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!

Burning Bushes Seen

"And Mosheh was shepherding the flock of Yithro his father-in-law,
the priest of Midyan. And he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, 
and came to Horeb, the mountain of Elohim.
And the Messenger of YHVH appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush.
And he looked and saw the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
And Mosheh said, "Let me turn aside now, and see this great sight,
why the bush does not burn."
- Shemot/Exodus 3:1-2

Mosheh {Moses} was going about his daily duties of tending to the flocks
when he noticed something...
a burning bush.

He could have rationalized it away, he could have claimed he was too busy to investigate,
and he could have continued about with his day.
He didn't, though.
Instead, he stopped what he was doing and decided to turn aside to find out more.


It wasn't until he made that choice that YHVH called to him.
 "And YHVH saw that he turned aside to see, 
and Elohim called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Mosheh! Mosheh!"
 (verse 4)

Do we notice the burning bushes throughout our day?

There are many ways that YHVH seeks us to turn aside from our daily routine to listen to Him.
Sometimes we can become so busy that we miss Him and what He wants to say to us.

I don't want to get so caught up in daily life that I miss the opportunities He sets before me...
so busy that my intentions never come to fruition... never turn to action.


Abba, help us not to be too busy for You. Help us to be aware.
Help us to turn aside from the rhythm of 'dailyness' to listen and learn of You...
to study, to pray, to do good, to serve... or just to be still.
Sometimes those burning bushes are not obvious, sometimes they are subtle,
as You often speak in a still, small voice.
Help us, Abba, to pay attention and not miss those moments,
missing the blessings that You have for us through them.
Help us to look for the burning bushes along the pathway of our daily lives.


 "... and Elohim called to him from the midst of the bush 
and said, "Mosheh! Mosheh!
And he said, "Here I am."
(v.4)

May we say the same...

Here am I, Father...
ready to listen, ready to respond, ready to obey

Hineni
{Here I am}

 
- Christina

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

Shabbat Shalom... from our home on wheels

Our Shabbat hinged, travel candle set with Jerusalem view

It's been a week (and a day) since we officially moved into our camper.

Our days have been full and it is such a blessing to enter into Shabbat.

May you find rest, replenishing and peace 

as you meet Him during this time.

Shabbat Shalom, Israel {His set-apart ones)!

- Christina

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!

Journaling Life...

Journals for the children

"Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us"

- Oscar Wilde

Though the above quote carries a degree of truth,

there are many advantages in keeping a written journal.

And this week we introduced our younger children to keeping one.

Once upon a time, I myself was a semi-faithful journaler.  

- a few old 'friends'

It always blessed me to re-visit my entries...

pondering on what I had learned...

gaining perspective of how I was growing 

in that season of my life...

visiting fond and not-so-fond memories alike...

taking note of my cries out to Yah...

praising Him, again, for praises I had recorded...

reminiscing how He was there....

guiding, teaching, loving, blessing...

I once read that it is believed that 

the "who" someone is writing to in journaling

is a mere personality of one's self...

I think it goes beyond that.

For me, journaling is my written thoughts and prayers...

sharing my life and heart...

with the Ruach {Spirit}that lives within me...

sharing with my Abba... the Lover of my soul...

... like having a casual or an intimate conversation...

with a friend...

... a Friend like no other.

As we enter into this transitional phase - season - in our lives,

I am praying our children are blessed 

as they record, share and think on all YHVH has done/is doing.

- Have you tried journaling?

 

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