Shoshana's Garden

This blog came about because I was talking with someone about "floaters" that can occur in eyes. I have them. Then, a photo showed up on my Instagram feed that showed what lights look like for those who have astigmatism. I have that as well. Another issue that can affect people is colorblindness (I do not have this). When I saw the photo on Instagram I realized that how I see things is different than how most people see it. Lights at night do not look the same. I realized may

I woke up knowing I wanted to write and did not know what to write. Opening my Shabbat Prayer book Mishkan T'filah this prayer reminded me to begin with gratitude. I BEGIN WITH A PRAYER of gratitude for all that is holy in my life. God needs no words, no English or Hebrew, no semantics and no services. But I need them. Through prayer, I can sense my inner strength, my inner purpose, my inner joy, my capacity. to love. As I reach upward in prayer, I sense these qualities in my

Thank you for all the encouraging messages and prayers in response to last week's post. I felt the need to do a quick follow up this week and then I will return to writing as the Spirit lays things on my heart. The after effects of "going public" is exhausting. I have no idea if my ex read what I posted or not. I don't know if he has access to the blog. I do know that it will most likely anger him if he does. My prayer is that he does not take it out on the children if he has

I recently found out that October is domestic violence month. By writing this, I want everyone to know I am not bitter. I still have my moments of being angry, yes, but I have forgiven, and continue to forgive, my ex husband for what happened. I am writing things because I know I am not the only person who has faced what I have. I also know it happens more in the "Christian" world then many want to admit. Next Tuesday, Oct. 7, I should be celebrating my 32nd anniversary along

The past two weeks have been so long for me. It has been filled with ups and downs. Trials. Disappointments. Struggles. Exhaustion. And yet... the season is a time to remember and now to Rejoice! Tonight we will have a campfire to sit around and hopefully enjoy and let the things of this week go. The goal is to find something to be joyful about and to give thanks. I pray that you can do the same. Sukkot.... Feast of Tabernacles... Do these titles mean anything to you? Levit

I wrote this in 2021 - the first year the children and I were back in the US. There have been days and moments I want to give this all up, but it became part of me, and I absolutely LOVE what I learned while I lived in Israel. It is now my faith journey and I cannot go back. I will never force anyone to believe as I do. My prayer is that it plants seeds into your heart to dig deeper into WHO Jesus is. Yes, He is our Savior and Messiah and that is the most important piece we n

I've gone back and forth about writing this, but it is on my heart so I probably should. I have been questioning this past week if there is something wrong with being "too honest." Obviously most people are taught not to lie... Can being too honest be just as hurtful as telling someone a lie? Are there times when we really should not be honest? At work a couple weeks ago I was involved in a 16 hour (4 days of 4 hours) training to learn how to carry on a "Crucial Conversation.

This week has been a long week... I was privileged to be a part of some management training at work called "Crucial Conversations." I admit I was dreading it. I had read the book as part of a book study and I grasped the concept and yet... I hate public speaking and I hate being vulnerable. I did both this week. And, for the most part I enjoyed it. It was something that needed to be done. It was exhausting... And it seems to have left me in a state of uncertainty. That being

This may end up becoming a bunch of rambling words with no direction, but I wanted to write today. The word that came to my mind as I was deciding what to write about was the word, "capture." I know this word can mean someone wants to "catch something," say an animal or person, and hold them as a prisoner. It can also be the idea that an army captures a city and now has control. The first thought that comes to mind when I think of this word is the idea of "capture the moment.

The word vulnerable has been running around in my head for several weeks. I haven't been able to write because of some traveling I have done on the weekends. One weekend I went to Chicago to pick my children up from the airport, got home at 3 am and turned around and went back to a Chicago suburb to spend 24 hours with a couple that I had not seen in 13 or 14 years. A much needed time together... The next weekend I thought that I had nothing planned, and then my son told me s