Wild Branch Ministries

 

http://yah-tube.com/videos/scott/05_the_mind_of_the_messiah_p2/index.html

This is a great teaching by Brad Scott of Wild Branch Ministries. It is program #5 in his series on www.Yah-tube.com. There are 44 in the series and 3 other unedited teachings as well. Each video is 28 minutes long, but it flies by quickly!!

I really appreciate this particular teaching and I've realized that right now I am very much learning and reading Scripture with the P'shat interpretation. Trying to peal away the doctrines of man and trying to simply understand Scripture for what it says.  Enjoy the video, I trust that you will benefit from it as I have!

It is Spring in my Soul!!

So, after the last couple of months of winter blahs and realizing that I have addiction issues, I've come out of that dark season with a hunger for Yah and a strong desire to talk about Him and and His Word and live it out!

I have often suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as the winter blues...lol  Some years it hits worse than others. This year was worse than the previous years, not entirely sure why, but I have come through it with a deeper revelation about it. Sure a part of it is lack of sunlight (vit. D) and not much energy being spent, but a lot of it is due to my lack of trust in my Abba.

For some reason, I have trust issues, and often forget to lay my burdens at His feet, where they belong. This often leads to: struggling to get out of bed, struggling to be pleasant to family members, and last but not least, just being a very self-focused person.  I really don't like who I am when I'm like this. I don't think my Abba does either. And more than anything else, I want so much to please Him, just like any little girl wants to please her Daddy!

As for my addictions...thought you'd never ask! lol  I was on the verge of becoming an alcoholic. I was drinking almost a bottle of wine every night. Goodness that's expensive! Looking back, I don't know why I was drinking that much. I didn't need help to get to sleep, I wasn't trying to drown out emotional pain or anything like that. So why? I still don't fully know why, except that addictions are linked to a lack of trusting in our Creator. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this yet, because once I stopped the alcohol flow into the house, Facebook and Christian novels became the new addiction. sigh...so because it's simply an addiction issue I have and not necessarily an alcoholic problem, I do allow myself to have wine for the Sabbath, but keep it out of the house during the week. I have deactivated Facebook for a variety of reasons and the Christian fiction is not an issue anymore as I just don't have the time to read as much.

So, that's what I've been dealing with in the last couple of months. Now for the cool stuff!!  Jamie and I had bought a little vacation shortly after Sukkot and we had until last month to use it. So we parceled out the children and took off to Banff for a 2 night stay! It was glorious Although, we were going on very little money and I was feeling horrible that we wouldn't be able to buy gifts for the children...we don't celebrate Christmas or birthdays so, it's kind of hard to figure out when to give them...we do love to just surprise them!!!!  Well, I checked our bank account while we were there and low and behold we received some back-payment from the gov't!!! So we were able to treat the kids after all!! That does wonders for this mama's heart! I love to give gifts to the kids and see the delight on their faces!

Also, as I'd been realizing that during the depression, I needed to lean on Yah instead of wine...I stopped drinking wine just before Hanukkah...then the depression hit hard. I was a mess...not like an emotional mess, just kinda absent mentally. I asked my Shabbat group to pray for me, and they did! It meant a lot to me. Someone came to me a few weeks later and shared a word from Yah, well that was huge and hit home. She said the depression would leave, once I gave my worries over to Him. Well, duhhh, I knew that...lol  But I certainly wasn't doing it!! So I repented of that and started talking to Him more on my own, keeping an ongoing dialogue throughout the day like I used to. 

So here I am today. I feel like "my" winter is over, despite what the temperature tells me it is outside. It is springtime inside my soul!!! I feel new all over again, and THAT is a great place to be!!

Chanukah

Update!!

Well, it seems I've become very naughty in keeping up with this ole blog! Lots of changes in our lives in the year of 2013 so far, at least it feels that way to me, and here 2013 is almost over!!

I guess the biggest change that happened, occurred a few months ago. We moved to an acreage!!!
Jamie and I were content with where we were...but this past spring, we both felt like a move was coming and that Yah would be pushing us a bit...lol.
We got an email from our landlord, that he was selling the house and that we needed to be out by Aug 1st. He sent the email at the end of May. But here's the cool thing...he didn't want us to pay June or July rent! So that was a huge blessing!! He was a great landlord for the 3 yrs we lived in Crossfield. Plus, we set a new record! 3 yrs is the longest we've lived anywhere!!
We looked for a rental in our price-range and couldn't find ANYTHING! There was absolutely nothing for rent in Crossfield at all! So we upped our "price-range" nervously...lol  We sent lots of emails out to many places listed on Kijiji, but only looked at one place...it was not a good one.
We were starting to despair. We didn't want to find a place at the last possible moment, like so many times before.
Then by word of mouth, we found out that one of the postmaster's at the Post Office had an acreage she was trying to sell, and if it didn't sell by July 31st she was going to try to rent it out!!!  What amazing timing!
We looked at the acreage the Saturday after the big flood in Calgary/High River. I fell in love with it! The house is much smaller, which we wanted!! We just have too much "stuff". There is a greenhouse attached to the house with it's own door...that is where our schoolroom is. It also has it's own heater, as well as a non functioning wood stove. It is so hard to describe it all.
It has 3 bedrooms, living room and kitchen/dining room as well as a full bathroom on the main floor with a deck off the front door where the bbq sits... Then downstairs there is a walkout basement with a half bath, laundry, lots of storage, a 4th bedroom and family room.
There's a double garage and a large open shed, firepit area with a picnic bench, and lots of trees and grass!!!! I think there's about 2 acres of grassy area. We have our own well and septic system, so we aren't part of any town water supply. We do however have electricity and gas....we are not off-grid....YET. lol
Outside there is a huge garden and then a second big garden! I may just use the smaller garden this next year as I don't want to totally overwhelm myself! LOL

We were having issues with our van and after taking it to the shop to get fixed we ended up having to just park it. And there it still sits, we just couldn't justify spending 3200 to fix a vehicle we bought for 3800. And so now we are driving a Buick LeSabre, my inlaws car that they had listed on kijiji. I miss my van but thankful for the car that didn't break the bank! We will still look for a 4x4 vehicle, seems wise when you live out in the sticks...but the car will get us where we need to go and if the weather is not good, we simply won't go!

Usually we go away for Sukkot, but this year, we were able to host it in our yard! We set up tents and made bedrooms available for some who didn't want to brave the cold weather.  Our Shabbat group joined us on the weekends but we slept outside in our tent all week long.  What a fun time!

It is now Nov and we are getting our 2nd big snowfall...the 1st hadn't even finished melting yet, so I'm thinking the snow is definitely here to stay.

We started school this year on Oct 1st. It feels good to have a month under our belt and we seem to have figured out a pretty good schedule. The kids are all enjoying Canskate, and are doing well with their schoolwork.

I guess that's all now folks!

Harry Potter and Holiness

Wow, every where I look there is something about the Harry Potter (you can change this to whatever movie/book that is popular in the world).  I have no desire to read the books or watch the movies, and it really bothers me that so many people who are  "Christ followers" recommend it.  What's wrong with it? It's just harmless entertainment, right?  Is it?  For those who have made it known that they serve YHVH, the God of the Bible, the God of both the Jews and the Christians, this post is for them.  To challenge and encourage them to raise the standard in which they/I currently live. (Please note that I struggle in this area. I have used worldly standards not Biblical standards in my entertainment. This post signifies the change in my standards. I just want to be clear for those who know me. I am not being hypocritical, I am taking responsibility for my actions...and no, I've never watched or read Harry Potter...but this post is not about Harry Potter, it is about all entertainment choices we make.)

 Does it matter to our God what we do? What we think about? How we act? Does He have guidelines for our entertainment habits?

Anyone reading my blog, likely already knows that I study Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible. If any other Scripture in the Bible is contrary to Torah then I'm missing something, I'm reading it through the wrong "lenses".  The Bible can NOT contradict itself....EVER.  If it seems like it does then there is something wrong with how I'm interpreting it. Okay, now back to the questions....

Exodus 19:5-7

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁵ Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My ^[a]own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; ⁶ and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

Philippians 4:8

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is ^[a]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, ^[b]dwell on these things.

In Exodus it tells us that if we belong to Him, we are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation! Doesn't that mean we should be seeking to be undefiled and holy?  We choose what goes into our minds, life or death. Maybe some of you remember that really old Gaither album LIFE, there was a song on there called Input/Output.

Input, Output, what goes in is what goes out,
Input, Output, that is what it's all about
Input, Output, life is a computer (something, can't think of the word!!)
Input, Output, daily you must choose.

Let the Bible be your daily feed, It's got all the DATA you need!

Rid your mind of sinful bytes, then you should turn out allllright! (or something like that)

 Rarely are we forced against our will to watch a movie or read a book that shows life contrary to how YHVH wants us to live. The fact is that Torah (as well as apostle Paul) teaches that we are to focus on loving and serving our God by keeping His commandments and learning how He wants us to live. In fact, Yahshua told us in Matt 22:37 He told him, "`You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, `You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot."CJB
So, how then do we love YHVH with all our being? Here are some words straight from Yahshua's mouth.
John 14:¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commands; ¹⁶ and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.<sup>" CJB

 So what exactly are His commands? Keeping in mind that Yahshua is God's perfect son, even while being God Himself....so that brings us back to Matt 22:37-40, the most important commandments....notice that verse 40 says that ALL the Torah and Prophets fall into place under these two commandments. He was simply listing the two main ones. So in Torah we find a list of at least 613 mizvot (commandments), not all apply to everyone, there are some for women that have nothing to do with men and some for Levites that don't apply to everyone....and if you read them all, you will notice that they are not hard...they just go into more detail than the 10 commandments that most of us grew up memorizing.

So this brings me back to the question. Does God care about our entertainment decisions? Does He care about how we live our lives? Does He care about what we fill our minds with?

YES! He cares about everything we do. All I've read in Scripture tells me that He gave us the Torah, because He DOES care about what we do, and therefore gives us guidelines to follow. They are not hard to follow, IF we want to please Him with our whole being. IF we are willing to die to our selfish desires. IF we love Him enough to forsake all else</sup>.

<sup>Now having said that, I feel compelled to tell you that I fall short....a lot.  I started watching The X-Files a month ago...and now I feel convicted, it's a waste of time.
I am constantly having to change and live my life according to HIS standards, not my own. It's a battle everyday, to make the right choices. To die to self, and serve Him. To die to self, and serve my family. To die to self, and serve others.

Philippians 2:
12</sup> Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
 
^{Let us keep HIS words in our hearts and minds, so that it becomes easier and easier to obey Him and not our selfish desires. I want everything I do to reflect Him...oh I have a long way to go. But it is my desire to please Him and show Him how much I love Him in my obedience.} 

 

Happy Hanukkah

We went to our first Hanukkah party last night! Lots of laughs and hilarity all round!  I love how parties that are centered on YHVH, include Scripture, a Godly reason for celebrating! I'm not much of a "fun party-girl" being first-born and all, but I sure enjoy watching others have fun! That is how I have fun...watching others have fun....I love to be able to sit back and observe."

A few friends did some fun lip-synching to some fun songs....just seeing two moms dancing and singing, acting like their teenagers was incredibly fun to watch. I even caught a video of it on my smartphone! lol

This year we are learning how to play dreidel.  I bought a bunch of wooden dreidels and chocolate coins to give to our neighbors as well! They often bring xmas things over so this year we will reciprocate with our dreidels.  I just have to figure out my new laptop and make little cards with the rules etc. and they are ready to go!

Once again, I've decided to take a break from facebook....it was taking up too much of my time. Wouldn't you know, a few days after I deactivated my account, people started asking for my business cards! Please YHVH, use me for Your glory!! 

I suppose this is sort of the equivilent to a xmas card...so I will add some family info too...lol

Malachi-not sure what to say about him....he's been nicknamed "Calvin" from Calvin & Hobbes...if that gives you any kind of indication about his nature....lol  He's a very smart, mischievous boy, who loves to help mama on preparation day, getting ready for Shabbat. Then sings "Shabbat Shalom" at the top of his lungs at random times when the house seems too quiet to his little ears...lol

Shyla-always the little songbird....becoming a graceful young girl as she learns to dance by standing in the middle of the dancing teens during Shabbat or Feast day gatherings.  Hopefully she can teach this two left-footed mama! She is learning to read and math comes easy for her. It's sometimes hard to remember that there are 3 yrs between her and Malachi as they are almost the same size! She is a little mother, it is so neat to see this maternal spirit in her at such a young age. Her desire to learn the skills of a Proverbs 31 woman is already deeply embedded in her.  I bought the Homestead Blessings series for her and I to learn together...there is so much I don't know!

Silas-almost as tall as I am already.....I have to constantly remind myself he is just 11 yrs old! The awkward inbetween years....with no one his own age in our Shabbat group, it's hard for him.  Not really fitting in with the teens because they have been exposed to that much more than him, he is often lost in conversation. I well remember those years in my own life...oh how I hated them...he enjoys playing with his lego and is excited the outdoor skating rink is open already! He just discovered Jonathan Parks audiobooks and we're all enjoying those!  He still loves reading and we certainly encourage him in this area...we are looking for glasses for him right now. Jamie and I both got glasses around that age so it was just a matter of time I suppose!  He has been making money shoveling snow for various neighbors....like father like son!

Jamie is working for a landscaping company again this winter doing snow removal.  I sure enjoy his time home! We all do...lol  

Well, I suppose that's all the "news" from our home right now. We wish all our friends and family a holiday season full of love.

Shalom   

 

Are you a Super woman or an Abiding woman?

Super woman

1. Does

2. Tries to impress others

3. Is controlled by an agenda

4. Her self worth is found in her accomplishments

5. Her peace is found in the 'perfect' environment

6. She is discouraged by failure

7. She expects perfection from herself and others

8. She teaches her kids to be good

9. She is frustrated with her lack of spiritual fruit

10. She does things with her children

11. Her perspective is based on what is seen

12. She chooses quantity of activities

Abiding Woman

1. Is (Ps 46:10)

2. Pleases Yahweh (Eph 5:10; Pr 29:25)

3. Is controlled by the Ruach haKodesh (Gal 5:22-26)

4. Her self worth is found in an accurate view of who

she is in Y'shua haMashiach (Eph 2:10)

5. Her peace is found in Y'shua in the midst of any

storm (Is 26:3)

6. Failure reminds her that Yah's strength is made

perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12:9-10)

7. She practices grace with herself and others (Eph 4:32)

8. She teaches her kids to be Godly (Pr 22:6)

9. She abides in Messiah and bears much fruit (John 15:5)

10. She builds a relationship with her children (Deut 6:6-7)

11. Her perspective is based on what is unseen (Col 3:2)

12. She chooses the most excellent Way (1 Cor 13)