RESURRECTION DAY ALIYAH: 3.30.24

An unusual Resurrection Day to be sure.  Knee swollen, tender and sore – but somewhat – strengthened as I can put weight on it without it popping out of place (ahhhh – the fun of old age). Another day of pulling out the tens machine, MELT stretches, inversion board, PT stretches and a sunrise service in CA, via YouTube, that brought me to tears. Thus, traditional church, family, and outside planting thrown out the window.  Luckily, sunporch windows were thrown wide open to warmth of a perfect ‘Sonshine’ filled day and a happy kitty-kitty curled in the ray of Light.

A hundred years ago, 1924, my parents would have been 5 years old. Well – technically – dad would have been almost 5, since his birthday was at the end of April. Unlike American society of the mid-1900’s and early 2000’s, there are no ‘Easter pictures’ of my parents when they were 5.  But I am beyond blessed because a few black and white pictures have survived to show their younger selves and their smiling parents. Even in the fading images, the love and joy shines in each of their eyes when they are looking at each other.

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help, my help cometh even from the LORD who hath made heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ His only Son our LORD who was conceived by the virgin Mary and crucified under Pontius Pilot – crucified dead and buried.”

Psalm 121:1-2; Apostles’ Creed

 I have always found it interesting – no, more than that – pondered and wondered deeply why Yeshua’s mother is not listed as one of the women who returned to the tomb with spices in any of the gospels. She had stayed with him throughout everything on that day which the recognized ‘church’ calls Holy Thursday and Holy Friday.  She was with Him as He suffered the chains, trials, scourgings, blows, and curses until His body was so beaten it became unrecognizable even by her.  And if some oral traditions are to be believed, she received this Passover Lamp into her arms…arms that had once held and wrapped in swaddling clothes His newborn body… her beloved Son who had fulfilled the Genesis promise of Salvation and a way home for all of them to the Abba Father.

Yet – she didn’t go to the tomb to treat the body with spices one last time?

Early in my meanderings of seeking, I wondered if the gospels had just thought it would be obvious to everyone that she would be there. But lately, I have found myself wondering that maybe she knew her Son so well, that she had no doubt what the women would find on the third day. She had watched Him grow in all stages of His life.  She had pondered all that the angel had proclaimed to her during her time of visitation with Gabriel. Regular old mothers like me, and many I know, bury lots of words in their hearts; words that they treasure because their children said them.

Would not Mary and Joseph, knowing that they were raising the Son of Man who had been prophesied throughout the Torah and other holy traditions, held unto themselves many things of which we do not know?

I often wonder if the angel had told her more than those things she told Luke for the writing of his gospel.  I wonder, if during their years of growing together as a family, whether Yeshua confided – taught – shared – things with her and Joseph that others would not need to know or understand. After all, YAH had chosen these two humans out of all the world – a world filled with evil all around them – to raise His only begotten Son. It was also He that had designed families to be an earthly model of that which would exist when we would, once again, walk closely in His garden with Him.

So many questions on this Resurrection night.  In the scheme of things they probably don’t matter much, but YAH made me to be the teacher – the writer – the one who always wonders and ponders as I try to understand even more deeply the faith I have in Yeshua Ha’Mashiach – Jesus Christ – and the glorious blessing He brought for Jews, Gentiles, righteous and unrighteous…His holy Grace. 

Holy Grace.

A chance to repent of our sins and once again to find our way home to Our Father through that narrow gate at the end of the road. A Father who is there waiting – waiting to run through the gate – His robe flapping around His legs as He runs to hold us – His tears streaking His cheeks – His arms aching to hold us close – a Father waiting to be reunited with His prodigal children and share a feast with them. 

“…On the third day, He arose from the grave and ascended into Heaven where He sitteth at the right hand of GOD the Father Almighty to judge the quick and the dead…” 

Ibid.

My bedtime prayers continue as I wait with my lamp filled with oil and tears of joyful thankfulness in my spirit for a Heavenly Father who loves us beyond our comprehension.

#latterdays #rapture #Hedrawethnigh

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  Women at the tomb – Google image

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  1954 me on Resurrection Sunday

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  Maternal grandparents with mother and her baby brother, 1923

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  Paternal grandparents holding my ‘big brother’, 1942

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  Grandma Ferris holding me, 1951.

GRATITUDE-ATTITUDE AFFIRMATION 2022 #15

2 empty Christmas boxes back in the garage.  One step ladder still sitting in my kitchen.  And just like that, the dreary, bone-chillin’ day (as one of my former students mentioned to me today), has been swallowed by little touches of light that warmed these aging, arthritic bones deep down to the marrow.

So on this 15^th day of November, I AM BLESSED and THANKFUL!!

There is something about colored lights spreading out around the house that just lifts the song right out of me.  Christmas carols.  Hymns. Choral music. Praise music. It all surfaced and Christmas decorating became fun even though I am alone, and often, the only one who gets to soak all that light in on a daily basis. 

That is the sad part – not being able to have someone to share it with me on a daily basis.  Then I remember, I am just spreading a symbol around the house of the truth that lives within me – Yeshua Ha’Mashiach’s Light, Jesus Christ’s Light that I get to share every day when I travel to the gym, visit with friends, worship in church, talk with my neighbors. His Light – His gift to me. Dr Jeremiah wrote a neat devotional on neighbors today. He said, “Jesus’ point was this: Your neighbor is anyone with a need that you are able to meet. Look for a neighbor whose need you might meet.”

Your neighbor is anyone with a need that your gifts can, in some way, help them overcome that emptiness they feel.

As I bask in the few colored lights I set out and watch Marty Goetz’s ‘House of Worship’, the Bible verses that the Holy Spirit pointed out to me today are circling.  One is a continuation of the First Covenant YHWH made with the people He had brought out of slavery.  Yesterday, I linked the 1^st and 2^nd commandments together because they are so closely tied together in today’s society.  Actually, I could have easily linked this one in as well.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

Exodus 20:7

How often is this commandment broken?  I don’t have to list them.  You hear them every day – even if you don’t leave your house. Our society thinks nothing of saying – writing – or even singing: God, Jesus S. Christ, Jesus.  Saying it not with awe or reverence, but casually – a slip of the tongue – in anger – in jest – in “coolness” of peer pressure.

Re-reading these commandments during this space of time has blessed my  journey in a surprising way.  Many Sunday school/Bible school memories have popped forward….from making clay tablets to making a tabletop, cardboard altar on which the teacher had us copy a shortened version of the commandments to a song that – for the life of me – I can’t remember the tune that taught them.

To me, the whole 3^rd commandment just calls forth: ‘Be intentional, for I AM is always listening and considering what you want to say to Him’.

The rain has slowed to a sprinkle tonight and I am yawning, but there is one more verse that continues to haunt the depths of my soul.  I have a friend who writes a daily devotional on FB.  It is 2 Bible verses and a reflection.  I am intentional about seeking it and reading it.  If it doesn’t pop up on FB on its own – I go looking for it so I can pass it on to others.

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 16:31-33

The part of this verse that caught me in prayer and continues to echo especially after what happened in our world today – in our nation today – is underlined.  The hour is coming.  The hour has now come.  The hour that we will be scattered. The words are like the harmonic overtone of notes that continue to resonate in me. Why? I have no idea. It is just something that I continue to ponder and pray over. And then – I read the rest of what He said. The hour is here – but so is the rock-solid promise at the end of this last piece of teaching that Jesus gave to His closest disciples. 

“In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  

John 16:33

#latterdays #rapture #Hedrawethnigh

A high resolution photo of a solar eclipse from FB

AFFIRMATION of 2022: Abundantly Blessed

Blessed beyond measure – abundantly blessed.

When you come home from the gym and find your driveway – actually looking like a driveway – you know the neighbors have been busy.  There was no grass growing in my driveway.  There was actual gravel showing. There were no dips and bumps as I backed into the garage.  I truly have some special neighbors in my life.

I think my neighbors have gotten tired of seeing me bumble around with my wheelbarrow.  I can’t count how many times they have asked if they could help me do something or brought me some food.  Anyway, today, it was an early spring day.  Sunny. Carolina blue skies. Out of the 40’s and into the 50’s day.  It was a wonderful day after several days of gray skies, colder temps, and rain.

Anyway, the neighborhood all seemed to be outside doing our thing. My goal – to clean a few more leaves off the garden.  A skid loader was moving around the neighbors’ yards, making that little beeping sound whenever it backed up. Choc lab girl was excited about chasing her ball, so when one of the neighbor walked over to say “hi”, she brought her ball over to him. And I finally asked if that skid loader could just dump a load at the top of the wall for me to finally cover up the hole that I have been filling in over the past few years.  He smiled. And….when I came home from the gym, they had done a whole lot more than dump one load at the top of a wall.   

I am, indeed, abundantly blessed.

Life is not easy for any of us right now.  Families are being torn apart by money worries – drug addiction – illnesses – mental health – technology – and war. Unfortunately, often our eyes are on the world, instead of being on the One who controls every aspect of this world.

“Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

2 Chronicles 20:12

We never know the “why” of some things.  Why a child has to die in war. Why people sing praise songs in a subway tunnel as they take cover from cluster bombs. Why fields of sunflowers are smashed by soldiers, tanks, and equipment. Why a plague has been allowed to encompass the world and steal so many lives. Why a person chooses to try drugs. Why a parent or family member has to die alone with no one to hold their hand.

 Every person in the Bible, must have asked themselves those “why” questions at one time or another. In fact, some of those why questions are written down for us to read. Esther, at times, must have looked up at the Heavens and shot that question upwards like a piercing arrow.  Only one person did not ask “why” at any point in His life.  He was born knowing the “why” of everything He encountered and did.  Even when He came to that final challenge, He knew “why”. He did ask to avoid it.  He did sweat blood as He asked to avoid it.  But by all accounts, He never asked that typically human question – “Why?”  The sacrificial lamb had known the “why” because He spoke it from the beginning.

Faith journeys are abundantly blessed.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought;
I missed of all but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the Appletree. 

Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree

Last night, I listen to an Evensong service and heard this song. It is a song that I have sung many times.  Evensongs services are probably my favorite type of church service.  It is made of music, scripture readings and prayer. It is an old type of formal worship – peaceful – tied to centuries’ old practices – and people united in worship.  For whatever reason, during the chaotic times of my college years, I loved the routine of Evensongs – a time tied to the past – a time that stilled my mind and lifted my eyes to see what they should have been seeing all week.

With great delight I’ll make my stay,
There’s none shall fright my soul away;
Among the sons of men I see
There’s none like Christ the Appletree.

So tonight, I am listening once again to an Evensong at Westminster Abby where I sang so long ago with a high school choir. It still calms my soul.  It still lifts my eyes. It still swirls scripture in my mind. It still brings a time of prayer to my night – a time to pray for those sick, hurt, scared and those who might be wondering “why?”  It still brings a time when His harmonies sing in my soul and focus my eyes where they should have been all day. 

I am wonderfully, abundantly blessed.

I’ll sit and eat this fruit divine,
It cheers my heart like spirit’al wine;
And now this fruit is sweet to me,
That grows on Christ the Appletree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the Appletree.   

– Elizabeth Poston

#BeBlessed #Hedrawethnigh #rapture

TABERNACLING GRATITUDE 2021: Praise Be to GOD

I have made a brilliant discovery tonight.  I turn on some “news” stations – on various sides of the current political spectrum (just to make sure I have a little propaganda in my life) – and then play some awesome choral music at the same time – Whallah – I remember just exactly WHO is in charge of this world and begin to process it all through His lens.  It is amazing what a difference that can make.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.”

Hebrews 13:15

It has been another busy week as I try to get gardens cleaned up before my second cataract surgery.  It has been cold in NC, but not OH cold, so I can go out in my vests or sweaters and get a lot done.  Cut back the dying bushes.  Load the debris in the trusty wheel barrow.  Haul it to the dry creek bed… and then do it all over and over again. However, when my back is aching and my eyes a little cross-eyed from the disparity between them, I look at the clean gardens and whisper, “Praises Be, Father”.

YAH is good…all the time.

Tonight, was even better.  Accountability, prayerful “talks” via text with a few former students from a few different schools where He placed me over the past 40 years.  Fun, prayer-filled “talks” with a couple former co-workers as well.  They were also from different schools. A voice conversation with a friend who is facing a mandate decision.  They’ve made their decision and just wanted a little prayer as they wait to see where this path may take them in His will. As I enter the time of the yawns, I am thankful and full of even more praise for the Father Who, thoughtfully and lovingly, placed in my sphere all these people at one point or another for my edification and growth.

In all those conversations – with all the treasure chest memories that their faces bring to my mind, I remember that: All the time, Abba is good.

For whatever reason, this Thanksgiving seems holier to me.  Perhaps it is because I have spent the year really focusing on opening my Tabernacle flaps to Our Father. Perhaps, it is because I have been spending lots of time listening to music that speaks of Him to my heart.  Perhaps, it is watching this season of our world as it struggles to reject or accept the Light that Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, Jesus Christ brought to it.  Or perhaps, it is the fact that I am just becoming more sensitive to the presence of the Ruach Kodesh, Holy Spirit in my own life. But the more I ponder these thoughts, the more I realize it really doesn’t matter why I am thankful, I am just full of praise tonight.

GOD is good, all the time.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”

– Abraham Lincoln, November 1863 

The United States is experiencing many days that are similar to 1863.  Families are torn in opposite directions.  People are divided as they struggle to find any rock that will support them through this storm.  Lawlessness threatens and anger pounds the temples of the brain.  But in 1863, a leader found His Rock.  A leader who realized there is only one Rock on which to re-build a nation.  Perhaps…it is time for the remnant, who have their feet upon His Rock, to stand and offer many praises for all to hear to the One who created the Rock, the seasons, and the sphere in which we have all been placed.

Praises Be to the “providence of Almighty GOD” for all He has given us this place for times such as these. After all, He is good all the time – all the time, He is good.

#Rapture  #Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup

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TABERNACLING 2021: 40 Days TheChosen #19

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”    

John 14:27

After 3 walks, my 8-year-old choc lab girl is usually tired.  Chasing the ball is not as easy as it used to be when she was a puppy. But tonight?  She had a treat.  She had a marrow bone.  I figured it would last her a couple days – – – –  nope. I forgot to factor in she is a lab. She still thinks she is a puppy, and I had to take it away from her.  Marrow was gone and she was endeavoring to eat the bone.

I worry about my last lab girl.  She still struggles with missing her sister – especially when a stranger comes to visit. She had a torn ACL back in 2015 that is now causing her to often limb with arthritis. She has a tumor.  She has just gotten over a urinary tract infection. But she really does think she’s a puppy, so I just throw the ball, rub her belly, and laugh when she tries to pet me back with her paw as she always wants more attention.

Worry is not something I let hover over me.  Which is why, when I read today’s devotions, I had trouble getting this reflection down on paper. When that happens, I generally go back and re-read all the devotions and Bible verses again.  I know the wisdom is there that I was supposed to find – but the lens in my eyes must have missed it. 

Sure enough, when I went back.  There it was.  It popped off the page and the WORD spoke the scales away from my eyes:   ‘…not as the world gives…’

Like an earworm, this phrase caught me and started repeating over and over. I emptied the dishwasher.  Swept bone pieces off the floor.  Rubbed the lab girl’s belly one more time and then sat down to write which is when silly, Spooky-Sparkle-Shadow kitty decided she should help me.

I looked back at the Bible verse again. Rabbi Yeshua didn’t do anything as the world does. Prophecy named Him, The Prince of Peace. But in this world, peace is fleeting to non-existent. Worry/anxiety is a part of every day life for all of us.  Statistical studies continuously show rising numbers of people having to use medical solutions and counseling to deal with it.

Jesus lived in an occupied country. He saw the brutality of the Roman rule, so I think there was plenty of worry back then as well.  After all, his parents, Mary and Joseph, had to pack up their infant Son and disappear into Egypt to escape the first attempt on His life. They had to deal with multitudes of predicaments.  Similar predicaments that we see in our own lives every day: sickness, betrayal, war, slavery, natural disasters, inflation, shortages of food/water…….

Predicaments cause worry, and they have always been a fact of life on this planet.

“Every predicament is an opportunity for divine intervention and continued celebration.”

TheChosen, Season 1 Devotional, p85

When Joseph had his dream to take his family and flee, now that probably caused some worry. We tend to take this part of the Christmas story for granted, but did he or Mary have aging parents back in Nazareth or Sepphoris?  What about his business?  Did he have enough money?  What would he do to support them in Egypt?  Food? Shelter? Clothes?

 Luckily, Joseph’s eyes had lost the scales of the world that usually hide spiritual wisdom. He had already had one angel visit him, so he had peace even in the midst of what was probably a whole lot of worries.

Peace, ‘…not as the world gives…’ but a peace as only He can give. A peace that one day, He would grow up to speak during the short 3 years of His ministry.  

It is this same peace that tucks me in every night before I go to sleep and breathes new hope every morning when I open my eyes.  The predicaments of the world are still clamoring for attention, but the divine shines into the deepest part of my soul and activates the WORD that has been buried in my heart. 

It bears repeating that worry/anxiety doesn’t stand a chance when the Shepherd speaks His peace – – peace, ‘…not as the world gives…’, but in the way that only He can give. 

The key to controlling worry/anxiety is knowing the WORD, Jesus, and knowing Our Father who loved us so much that He designed this path of salvation with the very first word of the Bible – Berisheet.

It is a choice that comes to all of us as we gaze at the world around us.  We can worry – – –  or – – – we can pray, listen for the Shepherd’s voice, that divine intervention, as He speaks His peace – a peace beyond all understanding to each of us. 

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:7

#Hedrawethnigh #keeplookingup  #rapture

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TABERNACLING 2021: 40 Days TheChosen #17

I totally love when the yard is mowed, gardens are weeded, porch is cleaned, and I can just sit on the patio swing and read a book.  Hmmm…..somehow that rarely happens. So don’t come and see my yard this week.

Today, I looked at the overgrown gardens and wanted to rip everything out and start all over.  I did get the yard mowed (even if it did take 2 days). The wisteria leaves are still scattered all over the patio and after the storm last night there are a few more sticks that need to be picked up.

So – like any old gal, instead of doing any of that – I went to the gym, rode the bike for 3 miles, played in the water while I talked with friends, stretched those sore muscles in the hot tub, and then picked up a book to read in the comfort of my recliner.

Lab girl and I took a couple walks, played ball and watched the squirrel completely empty the humming bird feeder  – – – again.  I wish I was so smart as that squirrel.  They come and see, formulate a plan, and feast on food set out for other critters.  I do wonder what Father had in mind when He designed those squirrels.

“The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi”(which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

He said to them, “Come and see.” 

John 1:37-39

Three words was all it took for some of the disciples.  For Philip, it took only a few words, but when Philip found Nathanael, “come and see” was not enough to follow someone from Nazareth. Nathanael needed a little more – and h got more than he could comprehend in one face-to-face meeting. So – Nathanael joined Philip to follow this Rabbi Yeshua.

Come and See.

Three simple words.  Spoken a few times in the Bible in various formats.  From Genesis to Revelations, He calls out over and over to “Come and see”.

C – Christ

O – opened

M – my

E  – eyes

&

S – sacred

E – eternity

E – entered

Sometimes it is just that easy…most times…there are a lot of the apostles within us – doubting, denying, scared, falling into the waves over and over. I sometimes wonder if that was part of the criteria that Yeshua used in choosing His disciples. He wanted them to be people that we could identify with in our own life journeys.

Eventually, the disciples did figur it out, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, got beyond their own feelings and internal idols. They came and went all over their known world to encouraged others to “come and see” as they dedicated their lives for Jesus Christ.

John the Apostle wrote in his Revelations of Jesus Christ that Jesus continues to use this phrase when He returns.  With each seal, a voice will cry out these three words:

“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 

Revelations 6:1

#Hedrawethnigh #keeplookingup  #rapture

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TABERNACLING 2021: 40 Days TheChosen #15

“The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Lately, this verse has popped into my sphere several times, and every time, it touches my soul deeply.  I don’t know whether it is because of the chaotic times in which we are living or just my own chaotic life, but I know enough that when my soul is touched deeply, it is time to use that verse as a prayer rock.

His WORD is the rock on which I try to stand every day. Using His WORDs as I pray, just seems to be the important in these birth pang days.  When Jesus was in the wilderness, He used His own recorded WORDs to reply to the evil one’s temptations.  How much stronger will we be and our prayers be – IF we follow His example and stand on the ROCK of His WORD?

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

In every generation, society, country – the rock of courage has been needed by the people who were alive. The Bible is story after story of people struggling to deal with challenges that required them to go beyond what they thought they could do.  Go to a city and prophesy – get on a boat in the middle of a mighty storm – walk away from the security of being taken care of just in the name of freedom – wake up the morning after you watched your rabbi beaten and crucified……..and then…. they saw the rock rolled away from the tomb.

How we deal with the rocky roads in life, is what the WORD teaches us every day when we take the time to read it.  In these latter days, in these rough days when the world doesn’t make much sense, it is the WORD of GOD that kicks the anxiety – the worry – the pain into the roadside ditch, making your steps secure.  He puts your feet upon His ROCK – His ROCK higher than – and brings peace to your heart.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn…”

Isaiah 51:1

COVID wasn’t easy for anyone. Viruses never are. Countries falling apart.  Violence of all kinds. Evil incarnate loose in the cities. Covenants shredded. It takes courage to face those things that can’t be eradicated.

The more I pondered and wondered about my devotions today, I kept thinking about Christ being the cornerstone (the rock) that was rejected by our world.  I keep seeing the image of him as he kneeled in the Garden of Gethsemane beside a huge ROCK as He prayed…as if He, too, needed that physical ROCK of His Father to strengthen Him for the dark hour of night to come. A livingstone who was about to lay down His life for us. And yet – Our Father, unbelievably, sees us as living stones(rocks) as well. Rocks that can – if we have the courage – reflect the example given to us by our cornerstone that died for our sins.

This is the quarry from which we were carved by His own fingers.  He shaped us out of the essence of the earth that He created.  Made us in His image. Breathed into us His own breath of life. We just have to have the courage to stand on His ROCK that He has given us to stand on in times of trouble and accept His grace of salvation.

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up – a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 2:4-5

#Hedrawethnigh #keeplookingup  #rapture

TABERNACLING 2021: 40 Days TheChosen #14

“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” Star Trek intro, 1969

The past few days have been filled with giant steps in lots of different directions.  Even in these chaotic days, I love how YAH keeps pushing me to listen a little more closely to His Spirit’s voice, or how He shows me how to look at ordinary things and see the miracles buried within them, or lets me hear the heart blessings from the people He placed in my life for times such as these. 

Stepping out with boldness hasn’t ever been much of a problem for me.  My mom and dad were pretty bold in their own walks.  My big brother was an acorn that didn’t fall far from their tree. So, I pretty much had to be bold as well just to get some attention. As I grew older, I was on stage and in plays before I knew that I should be scared.  The only place I would fall apart was in church – even as a preschooler. For the life of me, I could never control my knees or voice in church when I sang a solo.  For whatever reason, bold was not a part of my vocabulary in church.

Other than that, I strode boldly forward in life until the last few years.  Not sure how or why that changed.  I was still doing lots of things on stage and in my life, but I noticed there was a hesitancy building and wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Acts 4:31

My parents taught me more than how to sing, dance, work hard, go to church and be bold in many areas of my life.  They also taught me how to seek Our Father’s wisdom when something just didn’t feel right.

So over a decade ago (probably two), I did what I should have done all along.  I started turning back to the ways of my parents and opened the Bible on a daily basis.  Don’t get me wrong, I always had the Bible by my bedside. I always had a pretty consistent church attendance. I even did Bible studies here and there. But in it all, my consistency was not great. 

“True peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of GOD.”

Alexander MacLaren, Baptist minister, 1846-1910

As always, His peace and boldness returned.  Shortly, after I started practicing consistency in seeking Him, I started writing a blog about the journey.  At first it was a lot of biographical stuff – some poetry – some fiction – but the WORD kept pushing me out of my closet to speak/write more forcefully – BOLDLY – about Jesus Christ’s blessing to my life.

These birth pang years make it even more obvious, that we will need to walk boldly in our faith – just as the apostles had to do after Yeshua left them and ascended to the right hand of the Father.  So many chaotic situations need us to fall on our knees in prayer right now. Find those situations that draw your spirit in prayer and – if you don’t know how to pray – let the Holy Spirit groan for you.  Every prayer warrior needs to respond to the nudge tonight and pray. 

While I hate seeing our world in this state, I have read the WORD.  I know how to find His Rock to stand on.  I know He is faithful in all things.  I know that He is going to shout for the church soon.  Keep your oil lamps filled and carry the extra oil with you. He cometh boldly to call His own, and His sheep will know His voice. 

#Hedrawethnigh #keeplookingup  #rapture

TABERNACLING 2021: 40 Days TheChosen #8

“Let us be alert to the season in which we are living. It is the season of the Blessed Hope, calling for us to cut our ties with the world and build ourselves on this One who will soon appear. He is our hope—a Blessed Hope enabling us to rise above our times and fix our gaze upon Him.”

A.W. Tozer, Preparaing for Jesus’ Return: Daily Live the Blessed Hope

On the days I don’t go to the gym, I like to just stay home and not go anywhere for any reason.  It doesn’t always work out, but that is what I strive to accomplish.  On hot, sticky, humid, sweat-if-you-sit-on-the-swing kinda day, it is hard to get motivated enough to get anything done.  And believe me, I have a list a mile long that I should be working on whenever I park the car for the day.

Then I look up from whatever book I’ve been reading – movie I’ve been watching – letter I’ve been writing, and the afternoon is already sliding into early evening. Ugh.  Such is the life of a person adjusting to not having an a job to work around…….again. You’d think I’d have this down to a science since it is the 3^rd time I’ve done this. 

A memory popped up on social media today that reminded me that the first time I was adjusting to retirement, I put myself into a 40-day prayer challenge using the Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. I laughed because I automatically put myself into another prayer challenge this time around as well.

40 days of writing and praying for the world and for Him to manifest His Will for my life and those He has placed in my sphere.

Back then, as now, there were many things going on emotionally besides the loss of everyday structure in my life.  I had uprooted myself from my hometown, friends, family and spiritual support.  The covenant that I thought would be like my parents’ covenant and last into eternity had entered into the last stages of sorrow.

This time around is the realization that in the perseverance of the last few years, my character has grown in ways I never imagined.  And while there is still tribulation sand blowing around me, I can see the flare of Hope shining so brightly ahead of me, that I wonder how I never saw it before now.

And yet – there was the Blessed Hope.

Always present.

Always blowing away the sand obscuring my vision.

Always making sure my steps were securely placed upon His rock-solid promises.

Always, the Shepherd’s arms wrapping around me and drying my tears in the folds of His garment.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, Hope.”

Romans 5:1-4

Our culture often tends to use the phrase, hope deferred. And yet – it seems so many Jewish leaders, prophets, and disciples did not succumb to that thought in their writings.  I think Paul spoke it very clearly in many of his writings, but I have the one in Romans 5 hanging in my prayer closet and a few places around the house. 

Go back up and read that scripture again: hope is not deferred.

Even in the most painful tribulations, if you squint into the darkness, you will see that after a few steps, that hope is that dim light ahead.  It was always there – not deferred – not covered – just waiting for the eye to blink the sand out of the way and see clearly. The sandy sorrows swirling around often blur the vision, but once the lens in the eye opens wide, the hope light flares ahead of us.  It is not deferred. The mind just hadn’t perceived its presence – YET!

That is the Blessed Hope.

Tribulations are swirling.  The country we once recognized looks a whole lot different. The evil one continues to throw sand up in the eyes and laughing at our confusion and sadness. Yet – if we dig in the “Devine WORD” (as John Adams called it), stand on His promises, the Holy Spirit will blow the sand away, and we will see that perseverance has led to character and character has led us to the time when the Bridegroom will call out to His Bride that He is coming………and coming soon. 

Yesua Ha’Mashiach – Jesus Christ – is the Blessed Hope.

#Hedrawethnigh  #keeplookingup  #rapture

“The Way Maker” by House of Maria

TABERNACLING 2021: Bridges

“Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.”

~Nikos Kazantzakis

40 years ag0 today, I was already thinking about school and wondering how I would bridge motherhood with teaching.  It was to be my second-year teaching in a small rural school after teaching 7 years in urban schools.  Come to think of it – there were lots of new bridges that year: newly married, newly pregnant, newly milking cows, and definitely new to tearing down a couple barns to get old beams to build a new house.

Earth bridges is how we cross a chasm to get to another place. When we put our foot on a bridge, we have faith that it will support us until we reach the other side.  In this world, most of the times, that faith is not misplaced, but sometimes that bridge collapses.

40 years ago, I actually didn’t do very well with milking cows or tearing down barns.  I mostly watched, took pictures and fell asleep on my mom’s yard swing.  I do remember wearing gloves that were way too big on my hands. Shorts and dresses really don’t work well for crossing either of those bridges.  And, if I remember correctly, my arms and legs were pretty scraped up by the end of some of those days, so that I “…joyfully collapse…” to be across another bridge.

“After this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.””

– Revelations 4:1

Heard this Bible verse during devotions yesterday and been pondering it ever since.  When John the Apostle, was writing the Revelations of Jesus Christ, He thought there might be a bridge to cross.  Can you imagine, hearing Jesus say to you, “Come up here”?

I have to chuckle when I picture this. There was an old comedy skit by Bill Cosby on of his early records where GOD tells Noah to build an ark.  That befuddled voice of Noah is always the voice I hear in my head when I start wondering about celestial conversations. My imagination goes a little crazy (mostly because I am visual learner), and I almost always picture in my mind what the words in a book are saying to me.

There he is. St. John standing – looking around – a confused look on his face, scratching his head and stumbling, mumbling over what words he might use next, as he wondered just how he was supposed to get up there.  He certainly didn’t see a bridge appearing so he could cross that huge chasm between Earth and Heaven, not to mention the sin barrier that has been in place since the Garden Gates were locked.

And just like that – before the thought was completed in his head – within a blink of an eye – St. John’s perspective was changed.

“At once I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne standing in heaven, with someone seated on it.  The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne.  Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads.”

Revelations 4:2-4

And here I sit – a day later – still contemplating how beyond miraculous that must have been.  St. John took a breath, was caught up in YAW’s breath which pulled him into heaven so quickly that his head was still spinning.  He could see the complete and perfect coventental circle of the rainbow surrounding the throne of the One Who united the arcs between Heaven and Earth and gulped loud enough to make Yeshua Ha’Mashiach laugh.

Yeshua Ha’Mashiach…Jesus Christ.

Enoch, Elijah, and St. John.  The Bible says they all were drawn into Heaven and didn’t have to experience the Bridge of Death to get there. While Enoch and Elijah remained in Heaven, St. John returned to Earth and completed writing the Revelations of Jesus Christ. He is thought to be the only apostle to die of old age.

Bridges in this world are important…physically, mentally, emotionally.  I’m not so sure they are necessary…spiritually or even physically.  In fact – since I believe the Bible to be true in all its words, I know there will be a time when the Bridge of Death will not be necessary to once again bridge the chasm between Earth and Heaven. 

And now – I am contemplating that thought.  Will I have time to think?  Will I hear His voice? A trumpet? One moment here – the next in His presence? Will I, too, get to see the rainbow encircling His throne?

I love to ponder such things because it makes me so happy and excited at what is to come and beyond thankful for His Grace.  That narrow gate is opening to all who want to walk through it – and I can’t wait.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Kerolos Safwat “First Day in Heaven”

#Hedrawethnigh   #Keeplookingup #Rapture