Israel

The Glorious Voice of the Psalmist

emyloom 1 Comment

Today I am thankful for those people who share their gifts and musical talents with songs and melodies that lift my heart and bless my soul.

My friend Pam Singer is one of those people. I met Pam in 2007 on a trip to Israel to attend a School of Ministry. Her beautiful voice and songs always lead me to an uplifting worship time where I find the Peace of God.

“… be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” Eph 5:18-19

“In Everything” from the CD “Home” by Pam Singer – Used with Permission

There is no video, just close your eyes and hear the deep gratitude for the blessings of God.

https://youtu.be/LY-ujtX2__w

More of the story;

Today I Worship and Give Thanks

After yesterday’s post I feel I was put to the test to… “find the good in every situation.” It was as if I posted it and satan mocked me with a challenge. I reminded myself all day that there is good even in this situation. Answers not so much yet.

I struggled through last night, woke up early. Today’s quote is another reminder. I can respond with worship.

Along that line, I am putting my ear buds in and playing some of my most loved worship songs. Many of these are from my friend and psalmist, Pam Singer.

Her voice is so rich and her music comes from her heart. It draws me deeper into a peace that only comes from God.

There is a link in this blog post to one of Pam’s songs. No video. Just close your eyes and listen.

“I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can’t worship without giving thanks. It just isn’t possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others.” ~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

What’s on Your Mind

emyloom Leave a comment

I logged into Facebook this morning and there in shadowy letters was a question prompting me to respond: What’s on your mind?

My mind is on the hostages in Gaza. Hundreds of murderers, rapists and terrorist are being release to gain their freedom.

These prisoners are released from Israeli jails well-fed and in good health. But the hostages? They are injured, starved, abused and tortured. How is this happening in 2025 when just 70 years ago the world proclaimed Never Again? Never Again!!!

The hostages that were released last week came with news of this young man (see link). He is one of many remaining in this hamas hell.

Still no news of Shiri Bibas and her two small children. I pray they are alive. What is the reason for continuing to hold such innocent helpless children.

These terrorists have perfected cruelty. Cruelty and evil that is impossible to understand.

My hearts is grieving for them all.

https://www.facebook.com/share/167oipyuZa/?mibextid=wwXIfr

For first hand information on life in Israel and well-thought analysis of the war and lives of hostages and their families follow Forest Rain Marcia on substack.

https://forestrainmarcia.substack.com

Released – Eema is There

emyloom Leave a comment

I am watching the release of three young women from captivity. The first of the hostages released in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza.

The newscaster comes on and says…the mothers of the three women will be there at the point of release. Suddenly I am overcome with emotion. I try to repeat what he said and I am so choked up I am unable to speak.

Who do they want the most when they are delivered from the hell after 471 days?

Only their mother, their mom, their mum, their Eema. If only for a moment, only she can bring them to a place of peace. Only she can reassure them, hold them so close that they can hear her heart beat. The first heart they heard while still in the womb. Her heart.

I am praying that at the sound of their Eema’s heart they will be overwhelmed with a sense of tranquility that takes them back to the place of security and protection. A time where they knew no horrors, terror or fear.

In their Eema’s heart they knew only love.

“Hebrew media reports that the IDF has asked the mothers of the three hostages to come to a meeting point at a base next to the Gaza border. From there they are to accompany their daughters as they are taken to the hospital.”
The Times of Israel, January 19, 2025

Eema (pronounced EE-muh): Mother; mom; Website: My Jewish Learning

Farthest Journey

emyloom Leave a comment

It is said, mostly in Chinese proverbs, that “A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step,” and “A thousand mile journey begins where one stands.” I have been fortunate enough to have traveled many thousands of miles to different places.

In 1977, I traveled from Houston Texas to Seoul, South Korea – 7035 miles. In 1991, I went to Celle, Germany from Seattle – 4964 miles. In 2000, I made my first trip to Israel – 6,816 from Seattle and in 2015 I traveled from Seattle to Brisbane, Australia for a total of 7,357 miles. So just by total distance traveled, Australia wins.

However, if we go back to the Chinese Proverb, about a journey beginning with a single step, the furthest I have traveled on foot was in 2001. At the time I was attending a Messianic congregation in Bellevue, WA. They had acquired a new property in Newcastle, the next town over and being part of a metropolitan area one really could not tell where one ended and the other began.

As part of this move they planned to walk with their Torah Scroll to the new location. The The Torah (or Pentateuch) contains the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It is considered by the Jewish people as their gift from God, their guide to life filled with with His wisdom. According to Jewish tradition when a synagogue closes its doors or relocates, the Torah scrolls are moved by careful ceremony. It is said that the journey to the new synagogue is modeled on the journey the Jews made to the Promised Land with the Ark of the Covenant, and many believe they are carrying the heart and soul of the congregation.

The distance to the new location was 8.5 miles. At the time I was forty-six years old and JD, my youngest son, was twelve. We decided to join in the walk. Many people were preparing for the event by building up their endurance. When I was asked if I was “training,” I replied that I was not. I had been to both places and by car, I was healthy and it didn’t really seem to be an insurmountable task.

JD and I showed up early for the walk. The Torah was carried by different members of the congregation and anyone that wanted a turn at carrying the Torah was welcome to do so. The Torah was covered by a tent that was a Jewish prayer shawl (a Tallit) held up by a pole at each corner. There were four people carrying the poles and those positions were also switched out along the journey. We walked along the city streets, a group of maybe 40 of us, we sang, we shared stories, we laughed and waved to the curious passersby.

The trip went really well for the first say, 7.5 miles, then as the day warmed up I began to get tired. Also, as we entered Newcastle there was a slight incline that made the walk a little more difficult. As we got closer to the new location, other members began to join in the walk for the last mile. They were excited (not tired) and full of energy and it seemed the pace picked up a little. The last half mile, I really had to push myself.

At last we made the final turn to the new location, it was about a third of a mile (approximately 5 city blocks) up a steep incline. I was at the back of the pack by now and I literally drug myself to the top one-hard-push-at-a-time.

When we arrived there was singing and celebrating and food for all. I was hot and my face was as red as a beet. I stayed a short while but thought it best to head home while I could still move. When I got home it was about 3 in the afternoon. I took a shower, went to bed and didn’t not wake up until the next morning.

When I think about my journey, I think of the many journeys the Jewish people have made over the years and the hardships they endured when they were exiled and and thrown out of their homes, towns and countries. During the pogroms they left with the only the belongings they could carry on their back or maybe in small wagons. The treks were long and arduous but I am sure the Torah scrolls went with them.

There are approximately 2,350 steps in a mile for a woman my height. That day I only made a 20,000 step journey, far from a thousand miles, but it still started with a single step and a determination to finish.

My journey was a joyous celebration and although I did not prepare for the journey, my walk made me reflect on the tradition and how even during persecution and strife the Jewish people honored the Torah on every journey of a thousand miles they were forced to make.

8/12/23

Three Things

emyloom Leave a comment

1. Chris and I saw the movie ‘Golda’ yesterday. It is about Golda Meir and the Yom Kippur war in 1973. There was a lot of original footage.

It was especially poignant as it mirrored so many current events. Fifty years since the Yom Kippur War, and nothing much has changed in the players.

Israel is attacked – Israel fights back and defends itself —- other nations call for Israel’s restraint and apply pressure for ceasefire. Repeat. Again and again.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says: “What has happened before will happen again. What has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new in the whole world.“

2. Below is a blog post from a lady that lives in Israel and writes under the name Forest Rain. Her writing touches my heart.

“Israel was soft with Gaza so they assumed we have no honor.

They broke into our homes, raped, tortured, burned, broke and butchered our people.

And in between, they opened our refrigerators, sat down at our tables and ate our food.

We don’t do all those horrible things.

But we will prove to them and everyone watching that we meant it when we said Never Again.

And that is why now we are in their homes.”

3. I read this X post from a journalist who watched the latest videos released by the Israeli government on the atrocities from October 7. It is so graphic and horrifying I will only post the text of the link here. If you dare to read it, remove the 3 x’s from the beginning then copy and paste into your browser.

xxxhttps://twitter.com/mrconfino/status/1724385046583234841?s=42&t=spSFBepIihN0cBLE1qt4Mw

“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.” ~Isaiah 62:1

I am here.

These radicals and terrorists are fueled by hate and indifference to life. Israel is like a mother defending her children. When attacked, mothers from all species will fiercely defend their young. Who would expect any less?

I sit often in disbelief in what is happening around the world… the world’s shock turned to blame, blame to animosity, animosity to hate.

So many times I’ve heard ‘Never Again’ and here we are AGAIN!!

My eyes do not want to see anymore, my ears to not want to hear anymore. My heart wants to stop aching. My only hope is to trust in God, his word says…

“Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life.” ~ Psalm 121:4-5; 7

Life’s Surprises

emyloom Leave a comment

I think I have reached a point where nothing in life surprises me anymore, not even the extent of evil that exists in the world. Everyday I hear of a heinous crime and think there can be nothing more evil and yet it seems there is always something more. It is beyond shock and disbelief it now just brings sorrow and sadness.

With all the evil and trials that people face I believe an even greater surprise is the human spirit’s drive to go on. Some people have endured terrible losses, illness and tragic events and yet they find a way to go on and live productive lives and others seem to lose hope and fall into a deep abyss from which they cannot climb out.

These two opposing responses to life and its trials perplex me. Is it a conscious and continuing decision by those who overcome? Is this drive to overcome something we all have? Are these somehow stronger than others or do they rely on a higher power?

In my own life I have seen friends and family lose hope, they bury themselves in drugs and alcohol, they fall into deep depression and several have sadly taken their own lives. When I look back on my life, I see moments, periods of time, when I felt all hope was lost but I persevered. I have a notebook from the early 80’s in which I copied entire chapters from the book of Psalms. David often cried out to God about evil doers, injustice, heartaches and pain but he knew as I do…“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” Psalm 39:7

I have watched people that I thought were the strong and who had the most potential to be successful in life, succumb to defeat. One of life’s greatest blessings and it should be no surprise, is that I, meek, introverted, abused, uneducated have prevailed but, not I, but God with me. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

As I wrote about “Life’s Surprises” I realized today is Passover. Examining my thoughts and one’s ability to persevere in hardship and not lose hope, I realized it is the story of Passover, the story of the Jewish people. Freed from 400 years of slavery, seeing God’s hand in their redemption and even though their hope faded at times they never lost hope. Since then they have been exiled, they endured the pogroms, they’ve been massacred and expelled from their homes and most horrifically six millions Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Today, nearly 3500 years since the exodus from Egypt, the decedents of those that were freed are still facing hardship, trails, and persecution. Even through all these horrors, they are a people with hope, a people that are blessed with ingenuity and whose talents have blessed many the world over.

The Jewish National Anthem relays this hope. It is titled HaTikvah (“The Hope”)

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope -­‐ the two-­‐thousand-­‐year-­‐old hope -­‐ will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Never Again

emyloom Leave a comment

In 1991, I visited Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi concentration camp near Celle, Germany. Although there were no gas chambers there, is estimated 36,000 people died there between 1943 and April 1945. On April 15th 1945, British troops liberated the camp. There they found 60,000 starving and deathly ill people in an overcrowded, unsanitary camp with a typhus epidemic spread throughout. These people, barely alive, were surrounded by the bodies of 13,000 who had recently died. The British, shocked and ill-prepared for what they found, attempted to control the spread of disease and help those that remained however, even with their best efforts, another 15,000 died after liberation. Of the many who died at Bergen-Belsen, the most well know were Margot and Anne Frank who reportedly died only weeks before liberation.

It was a cold February morning when I visited, it had snowed the night before, there were no footprints on the path, no others mourners had passed by. It was so quiet and surreal. Each step I took in the cold dry snow made a crunching sound that broke the silence like steps on shattered glass. As I walked among mass graves and memorials, I was struck by the peacefulness of the moment for a place where so many were tortured, starved and died from diseases and abuse. Near impossible comprehend such evil and hate.

My husband was with me on this journey to mourn and remember those who perished in this place. We both left with a deeper understanding of something that can never really be understood. It was sobering and it was that day a seed was planted in both our hearts to never forget the horrors of that time. It breaks my heart when people make comparisons to the Holocaust that diminish the overwhelming evil, torture, inhumane treatment and murder of an entire generation.

We say never again but antisemitism is on the rise worldwide today and sadly history has shown that hatred, although it kills, it does not die. Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day observed on the anniversary date of the liberation of Auschwitz. Today, I not only remember the 6 million Jews that were murdered during the Holocaust but I reaffirm my vow to speak out against antisemitism and hate ~ Never Again, Never Again this is my prayer.