Pursuing Truth in the Messiah

(A picture I found online) Daddies are so important. For real. I could spend years telling you about the ways my Dad influenced my life for the better -- lessons he taught me, the love and security he gave me, the example he set for me, the way he understood me better than anyone else. But we'll save that for another day because my shining example this month is from my father-in-law. I think I've mentioned (a few times) how awesome my husband is.  Like, seriously, awesome. But some of those characteristics that I admire in Garrett, are there in his dad...and even in his grandfather.  And I can see how these things have been passed down through generations of godly men. Love -- the complete denying of your own needs to meet someone else's. Patience/Forgiveness/Grace -- the willingness to allow for mistakes to be made, without throwing them up in people's face or making them feel guilty or inferior. Reliability -- the steady dependableness that lets you ...

I work well with deadlines and breaks. I work better with timelines than project lines. So Shabbat is absolutely amazing for me. We learned this about me when I was in school.   I was homeschooled.  And there were two types of motivations my mom could offer: 1. If you get your math done, you can go outside. or  2. If you get as much done as possible before noon, you can go outside. I did much better with the latter.  I don't know why.  But, with the first option, I had a tendency to drag the math out forever, all the while pouting over the fact that my entire day was disappearing while I worked slowly.  With the second option, it felt like a challenge with a secure reward.  I could throw everything into getting my math done, knowing that I wouldn't have to keep up the pace all day.  I knew I would get my fun at a set time. That is what Shabbat is like for me. Shabbat is still relatively new, so I will freely admi...

Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick it can be felt!”  Moshe reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days.  People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra’el had light in their homes. (Exodus 10:21-23, from the Complete Jewish Bible translation -- it says "ADONAI" where the KJV says "LORD", and it says "Moshe" where the KJV says "Moses.") It seemed that this thick darkness was a phenomenon that intrigued our Torah study group this week.  A darkness so thick it could be felt. What sort of darkness is so thick it can be felt? And the people of Israel had light in their homes. Was it just indoors, in their homes?  Or in the whole land of Goshen?  Or wherever the Israelites walked? Since it specifically stated that t...