Shabbat on our knees... Teshuvah!

Tonight begins Shabbat and we will be on our knees. Today is the eighth anniversary of the 9/11.

We are not having a special meeting tonight but a time of prayer. Husband and I are grieved to see America has slipped back into complacency, back away from The Almighty. This is the season of Teshuvah, of returning back to the laws of The Father in preparation of the Fall Feasts and the Messiah's return.

How very fitting that tonight's Parashah is Ki Tavo, "when you enter." In this Parashah, the children of Israel are getting ready to enter the land and Moses is exhorting them to keep the law, the Torah. It is in this reading where the Moses gives them the charge for the "Blessings and Curses." Blessings if you follow the commandments, the Torah, and Curses if you don't. This is reflected in 2 Ch 7:14

Quote:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

Ki Tavo is read during the season of Teshuva, or returning, the time when we are to perform cheshbon ha-nefesh and teshuvah, (soul searching and return [to the laws of the Almighty]) in the days leading to Yom Kippur. In other words, "Repent before you die." This is interesting because Husband and I feel today, the eighth anniversay of 9/11, America needs Chesbon ha-nefesh and Teshuvah!

Parashah: Deut. 26:1 - 29:9
Haftarah: Isaiah 60:1-22
Brit Chadashah: Acts 7:30-36, Eph. 1:3-6 , Rev. 21:10-27

The Daily Grind

Life at our house has always been a bit chaotic, I am a bit of a "free spirit" and have always shied away from the concept of scheduling.  As much as I hate to admit it, it is very true that a larger than normal family does require some sort of a schedule, however loosely defined, in order to survive. But I had never been able to acheive a real schedule until we began keeping Shabbat.

When Husband became convinced that we needed to keep Shabbat, I wondered how we could waste an entire day?  We already didn't get anything done!  But as we went forward in obedience, I quickly learned that in order to "survive Shabbat" I needed a plan; a *gasp* schedule!  Otherwise, we wouldn't eat one day out of seven.

Here is my outlined, skeleton of a schedule.  It is as flexible as we are.  I don't fret when it is not followed exactly, this schedule gives us a vision, a goal to move toward and reminds me of Proverbs 29:18 .  

 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. 

  

~Every Week Day~

Breakfast

pets fed
Bible 
tidy bedrooms 

21 son and 16 son to work

school
laundry
wash dishes
sweep floors 
vacuum 

~First Day~ 

~sunday focus: bedrooms~
strip beds 
wash all linens 
air out matresses 
clean under beds 
dust, de-cobweb 
wash windows 
miniblinds 
straighten dresser drawers 
straighten closets 
vacuum 
set out bowls of vinegar to freshen air 

~Second Day~

~monday focus: kitchen~
take everything off counter and scrub 
wash window 
clean oven, if needed 
dust & de-cobweb 
straighten cabinets 
clean out one drawer 
clean out fridge 
scrub floor 

~Third Day~

~tuesday focus: bathrooms~
spray sink & tub w/ vinegar 
spray tub 
pour vinegar in toilet 
wipe down sink & faucet 
scrub tub & faucet, (this may take something like Bar Keeper's Friend) 
scrub inside of toilet 
rinse sink & tub 
wipe down top, sides & around base of toilet 
spray mirror 
sweep floor, check toilet paper & Tissue 
empty trash 
wipe down mirror 
mop floor 
spray Lysol, or set out bowls of vinegar

~Fourth Day~

~wednesday focus:  Shabbat menu plan~
take inventory of pantry 
make guest list 
plan menu 
clean out fridge 
go to bank, (l've learned to shop with only cash) 

~Fifth Day~

~thursday focus:  shopping day~

Aldi

Sam's

Walmart

specialty shops

~Sixth Day~

~friday focus: Sabbath Preparation~
 make sure everything is clean, it should be already. 
all windows & mirrors 
begin Challah 
prepare food for Shabbat meals

fuel up car

last minute shopping 
haircuts, if needed 
baths all around 
set table 
light candles

welcome guests 
enjoy Shabbat! 

~Shabbat~
 sleep late 
breakfast 
extended Bible study with family and/or guests 
lunch 
enjoy the day that the Father made! 
Havdalah

~Seventh Day Evening~

~saturday night focus: the Cycle begins again~

clean up from Shabbat

wash dishes

straighten house

vacuum

Keeping Shabbat has brought order to our lives and as I have discovered, order can be a good thing.  Our entire week now revolves around the Day of Rest.  It's funny how our week now has purpose and I no longer feel as if we are treading water.   In giving up an entire day in obedience to Him,  goals that were once wistfully glaced at from a distance are now being reached.  The Father continues to lovingly teach me in the seemingly mundane tasks I used to dislike and He gently leads me ever closer to Him in the still, small voice of His path for me.

Out with the Old...

Looking over those old blog posts that I just imported just makes me marvel at the changes in our family these last two years.  We have gone from die-hard, pork-eating, New Covenant Southern Baptists to in-with-both-feet, full-steam-ahead, no-looking-back, Torah observant followers of the Messiah!  Whew!  If I think about it, I just get dizzy.

In with the New!

This week, we are getting ready to celebrate our third Passover. We have been preparing by studying the scripture, examining and scrubbing the house, trying to get rid of leaven but not quite succeeding.  My children are again seeing how leaven equates with sin; no matter how hard we try, we just can't get away from it.  We desperately need the help of a Saviour!   Isn't it amazing how the Father can use such a simple task as cleaning to illuminate deep spiritual truths to us. 

 We are still learning about Torah so we will make many mistakes but our desire is to please Him and become more like Him.  I am so grateful for The Father's kindness and mercy; He can forgive our clumsy attempts at obedience as long as we are truly trying to obey.

 

Laying Trumpet Aside (Dec, '06)

I haven't posted about my music but it has been a big part of my life. I began playing trumpet in grade school and have continued all these years. My trumpet put me through college and paid bills in my younger days.  I have played through eight full-term pregnancies with little trouble and my music has carried me through three devistating miscarriages, several rounds of pneumonia, and even a bout of Bells Palsy, (that was interesting)/  I'm no virtuoso (ha!) but I'm adequate for my small town. Now I'm laying my trumpet aside. This makes me very sad but for right now, it's the right decision. I'm really feeling it during the Christmas season though. 
Now I will focus more on my children's music. I hope they will be blessed as much as I have been through the years and maybe I will perform again but right now, my audience is my family.

The Winds of Change (Nov, '06)

As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end," and so it goes with our relationship with our church. This is a very sad time for my family as we've held membership at FBC since August, 1997, and we have been very blessed by our church family over the years. Our entire lives are wrapped up here; all of our social functions stem from church, five of my eight living children have confessed Christ as their Lord while here. This church as lifted me up during the marriage struggles of our early membership and the more recent deaths of our three unborn babies. 
Our church is heading in a direction that Clint and I don't want to take and so Clint has made the painful decision to take our family to a place we don't yet know. I am reminded of Abraham when told to leave Er and go to a land God Himself said, "I will show you." 
Now that the split has been made, I'm excited and looking forward to where God is leading my husband.