Brokenness

Brokenness

“Whoever falls on that stone will be broken in pieces; but if it falls on him, he will be crushed to powder!” Luke 20:18

We often think of brokenness as a condition we are left in after the world has had its way with us—that we come to Yeshua broken, asking Him to put us back together. When we allow the world to break us, we come to Yeshua with a pile of pieces that have been broken by human hands, asking the Master to reform them, but if we allow Yeshua to break us, the pieces are formed by His hands, and we cannot dictate the pattern with which we will be reconstructed.

What does it mean to be truly broken? Why do we need to be broken at all? We are all going to fall at some time or another—the question is: when we fall, are we going to be on the stone or under it? When we fall, do we want the Lord to be able to pick us up again, or will we be completely annihilated? When we fall, are we falling to our knees in reverence and worship, or are we falling from heights reached by our own avarice?

Everyone will fall one day or another because of Yeshua. Those who fall in humility will be broken on the stone and transformed into a vessel of honor. Those who erect themselves and reject the cornerstone—their kingdoms will fall and become dust.

Brokenness is being on your knees before the Lord—even when it starts getting a little uncomfortable. Brokenness is spreading out your arms, exposing your heart, and, looking up toward heaven, saying, “I’m available.” Brokenness is standing naked and still in the midst of your circumstances and proclaiming, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...” Brokenness is praising God, even when you don’t feel like it. Brokenness is hearing the Holy Spirit and not putting up a fight.

P R A Y E R

Abba Father, I have become rigid and dry, break me and change me into a holy vessel, worthy of your service. Teach me now what it means to be broken before you before I fall on my own. I would rather be broken by you than whole in the world. Thank you, Lord, that you are the Master Architect, and you see me now as I am supposed be. Reshape me in your image, Lord—use me as you see fit, because I love you, and I trust you completely....

© 1997-2002 MessiahNet / Perfect Word Ministries

Chanukah Decorations

The children and I got most of the Chanukah decorations done and up on the windows. We just have a banner to get up now and we're finished!

Thoughts Out Loud

The internet can be an interesting place but for me it's also a place where I find I can get my feelings hurt, feel alone and a myriad of other feelings. Lately I have been wondering how beneficial it is being on some of the places I am. Such as, facebook..sometimes it's so quiet that I wonder if I am invisible? Sometimes the comments and posts are frequent and I feel loved and other times I am left feeling blah..seems there is something wrong with this picture? Maybe I should take a leave of abscence from facebook? I don't know? Just something I am thinking on..

Maybe I am just weird and no one else out there experiences these things?

I have been thinking lately that I am a put all my eggs in one basket sort of gal which can leave me hurt and feeling alone, etc.. It's just my personality to be this way..just who I am but perhaps learning to separate my eggs and put them into other baskets would be more beneficial? I'm not speaking of facebook here by the way..so as not to confuse anyone.

I guess today is a day for sharing thoughts and feelings and for rambling..

Most likely I am not making any sense...oh well..just thinking out loud here..

Chanukah decorating..

Tomorrow the children and I will be decorating for Chanukah. We have our star of davids and menorah's to color and put up on the windows. We already have our Chanukah lights in the windows. They look so lovely!! :)




Here is a website where I found some neat games and crafts and other things for Chanukah..

http://holidays.kaboose.com/chanukah/index.html

I love it when it's time to start listening to Chanukah music again!!

"I had a little dreydl...."

"Chanukah, oh, Chanukah.."

Another thing worth noting from my weekend was that I bought a new purse! My good friend Heather will be so glad!! The goodwill was having a 50% off everything in the store sale and I found a cute purse for 1.50$! This one I can actually carry because the handle isn't broken off! :)

Happy Chanukah!!!

A Poem...

PRO AND CON

You can raise a crop of babies on almost any land;
In fact, you need a little grit, and just a little sand.
And lots of love and laughter, to make them grow up strong,
Yet folks with lots of babies somehow seem to get along.

I don't say they are useful, quite, as cars and pigs and such,
But they're a grand crop in themselves, and worth ten times as much.
So don't forget the babies when you're planning for your farm -
A few about you underfoot won't do a bit of harm.

And when your hair is growing gray and years are growing long,
Your heart, instead of drying up, will hold a merry song,
For babies have a way with them of growing strong and tall
And make such dandy leaning posts as life's spring turns to fall!
Anon.

self re-evaluation...

Having very little right now with the unemployment rate in our area being 15% I have had to do some self re-evaluation.
I didn't like what I saw. :(
Does life really revolve around more material possessions? Are we only happy if we have money to spend? What are our lives truly built upon? What is the foundation? Am I relying on man for my happiness? And what am I teaching my children? That our happiness comes from how much money we have or how much stuff we can buy??

It can be so discouraging as you look around this sad world because sadly the answer to the questions I asked myself for most of the people in this world is yes..:(
Yes, their happiness is measured by how much money they have, by how many "toys" they can acquire. We are judged in this world by how much money we make and how many "toys" we have. We are judged by the cars we drive and the homes we live in.. Our success is measured by our careers and how much education we have..

Scripture says this:
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.~ Matthew 6:18-20

The L-rd judges man not by how much stuff he has or how many years of college he has finished. Father judges men by their hearts and their desire to serve Him and obey His commands..

7But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Isaiah 66:2 (Amplified Bible)

2For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things have come into being [by and for Me], says the Lord. But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres My commands.

1 John 5:3 (Amplified Bible)

3For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous).

John 14:21 (Amplified Bible)

21The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

I feel the L-rd asking me to keep my eyes upon Him and not on the things of this world..
G-d is the G-d of hope. He is our refuge and ever present help in times of trouble.

So while the world is gaining more things I will be sitting at the feet of my Saviour and L-rd where I am gaining those precious valuables that nothing can destroy! You can take everything from me, my clothes, home and material goods but no one can take my L-rd from me! It is all counted as dung....

Devotional..

Read this this morning..I thought it was very good!! I got it from... http://www.messiahnet.com/

Parashah 1
B’resheet (In the beginning) 1:1-6:8

“On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.” B’resheet (Genesis) 2:2-3

The very beginning of the Torah tells us not only of the literal beginnings of space and time, but sketches out the foundational truth that we are to rest as new creations in the Messiah Yeshua. Every day that God labored over the creation of the earth, the seas, the skies and all living things, his entire labor consisted of a single act: he simply said.

“God said...” His six-day labor was nothing more than his Word spoken into the universe, returning that which he desired. We must remember, however, that while this may not seem to us to have been a difficult task for God, He did consider it “work.” For we see on the very first Shabbat, the very first seventh day, that no work was done-none at all. Indeed, the seventh day, Shabbat, was blessed and set apart as holy without a single word from the mouth of God. By keeping silent on that first Shabbat, God did no work. God establishes Shabbat-keeping from the beginning as a plumb line for submitting to the Word of God.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You are not to eat from any tree in the garden”?’” B’resheet 3:1

Immediately following creation, Adonai’s word is challenged in an attempt to knock humankind off course and keep us from the straight path of God’s Word. The serpent succeeds in his crafty ways by posing a very simple question: “Did God really say...?”

Did God really say not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did God really say the man and woman would die if they did? Did God really say that the seventh day, the Shabbat, is set apart from the rest of the week as holy and that no work is to be done on that day? We often forget, despite what we may believe-or what we would like to believe-that even if something conflicts with or rubs our doctrines the wrong way, it all comes back to “What did God really say?” Either the Holy Scriptures are true or they are not. When there is a question about Scripture, there is always as answer: “Did God really say...”

“Adonai said to Kayin (Cain), ‘Why are you angry? Why so downcast? If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door-it wants you, but you can rule over it.’” B’resheet 4:6-7

By discounting the Word of God, making it less or equal to our own wisdom, separation from God is the inevitable result. By treating the Word of God as if it is ordinary, common, nothing to be revered or considered to be truth, we cannot receive its protective blessing. Despite adequate warning, we will not do what is good-we will be overtaken by sin and imprisoned by it.

Yet here in the first few passages of God’s Holy Torah, the Good News is preached to us. For even though sin is in the world, crouching at the door, waiting behind every corner, sneaking up from behind, God’s righteousness empowers us to have rulership over that which desires to have us. In the Lord, we have confidence to stand tall over cowering, stealthy sin. In the beginning, by his own mouth the Word of God spoke forth life into Creation, and now, the Word of God continually recreates us in His image, that we may be living beings, Holy and set apart, for a Holy and set apart God.

P R A Y E R

Adonai, God, show me all my beginnings. Remind me what it was like when I first came to know you. Illuminate my mind about the source of any sin that is in my life today, then point me to the day when you redeemed me-recreated me-and made me clean. Father, reveal to my heart how to live daily in your eternal Shabbat rest of which you remind me the seventh day of every week. Adonai, God, you are a good God. Thank you for always desiring to let me start over-to have a new beginning in you....

© 1997-2002 MessiahNet / Perfect Word Ministries

Chicago pics!!

We had a great time in Chicago! My friend Heather picked me up at 6am and we stopped and mailed invitations for the banquet with the homeschool group I colead. We then headed to Starbucks where we got some yummy peppermint latte's. Our drive from there to the train station went by quickly and before we knew it we were on the train headed to Chicago!
We walked on the magnificent mile and went to Borders book store which was 3 floors. Macy's was also huge. We went to Millenium Park and saw some neat things there also!
Here are some pics to share..

We both took the bull by the horns..:)


















We left Chicago at 6pm. Once we were back in IN we stopped for a bite to eat and then arrived home about 11:30pm or so! It was a full day but so fun!! I can't wait to do it again!!