AFFIRMATION Lenten Walk of 2022: The Encourager

It was Psalm 16 singing in His dream that awakened Him. The cherubic voices drifted off as He opened His eyes. The stars winked as if they too had heard the words and echoed their encouragement.  His eyes and ears were still open to that spiritual dimension, the one hidden behind such a thin veil when the eyes and ears were without their sin scales. He turned His head and nodded at the archangels and other angels who had stood watch with all of them this night.

He began His day as He had since He took His first breath on this planet.  YEH – WEH. With every breath, He felt His Father draw closer. He threw open the flap of His human tent and waited.  The automatic prayers of His people flitted through His heart. But as He tabernacled with His Father, He always came with the prayers of His heart for the new day. This day had been planned since the beginning of time, and so it would be accomplished.

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Psalm 16:9-11

His King.

His People.

His Will to Save.

His WORD of Grace

They had set aside this day for such a time as this. This would be the day in this Holy Week of Passover for singing, laughter, and encouragement to His earthly family before they would all begin the walk through the Valley of Death, as David had once called it.  Some would stand in the shadows of this scary valley for a few years, but all of them would eventually walk through the valley itself – just as He was about to do.

The time for tears was just around the corner, but not today.

When He opened His eyes again, it was Eema who was sitting beside Him. Her eyes closed in prayer as well. He was not surprised.  She always had a way of being almost exactly where she needed to be in Abba’s plan for the day. A breath of thankfulness escaped His heart again. This would be their time together.  As it was the night He was born, it was just the two of them – – executing the plan that had been formed before Adam. When she opened her eyes to look at Him, they were already full of the sadness that she knew was coming, but the love, acceptance, steadfastness, and absolute faith were there as well. 

“Do you remember when You, my Binyamin, went missing during Passover?” When she saw his laugh lines start to crinkle around His mouth, she continued, “Now don’t laugh! Three days was such a long time for you to be out of my sight. I was frantic. I wondered if YHWH would ever forgive me for losing His Son. Joseph tried his best to calm me, but it was impossible.” She stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

“I have been thinking that I needed that experience. It was YAH’s way of giving me wisdom for exactly these times.  When Joseph brought you out of the Temple, and You asked me, ‘Did you not know I would be about my Abba’s business?’ I gained new insight to Abraham and Sarah’s faith. You were here for something far beyond my understanding, and I would have to be willing to walk up the mountain or down in the valley with you, no matter when or where.”

She reached out and touched His face in the dusky dawn. “I am ready, my Yeshua, for your business is to save me as well. I will follow you no matter where the next few days take us because I believe in You. You are the Mashiach, the Son of GOD and the Son of Man.”

Yeshua put His arm around His eema and gave thanks for her faith and her willingness to be born again. As they sat together, tabernacling with each other and the Father, they heard the birds and the people below begin their morning songs as well.  When the sunlight stretched its first fingertips into the skies, they smiled at each other.  His eema was tracing His fingers with her own.  He had meant to encourage her and instead, Abba had sent her to encourage Him, so that He might be even stronger as He encouraged His disciples, His brothers and His sisters.

Taking a deep breath, He stood, and then turned to help His mother stand as well.  It would be a day for laughter, song and encouragement as He answered their questions, their concerns and prepared them for what lay ahead. Walking down the stairs and into the common space where the others were, He memorized their precious faces and laughed with joy. They might feel lost for three days, as He had been “lost” from Eema and Joseph, but – then they would remember His words and today. They would see with their eyes and their spirit that He had always been about His Father’s business – even in the dark valley of Death.

The Day of the LORD was at hand. Salvation was at hand.

“…my prayers:  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,  the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 1:17-23

#BeBlessed #Hedrawethnigh #rapture

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AFFIRMATION of 2022: In Due Time

I have said it before – I will probably say it again – January is not my favorite month.  There are a couple things that are bright lights of memory for me – but overall – there are many days – especially in the past few years – that makes me just want to bury my head under a pillow and wake up in February.

There have been lots of thoughts roaming around in my mind over the past few days, but every time I sit down to write those thoughts, they just don’t gel together the way I want them to do. What can I say? I get frustrated. Shut the computer down, and do a word puzzle or read a book.

It could be that it is just my funky, January mood of non-compliance or rebellion.  The words that often roll out easily, just feel jumbled into a hodge-podge ball of nonsense. Now whether it is me, or whether it is the restrainer withholding those specific words that I am seeking to roll everything into an effective piece of writing – I have no idea. My whiny voice comes into play at times like these.

“Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9a

So, in true fashion, this morning during devotions, YAH put His affirmation in front of me. As always, He heard my whining as I was banging my head against the wall – but – He reminds me – I am not to walk away from the initial path that He has laid out for me to walk. So – here I am again tonight. Bumbling around through my mind; rotating concepts and ideas in and out; and wondering what – if anything – will be completed tonight.  Then I laugh, because as I am writing, I remember to start tabernacling, and I realize that Our Father has been chuckling as He waited for me to throw open the flap to His presence. 

Being really “retired” and by myself, means my day is really – my day.  I can eat, fit in gym time and doctor appoints (as necessary), respond to and reach out to friends, pick up the grands, read books, play with my critters, watch the birds, write some poetry, and whatever else I “feel” like doing. Which all basically means – I can sit in devotions almost every day for as long as I need without having to rush into the world. 

I really am amazed at how this one “daily chore” that I set for myself to accomplish in 2022, has stretched from a few rushed moments into long minutes that I treasure. A time of concentrating on just the WORD as I try to absorb not only the literal meaning, but the deeper thought behind each story.  Why was it given here?  Why these people?  What is the Jewish thought, traditions and wisdom of these events? How does it all relate to what I am supposed to learn today?

Needless to say, when I finally remember to tabernacle with “my friend”, He sends a confirmation affirmation. 

“Our thoughts and words “exhale” the breath of God that was given to each of us. In a very real sense, they serve as “prayers” we are constantly offering…” 

Jon Parsons, Hebrew for Christians

There is a lesson here for me to remember.  In Due Time, His harvest sits ripe in the field, and all I have to do is walk out, my Grandma Mac’s faded, red and white apron tied around me, glean the manna, and share the bounty with whomever He has placed in my sphere.

His timing is always perfect. 

His ways are not my ways. 

He is faithful in all His ways.

I just need to remember to keep tabernacling – – to not give up – – keep the scales off my eyes – – unstop my ears – – and In Due Time, I will find my way down the path He has designed just for me.

#Hedrawethnigh  #keeplookingup #affirmation

AFFIRMATION of 2022: I AM – YAH

“…As we go from the Tav of 2021 to the Aleph of 2022, we work our way through the WORD, the Alephbet, once again.”

James Switzer

As I begin another year of re-reading the WORD, Genesis is speaking to my heart. Psalms is speaking in harmonics in my soul.  Proverbs is speaking wisdom to my stumbling brain. So as the big, puffy flakes of our first “real” snow begin to fall this morning, I am shaking my head in awe of what Our Father continues to say in a book that is filled with “living words”.  Words….. words affirming the quote you see above that a friend wrote me on January 1^st of this new year.

It as been an “awe”-filled day.  Torrential rains that prompted flood warnings for our area.  Other areas without power.  High winds. Gushing waters running through dry gullies. Snow covering the ground (for about two hours). Many, many tree limbs decorating the ground. And finally, warm sunshine.

So…….I meandered a couple times out into the snow.  Cleaned the firepit from our family gathering yesterday (when it was in the high 70’s).  Picked up limbs.  Dragged bigger limbs. Checked the areas around my house and that of my neighbor’s when I took her paper to her. Talked with a neighbor who was enjoying an early morning walk with her son as he bounced in the puddles in our cul-de-sac. Laughed at Koay-dog as she slid on her rear after trying to catch the ball in the snow. Watched the cardinals fighting for a place at the feeder as the little birds just snuck in and stole the goodies from them.

Quite a change for NC and the past couple of days with highs almost to 80 and the lows in the mid-60’s.

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

-Abraham Lincoln

The past year has been full of challenging growth. Some of it easy – but some of it a fiery challenge of faith-walking. That is what tabernacling with the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit bring with them when one takes the time to ask Them to abide in the tabernacle that was built – continuing to be built – just for Them.

After the wind stopped blowing and the sun had warmed things to vest-wearing comfort, I walked into the woods to check for fallen trees or limbs. On the way across the now gushing dry bed, I noticed, for the second time, the honeysuckle vine that circles the old mailbox by my shed which has set free two bright red blossoms waiting for bees to find their sweetness. Then, I turned my head and was surprised. The elephant ear plant that had died back earlier in the fall was displaying a brand-new leaf as well. An affirmation of that new life He has placed in my spirit for this new year. New life that always tries to surface – despite any season of storm, darkness, or heartbreak.

“Teach me Your way, YAH, that I might rely on Your faithfulness; Give me an undivided heart, that I will hold in AWE Your Holy Name.”

Psalm 86:11

New growth.  New affirmations.

I am that red flower blooming on the first week of January. I am the new growth on plant that, seemingly – had died.  I am a child of the great I AM………..I AM………..I AM who is never changing, always righteous, and always merciful in His love for His children. I AM who will soon nod His head in affirmation for His Son to call His Bride to meet Him in the air.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.  After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage [affirm] one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

#Hedrawethnigh  #keeplookingup #affirmation

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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: YoNaH

“I need to discern purpose from activity.”

Me, 2010, 22^nd  Day in Jesus by Beth Moore

Long, long ago, before I retired, I decided to take on a daily devotional time. I had not done this since Junior High. Over all the years between 1964 and 2010, devotional time was pretty much a hit-or-miss affair except for Sundays (and even that was a miss when I had teenagers and a parent who needed more time than I knew how to handle. Spell me as a MESS in those days).  Now however, I was an empty nester, so I should have lots of time, right?

All I had to do was find a book and get busy. I had been just starting to follow Beth Moore, so I picked her 2007 book, 90 Days with Jesus. Then I factored in the fact that I hate getting up in the morning (really never have been able to force my eyes to stay open when it is still dark outside), so I formulated that doing it at night would be my best bet.

No one ever said I am smart or even in my right mind at times.

The worldly mind said that being an English teacher means grading papers, tests, and making sure lesson plans were ready for the next day should come first – devotions second.  Halfway through the first week, I realized I was falling asleep in my chair as I tried to read the Bible verses for the fourth or fifth time since the brain was not functioning very clearly at 11 or 12 o’clock at night.

Two weeks later, I figured out that doing it before I got busy with school work, meant I was distracted or hurrying to just fit it in.  Not exactly what I had in mind when I decided it was essential to spend more time with the Father. Needless to say, I made myself get up at 6:00 instead of 6:30 as I started building my first tabernacle since 1964.  My covenanted world had been collapsing for a while, and I still wasn’t sure I knew how to re-do it, but like the Good Father He is, He met me there and patched the holes when I faltered.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

Henry Ford

11 years later, He is still the Good, Good Father.  He has shown me how to patch my own holes and make the tabernacle stronger for those swirly winds that do tend to happen at times in this world.  I have found that those are the times – that just like when Noah built the ark – it is necessary for He to close the door and batten down the hatches when the cold rain falls on me.

Jewish wisdom has also added a lot to this journey.  The various meaning of Jewish letters, words and phrases adds so much depth to the OT Bible stories that Christians grew up reading in Sunday School.  That wisdom doubled – sometimes a lot more than that – when added to the NT Bible stories. 

Example:  The dove that Noah sent forth from the ark, came back to its home twice. Funny thing, “dove” is spelled in Hebrew the same way as the name of the prophet – Jonah: YoNaH.  Hmmm…Jonah was in the water when a big fish (kinda like an ark, right?) brought him back to where he belonged to complete his mission for YAH.  As if that’s not enough, Jesus (his Hebrew name, Yeshua, means He-who-saves – again – kinda like an ark but in a different form, right?) went to the water to get baptized when something “like a dove” appeared so that He could start His own mission for YAH.   And we all know He is coming back – just like the dove….. See what pondering His WORD can do?

“Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like doves to their roosts?

Isaiah 60:8

My physical tabernacle is getting ready for the cooler weather that is coming this weekend.  Cleaning up the gardens, re-potting plants for their days to be spent inside, moving plants that did not like their home because the trees went crazy this year and spread their limbs over places I hadn’t anticipated, and finally, hauling mulch and stones to help keep those roots a little warmer.  I’m still trying to figure out how I can keep hauling mulch in the winter. My body just likes that exercise for some reason or another.  (Back arthritis doesn’t hurt so bad after I haul mulch or stones – explain that one, although I do have a special wheelbarrow.)

Yet each time I’m outside, I look up.  The morning doves are still appearing every now and then, and I wonder, is Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (Jesus Christ – He Who Saves) getting ready to put His boat in the everlasting waters to bring His Church home? Personally, I think His boat is stocked to the hilt and ready to sail. While I’m not quite jumping up and down, I can’t wait to be one of the doves that fly home when He calls.  I know the Shepherd’s voice and He knows my name.   

#Rapture  #Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup

artwork by Jeff Haynie

TABERNACLING 2021: Standing in the Gap

Shortly after finishing my last 40 day prayer challenge, I began cleaning out some of my old books.  It is probably one of the hardest things ever for me.  A book lover spends their life collecting favorite tomes of wisdom – tomes that weight a whole bunch and take up many boxes when they have to be moved. But book lovers are crazy. They do it over and over. Some of my books I have had since the 1960’s. But I promise you – I took a box load to the free shelf.  I gave some away to friends.  I even mailed some away.  They were all some of my favorites that have been on my shelves for a while.

My bookshelves are still full.  I swear they are like Tribbles (old Star Trek reference for those of you who don’t know), and they continuously multiply every few hours.

“In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection.”

Dr Benjamin Franklin, 1787 Philadelphia convention

In the process, I came across a book that had been pushed behind a few other heavy books. It was a 90 Day Devotional on Jesus by Beth Moore. Back when this was a relatively new book, I was still teaching full time in OH, but life had been changing for me (once again) in 2010.  Needless to say, the Holy Spirit nudged and I laughed.

Jumping from a 40-day prayer challenge to a 90-day prayer challenge isn’t what I usually do. I tend to like to think a little more, write a little more, and try to assess all those new things I learned about myself before I go into a new challenge.  But times are changing again, and perhaps, at a faster pace than ever before as the world spins into these latter days at break neck speed.

That being said, I may have laughed first – but the Holy Spirit laughed last. He knew that this challenge was focused on Jesus and would lead right up to Christmas. Perfect timing, right? I gave in and opened the book. It was the best choice ever. It gives me a routine to follow in my devotions which I have to admit, is good for this Gemini minded soul that tends to drift and wonder off into something more active if it is not regimented. I also found that I liked being able to look back in time, read my thoughts and prayers from 10 years ago, and chart the progress or back-trodden failures of the past decade.

“And have we no forgotten that powerful friend? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, n the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it.”

Ibid.

I have yet to figure out why these two devotions today blended together so completely in my mind while I sat outside.  I think it is because I was praying at the same time as I was reading and pondering.  Praying for those on my prayer list. Praying for our country.  Praying for Israel as Iran moves a huge amount of military closer to the border. Praying for those who stand in the gap for the rest of us – overseas – in the cities – in the hospitals – – – and then I realized – – –

Those who were meeting in 1787 in Philadelphia were standing in the gap for their people.

Suddenly, it began to click why these two devotions were tied together in my Spirit.The evil one is always ready and willing to start division, after all, that is what he did in Heaven that changed eternity.  He did it in 1787.  He is doing it now.  What Dr. Franklin did back then was take a stand among those who were already taking a stand. He stood in the small gap of a bigger gap and addressed what everyone else seemed to be missing…..  Humble Prayer.

He pointed out (this is documented in his own handwriting, btw), that GOD is always listening. At times He speaks in a whisper. as in the parables of the New Testament. Those parables may pose questions to challenge us, push us, humble us.  But when He does all of this AND if we persevere, He forms a bridge over that gap in which we stand in to show a path that leads to an answer delivering us to His truth.

Prayers based on His WORD is the way to continually invite Him into our state of affairs and focus our minds on the path He lays before us.

And now – I have a tiny clue – that there is – as always – a reason that a certain old book fell out at my feet when I pulled a bunch of books off my bookshelf. I don’t always like to walk my arthritic feet uphill, but when I get to the top, I’m always glad I did.

Tabernacling with the Father in 2021 is always interesting.

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Psalm 86:15

#Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup  #Rapture

TABERNACLING 2021: Simchat Torah

“For the WORD of GOD is living and powerful…”

Hebrews 4:12

TABERNACLING this week has been catch-as-catch-can – but then last week seemed that way as well. One thing piling up on top of another – from daylight peeking over the neighbor’s house to dusk setting behind the trees – but ya’ know?  I kinda like being this busy.

However, it does make me wonder how I (or anyone, for that matter) squeezes being a wife, mama, work, devotions, writing, singing, reading, feeding/playing with pets, caring for farm critters (adapt this list to personal preferences) and keeps it together. Not to mention – all the unexpected things: illnesses, aging parents, accidents, loss of jobs, divorce … I know there is only one way that got me through – Faith in His WORD.

Tonight begins the last day of the Jewish Fall Feasts.  Simchat Torah, The Joy of the Torah, is the conclusion and the beginning of the Torah readings. Tonight and tomorrow, the Jewish people begin their new journey through the Torah readings.  However, during this major holyday, they pull the scrolls out of the ark and often dance with the scrolls as they praise I AM for another year of TABERNACLING with His WORD.

I’ve seen this done a few times in a synagogue. At the time, I really didn’t understand why they were dancing with the scrolls.  Now I wish I had been a little wiser…a little more of a Jewish scholar.

Dancing with the WORD. 

For the Christian believer that would mean dancing with the WORD Himself.  Now seriously, how fun would that be? Don’t you just want to go outside and dance with Him tonight?  I know I do…and I just may do that when I take my choc lab girl outside tonight.

“The WORD of GOD is…sharper than any 2-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12

I sat on the patio this afternoon, resting after spreading 3 bags of sand all through the cracks of the paver stones.  Last week, when I got the house washed clean, they also washed the patio.  It was a good thing since it was getting pretty slippery every time it rained. But washing things clean often means that there are major changes in the physicality of that cleansed item.

Old dirt blasted away, destructive forces revealed, deep empty spaces needing to be filled. 

The ants and other little critters were panicking as they tried to figure out how to reach their homes buried deep beneath the pavers. Luckily, I know they are way clever (or I might have felt bad) and could see them heading straight towards the deeper dirt to the side of the patio and disappearing into the dirt. Eventually, they will dig new holes up through the clean sand and seeds will start to grow once again.  

Anyway as I rested, I began thinking about a quote that I read earlier during devotional time. It seemed pretty appropriate for Simchat Torah.

“The Bible was the only book Jesus ever quoted.”

Leon Morris, Australian New Testament author/scholar

The WORD quoting the WORD.

So tonight, after talking to my Littlest kidlet earlier today, and texting to my youngest grandson, I am yawning and ready to TABERNACLE with My Father one last time, as I put this lazy mind of mine to rest. YAH has been good as only He is good  – to me – to all of us.  We only have to open our eyes and ears to see and hear all that goodness swirling around us.  The world is the world.  Full of those slippery pavers, destructive forces pushing their way through the tiniest crevice, and those huge, empty spaces that beg us to fill them with – – – something. 

If we don’t fill it with His eternal goodness, we may only be left with sand that will slowly be worn away by the corrosiveness of this physical world.

#Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup  #Rapture

Painting by Alex Levin Simchat Torah

TABERNACLING 2021: Feast of Tabernacles Day #6

“I’m not going to die; I’m going home like a shooting star.”

Sojourner Truth, c1797-1883

Didn’t even get to devotions this morning before I was laughing and thinking about the times such as these.  Can you think of any better description of Rapture?

Last year I read a story book to my students about Isabella Baumfee aka Sojourner Truth. She changed her name to reflect her journey on this world. The book I read the kidlets was okay, but it didn’t cover half the things this woman did in her lifetime. Northern slave to free woman – to mother – to wife – to advocate for her child and brother in court – to activist for slaves and women – to teacher/preacher at many large gatherings – to recruiting for the army during the civil war – to rubbing elbows with some of the best-known abolitionists of those chaotic days. A lady who experienced the worst life could throw at her to changing lives through the power of her stories and songs.

Talk about using all her gifts.

He gives power to the faint

and increases the strength of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength;

they will mount up with wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not faint. 

Isaiah 40:29-31

Sojourner truth lived through tough times very similar to our days of strife and discord.  The country was just as divided.  Anger wrapped its fingers around friends and family as it pulled them apart – just like it is doing today. Just think – the Revolutionary War was still fairly fresh in the nation’s mindset – another time when families and friends had been pulled in opposite directions and the nation was shuddering with fear.

Evil will always try to find a way to destroy love with anger.  Many people remember President Lincoln’s famous quote: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” But he was influenced by a parable that Jesus told during his own divisive days on earth.

“How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.”

Mark 3:23-27

TABERNACLING during the Feast of TABERNACLES, has continued to open my eyes a little wider.  Even so, I haven’t seen any butterflies for a few days now.  The hummingbirds are fewer as well, and I tend to think those are not my regular NC ones. I think they are the travelers who are just stopping for a little food and rest on their way further South.

Today was finishing the mowing of the lawn. Choc lab girl hid in the garage – or on the porch depending on where the mower was – as she waited for me to finish and throw the ball – one more time. While she and I move a little slower (especially on the second day of mowing the yard), I kept looking up and smiling.  Sojourner’s words shooting through my mind and reminding me that rough decades are a part of this world – no matter what era we were given to walk through.  However, I know from the Bible that there are certain characteristics which will distinguish the “latter days” from all the other eras of violence and division. And those specific characteristics are manifesting themselves all over the place with increasing frequency. So I keep looking up, waiting, listening and anticipating.

I like Sojourner’s words a lot. That idea of being a shooting star zooming in the darkness to a home that He has designed and built just for me as He hands me a white stone and gives me my true name, just adds something concrete into a miracle.  Shooting forward to a place where family and friends will gather with no violence – no division and waiting once again until we return with Him and the true Millennium begins.

I think tonight, I might just stand on the porch for a while longer as look for a shooting star and say my prayers.

#Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup #Rapture

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TABERNACLING 2021: Feast of Tabernacles Day 4

“I would believe only in a god if he could dance.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher, 1844-1900

I love doing cryptograms.  I do two or more a day.  Somedays – I like doing them more than reading. Mostly, because my eyes don’t get as tired as they do reading.  Cataracts have a way of interfering with some of the things I like to do best.

In any case, this was one of the cryptogram quotes of the day, and the mind began its pondering.  I read Nietzsche’s Thus spoke Zarathustra in college (one of those required books at some point). I didn’t like his philosophy much then, and this quote just reminded me of that period of my life when the world was in another stage of unrest.  Hal Lindsey had just written his first book, The Late, Great Planet Earth. I read that one, too, during that same time frame.

As I watched my house get its bath and the mold disappear from all the creases and crevices, I wondered if Nietzsche really didn’t think Our Father could dance? One of my earliest memories in this crazy life was placing old lace curtains over my head and dancing around the living room singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy”. If I am created in His image – did He not give knit into me all the things He loves?  The Bible is full of people who sang and danced before the LORD.  Just like I think he laughs, cries, tells jokes, loves, whispers, breathes, sings – I think He dances – and He loves to dance with us.

“You have made us for yourself, O LORD, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis (St. Augustine)

Needless to say, I liked this quote much better and as my home became “made new”, I spent some time outside TABERNACLING with the One who created me in His image – the One who shared all the things He loved with me – the One who sent His Son that “washed me clean” – the One who is the LORD of angel armies that surround me when I am curled up in the fetal position – the One who calls my name in the middle of the night until I answer, “Hineni”… “Here I AM”.

I love the story of Samuel and Eli.  Time after time, Samuel rushes to Eli’s side in the middle of the night only to find out that Eli had not called him. Finally, Eli figures it out and tells Samuel to say, “Hineni” or “Here I AM, Lord”. Once Samuel responds that way, his life changes radically.  When Jesus knocks at our door, and we finally figure out how to open that stupid door between us, we say our own version of “Hineni”. 

Hineni – Here I AM, LORD.

Our life radically changes at that point.  The scales fall from our eyes.  Our ears are unstopped.  He replaces our heart of stone for a heart of flesh.  He sets our feet upon the Rock Higher Than.  He breathes into the very depths of our being His special Helper – the One who stays with us and nudges our spirits to join His.

After four inches of rain yesterday, today was full of sun and non-humid weather.  It felt as if everything was washed clean last night and dancing for joy in the warmth of an early fall day. Tonight the windows are open. The stars are sparkling.  It feels good to TABERNACLE with My Father in the cool breeze coming through the windows.  I am blessed beyond measure.

“For GOD is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for His sake in serving the saints, as you still do.”

Heb 6:10. 

This was the Bible cryptogram that started my day in devotions.  When He formed us in the womb, He gave us gifts to use in this world.  Gifts that would help us bring His blessings to others.  For a long time, I thought dancing and singing would be the gifts I was to bring to the world, but when my knee blew and my earthly father had his first heart attack, my faith journey took me to a deeper level. I still was crazy, silly, will-full, and sin prone, but Our Father had placed many “Eli’s” in my life to guide me through a lot of it, until I found the real gifts that He had knit into me for such times as these.

After things quieted down today, I decided to get the first part of the yard mowed.  I was getting tired, sweating and talking to myself, so that I would just finish this part of the job when a neighbor drove his riding mower over and just started mowing the rest of it for me.  He shared his gifts with me and blessed me beyond measure once again.

This Feast of TABERNACLES 2021 has been beyond comprehension in so many ways.  Saturday, I will walk out the open side of my sukkah and make my youngest grand daughter’s 13^th birthday cake – passing on my mama’s gift of making the best 3-layer chocolate cake ever made (although one never knows how it will turn out). There are many special things that come from saying – Hineni. As your life radically changes, the gifts you need to share in His name become more apparent.  You hear Our Triune God laugh, sing and even dance and you “agalliao” with Him. 

And as our world’s birth pangs intensify, I can’t think of a better time to answer that knock on your door if you haven’t done so already.

#Hedrawethnigh #Keeplookingup  #Rapture

TABERNACLING 2021: Feast of Tabernacles Day 3

Agalliao –      ἀγαλλιάω – GK – verb – :  to celebrate, praise; (ἀγαλλιάομαι) to exult, rejoice exceedingly; to desire ardent song and dance.

Got the car fixed.  Worked out at the gym.  Did my devotions as I TABERNACLED with the Father.  Listened to thunder roll over the house for a long time, and right now, it is back again for another round. 2 inches of rain. So – – – as the 3rd night in the Feast of Tabernacles begins, I am enjoying sweet happiness.

Choc lab girl got food for din-din, a belly rub and a marrow bone. So – she is happy.

Kitty is curled up on my lab and doing that little claw flexing thingy on my leg. She is happy – I’m not sure my leg is – in fact – the leg might be a little bitter.

But none of us is jumping up and down happy (well – maybe choc lab girl came close when she saw the bone in my hand)  Point is – except when David was dancing before the LORD, we don’t really think of anyone “dancing up and down” happy when we read the Bible verses that use this Greek word  because – – – – because it isn’t translated that way.  The translators use words such as “rejoice”,  “glad”, or maybe…if the translator was having a good day… “very glad”.

“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.”

Luke 10:21

When you read that last verse substitute “exulted in ardent song and dance” for the word “rejoice”. 

Gives the mind a little different picture, doesn’t it?

When I am TABERNACLING with Our Triune Father I find myself trying to think in pictures.  That way my over-active mind doesn’t drift off and just read the words on the page with not attaching meaning to them. 

I mentioned yesterday that today is a bittersweet day for me. 12 years ago, I lost my 14-year old choc lab boy in June.  Then on September 21^st, my 3-year old choc lab girl died, only to wake up the next morning to smelling smoke in the house, and finally, figuring out the house was on fire inside the walls.

In my mind, bittersweet is the perfect name for the bad things that come along in life.  They are bitter when we are tasting them for the first time.  Bitter enough to bring multitudes of tears and fears – – – for a while. But when the eyes and the ears are open enough to trust that His ROCKS are still under our feet, the sweetness begins to bloom out of the ugliness of the ruins.  His blessings, that He covers us with all the time, even in all that pain, begin to push up from those tears that watered the ground of the heart where those blessings took root. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So – on bittersweet days – I find myself tending that new garden of blessings instead of dwelling on the dirt that got on my fingers as I till the ground of memory that a date on the calendar may bring to mind.

So today, as I looked at the pictures of the fire and thought of my sweet puppies, I thought about the husband that held me as I cried.  I thought about the garden where I sat and sang spirituals to my mother.  I thought about my Jolena dog that guarded our property when we couldn’t live there (she chased off a few “critters” according to some reports). I thought about the people and students that came out of the community to help in their own way…with their own gifts.  I pulled out the Bible I bought the next day, because all my “working” Bible, including my mom’s Bible, were gone, and praised GOD that I had moved the Family Bible from our bedroom to a far corner in the living room (it still smells a little of smoke, the pages are a little darker, and the black leather cracked), but it is intact.

As humans, our mind often dwells in the darkness instead of the Light.  On this bittersweet day, as I TABERNACLE during the Feast of TABERNACLES, I stand at the open side of my sukkah and tell my mind to dwell on the Light, dancing and singing for joy at all this life has brought forth out of that painful pit.

As you read this last verse, remember the definition of the Greek word, agalliao, for it is the word that is used in this verse in Revelations:

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 

Rev 19:7

#He draweth nigh #birthpangs #rapture

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  Sweet Garden in 2009

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  Sweet Jolena

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  D’art and Mickey burial plot

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  bitter smoke

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  bitter / sweet