Seasons Change

Life is full of seasons.

Some remain longer than others.

Some seem to go by as quickly as the wind.

But... seasons change...

And there is much to glean,

much to learn, and much to do

in each season... 

We have entered the season of extended family living,

among other various seasons that continue to change

in other corners of our lives...

This summer, we not only welcomed our adult daughter back home...

All of our ducks in a row :)

But, also, welcomed my parents to live with us...

riding around their new neighborhood :)

We have a full house! 

Easy? 

No.

Blessed? 

Absolutely!

Celebrating 16 years!

Baruch HaShem YHVH!

He is good... all the time.

Shalom!

~ Christina

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

                                                                                                     - Ecclesiastes 3:1 

The Great I Am

I wanna be close, close to Your side
So Heaven is real and death is a lie
I wanna hear voices of angels above
Singing as one

HalleluYah, Holy, Holy
God Almighty, the Great I Am
Who is worthy, none beside Thee
God Almighty, the Great I Am

I wanna be near, near to Your heart
Loving the world, hating the dark
I wanna see dry bones living again!!
Singing as one

HalleluYah, Holy, Holy
God Almighty, the Great I Am
Who is worthy, none beside Thee
God Almighty, the Great I Am
The Great I Am

The mountains shake before Him
The demons run and flee
At the mention of the name, King of Majesty
There is no power in hell or any who can stand
Before the power and the presence of the Great I Am
The Great I Am! the Great I Am!

HalleluYah, Holy, Holy
God Almighty, the Great I Am
Who is worthy, none beside Thee
God Almighty, the Great I Am!
The Great I Am!

The Great I Am!
The Great I Am!
The Great I Am!

Hello again

The rich, vibrant red leaves in front of our new home

Wow. It's hard to believe it has been two months since I last wrote.

So much has happened. So much.

... Excitement. Contentment. Busyness. Rest.

Good-byes. Hellos. Leaving old friends. Making new ones.

Family. Friends. Strangers.

Long car rides. Various campgrounds. 

Fun times. Easy times. Tough times.

Mountains. Desert. Prairie. Lakes.

Rain. Storms. Snow. Sunshine. 

14 states.

The expected. The unexpected.

Exceeding joy. Deep heartache.

Dying of dreams. Change in perspective. Renewed hope.

Looking back. Looking forward.

Strengthened relationships. Lessons in faith.

 

....

Thankful to YHVH He has brought us here...

and what He brought us through to bring us.

He is good. He is faithful. He is.

Baruch HaShem YHVH!

- Christina

 O יהוה, Your kindness is in the heavens, 

And Your trustworthiness reaches to the clouds.

Tehillim/Psalm 36:5

A Blessing...

And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
“Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, 
‘This is how you bless the children of Yisra’ĕl. Say to them:
“יהוה bless you and guard you;
 יהוה make His face shine upon you, and show favour to you;
 יהוה lift up His face upon you, and give you peace.” ’ 
 “Thus they shall put My Name on the children of Yisra’ĕl, and I Myself shall bless them.” 
~ Numbers 6:22-17



- May you be blessed -

(scroll down & click pause in sidebar to stop background music)

YEVARECH'CHA ADONAI VI'YISHMERECHA
YA'ER ADONAI PANAIV ELEICHA VI'YCHUNEKA
YISA ADONAI PANAIV ELEICHA
V'YASEM LECHA SHALOM

YHVH BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU
MAY YHVH SHINE HIS FACE UPON YOU AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU
MAY YHVH LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON YOU
AND MAY HE GIVE TO YOU HIS PEACE/SHALOM

YES, MAY HE GIVE TO ALL OF YOU HIS PEACE, HIS TRUTH, HIS JOY, HIS LIFE
MAY HE GRANT TO ALL OF YOU REVELATION OF MASHIACH
YES, MAY HE GRANT TO YOUR FAMILIES SHALOM
YES, MAY HE GRANT TO YOUR CHILDREN HIS PEACE AND HIS TRUTH
MAY HE GIVE YOU HIS SHALOM,
B'SHEM YAHSHUA


Shalom Aleichem!

Going and Growing... His Way...

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

neither are your ways My ways,” declares יהוה.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so are My ways higher than your ways, 

and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

Abba reminds me of the above often...
for which I am thankful.
 

His thoughts are not our thoughts...

our ways are not His ways...

His are higher... so much higher...

so far above and beyond our own.

He put before us, again, a tangible reminder...
... as we, once again, began to contemplate and plan retirement
and settling here in California, where He brought us two years ago...

... yet, in a series of events, He has called us elsewhere...
again...

... not our thoughts... not our ways...
but His
.

I reflect on how something just like this happened 

just a little over two years ago...

as we were just about to buy a house and retire

... and received orders to go to California.

There was so much He was teaching me...

so much He is teaching me still...

and as I look back on all He did and how He lead us,

I am humbled and overwhelmed 

by the love of my Abba...

and how He works all things for good

to those that love Him.

And my heart fills with love... and praise.

 

 

... so we begin taking steps...

steps on this path that He has us on...

this time leading back to the east coast...

to Virginia.

... because His thoughts are not our thoughts...

and our ways are not His ways...

because He is good... 

He's just SO good.

His leading us to California will forever remain

branded in my heart...

for it is here that He opened my eyes ...

here where He removed the veil...

here He wiped away the scales...

where He, in lovingkindness and in His perfect timing...

 

led me ... and restored me... to His Torah...

 

... and changed my life...

for ever

... I look ahead with hope...
and with thanksgiving...

Baruch HaShem YHVH!

"All the paths of יהוה are kindness and truth, 
To those who guard His covenant and His witnesses."
Psalm 25:10

Let the Hearts of Those Seeking Rejoice!

  

Give thanks to יהוה, call upon His Name, 

Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him, Speak of all His wonders!
Boast in His set-apart Name, 

Let the hearts of those seeking יהוה rejoice!
Seek יהוה and His strength, Seek His face continually!
Remember His wonders which He has done, 

His signs and the right-rulings of His mouth,
O seed of Yisra’ĕl, His servant; O children of Yaʽaqoḇ, His chosen ones!
He is יהוה our Elohim, His right-rulings are in all the earth.
Remember His covenant forever, 

The Word He commanded for a thousand generations,
Which He made with Aḇraham, And His oath to Yitsḥaq,
And He established it to Yaʽaqoḇ for a law, 

To Yisra’ĕl as an everlasting covenant

1 Chronicles 16:8-17

HalleluYah!

 

Making Known His Wonders

I realized today that it has been almost 8 weeks since I last posted!
A lot has happened in that time...
and though much has slipped my mind, as it often does,
I wanted to just share a few of the wonderful things Abba has done!

To raise a voice of thanksgiving, And to declare all Your wonders.

Tehillim {Psalm} 26:7 

• Our eldest daughter has returned home from college!
• It has been such a blessing... SUCH a blessing... to have her home... to have all of our sheep in the fold. And Abba has been doing many things in her life. It is bittersweet to watch sometimes but fills my heart with joy and thanksgiving to see her grow closer to the Father and to be blessed to have her home with us... to be a part of her daily life. ♥

•  Abba provided the opportunity and the means for me to visit with my parents!
• At a time when both of my parents were in the hospital, YHVH blessed and provided an airplane ticket for me to fly to my parents' house for a week and a half! It was such a blessing that I cannot describe adequately enough. After much time away, it was a blessing to just be in their presence for a week and half. But Abba did much more than just let me go. The trip was filled with blessings and overwhelming joy! (shared below...)

• My daddy...
• After having a heart attack, in which Abba preserved his life, he received a stint and was put on a blood thinner... which, thus in combination with his other blood thinner, led to severe bleeding in his brain. He was taken off the blood thinners (which was very risky due to another health issue) but was left with the consequences of the severe bleeding on his brain... incoherent, loss of memory, speech, and many other functions. The prognosis was very grim, according to the doctors (which is what led to me taking the trip). - - The day after I arrived, my sister and I attended a family meeting at the hospital to discuss Daddy's situation and the options (Mama couldn't go because she had been admitted to another hospital - which I'll share next). The options were very few and none hopeful in themselves... so Daddy would be there indefinitely
• I can't describe the feeling when they wheeled Daddy in, after not being able to speak to him for almost a month due to his inability to speak or listen without pain. He was greeted with a big hug, needless to say! 
• After hugs and the family meeting, the first thing I wanted to do was take him outside... he had been cooped up for so long. His eyes were painfully sensitive and the light increased the pain in his head. I put my sunglasses on him and though he couldn't articulate the words, he let out a big sigh and sound of relief. :) We gladly wheeled outside.
• In Abba's great mercy, He answered prayer... Daddy began speaking, again... remembering, again... regaining motor skills... It was amazing to see... through many joyous tears!
• Every day, I visited Daddy... going to his therapies with him... wheeling him outside...talking, laughing, reminiscing, hugging, just enjoying being together...enjoying lunch in the cafeteria... singing songs with the guitar.
• By the time I left for home, Daddy was almost entirely his old self, again! And, praise YHVH, he went home a few days after I left!

• My mama...
• Shortly after Daddy went into the hospital, Mama was admitted to a different hospital for some internal bleeding and was there a couple of weeks. 
• It was a blessing to surprise Mama shortly after my sister picked me up at the airport. The three of us enjoyed hugs, coffee, conversation and laughs.
• I was able to visit Mama every day - usually visiting Daddy in the mornings and Mama in the afternoons. She was there longer than she had expected but we spent many hours together every afternoon/evening. It was SUCH a blessing to spend so much time with my mama... who is, also, my very dear friend. ♥ 
• Praise YHVH, her internal bleeding stopped and she was able to come home the day I flew home!

•  My sister...
• It was such a joy to see my sister's smiling face when she picked me up at the airport! And such a joy to spend the week with her... and her husband! We enjoyed spending some sister time together... meals, coffee, heart-to-hearts, laughter, singing... and kayaking! 
• Then ... after already being overwhelmed by Abba's goodness... we got some news.... after 15 years ... and many prayers and tears... my sister and her husband were blessed with the gift of life... a baby! Tears of joy kept (keep) falling! Unspeakable joy! The news itself is so amazing... and that Abba blessed me, too, in allowing me to be there when it was revealed! Baruch HaShem YHVH!

There are so many other things He has done and is doing.
His goodness, compassion, lovingkindness, mercy and favor
are so overwhelming.

I praise You and thank You, Abba!

Blessed be Your esteemed Name, forever and ever!
 

O יהוה my Elohim, many are the wonders Which You have done, 

and Your purposes toward us; 

There is no one to compare with You; I declare and speak: 

They are too many to be numbered. 

Tehillim {Psalm} 40:5  

Shalom!

~ Christina