Sunday, March 31, 2013

Passover

We had a WONDERFUL Passover. Can you tell I enjoyed it?!?!  :)  There were 16 people gathered around our table as we celebrated everything that Yahweh through sending His son, Yeshua the Messiah to redeem us had done for us as His children.  We partook of the unleavened bread remembering to live our lives without sin while seeing the picture of the life Yeshua lived - beaten and bruised for us...broken for us...without sin...our perfect redeemer.  We ate of the horseradish remembering the bitterness of slaverly and doing things the way the world does.  We ate of the charoset (apple mixture) realizing that the bitterness of the slavery only made the freedom of redemption so much sweeter. 

My dad and Paul did an excellent job as leader and reader.  It truly felt like family gathered our the table.  Interestingly enough about 3/4 of those around the table had been here for Sukkot.  It shows how close our group is becoming - praise Yahweh!  Here are a few pictures from our Passover...

Daddy cooking the lamb.

 Daddy and Paul leading the seder.

 
 Everyone around the table.

 The Matzah - Unleavened Bread

 Me (Jocelin) lighting the Seder Candles



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Passover is coming!

Passover will be here tomorrow evening, and I cannot wait.  This week has been busy with preparation...There is always much to be done, but doing it as a family makes it fun and easier even though it is hard work!  Chag Sameach (Happy Feast) to Everyone!  And I will post after Passover about our Seder. 

Friday, March 22, 2013

Countdown to Purify 2013

This week was a good and busy week.  I worked 100% from home this week which I always love.

Then on Tuesday night, I spent the evening with my dear friend, Nicole, and her boyfriend.  It was so much fun spending time with them, playing Settlers of Catan together, and just relaxing. 

I spend all day Tuesday and Wednesday working on editing and generating the video entitled "Meet the Purify 2013 Speakers."  (Posted in the previous post)  I'm really excited about how it turned out.  Each of the speaker's is pouring their heart into their part, and all the pieces are coming together.  I put up a countdown timer to the registration deadline, and right now, as I write this, there are only 40 days left to register!  Once registration closes, there are only 29 days till the event.  I am so excited to see how Yahweh works through this retreat as we seek to glorify Him and grow closer to Him.  I think one of my favorite parts so far is seeing how so many in the body of Messiah have been willing to work together - helping promote Purify, willing to volunteer at the event, and so much more!  It is a true blessing.

Plus, Passover is next week.  That is always a special time...I'll look forward to sharing about it with you.

And almost all of my schoolwork is done as well.  I'm excited to be staying on track with my goals and learning a lot during the process.

Well, I will close by wishing each of you a wonderful Shabbat.  Shabbat shalom!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Meet the Purify 2013 Speakers



In this video meet our speakers (Rico Cortes, Mike Clayton, David Rives, Jocelin Boutet, and Terry Boutet) for Purify 2013 - Retreat for Hebrew Roots Singles which is coming soon. Hear about their topics and the conference. Join us May 30 - June 2, 2013.

You will not want to miss this exciting time of learning, fellowship, and encouragement! For Singles of All Ages - 16 and up! We have singles registered from 16 to 70 with 19 states plus Canada represented. Come join us! www.purify2013.com

Friday, March 15, 2013

I love watching...

I love watching Yahweh answer prayers and work in amazing ways!  This has been a good week of seeing Yahweh bring puzzle pieces together for Purify 2013 and seeing how He is working and He is in control...I'm just obeying and following.  I cannot wait to see what else He has in store.  Are you planning to be there and part of it?  

I've also gotten almost everything on my to do list done...and I'll finish the last couple of things here before the sun goes down...which I cannot wait for as it means Shabbat is here!  

The New Moon was seen in Israel Wednesday night which signalled the start of the Biblical New Year and means that Passover will be the evening of March 27.  Passover is always a special time and the beginning of a special spring season.  

Well, I must run finish a few things before Shabbat.  I'll, Yahweh willing, have a special treat about Purify 2013 to share next week.  :)

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

It's a Boy!!!

Well, last night, I got woken up by the cow. Yes, the cow. I heard a strange noise outside and thought it was the chickens dealing with a possible predator, so I called Momma and Daddy. We opened my window and realized it was Halleh our cow who was due any day was bellowing at the top of her lungs.  We were of course concerned that she was in distress, so at 3:45am, Daddy and I quickly got dressed and went out to check on her.  It turned out, she had a beautiful baby boy!  She was hollering for us to come see him!  Here's a few pictures of him...

 Halleh with the calf.

 Daddy checking out the calf with Halleh looking on.

Even the rooster had to come see the baby!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The Meditation of My Heart and the Power of Thoughts



May the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord.  Do we really consider what our thoughts are on a regular basis?  And do we realize the importance of our thoughts?

Scripture tells us that we are guilty of adultery if we think it.  “But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Matthew 5:28  Our thoughts are the foundation of our actions just as Proverbs 23:7a says “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”  When we think or dwell on something long enough, we can make it our “reality” whether it is true or not.  Every person was created with a vivid imagination, and we can use it for good or evil – the choice is ours.  I can dream of being a woman who glorifies Yahweh or I can allow depressing tempting thoughts to reign.  We are told in Philippians 4:8 to “focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy.”

We need to realize there are different kinds of thoughts.  There are our own thoughts, there are the promptings of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), there are tempting thoughts, and there are evil thoughts.  Let us look at each of these types in more detail.

My thoughts are the personal thoughts I think such as “I would like chicken for lunch” or “I should feed the cats.”  These are the day to day thoughts of our lives.  They also include our personal hopes and dreams such as a job promotion, new home, future marriage, and so forth.  These are typically good or neutral thoughts.

Then there are the promptings of the Ruach HaKodesh.  This is that still small voice which prompts you to pray for someone or to pick up the phone and call a friend to let them know you are thinking of them.  It is also that prompting to take the back way to work which you later learn caused you to avoid being part of an accident and so many little things we can easily miss unless we are sensitive in our spirits.  

Tempting thoughts are those thoughts of “well, I do not have to tell the whole truth” that the enemy plants within our minds.  It is the carrot to lead us to sin.  We have to realize that the original thought itself is not sin rather a temptation from the enemy.  We have two choices – to believe and act on the thought thereby sinning or to realize that it is a temptation and reject it by the power given us by Yeshua the Messiah.  1 Corinthians 10:14 “No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure.”  There is also another type of thought I put in this category of tempting thoughts, and those are the lies which the enemy feeds us such as “we are not valuable and instead worthless” or that “we cannot do anything right.”  We must realize these are lies straight from the enemy and have to be rejected using the truth of Scripture which tells us in Genesis 1:27 “So God created humankind in his own image” and Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him [Messiah] who gives me power.”

The last kind of thoughts are evil thoughts.  This is where we have given so much spiritual ground in our lives to the enemy by consistently giving in to temptation and have allowed ourselves to be ruled by our flesh and sin.  This allows a consistent pattern of evil thoughts leading to sinful behavior to be present in our lives.  We each need to be repenting of our sin and failure daily to prevent this from happening.  

As you can see, our thoughts are crucial.  They are the foundation upon which our lives and spiritual health are built.  We must ask ourselves “Am I leading a Ruach HaKodesh filled life of purity?”  or “Am I allowing my flesh and the enemy to reign?”  I pray each of us seeks to have our thoughts surrendered to the control of Yahweh, so that they may be true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable, admirable, virtuous, and praiseworthy. 

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Dance Unto the Lord

We are to dance unto the Lord throughout the day...whether with our feet or our hearts...with our voices and with our words.  I enjoyed practicing the Davidic Dances tonight for Purify 2013 - Retreat for Purify 2013 - Retreat for Hebrew Roots Singles...but most of all, I enjoyed worshiping Yahweh!

This week has been a good and busy week.  I've gotten almost all of my schoolwork done which is ahead of schedule; however, that is good news as I have two website design jobs to be working on...oh, wait, there are four to work on this week!  Plus work on presentations for Purify 2013, taxes, tying tzitzit, and family life. 

And now, there is snow softly falling outside.  It is beautiful!  I just wish that my Downy was home tonight...she did not come in when I gathered the other kitties.  Hopefully, she is cuddled up sound asleep in the hay barn by now. 

We just sent out the final invite for Passover...I cannot believe Passover is in 3 weeks!  Then in April, we'll have David Rubin speaking at our congregation.  May brings Shavuot with Tony Robinson speaking here and Purify!!!!  I'm getting really excited...can you tell?!?!

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Last Week...

Well, we got my grandfather moved from the nursing home he was at which was not providing the quality of care he needed as well as having to deal with behavioral issues of other residents with more advanced Alzheimer's.  He is at a smaller place with only 10-15 residents, so it is more like a home setting with a lot more one on one attention.  We felt so much more comfortable there!  The move was on Friday.  I went by and saw Gaga on Thursday after my cleaning job and packed up as much of his things as possible with the help of their head housekeeper.  I then headed home, and Mommy, Daddy, and I went to the new place to decorate his room and get his clothes all in place.  We wanted it to be homey when he got there.  He has done great at settling in so far.  Appreciated continued prayers that all goes well.

We had our Shabbat gathering today, and the fellowship was so sweet!  We enjoyed a great midrash and yummy food too. 

Plus we've been getting a superb response to Purify 2013 - Retreat for Hebrew Roots Singles.  I'm so excited about it!  The question is going to be will we max out our space with the all the response we're getting?!?!  So if you want to come, sign up now to insure your spot!

Well, I'm heading to bed...  Laila Tov to all!