People Who Love People...

February 15, 2010
There are lessons one learns while on the road, that I wonder – could they be learned at home?
Like this one; people are more important than “to do lists”. I honestly don’t know if I would have discovered the value of this lesson from the comfort of my living room. Checking off items on my “to do list” has almost seemed like my life purpose, not laughing uproariously over a game of cards while seated at a dining table or building a snowman or watching goats do tricks or constructing marble mazes or talking recipes or looking at photo albums or listening to old “war” stories.

Presenting at a Senior Retirement Center in Colorado

Yes, I like people, but until I lost my hearing in my left ear while in Israel this past fall I never really enjoyed people. There was always too much else to do to really take time to enjoy people, right now, in the immediacy of the moment.
Compromised hearing is a frustrating, annoying, irritating disability. I struggle and strain to hear the talk at dinner tables, little children’s excited chatter, elderly folks muted comments, telephone conversations, weather reports on television, radio talk show hosts without blowing my husband out of the car, and the list goes on and on.

Ellie on the Harp in Colorado--More Coming!

It has made for many tears and much pleading until one day the sweet, gentle voice of the Holy Spirit said to me, “listen to their spirit.” A mushroom cloud of understanding exploded for me at those words, you might not be able to hear them physically so learn to hear to communicate spirit to spirit. I was floored, I was amazed – I am awed, I am whelmed!
There are still days and times when the “need” to create a list, the need to hear almost overwhelms me, but the loving kindness of The Father helps me refocus on people, their spirit need, right here right now. (I apologize if I haven't answered your email or returned your phone call, I will.) Life is becoming much more of a day by day adventure, it is slowly transitioning to “what’s next Papa?!” – the life of a bondslave of Y”Shua. Are we – am I – there yet? No. But the journey is begun. It is a great adventure, we recommend it highly!

Bob and Penny at Colorado National Monument

This life of enjoying people has taken us to retirement centers and nursing homes, schools and play yards and parks, coffee shops and deli’s, home fellowships and “Baptist” churches, the bedside of the severely ill to graduations; wherever people are. And in “the going” I am beginning to learn His Spirit flows. And I must clarify something here, it is “the going” in the compassion of Y’Shua that the rivers of living water will pour forth from those who worship The Father in both Spirit and Truth for those are the worshippers whom The Father seeks. Worship / Compassion they both bring life from the dead! We’ve experienced a trickle, we are praying and waiting for the waterfall!

Our Son Gabriel and Grandson Dylan Skiing

Wait for YHVH; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for YHVH!
Psalm 27:14

Like the old song says;
Turn your eyes upon Y’Shua, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
YHVH’s Blessings be upon you and your household.
Until next time!

A Lesson from the Wind

February 3, 2010 - From Kansas to Colorado
The Father has been so good to us this trip. It is as though He is weaving us through and around the storms that are lashing our nation this winter. The trip from Kansas to Colorado was clear and dry. Huge wind machines dot the Kansas countryside. As I was watching them turn the other day I couldn’t help but think of the scripture that Yahshua spoke to Nicodemus about the Holy Spirit – the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going, so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. The wind blows and turns the big blades of these mammoth machines and this turning generates power. The power generated is transformed into usable electricity for thousands of homes and businesses. So also the Wind / Spirit comes into our lives and generates power to transform lives. The question posed to me as I watched those huge wind turbines is; “the power I generate in your life is it transformational impacting lives for My Kingdom?” Hebrews 5:13 – 6:3; “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But the solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Messiah, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward YHVH, of instruction about washing, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we shall do, If YHVH permits.”
So the lesson for me is this; the believer who only partakes of milk is like the huge wind turbine, fully operational but the blades are not engaged to take advantage of the wind blowing across their surface. But the mature believer is fully engaged in the power generating process. It is only as the blades turn under the power of the wind that electricity is generated for the transformation of darkness into light. Let us pray to be mature believers fully engaged in the transformational process of darkness into light.

Texas to Kansas

The Mighty Mississippi River

February 3, 2010
We last reported from Texas as we were getting ready to head up to Kansas. We were watching the weather closely as snow and freezing rain were the menu of the day. When we woke up on Friday morning, it looked like we had a travel window, right in behind the storm as it advanced eastward, and we felt a peace about going, so we packed up and headed out. There was a lot of rain in Texas, and as we hit the Oklahoma boarder, it soon turned into sleet and snow. By the time we got to Oklahoma City, there was a section of I-35 that was closed with trucks slipping on the ice and piling up, blocking the road, so we had to find a detour around all that mess. Wind and snow were the event of the day, but thankfully, we had fair visibility and made the 500 mile voyage to Sedan, Kansas by 8:30 Friday evening. It was a welcome site to pull into the driveway of our friends and come into their warm home and celebrate Erev Shabbat with them. Our scheduled presentation for Sunday morning cancelled because they said the roads were too bad—interesting, considering what we had just driven through to get here, nonetheless… We are only responsible for meeting our commitments, and let Him take care of the rest.

Cardinals getting the seeds

We had a delightful Shabbat and shared our message from Israel. Once again lights were turned on in people’s understanding. We had a blessing of just resting with our friends on Sunday, watching out the living room window as Cardinals, Sparrows, Chickadees and squirrels busily scarfed up the seeds that had been placed in the yard feeders.

Mr. Squirrel getting his share

A quiet day this Tuesday gave us the opportunity to get our oil and transmission fluid changed in Bartlesville, OK and as we were talking to the owner he asked us what we were doing on the road so much of the time. We explained our ministry to him and he was so excited and wanted his wife to meet us. We gave them a CD and our contact information with web site. It was a real divine appointment and who knows where it will go. It is so important to just make yourself available to what YHWH places before you each and every day.
Today we head on over to Colorado. The weather report does not show too bad of conditions, so we hope to get there without too much interference. We’ll report from Colorado in the next few days.