My friend, Sherry & I have attended our last Monday evening video in the "Extraordinary Women" series. Honestly, I should have gotten a clue from the title for this school-year long series for women. I thought that "Extraordinary Women" was somewhat mistitled... that the videos' contents would still reveal the "Extraordinary God" that we ordinary women truly seek. So far, only 3 or 4 of the speakers have met that goal. Our speaker last night didn't. She started with a good topic - "Make Your Marriage a Great Marriage!" Her approach in teaching this topic, however, turned TRUTH on its head. I'm guessing that she borrowed a lesson plan from her husband, who has been a speaker for "PromiseKeepers". She forgot to adapt that lesson geared to men/husbands to her audience - women/wives. She spoke about the five love needs of every woman: unconditional love, emotional intimacy, spiritual intimacy, encouragement and friendship. She systematically addressed how a husband should meet each of these needs. In other words, the speaker set-up our husbands by handing us a list of expectations by which to judge our husbands... expectations that only an Extraordinary God can fulfill. Therefore, our human husbands are bound to fail & we could desperately need her last subtopic: how to guard your heart from affairs, if we try to implement her suggestions. I was completely disoriented when she again flipped the topic's approach and concluded the lecture by quoting Philippians 2.
Wow! She could have started with this Scripture and then clearly presented the TRUTH of how dependence on God totally meets our needs & those of our husband as well. (Psalm 23)
The Hebrew word for TRUTH is EMET. It is spelled using the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It illustrates that God's WORD encompasses truth from the first letter to the last. I desire to be obsessed by and to focus totally on the TRUTH of God - the WORD made flesh - Yeshua. (John 17:17, John 14:6) Such a fixed focus transforms a person and gives them God's family resemblance. Then the TRUTH can be lifted up and will draw others to God, who is eternal life. (John 12:32) Focus on myself and my needs will only leave me in the fleshly resemblance of the first Adam - after the Fall. When the Hebrew letters of EMET/TRUTH are reversed, you spell out TEMA, the name of a son of Ishmael. (Genesis 25:15) Yes, TRUTH turned on its head will result in being like Ishmael, one "born according to the flesh". (Galatians 4:23) Sherry and I hope to continue meeting together on Monday evenings. Stay tuned to our blogs to read what will replace the misguiding videos.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Gimel - A Voice in the Wilderness
Still with unhurrying chase, And unperturbed pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, Came on the following Feet, And a Voice above their beat - "Naught shelters thee, who wilt not shelter Me." Francis Thompson, "The Hound of Heaven"
Half of February has already passed before I could get back to this blog and fill you in "on the rest of the story." My first entry summarized quickly the character from which I come. Now a hint of the character which I hope to be becoming... can you believe a John the Baptiser or even Elijah?! Remember, my life story is somewhat tied up in the Hebrew letter/word, "gimel", which means "camel". These men both dressed in camel's hair. Just as camel hide was "working clothes" for them physically; they were "working clothes" of the Holy Spirit. That is my aspiration. (By the way, the second, third and fourth letters of the Hebrew alephbet - which I mentioned in the first entry - taken in order spell "beged", meaning "garment".) In the original Torah scrolls that scribes hand-copied for centuries and still do, there is only one place in Scripture where "gimel" is printed oversize. As we have intimated, the "gimel" is a spiritual person dressed up like a camel. The oversized "gimel" is found in the middle verse of the Torah/the 5 books of Moses/ Leviticus 13:33. It is located in the phrase, "v'hit'galach", meaning "And he shall be shaved." (And some people think God has no sense of humor.) I believe that God wants to remove the camel hair so as to reveal the One hidden within - the Holy Spirit - who knocked on the door of the person's life and was asked inside. Have I totally lost you in the Hebrew and theology? I hope not. The meaning of my life & who I really am is best told in this way. I married into a Levite family. Doubly Levite. My husband's father and mother were both totally Levite. Thankfully they both asked the Holy Spirit into their lives before they left this life to be with the Lord. But, that's another story for another time. If you have questions or can not follow my thoughts, I would be happy to try to explain further.
We are in the middle of lambing season. A week ago, one of our six ewes had triplets. Within a few hours, another ewe had twins. If you want to see them, look up the recent blog entries on "Portrait of the Artist..." by Sherry C. and view her great photos. The lambs are hop-skipping around the area fenced-in behind our barn/garage. It's not easy to get things done when such cute babies & their antics are in your backyard.
Half of February has already passed before I could get back to this blog and fill you in "on the rest of the story." My first entry summarized quickly the character from which I come. Now a hint of the character which I hope to be becoming... can you believe a John the Baptiser or even Elijah?! Remember, my life story is somewhat tied up in the Hebrew letter/word, "gimel", which means "camel". These men both dressed in camel's hair. Just as camel hide was "working clothes" for them physically; they were "working clothes" of the Holy Spirit. That is my aspiration. (By the way, the second, third and fourth letters of the Hebrew alephbet - which I mentioned in the first entry - taken in order spell "beged", meaning "garment".) In the original Torah scrolls that scribes hand-copied for centuries and still do, there is only one place in Scripture where "gimel" is printed oversize. As we have intimated, the "gimel" is a spiritual person dressed up like a camel. The oversized "gimel" is found in the middle verse of the Torah/the 5 books of Moses/ Leviticus 13:33. It is located in the phrase, "v'hit'galach", meaning "And he shall be shaved." (And some people think God has no sense of humor.) I believe that God wants to remove the camel hair so as to reveal the One hidden within - the Holy Spirit - who knocked on the door of the person's life and was asked inside. Have I totally lost you in the Hebrew and theology? I hope not. The meaning of my life & who I really am is best told in this way. I married into a Levite family. Doubly Levite. My husband's father and mother were both totally Levite. Thankfully they both asked the Holy Spirit into their lives before they left this life to be with the Lord. But, that's another story for another time. If you have questions or can not follow my thoughts, I would be happy to try to explain further.
We are in the middle of lambing season. A week ago, one of our six ewes had triplets. Within a few hours, another ewe had twins. If you want to see them, look up the recent blog entries on "Portrait of the Artist..." by Sherry C. and view her great photos. The lambs are hop-skipping around the area fenced-in behind our barn/garage. It's not easy to get things done when such cute babies & their antics are in your backyard.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
SHALOM
Shalom...Having read the blogs of a new friend, I decided to try blogging for myself. My initials spell out "camel" phonetically. My Jewish husband and I also raise a few sheep... Romanov-Texel-Columbian to be exact. Sheep are sheared; llamas can be sheared. Can camels be sheared? I think so. I will pretend so and share some of the shearings with you.
I chose this blog name to fit the character from which I come and the character which I hope to be becoming. In the Hebrew alephbet, the third letter is gimel and means "camel". This also stands for: a beast (the carnal self), something lifted up, or self-will/pride. This letter emerges from the second letter, beit, which means "house". ("House" was my maiden name.) Gimel looks like a person walking from the beit to the fourth letter, dalet, which means "door". My spiritual journey began at the age of two-&-one-half. It is also my very first clear memory. I am in a Sunday School class listening to a missionary describe the meaning of a large picture set up in front of the class. The picture is of a man dressed in a robe knocking at a door. The missionary asked us if there was anything unusual about the painting or the door itself. Someone mentioned there was no doorknob or handle with which to open the door from the outside. The missionary explained that our lives are like this picture. God comes knocking on the door of our lives through the convicting of His Holy Spirit, but we are the only ones who can open the door to our lives and let Him inside. I did not respond in that class. But, later, I asked more questions of my father, the minister. My second memory is that of my father and I kneeling at our livingroom couch. I am asking Jesus to come into my life, because I am opening the door. This picture was probably inspired by Revelation 3:20 where Jesus is addressing the church of Laodicea, one of seven churches in Asia Minor to which Revelation was written. This church was proud, complacent and rich. Although this city was known for its wealth, God told the church there to buy their gold from Him - as they were really poor spiritually. Laodicea was proud of its wool cloth and dyeing industries, God told the church there that they were spiritually naked and needed to purchase white garments from Him. This city boasted of the eye salve made at its medical school. God said these folks were blind and needed to get His salve to heal their inner eyes so they could see the truth. The truth was that material possessions are transcient, while a right relationship to God is eternal and life-giving. Of course, as no more than a toddler, I only understood that I asked God to be a part of my life. And He has been since then. Well, enough for now. I'll share more shearings soon, so you can get to know me beneath the camel hair.
I chose this blog name to fit the character from which I come and the character which I hope to be becoming. In the Hebrew alephbet, the third letter is gimel and means "camel". This also stands for: a beast (the carnal self), something lifted up, or self-will/pride. This letter emerges from the second letter, beit, which means "house". ("House" was my maiden name.) Gimel looks like a person walking from the beit to the fourth letter, dalet, which means "door". My spiritual journey began at the age of two-&-one-half. It is also my very first clear memory. I am in a Sunday School class listening to a missionary describe the meaning of a large picture set up in front of the class. The picture is of a man dressed in a robe knocking at a door. The missionary asked us if there was anything unusual about the painting or the door itself. Someone mentioned there was no doorknob or handle with which to open the door from the outside. The missionary explained that our lives are like this picture. God comes knocking on the door of our lives through the convicting of His Holy Spirit, but we are the only ones who can open the door to our lives and let Him inside. I did not respond in that class. But, later, I asked more questions of my father, the minister. My second memory is that of my father and I kneeling at our livingroom couch. I am asking Jesus to come into my life, because I am opening the door. This picture was probably inspired by Revelation 3:20 where Jesus is addressing the church of Laodicea, one of seven churches in Asia Minor to which Revelation was written. This church was proud, complacent and rich. Although this city was known for its wealth, God told the church there to buy their gold from Him - as they were really poor spiritually. Laodicea was proud of its wool cloth and dyeing industries, God told the church there that they were spiritually naked and needed to purchase white garments from Him. This city boasted of the eye salve made at its medical school. God said these folks were blind and needed to get His salve to heal their inner eyes so they could see the truth. The truth was that material possessions are transcient, while a right relationship to God is eternal and life-giving. Of course, as no more than a toddler, I only understood that I asked God to be a part of my life. And He has been since then. Well, enough for now. I'll share more shearings soon, so you can get to know me beneath the camel hair.
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