I am well aware of that-they are the same people who cared about me while I was there.  But as most married people will tell you, “love is not enough.”   It does not matter how many people care if the organization itself is flawed in policies or the way it shows love.  When the organization has been told repeatedly that there are problems and does nothing about them, then love is not enough.

I was not and am not the only person that was or is unhappy there either.  There are many people there who are also unhappy, which should give that organization something to think about.  Why are there so many different people/personalities there who are not happy?  Perhaps it is because love is not enough.

When I did this, my biggest challenge was sound.  I could get the sound from the t.v. speakers but not from the external ones.  I was able to get sound with static, static only and sound with static.   The static was so bad that it was not worth it to turn the speakers on.   Turns out the amplifier needed to be replaced.  Once that was done, the sound worked the way it was supposed to.

Our walks with God can be like that too.  Sometimes there is static interfering with our ability to her or worship Him.  This static can be from many things: a busy season in life, sin, people  who are around us, the place we worship.

Some of us are good at being able to stay focused on Him despite the static.  Others of us find that we are putting so much energy reminding ourselves to stay focused on Him, that there is little left over for worship or hearing Him.

If you are someone experiencing static from where you worship, a good test to use is this:

Can you honestly say you would feel comfortable with bringing a friend/acquaintance there and would you feel comfortable recommending it to people inquiring about Shabbat and the Feast Days?  If the answer is no and remains that way over a few months time, that is a good indicator that you are experiencing spiritual static.

Shabbat and His Feasts are supposed to be times of rest, joy, delight, and worship of Him.  Static interferes with our ability to do that.

This post is part of Shabbat Shalom Link Up.

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1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I am in one of those seasons of change now and will be for I don’t know how long.  This is the reason I did not participate in the Prep Day and Shabbat Shalom link Ups.  I was busy traveling and care taking and traveling again.    I am grateful for the opportunity we had to travel but it was tiring.

Now I am in a waiting period that will continue for the foreseeable future and I have no idea what will happen at the end of that time.  I do know the One who is in control and I also know that there is nothing new under the sun to Him.

This post is part of Shabbat Shalom Link Up.

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I know I have not done this in a while and on Friday there will be an explanation of why I stopped for a while. I have been trying to cook ahead a bit and this can work well for nay Shabbat meal. Instead of spending a weekend or one day a month doing marathon cooking, I take a simpler approach. I cook two meals at a time-one for that night or the next night and one to freeze. This way I am not taking a whole weekend or day to do it which for me is not practical.

Here is a tip from Values Driven Family that I have tried and it works well. After the meal is frozen in the pan, put a 2-3 inches of hot water in your sink and let your pan sit in it for a few moments. Take a knife and go around the edges of the pan and lift it out-it will come out in one solid piece. Then wrap in a double layer of foil and stick in the freezer-this frees up space and lets you use the pan again.

She suggests using wax paper but I suggest using parchment paper to line your pan. When I wrap, I wrap the meal in the parchment paper first, then, double wrap in foil. This way there is no aluminum sticking to the food.

More tips are here.

Here is my offering this week “He will Reign”

My contribution is:

Here is a fudge recipe that is delicious. It can be made at any time of year.

This recipe is for a cinnamon and cranberry challah.

Enjoy and if you do use these, please let me know how you liked them.

There are a lot of traditions regarding Sabbath and how one should prepare for it.   Traditions are not necessarily all bad, but we need to be careful in how we approach them.

For instance, Sabbath traditions would be lighting two candles, making challah, having a challah cover, using a pure white tablecloth, making cholent so you have food for the next day, saying the traditional prayers.  (Cholent is a type of stew that uses beans and meat and served on Shabbat afternoon).

I know we have people fairly new to keeping Shabbat and I want to say that you do not need nor have to do any of these traditions.  Do them if you like,  but you do not have to.  And we should not feel guilty or let others make us feel guilty because of which traditions we follow and which we don’t.

I do light candles because I like it, but it is not a command.  My challah cover is a flour sack towel that has designs on it.  I have never used an all white tablecloth…sometimes I don’t use one at all.  Other times I use place mats, or a table runner, or leave the table bare.  Whatever floats my boat or what I have time for that day.

In the summer I don’t bake challah or anything else in the oven for that matter-it’s too hot.  That’s what the bread machine and slow cooker are for!

I do not get special Shabbat candles, nor do I care if they burn for one hour after lighting.  I use what I have on hand whether it be tapers or votives or tea lights.  The point is this-do not let the fact that you may or may not have all the accouterments tradition says you need.  If you want some of those things, great…if not great.  Do what you want to make Shabbat for you.

Usually my Shabbat meal is lasagna-becuase it is quick and my blessing likes it.  Works for me! It is supposed to be a joy for us-that means all of us, women included.  Tradition should never carry the same weight as “Thus the Lord said” even though many people treat it that way.  Don’t let that stop you from doing, preparing, enjoying Shabbat.