Shoshana's Garden

I know I have not written in awhile. Even this morning my mind is filled with thoughts, but not knowing how to clearly share them. I know my ideas are often controversial. I don't like "stirring the pot." It just happens. The time change and "lost sleep" messes with me too. So, here are my rambling thoughts today, but the teaching I share at the end brought my thoughts together. I hope they do the same for you. Stuff... War again. I know many people dislike war and the pain i

The other day I was reading something and it mentioned that the person had realized that the things they had learned in "Christianity" were not what was actually part of the early gatherings of believers. That got my head spinning with different thoughts again. I realize that this post may be offensive to some. I am not trying to stir the pot; I am simply bringing up the idea that maybe what we have been taught was a counterfeit, and because we have heard and seen it for so l

I woke up this morning with this word on my mind. I even had thoughts of what to write about. What happened? I got up and didn't write right away, and now my brain is in a fog. I've forgotten the "simple" things in life. I have my coffee. But, between feeding the cats, having to start a load of laundry, cleaning up a mess and trying to catch up on a few things online - my brain already forgot what I wanted to focus on. This is why I miss Shabbat. This is why I miss the intent

I have had so much running around in my head that I want to write about. None of it has "gelled" enough for me to actually write. Even as I sat down this morning I wasn't clear, but then the word "broken" hit me. I started writing this with that word in mind. As I wrote everything changed and I knew I needed to change the word to "CHOSEN." So often the New Year is about being refreshed and renewed. Start over. Put new ideas and new resolutions into place. What if we should st

This week is when the Gregorian Calendar, the roots of which is the Roman Julian calendar, begins a "new year." Most people don't care that this is what is followed in the world today. In fact, most people probably do not know that there was another calendar at all. Yes, the Bible actually has a different calendar. The one God established as He gave Torah (teachings) to the Israelites. They followed His guidance and that has a completely different rhythm than the rest of the

Chanukah Self-Control Tonight we light the last candle. It is the 8th night. I find it fitting that as we have celebrated the Festival of Lights - tonight begins the change of season. We begin winter, and yet we start the process of the days becoming longer. I love to think that as we move into more light in the physical, we can celebrate moving in HIS LIGHT spiritually. I hope you have been able to reflect on the Fruits of the Spirit in a positive way and that you KNOW you a

Chanukah Humility… Post two for the day because I missed yesterday. Humility is an attribute that is often misunderstood. The key is making sure our heart is in the right place. The words below that I wrote several years ago still hold true today. We continue to count the nights of Chanukah and we have reached day seven. We have seen and observed the progression of the fruits moving toward issues in the heart. Goodness and faithfulness are traits from within. The next one is

I missed yesterday so I will do two today. Again - I wrote this years ago, but it holds so true for today. Night six of Chanukah we light the LOVE candle again… Five candles and reminders of who HE wants us to be brings us to FAITHFULNESS. What does it mean to have faithfulness inside of us? One of the most popular verses about faithfulness is in the book of Lamentations. Putting several together we read: Lamentations 3:21-24 But in my mind I keep returning to something, some

On the fifth night of Chanukah the “Love/Servant” candle lights the Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness and finally the Goodness candles... Goodness... What exactly does this mean? The definition of goodness is: “the quality of being morally good or virtuous.” If you are kind, isn’t that being good? If you show love, isn’t that being good? If you are patient, that is being good. And yet “goodness” is definitely set apart in this understanding.  As I reflect on this “fruit of the s

Once again I read through this and couldn't change it... I guess it's time to figure out how to turn these into a booklet. Chanukah can be such an inspiration every year and it lasts for 8 nights! Today - take time to be KIND. The fourth night of Chanukah is marked for me by the word, “kindness.” The “LOVE” candle lights Joy, Peace, Patience and now Kindness... The moment I hear this word I think back to a song from years ago that Leslie Phillips sang and the words say, “It’s