Listening to God for Direction

I am finding that the more I sit quietly for a moment...even just one little moment...I can hear the voice of my Lord telling me:

1. What to do

2. Which direction to take

3. When to go

It just takes a little practice and a lot of patience - listening for His voice.

But it is worth slowing down in order that I might really, truly hear Him, and only Him.

I have a few decisions coming in my life that require that I completely and totally hear Him. I am such an infopreneur at heart and I love blogging and podcasting and all that equals being online and making a difference, but in order to move forward with new plans, visions, and projects, I have to learn to let other things go.  And that has been the hardest for me these past few years.  Letting go of familiarity is always hard.

But knowing that as I let go, the Lord exchanges what is in my hand for something new, fresh, and anointed for the hour, is always a positive outcome that I look forward to reaching for.

My prayer to Him has always been, "Lord, I just want to be in your will - your PERFECT will".

My prayer will always remain.

So, I look forward to the new project that is brimming and about to push me over in a soulful explosion.  I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!  And although starting this new project (a huge one at that) will mean letting something else go, I am excited.

And as always, I will keep updated here at this blog about new projects, etc.

Off to go pray, relax, clean my house, and enjoy a nice beautiful day with my children.

Create Video Montages

So you don't know what to do with all those digital pics?
We have that problem in our home...and for school it's a huge deal for us.
Since we love to digitally snap anything in sight and archive what we are doing at the spur of any moment, having a way to archive all those digital pics (besides blogging) would be a real plus.

So, here is a free online tool anyone can use to create video montages of your photos and pics. Simply upload pictures, add music and effects, and voila. You have code to embed in your blog and share with family and friends.

Check out One True Media on creating these videos.

Our Family Passover Seder Night 2010

So, last week we celebrated Passover and it was the first time for us.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have begun to really explore the Hebraic roots of our Lord, Yeshua - Jesus, and have been learning so much about how the Christian faith is deeply rooted in the early beginnings of Judaism.  It is something that we cannot get away from even if we attempt to close our eyes and ignore it.  For us, they are intertwined.

Lately I have been feeling the pull to draw closer to this aspect of our faith and to really search the scriptures and become more knowledgeable about this area , and really making certain my beliefs and convictions are backed up with Truth...

Here is what we did to prepare for Passover and how we integrated this into our school lessons: (keep in mind this is a somewhat loose Messianic version of the traditional orthodox seder...so not all elements were in place, but it was a wonderful experience nonetheless!!)

Again, as in my previous post about how we celebrated Purim, we used Robin Sampson's Biblical Holidays book to jumpstart us:

We started by getting our tablecloth prepared. I hunted all over town for a nice, lacy tablecloth and finally found some material at Walmart which I simply hemmed the corners, and voila- a tablecloth! NyGirl helped me with the hemming process.

NyGirl helps me prepare the meal for the matzah bread with no yeast. In order to keep it kosher we had to make sure to get it in the oven before 18 minutes so that the dough wouldn't naturally rise.

The dough is formed and ready to roll...

Time to prick the dough and form stripes. We are reminded that Jesus was pierced and received stripes for us.

When done our Matzah looked like this:

Next we make Charoset. This will remind us of the mortar used by the Hebrews, , and also the sweetness will serve to remind us later that Jesus takes away our bitterness. To make charoset, we need apples, which I cooked until a bit soft. Then I added the following ingredients (minus the raisins):

I blended the cooked apples in the blender with all ingredients, and lastly added the whole walnuts. Refrigerated.
Done.



 

Next, I cooked the turnip greens. I put some raw turnips greens aside for the Seder plate later. Horseradish would have been a good choice, but I couldn't find that at the grocery store this time...so turnip greens were next best choice.




Finally the food is all cooked, and I set the table.




Each plate receives a Hagaddah (a small booklet taking us through the ceremony). Each plate also receives a kiddush cup for the grape juice. In the middle is the seder plate – one shank bone of lamb, matzah, bitter herb, and charoset (added later).

Ny reads the four questions:

I keep BabyZ busy while my husband assists in leading the Seder:

Time for fun- I hide the “afikomen”- a piece of matzah bread wrapped in a linen cloth- for the kids to find. Whoever finds it redeems a prize. We are reminded that Jesus’ body was wrapped in a linen cloth, and when we find Him we find eternal life, our True Prize. He died as a ransom for our sins and has redeemed us…

Of course, NyGirl finds the afikomen first so she got a prize.




Finding Shalom in the Passover

This week is Passover.

As our family prayerfully prepares for this signficant time of the year, I am cleaning and cooking-- but better yet, praying for a deeper revelation of who Christ is.
And during my Hebraic roots search I am learning so much that I didn't before realize our savior, Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew).

I have been a King James/New King James reader all my life.  With time I began to see the value in reading the same passages of scripture in different translations.  One of my newest favorites is my Complete Jewish Bible.

As I read through the bible (Complete Jewish Bible), I see a slightly different view on who Jesus was and what He actually did - teaching His talmidim (disciples), healing the sick on Shabbat, forgiving sins, burning with zeal and anger over the temple being turned into a marketplace...

I could almost see the scenes play out in my mind. I felt present as I read through the entire book of Matthew, then Mark.

I saw Jesus tell the little girl "Talita cumi, arise".

I could almost see the look on Peter's face when his mother in law got out of her sick bed and began serving the disciples and Yeshua.

I could almost see the woman who wouldn't stop bleeding touch the fringe of Yeshua's tallit- the hem of His garment. And when she did...immediately she felt His power and virtue flow through her body and stop the continual flow of her blood disease.

I could nearly see woman with the alabaster box pouring out expensive perfume on Yeshua's feet, worshipping Him and crying over His soon to be burial, as the P'rushim (Pharisees) looked on with disdain and judgmentalism. Jesus accepted her offering and blessed her name to be remembered for all time.

Jesus sat across from the temple offering and watched people place their offerings in the temple offering box one day. He noticed that the rich placed loads of coins into the box. But He accepted the offering of the woman with only one mite, who had given all she had. He blessed her offering as the one given with her heart. I could almost see this.


This Passover season as I think about how that Yeshua- Christ Jesus- became our passover, I am amazed at how when He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and "passed over" their homes that had the blood of the lambs on their doorposts...that He is showing us today how that He Himself has become our ultimate Passover.

He causes iniquity to pass over the hearts and homes of those who cling to Him, and protects us from the plagues of the world. He saves us with a mighty and great salvation, bringing us out of bondage and completely out of Egypt. He lights the way with His cloud of fire and shines light on our path with each step we take, leading us safely out of the world and into His way of righteousness, blessings, and peace.

Belonging to Christ is not something to be taken lightly and irreverently.

We don't walk in His true blessings simply because we have the material posessions this world offers. The nicest house, car, and closet full of clothing will not and can NEVER compare to the blessed richness of the SHALOM/peace that only our Savior Yeshua, Christ Jesus, our True Passover, brings.

Our Spring Break 2010 FieldTrip

So we went on a little fieldtrip last week for Spring Break.  We had loads of fun in Atlanta, GA.

First stop: American Girls

We have literally been studying American History all year long through the American Girls series.  At this point, NyGirl has finished reading through each series up to, I think,  Molly.  So it's been fun.

The doll was expensive, but for all the hard work NyGirl has put into school this year I think it was well deserved.

"let me think, let me think!".... He is such a good daddy! He agrees that the cost was worth the joy we see in her face on the pics below.

 

Ny and Addy

Next stop: A wonderful Messianic congregation right outside of Atlanta, for a taste of Hebrew on Shabbat.

It was probably a bit of a culture shock to NyGirl at first but I think in the end she enjoyed it.  Especially Oneg.  Wonderful kosher food, fun, and restful fellowship was involved.  I would say our family had a great time there.

I think more than anything I enjoyed the Davidic dance and the Hebrew.  There is nothing like sitting back to listen to the radiating sound of the Hebrew language resonate through your soul.   It is soul-stirring-- I enjoyed it.

Next day, stop 3: Coca Cola, downtown Atlanta.

NyGirl, enjoying a fieldtrip at Coca Cola:

I couldn't resist getting in the pic with the Coca Cola wall!

Gotta love this wall!

Me and my man :-)

There's the bear. What was his name again?

Here is where learning gets fun. Since my husband's native language is French, he tells us how he remembers these exact ads growing up.
I take it "Arrete-vouz" is French for "STOP!". :-) Fun.

More French ads:

Okay, now don't judge me. I am no American Idol fan-- but the American Idol couch was there...so...you gotta take a picture, right?



Lots of taste-testing going on there. There were over 60 countries (if I am not mistaken) represented at the taste-testing. Of all the countries, the colas I liked the least were European (Russia- very bland taste imo), and South America (too peppery for me). South Africa was interesting -- everything had this Cola nut or pineapple kind of zing to it. Japan was pretty yummy! Ha.
When I finally got around to tasting North America's samples, I felt relieved to be "back home" where the tastes are familiar. But it was a fun experience overall. The kids loved it.

So, last but not least, we head over to the Children's Museum of Atlanta.
 BabyZ finds activities to get into right away. Her energy level never ceases to amaze me.

We get NyGirl settled into some clay-dough forming activity which was really cool. The substance was really different- not even clay dough to be exact. It is dry enough to feel a little like sand, but moist enough for you to squeeze it into shape without much effort, AND it doesn't make a mess. Big plus in my house. I wish I knew what that stuff was -- I would buy some for play dough fun.

Afterward we enjoyed a nice cozy meal at Azio's in downtown Atlanta, then headed back to the hotel to rest for the next day's travel back home.

All in all, it was a fun and educational experience for the kids, and for the parents too!

We had a great time on our field trip, Spring Break 2010.

Here's a quick video clip I created about our fieldtrip:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

The Jewish Children’s Learning Network

I found this really neat site: Akhlah. There is a Hebrew letter of the day and Parsha of the week available (plus lots of games, puzzles, and more). By the way, Parsha is simply the weekly reading of the Torah divided up into the weeks of the year. For messianics, it also includes the Haftarah and Brit Chadasha (the complete old testament and new testament, respectively) readings.

It might be important to note on this particular site that in place of "God" the name "Hashem" is used (many observant Jews will not spell out the entire name of God out of respect in keeping His name holy, and therefore will use Hashem, which means literally "The Name", in place of Elohim, Adonai, Jehovah, or YHWH). Depending on how comfortable you are with introducing your children to this level of jewishness, you may want to skim through the site and see what fits your family best.

I love the aleph bet (Hebrew alphabet) presentation.  Kids can practice writing using script or block print, hear the pronunciation of each letter, and color a coloring page.  You can also print out flashcards.

For even more resources, this site offers info on Jewish history, heroes (like the patriarchs- Abraham, Isaac, etc.), Jewish traditions, info on Israel, and holiday info for kids, including songs for Shabbat (sabbath).

This is a very culturally rich site filled with info for any family wishing to do an in depth study on Hebrew roots especially for young children.  Even if you are not Jewish, depending on your family/school goals, you can incorporate some of this into your lessons if you were doing a unit study on the Jews.

 As a Christian believer looking into Hebrew roots of my faith, this fit in pretty well for our home school.

A Purim Feast

This past week on February 28th, our family celebrated a typical Jewish holiday, Purim.

Although we are not Jewish I find myself constantly wanting to learn more about the Jewish background of our Christian heritage, and I felt that it would be a wonderful  concept to explore this year for our whole family.

So we decided to include it in our curriculum.

After much searching the web for good resources on how to incorporate Jewish studies into a Christian curriculum, here is what I came up with:

Hebrew4Christians- we began using this site extensively to help us learn the Hebrew alphabet, especially for handwriting.

TorahTots-Now this is a cool little site for kids that help them learn about the Jewish holidays, background on each, coloring pages, fun online games, and other little odds and ends that help bring the celebration of Jewish holidays into a realistic point of view for kids.

But probably the most helpful and insightful of all of my findings was the company, Heart of Wisdom.

Here is what owner and author of A Family Guide To The Biblical Holidays has to say about the Jewish aspect of our Christian faith:

We study a Hebrew book-written by Hebrews; we serve a Hebrew Lord-who had Hebrew disciples; we desire to follow the first century church-which was first predominately Hebrew; and through Christ, we are grafted into a Hebrew family! It makes sense to study our fascinating heritage.

During this season of my Christian journey I find myself completely in agreement with Robin and am very grateful to her for writing this book (along with co author Linda Pierce).  This book is an EXCELLENT resource for any Christian family wanting a gentle Messianic approach to incorporating the Jewish holidays, culture, and background into your home school or family life.

So, here is what we did:

• I am not much of a sewer, but decided to use the sewing version for creating the symbolic flags for our dinner centerpiece.  They are found on pages 72-73  of Robin and Linda's book, A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays

My daughter and I decorate with rhinestones:

There was a learning curve involved for me.  I had no clue I was supposed to iron these studs on, so initially I had my daughter attempting to peel some "backing" off them individually.

Funny.  But we got a hang of it and figured it out.  We eventually got all the studs ironed on the correct way.  This will be good experience for me whenever I do learn how to sew, for real.

Now, on to the multi-holiday centerpiece flags.  We created two of these for Purim but will need to create a few more for future holidays.  I got all the fabric I needed for the upcoming holidays.  Here I cut out a few squares, made a photocopy of the pictures of the Star of David and Cup of Bread, provided in Robin's book on page 75.  I did a little painting on the fabric for decoration, added the wooden dowels, but instead of sewing I just ended up gluing them on.

Along with my styrofoam base, here is what my final product looked like for my centerpiece (on a small table, that is-crown and sceptre to be added later):

Now for dessert, where NyGirl insisted on using the beater for the cookie mix.  We decided on Hamantashen cookies (page 427 in the book).  Basically they mean "Haman's pockets" and are supposed to resemble the hat Haman may have worn.  Another traditional food she mentions in her book is Esther's Banquet Bars. We have the ingredients for this, but decided to wait until next week to cook this set since we had so much batter from the Hamantashens left over:

So, to wrap it up:

We cut the batter into circles using a cup, filled the middle with raspberry preserves, folded into the shape of hat, then cooked.

The next day, our feast was beautiful.  My two girls, husband and I enjoyed a yummy meal of baked chicken with rice and snap peas cooked in turkey bacon.  Yummy.  We had our Hamantashens for desert with sweet tea, and my husband enjoyed reading the girls a book about Esther.

In all, it was a beautiful Purim feast.