thoughts about The Lord YHVH

The Lord is so merciful & patient!

He never lets us go, even when we don't seem to be walking hand in Hand "with" Him. His LovingKindness is ever extended to us, and He always has His Gentle, welcoming Hands of Mercy reaching toward us! (let's praise His Name: ha Shem!)

He rejoices over us with Joy, with singing, & He rests in His Love. He is in the midst of us. He is Mighty to Save! (let's shout Hallelujah for our Savior, Redeemer, Lord & Master, Who is also our King, Protector, & Best Friend!!) What a Friend, an Awesome Friend, we have in Yeshua! (Jesus Christ)

I am so thankful He has chosen me & ordained me, that I should go & bring forth fruit (souls for His Kingdom), yet He knows I am not good at doing that, at all. (ouch!) But He continues to extend His Loving, Merciful, Patient Hands to me, to help me walk more closely with Him and enables me to hear Him more clearly, each day, as I seek His Face.

Oh, how blessed it is to know The One Who made the universe, Who holds it all up, maintaining its continuing existence until the time He has chosen to burn it, and make a new heaven & a new earth. The (only One) Awesome God is the same One Who has chosen you & me to serve Him, live only for Him, and to follow Him, in Righteousness! Hallelujah! (shouting again)

Am without much, financially.

Am out of debt, completely.

Only owe love, ... and I still fail at delivering that. (ouch!) But He continues to share His agape (unconditional, limitless) Love with me (!). He still continues to share His agape Love with all who believe in The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world (all the people who put their trust in Him, as Lord & Atonement-Maker)!

Yeshua, my Atonement-Maker, shed His Blood to pay the debt I owed my heavenly Father, YHVH El Shaddai, Adonai, Elohim, He is Adonai Echad. And He only asks me to believe in Him, and in return, He has given me (and all who believe in Yeshua as Messiah) eternal life and re-birth, by Grace through my believing trust in Yeshua my Messiah. (Jesus Christ)

All my possessions I've given to Him.

Am still learning to daily yield my rights to my Lord, so He can, then, do His Will in & through my life.

He has given me eternal Life! I cannot turn back. I must follow Him! He "is" my Life! Yeshua is The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man can come to The Father but by Him! (Hallelujah!, shouting again)

In Him is Life eternal & He gives us this new Life "free." He had to pay a high price, the ultimate price! But to us, His gift is free. (if we believe & let Him transform us)

He has transformed my life on earth! He is still renewing my mind, as I read & study His Word, each day. He teaches me as I pray. He is so active in my life, that I cannot pray without His Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Chodesh) actively involved in it. He is ever with me! He is wanting me to think like my Savior & Lord. As The One Whom The Father has chosen to be my Teacher, The Holy Spirit helps me understand The Word, as I read & study it.

Yet, I grieve His Holy Spirit, at times. (aagh!) Oh, how He must cry, as He sees me mess up royally. (my wording; it has nothing to do with any acknowledged royal family on earth; it's just a phrase that means something 'big') I don't mean to, or intend to do what is wrong, in YHVH God's sight. But ... I can be deceived, just like anyone else. If I allow the enemy of God to have an 'open door' into my mind, then I can think wrong (a stronghold) (from Ephesians 4:20-32), and that is able to lead me to do wrong, or speak wrong. I can, at any point in time, humble myself before The Lord & then, resist the devil (the deceiver), and then, he will flee from me. But if I do not, I've allowed the enemy of YHVH God to influence my mind.

Anyway, ... as I (then) acknowledge my sin, the wrong I've done, before Him (The Lord YHVH), in humility & meekness, He is always ready to welcome me with His open Arms of agape Love, having forgiven me, putting my sin as far as the east is from the west. (from Psalm 103:11-13)

These are some thoughts along my personal journey in His Way. This is not long enough to include all I could share, nor have I written enough to explain all that I've said, in a way that will help you in the best way. But, perhaps, over time, I can add to it. (we'll see) Others write more eloquently than I do.

Am, this week, finishing up preparations for ladies' tea to be at our local believer's congregation in Tennessee, that the ladies of our family are helping to host. ;o) I hope you all will enjoy a peace-filled Shalom rest on The Lord YHVH's Sabbath!
Let's praise His Name! He is Good! His Mercy endures forever!

a note about the season

I must share something from my heart, below. Am not "a writer," so please bear with me. This is not intended to be offensive, or to be taken wrongly, by anyone who misunderstands my intentions or my heart. Will trust that anyone who reads this will read it with an attitude of a believer in The Lord, and with good, spiritual discernment and understanding "in" The Lord.

Though I do not personally believe ( personal conviction ) that our Dear Lord Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah (the Anointed One; Christ), was born during a time of year when the shepherds, in the hills around Bethlehem, could have endured the very cold winds and more harsh weather conditions, late in a month such as December, ... I do hope you all had a very joy-filled time, with your families (together again, during your special holiday time), enjoying doing things together as a family, as you remember that God, our Loving Father, thought of all that was needed, and planned far ahead, and made everything happen just as it needed to happen, ... down to the details (which I, if I had tried to arrange it all) would have "royally" messed up, ...
... to bring His willing, obedient, and servant-hearted Son, Yeshua (Jesus), to earth, conceived by power of The Holy Spirit, the seed of YHVH God, to be born of a virgin, born in humility and poverty, in a town whose name brings to mind "house of bread" and also, using the other way to pronounce "-lehem," as "la Chaim," it could even refer to Him as our "Life," as we know Him to be, in truth. He was welcomed with the heavenly host, a multitude of angels, and also by poor shepherds, but not in late December!

Though, to me, Yeshua, my Lord & Redeemer, was born closer to the end of September, or early October (on "our" calendar), according to the time of John The Baptist's time of conception and birth, as told in the Bible, ... we "can" celebrate that our Loving Father in Heaven loved us so very, very much (more than we know, or fully understand), that He made the way for His Son's Birth to occur, arranging everything perfectly, fulfilling all the prophecies perfectly.
... He brought His Son, to earth, to live as Emmanuel, "God with us," so we could see that God did, indeed, choose, freely, to "tabernacle with us," as Emmanuel, as Yeshua. Amazing! He came to die for our sins, and for the sins of all people who would believe in and trust in Him, as God's only-begotten Son, and our Deliverer, and kinsman Redeemer.

Though to me it does sadden me to know that so many, in America (as I have, myself, also, for most of my life), have been deceived into thinking that near the end of December our Lord could have been born and would not have frozen to death, in an open stable, or even in a more closed-in cave of some sort, being used as a stable, ... outside of, or near to, or on the edge of, Bethlehem, in Judaea, ...
... I "do" know that so many who love The Lord Yeshua (Jesus) dearly, and have trusted Him as Lord & Redeemer, "do" wish to celebrate His Birth, because we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory in Him, because He has bought for us (who believe) eternal Life!

Yet, I must share that I have, bit by bit, come to know this information, about our Lord's actual time of Birth not being even possible near the end of December. But more serious than that is the utter deception so many of us (Americans) have "fallen for," out of lack of knowledge, which is so very changed from what the Puritans, and most likely, the Pilgrims, knew. The Puritans knew that they must, to be true to our Lord, welcome our Hebrew roots, and that we must not mix paganistic or "traditional" (as we'd call them) ways of celebrating the first coming to earth of Emmanuel.. with The Truth. We must be true to our Lord, Who is Truth! At least, for me, now this is an even stronger conviction than it was during the past several years of my life!

So, if anyone wants to learn more about this, I will try to find some online sources for others to read about ways we can celebrate the coming of Emmanuel. And, after I've done more research on this topic, I will try to share here what I find. Did not realize (before) the Puritans rejected the celebrations of birthdays and of our Lord's birth (especially as it was being done, in their era, in late December, to replace a pagan festival known as Saturnalia; many symbols we Americans think are "Christian" or are "okay" to include in our family's celebrations of our Lord's Birth, are also pagan in their roots, and I was revolted and repelled by learning more about this recently). I guess that shows how little I know or have been taught while in "government schools," many years ago. hmm.... Wonder if "they" did not want me to know about this. But ... now I do. And for me, this is important (to know). I'd like to explore this topic more. So, I will....

That is one reason I am writing this: sometimes, we get to a point in each of our lifetimes, when we just see we need to change something, and tell others about our new-found "discovery." For me, this is one of those times.

*And I just trust you will not be offended by my sharing this here, with you all.*
I care very much about you all, who come here to read something helpful, who are looking for encouragement, and for helpful website recommendations, or for information on home educational materials we've found to be useful and good for our family.
I care very much about those of you who come hoping to find advice or help on some topic you seek information on, and hope that I will share what wisdom I have learned from others, and especially from God our Father in Heaven!

And I don't want anyone else to miss out on knowing something that might prevent them from doing something they'd regret, later. So, am sharing this, now, for that reason.

Am not young any more. Am over 50. This time in my life, with the world looking to be so much closer than it ever was to our Lord's "call" from the clouds for us, to take us to be with Him for ever, ... I want to share what I can to help a younger mom, though am already quite behind at doing that, on some other topics, ....

Will do more research and see what I can find that will better explain what the reasons are that so many, in previous centuries, did not celebrate, in late December (and some never did at all), ... our Lord's Birth. They, instead, rejoiced in and celebrated His Death ... as He said to do ... until He comes.
He *was* born to die, to take away our condemnation and to be the Propitiation for our sins! He willingly did it all for us -- He paid it all !
Thanking God for the Gift of "salvation" in Yeshua (Jesus), by His Grace, ... is our daily joy!
I want to live as if I am as thankful as I can be, ... to Him, ... for the awesome gift of deliverance Yeshua bought for me with His Body & Blood He shed in my place, to deliver me from my deserved punishment, for the redemption He paid to clear me of the sin-debt I owed to God, my Father.
He has put our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. -- from Psalm 103:11-13

Maranatha! Come, Lord Yeshua!
He comes soon for us! Let's rejoice in Him every day!
He has come to be Emmanuel, God with us! What a huge blessing that continues on, for ever!
Hallelujah! Let's praise The Lord, for He is Good, and His Mercy endures for ever!

meant with Love to you all....

Psalm 23 -- some thoughts from God, through king David

Psalm 23

The Lord (YHWH -- The I AM) *is* "my" Shepherd; (Amen!)
I shall not want. (have lack of anything)

He maketh me (continually) to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me (continually) beside the still (peace-filled) waters.

He restoreth (continually) my soul:
(He continues, moment by moment, to heal my emotional hurts, and my wrong affections are adjusted by His Gentle Healing Hand ....)
He leadeth me in the paths of Righteousness for His Name's sake.
(He fulfills His Will, for the glory of His Name, "ha Shem.")

Yea, though I walk *through* the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear *no* evil: (of any kind, Lord!)
for Thou (O Lord) art with me; Thy Rod (of correction) and
Thy Staff (of Thy authority, & realm of duty, responsibility)
they comfort me. (strengthen me)

Thou (O God, my Lord & King) preparest a table before me (to
banquet with Thee, O Lord!) in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; (as You ordain me to do Your Will)
my cup runneth over. (with Joy, with agape Love, with blessing You
bring to me, to my life)

Surely Goodness (God "is" Goodness) and Mercy (He is The Father
of Mercies) shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of The Lord (YHWH) forever.
(amazing, but true! Hallelujah! He will let His Goodness
and His Mercy "follow" me, while on earth, and then, He will
invite me to come & spend eternity with Him, in His house,
besides the time I spend communing with Him, while on this
journey of life on earth!)

God sure is Good! (to us, His children)

Amazing Love! (of The Righteous Lord of Heaven and earth)

Praise His Name!

Is anyone else grieved? What are you doing...

... about how you feel?

Thanks to the generosity of both advertisers, and product makers, especially those who are at-home moms, and families, who produce products of high quality, who wish to promote their products among families on one income, through "giveaways" and, in one case, "bloggy giveaways." I am so encouraged to see how many giveaways there are, this week, and a whole passel (a whole bunch is how southerners like me say it) coming up, next week.

But ... what are you all doing about your dread-filled feelings, that so many have and are expressing on blogs and websites, regarding our nation's and our families' futures. The truthful information and predictions are quite foreboding, quite negative!

We have our Hope in Heaven, in The Lord Almighty, and in His Word, and the promises we know are shared in it, by One Who cannot lie, Who is (completely) faithful to keep His promises, and keep His people (His children, His own, His saints, all true believers) from the evil one!

The Lord is still on the throne, and (as a matter of fact) He is using (and going to use) what's been going on, what's been "planned, for many decades, in the secret societies" of rich, elite men around the world, ... all of which God must give permission, must allow, though it grieves His own Heart of Love to see anyone (who fears Him, who understands Who He is, who reverences The Almighty, El Elyon, The Lord God we worship, serve, believe in and trust in, through our belief in and allegiance to His Son, Yeshua {Jesus} The Messiah, The Anointed One of YHWH God) suffer wrongfully, ever.

The Lord is "with us." That's what Emmanuel means. That is one of Yeshua's (Jesus') Names!

The Lord is able to deliver us from harm, from lack, from drought and keep us alive in famine. He is YHWH Yireh! -- The Lord Who continually provides all we need. (for me, I must adjust what I understand to be my 'needs'!!)

The Lord is fully ready and willing to answer all our prayers that agree with His Will in motive, in trusting belief (versus doubting, as we ask Him for anything, or about anything), and in heart (desire -- do we desire His Name to be glorified, and Him to be praised, or His Plans on this earth to be forwarded, ... or do we just want our selfish will, or even just want something we want, rather than asking Him what He wants to occur?).

The Lord is ready, any time, to give us what we ask for, if we meet His simply, yet profound, and just and wise and righteous, qualifications as shared in I John 5: 14-15, 17-18 (the entire chapter is well worth reading!), and in John 14: 13-14, John 15: 7-8, and John 16: 23-24.

The Lord is able to heal us, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, and He is able to restore our broken relationships, with friends & family and even employers and others we are acquainted with (but are not close friends with).

The Lord is able to fulfill all His Will, all His Counsel, and bring to fruition all His Plans, which are always for our good, though "as they are being worked out, on earth" we may not understand why "so many of the details" and "small moments in time" seem to be so painful, so much of a struggle, so difficult to figure out how to deal with, without wondering "why me, Lord?" or "what are You up to, Lord?"

The Lord knows what He is doing --- in the case of what's going on in Washington, D. C., and across the United States of America, ... with regard to whether or not anyone, any more, in any political leadership position, in this country, will truly, fully uphold and defend (and even "comprehend" what's in) our U. S. Constitution. He knows "why" He is allowing evil men to remain in positions of authority over us, or some of us. He knows "how" He will take care of each of His true children (saints, true believers in The Lord Yeshua The Messiah). He knows "what" His plans are to do us good, even though we may suffer, in word, or in deed, at the hands of evildoers, who honestly believe they are doing God a service, to mistreat us, falsely accuse us, or treat us wrongfully.

He will be with us at all times, if we truly belong to Him. Do we have His Holy Spirit dwelling within us? inside us? If so, then we -- in truth -- have nothing and no one to fear. Are we doing all we know to do, to follow The Lord YHWH?

Are we seeking Him to learn "what else" He wants us to do, to bring Him glory and praise, through how we live, each day?

Am finding that the most important lessons in life are not learned through textbooks, but through living real life, helping a person in need, listening to a sorrowful or suffering heart one is willing to share with us, in conversation, ... in seeing opportunities to help someone 'in need,' in any way The Lord enables each of us to help. Are we doing what He would have us do?

Am I (oh, now it's personal; it always is personal, with God, Who sees how we respond when He presents a service opportunity to any of us, as His children) making myself available, to serve Him in any way, even in ways I don't think I am qualified to serve Him in / through?

I'm evaluating some priorities, this month, as many of us are.
I'm looking deep inside, asking God to reveal hidden motives, and, as David asked YHWH to do, in the last verses in Psalm 139 (verses 23 and 24), I ask Him ...

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me (test me, to see if I am pure in heart toward You -- my version of what this phrase means), and know my thoughts (YHWH already knows all my thoughts; perhaps David means "make me aware of my wrong thoughts that do not honor You, Father."): And see if there be any wicked way (a course of life, a mode of action) in me, and lead me (will I follow Him faithfully, loyally?) in the way everlasting." -- Psalm 139: 23-24

Cry out to God, if you lack money / income!
Cry out to God, if you are suffering from a disease, or pain, or some emotional trauma!
Cry out to God, if you need Him to "act" or "manifest" His Help, His Healing, His Peace (you need to be filled with) or His deliverance from some situation that He does not endorse!

Then, choose to receive His Grace (what He uses to enable each of His children to desire to and do have the power to "do" what we call His Will), each moment, especially when you are tested, and begin to grumble or complain, as I do, at times!
And choose to "do the next thing" as Elisabeth Elliot Gren has shared, in her devotional book entitled _Keep a Quiet Heart_, by Elisabeth Elliot. -- Whatever "the next duty" you must do is, you should do it. If we do what we know to do, in practical activities (what we see must be done, on a daily basis), then God takes care of the rest of what needs to be done by Him. He is faithful to do His part, that relates to our daily lives! If we doubt this, then we can go back and read in His Word of the many times He did all that was needed, to keep His people alive, ... for any campaign (against any enemy) that God told them to go up against, ... or even in famine, The Lord took care of widows who had no real source of income but Him, and His daily provision for each one. There are more true stories in His Word, the Bible, that reveal to our sometimes clouded eyes, that He is able to give us the strength to do what we should.

The real question is: are we looking at what that "duty" is? Or are we distracted by some "thing" in this world, that has taken our focus off of Him, and onto "that thing?" Then we've made it an idol object. And an IO is leaving out one part -- the U -- God is the U in any IOU (these are American abbreviations; not sure if others in other lands use the letters IOU in this way as we Americans do). God is the ONly One to Whom we owe our attention or our skills / giftings / abilities, in service, or in taking time to try to accomplish any task or project!

So, I must ask myself: is what I want to do ... something that my Father in Heaven has told me to do, or wants me to do?

If I evaluate what my priorities are, for today, or for the coming month, or year, I must first examine my own heart, to see if my motives toward my Lord and Savior are "righteous" and honoring to His Name. After examining my heart, each night, or morning, in prayer to my Lord, to God my Father, ... then, I must also take time to listen to His Holy Spirit, Who speaks to me through His Word, in my Bible. Doing these two things will begin each day with a much more correct perspective on "life on earth." ! God is able to help us, but we tie His Hands, so to speak, and prevent Him from helping us, ... in a real way ... if we ignore His commands He's given us through His Son, Yeshua The Messiah. They are taught in The Word, from Genesis 1 to The Revelation (given by Yeshua) to John (the apostle) 22.

II Timothy 3: 16 (in Rav Shaul's / Paul's letter to his disciple in the faith, named Timothy) "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in Righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect (fresh, complete), throughly (thoroughly) furnished unto all good works (fully enabled to "accomplish" the good activities, endeavours that God would have, or lead, each believer to do)."

Yeshua's commands do seem to be concentrated / taught in the New Covenant (most call it the New Testament). However, "Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echad," does mean "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord is One." And in His Word, all that is written therein is to be used (by us) to learn from, to teach (others), and to use in correcting ourselves, and to enable us to better understand, and do, what He leads us and expects us to do.

If you wish to learn more about what Yeshua has commanded us to do and to know that He wants us to do, please visit: http://iblp.org/iblp/discipleship/dailysuccess/
Learn what Jesus (Yeshua) commanded each of us children of God to do! It will inspire you! It will encourage your heart!
If you choose to enroll in the Daily Success scripture meditation program, through that site, you will receive daily emails, to share with you truths that will transform your life, and will bring you "good success." ... as mentioned in Joshua 1: 8-9.

As you do the same, I will be 'working on' choosing to think right, live right, and do right. God is able to enable you, and me! We must plod on, willingly, cheerfully, and lovingly. Our Lord Yeshua did, while He was on earth, homeless, alone (in more ways than one), and listening to, and following God's leading, ... in much prayer, in fasting, in suffering, in rejoicing, ... in a loving, living response to His Father in Heaven. He just asks us to follow Him, in doing the same. And He promises He will enable us to do "greater" things than He was able to accomplish on earth, in His short time of ministry (only 3 years), before He laid down His Life, on the tree, and died, and then was resurrected on the third day, according to the Scriptures. Will we be busy about doing our Father's business, as He was?
Let's try our best, because He is "with us" to enable us to do it. He promised! (if we are willing to cooperate with Him, in it)

Today, my goal is: to yield my rights to The Lord, and my expectations to The Lord (in prayer)