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As most of you know, Sid and I live in Maine so we travel 2 ½ hours most every weekend to be part of our Ruach community. We have been doing this now for almost 10 years. My friends and neighbors here in Maine cannot imagine why we go to such great lengths literally since we are... Read More →

Today the Nor’Easter is hitting us hard. From my window as I watch the strong north wind blowing the snow literally horizontally with its force, in the same view, I see the cozy fire in our bedroom fireplace, its hearth decorated with my Chanukah stocking woven with a pattern of... Read More →

No, I don’t even like beer. But the expression is apt to remind us to be grateful for our lives. Wednesday is a long awaited day with no commitments. And the agenda is a lot of housework, cleaning and laundry, sorting and paying bills. It’s not important how the... Read More →

At this very moment a terrifyingly loud toddler is digging his or her shoes into the back of my seat on my flight from Los Angeles to Denver while the wee one alternates between ear piercing shrieking and crying. I’m a grandma. I love little ones. I can even relate to the poor... Read More →

I was recently chatting with a friend who runs a house cleaning service. As she was describing her hectic schedule and tiring days, she stated that hers is a thankless job. I reacted, “No, it’s not! When a person comes home to a clean home, it’s such a great feeling.” She could... Read More →

Sid and I had the opportunity this week to attend a two day event sponsored by Colby College’s Center for Small Town Jewish Life, an initiative to bring Jews in Maine together. Since the whole state only has just over a million people in total population, you can imagine how... Read More →

Last week we gained deeper insight into how our Jewish brothers and sisters often perceive Yeshua, an exercise to better understand how our discussions about Him are heard. It is helpful to be reminded when talking to Jewish people that they are still wounded by history and... Read More →

As most of you know, my passion is to interface with my Jewish brothers and sisters and educate them as to the truth of Yeshua. I may have a somewhat different bent on this than do others since I feel my role is to do just that – educate – rather than necessarily succeed in... Read More →

Last week I shared with you a way to ameliorate stress by not going down the bunny trail of darkness, evaluating all the “what ifs” that could happen over which we have no control. This week, however, our Abba has provided me with a new twist on another way to look at that rabbit... Read More →

Most of you know I’m a glass more than half full person and Sid often sees the lesser part. We are a great combination since with his engineering background he often grounds my rainbow in the sky ideas. Together we do pretty good planning most of the time, knowing the best... Read More →

Aren’t the fall colors amazing? I just recently learned that the orange and yellow colors of our fall foliage are the result of carotenoids which are in the leaf throughout the growing season. The reason the leaf looks green until fall, however, is that chlorophyll is... Read More →

I remember vividly a conversation I had with my father over 30 years ago. He was feeling depressed and at a crossroads in his life. During the several months before our conversation, an inordinate number of his close acquaintances were literally dying unnaturally early deaths.... Read More →

This past week was a bit of a nail biter for us. Sid and I have a small place in Florida and it was for several days in the “Cone of Uncertainty” regarding Hurricane Dorian. As we ultimately escaped its wrath, it was only a bittersweet sigh of relief as I heard more of the... Read More →

As most of you know, often the subject matter of these Shabbat encouragements comes while I take my morning jog. I find that I can be on the same path I’ve taken so many times before, and yet, as I commune with my Abba, He will let me see something in a new way, with new eyes,... Read More →

This past weekend I was blessed to have my sister and her family up to our home in Maine to celebrate my nephew’s birthday. It was such a wonderful time together with great weather, great food, great times just to hang and relax. One morning we broke into groups, some of us... Read More →

It is such a blessing to be able to volunteer my time at Camp Or L’Dor. Over the years the younger leaders have taken on some of the many roles I have previously held and now, as Sid says, we are the Bobbe and Zayde, Grandma and Grandpa, of the camp. That is only partly true,... Read More →

How do I not think about the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio? How do I integrate the beauty I am experiencing this week at Camp Or L’Dor with the heartbreaking headlines? Last week I shared with you how in an every day conversation my passion for this amazing endeavor welled up... Read More →

Sid and I have been very busy this summer. It has been a combination of many wonderful family events as well as travel for conferences and some work. We have been Airbnbing our home quite a bit for the times we are away which adds an additional layer of work and lack of order as... Read More →

On my morning jog a young, healthy, green leaf fell unexpectedly in front of me crossing my path. It is only July and all the leaves are still lush and green. It struck me as odd that this single leaf, on a calm day, would be felled to die not in the usual cycle of autumn. Its... Read More →

Last week I shared with you my recent experience at an Orthodox Jewish wedding of a non observant Jewish couple. I was struck by the chesed, kindness, of the officiating rabbis who were able to balance their sensibilities for those present without compromising their core values... Read More →

This week I attended a very unusual wedding. It was for one of my dear friends who is technically a Conservative Jew but who has raised her children within the Orthodox Jewish community regarding schooling. As a result the wedding was conducted by an Orthodox Jewish rabbi as well... Read More →

At my last Dance Kickboxing class for the summer one of my adult students shared with me a very disturbing piece of information about one of our neighbors. It related to an incident involving this neighbor that occurred 40 years ago that to this day she cannot talk about without... Read More →

Last week I had a debilitating headache. This has never happened to me before and was quite disturbing. The timing also lined up with some unusual stress, but also, with work I was to do to advance His Kingdom. I literally could not talk, or write, the pain was so bad. So... Read More →

Today I took my morning jog not at my usual place on the nearby beach, but rather, near my sister’s home in Westford, MA. She lives by a lake near a beautiful pine tree woods with homes nestled back from the road. As I was communing with my Abba to Messianic Jewish music per... Read More →

As you know, my Shabbat encouragement this week was to encourage each of us to expand our relationships with our Jewish friends and work together to bring more love into this world, starting first by breaking down the walls between Jews and Messianic Jews. As part of that idea I... Read More →

We have ruminated together about what a difference each of can make in today’s world. Focusing on this fact helps us to fight feelings of powerlessness as we catch up on the daily news. It seems like so much energy, and coverage, is spent on discussing our differences which most... Read More →

I am a strong believer in our Abba’s sprinkling clues throughout our lives that lead us to the path He wants for us. The challenge is that we more often than not do not notice them. Part of our life’s journey is to become more aware of these moments, for the more that... Read More →

I love when Passover and Easter line up. Although I know it is not exact, this year’s first night seder falls a couple days before Easter just as Yeshua’s last supper and his resurrection were within days of each other, the holy timing helping to bring us into the... Read More →

We all know how hard it is to find the inner peace we need to connect to HaShem when our lives are too busy. We also know that it’s a catch-22: how do we find inner peace without Him? Our Abba is fully aware of the challenges we must overcome, so He gives us help to remember that... Read More →

For the past several weeks I have not been able to write a Shabbat encouragement. I have always felt that I would not put a weekly expectation on myself about these writings, but rather, “when the Spirit moved me”, I would then have something to share with you. Since returning... Read More →