Priority #2 - My Husband: Feeding the Hungry Thing

This was a favorite book of my children.  It is about a monster who comes into a restaurant, but his English isn't that great and the children have to guess what it is that he wants to eat.  They are afraid of what might happen if the monster doesn't get fed.  

According to WebMD, these are the symptoms of moderate low blood sugar levels:

Symptoms of moderate low blood sugar

If your blood sugar continues to drop (below 40 mg/dL), your behavior may change. Symptoms may include:

• Inability to concentrate.
• Confusion and irritability.
• Slurred speech.
• Unsteadiness when standing or walking.
• Muscle twitching.
• Personality changes, such as anger or crying.

Sometimes, when someone you love is challenged by diabetes, it can be as confusing as dealing with the Hungry Thing.  I only learned by much prayer, how important my assistance is in helping my husband to manage his diabetes.  After I finally caught on to these symptoms (they are so subtle sometimes that you may think they are just personality quirks, and become offended by some of the characteristics) I sought Yehovah diligently to deliver my husband from this and He flat out told me no.  Well, that was abrupt.  He instructed me that my role as a wife of a now middle-aged man (Friend Hubby is in his 50s now) was to change into more that of caregiver.  Of course the vivid imagination I have immediately pictured my husband in a full bodycast sipping soup through a bendy straw.  Not quite what Abba had in mind!

He wants my husband to walk in health.  Sure, He could miraculously take the diabetes away, and I would like Him to, but the discipline of learning what is proper nourishment for these walking tabernacles we walk around in is important to learn.  

So let's start with breakfast.  Most important meal of the day, right.  Every Shabbat, Friend Hubby reads Proverbs 31 over me in blessing.  I am constantly listening as he reads which verse is standing out to me to work on for the coming week.  The verse that has been shouting at me (though my husband is not shouting when he reads it) is verse 15, "She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks."  

SHE RISES WHILE IT IS YET NIGHT.  How I hate those words!  LOL  To say that I am not a morning person is the grossest of understatements.  However, since being led into our Hebrew roots, I am discovering so much about Yehovah's time clock and how we have tried to alter it in so many ways.  

Over the past six months or so, I have begun setting the alarms on my phone to go off at dawn, sunrise, sunset, and dusk.  You can find out what those are for your location here.

Now, I have not yet been successful it rising at those times, but I am closer than I was.  Since that is such a challenge, I have been looking for other strategies.  ENTER PINTEREST!  :-)  

I now have a board just for Slow Cooker Breakfasts.  It only has 5 pins on it so far, but it's a start.  I also have another Pinterest board called Breakfast and Brunch.  It is a much larger board.  Now that I look at it, it has some slow cooker breakfasts on it to.  I will have to adjust it.  On Sundays  I don't have to go to work until 3 o'clock.  Last week, I made a slow cooker breakfast for Shabbat morning.  It was a hit!  I like Friend Hubby to be well fed before he teaches our Shabbat services.  I see a difference in his teaching when he has eaten well first.  

My goal is to bake bread, and make breakfasts, at least for the start of the week.  I like to make quiche recipes and put bake them in individual muffin cups (if you have teenagers, you know what portion control sometimes has to be like).  I also bake my loaves of bread.  Last week when I did my Sunday baking, a friend was visiting.  My daughter came downstairs and helped (without being asked) and it became a "girls' time."  That's something I would like to see continue.  I have a friend who knows how to can.  I can invite her and her daughters over on a Sunday morning (they are also Sabbath keepers) and we can can (no pun intended) together.

But I digress.  This article discusses (more articulately than I) the benefits of a good breakfast for diabetics.  Starting the day with a good breakfast leads to a sweet disposition throughout the day, not just for the one affected by diabetes, but for their loved ones as well.              

Priority #1 - My Elohim: Too Busy not to Pray

I have been thinking about getting back to my original format of blogging.  I enjoy the Simple Woman's Day Book format, but I may start a different blog just for that purpose.  I miss my priority planning blog.  This method of ordering my thoughts has been with me for so long that I feel so scattered without it.

My prayer list is getting longer than my arms these days.  So much so, that whenever I don't take the time to sit in Yehovah's presence, it seems that all Gehenna breaks loose.  There have been so many deaths and so much sickness.  I'm sitting here at this moment in shock at the sudden passing of a young man who visited my home only a few weeks ago.  I have lost an uncle, a great-aunt, and a grandmother this year alone and it is only May.  A cousin of mine has lost five family members this year, including the two that we share.

At the same time, I have seen much answered prayer as well.  I continue to hear the words of the Messiah ringing in my heart, "But you, when you pray, enter into your closet and lock your door, and pray to your father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public."  Matthew 6:6 ABPE

I am seeing answers to prayer that no human has heard me utter.  

I like to pray in my closet (literally), but I also like to pray when I am alone in the car.  I am easily distracted, so I set a timer and pray at least a minute for each prayer request.  It doesn't sound very spiritual, I know, but but I can go from "Bless my husband" to "I wonder how long it will take for my child to notice I have not cleaned up her mess" in 60 seconds or less.  

Since my journey into Hebraic roots, I see that prayer, in the time of the temple, took place at specific times of the day.  At 9 in the morning, noon, and 3 in the afternoon.  I see it repeated in the book of Acts (3:1, 10:30).  Some attempt to continue that practice at those exact times, but I'm thinking that they were connected with the daily sacrificial system and since there is not temple and we are not living on Jerusalem time, my goal is to pray three times a day, but not necessarily at those exact times.  

"Evening and morning and at noon will I utter my complaint and moan and sigh, and He will hear my voice."  Psalm 55:17 AMP

"Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." Psalm 141:2  AMP

"And another angel came and stood over the altar. He had a golden censer, and he was given very much incense (fragrant spices and gums which exhale perfume when burned), that he might mingle it with the prayers of all the people of God (the saints) upon the golden altar before the throne."  Revelation 8:3 AMP

"At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You because of Your righteous ordinances."  Psalm 119:62

"And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed."  Mark 1:35 AMP

"And Isaac went out to meditate and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that, behold, the camels were coming."  Gen. 24:63 AMP

"And after He had dismissed the multitudes, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was still there alone."  Matthew 14:23 AMP

In addition to the time of prayer, do we know the DIRECTION of prayer?  

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."  Daniel 6:10 AMP 

I Kings 8:22-61 is Solomon's prayer of dedication to the Temple.  The temple is no longer standing; however, we know that one day The New Jerusalem will come down as a bride adorned for her husband.  In faith, we continue to pray in that direction, believing that He who has promised is faithful.   

So the conclusion of the matter is that I need to set aside time at least three times every day with my hands spread (different than the clasped, folded or palms together hands, isn't it?) towards Jerusalem, and let my voice be heard by the Most High and lay all my burdens at His feet.  

My favorite verse is:  

"But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]."  Hebrews 11:6 AMP

Outside my window... At 10:40 in the evening, it is 66 degrees and a full moon.

 I am thinking...About the painting I plan to do this winter. I have just about decided about the paint colors for the dining room. I have to decide about the family room. It is hard for me to paint over the stripes Dancing Angel, My Diva and I painted together, but the colors are outdated.

 I am thankful for...The teacher's of One Day Academy, our homeschool co-op. They help my children over the hurdles of things that are growing cobwebs in the back of my mind like the Pythagorean theorem and double-blind scientific studies....

 I am wearing... I have on a sweatshirt and I am not happy about it; 66 degrees is too cold for me.

 I am remembering... That on my job, the difference between 12,500 lines and 12,501 lines in a pay period is $63 because the bonus kicks in at that level. It may not sound like much, but it is the cost of at least one of the co-op classes. I used to go over that amount. The last two pay periods I have been within 500 lines of it. So close! I have GOT to start hitting it again.

 I am going... To get my butt in gear with my knitting. My sister's baby was due this weekend. Maybe he won't come because he knows his blanket from Auntie is not finished. :-) Maybe I will start going to the knitting club at the local library. It might inspire me to knit faster.

 I am reading... The Help.

 I am hoping... To get take control of my week and do better at balancing everything. "So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12 AMP

 On my mind... A fence I need to mend, whether it was my fault or not.

 From the learning rooms...
 Ninth grader:
 English: Gotten behind and has taken a back seat to so many things because of the new beginnings of a lot of other stuff this year. Got to get back on track.
 Math: Officially one week behind. I'm not sweating it too much because I know he is capable of doing two assignments in one day. I just wish the corrections didn't take so long. I'm going to have to sit down and watch some Khan Academy videos for my own review. On the other hand, with all the geometry he has been having to do for SAT Prep, he should be well equipped by the time he arrives at that point in his book.
State History: Has not had the chance to get back to it since starting cross country. Cross country ends on October 13th. A lot of things will have to get caught up when that happens.
 Biology: So far, so good.

 Seventh grader:
English: Finally ordered the rest of her English curriculum. I even made sure it would ship from my state so it would get here faster.
 Math: She is way ahead, but I don't want her to rest on her laurels.
 History: We had to slow down because she wasn't retaining what she read. Now she has a notebook page with "Who, What, When, Where, and Why" on the page so she can make a note of the important elements of history. Hopefully, by writing it down, she will retain the information. I need to get back to having her narrate what she has read to me based on her notes. She is slowly but surely getting the hang of her Competitive Theater class. After having My Diva as a student, who grew up to major in history in college, I took for granted she knew terms like "primary sources."
 Science/Health: She cracked me UP last week when she scored an 82% on the at home test for science. She was tremendously shocked. Poor thing, after she had done such a poor job on the history test, she probably expected to fail. She's really enjoying health. She hasn't taken her first test in it yet, so we shall see how much she is retaining.

 Noticing that... The cost of beef in the grocery store has already begun to arise dramatically. Hmmm. 

Pondering these words... From Hebrew4Christians last week: "The idiom ishon ayin אישון עין can be literaly translated as "little man (ishon) of the eye,(ayin)," i.e. the reflective pupil of the eye, though figuratively, it refers to someone cherished, who brings delight to the eye. The idiom also appears in Psalm 17:8, Zech. 2:8, Prov. 7:2, and Lam. 2:18.

 From the kitchen...I know Friend Hubby bought some more turkey sausage, but I don't know about the cressants to make our version of kolaches. We had a very successful crock pot chili on the Sabbath.

 Around the house... To start this 30 Bags in 30 Days challenge and declutter the whole house in the morning. One of my favorite things...Not having to run the air conditioner to be comfortable sleeping at night.

 Honor where honor is due: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
 

Parashat Tazria-Metzora

After having a discussion with someone today who said that a blog I wrote years ago blessed her and she faithfully followed it, I decided that I would try to get back to blogging, perhaps in a different format. Instead of blogging on each priority individually, I will try to cover all of them in one weekly post.

PRIORITY #1 - My Elohim:  I have titled this post after the Torah portion we studied for this past week. It is a combined Torah portion, Tazria "She conceives," and Metzora "Leper" based on the reading from Leviticus 12:1-15:33. Some of the highlights of what we discussed in our Sabbath Midrash were: The fact that the Bible translators mistranslated the word leprosy. The disease spoken of in Scripture is not Hansen's Disease, what we now call leprosy. Yet, how many people with Hansen's disease were isolated and separated from their families based on an erroneous translation. It, once again, drives home the importance of reexamining our traditions to see if they have been based in error. Don't rely on medieval knowledge for your understanding of Scripture. The disease that is spoken of in Leviticus is a natural manifestation of the spiritual. A victim had to be sent outside the camp but mercifully, from one Sabbath to the next, a priest would reexamine the person to see if they were able to be readmitted to the community. There are a few reasons given by the ancient rabbis for a person contracting Tzara'at (the word that has been translated as leprosy). Among them, unbelief (Moses hand when he put it in his bosom), evil speech (Miriam's slander against her sister-in-law, Moses' Ethiopian wife), and insolence (King Uzziah). Unlike Hansen's disease, Tzara'at could be spread from a person, to an article of clothing, and finally to a house. As I read through the scriptures, the Lord began to deal with an issue in my own life, a Tzara'at called unforgiveness. The lesion of unforgiveness can start in a person and spread to everything they touch. Perhaps one of the reason they were sent outside of the camp was not just to keep from infecting others, but also to think about how and why they were infected and repent. I needed this lesson for a situation I was going to come into where I had been offended by someone just a week ago. Applying this lesson greatly helped me to approach this person with peace. 

PRIORITY #2 - My Husband:  So, just to update you on the getting up early and feeding him situation. I don't always make it up in time to make him breakfast, so I decided to get creative with it and make something ahead of time that he can reheat before he heads out the door. I have been trying new recipes and this evening, I am reviving what has become a family favorite. I first tried it a couple of weeks ago during the Feast of Unleavened Bread and it has become a family staple (in spite of the fact that I don't eat egg dishes). Here is the recipe for Crustless Spinach Quiche.

PRIORITY #3 - My Children:  This has been an interesting week in that regard. In the past week I was able to take my children to the symphony for the first time to support one of our minority homeschooling support group family's daughter. It was SUCH a blessing. The next day, another family took my younger two bowling...almost ALL DAY! Yet another blessing, as it is an extremely rare occasion that I have the house to myself for HOURS. :-) The other interesting thing that happened was that a relative asked something that I considered a very personal question about my adult daughter. I told them that I didn't know the answer. I, in fact, DO know the answer, but I certainly wasn't going to tell them. I thought about how far I have come in that department. I used to be so open. I shared information freely with family. After all, they are family, right? How naive I was. "Oh look. Here is a stick on the ground. Let me pick it up and give it to you so you can beat me with it!" I have finally learned the importance of walled cities.

PRIORITY #4 - My Home:  I had GREAT progress last week in trying to get in step with FlyLady. I faithfully spent 15 minutes a day on the master bedroom and another 15 minutes a day decluttering. I'm sad to be leaving the master bedroom behind and moving on to another area of the house, but I'm thankful that I did see some progress. I have also started baking bread twice a week since I read an article called The 5 Grossest Things You are Eating. I used to bake bread all the time about 15 years ago. Picking up the habit again, I have discovered that I REALLY enjoy baking! The other exciting thing that happened to me last week was paying the electric bill. How is that exciting? Well my electric company allows you to see what you are using on a daily basis so you can modify it to keep the bill down. By carefully monitoring, I was able to lower the bill by $35! I was excited. The next day, the temperature soared to 90 and it is supposed to be that way for the rest of the week...time to break out the AC. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

 PRIORITY #5 - Myself:  I always have to think long and hard about whether or not I made myself a priority. I haven't gotten much exercise, haven't really found an interesting book to read, but I guess I can say I was able to spend time with my dearest friend when I went to the symphony. She has certainly been my prayer warrior this week to help me get through unpleasant situations.

 PRIORITY #6 - My Ministry:  A week ago, I returned from camping with the Girl Scouts. Although I was very nervous about it initially, I have found that I really do LIKE camping. My co-leader is an expert at it so she makes it fun. I am actually going to get my certification in it by the end of the summer so that if something comes up that my daughter wants to do that doesn't involve the troop, I will be qualified to take her myself. Today, I had the opportunity to pray with someone who has recently blessed my family more than she will ever know. I am so thankful for our connections in the kingdom.

 Until next week. Blessings!

Priority #3 - My Children - Parenting Advice from the Book of Sirach

ON TEACHING OUR CHILDREN TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT:
Sirach 40:28-30 GNT

"My child, don't live the life of a beggar; it is better to die than to beg. If you have to depend on someone else for your food, you are not really living your own life. You pollute yourself by accepting food from another. Begging is torture to the soul of any sensitive person. A shameless person can make begging sound sweet, but something inside him burns."

ON TEACHING OUR CHILDREN SELF-RESPECT
Sirach 10:28-31 GNT

"My child, keep your self-respect, but remain modest. Value yourself at your true worth. There is no excuse for a person to run himself down. No one respects a person who has no respect for himself. Poor people can be honored for their good sense, and rich people can be honored for their wealth. If someone is honored while he is poor, think how much he will be honored if he becomes rich! If someone is despised while he is rich, think how much more he will be despised if he becomes poor!"

A VERSE FOR HOMESCHOOL PARENTS (SMILE)
Sirach 11:10 GNT

"My child, don't get involved in too many things. If you try to do too much, you will suffer for it. You won't be able to finish your work, and you won't be able to get away from it either."

Sirach 7:23-25 GNT

"If you have sons, educate them. Teach them self-discipline while they are young. If you have daughters, keep them virtuous, and don't be too indulgent with them. When you give your daughter in marriage, you have finished a great task, but give her to a sensible man."

A SENSE OF DECENCY (teaching our children to blush!)
Sirach 41:16-23

"My children, listen and I will teach you the circumstances when it is proper to be ashamed. Sometimes it is entirely out of place.

Before your parents, be ashamed of immoral behavior.
Before a ruler or an important person, be ashamed of a lie.

Before a judge, be ashamed of criminal behavior.
Before a public assembly, be ashamed of breaking the law.
Before a friend or partner, be ashamed of dishonesty.

Before your neighbors, be ashamed of theft.
Be ashamed of breaking a promise,
of leaning on the dinner table with your elbows,
of stinginess when you are asked for something,

of not returning a greeting,
of staring at a prostitute,

of turning down a relative's request,
of depriving someone of what is rightly his,
of staring at another man's wife,

of playing around with his slave woman (keep away from her bed!)
of insulting your friends,
of following up your gifts with criticism,

of betraying secrets."

ON SPOILED ROTTEN DADDY'S GIRLS
Sirach 42:9-13 GNT

"Although he will not let his daughter know it, a father will lie awake at night worrying about her. If she is young, he worries that she might not get married. If she is already married, he worries about her happiness. If she is a virgin, he worries that she might be seduced and become pregnant while living in his house. If she is married, he worries that she might be unfaithful, or that she might not be able to have children. Keep a close watch over your daughter if she is determined to have her own way. If you don't, she may make a fool of you in front of your enemies. You will be a constant joke to everyone in town, a public disgrace. Make sure that her room has no windows or any place where she can look out to the entrance of the house. Don't let her show off her beauty in front of men, or spend her time talking with the women. Women hurt other women just as moths damage clothing."

Priority #2 - My Husband - More on Sirach

I have still been reading the Book of Sirach and how it pertains to wives:

Sirach 40:19-20 (GNT)

"Your name can be preserved if you have children or if you establish a city, but finding Wisdom is a better way. Owning livestock and orchards will make you famous, but it is better to have a wife you love. Wine and music can make you happy, but a happy marriage is even better."

Sirach 40:23 (GNT)

"You can't go wrong with a good friend or neighbor, but an intelligent wife is better than either."

Sirach 7:19 GNT

"Don't miss your chance to marry a wise and good woman. A gracious wife is worth more than gold."

Sirach 7:26 GNT

"If you have a good wife, do not divorce her, but do not trust yourself to someone you don't love."

ON BEING A TRUSTWORTHY WIFE
Sirach 42:6 GNT

"It is wise to lock things up if you cannot trust your wife or if too many people are around."

Any wonder why Proverbs 31:11 AMP says,

"The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil."

?

The book of Sirach also has some very unflattering things to say about women. I will not list them here because I don't want to examine them in the light of today's sociopolitical standards. But these verses on the importance of marrying an intelligent wife and making a happy marriage, these are timeless. :-)

Priority #1 - My God - The Book of Sirach

Friend Hubby and I have been exploring some of the books that were not canonized at the Council of Trent. The books of Enoch and Jasher have been referenced in scripture and Friend Hubby has been enjoying them. I have fallen in love (so far -- haven't read it in entirety) with the book of Sirach.
There are many instances where I feel it is a good companion to the book of Proverbs. Like Proverbs 31, Sirach 26 extols the virtues of a good wife:

Blessed the husband of a good wife, twice-lengthened are his days; A worthy wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life. A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord; Be he rich or poor, his heart is content, and a smile is ever on his face.

A gracious wife delights her husband, her thoughtfulness puts flesh on his bones; A gift from the Lord is her governed speech, and her firm virtue is of surpassing worth. Choicest of blessings is a modest wife, priceless her chaste soul. A holy and decent woman adds grace upon grace; indeed, no price is worthy of her temperate soul. Like the sun rising in the Lord’s heavens, the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home.

Sirach 29 goes into the downhill spiral of relationship that can take place between borrower and lender.

It is also available on BibleGateway.com in the Good News Translation. In the foot notes, it cross references it with the non-canonized Book of Wisdom and the book of Proverbs in our Bibles as well.

Do you ever get a brain buzz when you learn something new? I am really enjoying this! Not for the sake of knowledge alone, but to learn greater how to apply my heart to wisdom and walk it out in my daily life. THAT is my earnest desire.

Honestly, I was nervous reading these books. Am I going to lose my mind or go blind if I read them? Am I going to be led hopelessly away from my Adonai, never to return? Those are fears that popped into my head the moment I thought to read them. I cannot begin to understand the reasoning of the Council of Trent for not including them our canon of scripture. The great thinkers of the 1600s didn't think they were worth including, but why do we still go by their opinion? Tradition?

I have read that many of the things Yeshua said can be traced back to Sirach. The Apostle Paul quotes from the book of either Enoch or Jasher in Jude. These books would have been known by the rabbis of that day. There are references to them in the Talmud so they would have been used in Yeshua's childhood learning. Why? Why? Why? Am I just nosy? Probably. :-)

I will just keep reading for now, praying for discernment, checking and balancing with the approved canon of texts. Pray for me, I'm going in!

Others of my favorite passages:
Sirach 2:1-6

"My child, if you are going to serve the Lord, be prepared for times when you will be put to the test. Be sincere and determined. Keep calm when trouble comes. Stay with the Lord; never abandon him, and you will be prosperous at the end of your days. Accept whatever happens to you. Even if you suffer humiliation, be patient. Gold is tested by fire, and human character is tested in the furnace of humiliation. Trust the Lord, and he will help you. Walk straight in his ways, and put your hope in him."

Sirach 2:10-11

"Think back to the ancient generations and consider this: has the Lord ever disappointed anyone who put his hope in him? Has the Lord ever abandoned anyone who held him in constant reverence? Has the Lord ever ignored anyone who prayed to him? The Lord is kind and merciful; he forgives our sins and keeps us safe in time of trouble."

Don't you just love these ancient words of wisdom?

A popular song on Christian radio right now quotes Micah 6:8 (I have copied it in Amplified)

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?"

What does it mean to "walk humbly?"

Sirach 2:4-6 says,

"Accept whatever happens to you. Even if you suffer humiliation, be patient. Gold is tested by fire, and human character is tested in the furnace of humiliation. Trust the Lord, and he will help you. Walk straight in his ways, and put your hope in him."

Here is something else I have come across recently in a book called Shabby Chic: Treasure Hunting & Decorating Guide by Rachel Ashwell. The author is unknown, but the writing was found on something at a garage sale:

HUMILITY

"Humility is perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised; it is to have a blessed home in my self where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and about is trouble."

Blessings,