Betrothal...

Therefore, behold, I will allure her 

and bring her into the wilderness, 

and I will speak to her heart. . .

There I will give her her vineyards 

and 

make the Valley of Achor [troubling]

to be for her a door of hope and expectation. . .

And she shall sing there 

and respond as in the days of her youth

and as at the time when she came up

out of the land of Egypt. . .

 “On that day,” says Adonai

“you will call me Ishi [My Husband];

you will no longer call me Ba‘ali [My Master].

Source

For I will remove the names
of the ba‘alim [lords/masters] 

from her mouth;
they will never again be mentioned by name.

When that day comes, I will make
a covenant for them
with the wild animals, the birds in the air
and the creeping things of the earth.
I will break bow and sword,
sweep battle from the land,
and make them lie down securely.

 I will betroth you to me forever;

yes, I will betroth you to me

in righteousness, in justice,

in grace and in compassion 

I will betroth you to me in faithfulness,

and you will know Adonai.

 I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know
(recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate,
give heed to, and cherish)
the Lord.

And in that day I will respond,
says the Lord;
I will respond to the heavens
[which ask for rain to pour on the earth], 

and they shall respond to the earth 

[which begs for the rain it needs],

And the earth shall respond  

to the grain and the wine and the oil
[which beseech it to bring them forth],

and they will answer Yizre‘el 

[God will sow].

 I will sow her for me in the land.

I will have pity on Lo-Ruchamah
[Unpitied];

I will have love, pity, and mercy
for her who had not obtained love, pity, and mercy;
and I will say to those who were not My people,
You are My people,
and they shall say,
You are my God!

Hosea 2.14-25

Amplified Bible and Complete Jewish Bible 

Finding Beauty in the Ordinary

/Buttons_%20Heather/Cup12Full.png" 
alt="FindingBeautyintheOrdinary.com" width="125" 






height="125" />

James' Weekend Reflections in Photography

Tweet

journeys...

said farewell to a friend tonite.
cooked a lovely dinner.
conversation for hours...

moving 3 hours journey away...

not sure i believe

living thanksgiving...

eucharisteo

our deep joy

is found only at the table of thanksgiving~

taking everything God gives as grace,

giving God our thanks for it,

then giving it to others

the giving of thanks

is what makes us well

the giving of thanks

always precedes the miracle

giving of thanks

manifests the fullness,

the wholeness, the completeness,

the joy,

of our salvation...

here's today's Bloom bookclub 

chapter 2 discussion with author Ann Voskamp



One Thousand Gifts: Chapter Two from Bloom (in)courage on Vimeo.

"i thank you, ADONAI...

See!  God is my salvation.

i am confident and  unafraid;

for Yah ADONAI is my strength and my song,

and He has become my salvation!

Then you will joyfully draw water

from the springs of salvation.

On that day you will say,

"Give thanks to ADONAI!

Call on His Name!"

Isaiah 12.1-4

Complete Jewish Bible

today may we offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving
 'todah'
the giving of thanks
even before the receiving

today may we intentionally choose the JOY
of living lives of eucharisteo

marking our life journey ...

here's today's exercise from Len Sweet's study guide to 'Go Be Jesus'.  this one will encourage written reflection ~ perhaps grab your journal and a good hot drink ~ unless you're baking in some tropical heat! then grab whatever suits your fancy :)  i've added Steve Bell's song clip 'Here By the Water' offering a great suggestion for the spiritual markers we've collected.  EnJoy! this day and the start of this new week.  Peace be with you ...


1. Have you ever thought of your life-story as a pilgrimage?
2. Are there spiritual markers you have collected?
Luke 9:28-36 is an example.


Questions: