What a season!

  I had written the Shabbat encouragement below before the passing of our incredibly beautiful Jacob Halzel yesterday. With the permission of his parents, I want to preface this week’s message with a few personal thoughts:   I remember Jacob as a small child in a...
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Plans?

  Sid and I are settling into our Florida routines. We’ll be here for the next several months as we see what each day brings.   It was never on my plan to spend winters in Florida, but it was on Sid’s. The irony is that where we live when here is actually in the...
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What a ride!

  As an Ohio State Buckeye I celebrated Monday night the victory of OSU winning the college football national championship. I was moved by the Ohio State players who thanked God for the victory. I was also moved by the interview with the coach of the defeated Notre Dame team...
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What a Waffle House!

  We recently noodled the idea of how to serve others and in so doing serve our Creator. We looked at the inspiring lives of Jimmy Carter and Christopher Reeve and saw how their triumphs and hardships served others without intention by either of these men at the time. We so...
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A life of service

  In reading about the very full life of President Jimmy Carter who died this week at the age of 100 I was reminded of an important irony. We so often in our desire to serve presume we know how to do so. The beautiful enigma of our relationship with God is living the mystery...
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I want a do-over

  How many times have we done something and wished we had another chance to try it again? Or if presented with the same set of facts or opportunity, we wish we would have made a different decision, or taken a different path than the one we first chose?   Looking back at...
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The circle of love

  As my fifth grandchild is hours old 😊 I once again am reflecting with wonder the arrival of another precious life.   Babies are a gift from God. There is no doubt. However, what HaShem is teaching us through those little bundles of joy is much more than just that...
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Zestfully clean

  So many insights seem to occur in the shower for many of us. Today was no exception.   As I immersed in the flowing water from above I was reminded of our ability to be reborn each morning, anew, a fresh start to try again to be more in His likeness. As I had this...
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‘Tis the season . . .

to feel stressed! Yes, it’s unavoidable. No matter how much we pray, study Scripture, talk with God, we are only human, and in those alone times when we think about all that there is to do, we can feel overwhelmed. I awoke this morning  after having spent just one day in...
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So much to be thankful for. . .

  Last week we wrestled with the reality of our living in a predominantly secular world. We took note of the blessing of being part of a faith filled community and cherished even more deeply our relationship with God through the intimacy, the closeness of Yeshua in our...
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You can’t say His Name

  In these days it’s not easy having conversations with others for a variety of reasons. Of course we avoid politics, sometimes even with those who are like minded on other topics, since we can feel frustrated. Such is the lot of a divided society where we can feel...
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Like the chickadee

  It is undeniable that these are difficult times, micro and macro. I can’t say they’re the worst since our individual lives have their highs and lows, and the cycles of history since the beginning have surely demonstrated this concept to be true. I can say in my not short...
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I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . .

  In June I shared with you my journey regarding participating in Our Daily Bread’s docuseries “Unshakable Moxie: Women of Resilient Faith”. It was quite the transformation from my complete trepidation when asked almost a year ago, my absolute hesitancy and desire not to do...
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I don’t want to!

  Sid and I recently saw the movie “Saturday Night” which is the portrayal as if in real time of the one hour and forty-nine minutes leading up to the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” on October 11, 1975. I am not recommending it since it well deserves its R rating....
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A daily Word

  I can’t believe it’s true but I must have started the Daily Dvar program through Ruach two years ago and have completed reading the Bible! The reason I think so is that when I began this past Sunday’s passages the readings were back on Genesis 1, Psalm 1, and Matthew 1. It...
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A holy harvest

  These High Holy Days have been transformative. There are so many moments that have contributed to the mountaintop experience that it would take a whole Shabbat encouragement to acknowledge all of them. The services have truly felt anointed.   Now, as we enter these...
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Teshuvah

  We are in the most holy days of the year, once again. As predictable as the sunrise and sunset, we are given an even deeper ability than daily to once a year focus on what we can do to live better the blessed lives we’ve been given.   When we think of “teshuvah” we...
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His calming breath

  One of my routine jogs when not at the beach is around the cul-de-sac near our home. It’s a .5 mile loop that is downhill as you start on the top on one side and climb uphill on the return on the other side with ocean views. What’s not to like?   Recently when doing...
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Thanks for the kidney stones

  Who would ever think dealing with kidney stones for the last two months with pain and surgeries could possible have anything good about it? I mean I’ve been thanking God and being grateful for so many other things, but frankly, not for the kidney stones, themselves.  Yes,...
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What is love – Part 2

Perhaps the truest test of my transparency in these writings is admitting that I’ve been a fan of the singer Tom Jones since I was a teenager. I can no longer defend that I like him because my mom did. I like him. Despite the image of him that was created when he was young...
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What is love

Our sense of well being comes from being able to feel loved. Ideally such a reality starts when we are babies and continues throughout our lives. Most babies start out being loved unconditionally since they’re so darn cute! (Chava Leah, case in point!) Actually, as babies we are...
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It ain’t easy – Part 2

  Last week we noodled about times of challenge in our lives. What are we to learn from them? Why do they happen? Why does God allow these times? Are those even the right questions?   No need to look back on last week’s writing. None of those questions were fully...
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It ain’t easy

  How do we know when we’re just going through a run of bad luck or we’re feeling it’s something more – those words I don’t like to use but I will – spiritual warfare. We really can’t know for sure, but when negative things seem to be happening all at once or in a short time...
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Healing . . . and forgiveness

  Last week we pondered the less obvious ways the process of healing may take place. We saw extreme examples of loving one’s enemy in the story of the Lubetzkys and the superintendent, and Cantor Weisser and the klansman. We were moved by the super whose only reason for...
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Healing

  I recently heard an interview with Daniel Lubetzky the founder of the Kind Foundation and many successful ventures including Kind LLC featuring the well known Kind bars. Knowing the story behind this man’s worldview gave me much to ponder about the importance of loving our...
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What a team!

  Camp Or L’Dor ended on Sunday and in my opinion was the best year yet. The stunning location and welcoming hosts created an inviting place for campers and counselors to feel our Abba’s loving embrace. So many moments of vulnerability, sharing from the heart, healing, acts...
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Last cynic standing – Part 2

  Last week we noodled generational wisdom, the importance of leaning on God to inform our actions in raising children and mentoring others. We emphasized that to feel loved, safe, and hopeful, the source is our Abba ministering to each of His children through the Holy...
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Last cynic standing

  In Maine we don’t have cable TV so our TV watching is very limited (fine with us!) Last evening we were trying to catch the news but due to storm interference, that wasn’t an option.  I was packing for a trip (what else is new?) so was looking for a random distraction...
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The sound of music

  A couple weeks ago I shared with you my experience at a rural church near Portland, ME. There our ukulele group “Ukuleles Heal the World” provided worship music. I remarked on the simplicity of the cross at the front of the church, it being made of two moderately sized...
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What to do?

  Each day we are presented with possibilities of what to do when. I have to say between working part-time as a lawyer, non-profit passions (especially involving Messianic Judaism and Scripture study), music endeavors, and exercise, I typically have multiple choices....
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