Easy and quick snacks are the best, and this happens to be a very tasty one with very few ingredients. It’s a lovely accent for a mexican meal but can be served with anything or just by itself. In fact I’m eating some right now – had to make some for the photo! haha!

Ingredients:
12 corn tortillas
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar
warm water

Directions:Dip the tortillas into a bowl of warm water, and then eight pieces, like a pie. Place pieces into another bowl and sprinkle as desired with cinnamon and sugar. Lay flat on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 400′ until crispy. That should only be about 5-8 minutes. You can serve warm and with a dip or with honey. Serves 6.

If you don’t want to use corn tortillas or want to make yours at home you can use flour tortillas for this – using the same method. I would have used flour tortillas but we didn’t have any made. You can also cut the tortillas into strips instead of chips. Whatever works. For a dip you can just mix softened cream cheese with some honey, and maybe lime if you like. We hadn’t had these in a long time, just forgot about them, but they really are easy and so good…. good late night snack! ;)

Anyways, I want to encourage you all this week, whether young or old, to sit down for 10-minutes and write out a letter to an elderly relative – be it a grandma, grandpa, great aunt, or just that sweet old lady who you grew up with as family. It doesn’t have to be a long letter. It can just be a card with a simple “thinking of you, hope you are well” note. I can guarantee it will make them smile, and making people happy is a blessing in itself. Besides who doesn’t love to receive snail-mail! I know I do!

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.”

“Yes! I tell you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it at all!” {Luke 18:17}

That was from Amanda. Isn’t she funny?? We have a little joke going about people who reply about getting too much mail and my 5 emails per week (at maximum) are just going to make their computers fall through the floor. Ha! I feel so bad for them – NO delete button!

Oh dear oh dear!

Nah, really. If you don’t wanna get updates – just tell me. I promise I won’t get my fweeling hurt. *bats eyelashes* Now… if you’re an old friend who is now unsubscribing after a few years of reading YUP I wanna know why!

Anyways, I’ve been pondering whether or not to just publish all the really short posts I have in drafts and let the comments be the content. I tried to find a plugin for a ‘like’ button and found one similar but not sure if I wanna use it. I have a good amount of discussion on my facebook from posting different links and Scriptures – I’d like to have it on here instead.

Hmmm….

I did have a post to publish but it contains hilarious info about Amanda and she won’t let me. Hmph.

Like the coldness of snow in the heat of the harvest is a faithful messenger to the one who sends him; he refreshes his master’s spirit. {Proverbs 25:13}

Oh Father, I pray that I would be a good and faithful messenger, who delivers your Word to the people, refreshing to you, oh Great Elohim! Here I am, Lord, send me!

“There is no portion of the commandments of Yahveh in general or of the Torah in particular, that is not based on a scientific understanding of fundamental law. The laws of God are enforced and are as sure as the law of gravity. All of Yahveh’s Laws are like his law of gravity – they can’t be changed.” {The Maker’s Diet}

I found this article Shrimp’s Dirty Secrets about all the chemicals found in shrimp and the environmental damage caused by both farming and fishing them. It struck a cord with me because when I first starting eating kosher I mourned for shrimp. YHWH opened my eyes as to what they really were (tiny disgusting sea vultures) after I determined that I would follow Him in obedience in all things. {copied from a forum}

Due to the large amount of food going into their stomach, the passing of parasites and toxins going into their flesh is inevitable. And according to a statistic found in Russell’s book, “…three of the six most common foodborne parasitic diseases of humans are associated with pork consumption.” {Yahweh’s Health Principles}

God did not change His mind about food nor change the biological structure of animals. Jesus never ate unclean food nor declare all food clean.  The verse “(Jesus made all foods clean)” was added and is not in any original manuscripts. That is why it is in parenthesis. Neither Paul nor the dicipless ate forbidden foods (even after Jesus arose). Peter’s vision was not about food but about Gentiles and Jews. {What are the Bible Dietary Laws?}

God was clear from the beginning about what we could and couldn’t eat. Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 provide a list of animals that are not to be eaten as food…. {Does God consider all foods clean?}

Eating is something we do every day. But what we put into our bodies (Yahweh’s temple) is very important. If you don’t believe me, just ask Adam and Eve. It was the eating of something that Eve thought was “good for food” that resulted in the fall of man and brought us into the condition we are today. Will we follow their example? {Clean and Unclean: Commandments for today!}

The cold hard truth is consuming pork and shellfish regularly can guarantee you an early trip to the grave. Pork and shellfish rank near the top of the list as some of the worst foods you can put into your body right along with trans fats, refined sugar, and artificial sweeteners. {CAN EATING PORK & SHELLFISH DESTROY YOUR HEALTH?}

If you really want to improve your health don’t eat pork. You are what you eat. Who wants to be considered a pig? Pigs are fat, lazy, and down right disgusting. They waddle around in mud and they eat their babies and feces. {Pork The Wrong Meat To Eat}

You should take some time to browse through the links I gave above – they have a LOT of great information on them. I’m sure they will answer a lot of the questions you might have. I found Isaiah 66 very interesting in regards to doing things Yah’s way or not. There is only one way to obey the Father, and that is his way. Any way else, and well…. if it’s not of the Father, it’s of satan.

I have been asked several times “how did you get to where you’re at in your walk?” and I am just at a loss of how to answer. Sometimes its a big step you take that changes your life completely around and then sometimes it happens in little baby-steps. Yah has done great things in my life over the past year and my life will forever be changed. The Scriptures have never been so interesting and so filling to me and have never been so clear in many areas. He has enlightened my eyes through his miztvah about many things and allowed me to share with many people.

7 The Torah of Yah is perfect, restoring the inner person. The instruction of Yah is sure, making wise the thoughtless.
8 The precepts of Yah are right, rejoicing the heart. The mitzvah of Yah is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Yah is clean, enduring forever. The rulings of Yah are true, they are righteous altogether,
10 more desirable than gold, than much fine gold, also sweeter than honey or drippings from the honeycomb.
11 Through them your servant is warned; in obeying them there is great reward.

Psalms 19:7-11

There will be seas of people who stand in opposition to the way you are trying to follow the Scriptures, with their man-made doctrines of why {any of} his Word is void, but it is when you are considered the majority that you need to reevaluate who you’re following. Having any part in the world means you have no part in the Father. {1 John 2} We are salt and salt gives flavour, but also irritates. We are told over and over again that the world will hate you for following after the Set-Apart One. “Woe to you when people speak well of you, for that is just how their fathers treated the false prophets!” {Luke 6:26}

He is restoring the inner person of many people through his Word and there is great spiritual rewards in obeying him in complete surrender. How often we fear crossing the bridge from one place to another and sometimes we stand there and just hesitate in doing what we need to. However, once the bridge is crossed you’re ready to take on whatever He gives you. The fear of ridicule, the fear of falling, the fear of sticking out is no longer valid.

12 Who can discern unintentional sins? Cleanse me from hidden faults.
13 Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins, so that they won’t control me. Then I will be blameless and free of great offense.
14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your presence, Yah, my Rock and Redeemer.

Psalms 19:12-14

I want this psalm to be a reality in my life. I want it to be on my lips and on my heart that all my words and thoughts be acceptable in the presence of the Most High – that he would reveal to me what sin I have hidden in my life that needs to be purged. I want to be blameless and free of offense to my neighbor and my Elohim. The Messiah is daily pleading on our behalf and we are called daily to offer ourselves in his service as a living sacrifice, acceptable unto him. Paul couldn’t have said it better.

Oh Father, continue to enlighten my eyes through your pure, precious and set-apart Word that I might please you and be a testimony unto your everlasting grace.

Celebrate this set-apart day for our Elohim with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

The heart is more deceitful than anything else and mortally sick. Who can fathom it? I, Yahveh, search the heart; I test inner motivations; in order to give to everyone what his actions and conduct deserve.
Jeremiah 17:9-10

If you study about the heart in the Scriptures many passages talk about its wickedness or its want for selfish-gain, and then others are pleas like the one David cried out to Yahveh with when he said “create a clean heart in me, oh Elohim {God}”. The mindset of  “my heart’s intentions” is not a Scriptural mindset. It is not one with Yahveh. When we lean on our heart’s intentions we are leaning on our own understanding of things to discern how we live, dress, speak, entertain, etc. Our hearts are wicked, fleshly things, which we cannot even know how or what evil it can conjure up.

He will test our motives and search our hearts, but if we are trusting in him and going back to his Scriptures they will not be our motives or heart’s intentions but of the Spirit. I remember receiving a birthday card for my 16-17th birthday that had this big list of sayings like “follow your heart, go where you wanna go, don’t let today slip away, live your dreams”…………sorry to kill the music here but no thank you. I am not living my life for myself. I’m living my life solely unto the Father. My heart’s intentions can take a hike. I was created for his radiance and to bring esteem to his name {Isaiah 43:7}.

We need not trust the heart in times of uncertainty, but lean on His understanding and the Spirit’s leading. His ways are so much higher than ours, why would we want to lean on or look at our heart’s intentions? If you want to be a wise person, who can discern what is right and what is wrong, fear Yahveh because that is the beginning of wisdom {Proverbs 9:10}. He has given us a way to live righteously and his son came to this earth to show us how to live in perfect unity within the Father’s Torah and to forgive us of violation of it {Matthew 5:17, Luke 5:24, Titus 2:14}. It is such a blessing to please and honour the Father in the way he tells us to.

“Do you have questions – problems? Don’t talk about it with others. Search it out in Scriptures. Man will too easily give you his opinion and not a Scriptural application.”

I want to encourage you to stop trusting in your heart, yourself, and things of this world and trust in Him. Your heart and its desires will allow you to do and think all sorts of things that do not line up with the Scriptures. You will be amazed at the things He will bring into your life when you continually surrender everything to Him.

I am.

New shirt and my hair is going flat… that about sums it up. ;)

I was going to post this photo in black and white, but the shirt was the point so I left it in colour. *grin*

“…every body spoke well of him. His mother and sisters were very fond of him. Mrs. Martin [said] that it was impossible for any body to be a better son; and therefore she was sure whenever he married he would make a good husband.”

You’re looking for a faithful partner and friend who won’t let you down and who will build a solid future with you. You’ve found him in Mr. Martin.Good-natured, hard-working, and devoted to his family, Mr. Martin is what anyone would call a “stand-up guy.” Even his boss, Highbury VIP Mr. Knightley, calls him “an excellent young man.” This respectable gentleman-farmer has an unflagging work ethic and a head for business, but he likes to unwind with moonlight walks and parlor games in his downtime. He has an open, curious mind and a gentle, forgiving soul. Close with his two sisters, he knows how to treat a woman and understands the power of a kind gesture. “Bad-boy behavior” isn’t in his vocabulary.

You can look forward to many years of love, laughter, and the joys of life’s simple pleasures with this steady and true companion.

Oh yes, I think that suits me very very well. So which bachelor of Highbury suits you best? Take quiz here. And if you haven’t seen the newest version of Emma (with Romala Garia, John Lee Miller, Micheal Gambon) you can view the entire thing on PBS starting January 23rd.

I can do the Virginia Reel well enough. I had a marvelous time in Tennessee at the Igarashi’s dance back in 2007, but the VR is really the only one I can remember. There were several dances I enjoyed – if only I could find the music and the dance steps for them (Coie, little help?!). I did, however, find a video with the Grimstock that was easy enough to follow the steps. This dance is featured in both the 1994 version of Pride and Prejudice and new and older versions of Emma. It took quite awhile to get that last segment with all the twisting, but we did it. Dancing is excellent exercise and something enjoyable for the entire family. Now, if only I could find a few more partners who were taller than 3feet…  Any takers??

In the Scriptural sense Shabbat, to most people, is a hindrance and bondage for whatever reasons they may have. This is mostly from a negative point of view of it and it’s ‘origins’. However, the Shabbat was given for mankind (all mankind, btw), not mankind for the Shabbat {Mark 2:27} and there always will remain a 7th Day Shabbat-keeping for God’s people {Hebrew 4:9-11}. Those who enter his rest will be blessed and will find the rest their body, soul, and spirit so desperately need. What a wonderful Father we have, who knows exactly what we need and commanded us to take a rest – for those times when we think it unnecessary. Papa knows best!

“If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Yahweh’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight in Yahweh- I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya’akov, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”

Isaiah 58:13-14

I’ve been pondering how I can make this day set-apart from others and focus it on my Creator and honour him in that, and the Scriptures tell me how to do that …. Isaiah the Prophet tells us that if we hold back our foot on Shabbat from pursuing our own interests then we will find delight in Yahweh and he will make us ride on heights of the land. I’ve tried to set-apart this day on my blog with posting a Saturday Psalm or Praise unto the Father and I will continue to do that. However, in recent discussions with family and friends I feel that perhaps one of the ways I can hold back my foot on Shabbat is to really limit my time on the computer. So I won’t be ‘on’ the computer from now until sundown tomorrow. I hope your day is full of blessings and that you also enter in this rest given to us by our Creator.

“Shabbat is not about what you cannot do, but is all about what you CAN do, everything you couldn’t do all the other 6 days, that is, to rest and to bless your family”

Celebrate this set-apart day for our Elohim with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

I have my own business doing graphic design, which I enjoy immensely.  The APH Boutique is where I dress you in your best, at least on blogworld, and support widows and the fatherless at Gleaning The Harvest with half of all profits. I just finished a few designs and am open for new orders!

So, I’m curious about the home-business of my friends and readers. Please share the link with me!

Moshe was a wise man, a man filled with the Righteousness of Yah, and “the skin of his face was sending out rays of light” from being in Yahveh’s presence. In many ways he was a foreshadow of the coming of the Messiah – he delivered them from Egypt (which we see as symbolism for sin), mediated between Yah and the people of Israel, and was from the line of the Priesthood at the time. He also often sang praises up to Yah and even authored one of the Psalms as well.

I will sing to Yahveh, for he is highly exalted:
the horse and its rider he threw in the sea.

Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
This is my Elohim: I will glorify him;
my father’s Elohim: I will exalt him.
Yahveh is a warrior;
Yahveh is his name.

Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he hurled into the sea.
His elite commanders
were drowned in the Sea of Suf.
The deep waters covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone. 6

Your right hand, Yahveh, is sublimely powerful;
your right hand, Yahveh, shatters the foe.
By your great majesty you bring down your enemies;
you send out your wrath to consume them like stubble.

With a blast from your nostrils the waters piled up -
the waters stood up like a wall,
the depths of the sea became firm ground.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue and overtake,
divide the spoil and gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them,
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like you, Yahveh, among the mighty?
Who is like you, sublime in holiness,
awesome in praises, working wonders?

You reached out with your right hand:
the earth swallowed them.
In your love, you led the people you redeemed;
in your strength, you guided them to your holy abode.
{Exodus 15}

I never really recognized many of the songs or lines of poetry in the Scriptures because the two-column format many versions have hidden them. The version I’m using now doesn’t use that format for the purpose of emphasizing on a song or poem by breaking them down (like above). Over thirty-percent of the Tanakh (OT) is poetry, mostly written in the Prophets and Writings, and many times we don’t even realize it. Reading it in poetry-format makes it much easier to read and understand the text, in my experience. It also gives you perhaps a better understanding of the author as a poet. The New Covenant has about two percent of it’s writings written as poetry as well – with the Book of Revelation containing the most.

We often discount the words of such men like Moshe as “old” in the Torah {the Law} but they are very relevant for believers today. Yahushua {Jesus} was constantly quoting from these Scriptures. These Scriptures we are told to mediate on day and night, to always have on our lips. These Scriptures that we are told are Elohim-breathed “and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.” {2 Timothy 3:11}

May he find us faithful is delivering his words to the people and may he find us willing, at no cost for ourselves, to praise his name, Yah, in every facet of our lives.

Celebrate this set-apart day for our Elohim with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

1 Now this is the mitzvah, the laws and rulings which Yahveh your Elohim ordered me to teach you for you to obey in the land you are crossing over to possess,
2 so that you will fear Yahveh your Elohim and observe all his regulations and mitzvot that I am giving you – you, your child and your grandchild – as long as you live, and so that you will have long life.
3 Therefore listen, Isra’el, and take care to obey, so that things will go well with you, and so that you will increase greatly, as Yahweh, the Elohim of your ancestors, promised you by giving you a land flowing with milk and honey.
4 “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Yahveh Eloheinu, Yahveh echad [Hear, Isra'el! Yahveh our Elohim, Yahweh is one];
5 and you are to love Yahveh your Elohim with all your heart, all your being and all your resources.
6 These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart;
7 and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
8 Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead,
9 and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6: 1-9

Memorize this, ponder on it, let it be always on your lips, and honour it with your entire being and follow in the steps of the Messiah and his example of the way to honour the Father. When you say it throughout your day it will remind you of who you serve and what your purpose is… and that is to esteem and be set-apart for him and him alone.

<a href="http://aponderingheart.com/blog/?p=3515"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/shmaone.png" border="0" alt="http://aponderingheart.com/blog" /></a>

<a href="http://aponderingheart.com/blog/?p=3515"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/shmatwo.png" border="0" alt="http://aponderingheart.com/blog" /></a>

<a href="http://aponderingheart.com/blog/?p=3515"><img src="http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/sillydreamer91/graphics/shmared.png" border="0" alt="http://aponderingheart.com/blog" /></a>

Sh’ma = Hear
הוה = Yahveh
Elohim = God

You’re welcome to grab the code, just make sure it links back so others can find them too!

For those of you who are ever faithful in stopping by, reading my updates, and sharing your thoughts – thank you!  I enjoy the “as iron sharpens iron” in comments and emails. I enjoy getting to hear how Yah has used me or how he is working in others’ lives. Keep your eyes peeled! I shall return to the land of the commenting hopefully soon – when He makes time for me!

Shalom Aleichem {peace be upon you!}

“For if a woman is not veiled, let her also have her hair cut short; but if it is shameful for a woman to wear her hair cut short or to have her head shaved, then let her be veiled.”
1 Corinthians 11:6

It seems now that the argument is “what is short?” as everyone has their own views points on this, but I personally don’t think it’s very difficult to decide. Even by looking at the world’s standards of long and short you can see what is so. You can flip through hair and fashion magazines to see examples of short and long hair. You can walk into a beauty-salon and say “cut it short” and they will. I see all the time ladies who chop their hair off and know it’s now considered “short”, not just shorter. Some hair may be shorter than others but when asked if this or that length is short it doesn’t take one to be a an expert on hair to know the answer.

Some people may consider short hair “not very short at all”, but that is not the question. The question is: is it long? If you have long hair you know it. Long hair is… well… long, and many times is considered to be to the shoulder blades. If women just didn’t worry about having a certain style or having to change here and there, but let their hair grow out there will be no need to debate “how long is long”. Vanity and the world’s definition of beauty and youth have caused us to worry about ‘the style and fashion’ of everything. As I wrote this I researched to see what the definition of long hair actually was, and was surprised to find that it is defined as “a style of hair that is not cut”. So if you have long hair you have hair that isn’t cut [note: not talking about trimmings].

I personally love to have curly hair via a perm, but Yah has been convicting me of taking better care of my body with the products I use. Having a perm done every 6 months by applying chemicals directly on my scalp is not properly caring for my body, which is the temple of the Ruach HaKodesh. I must forgo having to have my own style so that I can honour Yah. Each time I try talk myself out of it I am reminded that I am fully trusting in Yahweh and not putting the value of beauty in physical appearance.

As ladies striving for spiritual goals, rather than material ones, having to have a certain style or cut should not be something that concerns us when we consider the Scriptures. It shouldn’t be a concern if we think we wouldn’t look good with longer hair or if it would take more to care for it or you wouldn’t be able to style it the way you want to. We should be focused on obeying the Scriptures and pleasing Yahweh.

How beautiful you are, my love! How beautiful you are! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gil’ad.
{Song of Solomon 4:1}

This article was originally published in the November issue of Challenging Femininity, see comments here What About… The Long And Short Of It

Forget the movies, books, music, fashions, gadgets…. just gimme something to study from Yah’s Radiant Word! There is nothing so important, so interwoven, so vital to our lives. I can honestly say one of my favourite activities to do is study the Scriptures and search out knowledge for a deeper understanding of context, culture, language, history of which they were written. I loved the information provided in this video and had to look up each verse to cross-check them. If you have 8 minutes to spare, please watch it. It is worth your time! I came away with tears in my eyes – HalleluYah!

In keeping with your grace, revive me;
and I will observe your spoken instructions.
(Lamed) Your word continues forever,Yahveh,
firmly fixed in heaven;
your faithfulness through all generations;
you established the earth, and it stands.
Yes, it stands today, in keeping with your rulings;
for all things are your servants.
If your Torah had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my distress.
I will never forget your precepts,
for with them you have made me alive.
I am yours; save me because I seek your precepts.
{Psalms 119: 88-94}

I am praising and lifting up you, Yah, today because Your Word continues forever, and because as I seek confirmation of this you reveal it to me, Yahveh-Elohim {God}, again and again. Your Torah has been my delight and honouring you every 7th day as been a joy and treasure to me as I follow in the steps of your son, Yahushua {Jesus} haMashyiach {1 Peter 2:21}. I thank you that you have brought me to the cross-roads and that I am seeking the ancient paths, that have since Yahushua, been forgotten and am truly finding rest for my soul {Jeremiah 6:16}. I am praising you because we, the gentiles, who are grafted into your beloved bride, Isra’el, are saying “He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths” as your prophet Micah prophesied and that soon “For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of Yahveh from Yerushalayim.” {Micah 4}

Celebrate this set-apart day for our Elohim with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

Thus by your tradition you make null and void the word of God! You hypocrites! Yesha`yahu [Isaiah] was right when he prophesied about you, `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. 9 Their worship of me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’”{Matthew 15:5-9}

Yahveh is the only one who can make a holy-day [read: holidays], not man, and he instructed his people in Deuteromony about adopting pagan customs to honour him.

You reject all who stray from your laws, for what they deceive themselves with is false. {Psalms 119: 118}

While we don’t know exactly how to pronounce HaShem we do know the letters of his name: יהוה These letters should be one of the most beautiful things for your eyes to behold. These are the letters in your Creator’s name, our Heavenly Father, who sent his only Son to deliver us from the eternal death we all should face. Even when you read the Messiah’s name יהושה you see Yah’s name, since Yahushua means ‘Yah Saves’.

I am just completely astounded at how Yahveh painted his masterpiece, and how we are so very ignorant, even the wisest, of his radiance. We truly have been “And Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” {Genesis 1:26} The video [below] shows just one way we were made in his very image, the only image our human-eyes have beheld. 

click here to go to the youtube page and check out some of the related videos

I am praising and thanking Yah today for making me in his image. We, mankind, are made in the image and radiance of Yah. We are his most treasured creation and all he does is only out of his love for us. I am blessed with such a Father, even when I don’t and can’t understand. “Blessed be YAHVEH, Elohim, the Elohim of Isra’el, who alone works wonders. Blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amein. Amein.” {Psalms 72:18-19}

Celebrate this set-apart day for our Elohim with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars – if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!” {Genesis 15:5}

Don’t ask me for the recipe… ask Rachel {enter her giveaway while you’re at it too!}. All I know is that these were really good and chocolaty. Wish she would make some more some time soon. *hint hint* I need food to, you know, live, and these are right up my alley! ha!

When it was full, the fishermen brought the net up onto the shore, sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away.
Matthew 13:48

And when you have become completely obedient, then we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience.
2 Corinthians 10:6

The time has come, God’s Kingdom is near! Turn to God from your sins and believe the Good News!
Mark 1:15

With this in view, we always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill by his power every good purpose of yours and every action stemming from your trust.
2 Thessalonians 1:11

By applying our meaning of this word, instead of it’s proper one, in context, it is equal to that of a foreigner using the definition of cool as “moderately cold : lacking in warmth”, instead of cool as is “popular, favoured, or alright with others”. They would have to apply this word according to the text and the culture to get the proper meaning of the passage or book. Now, apply the proper meaning of ‘fulfill’ or ‘complete’ in Matthew and Luke:

“Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete to fill to the full to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally.”

“The child grew and became strong and filled to fill to the full to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally with wisdom — God’s favor was upon him.”

It’s important to read the Scriptures in the appropriate context, not just within the passage, but also the culture and meanings. If we don’t it we make void or abolish Yahweh’s Word, which we are warned about in Deuteronomy and Revelation. A friend asked “do we have to read the Scriptures in the original language to understand it? I don’t think we do”. I don’t either, but if we don’t translate it properly for whatever reasons, whether it be lack of knowledge or lack of interest or lack of conviction, we can’t and won’t understand it. We don’t have to read it in the original language, but we do have to read it correctly, and I’m finding many Scriptures aren’t. Who wants to falsely interpret Yahweh’s Word and instruction for their life? I certainly don’t, which why I’m going to continue seeking and searching what the Scriptures are meant to say.

People often ask me, “Are you Jewish?” because I celebrate the Scriptural 7th Day Shabbat, but I am neither Jew nor Gentile – for Israel is made up of all who have accepted Yahushua [Jesus] as their Messiah. I am seeking to be that set-part nation {Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 9:6} that Yahushua came to claim and am following the Scriptural guidance given to us by Yahweh himself. I am apart of the pure and spotless Bride, marked by Yahweh, through his commandments.

When Yahushua returns to rule on this earth for a thousand years it will be as a Day of Shabbat. It will be as a rest for Yahweh’s people, under the rule of his Son, Yahushua haMashyiach, as we will rule with him. We are told several times in the Old and New Covenants that “with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day”. The Shabbat is, yet again, another foreshadow of what Yahweh intends for his people and is a gift for us to rest and reflect on the blessings he has given us through his Scriptures. It is a beautiful thought to think that when the Messiah rules for those 1000 years, with his set-apart priests, there will be a rest from the Evil One, who will be bound in chains {Revelation 20:1-9}.

The Messianic Age is referred to as Yom Shekulo Shabbat — a day when all will be Shabbat. In this way, the Shabbat is a foreshadow of what is coming. Each week we have the glorious opportunity to have a glimpse of how it will be when the Messiah reigns on high. For those who observe and remember the Shabbat as it is commanded it has a greater meaning to them, which some cannot understand. For me, I get such a sense of hope, promise, and joy, having delighting in the Shabbat, and know oh, how much more, beautiful it will be to see my King, Yahushua, reigning in this way.

Yom Shekulo Shabbat
A time that is all Shabbat
Ha yom that is ever, shalom that will never…
Yom Shekulo Shabbat

The golden glow of two lights – escape the past, embrace tonight
Candle flicker at dusk – vaguely reveals God’s gift for us
The day will come – believe the day will come
The day will come – be sure the day will come

(chorus)
Yom Shekulo Shabbat
A time that is all Shabbat
Ha yom that is ever, shalom that will never…
Yom Shekulo Shabbat

Unto Adam – was entrusted creation
And to his son – HaShabbat is his kingdom
The day will come – believe the day will come
The day will come – be sure the day will come

(chorus)
Yom Shekulo Shabbat
A time that is all Shabbat
Ha yom that is ever, shalom that will never…
Yom Shekulo Shabbat

May this Shabbat be blessed and restful for you as your delight in His Word: I will find my delight in your regulations. I will not forget your word. {Psalms 119: 6}. Yahushua [Jesus] tells us “Far more blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” {Luke 11:28} and as I am living my life according to the Word of God I seek to follow after Yahushua and the example he set forth: If you obey what I say, then you are really my talmidim [disciples], you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. {John 8:31-32}

Celebrate this day with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

taken when we saw the moo-cows

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and receive honor, just as it did with you; 2 and that we may be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has trust. 3 But the Lord is worthy of trust; he will make you firm and guard you from the Evil One. 4 Yes, united with the Lord we are confident about you, that you are doing the things we are telling you to do, and that you will keep on doing them. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and the perseverance which the Messiah gives. 6 Now, in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah we command you, brothers, to stay away from any brother who is leading a life of idleness, a life not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

{2 Thessalonians 3:1-6}

Oh  my goodness, the snow has finally reached us! No! I don’t know, I guess it was just silly wishing that winter would stay off for a few more… months! I’m not ready for snow! There was a light dusting this morning when I awoke and though how pretty the sight, the cold is too much a fright. I am not particularly fond of snow. I could do with out and so could the goats – you should see them protest not being able to go out in the field and graze! but there is a cycle of renewing that all must go through, even the earth.I used to see absolutely no point in winter. None at all. It was a very dreary, cold time of the year that I could only describe with the phrase “cooped up”. However, I began to see that in everything Yahweh has a purpose and he will be glorified in it. I began to see the spiritual aspects of winter and know that it is just a very necessary season.

Though there, at times, rage a blizzard we see no {good} end in sight, we can be assured that there will soon be a peace and calmness only Yahweh can give. Yes, perhaps the cold will linger here for awhile, even after that blizzard, but like an iron after the fire we will come out stronger in out trust in Yahweh when that spring bloom finally comes. Kate and Salomé both wrote some great articles that go along with this subject: April Showers – It’s Seasonal and Peace in a Storm. I am thankful to be continually under the Shadow of His Wings, both physically, in this warm house, and spiritually, in the promises of His Word, as the cold wind blows.

Psalms 35:27
But may those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad! Let them say always, “How great is Yahweh, who delights in the peace of his servant!”Then my tongue will tell of your righteousness and praise you all day long.

There are so many different aspects of Shabbat that I enjoy, and I am blessed to be apart of “chosen people, the King’s cohanim [priests], a holy nation, a people for God to possess” {Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9} May your day be filled with peace, rest, joy, and praise of the Father.

Celebrate this day with me by posting a song or psalm, and do the Saturday Psalm & Praise meme.

Shabbat Shalom!

A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years approached him from behind and touched the tzitzit on his robe. Yeshua turned, saw her and said, “Courage, daughter! Your trust has healed you.” And she was instantly healed.
Matthew 9:20

[see more]