Questions, Answers & Comments, Oh My!

Can you believe it's November?  No, neither can I!  And yet it is.  October is a memory and the weeks ahead suddenly seem to press in upon us.  It all feels like a downhill rush after October doesn't it?   I have not highlighted post this time around, but I did go through and reply to most questions and commented on a few comments, too.  I'm between guests at the moment and have much to do to get ready for the next group, but wanted to get out a post! Aside from the Proverbial Woman posts, all other replies are in order of posting from the first ones this month to the last. 

The Proverbial Woman posts will continue until I finish the series up.  I hope to do that in the next week but we'll see how long it takes to research some of these verses and words, lol.  I knew it was delving deeper but I hadn't realized just how much I'd be stretched in writing these posts from a spiritual perspective rather than the practical.  Georgene did ask about what resources I used for these posts and I'll share them with you all.  I used Hebrew4Christians.com to get an understanding of the Hebrew letters.  I used bereansonline, the Eshet Chayil and this site to get a better understanding of the Hebrew meanings.  I used blueletterbible.org  lexicon and Strong's commentaries to get a better understanding of Hebrew meanings of root words.  I have used the random other website but I didn't bookmark those and can't tell you which they were. 

Debbie in KS  John and I attended Messianic synagogues for  about 4 years total with a year's break  between year 3 and 4.  We wanted to learn more about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith which frankly was glossed over or 'forgotten' very often by pastors.  The Bible was ALL written from a Hebrew/Jewish standpoint even though the New Testament was largely recorded originally in the Greek language.  Those men who became the first Christians were many of them of the Jewish faith.  Even the Gentiles of the region in that era knew life more from a Jewish standpoint than any other.  It was this fact that led us to go more deeply into study of Torah and Old Testament.  We've discovered some wonderful teachers along the way:  Perry Stone, Jonathon Bernis, Larry Huch, and John Hagee are some of the most outstanding.  I find that today ten years after we'd begun our journey that more and more we hear from the pulpit reminders that our faith has it Hebraic  roots.  Another time perhaps I will write a more indepth post about our experiences.  We feel strongly that we should keep a Sabbath day (not necessarily Saturday but we do) and we do a Sabbath evening prayer and candle lighting service complete with kiddush (communion) each Friday evening.  The Messianic years were pivotal years for us and richly rewarding.   The essence of the tenets of the denomination is that Christ was/is the Messiah.  Many Messianics are Jewish and grew up in the Jewish faith but had a spiritual revelation of Christ in their lives.  Hence many of the Jewish traditions were brought forward with an awareness that all Torah and Talmud foretell the coming of the Messiah who did in fact come to earth. It is a lovely blending of New Testament with Old in Messianic synagogues. 

Sarah, I have to say that I cannot completely jump on the 'all women belong at home' wagon, although it was very much my heart and thankfully is very much the heart of three of my daughters (Katie, Bess and my heart's child, V).  I do know there are women who would never be completely happy at home and find great fulfillment outside it.  There are also women who simply don't have that option of being an at home mom.  It's not about lifestyle but about living period.   I also believe there are a lot of women who've got options but have never taken the time to really think through the subject.  Truthfully this is all I ever wanted and continuing to be a stay at home wife is a blessing I did not expect I'd have the opportunity see through.

I do believe this is a subject meant for soul and heart searching and not assumptions, especially when children are involved.  Extended family caring for a child and imparting the family values would be the ideal as I see it, but that too is not always an option.   It's a sticky subject with a lot of parameters that require serious thinking. 

Judy it is true that many women don't 'get it'...and they can't pass that knowledge on to younger women!  There is much I didn't understand about having value and being treasured.  My childhood home didn't reflect those things. To some extent my grandmothers did exemplify it but my experience with them was limited.  We spent more time with Granny after she was widowed and we were very limited in our exposure to Grandmama.  We also didn't associate with many people so there was no opportunity to see these things.  I came into a gradual understanding after I met and then married John and so Katie is the only child I had who might have seen this in action and I'm not sure how much she absorbed of it.  Based on observance and conversation I think she has a better idea than I had at her age that submission is not about being ridden over rough shod but is necessary to let each lead in the areas where they are the strongest.  Letting go of the idea that we always know best in all things is the hardest task, I think.

Lana I do not know how many people make the link between how they feel physically with how they are doing spiritually.  I appreciate that you shared how your physical health changed when you allowed natural order take over your thinking. 

Debbie G I actually did say the word 'obey' in my second marriage vows, although I recall not saying it in the first marriage.  I think, even though I was not altogether yet spiritually there in my thinking yet, I realized that something vital existed in that word 'obey'. 

Gramma D It is indeed easy to be overwhelmed.  Her physical accomplishments alone are difficult to imagine how to incorporate into our lives.  When you realize her spiritual accomplishments are equally as great it feels even more so.  I think what we all must remember is that it all comes one step at a time, whether we're learning to keep home, raise a family or coming to know God.

Lana  I think keeping Sabbath on a Sunday, or a Saturday if you're Messianic or another denomination that has service on Saturday.  I know that Saturday means Sabbath but I think truly that if it's a day of work for you (or high activity, thinking of a friend of mine who has multiple duties at church) you most certainly should designate one day as a day of rest.  The purpose of Shabat rest is to renew, refresh, restore and regroup.  It's necessary!  And it is truly amazing how much more gets done in six days if one day is set aside as a day to rest.  But that's my perception of it...

Christie Hogan I would love to visit Franklin, NC and St. Augustine at least twice a year each, lol.  I love that your son is now wanting to make your family traditions part of his family's traditions.

Judy  Few understand the confusion of John's schedule and we've pretty much given up trying to explain it.  When he first began working it was 12 on and 12 on call for 7 nights.  Well he was ALWAYS off on a call during those first two years.  Then the schedule sort of settled down to just 12 on and 12 on call with the rare call out and he worked days.  But his work week began on a Wednesday and ended on Tuesday.  We got very selfish during those years with the two weekends a month we have and we still are selfish with them.  We don't spend them carelessly!! Then it was night shift again and finally it turned into 24 on and 72 off.  There's a semi push at the moment to do 24 on and 48 off but it keeps sputtering out in talks.  As it is we are perpetually confused about what day it is.  We live hard by our calendar and occasionally we 'lose' a day which we find very frustrating because it means missed opportunities between shifts.

Sarah  It can be very frustrating when we are keeping track of our blood sugar counts and know we've eaten properly but can't figure out what in heck is causing the readings to be so high.  Pain, loss of sleep, oversleeping, illness, stress, hard changes in routines, grief or shock can all change how our body handles glucose. Sometimes it can even be something as simple as taking Tylenol or Motrin for a headache!  I found an Aleve would give me a spike and drop... I avoid those unless I'm dealing with some super major pain!  I'm glad your husband found out from his counselor what the change likely was and hope that all is well with him once more.

Lana and Sarah After the car accident and again after Danny, and because of my work in the nursing home,  I realized all homes are not created equal.  I started looking at houses with an eye towards ease of access for wheelchair or walker.  There are two things I'd like to change about our home.  One is possible and the other is not.  In our bath we have a shower that requires a step up of about 8 inches.  It is smallish and there is no way a shower chair will ever fit in that shower.  I'd like to replace the garden tub with a large walk-in shower and pull out the old shower for a closet.  The other area is our guest bath which has a very narrow doorway.  The furnace area eats up a good 1 foot of space at the doorway and unless we do some major, major renos that will stay the same.  Otherwise our home is a good candidate for a home for older or handicapped folks.

Lana mentions the hurricane which went up the coast of our state (all outer barrier islands for us and little damage though Samuel reported lots of trees down which meant lots of auto and home damage from about 100 miles inland to the coast.  My family in Kingsland survived fine, though Lori did send the children inland with a family friend.  She had to stay and work, but nothing more than a bit of fence down at her house and that could've come down in sunshine since it was an older fence.   I have followed facebook posts for St. Augustine which flooded but went to work making repairs post haste to try and keep from losing too much tourist revenue.  I know there are rural areas that are still hard hit and ask for your prayers to be with all those poor people.  Patsi@A Working Pantry has posted about South Carolina recovery this past week.

Rhonda an estate sale with 247 pages of items!  My gracious!  Yes, that is far too much, but some people are just 'collectors' of sorts.  I often look at some of the outbuildings and collections on "American Pickers" and the overwhelm family members display at all the stuff they now have to eal with...

On Sneak Peek, so many commented, many new to me folks.  Thank you all and I hope you stay around and visit with us often.  I understand all about 'waiting' to replace floors.  We've been waiting for about 10 years.  We got our first quote something like 4 years ago and there was just no way it was going to happen.  And we got three this time before we found a contractor we could afford.  He came highly recommended from John's co-workers and that's how we found him!

Sarah  Mama lived in her home in Reynolds about 22 years, just a little longer than we've lived here in this house.  It was a home she bought for herself after she divorced my dad.  Mama is very possessive in many ways and age has only increased that feeling.  She visits her home often these days but she seems content too at my brother's.  Perhaps over time she'll finally be moved to put the house up for sale.

Grammy Goodwill  I think your thoughts are just about right.  Mama had quite a lot of furniture in her home but it was larger than my own.  And I find I crave 'quiet' space which I think is what Tammy means with her 'minimalism'.  Tammy and I both have homes about the same size and love comfy interiors but I think we both just want them to read a little more calm.

Debby in KS  I like the idea of a badge for all the work done! lol

Rhonda I feel the same way about yours and Tammy's families.  I don't 'know' them but I have been around internet as they've grown up and it's fun watching each other's grands grow up, too.    

Chris, I was telling John today, for all I've learned doing this series, I could start it all over again and give you an entirely new perspective on it all!  It truly has been a blessing to me as I've done the work and someone else will benefit from it...I just don't know who nor when.  That's the way God works!

Angela, I proved far more ambitious with my list than I was in fact...But I did finish off the bathroom bit of painting.  There's that.

Lana, No rollerball and it's not the mouse at all.  It's truly the cursor.  There's a problem with Windows 10 that affects older computers such as mine.  Perhaps if I had a newer one I'd have less troubles.  Then again, I'd as soon work out the glitches on my old model and when I do get a newer one not have half the hassles!

Debby and Debby in KS  I've done everything else I can so I had to find a new way to tackle the budget.  It's all working but it needs refining and since I've done all I can in those other areas, it's the newer ones I've outlined.  Fortunately I was able to look at insurance plans and my payments next year should not be as high as they are this year...Now to figure out how to use that extra $1.75 a month...LOL

Thank you all for reading and commenting.  Some comments are closed ended and really don't need to be commented to per se but I want to acknowledge the many new readers (or longtime readers 1st time commentors) who wrote in this month.  I appreciate all of you, even the silent ones, for taking time to stop in and share a bit of my life.  It is my prayer that something I write touches you deeply and changes you for the better.