A Book Review - My Servant Caleb

A Jewish boy

A Gentile girl

A world at war

Norfolk, England, June 1936.  "Celia kicked off her jodhpur boots with a sigh of relief. She would far rather spend her days outdoors in wind and rain, with freezing hands and feet, than live the life of a salon poodle. The memory of her year in London made her shudder ...".

When Lady Celia, daughter of the Earl of Besthorpe, meets Caleb Levine, a rising young solicitor and a Jew from London's East End, their mutual attraction horrifies her freinds and scandalises her anti-semitic parents. But just as she is an exile from her class, so Caleb is in exile from both his Jewish heritage and his now Christian family. How can their relationship survive? Can two world views ever meet?

My Servant Caleb is a story that spans from 1936 to 1952 and across two continents. This wonderful story is played out against the back-drop of a world war, the holocaust and the tremulous re-birth of the nation of Israel. A Jewish boy and a Gentile girl who against all odds fall in love and  must both find their way to the Messiah of Israel. Caleb from all the traditions of his past and Celia from a world formed almost completely on class distinction and prejudice.
What I really loved about this book is that the author has managed so beautifully to portray the coming together of both Jew and Gentile into one people ... the Israel of God through this love story. The struggles that each one of us must go through as we struggle with eternal questions individually and all the shedding and leaving behind of preconceived ideas, vanities and lies until finally we meet together at the feet of our Saviour.
This book is rich in detail and calls into question the very meaning of home ....
This is truly a story that engages the heart and until you have read the last page is very hard to put down!!


Kerstin Sheldrake, is a German born in Berlin, she supports her English husband, Andrew, in the leadership of the Messianic Synagogue in Norwich, UK.

This is a book I highly recommend, I enjoyed it immensely and am a little richer for having read it!!


Blessings

Should Woman Wear Headcoverings?

I really enjoyed this video! I enjoyed all the testimonies and encouragement from all of these beautiful women of YHVH!

Blessings and Shalom

Who Are We?

'His foundation is in the holy mountains.

YHVH loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacov.

Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of YHVH. 

I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia,

this man was born there.

And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the Highest Himself shall establish her.

YHVH shall count, when He writes up the people, that this man was born there.

As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.'

- Psalm 87

Praise YAH for His loving kindness and faithfulness!!

The one thing that is grieving my heart this Shabbat ... is the one thing my eyes have been blind to for far too long. My eyes have now been opened and my heart is heavy ... for I am now able to see the degree of anti-semitism that has/is infecting the house and people of YHVH. At least this is what they profess to be.

The day that YHVH opened my eyes to His Torah and revealed His heart to me, is the day that life truly began! There have been many changes ... both inside and out ... I am truly a new creation! Praise YAH!!

I am called out ... called to leave behind all the lies and vanities that I have inherited. Called to leave all vain imaginations that have raised themselves up against the true knowledge of who YHVH is. Called to become a daughter of the Most High God ...

With this 'calling' comes a new identity ... a new destiny ... a new future, inheritence and hope!

And a new people that I am now a part of ...ISRAEL.

Unless I am a child of Israel ... I cannot be a partaker of His covenant.

The covenants were made with Israel and remain with Israel, and we wait with anticipation for the final fulfillment of all of YHVH'S promises to Israel!

Israel are who they are because of YHVH - the God of Israel. Their ways ... are His ways.

If His ways are now becoming my ways (by His mercy and grace I have been lovingly grafted in) - the question is... who am I going to start looking like? Is my life going to start being a reflection of His Torah? And if so ... then what people am I going to start resembling? There has only ever been one nation that are set apart in their keeping of the Shabbat and feasts and Torah of YHVH ... Israel.

Only with these changes taking place in my life have my eyes been opened to the undercurrents of anti-semitism and hatred that lie undetected in so many hearts. Many are afraid of being identified with Israel ... the land, the people and even the Jewish Messiah. Maybe we should examine our hearts a little more ... after all is it not a privilege to be identified as one of the people of YHVH ... set apart and in covenant with Him?

As the people of YHVH .. we should be carrying Israel - the people and the land - deep within our hearts, just as He does. Their struggles and wrestlings should drive us to our knees in prayer ... after all ... are they not our people. Is Israel not the home our spirits yearn for?

Just as the Psalm above promises ... YHVH Himself will declare that we belong there with Him ... part of His people ... the Israel of God for all eternity!

Just as Naomi and Ruth had to leave the fields of Moab and return to the land and God of Israel - so too do we along with our Jewish brothers and sisters. Let our prayer this Shabbat be for our people to return to the God of Israel ... YHVH ... and His ways, that all vanities, lies and vain imaginations will be destroyed and that His name will be sanctified in all of Israel!

May YHVH bless you and keep you

May YHVH make His face to shine upon you

May YHVH lift up His countenance upon you

and give you His Shalom,

Blessings

Feeling Uncomfortable??

Christmas Carols

With the world gearing up to celebrate christmas ... this video was such a lovely reminder for me ... this place is not home ...

I guess we all need to be reminded at times that the danger lies in becoming too comfortable ...
I love the perspective of Mrs Palatnik and I thank YHVH that He is speaking to us all the time ... reminding us, we just need to learn to listen :o)
So this christmas let all the carols and tinsel serve to remind us that this is not home ... let us be on guard to becoming too comfortable!!


Blessings and Shalom

Israel My Beloved

"They will never again defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, or any of their transgressions, but I will save them from all the places where they have been living and sinning, and I will cleanse them, so that they will be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David will be king over them, and all of them will have one shepherd, they will live by my rulings and keep and observe my regulations. They will live in the land I gave to Ya'akov my servant, where your ancestors lived, they will live there - they, their children, and their granchildren, forever, and David my servant will be their leader forver. I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give to them, increase their numbers, and set my sanctuary among them forever. My home will be with them, I will be their God, and they will be my people. The nations will know that I am  YHVH, who sets Isra'el apart as holy, when my sanctuary is with them forever." - Yechezk'el (Ezekiel) 37:23-28  CJB.

We long for and look forward to that day ... when ALL of Israel will be saved and her Shalom ... final and complete.

The keeping of the Shabbat is the sign that sets us, the people of YHVH, apart from the rest of the nations. The keeping of the Shabbat is a privilege ... and a beautiful gift from our Father and our King. Many do not see this though ... and shout 'legalism' when confronted with a heart that wants to obey. If taking this one day and setting it apart from all others in order to have our spirit refreshed by His ... to have time to sing His praise and exalt ourselves in Him ... to allow ourselves to be reminded that He is the God in whose hand our breath is and in whom are all our ways ... that without Him there is no life - if all of this treasure can be labeled 'legalism' ... then a legalist I shall be. The thing is legalism does not bring freedom ... and the truth is ...

I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE FREE!!!

Shabbat Shalom to all of Israel!!

What in the World Are We Doing??

I am sure that we are all familiar with the above advertisements selling perfume to the masses (mainly women) ... although men are also becoming regular users of the various fragrances sold by movie stars, musicians and design houses. We are subtly sold the lie that some-how wearing these fragrances will make us more desirable or they will be the crowning glory to the image we ourselves are creating and projecting to the world.
The last 48 hrs have been really trying for me ... I have learned an extremely important lesson, and once again I am grateful to YHVH for His faithfulness and for leading me to a place of taking more off and leaving it far behind :o)

On Monday morning I decided to try a perfume that my mom had given to Rachel, who in turn did not like the fragrance and so she passed it on to me ... it has a really pleasant smell ... so I decided to give it a go. This is where it gets interesting ... within 5 minutes of trying the fragrance I started experiencing heart palpitations and really started feeling quite ill. I immedietely made the association between symptoms and fragrance, but wondered if this was indeed possible ... maybe this was something else?? I decided to wash the fragrance off ... but throughout the day I felt really bad with the heart palpitations constantly there. The palpitaions lasted throughout the night and throughout the whole of Tuesday. I decided to give my GP a visit, only to find out that he will only be back in his rooms as of next year. At this point I was really starting to get concerned. Many people told me that there is no way that perfume could do this including our pharmacist. But we know our bodies, and YHVH kept on witnessing inside of me that it was indeed the perfume that had triggered some kind of allergic response. He urged me to trust Him ... to walk this through ... that He would bring me through this. There were moments that I felt really afraid ...
Praise YHVH ... throughout last night I felt the symptoms lifting and my heart beat returning to normal :o)  This morning I feel soooo much better. But I have definately learned a very big lesson! My husband and I decided to google the effects of perfume entering the blood stream and were REALLY shocked by all that we read. One well known brand is known to contain over 800 compounds that are toxic to the human body!! Rachel and I decided that as an exercise today, we would look up all the individual ingredients in these perfumes ... let me just say .... the result??? We have had a major clean-out!! (Rachel will be doing a more in depth post on these toxic ingredients on her blog Peculiar Treasures). Some of these ingredients are known to cause cancer .. liver and kidney failure... respiratory disorders etc etc etc the list goes on and on. I have now come face to face with the dangers of these various toxins and  have repented to being careless with what I have allowed not only in my body .. but what I use or spray on my body!
This is a lesson I am so grateful for. Not only am I perhaps wiser in an area I was not before - but, my trust in YHVH is refreshed and restored and this morning my heart is stable and in continuous worship!! The only after effect I seem to have today is a headache!! I suppose with the toxins leaving the body this is to be expected.
Here are a couple of links that I found interesting:
Perfumes and chemical sensitivity
chemicals and toxins in cosmetics

I am finding that there are many things that the world has packaged as 'harmless' and 'necessary' that YHVH is busy cleaning and removing out of the lives of His set apart people ... the journey continues :o)

Blessings and Shalom

From Mainstream Christianity to Torah Truth Seeker

I was extremely moved by this mans testimony.

Out of Africa - Shabbat Shalom!!

A young Zimbabwean girl my husband photographed on a recent trip.

'...Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For this saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant, Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name,that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant, Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar, for MINE HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED AN HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I GATHER OTHERS TO HIM, BESIDE THOSE THAT ARE GATHERED UNTO HIM.'  - Isaiah 56: 1-7

"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" - Revelation 5:9

I think Africa is a place where the above verse comes alive!! YHVH is moving tremendously in the hearts of the African people. And some of the greatest blessings I have experienced is sharing with and seeing the hearts of these very people. In fact ... YHVH used a very precious African woman as one of the instruments in teaching me about head-covering and modesty :o). The 'called out' of God .... the 'grafted in of Israel'. I surely cannot comprehend what the new Jerusalem will be like in the day when we are all (every nation tribe and tongue - together with and part of Israel) praising Him and revelling in His presence.

We long for His return!!

This Shabbat I praise Him .... for all His goodness and faithfulness ... we are the generation to see the unfolding of prophecy and the truth of His word and character revealed!!

May your Shabbat be filled with the full revelation of His goodness,faithfulness and great love!

May our hearts soar in praise and may our words glorify His great name.

Shabbat Shalom from Africa!!

Created In The Image Of YHVH

"The woman was made out of Adam's side. She was not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved."  - Matthew Henry

Lighting The Shabbat Candles

No-where in the Torah are we commanded to light the Shabbat candles.
 The traditional prayer that can be heard in any Jewish home on the Shabbat will probably sound like this:

'Blessed are you, Adonai
our God, King of the Universe
Who sanctifies us
with His commandments
and commanded us to kindle
the lights of Shabbat'.

 The lighting of the Shabbat candles is not a commandment but more of a tradition. We need to realise that not all tradition is bad ... and yes, Yeshua did come against the traditions of man ... the traditions that violated or were/are held in greater regard than YHVH's Torah. Some traditions how-ever can help us to understand something in a deeper way, to help us understand the 'holiness - setting apart' of an activity or commandment we may take upon ourselves to keep. For me ... this is what the lighting of the Shabbat candles does. It is a beautiful time of the week ... and when the candles are lit it fills the room and home with a beautiful reminder of what the next 24 hrs is all about. There is nothing quite as beautiful as the darkened room being lit up by the flame of the candles ... which also serves to remind us that we are meant to be lights in this ever darkening world ... lights that burn with the life of YHVH'S Torah :o)

Maybe we can change the tradition a bit :o) .... and as we light the Shabbat candles we can pray...

'Blessed are You, Adonai
our God, King of the Universe
Who sanctified us
with His commandments
and commanded us to sanctify
the Shabbat day'.

With much Blessing

Simcha Esther

I am posting this video as part of the 'Women of YHVH' series. Sadly ... Esther is no longer with us, but her life has spoken into mine in a very profound way. I would like to add her name to the women whose lives have touched my own, who have taught me something and given me treasure to enrich my life. This is a tribute to a remarkable woman.




http://www.timeofmylife.us/blog.asp

Channukah and Head-Coverings

I found this really cute Channukiah at the mall the other day. It's not the traditional kind ... but really really cute. The pots are made out of pewter and look like they could've been dug up in an archeological dig!

This is a closer shot of the detail on the pots. Isn't it just so cute?! :o)

This is a wonderful time of the year. We get to celebrate the defending of the Torah ... and remember YHVH's provision for His people. It is also a time of contemplation as we commit to rededicating our lives in service to Yah just as the temple too was rededicated!
I hope that you are all having a wonderful time of celebration!!

I thought I would share some pictures of two new head-coverings that I am experimenting with. I like this hat ...more like a snood really. It is comfortable and light-weight. I still need to get used to wearing a new type of head-covering as I have always and only worn Tichels. I love the Tichels, but felt I could do with a bit more variety :o)

This wide head-band I really really like :o)  The fabric is super light-weight (which is really necessary for an African summer!). And they come in really bright colours, which I love!! I have also found some cute hats that provide really good coverage and have an old world kind of feel. I will be posting some pictures of those shortly.

Once again ... Shabbat Shalom!!

Blessings

Friday Night Roast Chicken

This recipe has become one of our favourites ... especially for Shabbat :o)
Chicken, particularly this one, has become one of our favourite Friday night Shabbat dinners. It is really good accompanied with Potatoe salad with a lemon mayonnaise dressing. Both these recipes follow below :o)

Friday Night Roast Chicken

Prep time : 15 mins
Cooking time: approx 85mins
Serves: 6

2-2.5 kg roasting chicken (giblets removed)
1 bunch (about 25g) fresh rosemary
1 lemon, sliced into wedges
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
250ml dry red win
salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C / 400 degrees F/Gas mark 6. Pull the skin from the breast of the chicken and slip some rosemary, lemon wedges and garlic cloves under it. Place the rest of these ingredients in the chicken cavity.

2. Arrange the onion in a roasting tin. Pour the wine over the onions. Add enough water so the tin is three-quarters full.

3. Place the chicken breast-side down in the tin. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil.

4. Bake for 80-85 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10-15 mins. Carve into portions and transfer to a serving platter.

Keep the bird covered until the last 15 mins of cooking time. Remove the foil and place back into oven for the remaining 15 mins allowing the skin to crisp. Adding the red wine and water to the roasting tin keeps the chicken succulent and prevents the flesh from drying out.

Potatoe Salad with Lemon Mayonnaise

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 8

2 teaspoons sea salt
750g baby new potatoes, cleaned and halved
2 large egg yolks
Juice and zest of 1/2 med organic lemon
1 teaspoon dry mustard (any variety)
1 tablespoon castor sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
300ml vegetable oil
Snipped chives to garnish

1. Fill a large saucepan with water. Add 1 tspn salt. Bring to the boil over med heat. Add the potatoes and cook until tender (approx 20 mins). Drain and leave to cool.

2. Place the egg yolks. lemon Juice and zest, mustard and sugar in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend ro process until the mixture is smooth.

3. With the blender running, slowly add the vegetable oil. Blend or process until the oil is thoroughly blended into the mixture. Adjust the seasoning as desired.

4. Mix together the mayonnaise and cooled potatoes. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with chives and serve.



Of course this is served with gorgeous home-made Challah and fresh green salad :o)

Shabbat Shalom to you all!!

Blessings