Out With The Old

              



We are all familiar with this quote, maybe too familiar I'm afraid. 

I moved, yes again, to a sweet townhouse in Odessa. One of the things I love about this quaint home the Lord blessed me with is my screened-in porch. I love being outside and I have the best view of the woods. It's a conservation area so I don't have to worry about any building going on while I'm here.

I spend a lot of time out here, actually, I'm writing this jewel from my outdoor oasis right now.
So here's the thing about us, humans, in spite of all the beautiful trees I see and the abundance of wildlife that I hear praising God on a daily basis my eyes are drawn to one treetop that I have to go out of my way to see. 


There at the top is a dead branch and every day I say to myself, I really wish someone would cut off those dead branches. That was until yesterday when I heard a crow making quite the ruckus. You know how loud crows can be. It seemed all his yelling was directed at me as there were no other birds nearby that I could see. I finally looked up and said "what are you yelling about?" 

He then broke off a piece of that dead branch, Gems I actually heard the snap of the branch breaking. As he did I heard the Holy Spirit say "he needs those dead branches to build his nest."  I realized this crow was looking for that very kind of branch. What was dead to me was going to help keep life for him. That crow was probably yelling at me to leave his branches alone!

I realized just because something looked old didn't mean it wasn't useful. This of course got me thinking about people and how far we have come from honoring the elderly.

                          
The way of the righteous. Gems we don't just become righteous. It is a process and to be honest I don't think we even know what that means until we get older.

I went to a church service years back and the music was so loud I actually had to plug my ears, it was awful. What was worse than the volume of the music was what the Pastor said when he came to the microphone. He said "if the music is too loud for you, you must be too old, then this isn't the church for you."
I left.... Not because I was insulted that he called me old, I wasn't what I would consider old yet. I left because he was telling the congregation that old people had no place there. How very sad that moment was for the body of Christ.

Yeshua is letting us know that He has no age limit on His children. Old men will dream dreams. Many people say you know your dead when you stop dreaming. I love hearing older people share about things from the past that they walked through personally.

You have heard me speak of my dear friend and mentor Fran Bozeman. Oh how I miss her. She got me through so many difficult times with her love and wisdom. She told me stories of her life that made me want to serve God in a deeper way. She had the right to speak into my life because she had been through many of life's challenges and survived.

When I was a little girl my hero was my grandma Sophie. She was one tough cookie! Grandma raised her 6 children pretty much on her own. She worked from home long before being an entrepreneur was cool. She used to bake wedding cakes to make money. I can remember having sleepovers at her house and running up to the door, the aroma of fresh cakes wafting its way out to the yard. I couldn't wait to get to the bowl that contained leftover pieces of cake from whatever creation she was putting together.

Sophie lived a humble life, she didn't have a lot of money but she took pride in everything she did. Coming from a large Italian family, my grandmother was one of 13 and had 6 children, she eventually had a lot of grandchildren. When it was our birthday she gave you a dollar bill with Happy Birthday written on it. She said you didn't really want the card anyway and she didn't want to waste money. She was very creative, I did get that from her. 

Her home was simple, there weren't a lot of knick-knacks lying around, it was always neat and orderly. As a devout catholic the only thing she displayed was a small likeness of Mary holding Jesus, I still have it. 
The thing is my grandmother wasn't a big talker, I know where did I come from?
She didn't give me lots of lectures on life or even talk about hers. She was a living illustration.
I can't remember my grandmother complaining and trust me she had many things to overcome. She had integrity, she was generous and kind. She gave what little she had to others and she served God however she thought would please Him. To be honest we never really talked about God. I did go to mass with her on sleepovers and when I wanted to visit a nearby church as a teen she was worried because she heard they spoke in weird languages but she didn't stop me. She was truly the gospel message without using words.
I learned more life lessons from my grandmother's example than any other person growing up.

When my oldest sister got married I sat proudly next to my grandmother. I remember leaning over to her and saying "grandma when I get married I want you to be in my wedding." She laughed and said "you won't want some old fat woman in your wedding." 
I didn't forget that promise and years later as I planned my wedding I asked her to be my matron of honor, she thought I was kidding. When she realized I wasn't she said "where will you find a dress to fit me?" Did I mention my grandmother was also a seamstress? Finding a dress was the least of my concerns. I was honored to have my grandmother a part of a very special event in my life.

Right behind her is my sister Darlene. That's whose wedding it was when I asked Sophie to be in my wedding. I didn't notice that till just now as I'm writing this jewel. Tradition says not to outshine the bride but my grandam did, she was stunning!

I still keep this picture in my bedroom. I love this frame with the crown on it, it's so appropriate for my grandmother who was truly a queen in my eyes.

Gems I guess what I'm saying is out with the old is not a good idea at all! We need the generations before us to remind us of what was good and bad in our lives. They are our history, their input will affect our future.

I pray this will serve as a gentle reminder to all of us to honor the elderly. Don't assume because they look old they aren't useful. LISTEN to them they may save you years of un-needed grief. 

Next time you have questions, before hitting Google hit up grandparents 😉

Matthew Meant It

These are notes from my Torah Study Messianic Bible thought I would share.

Leviticus 21:1–24:23; Ezekiel 44:15–31; James 1:1–18

The truth is that as Believers in Yeshua, we are His ambassadors, royal family, and priests—we represent Him; therefore, each of us are held to a high standard of morality when interacting with the world and each other.

 

Biblically, we are called to sanctify God’s holy name:

 

"Do not profane My holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites.  I am the LORD, who made you holy."  (Leviticus 22:32)

 

In Judaism, this is considered the most important mitzvah (commandment) of the 613 mitzvot (plural of mitzvah) in the entire Torah.  Our behavior must exemplify our relationship with God.

 

In this way, we can be lights shining in the darkness.

 

"Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."  (Matthew 5:15)

 

While we are all His representatives, each of us has a unique role in Adonai’s plan.  When we strive for greatness in whatever purpose God has given us in that Divine plan, and work on developing all of our God-given gifts and qualities, then we can bring honor to Him and light to the world.

God’s Plan Revealed in His Appointed Meeting Times

 

"The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are My appointed festivals [moadim], the appointed festivals [meeting times or feasts] of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies"’"(Leviticus 23:1–2)

 

In addition to instructing the Kohanim (priests) on how to meet with and serve Him, God gave the Israelites instructions about observing the moadim (special meeting times and festivals).  These include the following:

• Shabbat (Sabbath) on the seventh day;
• Pesach (Passover) for seven days beginning at sundown on the 14th day of the first month of Nissan;
• Bikkurim (Firstfruits) on Nisan 16;
• Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) 50 days after Pesach ends;
• Rosh Hashanah (New Year) on the first day of the seventh month (Tishrei);
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) on the 10th day of the seventh month; and
• Sukkot (Tabernacles) for eight days beginning on the 15th day of the seventh month.
• God introduces these appointed meeting times with the Shabbat —a holy day that reminds us God is the Creator of heaven and earth.  
• It testifies to the fact that God is still actively involved with His creation and sustaining it.  That is the starting point for faith. Since the Israelites are commanded to keep the Shabbat "in all your dwelling places (Leviticus 23:31)," the Shabbat forges a link between the Creator and every Jewish household. 
• The other appointed times listed above are sometimes referred to as the Feasts or Festivals of Israel but, in actuality, God says they are the appointed times of the Lord—His moadim. 
• These moadim were not merely meant to be remembrances of times past; each one gave the Israelites clues to God’s future plan of redemption for them and the world.  That is, each of these moadim or appointed feasts point to the Messiah in profoundly spiritual ways.
  

As Believers, we are privileged to see how Yeshua has either already fulfilled these feasts in His first appearance on earth or will fulfill them at His Second Coming.

 

Yeshua fulfilled the festivals of Pesach (the Passover sacrifice of a lamb on Nisan 14) with His final sacrificial/atoning death on Nisan 14 as the unblemished Lamb of God (Isaiah 53; John 1:36; Hebrews 9:11–14, 22–24).

 

In this offering of Himself, Yeshua also fulfilled Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

 

Yeshua then became our Bikkurim (Firstfruits) of the barley harvest held on Nisan 16 when He resurrected on Nisan 16 as the first of all who will rise from the dead on the Last Day (Psalm 16:8–11; Acts 2:24–28; 1 Corinthians 15:20–23).

 

Shavuot (Pentecost) on Sivan 6 is a celebration of the giving of the Torah.  On this same day (Sivan 6), Yeshua poured out His Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) onto His Believers.  

 

The Ruach wrote the Torah on their hearts, empowering the Believers to live holy lives (Joel 2:28; Jeremiah 31:31–33; Acts 2).

 

The Fall festivals of Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets or New Year) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) will be fulfilled when the shofar blows and Yeshua returns to establish His reign on earth.  It will happen this way:

 

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet [shofar]; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."  (1 Corinthians 15:52)

Matthew 5:17-19

¹⁷ “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. ¹⁸ Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened. ¹⁹ So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.