I feel the Change in the Atmosphere.

Increasing with intensity

 each Hebrew month reveals

the timeless Lessons Learned.

In Nisan, G-d is my Redeemer

In Iyar, G-d is my Healer

In Sivan, G-d is my Revelation

In Tammuz, G-d is my Vision

In Av, G-d is my Comforter

And as I release the hand of Elul,

I feel it’s reflective lessons catapulting me over the line,

into this new season with a softened heart and a renewed mind.

The Trumpets of Tishrei blast me out of the mundane

ushering me to the Doors of the Throne Room without delay.

On this eve of Rosh Hashanah, I am standing at attention

Listening to the Shofar resound in the dimensions.

Yes! I feel the Change in the Atmosphere.

Hebrew4Christians – Shofar

Leviticus 23 | ²³Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying:   ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest,  a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

The High Holy Days are rapidly approaching – just one short day away. The Shofar has been blowing every day of Elul. Are we prepared for the Days of Awe or are we still warring within? Are we fighting the GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH or are we fighting to STAY JUST THE WAY WE ARE?

Have we done the hardwork of repentance and reconciliation or are we still waiting for someone else to make the first move?  Has the blast of the Shofar weakened our stony hearts, loosened the bitter roots and brought us to a broken and contrite spirit?

L-rd have mercy. The call to Teshuvah has been ringing loud and clear.   Let us consider where we are on the journey home:

1. Stop the behavior (sin, attitude)
2. Regret the sin
3. Confess the sin
4. Resolve never to do it again

STEP FOUR: RESOLVE (To remove all excuses and options for hardness of heart from your mind)

Beginning again, with a fresh resolve in the heart to do things differently:

• Reconnects us to our Creator
• Heals the soul and
• Repairs the world

Even if your efforts have been futile in the past, never weary of trying. Learn from the past mistakes, and start all over again wiser than before. Tikkum O’lam (The Healing of the World) is a worthy cause. It is Hashem’s cause.

DON’T GIVE UP - YESHUA HAS NOT.

Hebrews 4:14-16 |  ¹⁴ So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. ¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

It really pains my heart to see us step over one another under the guise of making peace with  G-d.  Possibly just possibly – the peace we are seeking is in the hard work of reconciliation we are avoiding.

Don’t be afraid.  Do the hard work.  Maybe we need to take the roadless traveled and meet up with someone on their rocky road of dealing with us.    Not everyone will reciprocate the effort.  No worries …  IF we have done all we can to make things right (Matthew 18:15-17).

Let’s do the hard work.

Make peace and Make Our Father’s Heart Proud.

IF we master the art of making peace,

perhaps we will also become known as (aka) the  Children of God.

DC TALK – Just Between you and me 

Sorrow is a lonely feeling
Unsettled is a painful place
I’ve lived with both for far too long now
Since we’ve parted ways

I’ve been wrestling with my conscience
And I found myself to blame
If there’s to be any resolution
I’ve got to peel my pride away

(chorus)
Just between you and me
I’ve got something’ to say
Wanna get it straight
Before the sun goes down

Just between you and me
Confession needs to be made
Recompense is my way to freedom now
Just between you and me
I’ve got something to say

Confession is the road to healing
Forgiveness is the promised land
I’m reaching out in my conviction
I’m longing to make amends

So, I’m sorry for the words I’ve spoken
For I’ve betrayed a friend
We’ve got a love that’s worth preserving
And a bond I will defend

(repeat chorus)

In my pursuit of God, I thirst for holiness
As I approach the Son, I must consider this
Offenses unresolved, they’ll keep me from the throne
Before I go to Him my wrong must be atoned

If there’s to be any resolution
I’ve got to peel this pride away

Just between you and me
I’ve got something’ to say
Wanna get it straight
Before the sun goes down

Just between you and me
Confession needs to be made
Recompense is my way to freedom
It’s my way to freedom

It’s my way to freedom (2x)
I’ve got something to say, so let me say it today
It’s my way to freedom (2x)
I’ve got something to say, confession needs to be made
It’s my way to freedom (2x)
I’ve got something to say, confession needs to be made
It’s my way to freedom (2x)
I’ve got something to say…

Reconciliation can be a complicated process and most of us, don’t know how to do it very well.   Our fears, memories and propensity for “doing what we have always done“ can hinder the healing process in a relationship.  I believe the following story illustrates this point.

STARTING AGAIN

Two men come to a rabbi asking for help to settle a problem.

Both are angry at each other and neither will apologize.

The rabbi says:

   OK, at the count of 3, both of you extend your hands and shake.

   OK, 1, 2, 3.

Very good, says the rabbi but now you have to say something.

   In Judaism it’s not enough to just shake.

   Now which one of you will say something to the other?

OK, said one man, I’ll start.

      I wish for you everything in the new year that you wish for me.

The other man responds:

      You see, Rabbi, he’s starting up again.

-Author unknown

Resolve with all of your heart to “startup again” the right way.

Romans 12:17, 18 |  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

“What Part of Go Take Care of It, Don’t You Understand?”  Part 2

Matthew 5:23-24 (The Message Bible)  This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters.  If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right.  Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

As we moved into early fall, our conversations began to unthaw but not before, we had a short verbal sparring which startled me.  Fortunately, my husband who was in the other room heard our exchange and was able to offer some objectivity to the situation after she left.

I began by saying, “Did you hear that?”  Her response surprised me but Mike’s answer offended me.  I could not believe what I was hearing.   My husband of just shy of five years, was telling me that (based on the conversation he had heard from the other room), I may be the reason why my BFF had responded to me negatively and abruptly ended the conversation.

He went on to say, “I know what you were trying to say but the way you were saying it, seemed to dismiss her idea – like yours was more important.

 I came into the living room, looking for support (not feedback).  What I got instead was – an unbiased, objective perspective AND IT WAS MOST UNWELCOMED – on my part.  (No, he di’int just take her side!)

The little weeds of hurt that were planted in my heart during the summer of silence had sprouted into fiery bitter darts.   Oh, I was mad and fully offended.   (Who died and made him almighty communicator?)  Mike says that he still remembers the look I gave him. As, he should… 

I fumed for hours but had to concede that my husband loved me and meant me no harm.  And the BFF – well… we considered her a beloved member of the family.  So now what do I do?

In my heart, I kept hearing “What part of go take care of it, don’t you understand?”  I had to go make things right on my end.  It was my turn to apologize for hurting her. Not my intention but that was her experience and I was truly sorry.

Shortly after we did meet and talk things out.   What was obvious to her – “something she felt I should have known” unfortunately was not obvious to me.  It took a verbal sparring on the back porch (a week before) to bring the hurt and pain we were both still feeling up to the surface.   The passage of time (during the summer) had not healed the wounds.  Making nice and tip toeing around our conversations did not fix the problem.  Healing came when we both came together in humility to remove the offenses that threatened to destroy our friendship.  It was not easy but it was worth it.

Do you hear the shofar sounding… ”What part of go take care of it – don’t you understand?” 

We can’t assume people know, that they are hurting us.  Nor can we assume people KNOW how to tell us that they are hurting because of something we said or did.  It works both ways. 

Whoever is at the altar (hopefully it’s both of us) and remembers or has some inkling that something may be amiss – leave your gift (G-d will still be there) and go be reconciled with your friend or loved one.  It may be a rough road ahead.  You may have to come to terms with some things about yourself that’s OBVIOUS to others but a blind spot for you. 

Our Heavenly Father is serious about relationships and expects us to treat one another with love, respect, dignity and understanding.   We are HIS children and as such, His Ambassadors.   Reach out to someone who has hurt you or you have hurt and do the work of reconciliation.   Partner with G-d in the Healing of the World.

It will make His Heart Smile.

”What Part of Go Take Care of It – Don’t You Understand?” Part 1

One Memorial Day weekend many years ago, my BFF (best friend forever) unplugged “without warning”, and decided not to communicate with me. She would not answer or return my calls. As a result, I had no clue regarding what I had done to warrant the silent treatment. I prayed continuously about the situation and asked the Lord to show me what I did wrong and how to make it right.

I began reading Matthew 5:23-24 | Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

This scripture was challenging for me NOT because I didn’t want to make things right but because I would gladly make things right, if I had the chance.   I would gladly leave my gift at the altar -  but she refused to have anything to do with me.

We had never had a cross word or a vicious disagreement. So I was left with the mystery of figuring it out. But that was driving me crazy. I finally stopped trying to defend myself in the courtroom of my mind and concluded that I was innocent until my friend revealed the charges against me.  I eventually accepted the situation as it was while still mourning the loss of my friend. As the summer came to end, my BFF began coming around again but she never mentioned the summer silence.

Although, I was glad to see her, it was obvious things had changed between us. The conversations were short, safe and shallow. The deep hearty shared laughter of the past was no more to be found in our company. We were cautious and I was jaded. I didn’t want to bring up anything that would trigger the door on our friendship closing forever but it was also tiresome not knowing how all this began in the first place.

I was still challenged by the scripture in Matthew and kept hearing in my heart – you need to talk to her. “What part of go take care of it, don’t you understand?” 

My response, I will… tomorrow.  ( I didn’t really mean tomorrow just some time in the future).

(To be continued)

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23 ELUL 5769 ~SAVING FACE~  OK – I am "fessin up" about confessing my faults.  In truth, this is the most difficult step in the Teshuvah (Repentance) process for me.  I'm ok with stopping, and regretting but if I have to say what I did – Urgh! my stomach goes into knots.  And let me be the first to say – it is easy to "fess up" to G-d but if I have to fess up to others about a sin, attitude, behavior - the process begins to slow way………….. … Read More

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22 Elul 5769 ~Dirty Confessions with Pure Intentions~   Many summers ago, my sister and I were enjoying a vacation with our grandparents deep in the heart of Texas.   Although, we had to heat our water and the modern conveniences of suburbia were far from us, we enjoyed the carefree country life.   Walking along the dirt roads to visit distant neighbors, talking to the horses and catching fireflies, filled our day.  One day we went to visit some … Read More

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21 ELUL 5769 STEP THREE:  Confess Your Sin James 5:16 | Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. … Read More

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20 ELUL 5769 STEP TWO:  REGRET YOUR SIN I was visiting the deep heart of Texas one summer with my sister and our grandparents.  As my sister and I were walking up the dirt road that led back to madear's home we came across a colony of red ants.  The ants had created a hole in the dirt and the dirt pile encamped around the hole.  My eleven year old mind thought it would be fun to kick the dirt and scatter it across the road. Regret filled my heart … Read More

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