Gusts of grace to glory

The craziness of life hit hard the last couple of days.  Exhaustion, lack of preparation, caught off guard, omigoshihavetowork!  I only work one night a week for my husband, so he can get ready to go back to school soon.   I need to learn his route so I can do it when he needs me to.  I am grateful that it is only one night, but the infrequency suprises me still on the days I realize an hour before I have to leave - that I need to leave.
Hurry up and wait, pressures of 'once-in-a-lifetimes' and constant interruption of sleep and no opportunity to rest.  My sister in law is due yesterday for her first baby.  Her parents arrived from Uruguay last week.  They are so precious to us, and we rarely get to see them.  English is very broken, but not always necessary.  We went mall walking to try to induce labor. 
Swinging from one cup of caffeine to the next.  Only 4 hours of interrupted sleep - getting too regular these days.  Can't even remember English at times!  No bad stresses that shatter my world, but just life...
THEN... to my pleasant suprise, this craziness leads to a simple but delightful discovery. 
I couldn't put my challah dough together at my usual time.  I had gotten my iPhone (finally!) and my calendar settings weren't synchronizing correctly.  My "Make the challah dough" reminder went AWOL.  I was mall walking when I normally would be doing it.  I was so exhausted that I totally forgot!  SO I had to quickly throw it together between homeschool class and playdate today.  And it raised SO beautifully at room temperature, instead of the fridge.  It was SO much softer, and much easier to knead and braid, that it just purely made my week!
I could have just picked up some bread at the store as I scurried home to make Shabbat dinner.  But we have come to just love the smell of the baking bread as we set the candles and cup out for our family meal, I just couldn't bear to not have the comfort of that smell today.
Now I sit and enjoy the spoils of my battle with this week: challah dipped in gravy of carne de panella, leftover chocolate pie, and the strains of Paul Baloche's Greater Song. 
Lifting Him higher in my heart...

Shabbat shalom!

Disrupted...

I tend to be a very 'keyed up' person, always moving, always driven.  If you come to visit my home, I rarely sit.  I try, I really do.  About the only way to get me to sit involves a hot beverage and either a good book about whatever topic I am currently passionate about, or, a great friend with the promise of great conversation.
So I'm learning to relax a bit.  Its truly a learned skill.  And I think I'm making SOME progress in this area, even though I am shocked at where its come from.
As a kid, I grew up in a very conservative home, and on Sundays it was a given that we would be in church, come home for a big homemade lunch, the required nap, and then perhaps a cup of tea before choir practice and evening service.  I guess it was our ritual.  But there were definitely things we didn't 'do' on Sundays.  We didn't go to restaurants, malls, gas stations, rarely did we have a friend over, we didn't watch sports, and for a long while we didn't even watch TV on Sundays. 
When I met my husband, his family had a very different way of 'celebrating' the Lord's day.  They took mom out to eat every Sunday after church so she wouldn't have to cook, and did not hesitate to stop by the mall before heading home. 
So how did we meld these?  Probably a lot wilder than my family, and more sedate than his.  
And now we go another direction altogether.
My progress has surprisingly come from Saturday.
We've begun attending a messianic synagogue.  The worship services are on Saturdays.  Oh yeah, that's when the Sabbath was celebrated in the Bible.  I've never had a problem or conviction for or against either Saturday or Sunday worship, so I was open to either.  But I've always been in the institutional church on Sunday - my whole life.  It was almost a naturally biological routine.
Changing to Saturday has disrupted my routine completely.  But it allows us to do what is most important to us during the first part of our weekend.  Worship.  And it puts the first things first, right where they should be.
Huh.
Saturday.
Who da thunk it?

Beautiful mess

New year, and HIGH time to get blogging!
So much has happened....

How many changes can happen to a person before they, well, change themselves?
And yet the more things change, the more they stay the same.  I still believe in my Saviour, though I think of him more as Yeshua haMashiach now, rather than as Jesus Christ.  My thoughts deepen on this continually.  I am SO glad to know his well never runs dry!
I listen to Rabbis more now.  Never really did before. 
I avoid listening to reverends, pastors, preachers.
Kind of leave me nauseous.
I am on a journey and accepting it as such.  I don't expect to 'arrive' now until I am Home in Yeshua's presence.  I am okay with being imperfect, with making mistakes, with not having all the answers, with not living up to expectations.
And I've found that others are not okay with that, and despite how painful that can be sometimes, I am okay with that now too.
I am learning to extend grace that I have not extended before.  I am reserving judgement.  I may not know what others are facing when they offend me.  I will initially assume that the offense was unintended instead of jumping to conclusions.  Perhaps its my new year's resolution.  Unofficially.
For now, the journey is imperfect.  I expect it to stay that way.  But it is temporary, permanently temporary - at least for this life!  But I also expect my journey to improve.  It is so full of peace, of YHWH, of knowledge of his presence and spirit.  So full of blessings.  And G-d will bless us even more as we bless him.
And I am SO blessed.

To live in this beautiful mess!

Shalom, y'all!