Thursday, August 29, 2019

Happy Almost Elul, in progress!



An Elul Fan!






I get so excited for the month of Elul, this time can't contain myself, and making my first ever Happy Elul painting!!   The fan that Shirah is holding says AHAVA!! I named her Shirah because it means SONG and in ELUL we sing the Song of Songs!! AHAVA means LOVE in Hebrew.  Its one of my favorite words, close in the running with SHALOM!!

Much love and A very HAPPY almost ELUL, SHABBAT SHALOM!! Love, Shayndel










Not by Bread Alone, Parsha Eikev







Man does not live by bread alone 
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Deuteronomy 8:3

  








Not by bread alone
How I love ❤️ Your Torah!

How I love this Parsha !





Bread  (Challah) and the Word of God.

As we are scrolling down in the Torah, coming to the end of one year on God's calendar, we are approaching the last month of 5779.

This month that we are in is the month of Av.  Av in Hebrew means "Father".  It is a month that is associated with comfort, coming after a three weeks period of mourning in Jewish history.  And leading up to just before the season of repentance and the New Year!!  The next and last month of the year on the Hebrew calendar is Elul!!  It is one of my favorite months.  It is said that the name of the month can be seen in the first of each of the corresponding first letters in "I am my beloveds and He is mine."  Ani le Dodi, ve Dodi Li

If you haven't yet  stepped onto/into life on the Hebrew calendar, it is a wonderful time to start preparing as we have the month of Elul before the New Year.  I think it would change the world if all of God's children were to switch from following the ways of  the "world" calendar and move onto to His calendar!! Not to mention, how it changes our lives to enter His time.  Just casually slipping that in, and yet is a really big thing on my heart for His heart.  I am sorry to just be posting in snippets lately, but just wanted to put this scripture quote about Bread and the Word of God to leave a space here for the book of Devarim, and may come back to the post to follow.  Just wanted to hold a place, as the Torah is scrolling down so quickly now!!!
Blessings and Shabbat Shalom!!








Saturday, August 24, 2019

Shalom Jerusalem Fans

Shalom Fan, City of David, Jerusalem
"Seek Shalom and Pursue it", from Psalm 34
Fans in progress!
The East Gate, taken from the Garden of Gethsemane.  This is the Gate where Messiah Yeshua will return through
This fan drawing is supposed to be the East Gate, with a heart opening
Beautiful view of Jerusalem, with the East Gate, taken from the Mt. of Olives.   

Lift up your heads, O gates,
and lift them up, you everlasting doors:
that the King of glory may come in.
"Who is this King of glory?"
ADONAI-Tzva'ot!!--He is the King of glory!
Selah 
Psalm 24:10 

The Whole World is full of His Glory!!

God knows our hearts.  He had me keep aside about 50 "Shalom Fans" out of the 500 (1st Edition!) that I gave out last summer,  to bring to Israel this past spring.  I was thankful to be able to share them on the tour and in Israel.  Thankful to the God of Israel, who put them in my heart and in my hand. He so knew my heart to bring them along and  wave them over His Land!!!
This summer came and I went ahead and had another edition (2nd Edition!)  of 500 "Shalom Fans"  printed.  Its good to have Shalom fans to hand out in summer in Japan.

Before the summer finishes, I am making these fans of various designs,  to show in a little one day exhibit and workshop at a nearby community center.  It will be a workshop where people can make their own "Shalom fans", combining drawing and origami paper. 

In Japan many people don't know much at all about Israel, and even less about the God of Israel.  In every fan, I pray will be a new encounter with Him and a new curiosity will arise in the hearts of the people in Japan to know Him, and that He will reveal himself in new and beautiful ways and multiply His Shalom over all!!


Lion of Judah in the clouds with origami paper waves background!
Origami paper collage Jerusalem Fan
make the "backgrounds" using different patterns of origami paper





Shalom Tel Aviv!!  !♡
Blessings and Shalom!

Love,
Shayndel

(going forward again as "Shayndel" for now!)



















Sunday, August 11, 2019

Roses for who? for our neighbor, who else?!

Ok, so it looks like I am back with another story.
You encouraged me to go on.

You know, I buy flowers for Shabbat every Friday evening.  After I get the house (apartment) cleaned and have the challah dough ready and divided, and in the house (apartment!) its beginning to look a lot like Shabbos, I go out to the flower shop.

Its one of the exciting moments at the build up of the end of the week as the sun is still up in the sky, but you can feel that time of day when God is already in the readiness of bringing on the evening.  And of course on Shabbat there is that extra excitement in coming home to light the candles just before that happens,  to meet Him there and welcome the Shabbat!!

I have been going to the same flower shop on Fridays for probably a few years already!!! There was one person who worked there who I developed a friendship with , and she became interested in knowing about Shabbat and I had a chance to share with her about Shabbat.  She would always wish me a Shabbat Shalom when I left with flowers.

She has since had a schedule change and doesn't work on Fridays, so I miss her, but the other women are very nice and it started to become a place I feel at home.  They often tell me which flowers just arrived.

This day I was attracted to the pink roses that just arrived, so the woman at the flower shop who is there now on Fridays helped me.  As she put three together for me I asked her to add a few more so it was now 5, and then had an inspiration to ask for two more, to give to someone else.  Not knowing who, but wanting to share my joy in the coming of Shabbat.

The flower shop woman liked the idea of doing that and it even became a joyful moment in the flower shop as she wrapped one by one the two that would go to who? We both didn't know!  It was exciting to think who they might go to!! She wrapped each pink rose in clear plastic, and tied each with a bright pink thin ribbon the same color as the rose.  The ones for me she wrapped simply in brown paper.

I don't live far from the flower shop, so I wondered if I would find someone.  She said its hot out so people will probably be out going out or doing something.   I was encouraged and got on my bicycle and prayed that the Holy Spirit would show me to the people they were for!!

So I am riding with my eyes alert...and I was almost home but still hadn't found the person.   I  decided to give it one try around the block to a convenient store, and see if there would be someone on the way.  I saw a few potentials, but didn't sense the eye contact or timing was right.  I was focused on women, and saw two who were talking outside but no, it didn't seem that it was them as I approached nearer on my bicycle.  Oh dear, so now what! Dear LORD, I prayed, please show me someone !!!

Now I was at my apartment, pulling in to park my bicycle.  I was determined NOT to go into my apartment with the two gift wrapped roses, as they were clearly for someone else.  So, you know the LORD is faithful.  As I was walking into go into my building, out came a man.  There was a perfect moment of "intersection", and with enough of a clue as that, I stopped, and he stopped, almost as if on cue!!!  It was a neighbor on another floor who I know has a family.   We basically just are on the level of exchanging greetings, never past that.  So I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do it, but I knew I had to give him the flowers.  So here is the exchange!! (it was in Japanese of course0

Me:  Good evening

Neighbor:  Good evening

Me:  (watch what happens here!!)
Are you going out and coming back?

(Yes, I really said that!  I needed to know if he would be coming right back in which case I could give him the flowers to give to his wife.  IF he was going out for the evening, it wouldn't have worked).

Neighbor:  ( blank stare)

Me:  (trying again, and yet with all authority in Yeshua,  in knowing this was a divine encounter. Whereas ordinarily I would not ask such a pointed question to such a neighbor!!)

Will you be out for a short time and coming back?

Neighbor:  Yes

Me: (completely em-boldened to go on!)
Here! Please give these to your wife!  (and I handed to him the flowers!)

Neighbor:  (a little surprised, but not as much as you might think)  Thank you.

(so now this man, who is in a business suit but without the jacket, hence I sensed he might have just been going to the convenience store,  is holding two pink roses!!)

Then, the most beautiful thing happened.
Neither of us moved.  And then,
He smiled.
I smiled.
It was a smile that had come from an awareness of the divine in that moment.  Yeshua, Jesus, was with us for sure, the flower was from God, not from me.  He doesn't know Yeshua, but somehow I felt that he was meeting Him now. In that few seconds the light of heaven was there on us.

Then after the moment "finished" and the glow of heaven released us back into world time, I made a comment that was just a kind of "formality" but had a touch of lightness, and we both bowed as good neighbors do, and parted.

I realize today as I look at the pink roses in my apartment what a divine encounter it was, and how it took about three years to get to that moment.  From having a certain trust in one another from just plain living amicably in the same building at a respectable distance.

So that is the story, roses for my neighbor! Jesus knew who they were for!! And He gave me the words*, in Japanese, to have the conversation and carry it out!

Shabbat Shalom!! Much love,
Jeremiah Shayndel Joanne  (wink to Sandi!)



*Since it is a Shabbat story, finding a way to enter back into the blog, and tie it into this weeks Parsha reading. This week's reading is Devarim, the first parsha in the Book of Deuteronomy.  Devarim means "words".  Will start again with pictures in posts to follow!

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Jeremiah in my day

Just a cute little story about Jeremiah in my day!

As you know I like to give out things like postcards or shalom fans or scriptures written on little cards as ways to share about the LORD and it is also a way of having moments of an encounter with people in the course of the day!

Yesterday I was in the women's locker room at the community center gym, and some women were just finishing and were all changed when I was coming in. I don't know them,but they were very friendly and we greeted each other and started chatting.  I hadn't pulled out my postcards in a while and just felt moved to do so, so we all sat on a bench in the locker room and they seemed to really like the postcards and were choosing one or the other.  Then it was like I was just pulling things out of my bag I didn't even know were there! Next a scripture in Japanese  on a cute letter paper with music notes from Jeremiah, next a photo from the City of David from Jerusalem with a Psalm, and then more postcards, one with another scripture from Jeremiah in Japanese!! So now they were asking for seconds, looking for treasures, and one woman noticed the handwritten scripture in Japanese from Jeremiah and asked if it was ok for her to have that, and I said, of course, I was keeping it for just the right person, and its you!

The scripture was Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have for you.
I remember from when I wrote it, it was in April! from when I sang that song at a student recital, and had written it in Japanese to give to people the scripture then!! So it really was for her, as I hadn't known I was even carrying it!!!
And my bag is not so big, it was like the Holy Spirit just filled the bag with His word and it came spilling out at even the slight interest, or rather, the great hunger, of these women!!

SO here is the sweetest part, she looked at the scripture with Jeremiah, and said, oh your name is Jeremiah!
I told her Jeremiah is the name of the prophet who spoke that word!!

And that my name is Joanne.

Oh, so now I see maybe why I wrote this post as my next post.  I have sensed partly in my break that I am to be more fully who I am, and yes, I am "Shayndel", but as that is not the name I go by, I sensed the LORD wants me to write from the name that I go by.

So this post is from Shayndel and I !!

Blessings and Shalom!
 Shabbat Shalom!


And adding the scripture for you!  In English and Japanese!

"For I know the plans I have in mind for you", declares the LORD, "plans for shalom and not calamity--to give you a future and a hope."   

Jeremiah 29:11


わたしは、あなたたちのために立ていた計画をよく心に留めている、と主は言われる。
それは平和の計画であって、災いの計画ではない。将来と希望を与えるものである。

エレミヤ書29:11