Monthly Archives: January 2022

Finding My Way

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The last two weeks have been difficult thanks to Covid. Last week I had so much brain fog, I was not able to put together a full, understandable sentence.

This came at a time when I felt I was making progress against three years of deepening depression due to being one of the caretakers for my mom. During this illness, I feel I’ve taken several steps backward.

So what do I do to get fully on track with my writing the things I feel God is calling me to write.

There is a whole list of things I can and will do to regain my physical, mental, and spiritual health. I want to share one major step I’m taking with my fellow writers.

This Tuesday, I’ll start leading a Bible Study based on the book “Write His Answer,” written by my friend, Marlene Bagnull.

I’ve gone through this study twice and each time I’ve grown in my faith and in my writing ability.

Now I’m studying this book again, actually leading this study for others. In my experience, teaching is one of the best ways to learn.

So I invite anyone who feels drawn to reaffirm their calling to write to join me in this study. If enough people are interested, I will create an online study. Let me know.

If you’d like to follow the study up with a writers conference to continue the teaching, I urge you to consider Colorado Christian Writers Conference and the Greater Philly Writers Conference. Check them out at https://writehisanswer.com/conferences.

You can also purchase the Write His Answer Bible Study at the same website.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all next Friday when I get back into my regular blog routine.

Salad All Day

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When I was in Israel, I love the buffet of foods at every meal. One of my favorites was the cucumber-tomato-parsley salad served at all the meals, including breakfast.

I was not used to the idea of salad at breakfast, but I discovered I like the idea.

The recipe is simple:

Salad:

  • 4 English cucumbers, diced
  • 4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • ½ purple onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Dressing:

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Toss all salad ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over salad. Sprinkle salt and pepper over salad to taste. (Salad compliments of allrecipes.com.)

Cucumber-Tomato-Parsley Israeli Salad

I’ve tried several different recipes, but this is the one I like best.

My Broken Heart

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In my post on November 12th, I showed you the Yad Vashem pin I purchased and I promised to write more about the holocaust this month. January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day has several names, all meaning the same thing. Yad Vashem is the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel.

The Children’s Memorial is a small building on the Yad Vashem Campus.

Cut into the outside wall is a sculpture of an adult surrounded by several children. This man was a Christian teacher of several Jewish children. When the soldiers came to take the children he refused to let them go. He was told if he didn’t let them go, he would die. He went with the children and died with them in a concentration camp.

As I entered the building there were signs saying to keep hold of the railing, keep walking, and do not stop.

A few steps later I was in a dark room. There are no pictures in the room as shown in this picture,

There was a single candle in the middle of the room and, I think, hundreds of small mirrors. The mirrors reflected the one candle and they reflect the lights of other mirrors.

The reflected lights symbolize all the future generations who never lived due to the death of one child.

As I walked along the path through the memorial (about 60 feet), I hear the name, age, and hometown of one child killed in the Holocaust. There is an estimated 1.5 million children who died during WWII.

One of the people in my group did some calculations. It would take over seven years before the names would start being repeated.

Many, many of the people coming out of the memorial, including myself, are wiping tears from their eyes. I have tears now as I remember that memorial.

This is not one of my pictures. It is from the Yad Vashem museum. I chose this picture because it better shows the deep meanings of the Children’s memorial. Visitors are not allowed to take pictures inside the memorial and most of my own from outside the memorial did not come out well because I had trouble focusing my camera.

Are You Making Any New Year’s Resolutions?

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I am ending this year with some fun. I do not make resolutions because I prefer to follow what God tells me, rather than the things I think I should be doing. I find things I decide to do are frequently are changed by God.

However, I know many people who do make resolutions, so I researched how often resolutions are successful.

  • After 1 week – 75% are keeping their resolutions.
  • After 2 weeks – 71%
  • After 1 months – 64%
  • After 6 months – 46%
  • After 1 year – 6%
Happy New Year

While I was browsing websites to see how other countries celebrate the New Year, I found an excellent article titled The Jewish Way to Make a New Year’s Resolution at myjewishlearning.com.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

Ancient Jewish wisdom offers some sage advice for helping us attain our goals. A Jewish life, anchored in the rhythms of the year, can help us set benchmarks and assess our progress. While the Gregorian calendar marks only one new year’s, the Jewish calendar marks four such occasions. The flow of the year is literally built on the tides of renewal.

Here is what our tradition says about the four new years:

The four new years are: On the first of Nisan, the new year for the kings and for the festivals; On the first of Elul, the new year for the tithing of animals; Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say, on the first of Tishrei. On the first of Tishrei, the new year for years, for the Sabbatical years and for the Jubilee years and for the planting and for the vegetables. On the first of Shevat, the new year for the trees according to the words of the House of Shammai; The House of Hillel says, on the fifteenth thereof.

Have a blessed New Year or Years as the case may be.

Happy, Happy New Year