

~Lamentations 3:20-21

For about 40 years, Jeremiah stood in the midst of a culture much like ours.  A culture that had forgotten it’s primary source of life, prosperity, and truth.  A culture full of eyes that saw not and ears that heard not; no matter how loud Jeremiah protested and called to them back to repentance.  The LORD had laid this mantle upon a young Jeremiah’s shoulders years before.

Threatened.

Jailed.

Beaten.

Cast out. 

Alone.

Jeremiah stood alone on the ‘…Rock Higher Than’.

As he watched the fall of his people – the destruction of his culture – the demolition of the temple of his GOD – trampled under the feet of the Babylonians, Jeremiah wept and wrote his final treatise within Judah. 5 chapters.  5 the Jewish number of grace. A small, often ignored book of the Bible that tells the story of Jeremiah’s deep lament. A record of that which had caused his weeping and that which had sustained him over the years – the grace of hope. 

“You, O LORD, reign forever;
Your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why have You forgotten us forever?
Why have You forsaken us for so long?
Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, so we may return;
renew our days as of old,
unless You have utterly rejected us
and remain angry with us beyond measure.”

~Lamentations 5:19-22

Hope mixed with weeping.  Righteous fire burning the impurities of a human metal not ready to be molded into shape needed to produce a Messiah. A time of cleansing.  A time of silence.

Jeremiah took a stand.  He stood alone on the top of his mount and wondered at where the Holy Cloud of YAH would lead his people during this time without a home – another time of wandering in the wilderness. And yet – he remembered that in it all would be the blessed Hope of Grace amidst judgement.

A Refiner’s Fire.

“And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an
Offering in righteousness.”

~George Fredrick Handle, Messiah [Malachi 3: 3]

The original question remains: The Refiner’s Fire is coming. Who will stand?

#latterdays #rapture #Hedrawethnigh

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GRATITUDE-ATTITUDE AFFIRMATION 2022 #17

Annnnnnddddddddd….what color was the wooly bear caterpillar this year????

It is officially cold in NC.  Maybe it is me.  Maybe it is being an elder.  Maybe it is because we had such a beautiful, warm fall…………..right up till this week.

I suppose that it could be just a winter like every other a winter.  Yet, this year’s cold seems to have more of a bite when that wind blows. And I am sooooo thankful that I got most of the fall chores done, so I don’t have to deal with being out in the cold more than I like.  However, as I type this, I am laughing since back in my OH days, the high 40’s registered as “a bit nippy” instead of hitting my “ugh – that’s cold” designation.   

“You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom! Had you walked in the way of GOD, You would have dwelt in enduring peace.”

Baruch 3:12-13

For those of you not familiar with Baruch, it is a book of the Catholic and Orthodox canons.  Protestants denominations do recognize it as part of the Biblical Apocrypha. It is thought to be written by Baruch ben Neriah, scribe to Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, and written during the time of the Babylonian exile. If you look in the Catholic Bible, Baruch is the book right after Lamentations.  It makes a lot of sense to me since both books bear witness to what happens to a nation that doesn’t listen to the watchman on the walls and walks away from the covenant of the One who brought them out of slavery.

The cool thing about GOD, who made a covenant with the Jewish people and got angry with them when they broke the covenant, is that even in the midst of the horror of them turning their backs on Him, His laws, and His love – of them losing their country to their enemy – of them being forced to walk the path of servitude (again) – of them enduring atrocities that they never considered being possible – this same GOD sent His watchmen/prophets/Angel of the LORD to comfort them – to encourage and comfort them even in the depth of His wrath with them.

A reminder – an affirmation – that if they humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, He will hear from Heaven and honor His covenant with them again. Baruch writes of this in his closing chapters.   

Which brings back to the original covenant.  Those 10 laws that were carved on a tablet in the very beginning of this journey between GOD and His chosen people.  Each day, I keep coming back to these laws.  As always, I remember the laws somewhere in one of those file drawers that has been relegated to the bottom drawers of my mind.  I don’t always remember them in order and certainly not in their entirety.  Today as I read the 4^th law that was carved – first by the finger of GOD and then rewritten by Moses – the familiarity of it came back. As I re-read it for a time out of time, the solemnity hit me in a different way. 

GOD created everything for us. He asks so little, and yet – from that beginning – He planned a “rest” at the end of the work.  The whole Bible points to this plan being fulfilled even amid all our failings to acknowledge that “rest” in even the littlest way.  Whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual work, He promises a rest – a restoration – a repristination – a time when we will humble ourselves and sit in His AWE.

The affirmation in the midst of lamentations for a country falling apart.

He sent His Son to point out how it is done. Jesus came and after His work, He humbled himself beyond anything we can conceive so that He could lead us through the narrow gate and take us back to His Father. The work days – the days of waiting – are coming to a close.  The Bridegroom has prepared a house for His remnant – His Bride. The wedding feast is not far off. A day of rest, feasting and joy. A day when we can once again rejoice in AWE of the Father.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Exodus 20:8-11

#latterdays #rapture #Hedrawethnigh

AFFIRMATION 2022, VOTE: 7 Days to Pray for America

Busy days are great.  After devotions, I get out of the house.  Talk/hug my gym friends. Have water play and then sit in the warmth of a saltwater hot tub with other friends gabbing around me. Check in on neighbors. And if I’m beyond lucky – I get to do a school pick up and visit the Grands.  Best of all, coming home to my puppy who always has lots of kisses and puppy dog eyes to share with me, blesses me beyond measure.

Peace is always coming home where my mind is free to spin and reflect on the new things that registered within the deepest part of me during my adventures.  It is never the same and yet – the theme is consistent throughout it all. The Holy Spirit points out all the things Our Father is constantly laying before me – before all of His children.  Each day. Every day. Year after year. Just as He cares enough to point out food for each tiny minnow in a river bed, He cares enough to point out the manna and everlasting waters that will lead us through our captivity here on earth.

The latter days are hard and will become harder – just as He designed them.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:  Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.  Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished.  And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace, you will have peace. 

Jeremiah 29:4-7

 “…whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon…”

Not an easy time for the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Not an easy time for Daniel.  Jeremiah, the weeping/complaining prophet, foretold it. He showed them a path to get through those days…if they had ears to hear and eyes to behold.

Daniel had those kind of eyes and ears.  He was not of the world around him.  He was threatened and put upon to adjust to the society he had been abducted to become a part of – and yet – he held the words of Jeremiah in his heart and had peace in everything he did.  From his diet to the lion’s den to his very name, He prayed. Not only did he have the Father’s peace, he was rewarded with the gift of prophecy. 

We are approaching the 70 weeks of his prophecy.

As I walk through these days of shaking, I remember that a loving Father, as Rabbi Yeshua described Him, loves His children enough to discipline them when they have forgotten his precepts.  He leads them into captivity.  Sometimes it is to an invading army.  Sometimes it is a captivity to pagan gods/spirits/idols that are always waiting to distract us from our heart’s desire. Sometimes it is our own carlessness or thoughtlessness.

Whatever it is - Jeremiah’s words still proclaim clearly in the WORD – ‘pray to the LORD’

We have 7 days before another election in our country.  7 days to pray, fast/intermittent fast, stand on His Rocks of Promise, and seek His face as Daniel did. If we want the peace that Daniel had in his days of challenges and discipline, we need to be “a Daniel” in our days of challenges and discipline.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity…  

Jeremiah 29:11-14

#latterdays #rapture #Hedrawethnigh

Artwork by Alex Levin “Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet”

AFFIRMATION 2022: 30 Days of Pray for America, Day 6: Last Days of Summer

Walking in my woods often bring many surprises.  Today it brought two new kidlets into my life. Two boys, who were riding their bikes through our neighborhood, found that narrow pathway into the woods. To their surprise, they found a tree swing.  A swing tied to a tall tree. A swing just waiting for them. I loved it. There is nothing better than watching kids just being kids.  Even the choc lab girl loved it, although she just didn’t understand why no one went out of their way to pet her.

Kids being kids – on one of the last few days of freedom before school starts.  Can’t be much better than that. It reminded me of my own – long ago – Last Days of Summer.

[Hear the WORD of the LORD]: Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.”

Jeremiah 19:3b,10-11

Summer comes to an end eventually.

Probably, because I have been – basically – stuck on a school schedule all my life, summers are always seen through the lens of my childish self.  I still see it as a little more freedom – a time to enjoy the outside – a time to absorb many things that I can’t get to or do during the rest of the year – a time of grace to breathe deeply and nap with a good book.  Yeah – teaching takes a lot out of a person.  Teaching and coming home to be a wife and a mother adds a whole ‘nother dimension. Yet……even with classes in the summer, it has remained my grace period.  A time to breathe in YAH and then breathe it out with a whispered WEH. Something I have done over and over in my lifetime of gardens.

Growing up in the 50’s there were gardens everywhere.  Left over Victory Gardens from the 40’s were still in a lot of yards. My parents had a large garden on 3 acres. 3 acres that were just a short bike ride away from our home.  The bulk of the 3 acres were Christmas trees.  Lots of summer days were spent there – pruning the trees for a December sale and weeding the garden for a good harvest.  I think it was then I fell in love with gardening and summer.  What I didn’t love was canning the harvest (I still don’t like it much, but I did freeze tomato juice today).

But no matter how old or in what decade, the grace of those beloved summer (somewhat) lazy days always come to an end. 

As I sit on on another woodsy, garden space far away from the childhood one where I first came to love such blessed space of ground, I can see the grace period of this world and our nation is in the latter days of summer. The field is almost ripe for the harvest.  Days are growing shorter, and the lamps are being lit earlier and earlier. The gathering of things needed for the revealing winter ahead. A challenging winter where people will see a vessel cast down from a prophet’s hands.

I find myself turning often to the WORD in the early morning light just and as the sun begins to rise over the trees.  Prayers, meditation, praise, recitations, tears, petitions, listening, breathing in YAH. Breathing out WEH.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

– George Santayana 

The potters’ vessel is still whole and beautiful to behold in the prophet’s hand, but there is a time when the prophet will be told to go and shatter the vessel in front of the people.  As I look at what is happening in the world and America, I continue to pray, but I remember the past.  I remember what the FATHER has shown us in the past when countries fall away from Him and His SON.

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Exodus 3:14

The Last Days of Summer are here and tonight, I will stand on my porch, say my prayers and look up at the stars overhead, or the clouds if it is still cloudy.  Thankful for a night such as this.  Thankful for tomorrow.  Thankful for the WORD and His lessons and grace. Thankful for the grace of another summer, and the beginning of a new school year.  Thankful to live in America.  Thankful to be praying for America for these 30 days, praying for our leaders, for our military, for all who stand in the gap for the rest of us. Praying for the prophets who still stand in their own prayer garden. Praying as they hold the clay vessel in their hand at the edge of a mountain. Praying as they listen for that still small voice of the Father.

Praying and waiting for the Last Days of Summer and the voice of I AM.

First Grace if Summer garden on the Covenant of Milk and Honey, 1980-81

AFFIRMATION of 2022: Old Path

“…As I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, Oh, LORD, have mercy on me.”

Spiritual

I stood on the porch this morning with my choc lab girl right beside me. The sun had just risen over the houses to the east of me. Spring was in the air, and this old hymn was – not only singing in my heart – but on my lips as well.

Long ago and far away, I grew up hearing this hymn as the congregation made their way to the altar for communion.  My godmother played the organ.  My mother sang the words with the choir.  My Grandmother and father sang the words softly – under their breaths – beside me. Later, when I joined my mother in that same church choir, the underlying spiritual origin of the chords breathed their intricate harmonies so deeply into my soul, that even now, I can hear them singing.

“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.”

Jeremiah 6:16

The origins of this song, trace it back to the underground railroad. This one specifically to the Carolinas. While the notes changed here and there (as almost every tune does, depending on the singer), the basic thematic melody stayed the same – as did the words. I didn’t know that as a child. I only knew that there was an “old path” buried in those words and chords that made sense to my soul.

As the beautiful spring day was breaking over my neighborhood, I couldn’t help thinking about those “old paths where the good way is.” In these modern days, the old paths – the old ways tend to be quickly buried under the “new paths – the new ways”. After all – change is good.  We are wiser…smarter…better educated…can build much bigger towers…….and yet……as I stood on the porch this morning, I wondered.

I wondered all day as the lyrics and tune continued to cycle through my head like a blessed ear worm. I pondered them a little more as I picked flowers that drive my immune system crazy.  I reflected on them as I threw the ball for the lab girl, and enjoyed the peace of the early spring weather. I contemplated them as I read devotions and prayed.  It was – and still is for a few more hours – “Forgiveness Sunday”. 

“Let us drink wine together on our knees…Let us break bread together on our knees…Let us all sing together on our knees…Let us all praise GOD together on our knees…

What if…what if all across the world, humanity fell to their knees and sang on “Forgiveness Sunday” (as today is known in the Orthodox liturgy), drank wine, broke bread, praised YAH in one voice as they their bowed heads to ask Our Father for mercy?

The old spirituals speak an old wisdom – an old path – an old way.  It was a good way that led to freedom.  A good way that led to the One who saw these times before the Archangel Michael locked the gates of Eden. A good way that led to the One who gave peace to struggling souls. It worked for them. Will it not work for us?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit [humble], for theirs is the Kingdom of GOD.”

Matthew 5:3

One last thing, one of the earliest versions of this spiritual had this verse:  “We will all sing tuhgedduh [together] on dat day…”  The verb tense had changed to the future tense throughout the song.  And you know, as I thought about this spiritual in these latter days, I really like this version even more than the one I grew up singing. I am looking forward to one day – singing all together on that day.

#BeBlessed #Hedrawethnigh #rapture

spring flower 2022

TABERNACLING GRATITUDE 2021: Advent Light of Peace #3

I have not given piano lessons in a while.  I did give some to the Grand-kidlets, but their hearts were not in it anymore than it was in the hearts of my kidlets when they were little. (However, since then each of my kidlets have taught themselves the rudiments of playing the piano which I think is pretty cool.) So today, I got to revisit teaching piano to a junior high student.

Maybe it is me.  I just seem to connect better with those middle school kidlets.

I mentioned before that my Godmother taught me to play.  I started playing when I was 7 and continued lessons until high school when I got distracted by choirs, bands, poetry, boys, and life around the corner.  So today was one of those throwback days of treasure chest memories.  I could almost see my Godmother sitting beside me on the piano seat or on a nearby chair.  I heard the tick-tick-tick of the metronome before I turned on the one that is built into my piano.  I laughed at myself as I tried to remember those mnemonics that she taught me to remember the notes. I also got a sore arm when she would drag me to the kitchen to take the liquid vitamins that she kept in her fridge whenever I was at her home (actually, think the sore arm is from raking leaves).

Treasure chest memories, when brought forth by a current activity, are the ones that really make the heart smile.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.”

Isaiah 42:10-12

 Advent is full of music.  I have a variety of playlists saved on Spotify for Christmas alone – not to mention all the CD’s that sit in cases and take up room on a shelf (since I never play them anymore). I got rid of all my albums years ago and will probably get rid of the CDs soon.  Although, today our internet was out, so I actually thought about putting on a CD to play, but instead went outside to just enjoy the 70-degree weather and cut some greenery.

I usually make small greenery Christmas tokens.  I got two done today, and hope to make a few more tomorrow. The problem is – I tend to forget to put on glasses to protect these “new” eyes, so I’m sure I irritated them a little more with dust and fluff than I should have. Essential oils are calling loudly to me tonight.

“For it is in the giving that we receive.”

St. Francis of Assisi

Tonight, the rain has been falling off and on.  The Choc lab girl and Spooky-Sparkle-Shadow kitty are both curled close to me.  Best of all – the windows are still wide open on an – almost – mid-December evening.  Hard to believe, but loving it and continue to wander outside and enjoy the wonder of it.

As I stand on my small deck, I continue in prayer for the states that were hit by the tornado named “Matthew”. I give thanks and reflect on the blessings of my day, knowing that there are many who will be struggling to find the blessings of this day as they look at the destruction of homes, livelihoods, and the loss or harm that has come to their loved ones during this 2^nd week of Advent.

Finding YAH’s peace is a struggle when bad things happen. Yet, if the past couple of years have taught me anything, I know those bad things often strengthen our faith journey…if…we look for the wisdom and light that Abba buries in everything that touches our lives.  When the fire in the pit is red-hot, we see our impurities so much clearer, and it is scary.  Yet, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is walking in that fire with us.  It is why He came as a baby.  It is why He can share…His peace that passeth all understanding…because He walked through similar fires of loss and fear – – – just like us. 

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.

Jeremiah 17:14

#Rapture #Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup

Godmother, Jane Eyre Mayer, and me – of course, she played the organ for my wedding.

TABERNACLING 2021: Phew!!

Perfect spring weekends can’t be beat.  70 degrees.  Sunshine.  Laughter with friends.  Neighbors who bring over surprise treats. Garden greens to harvest and share.  Plants to dig – and move – and replant.  10 yards of mulch to move…wheel barrow by wheel barrow – up hill and down. Patio swings to watch the blue birds build their new home over head. Piano playing. Book reading. Favorite preachers. Oh – and a new stone border to build – stone by stone – wheel barrow by wheel barrow – up hill and down. 

PHEW!!

I think – I am tired.  But it is always – always – such a good tired.

I remember watching my mom as she entered her 70^th year.  She was still mowing her yard, pulling weeds, and climbing ladders to paint this or that.  I remember telling her to get off the ladder and let me do that – or let the kids pull those weeds – move those stones – trim those hedges. Now I understand why she laughed and told me to go home.

Needless to say – – – she continued to do all those things and more until macular degeneration finally slowed her down…a little.

“…And I will write on him My new name.”

Rev 3:12

After yawning a few times, stretching my back on the inversion board, filling my belly with a fresh-from-the-garden salad topped with home-made sweeten pecans and trail mix, I have time to let the darkening skies settle around me as I breathe in YAH – – – breathe out WEH and Tabernacle in His presence.

It has been an interesting 4 months absorbing as much as I can about this word that Abba has given me for this year. I can’t seem to get enough…reading…listening…taking notes. News off. Christian music everywhere. It is as though He has actually written His name on me already – so much so – that I can almost feel it. Not really writing…just notes on scraps of paper all over the house.  Bible verses.  A few lines of poetry.  Quotes.  A list of books – so long – that I know I will never read them all.

TABERNACLE: n/v. Latin: dwelling place

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; for I am called by Your name, O LORD GOD of hosts.”

Jer 15:16

Needless to say, I didn’t get half of what I wanted to get done. (Sorta like teaching – I always over plan.) And yet – I am content.  Content in all things.  I may whine about this or that, but overall…I am occupying my time in this chaotic world till He calls for us in “that twinkling of an eye”.

If we – like Paul – have found that there is a greater authority than that which we see and hear in the physical world, His name is written on us and we can Tabernacle with Him.  He wants us to Tabernacle with Him.  It is why Yeshua Ha’Mashiach died, rose again, and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us on Pentecost.

All you have to do…is open the door.  He’s knocking.  He’s waiting.  He knows your name and everything you’ve ever done…and still He knocks.

PHEW!!!

How great is that? 

“I will put My Law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their GOD, and they will be My people.” Jer 31:33

#Hedrawethnigh

“Adoramus Te, Dominum” by Patsy Arrington Dorsett

Tabernacling 2021: The Ancient Paths

“This world of ours must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

I have a path in the woods – that – when it is not a ‘slip, sliding away’ type of path – I love to walk. Roots stick up out of the ground just waiting to grab the toe of a shoe. Holes left over from decaying roots are covered by leaves. Sharp edges of stones, uncovered by the tons of rain we’ve had this winter, are exposed waiting to twist an ankle. Yet – it is the perfect place to walk my lab girl and listen to He who speaks in a whisper.

When I was little, I went to a lot of Boy Scout camps…Dad was a scout master, so what can I say? I think I was probably the one of the first girls to break the “all boy” rule – even if it was unofficially. I watched and learned as my dad and the other dads taught their boys the skills necessary to be self-sufficient in this life…including prayers and small story-like sermons around the campfires. Never have been sure why I got to go, but the boys never seemed to mind, and being with my dad and brother, was all I wanted anyway.

The neat thing?

There were always ancient paths to walk at whatever campsite we were at in the state. Paths reported to have existed way before the colonists came and settled in the country. Paths established by tribes of people following the food or water source, season after season. Paths used by the wildlife. Paths honored because they were established by the wisdom of those who came before.

“Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’ I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’

Jeremiah 6:16-17a

I have a feeling that we no longer honor those ancient pathways in our culture. The “confederation of mutual trust and respect” seems to be missing if we view things differently. Pathways formed by the grace of Wisdom before any footfall walked them. Pathways followed by generation after generation. Pathways worn smooth by the feet that have traveled it before us. Pathways with no rough-edged stones, out-cropping roots or deep, dark pits. Good pathways where we can find an easy, restful journey.
“We will not walk in it!”

I re-read this a couple times. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we are pretty overt in our rebellion. We proclaim to all, “we will not walk in it”. We will not follow that path. We will not honor those who have walked this path before us. We are wiser. We are educated. We follow the science not an old book full of superstitious, patriarchal, violent, racist, old-fashioned stories.

How often have I refused to walk the ancient pathway that has been at the crossroad in front of me? How often have I rebelled with similar words – whether evasively, silently or loudly? How often, O GOD, have I thought myself so much wiser than those who have traveled this path of life before me? How often, Poppa-GOD?

Sadly, too many – too many.

Unlike Hadassah, I didn’t listen well in my younger days to my watchman – my Mordechai. Sometimes…even now (He just reminded me) … I still don’t listen well as I should. Blessedly, our loving Abba always ALWAYS – ALWAYS sends a Watchman…a Mordechai. A person who tries to show us, talk to us, remind us of the wisdom that comes from His truth and the Truth of His Son.

The Ancient pathways are still there, and we stand at a new crossroad. Like Hadassah, we can stand and walk forward, listening to our Mordechai’s wisdom, or once again choose another path as we say, “We will not walk on it.”
Haman is still there waiting, watching and plotting to make us a “…community of dreadful fear and hate”.

The appointed time is here.

The crossroad is a step away.

The Ancient Paths await.

Mordechai and Haman watch.

The choice is ours to make.