"Capture the Matrix - Your Life is Moments in His Time"

 "Capture the Matrix - Your Life is moments in His Time"

  A matrix is defined as 'a situation or surrounding substance within which something else originates, develops, or is contained.' It has several meanings, one of which is a 'binding substance'. As I wake up on this Shabbat (December 7, 2013, or 4 Tevet 5774 in the Hebrew calendar), I understand the matrix of my life has changed, evolved and will never be the same again. I pour my cup of coffee and sit on the sofa and try to get my thoughts and eyes to blink open at the same time. The sun is coming up in the East, and before I begin my day, I am feeling His. I remember what the Lord spoke to my heart not that long ago. 'Liz, things of this world will grow strangely dim. Yes, you are in this world, but you are not of this world. You are not part of this worlds system or economy. You are in my Kingdom". I remember the lyrics Helen Lemmel penned to that wonderful hymm, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,  In the light of His glory and grace." There are days we get up, go to work, have everyday conversations, do everyday things, and on the outside, it is business as usual. We smile, laugh, get tired, get frustrated, end the day and go to bed. Yet, on the inside, The Master weaves His matrix of prophetic proportions, on a Kingdom, eternal level, a craftsmanship so rare and excellent, that if we could see beyond our mortal eyes and into the things of the spirit, we would see, an epic planet of redeemed souls is being created, one life, one breathe, one space at a time. If you only knew how rare you were!  If you only knew how important your life is to God! If you only knew how vitally important you are to the chain of events, in your circle of influence, you would realize your everyday stuff is but the modeling and glue for the Creators' Master Matrix: called the citizens of heaven. Your life would not feel the same if you could feel it the way God does. You are more than the particulates of matter that compose your body, you are the image of the incarnate God who lives from the inside out of you.
 

 Something good was on TV last night. I curled up on the couch with a favorite blanket, pets by my side. Tried to stay awake and listen to some bible prophecy scholars discuss the hour of time in which we live in. There are more prophetic events happening at one time than  you can ever imagine. The panel of seasoned saints and teachers cracked open the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, Isaiah, Psalms, Genesis and the New Testament, and reeled off one verse after another, with matching current events we hear about every day on the news. One would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to be even remotely aware we are living in the end, of the end of time. As I listened, I suddenly remembered how just 6 years ago, I was awakened to a a dream in which I saw the Lord, as it were, standing over the earth, and He looked at me, (more like into me) and said (without words, yet I heard Him) "I AM 5 MINUTES OUT". It was so real. I flew out of bed, turned on the PC, and began to do a word-study (if a thousand years is as a day' according to scripture, then a half-day, 12 hours, is 500 years. I made an chart incrementally and realized we are in the literal 'years' of the wrapping up of the 'scroll' (Revelation 6:14, Isaiah 34:4) . I made a chart for myself (not that anyone 'knows the day or hour') but we are commanded to know the season we are in. In fact, God calls 'wicked' those who won't or do not acknowledge or look for His return as soon.(Mt. 24:36-51).  All I know is the Lord let me know His return is much, much sooner than anyone thinks. I am not setting 'dates' or 'times' on bible prophecy, Prophecy is a measuring tool and a guidepost, and when you cooperate with the Holy Spirit of God and allow Him to reveal Jesus, who is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev. 19:10), it is a road map or means to lead His people, to prepare them, for what is up ahead.  I am not a scholar on trained bible teacher, nor am I an eschatologist, as was the panel of experts last evening. I am just a woman who has learned to listen to that small, still voice of her Messiah. No one knows the day nor hour of the Lord's return, yet, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus Himself sent to us at His departure from earth, does still work in increments of revealed revelation, and He navigates the times and seasons 'knowing the end from the beginning' (Is. 46:10). Only God knows the end (the Tav) from the beginning (Aleph). He 'reads' the whole book of time, and sets things in order and motion from back to front. God reveals prophetic timetables so we can be prepared, aware and be ready. Scripture tells us that from cover to cover: be prepared, be aware, be ready. (Luke 21:36).

 Not long after my husband passed away, his sister made me a CD of his favorite music, most of which he could play and sing quite well on guitar. One song, with lyrics originally written by the Beatles, and recorded by Crosby, Stills and Nash, is 'Blackbird'.  If I am out and about, or in the car, and that song comes on the radio, I have to pull the car over and just take it all in. I can still picture him, after a grueling 14 hour day, coming home dead tired from work, and picking up that guitar to sing away the blues, and get refreshed with the music. Certain songs that Ben would sing can still get to me. I have been changed forever by the man who sang to me and wanted me always to sing with him. Here is an excerpt from the lyrics to Blackbird: "Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise." 

 I remember often how I would come in the door and Ben would be sitting on the edge of the bed or sofa, and strumming away to 'Sanctuary' or 'V'Ahavta' from Marty Goetz  (c.Marty Goetz  'Sanctuary' CD 1999).
The words to the V'Ahavta' (Dt. 6:5-9) and 'Sanctuary' are inside of me in a way they can never be taken. God has used Ben's life to carve the truth of these words into me, and once the matrix of the most significant people and moments of our life happen, we can never go back to be who we once were.

 I hear the Lord tell me this morning "look up, your redemption draweth nigh'  (Luke 21:28). There are many ways we are redeemed. There is the final redemption, when we 'shall be changed' and our corruptible bodies receive His immortality, and we are made like Him. There is the daily redeeming; how we think, how we perceive, who we are. Then there is the redeeming of our lives, where God matches us up with the peoples and individuals who will most need us, so they can become all they were meant to be, and the ones we most need, so we can reach our destination. I know God is even now redeeming me in all these areas.

 One of my husband's favorite musicals was The Music Man  Whether it was the music Ben played on the guitar, or the shows he had acted or sung in, Ben and I knew that great lyrics could capture the essence of a life, a moment in time like nothing else. Quoting from Professor Harold Hill to the the librarian Marian Paroo: "Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering."  Harold Hill was right. Don't wait till tomorrow to experience life. Love today. Give it. Treasure it. Share it. Find it. Keep it. Bathe yourself in it. Your family. Your mate. Your children. Your God.

 One of my favorite songs Ben used to sing to me from The Music Man was the duet between the Librarian and Harold Hill, Till There Was You.  If I am out in public and that song is played somewhere, it stops me dead in my tracks. I can't move for a moment, and my face is wet with buckets of tears. I can still hear Ben singing that to me. There are certain songs and certain memories, that will become so precious to you in time, that they will form the matrix of your soul, and it will become a place where God will visit and dwell and imprint His understanding into you. Because the Lord wanted you to be born so He could know you. Not just the words of a lover, but the words of a God, to make them into your words:

  "Till There Was You." from The Music Man.

There were bells on the hill
But I never heard them ringing,
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you.

There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
Till there was you.

And there was music,
And there were wonderful roses,
They tell me,
In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew.

There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you!

A little Chutzpah goes a long way - Get Psalm 27:1 courage

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word ḥutspâ (חֻצְפָּה), meaning "insolence" or "audacity". Some would call it a too-big boldness. It should not be rude or vain, it is simply knowing something so fervently, that you can't be dissuaded. Let me give you a for instance:

   ... There was this lively 98 year-old Jewish man named Mortimer. He had outlived 3 of his wives.  One day, he and his buddy Harold were playing cards, and Morty says to Harold, 'You know, I met the most beautiful 27 year old blonde. She's a dancer. I'm in love.  I'm going to marry her'.   
  .... Harold stares at Morty and let's out a loud OY!  "What are you meshuge (crazy)!  She's 27. She's so young. And she's blonde!  Morty, vhat is this crazy talk. You are 98.  Aren't you afraid of death!   Morty says nothing for a moment, and he looks eyeball to eyeball with Harold and says, "Harold, no I'm not afraid of death. If she dies, she dies".  

Now, that's chutzpah!  I'm a lot like Morty. I just know I am going to outlast the enemy who tried to take me out of the game once too often. I wasn't always like this, but God has seasoned me in the pressure-cooker of life, and from what I can see, I am still standing. Many times I didn't think I would last, and more than once I begged God to turn down the stove. But, I'm still here. Kind of like a determined knowing, a sense of certainty, that you are not the one to be vanquished, but the one who will triumph in the end. This is the destiny and future for all those who trust in the Lord, and just refuse to give up! To me, a 'holy' chutzpah is not pride. Pride is an offshoot of a selfish vanity. Chutzpah is not a cockiness or inflated ego either, in the truest sense of the word. It is what the young shepherd David exhibited when he went out to slay Goliath and said with assurance "who is this uncircumcised Philistine who dares to defy the armies of the Living God".   1 Samuel 17:26

 David knew he had a covenant with God (circumcision),  and a calling. He remembered what he had learned from the Torah, and had heard his elders tell him, 'just listen to these oaths and promises God made to our people, handed down from Abraham.'  David knew that the God of Israel had revealed Himself as the one true God over all things. The cursing, mocking, giant Goliath, was not to be feared, but was to be taught a lesson, in David's eyes, as to whom really was in charge. Now, that is Chutzpah. When we know to whom we belong, and what is our portion (destiny) and calling for this life, when we know we have heard from the Lord, and have His promises, we can be assured that the only one to really fear is God, to whom your body and soul will answer and stand before one day. Luke 12:5   This doesn't mean we won't feel fear, or have trepidations to go forward, but fear will not have the 'power' over you nor can it control you, if you won't let it. You always need to come back to starting place: God is with me, I can do this through Him. If He is with me, who can really be against me? Who can block God's favor from you?

I am learning so many more lessons in my mid years than I did as a youngster about who I really am, and what I am not. I am not what the world, the flesh or the devil would say I am, I am whom God made and designed me to be, and it is His plan and purpose that I (we) accomplish our purpose for which we were born. All of us have purpose, but it can be a long and painful journey to discover the nuances of our identity. God is not a TV dinner or a microwave kind of God, and He doesn't give throw-away answers. What He works into your spirit is born of spiritual blood, sweat and tears. And a healthy measure of laughter and joy and relationships in the mix too. There is no instant fixes with God, in matter of character and development. Along the way, throughout all the seasons of your life, and if you are blessed with long life and length of days, you will have some stories to tell at the end of the road. The more I go on in God, the better it gets. Sure, there's still battles. There will always be battles to fight, tough places in life to go through, but the journey gets sweeter, and the rewards get richer, because when you know it's God who is blessing you, and using you, and it's all Him, you get to enjoy the ride with God, and He gets all the glory. That's what so wonderful about God. It has and will be HIM all along doing 'His good pleasure (work) in you' - and you almost get to watch Him work, in and through your life, as one who is in the passenger seat, just along for the ride. There is never a day in my life when I am not aware of the fact, that, just as the Apostle noted he was 
'a fool for Christ' (1st Corinthians 4:10 ),  I have been also. But, whose fool, really?  To act outside of the norm at times, or take risks, for good and eternal purposes, is that really being foolish. In contrast, in fearing what might be, and never trying, or believing, it is we who are really being foolish. Lives and potentials are wasted, and for what? I never regretted telling the people in my life I loved them, but more times than I want to remember, I omitted saying things I never got the chance say twice. So, take that risk.

When my husband used to ask me to do something I really didn't want to do - like when he would call me from work and ask me to set the DVR, program the DVD, don't forget to pop a tape in, tape this football game, or rewind this show...and then I had to run around the house in the next 5 minutes before the game started, and hoped I would pick up the right remote and push the right button on the four remotes in the three rooms and try to figure out what the heck he said and what was I suppose to press again. I used the standard line I used so often in our marriage. "I'm just a simple girl from a simple tribe. Don't ask me anything too hard." That made him laugh. And yet it was so true. I really am just a simple girl from a simple tribe.  I'm okay with that. I was never born to be an air-traffic controller (physics, yikes....I barely made it out of algebra and geometry class). If I was at the controls, the Atlantic Ocean would be filled to the brim with half of North America.  How about you? Has time seasoned you well? I have a kind of holy chutzpah, in knowing what I can do (In Him). What I am called to do (in Him).  I am very confident in the Lord's abilities. I don't have to depend on my own strength, I draw from His. He works through me and in me (and you), to His very good pleasure. As long as we keep that straight (you = God, me = your creation), it all works out fine. And there is so much joy in knowing God takes deep pleasure in working through us just the way we are. Be strong and confident. You are under the Highest Authority and under the Highest Protection in the Universe. Take 3 good and loving and courageous risks today. Say what is really on your heart, in the right way and time. Buy that gift you really want to give, but you wonder if it will be received or understood. You will be glad you did. You will be amazed at how good it will feel to be free to be you.      
Joshua 1:3-9    I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you ... No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you."       
Psalm 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Adonai's 'Department of Defense' War Strategy - coming soon!

                           Adonai's 'Department of Defense' War Strategy - coming soon!

  Woke up again at 3:30 a.m. like a cannon. Went to bed like any other night, and you know how it is when you wake up with thoughts swirling around your head. You can lay there and try to go back to sleep, or toss and turn and hope you fall back asleep, or just lay there awake staring at the ceiling. Finally, I position myself to be ready to listen, perhaps God is trying to say something to me. Today was that day. Several times in the last few weeks, the words of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and the Psalms have flashed across my thoughts like the high beams of a car driving too fast down the street at night. It is not a direct or clearly visible light that peers through the sides of the curtain and into the room, it is the indirect glare of the fast-moving traffic that awakens you. This is how it is with the Lord Adonai at 3:00 a.m. - He knows how to get your attention. Not a shout, not a light that blinds you, but a hint of something flashing across your soul that you can't put your finger on, but you can't leave it alone either. I believe, I truly believe, if we could learn to give God just those few moments in the night, or in the day, we would hear things coming out of heaven's newspapers before they hit the front pages on earth. We just don't give God the time to tell us what He so much wants to. Don't know what else to do but pray, and not sure how to pray this through. I sense I am to read Isaiah 19. It is a prophecy about Egypt. I read from the Complete Jewish Bible to understand this text in the original.

 "Look! ADONAI is riding a swift cloud, on his way to Egypt. Before him Egypt's idols tremble, Egypt's courage melts within them. 2 "I will incite Egypt against Egypt, brother will fight against brother, friend against friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 The courage of Egypt will ebb away within it, I will reduce its counsel to confusion. They will consult idols and mediums, ghosts and spirits. 4 I will hand over the Egyptians to a cruel master. A harsh king will rule them," says the Lord, ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 5 The water will ebb from the sea, the river will be drained dry. 6 ...continue ' 17 Just mentioning the land of Y'hudah to the Egyptians will throw them into panic; they will be afraid because of what ADONAI-Tzva'ot has planned for them. 18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Kena'an and swear loyalty to ADONAI-Tzva'ot; one of them will be called the City of Destruction. 19 On that day there will be an altar to ADONAI in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a standing-stone for ADONAI at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to ADONAI-Tzva'ot in the land of Egypt; so that when they cry out to ADONAI for help because of the oppressors, he will send them a savior to defend and rescue them. 21 ADONAI will make himself known to Egypt; on that day, the Egyptians will know ADONAI. They will worship him with sacrifices and offerings, they will make vows to ADONAI and keep them. 22 Yet ADONAI will strike Egypt, both striking and healing, so they will return to ADONAI. He will listen to their prayers, and he will heal them. 23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Ashur. Ashur will come to Egypt and Egypt to Ashur, and Egypt will worship with Ashur. 24 On that day Isra'el will be a third partner with Egypt and Ashur, a blessing here on earth; 25 for ADONAI-Tzva'ot has blessed him: "Blessed be Egypt my people, Ashur the work of my hands and Isra'el my heritage."

  I know in my spirit I am living in and through a time in history that the Old Testament prophets, kings, and psalmists wrote about. CNN, MSNBC, and cable news outlets may not know that, and media bloggers and talking heads filling up tv air-space may never know the truth of this, but to those who know the voice of their Messiah, we know how this will play it. God knows the The End (Tav) from the Beginning (Bereshit). He knows how this all will play out. He recorded the events on parchment, all before it happened. He saw time and all of history in His heart, before it ever came to be. He else can write the news before it happens? Just last week, I was awakened with Isaiah 37 resting on my kishkas (my inward gut), and I knew God was telling me that He will destroy Assyria's pride, and reveal the Glory of His Son. In fact, Isaiah 37 makes it all so clear, even as to how He will protect Jerusalem from Assyria.


A little history on 'who is Assyria'.  Back in Genesis 10:22, we see that Shem's sons (Asshur and Aram) founded what the bible calls calls Assyria. Aram (originally known as Syria) conquerd the Northern Kingdom of Israel (730 BC). The Babylonians did conquer Assyria, and the remnant of Aram was no more. So the Assyrian homeland is now part of what is now Northern Iraq, part of the North of Iran, and Turkey to the south, and Northwestern part of Syria. (Ninevah, which was the capital Assyria, that famous city)  is found in Mosul, a city in Iraq today. Damascus, the capital of Syria, was once the capital of Aram. No matter what the news reports show, we know that God Will Protect Jerusalem From Assyria. And we know from (Isaiah 37:21-36), that God will surely defend Jerusalem, He will defend the nation of Israel. Allow me license here to excerpt from the first few lines of the Oath of Enlistment that all U.S. Armed Forces military say upon being sworn into active duty. It is as if the Lord Adonai is telling us......... "I (Lord Adonai) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the (Nation of Israel) against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same".   Talk about not wanting to get on the wrong side of the law. World leaders and world governments that mess with God's property are sliding down a slippery slope, and fast. How can I make such a bold statement? For starters: I am quoting the Highest Authority in the Universe, from His own handbook. Psalm 122:6, Genesis 12:3, Zechariah 12: 1-14, Isaiah 60:12, Psalm 83: 1-18, Zechariah 2:8, to name a few. 
 

From Isaiah 37:21-36  "21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,   22 this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: "The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back!    23 "Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.   24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, 'By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest.   25 I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of defense.'   26 "Did you not hear long ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.   27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown.   28 "But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me.    29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came."'    30 "This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.

31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward.    32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.   33 "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it.    34 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the LORD.    35 'For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'" 36 Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses -- all dead.    37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.    38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

 It only took one night for the Angel of the Lord to wipe out the whole Assyrian fighting army 700 years B.C. What would God do today if He went to defend Israel? I think we would all be watching it on the evening news! So the moral of the story here is; whether this nation (and I pray she does, for her own good!) stands with Israel or not, whether the United Nations lives up to its credo and defends those being unjustly persecuted, or whether all the nations of the world believe all the lies of her enemies, God will not sleep, He will not forget, and He will not allow Israel to be destroyed. The Messiah and King called 'The Son of God' will one soon day enter into Jerusalem to sit upon King David's throne, and He Himself will rule this planet. Do you think for a moment the Father in Heaven is about to allow Israel to be nearly wiped out again? Never! If you are wise you will remember the words of Genesis 12:3  "I will bless those who bless you (Israel), and curse those who curse you." 

"So Eat Already, laugh, and enjoy your God, your company, and these blessings"

               "So Eat Already, laugh and enjoy your company. Today's blessings are meant for you "

  Let's face it. We all have them. Family stories that only 'the family' gets. Or funny stories that only friends who have known you a long time can truly appreciate. I just had some of the most wonderful friends leave the house, after a 'work party' day. Guys with tool belts and saws and power tools. Man, there is nothing like it. My old Phillips screw driver just wasn't getting the job done, and I had some 'fix-it' jobs that were way beyond my pay grade. I'll do all the food and refreshments and freebies from the closet, if you can handle the rest and play Tim the Tool Man. What a good trade. So my good buddies and their wives (my very good buddies) came over to the house today, Sunday, and we rocked it for 7 hours. Why is it you feel more motivated to work if you are not doing it alone? There is something about about a group project that makes the work go so much smoother. I loved it. I feed people, and they work. It's so me. I love the es prit de corps, the funny stories, a full table with fresh bread and a salad with everything in it but the kitchen sink, grated extra-dry cheddar sharp cheese, homemade pasta and my secret recipe spaghetti (paired with a good dry red wine of course), and talk and jokes and hands flying in the air, pets hanging out under the table hoping for a morsel, and people laughing. Getting hungry yet? For me, it doesn't get any better than this. I was made for this kind of evening. I don't know if this is what heaven 's wedding feast will be like, but if it is even close, I don't want to miss it. (Revelation 19:9). Enjoying each other, enjoying the food, enjoying the stories, enjoying life; makes the day feel good, the weekend even better, and it promises the week will start off right. (And for me, knowing there are 2 craftsman at the table who actually know how to use all these tools and fix things, and not having to figure out how to do it myself, made it all the better for me). Let the guys do it. I'll cook and do the dishes. Love having a house full of people and laughter and full bellies at the dinner table. So eat already!

  Happy house guests bring a joy to the home like few things can, and I am loving my home and my life in a big way today, all because the table is full and the plates and glasses are empty, and no one wants to leave. I don't care if you want second's or third's, just don't leave hungry (in your belly or your soul). That's my motto). We are having too much fun at this table. There is no place I'd rather be than with people who don't want to leave the kitchen table after 3 hours because we are having that much fun. Love is ripe, laughter is present, stomachs are satisfied, and new friendships are happening, all because of the good bounty the Lord has provided. Pinch me, am I in heaven?

     "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works.Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works." Ecclesiastes 9:7

  I remember not along after I got married, my husband Ben and I (who were living on a military base overseas); decided he wanted me to take the night off and relax after dinner, and he would clean up the kitchen. I went for a walk, only to come back in the kitchen and see that there were plastic sandwich bags all over the glass ware and in the dish rack hanging upside down. He had emptied out the drawer full of plastic food bags and had hung them up over everything. I looked at him and asked him "what are you doing. Why are there sandwich bags all over everything?" He said he noticed that was the way that his (Czechoslovakian - 'me' ) wife always did the dishes? He knew I was a bit of a clean freak, so he thought maybe us Czeck's made the glassware extra clean by putting a bag over them to keep the germs out? After laughing like a hyena for about 10 minutes, I explained to my darling groom that I didn't take out new, clean bags to put over glassware, I just happened to be washing the already used dirty bags and hanging them upside down to dry over the dish rack or glass. Well, I think that was the last time he volunteered to do the dishes for a while. But we had a good laugh over that one. (Proverbs 17:22).

  So in the midst of all the hard and not so easy places in life and in the everyday mundane things we do over and over, every now and then, take a minute to enjoy some good friends, some good food, and have a good laugh. This is every bit as holy and good as any other measure of virtue you will ever spend. Enjoy your God, Enjoy your life, Enjoy one another. If you do it well, you will have wonderful stories to tell and remember, even in the hereafter. As they say in Italy when facing some serious pasta on the plate before you. "Manja, Manja" So Eat already!

"Isaiah 32: 1-2 - "You Got The Right Stuff"

                                           "Isaiah 32: 1-2 - "You've got The Right Stuff"

   It's a slow-starting Saturday morning. Late nights all this week, and too many 5 am wake ups. Today is one of those days, when the sun is peaking through the curtains, and the day promises a fruitfulness of purpose, and I am needing to connect with Papa before I do much else. Sometimes, it's not the loud sounds where God is calling you to sit with Him, it's the subtle singing of a hummingbird or kids playing next door, where you most easily find God. He is more in the everyday stuff of life than you can ever imagine. And the colors of my life are at best, a muted grey, without the splash of fuchsia and violet He throws into my imagination. I can't live well, when I can't feel, see, touch and know Him, in the simple 5-minute connect each new day brings. It's like I can hear Him strumming His thoughts into me, like a jazz musician who has played all night long in a New Orleans honky-tonk. The feel of the previous night's dancing is still in the room, you can smell some old cigars still wafting in the air, the never-slept musicians still can't put their pics down, and you just know that everyone had a great time last night. You can feel the life that was lived in that room last night as if the walls remember the fun. That is how He feels to me today. I feel God wanting to be here, and make His presence known. He feels sweet today, like He is waiting to say something rich.


  He is strumming His vibes on His guitar, and He wants me to catch His melody. That is how easy it is to be with God. You just have to learn to recognize His voice, and listen. Like any art form, in time, your Spirit can catch a whiff of what His Spirit is thinking, and like any really great friendship that has been cultivated over time, you start to feel and think and know what is on His heart. I would not trade anything, anywhere, at any time, for any price, to ever lose this. I can live without a lot of things, but I cannot live without His presence. It would be worse than death to me, if I lost this presence that is better than life.

  I think about last night. I drove a friend home from a Chanukah party late last night, and on that long ride home (and naturally, despite the talking smart phone -which can be pretty dumb at times if you ask me), we still got a lost (just for 20 minutes). I start laughing in the car picturing Ben in heaven probably rolling over laughing somewhere and shaking his head "I can't believe she still hasn't used her navigator or map. She hasn't programmed it yet". We talk about a lot of things - mostly, the shared experiences we have gone through in both losing our spouses, suddenly within 7 weeks."  We have come through by God's grace, both of us, and are weathering life's challenges, knowing it is only the grace God has put in us, and the day by day dependence on Him, that will see us out of this maze and into the clearing, what we now call 'our new normal'. See, nothing is ever really the 'old' normal again when life shakes up the mix and you have to re-define and re-learn and re-engage and re-start and re-boot it all. You don't know where he ended and you began, because you were one. And now you begin again. Every day is different. But it's okay. Because our Father has a plan. And all of God's plans and purposes are good, even when life is hard and violent and sharp. God is sweet, and His sweetness only gets more tender in time. You will know that if you ever need to find that out. You find out how deliciously sweet is His presence and care for you when you need it most.

 This morning, as I sit with my Messiah, I think about the husband, parents, friends, and friends in the Lord that have graced my life. Some of my dearest friends in life have come through, as they say, hell and high water, this past year or two. A good friend from back home of more than 20 years, who was with me when I met Ben years ago, and laughed and danced with us at our wedding, she buried her daughter to cancer just 2 years ago. She and her husband cared for, loved, fed and bathed their beloved daughter, and cared for her children, as she departed for glory. No parent should ever have to bury a child, and yet it happens. I think today of a dear, dear friends in the Lord, whose own adult child is fighting for his life in a hospital 2 hours north of here. In the midst of living their life, taking care of everyone, a freak and sudden illness strikes their son, and now they sit and wait by his bedside, and trust the Great Physician to lay His Healing Hands upon their son. We never are, nor can we ever be, truly prepared for those epic moments that steal away our breathe, shock our senses, or bring us to our knees. But, we can make it through and even beyond, when we know we are in the Lord's care, and He has answers, ways, plans and purposes we will never fully understand on this earth. And mostly, we just need to be loved well by those who care for us the most.

 I think today of my (late) father, Victor. What a man he was! Not that we spoke like a King (he didn't). His colorful language, often was peppered with the best one-liners this side of the Catskills. He was a hard working-man, 2 jobs, hard labor, and never complained, went to work, sick or tired. But man, did he ever have a way with words (I think I get that from him). His observational humor was unlike anyone else I ever knew. We'd be in the car going somewhere, and the old guy in the car in front of us, who was daydreaming  as the light turned green, would have everyone honking and people yelling epithets out the window, and  Dad would look over at us kids (his captive audience) and shake his head and say "I bet the guy doesn't even know what year it is. He probably doesn't even know he is living. We should wake him up". Dad had a million of them. Never rehearsed, never planned. But what I remember most about Dad, was that he was always there. His word was his word. If he said he would be there at 2:07 sharp to pick you up, by golly, you'd better be standing there on the street corner there at 2:07 and be ready. Now my sister (who is in heaven now) and I, well, Dad used to say we might be late for our own funeral's. When my Dad was frustrated he would hum, and Viki and I had Dad humming a lot growing up. HHHHHhhhhhmm. He would just shake his head and look at us and say "I'm glad I wasn't handcuffed to a ghost and hanging by my neck at 2:07, or I'd be dead now". It was his own brand of humor, and all of us in the family, we got it. We got him. But Dad always had the Right Stuff.  He kept his word. Always. He was there for his family. Always. He did what he said he was going to do, and he protected, loved and worked hard for us. The bills were paid, food was on the table, and we were warm. I have seen a lot of things in my years on earth, and when I was younger, I had been courted by some charming men. But none of it meant as much to me as a  man who keeps his promises, and protects those he loves. A faithful heart is the best part of a man, to me.

  Ben had that same quality. He protected his wife, his family, their name, their honor, his friends, and even his pets. He 'covered' us all with a blanket of hope: I am there for you, I will always be there for you. Day or night, you can count on me. Forget the flash in the pans, they will pass. It's funny, not long after we married, Ben was looking at a box of old pictures, and I heard him give out a 'whoa' when he saw me in my 20's. Youth and beauty are more obvious than wisdom [in anyone under 30]. Ben said 'honey, can you look like that again'. I then showed him a picture of himself with hair, and replied 'only if you can too. We will both be spending money for plastic surgery'. We laughed and realized we really were happy, just the way we were. We had 'the right stuff'. (And truth be told, his head with less hair on it than 20 years earlier was far more attractive to me now, because I knew the brains and zest for life inside that head which made him unique). Ben used to tell me his (Dutch-Jewish) mother would say to him as a young boy "Allemaal Hersens" ('all brains' and then pat his head).  And I never knew a man who had so many wonderful dreams, inventions, hopes and ambitions and just sheer joy, the joy of living, going on at one time, inside of him. What made him wonderful was who he had become, and if time had to march on or steal a few hair shafts to get him to that place, oh well, so be it. What counts is what lasts, that is what I call 'the Right Stuff". Real friends, who will be there for you and with you come what may; that's the Right Stuff.  Faithful spouses and faithful parents and faithful friends, there is nothing to compare to this. "See, a King will reign with righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the the wind, and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert, and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." Is. 32:1-2

 For me, the non-sequitur of youth; is that at 20 or 30, you want to keep your looks and your strength, but you want to know what only those who have lived long, and hard and well, can know. Just like the Latin phrase 'non-sequitur' (meaning 'it does not follow') - the conclusion will never follow the premise. There are some things you can only know by living through them. Like that 1983 movie that Ben so loved 'The Right Stuff', which honored the U.S. Mercury 7 Astronauts, Ben used to tell me he couldn't wait to get to space, and if he had a chance, he would want to go. When the talk of civilians possibly taking space travels had come up, discussed by the Richard Branson types of inventors and adventurous explorers, Ben once asked me if I wanted to go into space with him. 'Ya gotta be kidding honey, I don't even want to get on the DC Beltway with you'  ha ha. I would say, I'll wait till the rapture (Mt. 24:30-36) till I take my first space-flight. I know who'll be driving  (the Son of God and and the Holy Spirit) and I know where I'm going I don't have to worry about making it back. [Well, my beloved, you have a view from heaven now that is beyond your wildest dreams now]. You had the Right Stuff.

 

"His Words will take you to your finish line".

 "His Words will take you to your finish line"    Out of the gate - to the end of the race"

'Ktiva'  said Max (the young Jewish man in hiding) to young Liesel Meminger (played by Sophie NElisse), in "The Book Thief". "Write". He wanted Sophie to write. That would become her tool of survival, her means to endure, her mental and emotional means of escape. Words and books became everything to her, and as the story unfolds, she risks it all for these words. As Max, the Jew hiding in the basement of Sophie's foster parents home, hands the young girl a book he made with blank pages, he wants her to Ktiva (write) her words, on these pages. This is Hitler's Germany, and as dark as the times are, what shines is the courage of this young girl, who risks everything, to read, to dream and to hope. The sweet relationship between the foster father Hans, (played by Geoffrey Rush), and the orphaned girl he and his wife take in in this World War 11 drama is worth seeing. A good movie or book shows us the power that words can impart.

 There is a picture that I had made for my husband when he was stationed overseas. It perfectly stated what had happened to us both in six months time. The words are from the poet/writer John Donne, and they are: "More than kisses, letters mingle souls". I put those words against a picture of a harvest, a man tilling the soil, facing the sun. That little framed picture traveled everywhere we lived, and hung up in every bedroom. It said it all, and still hangs on the bedroom wall. It was really words that bound us together, more than dreams, more than hopes, more than plans. It was the words we shared that told us who we were, and what we might become. Words have power. They can impart life or death, hope or defeat. Words can create out of nothing. God's words created everything from nothing, and we are made in His image. If we only knew how powerful a tool a carefully spoken word can be, we might be more careful to choose them wisely.

 We know God takes words very seriously. It was His words which made covenants with people, it was His words which declared blessings over His creation.(Genesis 1).  It was His words that instilled identity in a people, and carved out boundaries and geographies for them. It was His words which encouraged, taught and instructed His Kings, His prophets, and His sages.(Matthew 4:4).  It was His words which lifted the lowly, gave strength to the weak, and gave hope to the dying. It was His words which called His Son's body out of a grave and made Him the first-fruit of all who would believe they too could live forever in glory. (1st Corinthians 15:20). Now, if we can only believe that our words can have that Dunamis power of God, what might we see happen in our lifetime. Referencing again the movie above, the young girl Liesel found a strength in words, both written and spoken, that was greater than what she could see with her eyes. Although it is our five senses that take in what we know to be true of this world; there is so much we would know if we could live deeper than the nose on our face and the eyes in our socket. What if, just what if, we listen to the voice of God within, when He speaks with words, into our spirit, and believe for what we do not see, and cannot perceive with the naked eye? Isn't this what Jesus (Yeshua) was referring to when He said "the Kingdom (all that is possible and good and true) is within"? (Luke 17:21). When Jesus said "if you would only believe" (Mark 9:23)...just what was it, and is it, that He is asking us to believe? I believe He is asking us to believe what the Spirit of God is speaking to our spirit today. He is not asking you to believe for someone else ability to hear God for you, or someone else to show God to to you, He is asking you to believe that He can and does and will reveal Himself to you, if you will only believe.

  In my years walking this terra-firma, I have come to accept and have made peace with who and what I am, and what I am not. I know my strengths as well as my weaknesses, and trust me, it's good to be well- acquainted with both. It will keep you grounded and balanced. You will not think too highly or too badly of yourself when you see what you really are. You will have a honest understanding of the fabric of your soul, and you will really know what you are, because God will show you who you are.  When you have nothing to lose, you lose the fear of saving face. I know when I was a young woman in college,  I couldn't decide on which man to marry (I decided to wait), which career path to take (I had quite a few), or which road to take. I always seemed to take the road that was harder or longer, and often I was on that path by myself.  I paid for my life and education by no less than several part-time jobs at once: but the best job I ever had which taught me more about people than anything else was waiting tables. I learned more about life by taking care of peoples basic needs (hunger and thirst and loneliness) than any other job. If you can handle a busy restaurant and can put up with the good, the bad and the ugly, you can handle life. I learned more by feeding hungry people than I ever did on a stage.All in all, when I look back on those years, I almost have to laugh. Could have saved a lot of time and money, and it might have been easier, had I just done it God's way the first time. But I was stubborn. God is used to dealing with stubborn and impetuous people, and He has a way of drawing them to Himself like no one else can. Those who have a strong will that needs to be bent are God's ace in the hole for troubled times. God specializes in taming wild stallions and filly's just as He can tame a wild soul. You can say that the Lord tamed and trained this race horse, and now I can run the race for God with speed and strength, because His bit and his reigns have been stronger than mine. How much time do we need to really believe all of God's words to us? The time left for this world is shorter than when I grew up. It isn't just your life or my life at stake anymore, there will be those who God will join alongside of us, those who may come after us, who need what we have been through, so they can finish their race. That's the purpose of the struggle, not only to shape us, but to leave something behind for others. I know all this because of words. His Words to me. Spoken in private. Whispered to my spirit. His words trained and broke me, and then they healed me and rebuilt me. This is the power of God's words. Never forget what He says to you. It will be the one true thing that keeps you going and will take to your finish line.

"This last year taught me what time was really all about"

                                              'This last year taught me what time is really all about"

  Sometimes, it feels as if we are Alice in Wonderland, and we never really know what time it is. Like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, and Alice, we all are stuck at 6:00 p.m. But we know in our hearts it is really later than that. But how late, really.  (Remember that catchy tune from 3 Dog Night in the 70's) "Does anyone really know what time is it:, does anyone really care". Well I tell you, God knows what time it is. And God really does care. What time is it really on God's clock for our lives? Do you want to know?

  We are forever changed as the events and passages of time carve their wisdom, their pain, and their seasons into our soul. As Lewis Carroll wrote in (Alice in Wonderland), "I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."  I know I can't go back to yesterday's for any other reason than a school lesson. I can look back to 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 years ago, and I can see with astute acuity what I could not perceive then. I didn't know life or the way time would carve out a melancholy yet hauntingly beautiful canvass on which the Creator would stop by to paint, into my soul. How can you know at 25 what you know deeply at 50? Even in a year's time, what I have learned since my beloved Ben went to be with the Lord has changed me. The death of a husband, sister, extended relatives and friends in a year's time has changed me. It was as if a magnifying glass was put to my soul, and suddenly, I could see, the flaws,. the imperfections, the wounds, the unfinished business of living, in both words and deed, with a clarity that was at the same time: fearful yet beautifully truthful, all at the same time. 'Suddenlies' have a way of doing that to us. 'Suddenlies' change us. I remember, a little more than a year since my husband's passing, the times he asked me to lie aside of him and watch a favorite football game, or watch a favorite movie for the umpteenth time. Uugh, I used to think. No, I don't want to watch this movie for the 50th time. I have more important things to do, I would think to myself. Now, I realize, nothing was more important than to share that moment in time with a man who so deeply loved and cherished me, and all he wanted was my time. I cherished and loved him too, but as we all do, we think we have all the time in the world, for this or that, or later we'll do, say, this or that. But sometimes, later never comes. This last year taught me that. I have forgiven myself for being human. You have to. Or you will lose your sanity, your soul. your perspective. If you expect yourself to be more than human (superhuman fatalism) you can't last the test of grace. I know that I know that Ben knew I deeply loved him, and, when God took him to heaven, I know the Lord showed him how much he was loved by us all, his family. That is enough. What can you add to perfection? 

  This last year, I think, how petty it was of me to get annoyed with a sister who could go on and on and on about some silly or mundane thing, or kvetch so about things which mattered little. My beautiful sister was sick for a long time. The illness that took her like in 2012 had a dual purpose: I see now that it also arrested my selfishness in the same year: little did I know that her death would cause me to see how selfish I really was, in ways that I could not see until confronted by the sudden loss of her. Most would say "but Liz, you're only human'. You can only take, listen to, hear so much. You have nothing to feel ashamed of, or guilty for. And technically, that may be true. But spiritually (where God lives - which is in the heart and soul of a person) - I knew I could have loved more, listened more, been a little more patient, a little more forgiving. But it was easier to dismiss as I can't take one more email, another phone call, another this or that. We all have our days when we don't have the extra grace for someone else, it is all we can do to take care of ourselves to get through hat day. This is not a guilt trip - it's a honesty trip. As I sit at this PC at Thanksgiving 2013 - and my family has just left for that long drive back home, and the food is put away, the dishes are done, and I am thinking about the intense quietness of the room after the lives I shared my growing up with have left this room, I am struck by how we really enter this world alone, and leave alone. My husband was on the ER gurney, and my sister died alone in the bedroom down the hall, and for those few seconds, I could not save them. But God was there. His angels were there. Was anyone more really needed than Him? After all, if God is not enough, what in God's name do we think we have to offer?

  I chuckle when I sit in my lovely living room, and I remember when Ben would look at the clock on the hutch and it said "6:05" and the clock on the wall said "6:15" and the kitchen clock read "6:25". I can still hear him saying..."for crying out loud, I feel like Alice in Wonderland in here. What time is it really"?
I hadn't reset any clocks, for some reason, even the best clocks I could buy, would skip a beat or minutes here and there. Only the Atomic Clock upstairs kept that mean Greenwich time, and it was accurate. Ben was a man who hated 2 things in life: only 2 things I can think of. He hated being late, and he hated getting lost. (Both of which are two areas which have been a perpetual nemesis for me). Well, I know in the final analysis, Ben conquered both. He was on-time and ready for his departure from earth to heaven, he was ready physically and spiritually. And I know that his compass was accurate: I know that there were angels in the Emergency Room that night as they came to escort  my beloved to his eternal home. I know, because I was there, and I know what I saw, what I heard, what God spoke to me, and what I will forever know.
The two most important things to Ben, he did well. He was on time, and in the right place, and at the right time.
 
 When our 'time' is over, what will be said of us? Will we have been 'on time' for our generation, our family, our loved ones, our calling, our time on this place of earth. I hope so. And I pray I will end up being at the right place, at the right time. If we can do those two things well, we have done a lot. We will finish well.

Out of Edom and Bozrah crimson-stained "I'm Coming Back for my Tribes"

Out of Edom and Bozrah crimson-stained "I'm Coming Back for my Tribes"

  It's 2 days before Thanksgiving, 2013. Waking up to be thankful my family are on their way on the long drive to Delaware. It has been a strange year; more of my family and extended family is in eternity celebrating this year, than was last. I am grateful for those I have still here with me. I sip my morning brew, pet the cat, and am so grateful I have come through this year. Intact. Whole. Grateful. Hopeful. I don't know what 2014 will bring, but I am in very good hands. Allstate may be the 'good hands people'...but I've got Yahweh; He's got the universe in His hands. We'll be alright people, I think to myself, if we only remember to whom we belong. A song rises up within me, and Isaiah 63 (that familiar passage God has spoken to me about so often) is on my mind. "Lord, are you trying to tell me something"?

 As I flip through the pages of the bible, I am always struck by the strength of the prophets words. The God of Israel did not cause Isaiah to write impotent phrases, He called Isaiah to pounce upon the verbs and noun, to make a point. "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the peoples, there was no one with me" (verse 3, Complete Jewish Bible) . And verse 5 "Therefore my own arm brought me salvation, and my own fury upheld me". Read all of Isaiah 63 sometime, and you will see the passion and fury and intensity and power of God's thoughts toward Israel, toward those who rejected Him, toward the people He loved and felt abandoned by, yet a stirring jealousy of protection and safety toward them. You can tell what's been on God's mind and heart for centuries, as He pleads, cries out, years for, punished and finally redeemed a people, and their generations after them, all through the words of Isaiah. There is no mistaking how God views this people, their descendants, from Moses to now, as He recounts what He has and will do to them, and through them, and for them. Now, here is the mystery of this passionate chapter: God is telling us a 'Ancestry-DNA' mystery here - He tells us about the scattered remnant of His people, and we are part of the Isaiah 63 story. We are going to see one day, who (in our ancestral line) came before us, and one day (in His courts in the days to come) we will see a pattern of spiritual and natural legacy where our bloodlines came from. You are more related to Yeshua, the King of the Jews, than you ever knew. He really is your brother, this King of the Jews, this Chief Cornerstone and Capstone, this High Priest (Kohen Gadol).

    My eyes see verse Is. 63 verse 17 as if I were reading this for the first time. "Adonai, why do you let us wander far from your ways and harden our hearts, so that we do not fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, the tribes who are your possession. Your holy people held your sanctuary for such a short time before our adversaries trampled it down. For so long, we have been like those you never ruled, like those who were not called by your name!"   The Lord opened my eyes - the 'tribes who are your possession'. I flashback to the many conversations my dear friend 'loves the Word' and I have had this last year, many late hours at the diner, talking about what we have been discovering through Ancestry and on-line searches. It is mind blowing to discover you are from Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewry and can trace lineages back to family crests, last names, and genealogy. (This is not a plug for any on-line sites, I'm just sharing the journey the Lord put us on). My friend "loves His Word' has an amazing gift at the computer and for investigating just about anything. *(To respect her identity, I will refer to her as 'loves the Word', which she does, and not use her real name).. She is the only person I know who can spend a day at the laptop and trace herself back to Adam and Eve. No, I am not kidding. The Lord has gifted her to discover things. Only person I know who has (with historical documentation, charts, land grants, birth and death records) her whole family line, neatly bound in a book to gift to her family, so they know their 'roots' both spiritual and physical. She can do in a weekend what would take others months to find out. Now that's what I call a gift from God. I am not so swift at this, in fact, I needed her help to help me find me in cyberspace. LOL. I remember working at the PC one day and she calls me, and says 'Liz, your people are from here and there....you are Jewish girlfriend'. Suddenly I remember something the Lord told me while driving on Interstate 81, back from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in 1990, where I used to work. "Liz, you are a Jew", I heard Him say one day on that long stretch of road, sandwiched in on all sides by big Semi's. A long drive and much to think about. "Me"? A Jew?  I used to think God had me confused with someone else.  I mean, my grandparents came over on the slow boat from Czechoslovakia and and Scotland and Wales.Over 130 years ago. Didn't have any records, didn't know much about them except a little here and there. Was told I came from a long line of Catholics and some Protestants, from what they knew. But who knew? Well, God knew. Why is this even important to know, you may wonder. Because I am seeing that 'knowing where we came from' and knowing our 'spiritual' as well as physical roots, has a lot to do with knowing where we are meant to go. Suddenly, things about yourself (they way you operate, the way you think, the stirrings within you, they make sense. Suddenly, you start to get it).

 I want to stress here that the 'most important' root we all need is to be 'grafted in' to the Branch of David (Jesus), as the Word says, we are 'adopted' all of us into Messiah (Ephesians 1:5).  Being born Jewish or being born Polish or Greek or Italian or anything else does not guarantee exclusivity, or immediate Club Membership into Heaven's Elite Frequent Flyer Program. Just as the Israelites used to brag to Jesus that they were 'sons of Abraham', He had some strong words for them then about their 'righteousness' being as filthy rags. And yet God does say to the woman who wanted some morsels of bread (Mt. 15:22-28) that there was a specific purpose for which He came, and that His own people had a 'specific' calling and destiny to the nations. Yeshua was not being cruel or disrespectful here, he was giving a plan of origination and specificity. God is all about destiny. Of nations, tribes, and family. The DNA in our bloodlines is very important to God. The more you find out about your past, the more you can see your future. There were prayers prayed generations back you never knew about, but it has a lot to do with your family tree coming to know their heritage. One day, I suppose, in God's heaven, we will meet and know those (who died in faith) who went before us, and we will all have a family reunion that is beyond our wildest dreams. But for now, on this earth, the most important thing we can do is to connect with God through the bloodline that is on the mercy seat of heaven, the blood that the Son of God spilled out for us. [Is. 63:3] "and I stained all my clothing (garments)". Jesus was telling us here, hundreds of years before He came to earth to die, that His blood would be poured out for us. That is your DNA inheritance - you were already bought with a price. A price no one but God Himself could pay.  Jesus was stained with blood, every part of him, every part of His garment, His literal DNA went into the earth, the planet He made, to redeem all the family bloodlines of man. His DNA is still on the mercy seat, and it is our ancestral covenant, spiritual and natural. When God talks about ' the tribes' - know He has scattered us, the many tribes of Israel, all the clans and people-groups  into every nation and continent. He is redeeming us, and that is why many are 'hungry' for Messianic things and hungry to know about Jewish things at this time in history: God has ordained it is the time when discover who we really are.

  So what do you want to know about yourself? Ask the Lord. He will show you. He has already redeemed the nation you came out of, the mother who bore you and the Father whose seed you are, He has gone back into your family line and cleansed it. He has offered this Covenant to you and me, He has shown us in His words, and given us the gospels to know how to break curses, cleanse the blood lines, redeem family trees and ties. You can be the conduit for intercessory prayer in your family tree to Galatians 3:13 - Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree. Check out these verses below. These are just some of the verses in the Word that show us we have the power to pray, declare and believe and receive generational blessings for ourselves and our bloodlines. What are you waiting for God to do for you? He has already given you [through the atoning work of the Messiah] the authority and power to break the curse! You can be a fishing net for your family tree to pray them into the Kingdom. Go for it! Your 'tribe' is counting on you. God is waiting for you.

Proverbs 26:2  Jeremiah 17:5  Deuteronomy 28:1-68 James 5:16  Numbers 14:18 Ephesians 6:12
Revelation 22:3   Ephesians 4:27  Galatians 3:13-14  Deuteronomy 5:9  Genesis 12:3  2 Corinthians 5:17 Proverbs 18:21  Romans 5:12  Psalms 103:1-22  1 John 1:9  Mark 16:9-20  Deuteronomy 28:15-68  Deuteronomy 28:20  Galatians 1:8  Romans 9:3  Proverbs 28:27    Exodus 34:7

  "The 2:30 a.m. Visitor   God wants you to know He is crazy about you

  It happened again last night. It is Sunday, November 24th, nearing midnight. I plan on getting some good sleep and begin my workday fresh tomorrow at 6:00 am. But before I turned out the lights, I had this strong desire to worship the Lord in dance, inparticular, the V'ahavta prayer by Messianic Psalmist Marty Goetz. This prayer is taken from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37. It is the hallmark of the Jewish tenets of faith, and Jesus (Yeshua) said it is the greatest commandment to 'love your God with all your heart, and soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself'. As I dance before the Lord, with my eyes closed, I can tell there is a spectrum of color and a bright lightness in the room. I can feel God watching me. I know that sounds weird, but I don't know how else to say it. There is a strong sense of quiet awe: I turn the CD off, and I get into bed, and I know for certain, I am not alone in this room. Like a favorite cologne whose scent you can't forget, this presence floods my spirit with the awareness that the Rose of Sharon (Song of Songs 2:1) has entered this place. I can't even move. I don't know if I should pray, or just lie still. This strong scent of majesty has entered this place, and I don't know what to do. I don;t know how long I lay motionless like this. I just couldn't move. So I wait. I listen. I say nothing. I don't move a muscle. And then, I feel a wet teardrop on my face. It wasn't my tear that hit my face; it was the Lord's. This is all true what I write, not one word here is imagined. This happened as I said. I then heard the Lord (in my spirit, for He speaks to our 'spirit in truth' - that is the worship He is looking for) say some things to me, which are not important to relay here. It was personal. It was precious. It brought life. He did let me know that He has waited my whole life, yes, all these years, to bring me to this place. I was not ready before. I thought I was, but I wasn't. Grace had not finished her work. There were bits of me that the Potter had to smash on the wheel where He molds the clay. I could not have stood in that pain before. I would not have lasted. I was not ready. I had not suffered enough, nor been broken enough, for Him to speak to me like this. Suffering is the only true measure of exchange that is sufficient payment for the grace which is to follow. 

  I remembered that only months ago, the Lord asked me one night, as I was crying out to Him, "WHY LORD" ...what had I not done to save ____, what could I have done. There are always why's in a soul that has not yet seen what the fire of God's plans will do. God's fire burns out the dross. I remember only months ago He asked me "Liz, how much do you trust me". I knew He wasn't asking because He didn't know the answer. He was asking to show me my heart. Did I trust Him when nothing makes sense anymore? Now I see His plan. It is beyond my comprehension to take this in. It is so beautiful. I see Him smash to pieces all the plans of the enemy. What seemed like loss is really gain. What seemed like judgment is really mercy. He has not only redeemed me, He has re-dressed me and repackaged me into something better than I was before. Loss takes you to a depth of compassion that is breathtaking. Sorrow catapults you to a place of joy that is sublime. The Beatitudes (Mt. 5) mean more to me now than ever, because I know how poor in spirit I really am. The more of yourself you lose, the more of Him you can take in. I am not ashamed of gospel of Christ, it is the true power of salvation.  (Romans 1:16) If being so desperately in need of His presence is what welcomed Him through the doorpost of my home at 2:30 a.m. last night, then I am thrilled to be this needy. I know this for certain, my faith life can never go back to business-as-usual. I have tasted the thrilling kiss of a Messiah who is waiting for a bride, and I can never go back to who I was before.

     Maybe it's the desperateness of life's situations that bring us to a place where we are emptied of our own ways, plans and schemes to rescue our own life, that grace does her finest work. I know I have come through a season of my life where I have delivered a man-child in prayer (Revelation 12). The man-child The Book of Revelation speaks of is the remnant bride, who has come through the wilderness, the tough seasons of life, and weathered the storms. Only God Himself can keep us in the storm. Prayer and passion for a God we cannot see, but a Son we cannot live without is what births the man-child in us. What the Spirit of God is looking for - what He wants more than anything else, is true sons and daughters, and a true bride. He is hungry to feed the hungry hearts. He is thirsting to satisfy parched lips. "Let all who are thirsty, come" He says. He is looking hard for those who know they are nothing without Him, and who have come to the end of it all, and realize, if He isn't with me, I am not going. If He isn't in this, I don't want it. It is knowing we are miserable and unfulfilled and our lives won't be worth living anymore, unless His beauty, His presence, His love, shows up in us. The old wineskin just won't cut it anymore. We have been ripped, torn, stretched and molded beyond what we could bare, and we (our flesh) hated every minute of it: but now we see the Potter, the garment maker, He knew what He was doing all along. He purposely tried to kill us, and He succeeded. And how wonderful it is to be dead to what was. He now resurrects us to a new us: the presence and scent and cologne of God poured into us makes us smell like heaven: we carry His presence and it is beautiful to behold.

  I don't know how long He stayed. I don't remember when He left. I only know the next 2 hours (until the alarm went off) I felt like I was being held in still motion. It was the most tranquil and euphoric feeling that has no words. I am aware of a sensation that I can only describe as if I had slept in a tub of liquid love: if this is the Peace of God, I can't get enough. Surely, the Tzar Shalom (Prince of Peace) had to be here last night. What else could it be? I don't know how I can taste any more and still function. I am like the lovesick bride in Song of Solomon. This was so worth the wait. I get my thoughts in order, get dressed and out the door. I need to drop my car off at the mechanic for a tune-up. I arrive at the garage at 8 a.m. I look at the people in the garage and can literally feel God's love for them. I think to myself  'if they only knew....if they only knew God was crazy about them". If they could feel what I am feeling right now, they would just melt. And I say a silent prayer in my heart that they will. Somehow. Someway, when the time is right, their soul will be flooded too. God prepares us to receive Him in waves. You can't throw an infant into the ocean and expect them not to drown: you can't run into God and live unless His spirit is doing the work of grace to make you able to stand in His love. Love has a rhythm and measure to it. It is like a dance. When all the moves are right, and the tempo is pitch perfect, and everything works in sync, it is beautiful to watch. God's love is like that. He meets us where we live, where we are, and He works from there. And I know a whole mess of people are about to experience this oozing tsunami of love from heaven. Even as I write this blog, I hear in my ear the Lord tell me 'It's Time". It's time for my people to get their bridal raiment on. I am coming to love them. I am coming to dress them for my Son. I will pour myself into all who want to taste and see that I am a good God. Get ready". I know that I cannot live without this love. I have tasted something so sweet, that dead works and religion will never do it for me again. So, if you remember the lyrics to that great OJay's song form the 70's. "Love Train', I am inviting you to 'get aboard that love train'. The conductor will soon be pulling into your station, and He wants you on board.

"Gravity" The Movie, The 50th Anniversary of JFK, and the Navy Hymn - Peeking from God's Space Station

 "Gravity"  The Movie,  The 50th Anniversary of JFK,  and the Navy Hymn

A peek from God's Space Station

From Psalm 8:3-6:

³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.   KJV

   Friends called today to invite me to a good movie playing in Salisbury, and I couldn't make the matinee time. I was at the computer working on a project all morning, and at 1:45 pm, there was no way I could make the 45 minute drive in 10 minutes, no matter how I winded through those back roads. Oh drats. And I had earlier wanted to join my friends for their afternoon Torah study. I really love Saturday's again. Couldn't make it there in time either. The bleak has turned a rosy color again, and weekends are feeling better than they had in a year. So I decided to finish my work, and then realized as the cats were rubbing against my leg for lunch. Hey you guys, all I had was coffee at 7 a.m., and you are hungry again. In feeding them, I thought I better feed me too, but found nothing in the frig worth microwaving or making. Boring. Maybe I'll head out to Panero's in Rehoboth, they have the best soups. That will be good after hitting my new favorite place to race walk, the Lewes Ferry terminal station and surrounding parks. It is a very brisk but sunny day, a perfect Shabbat. You can talk to the Lord, and even sing, and no one is around to see or hear you if you are far enough out on the dock. Besides, if people see your lips move, and you cover your head with a hat, they just think you are on bluetooth (whereas years ago they just thought you were crazy :). Only the birds heard me today, and they didn't seem to notice I was terribly off-key. They were circling figure 8's overhead, and I saw a boat go out and a Ferry come in. I was a water-baby all my life, in the water, on the water, every chance I got. I never tired of the waves. I never tire of what the sea suggests: a hidden life, the mystery of creation, and a sense of life and calmness, anytime I am by a port or sea. I can't even hear the Navy Hymn without getting all choked up. But I never expected to take myself to a movie today.

  Whenever Ben and I would hear "Eternal Father Strong to Save" (the navy Hymn), the words would move us. Here's the words to just the first verse:

"Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea".

  My God, we are all in peril on the sea of life. Every day could spell disaster or glory, blessing or demise. We do not know how the day will end when we begin it. Sudden deaths of friends and loved ones have a way making you aware of your absolute inability to save yourself, much less anyone else.

  The news channels have been running some good documentaries on the life of this nations 35th President, John F. Kennedy. Like most of us who were alive in 1963, I remember exactly where I was the day Kennedy was shot: I was in the third grade. Catholic School. I remember an announcement coming over the PA system and the Principal, who voice was shaky, announced the President was shot, and prayers were said over the PA system (yes, you could actually pray in the schools back then). I remember them announcing dismissal and we were sent home. I remember walking into the kitchen (my dad was at work) and my mom seemed different. Her eyes were wet: she had been crying. I still didn't understand what all this wa about: I was only 8 years old. I didn't really understand the scope of the history that was unfolding at that  time:. But I will always remember going out to the playground out back and swinging and thinking 'today feels sad, what is happening'. I was keenly aware that all the grown-ups were acting strange and sad. This is what it feels like to be living through history and not know the impact one event has that can change the world. Only as an adult did I appreciate the power of his courage, the man Kennedy. He spearheaded the Space race without apology. And this weekend marks the 50th anniversary of this mans death. And the Space movie 'Gravity' does the space race justice as well. So, on my way from Panero's, I see the Midway Marquee which announces 'GRAVITY'. Hhmmm. Well, I'm here. No time like the present. I go for it.

  So I', standing at the movie window, and the woman asks me if I want the 3-D Imax ticket or the regular one. Well, when asked like that, you know the latter (regular viewing) just has to be a dud, so of course I say '3-D'. I ask her what's a 3-D movie like (as the last one I saw was with my husband (then fiance') in Las Vegas when he proposed. (more on that later). So She says to me.."You know, a lady saw that in 3-D the other day and threw-up. You maybe just want to watch it on a regular screen".  Eeewww. How charming you are, I think to myself. I may regret this, but just give me that dang 3-D ticket.   

 Well, I am not going to do a 'spoiler alert' here, so if you want to see the movie, I recommend it. Time-Warner Productions is not paying me to endorse this, I promise you that. But for my 2 cents, Sandra Bullock (as Dr. Ryan Stone) and George Clooney (as the veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky) did a great job. I wont give away the plot, but I will tell you that when I put those 3-D glasses on, and the movie started, I blurted FAR OUT and hoped no one heard me. The special effects alone are worth the price of admission. When satellite space debris hurls Clooney through space, I nearly jumped out of my seat: I thought Clooney was going to land on my lap. (well, at least in the movies anything is possible, LOL). This movie made it easy to imagine the same sensations (panic, fear, oxygen deprivation, hope, joy, and finally insurmountable determination and courage) that it takes to keep on keeping on. Even when all hope is gone. A good movie can be a metaphor for life: we all have, and will have, those moments in life when it doesn't make sense to go on, when it would be easier to just quit, or at least, not try so hard. I mean, why struggle. For me, this movie reminded me how much faith is like this: we always will have a struggle, there will always be obstacles, but the end-game is to conquer ourselves! Conquering space is really all about conquering our fears. And who doesn't fear the unknown. Am I too old? Am I too young? Am I still smart enough, able to do this job, you name it, we all have those insecurities. Am I, can I, will I. There is not one of us who doesn't have those internal questions from time to time. Conquering the sea is about conquering all those demons and fears we try to quench down, but that arise again. Even though our life's journey seems to have unfixed coordinates in space - no absolute road map to tell us exactly what career to take, who to marry, when to build, when to birth), we are still given value and functions that guide us into a perfect destiny. The mathematics behind God's genius is that He allows us to choose: and in choosing Him to guide us, we are always on course. Because Our Eternal Father is always strong to save".

So this is this unpaid movie reviewer's thoughts. Go see the movie. If nothing else, you will enjoy the good acting, special effects, and by all means, do the 3-D thing. It's a hoot. And you might be surprised what you learn about yourself in the process. Although there was only one reference to prayer mentioned (when Bullock's character thinks she is about to die and realizes she doesn't know how to pray), the movie has plenty of alliteration. You will know the hidden meaning behind the plot. Yenta says: Go have some fun.

Addendum: Ok. I know you want to know. My other only 3-D movie was with Ben in 1997. Here's the scoop. Before he was my husband, Ben flew to Vegas from overseas (he was Army Veterinary Officer stationed on the prettiest island on the Pacific Theatre of our US forces, Okinawa). He flew to Vegas to attend a Vet conference, and asked me if I could take a few days off from work and fly out there (from Pennsylvania) and spend some time there with him. We had met 6 months earlier at a conference ourselves, and had talked, written, Instant messaged and basically made the phone company rich in those 6 months. But it was the best money we ever spent, and we both knew it. Dating long distance was the sweetest thing. You really get to know someone's heart when you cant be distracted by someone's face or anything you can see or well, you know....we do have five working senses. I remember the day before he proposed on the top of the tallest spinning restaurant I ever saw, on bended knee, with the military stance, he asked me if I would PLEASE PLEASE go on this Star Trek 3-D holographic ride experience with him. (aw, you thought it was something else I was going to say, haha). Yes, he asked that too! Would I marry him. Well, you know the answer to that. The big Trek convention was in town (and he later confessed to me he purposely booked this Vet gig now because he couldn't get Star Trek TV on the Officers base where he lived, and was Trek deprived), so he wanted to see this Vegas Trek Experience. A big 'Trekkie' venue - large hotel, made into a space ship experience. I  remember thinking to myself  'Dear God, what have I just gotten myself into". Am I now engaged to a Trekkie? Help!  Little did I know then, that the worlds' engineers, scientists, doctors, and even former astronauts grew up on these this show, and their many spinoffs. OK, for all of you Gene Roddenberry fans, don't get me started here. I know he was a visionary already! Heard it 1000 times.

     But, I found out I loved 3-D. It was a blast, and seeing Ben that excited sealed it for me. He was so happy he almost squealed with delight when we were on the elevator alone after 4 3-D Star Trek space rides. I will never forget the look on his face that night. Or how good his future looked. He said it all with his eyes and his smile. He sealed the proposal with a kiss in the elevator (that I still hope wasn't on tape at the security desk's camera). It was that good. That's how I knew. That old Betty Everett song from yesteryear "It's in his Kiss" really is true. It really was in his kiss. After that kiss, I let him talk me into dinner at the Trek themed restaurant. Weird little actors in tights running around, and women in Trek couture, and Ben wanting to take a picture of me sitting on the lap- of the little green trek character with big ears, whose thing was he liked to have his ears rubbed. (forget his name, but you diehard fans will remember it). Thank God that was before Facebook or everyone having a camera phone! Was it all worth it? A thousand times yes. I would do it all over again. That's my memory now, and I'm taking it into space with me. That's my personal space station.