Behind The Scenes God

I've heard countless stories about how things have come together for people and they could see how HaShem was at work "behind the scenes". We can see this very clearly also in the book of Esther. How things all come together by seeming coincidence. But to the believer there is no such thing as coincidence. My family was able to experience this recently as we walked through some health issues with one of our daughters.

Our 2nd born daughter, B, has been battling eczema for awhile now. Most people don't realize how serious of a condition this can be. It's not just dry skin. Especially not for her. Her whole entire body is covered in this itchy scaly rash. This is not a put some lotion on it kind of situation. We realize that her eczema is wrapped up in all her food allergies and sensitivities, so we had scheduled an appointment with a naturopathic allergist. But that appointment was months away.

A few weeks ago we noticed that she had some severely swollen lymph nodes in her legs. I know lymph nodes swell but these were like plum size! So we took her into the pediatrician who also was concerned. She sent us to get an ultrasound and from there to a hematologist. B is such a sweet little girl, while we were getting her ultrasound she looks at me and asks "am I having a baby?" lol. She was half joking and half concerned.

I didn't do a whole lot of googling during this time because I just wanted answers. I realize now that was a blessing because I would have been even more worried had I known what I needed to be worried about! In the time between the first initial doctors appointment and all the specialist appointments the allergist called and we were able to move her appointment up significantly. Which meant that we could get answers to her allergies while also dealing with what ever else was going on.

When we got to the hematologist we waited for a bit and as I waited I read some tehillim, in particular tehillim 34 stood out. So I just tucked it away in my heart and knew that it was a gift to me. When it was time for the blood draw I had to try to console B as well as hold her still. That was hard. But what was even harder was hearing the doctor say "ok I will run theses and then we will know in about 15 minutes if it's Leukemia."

Leukemia!? Cancer!? What!?

My head was spinning. I came in thinking the blood work was for something that.... was not as scary as leukemia. I began replaying tehillim 34 in my head and prayed silently. The angel of HaShem encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that HaShem is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. {Teh 34:7-8}

The doctor finally came back in and said there was no sign of infection and that B did not have leukemia. I let out a huge sigh of relief and then she said, "I'd like to get a chest x-ray so we can determine if we should move forward with a biopsy to check for lymphoma"

Lymphoma!? Didn't we just rule out cancer? I felt like I couldn't breathe again. The doctor assured me that it was just something they needed to check but that didn't ease my mind any. So off we went to get an x-ray. The next day after waiting all day for the results I finally got a call back telling me her x-ray was clear! BARUCH HASHEM!! 

So now we have ruled out cancer. But what's wrong with my baby?

The time had finally come to meet with the allergist. we told her everything that was going on and then she tested her for over a hundred things. Her allergies were even more severe than we thought. Turns out that the swollen lymph nodes are all part of her allergies. She is allergic to:

Tomatoes
Potatoes
Bell Peppers
Corn 
Eggplant 
All beans and legumes 
Tree nuts 
Peanuts 
Gluten 
Eggs 
All animal dairy 
Bananas 
Peaches 
Papaya 
Goji berries
Cacoa beans (chocolate)

Yes you read that list correctly. Yes it is A LOT. This means that we have been unknowingly giving her an allergic reaction at every meal. But we know, b'ezrat HaShem, that we will get through this and she will be healed. Since seeing the allergist we already are seeing some changes in her. She is taking probiotics twice a day, as well as some homeopathic medicines. We are also giving her fish bone broth, and will begin giving her aloe. 

This all came at a time when we really needed to know what as going on. We needed to get into the allergist early and we needed to have some second opinions. We were able to discuss everything and have her checked out by multiple doctors and really get some solid footing. To the average person this is all coincidental. But for us we know it is so much more than that. We thank our Elohim for His guiding hand in all of this, we thank Him for showing us the truth and walking with us through it. 

At the allergist there was a sign up that said: 

"We don't believe in miracles, we rely upon them"

I wholeheartedly agree! 

O magnify HaShem with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought HaShem, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. -Teh 34:3-4

(This all happened a few months ago and B is doing a lot better)

Life right now....

Shalom friends! These last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement and changes for us. There have been so many times I wanted to sit down and update you all but then something else tugs at me. I realized that in not sharing I was not proclaiming all the blessings that Hashem is bestowing on our family. So here I go....

I mentioned back in March that we had a great congregation that we were enjoying and that things were going well. Together we had an amazing Purim with lots of delicious food, fellowship, and the reading of the megillah Esther.

After the excitement of Purim we move into the season of Pesach! We were very excited about Pesach and had been hoping that we could go to HaYovel's Family Week. But it was looking impossible. Not only would my husband need to get a week off from work, but we also needed to be able to fund the trip. The closer it got the more disappointed I got, because it seemed impossible. Some friends suggested that we contact HaYovel and let them know our situation and see if they could help us get there. I figured it was a long shot but I contacted them anyway. Well guess what?!?! They said they could help! So a week before it was time to leave we started packing up with no clue where we were going to sleep, but being willing to just sleep in the car! We continued in prayer and packed up everything we thought we would need. Then dear friends of ours offered to buy us a tent! And not just any tent a really nice 10 person tent!!!! It was just so amazing! Baruch Hashem!!!

So after everything was packed we hit the road for our 15 hour drive to Hardin, Kentucky. 

It was a looooong trip but the time we spent there was so amazing. It would take me months to write about all the amazing things that happened and the MANY blessing we received. We made life long friends and got to finally meet friends that we've known for awhile via the internet! Like Stephanie Brumlow from Our Wholehearted Family, Andi from By The Eastern Gate, and Susan Brendemuhl from Quiverfull of Kids, just to name a few! It was a life changing event to say the least!

our lodging for the week

We were able to have our Pesach seder with the Waller family from Betrothed, as well as my very dear friend that I have known for 5 years, but never met in person! There were also several other families that were in attendance. 

Pesach seder

The whole week was full of sweet fellowship and Divine appointments. We came home and felt like we didn't belong here anymore. And thus began our prayers for the Father to move us closer to the amazing people that we met and love so very dearly. We're not 100% sure when or how, but we know where we are called to be and are looking forward to getting there in HIS timing and by His grace!

I have so much more I want to share with you all, so be on the look out for more frequent posting!

Taste, and see that Hashem is good. How blessed are those who take refuge in him!  -Psalm 34:8

He's Finally Here! (My Birth Story)

Colton Shemuel

This pregnancy was long. I was really at the end of my rope and being that I was 41.6 weeks along I knew that a medical induction was looming around the corner. My midwives were awesome and wanted to do everything they could to help me avoid it, there was even talk of acupuncture! But after getting my ultrasound on Monday afternoon we decided to move forward with a castor oil induction, because my fluids were low and hadn’t risen since my ultrasound on Friday. 

I took the castor oil around 5:30pm and just waited for something to happen. At first I felt fine but maybe a little crampy. So I decided to make dinner and get the family taken care of before I was in a place where I couldn’t. We ate dinner around 7:30pm and then I decided to try to get some rest just in case. I fell asleep around 8:30pm just feeling a little crampy. I finally woke up at around 11:45pm but only because my husband woke me up to talk. Then the castor oil side effects hit! I’ll save you the gory details but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I wasn’t running to the bathroom or anything like that, it was surprisingly very manageable. 

Around 12am I started having some contractions that were nice and deep (and painful!) but not very close together. So we just kind of kept hanging out then at around 1:30/2am I started having contractions that I couldn’t bear. Once they got to 5 minutes apart I called my midwife, that was around 3am and she listened to me through a contraction and decided to come over. Once she got here around 3:45am things started to move quickly. I labored in bed and just kept working through the contractions. Then all of a sudden my body just started pushing! I had never experienced this before because both of my previous births were medicated. After a few pushes my water broke, it wasn’t a gush but more of a trickle. With each contraction my body just naturally pushed and I went with it. Although at first I was a little confused lol. My midwife suggested that I get on all fours and see if that was more comfortable than my side. It was for awhile so I pushed like that until my arms got too tired. At some point the back up midwife and a student midwife arrived but I was in my birth zone so I have no idea when that happened. 

When I was too tired to hold myself up anymore I rolled onto my side and my husband was helping to hold one of my legs up. That was when the real fun began! With each push I could feel the baby coming down. When I got to the point of the “ring of fire” I was relieved that it was no where near as bad as I thought it would be! Not that it didn’t hurt, it just wasn’t what I expected. The hardest part was that while he was crowning I didn’t have a contraction. So he was just hanging out and stretching me for awhile. Which looking back was a good thing even though I was like “someone please help me!” My midwife suggested nipple stimulation to try to bring on a contraction which helped and then I was able to push some more. I delivered each part of him with a push! He didn’t just slide out like my other two, but I’m sure that’s because he was so much bigger than they were! 

Our baby boy was born at 5:44am January 28th weighing 9lbs! I 100% believe that this birth went as smoothly as it did because I was in constant prayer. With each contraction I prayed for my Abba to be with me and to help me through it. With each push I quietly called on His Name. It was exactly what I needed to do in order to stay focused. Everyone commented after the birth about how peaceful it was. It was my first time having a baby unmedicated and it was perfect!

This is what it's all about!

Painting by Urban Renaissance

Today it was another day like before. We were doing a good job of sticking to our schedule and getting everything done. I was working through school work and we started doing our devotional. It was on Revelations 21:1-7 

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

So naturally from there we talked about salvation and how our sins keep us away from God, but that Yeshua {Jesus} came to take away our sins so that we could be with God. Well my 4 year old (she'll be 5 next month) looked at me with so much remorse in her eyes and said "I want Jesus to forgive my sins so I can be with God". 

I asked her about her sins, and she told me what they were. Not obeying, pushing her sister, etc. Then I asked her if she deserved to be away from God and I could see that it hurt her to say yes. You could see her getting it but she just didn't want to say it. Who does? That moment when you realize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior is hard for even grown ups! Finally she said "yes, I deserve to be away from God" quickly adding "but I don't want to be". She even asked me if she could pray and ask Jesus to take her sins away. I told her we'd talk about it later. 

There have been times in the past where I thought she got it. But not like this. This time it brought tears to my eyes! I had to walk away. I sent a quick message to a friend seeing if she also came to the same conclusion that I did. My friend agreed that she seemed ready. So I decided I'd talk to my hubby about it and let him handle it. In the past I've said it to him and he's said she's too young. Just let the thought stay with her. But in my heart I've always though back to Matthew 18 "... Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

When my husband came home for lunch I pulled him aside and told him what had happened. I was holding back tears as I recalled the look on our daughters face. I KNOW she understood, and she was serious. This time he agreed with me. based off of what I told him there was no denying it. So he said he'd pray about it and talk to her in the evening. 

After dinner he sat down with her and asked her about her day. She told him all the things she learned and what she thought was most exciting. Then he asked her about our Bible lesson today. She said "oh yea, we talked about Jesus and how he takes our sins away". Then with a little bit of frustration in her voice she added "I wanted to pray but mom told me we'd talk about it later". I didn't even think waiting would matter to her. But clearly it did. He then told her a little bit of his testimony. I sat there listening from the other room just in awe of the situation and how my prayers for my children to know the Lord from a young age were being answered. As he continued on she said "daddy, I really want to pray. I want Jesus to take my sins away." There was no stopping her. 

I sat there and listened as they prayed together, and my sweet little girl asked for Jesus to enter her heart. When they were finished she was beaming! I came in the room and she said "Mommy I prayed and Jesus took my sins away!" She was just so happy. I reminded her that it doesn't mean she'll be perfect now, but that when she messes up she still need to pray. She nodded her head in agreement and just continued smiling at me. 

In that moment I was just so humbled. If you asked me a week ago about the spiritual state of my children I would have told you I was failing. I would have told you that we try but I don't think it's sinking in. They fight, they fuss, I'm still working on first time obedience, and it's hard. But then when I least expect it, the Lord answers one of my hearts deepest desires! It's not about me. I am always going to fall short, but He is faithful! 

I know that as the years go by she will question her choice. Maybe she'll even want to rededicate herself to the Lord. But right now because of her child like faith and her heart being open to hear from the Lord, her name is written in the Lamb's book of life! No matter what may come her way that won't change, because of that not only am I rejoicing, but so are the angels!

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. -Luke 15:10

if you'd like to know more about what it takes to be saved please go here

When you're loosing the fight...

I'm the type of person that looks at child rearing as bringing up soldiers for the Lord. Not in a militant and aggressive type of way, but rather that my goal is to train my children to love and serve the Lord. That means I'm in a battle with the enemy. Because his goal is the exact opposite. His goal is that my children would instead only love themselves and seek to serve themselves, which in turn would leave them enslaved to him. 

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? -Romans 6:16

You see our selfish fleshly desires lead us into bondage. How can I set my children up for that? Of course I must fight for them to be free.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. {Romans 8:6} But when I slack off then I am failing. Which means I'm loosing the fight! That is a scary and sobering thought, and that's precisely where I have been! I mentioned before that I was struggling to get things together since the move and unfortunately it's been really hard on everyone. But what do you do when you're loosing the fight???? YOU PUT ON YOUR ARMOUR AND STAND! 

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints... -Ephesians 6:11-18

This past week as we celebrated the feast of Sukkot, or Tabernacles, {Leviticus 23:34-36} the Lord really dealt with me. He showed me where I was failing, why I was failing, and how to fix it. So I started this week with a new resolve! Determined to get back any ground that I had given over I made a plan of action. I know that this plan is only doable in His strength because I was seriously slacking before. Not only that, we have a baby coming! Once the baby is born if I don't have a grip on things I'll be drowning even more! Which is something I most certainly don't want. 

So starting today we've starting a new schedule, that gives us goals for the day. Having a goal gives you purpose, and direction. The other thing I'm doing is making sure that I have a quiet time with the Lord TWICE a day. I know for most moms getting it in once seems like a miracle. But I'm a firm believer that we make time for what we want. So I found the time to read my Bible and get alone with the Lord. It's not always easy and sometimes it literally feels like a fight! But I need it, so I do it. That truly is the key to me being successful at training up my children, and loving my husband. 

That is my game plan and today it has gone smoothly. We may not have done everything exactly on time, but we got everything accomplished! I'm choosing to stand, and fight back, that's what you do when you're loosing!


Until next time, be strong in the Lord!

Life and all that comes with it...

Painting by Carol Marine

Well I have just been an awful blogger lately! Sorry about that. Life just seems to be a little crazy. Between pregnancy brain, low iron, and training up two young ladies, life can kind of get a little hectic.

Seems like try as we might we just haven't been able to get our acts together since the move. I don't know if it's the pregnancy, or just a normal readjustment period, because this is our first move as a family. But I'm looking forward to getting it all figured out as we move forward. 

We've started homeschooling which has been going well. I'm using Easy Peasy Homeschool because it's a free curriculum. Yay free! But with all the excitement from the fall feasts we haven't been very consistent. I think as they girls get older that I'll start after the Holy Days, or something. We'll see.

Along with struggling to just get back into a routine I've been struggling to get back into having my own quiet time with the Lord. Which is MUCH needed. I've been reading but it's not the same as that consistent uninterrupted time with Him. As a mom (really just as a Christian in general) that time is so important. This life is SO hard to do on your own. I remember seeing a tweet once that said:
"note to self, don't try to do life with out God." How true it that! We just absolutely need Him. 

So my goal is to have two quiet times a day! At first I thought that was aiming too high, but then I thought about it. I spend far too much time on facebook, reading blogs, and watching netflix. If I go to bed earlier I can get in some Bible time at night. Then if I'm going to bed earlier, I will be able to get up earlier and I'll have Bible time then as well! Hopefully this works, but if not, I'll be happy to at least get in one of those times. I'm hoping to make this a new part of my life, not just something I do for this season. Two Bible times just sounds so amazing, and the more we are in the Word the more we get to know Him! I want to be so close to my Abba that you can't meet me, with out meeting Him! 

This is the heart of our family, and what we want for our home. So we're FINALLY getting around to putting up some Bible verses! Having scripture on the wall just reminds us through the day of why we do what we do, and Who we serve. 

As of now the only one that is up is in our bedroom. We figured that's the best place to start, since it all starts with us. So now when we wake up the first thing we see in the morning is: "Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee." This is from 1 chronicles 22:16b, it has to do with getting the Temple built, but it spoke to us. We have so much to "be doing" and this is a constant reminder to do it, and to make sure we keep the right focus. We're planning to put more up in every room, but since my hubby is hand paining them it's going to take some time. I'll share once it's all done. 

I think that about covers everything for right now, so I'll leave you with a little bit of exciting news. I had an ultrasound and we know the baby's gender. We're having a... BOY! My hubby is over the moon, and we're all just so excited to meet the newest addition to our family! 

Until next time, be strong in the Lord!

Giants in The Faith

We all have them. People we absolutely look up to as the ideal Titus 2 or Proverbs 31 woman. But it's all to easy to get a little distracted by their "greatness".

I was reflecting on this while I was washing dishes the other night. I started thinking about this lady who I think is just so amazingly awesome. I was reflecting on how well her children have turned out and just the blessings that have been heaped upon her family. Which led to me kind of beating myself up a little. But then a thought came to me. A thought that was clearly from Abba because I was well down the road to self pity! 

What exactly has she done? In her younger years while she was still in the stage that I am in she just did what YHVH called her to do. She loved her husband and her children. She did the same things every day and put in the work to train up her children in the way they should go. 

We all have probably been guilty of putting people on a much higher pedestal than they deserve. I'm pretty sure if you asked any one who you look up to about what it is that makes them who they are, they would glorify the Creator. They would tell you how He carried them through when they thought they would just pass out from the weight of life. 

You may look at their husbands and say oh my he's such a great leader, or look at that ministry. But what you don't realize is the time that she spent on her knees to pull that off. No married man can have a successful ministry without the support of his wife. 

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. -Proverbs 31:23

You may look at her children and say oh my they are so obedient and respectful. But what you didn't see is the HOURS AND HOURS of training that had to take place. Or the moments where that very same woman was about to break down because she thought she couldn't take it another day. Until the Almighty stepped in and gave her strength. 

That same woman that you look at and think I can NEVER be that, did exactly what she was called to do.

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things... -Titus 2:3

She did what YHVH told us would lead to these blessings. I say none of this to take away from these women. Because we NEED them. YHVH tells us that we need the older women to teach the younger. 

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. -Titus 2:4-5

I say this to encourage you (and me) that it's hard now, and we may feel like we're not accomplishing anything. But if we keep at it then we will see the fruits of our labors. So hang in there and be encouraged, because the best is yet to come. :o)

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. -Glatians 6:9

Big Changes {Part 2}

If you haven't read part 1 go check that out and then com back to this one :o) 


We started attending our new fellowship full time in February. But then we had to stop because of the car situation. Thankfully though we were still able to listen in and keep up with the studies. It felt like forever that we were with out a car. But really it was like a month and half. 

Once we got a new car, my hubby got a new job, and things started getting back to normal. Then all of a sudden we were presented with an opportunity to move! We had been praying for a long time about moving. We needed more space and our neighborhood was terrible. So when we saw that we could we were so excited. But it had to happen quickly. Which is not always an easy thing, especially when you're pregnant!

SURPRISE! That's change number 3. We're expecting! So not only did we need more space for our family of 4, now we really needed more space since we're adding a fifth member to our family. Isn't it just so amazing how YHVH always answers at the exact right time. 

We are loving our new place. But I'm still not done getting everything set up, as I've been really sick. I'm one of the lucky few who get Hypermesis Gravidarum (aka extreme morning sickness). So I've been kind of out of commission. Which is also part of why I haven't been blogging. But thankfully I am starting to feel better. 

This year has been so full of changes and growth. We've had some set backs, some times of utter confusion, we've lost friends, and we've gained friends. But all in all we have seen YHVH's hand and we have been so blessed! 

I'm looking forward to having people over and being able to open up our home to others. Maybe even host a dinner for one of the feasts! We'll have to see what YHVH allows, but I'm praying that our home will be a blessing to others as well as to us. 

Now you're all caught up on what has been going on and I'm more convinced than ever that when we decide to follow after YHVH and seek His will in our lives, that He will direct our paths! 

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of Elohim, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

Matthew 6:33

Big Changes {part 1}

Wow, I've been guilty of disappearing for awhile, but this time around was a little excessive! Sorry ya'll! We've had SO much going on that blogging just took a back seat.

This year has been full of ups, downs, twists and turns! Which shouldn't be a shocker since my family and I started the year with this declaration. I mean when you say that you're going to follow YHVH blindly and just go where He leads, you might as well expect some changes.

I've blogged about a bunch of the things that have gone on this year, but there are three big things I haven't shared yet.

The first is that we left our church. This one was HARD. But we sat in service, after service, and listened to our pastor preach on Truth or Tradition. Over, and over, he asked will we stand for God's truth or for our own traditions... Talk about conviction. Now he wasn't talking about Hebrew Roots, but none the less Abba used that to work in our hearts. It was amazing. This same topic was preached on for what felt like forever, and at pretty much every service! I think I felt the itch before my hubby but I just kept quiet and prayed. When I finally asked my hubby if he was making the same connections as I was he said he was. But just wasn't sure what to do. So again I was just quiet and in prayer.

Then one night I was chatting with a dear friend, and telling her how I was feeling. I told her about the messages, how there was no where for us to go, and how lonely I felt. She encouraged me to just wait and pray so I did. Only I didn't have to wait that long. The next day someone sent me a facebook friend request. But I didn't know them. Turns out  she was another believer that was local to me! But she didn't know that because my location isn't on FB. We started chatting about fellowship and when I told her that we didn't go anywhere for our Shabbat fellowship, she invited us to join her family!

My husband is usually VERY hesitant about going to new places, and especially in this situation of going to someone's house, that we had never met. So when I mentioned it to him I was figuring he'd say no. Well surprise, surprise! He said yes! That next Shabbat we head over to meet with her family, and really enjoyed the teaching and fellowship. We then went to church as normal on Sunday. But Sunday night, after the evening service, my hubby was washing dishes and I was sitting in the living room with the girls. All of a sudden he came into the living room and said "we're not going back to the church." I said "ok, like on Wednesday we're not going back?" "No, we're not going back ever."

That was it, no explanation. I didn't know what to think or say. So I didn't say anything. When we discussed it later that evening he told me that he felt YHVH was telling him not to go back. He said he stood there questioning it for a second, and then was just like if this is what I believe YHVH is telling me why am I fighting it. So I said ok, and we agreed to just continue going to our new found Shabbat fellowship.

I don't want to make this post too long, so stay tuned for part 2 :o)

SPRING!

I can not believe it is May already! The year is going by so fast. We've been pretty busy around here as my hubby has been back at work for a month.

In the last few weeks the weather has really started to warm up and we've gotten to get out and enjoy creation. This past weekend we went hiking, and then yesterday we went to feed the ducks and saw a swan!

Our hiking trip was rather impromptu. We were hoping to go see a local waterfall but then when we got there we realized we'd have to hike to find it! We never found the waterfall, but we had fun and we'll be going back to hunt for the waterfall again.

 

 

Can you see my hubby sitting out there???

 

Our 4 year old took this picture :o)

Then yesterday I had some errands to run and the girls were being so well behaved I decided to stop at a local spot that is know for having ducks.

 

 

We were blessed by the special treat of also getting to see a swan! The girls were so excited. 

 

 

 

We would've had even more fun, but I got scared of a goose that seemed like he might not like that we were feeding the ducks and not him! lol

 

 

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven... -Ecclesiastes 3:1

Messiah Honoring DVDs

 

 

I posted earlier about how we like to watch certain preapproved shows but I realized I didn't mention how we acquire them. Well I recently found this great little gem called Christian Cinemas. They offer thousands of faith centered DVDs to purchase or to rent! We signed up for their rental program and are able to screen any of the DVDs we're interested in before we purchase them. We just started using this resource so we haven't seen very many movies yet, but there are SO many to choose from. They have DVDs that range from comedies to documentaries.

Their DVD rentals usually arrive within 3 days of submitting a request and you can keep them for as long as you like. They have different levels to the plan so you can choose to rent one or more DVDs at a time (they are currently offering a free two week trial). You can also purchase DVDs that you already know your family will love.  

In addition we use Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video in order to stream things direct. But the amount of faith based movies and shows are very limited.

One of these days I'll post a full list of the movies and shows we've seen but for now I just wanted to tell you about this awesome resource :o)

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes... Psalm 101:3

*post contains affiliate links

Keeping little hands busy

I've mentioned before that we're cutting down on watching TV. But as we walk this out there are certain struggles that have come up. One of these is keeping my girls busy! Because they are used to watching tv they tend to come to me saying "momma I'm bored". You'd think at 4 and 2 they wouldn't even know to say that! But sure enough after awhile it seems we run out of things to do and then the tv comes on.

What I've started doing is keeping an arsenal of shows that are approved, but that I know they won't just sit and watch. That way even though the tv is on they'll still be playing or even maybe trying to do what they see. One GREAT show for this purpose are the Homestead Blessings DVDs. There are a bunch in the collection and each video teaches different homesteading skills. The women in the videos are a mother and her three daughters. They are all modestly dressed and are a great example for showing that modesty doesn't have to ever be compromised, even with farm chores. (to find out where to purchase these and other dvds see this post)

Here is a sample video:

And here's a whole video:

Another thing that I'm starting to realize I MUST do is, include them more. I grew up with children being shewed out of the kitchen, so this is totally different than what I'm used to. But having my girls in the kitchen will keep them busy, while also training them for the future. So I've decided to take on certain projects to not only include them but also encourage learning a skill.

This week we made some raspberry jam and baked bread! For the jam I just took a bag of frozen berries cooked them down and added some sugar. That is my normal method mostly because we eat it right away. If I was canning them I'd use pectin. I let my 4 year old pour the berries and stir everything up.

The bread we baked is a quick bread recipe, because telling my girlies they have to wait 2 hours for the dough to rise just didn't seem like it would be a good idea lol. We bake bread weekly for Shabbat so they are pretty familiar with the process, but this time I let them help with everything not just the shaping.

showing all the ingredients



watching the yeast work

kneading the dough

getting to enjoy the fruit of their labor

The recipe (this makes 3 or 4 loaves):
2 1/2 cups warm water
6 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp yeast
6 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 400*. Mix the oil, sugar, water, and yeast then let sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix, knead (about 5-10 minutes), and shape. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

...with quietness they work, and eat their own bread... -2 Thesalonians 3:12

Linking up with Eco Kids Tuesday

Scripture Memorization Idea and a Printable!

 

I've blogged before about the importance of planting seeds of YHVH's Word in our children's hearts. But our family is trying a few new things so I thought I'd share them with you.

The first thing that we are trying is the scripture memorization technique from Simply Charlotte Mason. This technique will ensure that we are constantly memorizing new scriptures as well as going over the ones we've previously learned. To use this method you need a index card box, 41 dividers, and index cards. You label the dividers: daily, odd, even, Sunday-Saturday, and 1-31. Then you put the dividers in the box IN THAT ORDER. Place the cards you want to work on in the front and then your first card in the daily section.

 

As you memorize passages then you can move the cards back replacing older cards, with new cards. You will work on 4 different cards each day. So let's say today is Monday the 3rd you'd review your daily card, odd card, Monday card, and the 3 card. I know that might be a little confusing so here is a video that explains it way better :o)

 

In addition to working on the verses in our box we are learning the Shema (and it's blessing) in Hebrew and in English. The girls pretty much know it but I want them to understand it, so we will be singing (and discussing) it at the start of each school session. To help me (and you) out I created this printable of the Shema and Blessing! I'm hoping to move forward with more verses of this passage but right now I feel like there are some other verses I want to work on. Praying this will be a blessing to you as you hide Yah's word in the heart of your child.  

 

The law of YHVH is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of YHVH is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of YHVH are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of YHVH is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of YHVH is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of YHVH are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. -Psalm 19:7-10