Babies and cancer

This week brought together for me two very extreme events, one completely joyful and the other terribly challenging. . . I’m writing this from Denver where I’m visiting my second granddaughter, teeny Gray, who arrived unexpectedly quite early but is doing fine. Not only can I...
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Camp Or L’Dor’s new digs

Last week I shared with you the amazing time we are having this year at Camp Poyntelle, a camp in PA for Jewish youngsters and teens. We have been made to feel so welcome. Since we are renters and the camp rents to other non Jewish groups, it would be premature to say we are...
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Awe and wonder

Perhaps participating in Camp Or L’Dor is HaShem’s way to show me His workings in the big picture of where our movement is going. We so often get caught up in the day-to-day that it’s at this annual event that I can see so clearly His Hand at work, not just in...
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Why me, Lord?

Hello my loved ones, I am en route to the 10th blessed year of Camp Or L’Dor, the Messianic Jewish outdoor adventure camp founded by my husband Sid and Rabbi Nathan. In addition to this week my becoming a grandma for the second time (over the moon happy!), travel and then some...
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Bless you

I just returned from the most amazing, inspiring UMJC conference I have yet to attend in my 15 year history of participating in this event. Each year the national meeting of our Messianic Jewish organizations and followers is a gem. But this year it was even more special. I have...
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Fourth of July – Part 2

Last week we unpacked the observance that historically, some Jewish people have chosen to hide their identities in order to fit in. As we looked at The Barry Sisters, they did so to help them succeed in their careers. We thought about those who converted to Christianity to save...
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The Fourth of July

Over the Fourth of July holiday I was able to spend some precious time with my sister. One evening we slipped away from the raunchy Comedy Central programming on the upstairs TV and took a step back in time downstairs to watch the Decades channel which was airing a 1966 episode...
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Pain

This week Sid and I attended a one woman play created and performed by Sid’s daughter Ruby Rose Fox. It was a creative way to release her newest album “SALT”. At the event I sat between Sid and his ex-wife Betsy, and suffice it to say, historically such times together...
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Choices

I have an annoying feature on my IPhone which I will figure out how to remove. When a CNN news update comes in, the tone is the same as for a message from a friend. Each morning the daily CNN report makes this seemingly welcome sound to bring me what news it thinks I should know....
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A parent’s heart

This week I drove by such a sad sight – a mother opossum had been hit by a car and was still lying dead in the road. Her arms were frozen in a position outstretched toward the side of the road where as I passed, my glance saw a very small matching fur body lying still, most...
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Who needs God?

Recently I caught a part of a radio show on NPR on the topic, “Now that we have evolved so far, do we still need God?” Although I knew I would not agree with the likely premise that we don’t, the panel consisted of both sides of the discussion, so I was a bit intrigued. Of...
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Are we disposable?

We live in such a disposable society. That concept is great when referring to using biodegradable products and recycling. It bothers me, however, in the context of how we tend to keep buying and replacing our things rather than recognizing the beauty of reusing and sharing with...
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It’s nothing personal???

I recently read an article on aish.com called “5 Signs You Need to Take a Fresh Look at Judaism.” The points were well presented and intriguing to me as I am Jewish but curious where I would stand now that I am a Messianic Jew. Although all of the issues raised were relevant and...
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Surprise! Is that you?!

I recently had my annual physical and was surprised to find the parking lot so empty. For 15 years whenever I would come to that appointment it was impossible to find a parking spot without waiting and circling the area. So where was everybody? Did a business that was in the...
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Love

As you know I’ve recently been struggling with daughter issues, always the more poignant as Mother’s Day approaches. On my jog this morning on the beach, my prayer time with HaShem, I was asking Him to meet her where she is. I was asking Him to reveal Himself to her in a way she...
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Joy

Last weekend my synagogue sponsored an amazing healing prayer conference. What a blessing! One of the points made by the presenter Judith MacNutt was that there are two types of trauma that affect our physical health, one being the obvious kind such as physical abuse, the other...
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The common man (or woman)

As some of you know, Sid and I have a Winnebago RV we affectionately call the Pugabego in honor of the three pugs we loved to travel with when we bought it ten years ago. Last weekend we had the joy of driving it to see grandbaby and our kids down in New York. Given winter’s...
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The power of prayer

We use that term all the time. It doesn’t need a definition. We feel we pray and don’t need reminders. But how do we keep it fresh? I work with someone who is an Orthodox Jew and prays religiously (pun intended) 3 times a day. He closes his office door and with deliberation...
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A time to reset

Every spring is a time when we typically focus on rebirth as the season brings new life in so many ways. We only have to open our eyes to see nature at work to bring back to life all that has been dormant over the winter. This year it has been no secret that for many of us this...
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Passover

“Passover” – the word brings to mind the amazing saving of our people as the Angel of Death passed over the first born of the Israelites, not sparing those of the Egyptians. It was a seminal moment for our people, so defining that we are to relive it annually, viscerally, as we...
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His Eyes

Sid and I returned this week from a little winter break in Florida. It was great, no doubt. While we were there, we were in the moment and enjoyed being with family and friends and attending the local Messianic Jewish services as well. Yet when we came home, we felt the special...
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Let it begin with each of us

The State of the Union address reminded us of what a divided society we are, such different reactions to the same speech. Yet no one person divides us, but rather, people in our lives can bring out our better or less admirable instincts. Sid and I are heading back from a...
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Fact checking

Many of you may have watched the State of the Union address earlier this week. Some of you were encouraged. Some of you couldn’t wait for the fact checkers to do their work. Some of you didn’t really care or are not that interested in such events. Or . . . Much of...
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There is Nothin’ Like a Dame

I couldn’t help but be sickened as I watched Larry Nassar’s words of apology at his sentencing hearing this week. He so clearly was just reading words written by his lawyer. His demeanor was emotionless as he mouthed regret for his actions in abusing so many young...
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Sacrificial Love

I recently watched “Frozen”. (Spoiler alert – stop reading if you haven’t seen this wonderful film.) At the end, we and the little sister in the story learn that the act of true love that will save her, and her sister, and the kingdom, is her own act of...
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Community

Last weekend I planned to take the train from our home in Maine to Needham so I could be at Ruach for Shabbat services. It was right after the recent blizzard so I added some extra travel time to get to the Brunswick train station, our closest stop. Unfortunately, the streets...
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The Haves and the Have-Nots

As I sit here cozily enjoying the warmth of our bedroom fireplace awaiting the arrival of the blizzard, the frosted windows remind me of the tension and barriers in our lives between the haves and the have-nots. Yes, I’m warm inside today, but so many aren’t. And what...
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Prayer

This week I had dental surgery as a result of an injury from high school. Since so much time had gone by since the original treatment, and the surgery involved my jawbone as well as gums, it was an unknown beforehand as to the complexity that would be involved. It was possible I...
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Retirement?

Earlier this year I shared with you that my work had diminished and that it would be interesting to see how the rest of the year played out. Well, the year is coming to a close and how it went was that work came in in spurts, maybe averaging 5 hours a week or less. The further...
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Sweet Symphony – Part 2

As I was sitting here doing my nails, my IPhone sounded the receipt of an incoming email. Could that be from a client in response to an email I had just sent which caused me a bit of angst since I had just notified them of a potential problem needing attention? Or could it be a...
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