Preparing our hearts & Psalm 1 Tenugui!

Rearranging birthday balloons into a heart shape!  Rye Challah is in its second rise

Thinking about `arranging` our hearts...to seek to enter His tents...

I just re-arranged the birthday balloons, it was my daughter`s birthday last week, and we had them all up in the room but they started to come down,  so I re-arranged them a little and made them into a heart.  A welcoming arrangement for Shabbat!          

As I was making them into the heart shape and wanting to get a good shape, it also made me think about...How do we prepare our hearts for Shabbat?

Today, I like to think of it like the Israelites entering the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle.
In the Parashiot readings we are in the book of Leviticus.
It is not easy reading, but even if we don`t understand all of it, the way that the Torah of cleanliness is set up makes us look at our hearts and ask what it means to be `clean` in all ways---eating, thinking, speaking, obeying, living.

Speaking of preparations, the challah is in it`s second rise.
It`s a Whole Wheat Challah, with rye flour instead of whole wheat in this recipe.  Today I got a new `tenugui`(photo above and detail below!) for the Shabbat.  A tenugui is a Japanese hand towel, that has many other uses including wrapping things, or can be used as a decoration.  I like to use them also as challah covers.  It`s nice to change them for the seasons.  In Japan the seasons are celebrated and you can see many wonderful designs and patterns reflecting the seasons in the tenugui.    The spring green echoes the amazing green in this season.  As the cherry blossoms have all turned to spring green!! I loved that the design seemed to be a perfect illustration of Psalm 1!!  As we meditate on the Torah of ADONAI, the things around us reflect His Word more and more.   Look how the tree is planted over streams of Living Water!!

God Bless you!
Shabbat Shalom!

Happy is the one

who has not walked in

the advice of the wicked,

nor stood in the way of sinners,

nor sat in the seat of scoffers.

But his delight is in the Torah of ADONAI,

and on His Torah he meditates 

day and night.

He will be like a planted tree 

over streams of water,

producing its fruit during its season.

Its leaf never droops---

but in all he does, he succeeds.

---Psalm 1: 1~3 

Torah reflected in a Japanese Tenugui--can you see Psalm 1 with the tree planted in streams of living water!  Hallelujah!  Praise ADONAI in the tenugui design, in every aspect of our life!!*

* notice the "Y" in the shape of the tree, for "Yeshua!" 

A tenugui and a view outside perfectly illustrating Psalm 1 today on this afternoon before Shabbat!

 Love and blessings,

 Shabbat Shalom!!