The Song of Moses

 

                           

Dear Gail-Friends:

 Here is a song for your enjoyment.  The song is called "The Song of Moses" It is based on this week's parashas - Hazeinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52.)

 

Hazeinu is Hebrew for "Listen!".  Moses is preparing to die and he is giving his last message to the people.  This passage is known as the song of Moses and is a perfect meditation for Shabbat and as preparation for Yom Kippur.

Have you prepared for the Most Holy Day?  It begins Sunday at sundown.  I pray for your heart to be soft and open.  You do this by asking Hashem to search your heart for any unconfessed sin.  If sin is found, repent and ask forgiveness.  And if there are hard feelings, go to that person as quickly as possible and make peace.  Your heart will be lifted and you will know the joy of worshiping Adonai in the beauty of holiness.  

 

Yom Kippur is a time of quietness and reverence - realizing anew the struggle of our flesh as we walk in this world.  But it is also a time of rejoicing for the love and mercy of Hashem in sending His Son, Yeshua to shed his blood for our sin.  We praise Him for forgiveness and also for His power to overcome sin as we journey. Haleluyah to The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and writes our names in the Book of Life for the year ahead !  May we bring Him glory and honor in all we do and say in the year ahead.

 I pray your Shabbat will be worship-full with moments of stillness, tranquility, and peace. May this day be filled with joy from spending time with Hashem, your family and loved ones, and may the atmosphere in your home be filled with coziness and harmony. I pray for Him to bring peace and kindness into your hearts.  I pray that as you light the candles to welcome the Shabbat, that their light will illuminate your path towards prosperity and happiness.*

 

* prayer based on a prayer by Alex Levin

**  photos are by MiYah on Facebook, used by permission.

Sukkot Reflections

 

 

 Today is the fifth day of Sukkot - the time of our rejoicing!!  I love this week of spending time in the sukkah - meditating on the goodness of ADONAI and of soaking in His presence.  I turn on beautiful music and listen to the music in my beautiful Golden Cottage Garden.  That garden music is the songs of the birds, bees, and the soft sound of falling flowers from our Golden Rain trees.  Oh, what a wonderful time of stillness is Sukkot.  

I take my cup of coffee, my Bible and journal, along with my favorite daily meditation books*, and sit at the table in our sukkah.  I pray, meditate on what I've read, and then write my thoughts on the readings.  I listen to my Heavenly Father speak to my heart, and record His words in my journal. My soul is restored and full of JOY!

One morning this week, I was making a video of the golden rain falling and I heard something different from the normal garden songs.  I heard a shofar blowing.  It seemed very far off, but I recognized that beautiful sound immediately.  Here is the video.  It's not very loud, so I hope you can hear it:

Did you know that the Scripture says that when Yeshua returns, a trumpet will sound.  I believe that trumpet is the shofar.  It's a very unique sound.  Here's a video of shofar blowing that I love to listen to. 

Sound of the shofar

This year (for the first time), we built our sukkah on the patio (first pic in this post).  We did it because rain was forecast.  I've really enjoyed it, too.  Haven't had to fight the mosquitos or keep brushing away the golden rain blossoms.  I kind of miss that part, though!  Oh, another thing I like about it is I don't have to be wary of Sam, our "pet" black racer that lives in our yard.  He's been here for years and is about four feet long.  Here's a recent pic of him gliding through the flowers around the pond.  

 

That's Sam - or could be Samantha!  We recently had a baby snake out back, which tells me there's a family.  I'm not afraid of snakes, especially this kind, because they eat frogs, lizards, rodents, and other creepy, crawly visitors to the pond.  I just don't like the idea of one crawling over my foot while I'm meditating.  

This week, I found a YT video that really blessed me.  It's about the Fall Holidays, describing a king who visits his kingdom and spends time with those He loves.  I love thinking of these appointed times in the way she describes.  Our King of Kings, Yeshua Hamashiach, draws near to us and "tabernacles" with us during Sukkot.  The video mentions the extra day that He lingers, enjoying fellowship with us.  I want to linger, too, and often keep the sukkah up for another week or two because I enjoy doing my daily quiet time there.  

Why Celebrate Sukkot

The Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated in Heaven.  Did you know that?  All of the Holidays are picture of our Messiah.  They are physical, tactile symbols to deepen our understanding of spiritual concepts, and I deeply love them. 

To learn more about Sukkot, you can read my previous posts.  Just look on the right side of the page and click on Sukkot.  

Blessings to you, dear Gail-Friends.  Chag Sukkot!

*Streams in the Desert and Come Away My Beloved

Sing and Celebrate Shavuot

 Shavuot - Celebrate His Gift

We are celebrating Shavuot today - the giving of God's Laws at Mt. Sinai.  This is a re-post about a previous celebration.  Please continue to pray for Israel as they are being attacked by the Palestinians as I write today. 

This weekend, we remembered and observed God's commandment to celebrate the feast of Shavuot.  We put this beautiful hand-made curtain on the ark, which holds the scroll, in preparation for the Torah procession.  It was made by our congregation member, LaVonne Craft, and the Hebrew says - The Torah is a tree of life.  Blessed is the man who takes hold of it.  This is so true of me.  When I began to read and obey the Torah, my life changed dramatically. 

Shavuot is God's commanded day to remember His gift of the Torah to Moses (and us) on Mt. Sinai. Also, this was the day the Ruach Ha Kodesh came down on those who were gathered in a Shavuot celebration at Jerusalem after the resurrection of Yeshua. He wrote the Torah on their hearts that day, and He's still doing it today. Haleluyah! We take His Word wherever we go. We are His disciples - teaching others about Yeshua and His commandments. You can learn more about this commanded feast, and see photos of our past celebrations, in my blog posts HERE. 

 This week, in preparation for Shavuot, I found this video about the Torah.  It asks the question, "What would a world without Torah look like?" We watched this video at our synagogue's celebration, and I hope you will watch it, too, dear Gail-Friends:   If the Jewish People Never Received the Torah

On Shavuot, it's a tradition to parade the Torah and to praise Adonai for His great gift.   I love this video of a celebration of Shavuot.  If this song gets your toes to tapping, grab your gift -- the HOLY BIBLE - and join the dance!

Sukkot 5781 Reflections

 

 

The golden rain is falling at Golden Cottage.  So appropriate for Sukkot -- the time of our rejoicing.  I love this holiday and I love sitting in the sukkah and watching the golden rain fall around me. The photo below shows the heavy "rainfall".  It covers the ground -- and it reminds me of the manna that fell daily for the children of Israel when they left Egypt.  Here's some music about this holiday for your enjoyment as you read:  Sukkot Song by Steve McConnell. 

Jem and I love to sit in the sukkah and remember all the blessings that fall on us daily.  We're blessed to have family nearby and enjoyed celebrating our grandson's birthday in the sukkah this year.  It's hard to believe he's already eleven!  Where did the years go?  He's such a sweet boy, and he's such a joy!

This year, Jem used elephant ear leaves and palm fronds to cover the top of the sukkah.  This was a great idea because not so much golden rain fell inside. But we had some blossoms get through -- and we could still see the stars through the roof.   I love seeing the little flowers fall on my journal .

It rained a lot last week, so I spent more time on the porch than in the sukkah.  I had some wonderful times of stillness as I looked out over Golden Pond, watching and listening to the birds, butterflies, and bees.  I'm so blessed.

As I was still, reflecting, and praying, I felt Adonai encouraging me to leave the sukkah up for a while, so we will.  He also impressed on me to use it as a prayer place. 

Adonai showed me some other things about the days ahead, and I'll share those in a post later this week.

Blessings and shalom to you, Gail-Friends

*** If you're not familiar with Sukkot, just click on Sukkot in the labels area to the right

L'Shana Tovah 5781

 

 Greetings, Gail-Friends, and Happy New Year!  Where did 5780 go???  

We celebrated Rosh Hashanah yesterday at the synagogue with reflection, contemplation, prayer, and praise.  Oh, yes, and lots of shofar blasts and good food!  

Here are a few photos:

Rabbi Jem did the 100 shofar blasts, and this young man, eight-year-old Abram, joined in.  He is quite the shofar player.  His six-year-old sister can blow it, too, but she was a bit shy about it yesterday.  Abram likes to sit in the front row, and amazes us all with his knowledge of the Bible.  Rabbi asks questions about the parsha, and Abram often pipes up with the correct answer.

His father, Aaron, carried the Torah.  It was his first time to receive this honor, and he was deeply moved.  He also made the beautiful round challah above.

 

After the service, we had food, of course. Lots of it!

These two little girls wanted sit next to Rabbi Jem.

I told you we had lots of food!

We were so blessed to have this service in the midst of the pandemic.  This was our first feast day since Purim and it was good to spend time and eat with one another.  We're still providing plenty of hand sanitizer, masks if someone wants one, and taking cleaning precautions.  We are blessed that no one in our congregation has come down with the virus.  We'll all be glad when this virus is OVER. 

We're looking forward to Yom Kippur.  

Blessings to you all, dear Gail-Friends. 
 

Shavuot - Celebrate His Gift

This weekend, we remembered and observed God's commandment to celebrate the feast of Shavuot.  We put this beautiful hand-made curtain on the ark, which holds the scroll, in preparation for the Torah procession.  It was made by our congregation member, LaVonne Craft, and the Hebrew says - The Torah is a tree of life.  Blessed is the man who takes hold of it.  This is so true of me.  When I began to read and obey the Torah, my life changed dramatically. 

Shavuot is God's commanded day to remember His gift of the Torah to Moses (and us) on Mt. Sinai. Also, this was the day the Ruach Ha Kodesh came down on those who were gathered in a Shavuot celebration at Jerusalem after the resurrection of Yeshua. He wrote the Torah on their hearts that day, and He's still doing it today. Haleluyah! We take His Word wherever we go. We are His disciples - teaching others about Yeshua and His commandments. You can learn more about this commanded feast, and see photos of our past celebrations, in my blog posts HERE. 

 This week, in preparation for Shavuot, I found this video about the Torah.  It asks the question, "What would a world without Torah look like?" We watched this video at our synagogue's celebration, and I hope you will watch it, too, dear Gail-Friends:   If the Jewish People Never Received the Torah

On Shavuot, it's a tradition to parade the Torah and to praise Adonai for His great gift.   I love this video of a celebration of Shavuot.  If this song gets your toes to tapping, grab your gift -- the HOLY BIBLE - and join the dance!

Thankful Thursday - Our Chanukah Celebration

What a wonderful time we had this year.  Eight days of light, fun, family, friends, food, and fellowship.  Here is our beautiful menorah at home on the eighth night:

Our grandson came over and we had fun making cookies for the synagogue's Chanukah party:

He wanted to toss the cookie dough like a pizza, so I gave him a tortilla.  LOL!  We enjoyed that.

If it falls on the floor, does the five-second rule apply? 

He's posing as if it fell on his head.  That's why I call him Jona-FUN.

He's talking up a storm - mostly about science and math.  PawPaw got involved, too.  Mostly as a taste-tester.

 

He loved doing this and did a great job.  He's very meticulous.

 Here are a few photos from our synagogue celebration:

Each family brings their menorah and all are lit at the same time.  It's always so beautiful.  A time of rededication to observing Torah.

Some of my loves.

My annual menorah salmon dip was a big hit.

Jonathan's cookies were, too.  And the donuts.  And the latkes. And the yummy sandwiches. 

We played dreidel and had lots of gelt to enjoy.

During the eight days, we visited a family's home to put a mezuzah on their door.  Rabbi Jem prayed a blessing over their home and family.

The mezuzah is a Jewish tradition.**

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the family and afterward we all attended the community menorah lighting/party in Viera.   Don't you love that "Stay Golden" shirt? 

Lots of singing, dancing, food, and entertainment at this parking lot party.

There was a drawing to win this blow-up menorah.

and this blow-up dreidl, too.

They had a snow slide that looked like lots of fun.  Rabbi Jem was going to go down it, but the snow was melting due to the warm weather that day.
 

We had a wonderful time, and I'm so thankful for the joy of celebrating Adonai's special holidays.  I'm especially thankful for the time we spent with family (both kinds).

I'd love to hear about your Chanukah celebration and what you're thankful for this week.

** To learn about the mezuzah, click HERE. and  HERE 

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I sometimes share my posts with these friends:
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 Hearth and Soul Link Party
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God Loves Feasting

I read this article on Facebook and I loved it.  It also  inspired my own thoughts which follow the article.

GOD LOVES FEASTING

Can you believe it is only four days to Thanksgiving? Help! So much to do as I prepare a sit-down dinner for about 80 of us. What a great time it will be. There is nothing more wonderful than gathering together as a family to fellowship and feast together. Did you know that God loves feasts and celebrations? Yes, they are very biblical.

Psalm 89:15 states: “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” Once again, we notice that these “blessed” people are the “happy happy” people. Some translations say: “Oh the happiness!” Others say, “Oh the joy!”

This happiness comes to those who know the joyful sound. What is this joyful sound? The Hebrew word means “the trumpeting of trumpets and shouts of joy.” Most Bible commentators state that it speaks of the trumpet calls to the annual feasts of Israel. It’s a call to feasting and celebration.

Let’s read Numbers 10:10 (NLT): “Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind the LORD your God of his covenant with you. I am the LORD your God.”

It is obvious that the early children of Israel were a trumpet-blowing, joyful shouting people. Not only did they rejoice and blow the trumpets on their feast days but over their daily burnt offerings!

Psalm 27:6 (NLT): “At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the LORD with music.” This speaks of the daily morning and evening sacrifices, encouraging us to also come before the Lord with our families each morning and evening. We don’t do it out of religiosity, but with joy, and even shouts of joy. As the people of God, we are not meant to be a boring people, but filled with joy and praise to God. Oh, the happiness of those who know the joyful sound.

Here’s something else God says about our feasting times. In Deuteronomy 14:26 we read: “And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink (help, can’t believe this in the Bible, yes, the King James Version), or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God (in the presence of the LORD), and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household.” **

The conclusion of our Scripture today says: “they shall walk O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” God wants us to really celebrate and rejoice when we feast together. And it’s not separate from God. We do it IN HIS PRESENCE. God wants to join us. He loves to celebrate and feast with us. This is the heart of God. Many people have a totally wrong concept of God.

Prepare to feast in God’s presence this Thanksgiving and may you know the joyful sound.
Love, from Nancy Campbell

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Yes, as Nancy said, feasts are biblical.   They are also commanded in Leviticus 23, and Nancy's article reminded me of how I love the Feasts of Adonai.  What joy they've brought to my life since I began to observe them in the 1990s.  His holy, appointed times are as follows:
Passover
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (a part of the eight days of Passover)
The Feast of First Fruits  (a part of the eight days of Passover)
Shavuot - The Feast of Weeks
Rosh Hashanah - The Feast of Trumpets
Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement ( a day of fasting )
Sukkot - The Feast of Tabernacles
Shabbat is also an appointed time weekly

These two feasts are not commanded, but are traditionally observed:

Hanukkah - The Feast of Dedication
Purim - The Feast of Lots

You can learn more about Adonai's feast and festivals here on my blog by clicking on the links on the right side of this page.  

If you are a believer in Yeshua HaMashiach, you've been grafted into the blessings of being a part of the house of Israel.  That means you're also grafted into the responsibilities of observing His Shabbat and His Feasts and Festivals.  If you'll study the New Testament, you'll find that Yeshua and His disciples also observed them.  I hope you'll study Leviticus 23 and learn more about Adonai's feasts because I know you'll find abundant and overflowing joy and blessings in keeping them, too.

I'm thankful for each one who stops by Gail-Friends, and want to say a great big Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  May your celebrations be blessed with joy.

** Deuteronomy 14 is another chapter that most current Jesus followers ignore because they've been wrongly taught they no longer apply, but there are great blessings to those who observe these commandments.  The 14th chapter ends with these words:  "so that Adonai your God may bless you in all the work of your hand that you do."  His ways are the ways of life and blessings.  This I know from personal experience! 

Sabbath Music - If My People

Shabbat Shalom, Y'all and I pray you are prepared and ready to rest, refresh, renew and enjoy time with our loving Heavenly Father.  I treasure my Sabbath time and look forward to it every week.

Here's a song that's been on my heart this week since we just observed Yom Kippur.  If My People is based on this Scripture:

"If my people, 

who are called by My Name, 

will humble themselves

 and pray 

and seek My face 

and turn from their wicked ways,

 then will I hear from heaven

 and will forgive their sin 

and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

Many of you have heard this verse, probably all of your life if you're like me, and grew up in a Baptist Church.  I always reverently bowed my head and searched my heart for sins.  Not until I became a Messianic believer did I truly understand the full meaning of the verse.  If you study the chapters prior to this verse, you'll see that the people had turned away from Torah, from His laws, His Sabbath, His Feasts and Festivals, and had embraced false gods.  Hashem was telling them the only way to be forgiven and to heal their land was to begin to follow Him again.

This has not changed for those of us reading the Bible today.  He expects us to turn away from false gods, including teachers who tell us it's no longer necessary to obey his laws or observe His Sabbath and Feasts and Festivals.  That is what He means when He says, "Turn from your wicked ways."  I was humbled when I first understood this, and I pray you will be, too, if you're only understanding this for the first time.

Hashem forgives our sins through Yeshua's blood, and that's the only way of forgiveness.  But He also expects us to follow and obey His Torah.  This is the message Yeshua and the disciples taught.
Yeshua said,

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 

immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh,  

 teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.  (Matthew 28:19-20 TLV)

If you believe Yeshua is God in the flesh, and that He is the same yesterday, today and forever, then my beloved Gail-Friends, He would not disobey the Torah.  He would follow it - and He did.  If you say you are following Yeshua and you sit under someone who teaches you to disobey His Sabbath, you are not following Him.  If you are following a religion that teaches you to disobey His laws, you are following a false religion and a false gospel.

I pray you will prayerfully consider these things. Read the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) first and foremost.  I think of this as Bible 101 - the basis of all Scripture.  Next, read the four gospels of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Notice where Yeshua went, what He read, what He did, what He said, which Sabbath He observed, and that He observed the Feasts and Festivals.  This is the real, and the only, Messiah.  Follow Him, not the false religions being promoted today.  You will be blessed and find life.

I sometimes share my posts with these friends:
  Spiritual Sundays  GRAND Social      Modest Mom Monday Link-up      The Art of Homemaking Mondays

 Hearth and Soul Link Party
   BLOGGING GRANDMOTHERS LINK PARTY     Share Your Cup Wednesday  Wordless Wednesdays    Classical Homemaking Link-Up     
    Favorite Things Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life  Paula's Weekend No Rules Blog Party Friendship Friday 
Sunday Thoughts Link-Up
 OVER THE MOON LINKY PARTY!

The High Holy Days

Greetings and blessings to you, Gail-Friends.  I hope your celebration of Rosh Hashanah was sweet.  Here are a few photos from our service:

Lots of shofar blowing (100 notes, plus many more as we rejoicedat the end of  the service!)  And, of course, we had food -- lots of glorious apple creations for a sweet year ahead.  (See below for information about my Apple Roses, as promised.)

And then came the ten days of awe. . . a time of introspection and soul-searching leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  During this time, we spend time with Hashem and His Word, asking Him to reveal any sins and we attempt to mend any broken relationships.  This year was a tender, somber time, more so than years past.  The last song was the Kol Nidre, and while it played people went to each other and made things right.  It was an amazing evening together.

I love the High Holy Days because we take the time to be still and listen to Hashem more so than the other Holidays.  How blessed we are to observe and celebrate these set-apart days, His Feasts and Festivals.  They are gifts and reminders to us of His presence and goodness in our lives.  As a  believer, I observed Christmas and Easter.  Now, as a Messianic Jew, I love being blessed with a holiday every couple of months in the year:  Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot (the Fall Feasts), then we have Hanukkah, and on to Purim, Passover and Shavuot (the Spring Feasts).  All of these draw us closer to Hashem and are types of our Messiah, Yeshua.   And lest we forget, we have our weekly feast -- Shabbat, our blessed day of rest.  Hashem is so good to us.

Here's a photo of the apple roses I made for Rosh Hashanah.  I think they turned out very nicely.

I will share the recipe (and the adventure) next week**.  I just don't have time right now, since today is Preparation Day, plus Sukkot begins on Monday at sundown.  Lots to do, dear Gail-Friends!!!

Shalom and love to you all from me - and from one of the sweet little ones in our congregation.

** To learn more about the Feasts and Festivals, click on this LINK
For the Apple Roses Recipe, click HERE

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I sometimes share my posts with these friends:
  Spiritual Sundays  GRAND Social      Modest Mom Monday Link-up      The Art of Homemaking Mondays

 Hearth and Soul Link Party
   BLOGGING GRANDMOTHERS LINK PARTY     Share Your Cup Wednesday  Wordless Wednesdays    Classical Homemaking Link-Up     
    Favorite Things Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life  Paula's Weekend No Rules Blog Party Friendship Friday 
Sunday Thoughts Link-Up
 OVER THE MOON LINKY PARTY!