Pros:

- It is a time efficient way to chop wood (so it allows you more time for the important things in life… like watching moss grow on the side of Mount Everest)

- It will be sure to captivate your spectators

- Using this machine will enable you to be fat and happy

- No need to replace ‘fuel’ that you would have burned chopping the wood by hand

- You would be less likely to injure yourself then if you used  an axe

- This machine would be more practical in jobs that need completed quickly or if you have large amounts of wood that need to be chopped on a regular basis

Cons:

- Chopping wood with a machine burns fewer calories then chopping manually (manual wood chopping burns greater then 400 calories an hour)

- Sitting in this machine gives you none of the social time, none of the camaraderie, and none of the relationship building that that chopping wood with other men would

- You would be more likely to injure others with heavy machinery then with an axe

- No fresh air

- The machine requires fuel

- And lastly, it’s a lot more expensive to fix your machine then your axe…

This is a joke. This real post is about…

The Pros and Cons of sharing a room with two of your sisters!

Cons:

- It’s hard not to wake up sister #1 when you and sister #2 are early risers

- When you wake up earlier then sister #1, it’s hard to see without the light on

- Not having a light on in the morning makes it more difficult to see where you’re going and where your things are

- Changing clothes is a cold experience when sister #1 turned the space heater off and sister #2 left the door opened, allowing the heat to escape and the cold to be sucked into the room faster then a raisin being sucked into a vacuum hose

- Apparently, my sisters think that the best time to have a conversation starts at the same time that I fall asleep

- Also, don’t be surprised if the sisters come to bed late and act as if it’s the middle of the day; turning on lights, talking and banging things around (Thankfully, they don’t do this anymore)

- You may be woken up needlessly by your sister’s alarm because she set a reminder for 12:30pm but accidentally set it for 12:30am…

Pros:

- You get to have a ‘sister night’ more often because you are all in the same room anyway

- You learn the valuable skill of compromise (the more sisters there are, the more you have to compromise)

- You learn patience… oy vey

- The room stays cleaner because you have two sisters nagging you to make your bed instead of just one!

-Sometimes sister #2 makes your bed because she can’t stand when it’s unmade- I think this is a bonus!

Okay, this post is a little silly.. But we all need a reminder to lighten up!

Do you have a list of Pros and Cons to share?

While I used these lists as a fun way to relieve stress, you can also use them when making a decision, such as; Where should I shop for a new skirt? (Department Store or Goodwill); Which cell phone should I buy? Should I play a prank on my mom?

Have fun!

Bethany

If you take a look at our sidebar you will notice a small submission box. You may use this box to submit a topic that you would like to see us write about. I am working on answering some of the ideas that have been submitted recently. 

Today I’m answering a question that was asked in August.

Here’s what was asked:
Do you all wear skirts full time?

In a short answer; no, we don’t wear skirts full time. We wear skirts about 85.6% of the time.

Let me expound on this subject of skirt/pant wearing.

Modest, feminine skirts are a lot easier to come by then modest, feminine pants- if you’re a thrift shopper. Because of this we wear skirts most of the time; also, our dad likes us to wear skirts, rather than pants, whenever appropriate. When I do wear pants I like to wear a short skirt with them (or wear a long shirt).

Now I'll share some example of activities that are easier to perform while wearing pants.

Mowing or Gardening: I prefer to wear jeans with a knee length skirt overtop for mowing and gardening. If the bees are particularly friendly one day then I’ll ditch the skirt for fear of getting a bee caught in it.

Exercising: Skirts work well for a leisurely walk but when I go running my skirt gets caught between my legs and it looks weird, so I prefer pants or sports shorts. As far as other forms of exercise- I have trouble weight lifting or doing aerobics in a skirt. Skirts don’t provide the ease of movement I like and the extra material can get caught in the exercise equipment. Safety and range of motion are important to me; this is also why I wear pants to ride my bike. 

Sledding: Maybe you can sled in a long skirt but I think it’s dangerous. Try it and you will know what I’m talking about. For sledding I like to wear pants and a short skirt. Snow pants are ideal but I don’t own any (That’s half true- There just aren’t enough snow pants to go around and I’d rather wear jeans than take turns wearing snow pants).
 
Rock Climbing: I don’t like the idea of people below me looking up my skirt, even if I am wearing pants underneath. Plus there’s the challenge of putting the harness on. I don’t rock climb because I get disoriented at high altitudes but Emily loves to climb and she wears cargo pants.

So again, no, we don’t wear skirts full time. We wear skirts when it’s appropriate and we wear pants when it’s appropriate. It depends on the situation. What about you all? What are your thoughts on pants vs. skirts? Do you base your belief on scripture or opinions? Or both?

Sayonara and Shalom,

Bethany
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We CAN'T wait! The excitement is building and time is running out. Less than 24 hours until we see Joe! Tomorrow at 5:00pm we will start watching for Joe; he is coming for his bride. Tomorrow we will be finishing up a million little details and they are building up to the final event- The Wedding. So exciting! :)

All right, we need our beauty sleep!

Goodnight!

-Bebs and Lids

Cardboard Boxes

As I write this article, Naomi’s and my room is a mess. There’s no other word to describe to you the stack of various sized cardboard boxes that have been haphazardly stacked on top of one another and so causing them to lean precariously to the right. Along with these boxes are books, a plastic tote, clothing and blankets all littering the once cleared floor of our bedroom. But this mess is not without excuse, it is just the result of today’s attempt to pack more boxes for Naomi’s big move. You see, she prepares to enter her new home with her husband- Joe. She has organized all her ‘worldly possessions’ (as a friend puts it) and carefully separated the essentials; clothing, books, crafting supplies and her collection of hope chest items, from the fluff; silly papers that somehow made their way into her drawers and boxes, some of her never started craft projects, random puzzles without all the pieces etc… I’m not sure Naomi has ever thoroughly inspected the contents of her drawers and boxes. This is one area in which Naomi and I are different. When it comes to our material possessions I am continually going through my things, weeding out anything that is uselessly taking up space or is not an essential to my life now or for the future. Every time I go through my things I am amazed at just how much junk I have acquired in relatively short amounts of time, which is why I find it necessary to go through this ‘cleansing’ on a regular basis. Every year I go through all my things (drawers, closet, school shelf, basically anywhere in the house that holds my things). This usually takes place around Passover season and then I may choose just one area to organize at other random times of the year.

Heart Boxes

Just like our earthly belongings need cleaned out from time to time, our spiritual lives can also use thorough cleaning too. If you just allow thoughts and attitudes to pile up in the caverns of your heart, unchecked, they can form into deadly habits. As these habits build up they clutter our lives and become an eyesore to the people around us (not to mention God Himself). Here’s an example of how these thoughts and attitudes pile up. Pretend that my heart contains boxes; each box is labeled and contains many things. Now pretend that I see the box labeled “Exercise”, this box represents all my thoughts and attitudes toward physical exercise. I could think “Oh yes, I workout 6 days a week this box is a good box to keep around” but what if I look inside this box and I see some bad habits that snuck into my box (or maybe I knew they were there but I chose to ignore them) such as; Thinking “I must be thin to be healthy” which can cause the bad habits of over training, under eating, or neglecting God and others in order to exercise. I have been guilty of allowing thoughts like these to grow in my heart and (at one point) take over my life. Now that thought is replaced with “Being thin does not necessarily mean I’m healthy and being healthy may not make me thin”, “God made me and He knows what the best size is for me”. As long as I am taking care to eat biblically (Clean, not in excess and wisely- any ‘fool’ knows that marshmallow fluff isn’t going to be a substantial meal) and exercise (especially because my American life could easily become rather sedentary) then I can be comfortable with the shape and size that I am. Here’s another box in my heart and it’s called “Blog”. Starting a blog as a way to encourage others had been a great idea so for idea but I must constantly watch this box to be sure that bad habits don’t form. I’ve read a few articles by girls who confessed to spending more time encouraging ‘others’ than encouraging their own family. For me, it’s good to remember that blogging is a tool. Like other technological ‘tools’ it can help me or harm me. God can work through tools (like blogs) but so can the adversary. A blog in and of itself is not good or bad but it’s how it is used. This applies to many areas of life. Use this ‘heart box’ analogy in your own life. Here are some boxes you could start with; “Music”, “Daily Bible Reading”, or “Family”.

Burning the Junk

  As our junk piles up in my life I become attached to it… I remember how painful it was (at first) to cut back on my exercise in order to dedicate that time to more useful things. In the same way, it was sad for me when I had to get rid of some of my junk I had become attached to in my closet; Shirts too threadbare to wear, smiley face beads that I found in a parking lot, ridiculous things! Please understand that I am not saying that it’s a sin to collect ‘things’ or to never organize your possessions, I’m just pointing out parallels I see between physical and spiritual. So, while not a sin in and of itself there are some verses that I would propose to you support the idea of a thorough ‘cleansing’ of our possessions…

Deuteronomy 7:26-27 “The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction”

As Naomi was going through one of her boxes last week she discovered a certificate from a karate school that we used to attend. Upon closer inspection I realized that there was a picture of the pagan water goddess printed on the top. The boys and I had a great time ‘burning it with fire’. This is just a silly idea to people who don’t believe in God’s Word but I believe that He means what He says. It may be a good idea to go through your things with Deuteronomy 7:26-27 in mind. I think it’s surprising that we still had that pagan god’s image in our house even though we searched so carefully during Hanukah!

Another verse that supports a cleansing of possessions is Exodus 12:15-

“For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”

Who knows you may have a package of snack crackers in an old backpack. You never know where leaven might be lurking. I haven’t found leaven in my closet yet but one time our friends found half a PB&J sandwich on top of a horizontal support beam in the basement.

The Day of Atonement is getting close and we remember the atoning sacrifice of Yeshua for our sins. He loved us enough to die. Now I will choose to die to my sinful nature and it’s a choice I must make every day, even multiple times a day.

As Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) approaches, diligently search your heart and your home for anything that is against His Word… and burn it.

Bethany

Thank you to lovely Potts family for inviting me to participate in this blog. I present you with a rather long post about myself:

My birth place is a small city in Puerto Rico in July of 1994. My mom says that I was probably the laziest baby she’d heard of, fighting the pregnancy for hours without giving her much pain. I was raised for the first nine years of my life in the southern part of the island near a horse ranch. I still remember countless hot afternoons spent on my porch looking at those horses running in the distance, admiring Yah’s creation.

I wasn’t brought into this belief years down the road like a lot of people. My mother grew up with it and in turn I grew up with it. My earliest memory of church was of me falling asleep on a Friday night under the pew in one of my favorite white dresses. I remember my grandmother refusing to buy me chicken nuggets because we weren’t allowed to buy on Sabbath (try explaining that to a five year old enamored with Wendy’s).

Fast forward to age nine and I come home from school to find a ‘For Sale’ sign on the front yard. My parent’s worried I wouldn’t take the news lightly that we were moving to the United States. I’m all for adventure and I started packing right away, to their surprise. At that age I thought the US was only a car ride away. It wasn’t until I was on the plane and I saw the sadness in their eyes did I realize just what we were getting into. As my sister drooled on my arm, I came into reality that it would be months before I saw my family again. But I sucked it up, wiped the drool off my arm, and decided to enjoy the five hour plane ride to my new home.

*Enter Time Lapse* Alabama 2009. I’m in tenth grade thinking everything is going as planned. I have more friends than I can count. I’m in ten different extracurricular including Bible Study and Mathletes. I have a lovely home and my amazing family. But no matter how much I had, I felt something off. Something was missing from my life. The truth of it was that there was no congregation in Alabama. There was no little white church we could go to every Sabbath. We had tried several Messianic congregations but none reflected what we believed in entirely. Whoever tells you that you can make it spiritual without a spiritual network is a liar. We had fallen pretty deep. We had reverted to eating unclean, dressing immodestly, and participating in unholy festivities. There was a long period of time where Sabbath’s weren’t kept.

My mother, being the wonderful pillar she is, one day called us all into the living room. She sat us all down and told us we were reading the bible and singing praises because it was Sabbath. How foreign this was to me. Saturdays had become social events for my friends and I. I had to give that up now? Reluctantly I obeyed, knowing to honor my parents’ wishes. And deep inside, whether I wanted to admit it or not, I wanted to come closer to God again.

One night my parents inform us that once again we were to move. This time wasn’t so willingly for me. My friends and my future were in the little town of Morris, Alabama. I had trouble seeing past that, I had trouble seeing past what I wanted. What I needed. I cried during the whole packing stage, I even cried on the car ride up to Indiana. My parents reassured me that everything happened for a reason and that in the end everything would work out to reflect Yah’s will.

A few months into living in Indiana my father had a conversation with one of his coworkers (Lets call him Mr. W for privacy purposes) that changed our lives forever. They were sitting eating dinner with some colleagues. My father spoke up about not eating pork because of religious beliefs and Mr. W asked why, since he was kosher himself. As my father tried to fumble over the explanation because of how difficult explaining Hebrew Roots can be, Mr. W immediately understood and confided in my father that he was also Hebrew Roots. A few weeks later Mr. W contacted my father about joining in a little fellowship that they were putting together in his basement. My father immediately accepted, since we were already on the narrow path trying to live our life biblically again.

That Sabbath I made some of the closest friends. We were all a little awkward at first, since I was so different from them. They were all modestly clad and all were homeschooled. I picked at all of their brains in everything from skirts to boys to cookies (Have they taught you to make no-bake cookies yet? I slobbered every time they brought them).

During this time I began inquiring of them about modesty. It wasn’t until one of the mothers handed me the book “The Lost Art of True Beauty”. It all just clicked for me. The very next day I vowed off pants and revealing clothes and have been modest ever since. During this time my parents were teaching me in the way of handling boys and relationships. It seemed that each family had their own idea of how to come into a God centered marriage. Even though we are all different and we have all picked our paths I can reassure anyone that we are all waiting on that one husband brought to us by God. That we all have chosen to reflect God in our relationships and that we are will keep our hearts in check.

If it sounds like modesty and relationships were a big deal… They really weren’t. They were probably the easiest things to come in line with. There were weeks spent on studying one simple chapter. We spent over month examining the Tabernacle inside and out. And as time consuming as it was, as many rabbit holes we went on, I enjoyed every second of it. At the end of every study everyone came away with something new or something altered. We had to learn to work together. Even though we couldn’t see eye-to-eye on a hundred percent of things, we were together on at least ninety percent and that was enough to make it work. We kept Yah in the focus of things and it all worked in dysfunction to make something beautiful.

I spent three years with my fellowship before Yah led us back down to Alabama. I’m enrolled in the University of Alabama at Birmingham and I’m studying to follow in my father’s footsteps, Yah willing. I live at home right now. I live here because my family grew up with the belief that a young lady should stay under her father’s covering until the day she marries. My parents allowed me to go to college under one simple warning. The minute they saw my faith slipping they would pull me out. They weren’t going to sacrifice my salvation for a career, no matter how much society pressures us to.

College is not for everyone. Let me repeat that… COLLEGE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. I was raised in public school and in this belief. I have prepped my whole life for going through college. I entered in deep prayer and I got baptized the break before school started. I was confident that college was not going to change me for the worse. In fact it has helped me in all the ways staying at home couldn’t have. I have grown stronger in what I believe in seeing the hypocrisy and the sin that people demonstrate here, believers and unbelievers alike. I have stood in front of a classroom full of students and defended my way of life and won. I have contended with teachers and students alike. I have had numbers of friends confirm that they knew this was the right walk and some even start living in biblical lifestyle.

 But that is my walk. This is the path Yah has allowed me to pursue and this is how I’ve developed as a young lady. But not every young lady needs to go on that path to develop in that way. I see my friends from this site and I admire the way they have matured and the way they have helped so many young girls. Bethany stated recently in a video that there are always two sides to every issue. College can be the pitfall of so many believers, trust me I’ve watched them fall, but it can also help young believers grow closer to Yah. It all depends on the will of God and what He wants you to do with your life.

Here is where I end my post. I’m not sure if I said the right things in the right way. But I know how I want to leave you. Life has a lot of ups and downs, a lot of heartache and a lot of joy. Please don’t turn away from something because you fail at first or because it does not go as plan. Seek YHWH’s will and His love first and everything will fall into place.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
"Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Isra’el! Adonai our God, Adonai is one];  and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources."

Shalom,

Yarelis Rivera

Hello everyone! My name is Kaity and I’m 21 years old. I was born and raised in and out of the “church” until I was about 10 years old. My Family and I came into the Hebraic Roots/ Messianic movement about the time I turned 6. Growing up I believed that Yahweh (God) existed, because of all that my parents instilled in my siblings and me. Instead of grasping the deeper concepts and meanings of the Bible for myself, I just went along with whatever my parents did. My own personal growth seemed stagnant. As we were growing in learning Torah, we had absolutely no one to fellowship with and no teachers to learn from. But after a move to a different state when I was 15, we discovered that we were not alone. There we found a fellowship of like-minded believers and my spiritual growth started to blossom. Today, I can honestly say that I have more of a deeper understanding of who the Creator is and what the Bible says. I praise Yahweh for my parents making the choice of looking deeper into the scriptures and realizing that the church was missing something. Personally, I don’t know what lies ahead in my future. But I do know this, the Creator of the universe has a plan and a purpose for my life and I can’t wait for Him to reveal His amazing plan to me as I grow in Him.

What makes you, you?

Let me paint you a picture of how I see myself. I am a person who loves and cherishes life and strives to honor YHWH with all my heart. Weekly, I look forward to our fellowship meetings on Shabbat and our monthly H.U.B.(Hebraic Understanding of the Bible) meetings, where people come from around Indiana to study together. I’ve learned much through these venues and, of course, I enjoy meeting other like-minded folks, too. I love to have a good time. Even though I am 21, I still enjoy playing with children; it keeps me young at heart. :)  My favorite hobbies are baking yummy deserts, crocheting, knitting, playing the piano, taking walks, understanding history (especially American History), reading a good book, volunteering at a Therapeutic Riding Center and most importantly spending time with family. 

Are you involved in Ministry?

At this time I am volunteering at a couple of different organizations. The first is a women’s shelter. There, with a few of my friends, I help sort out clothes and items donated to the center to be sold in their thrift store. The second place I volunteer is a therapeutic riding center. This riding center offers classes for children to adults with disabilities like Autism, Down syndrome, ADD, ADHD, etc. This is an amazing blessing to watch the interaction between the students and the horses. It is our job to help them prepare the horse for their ride and keep them safe while riding and interacting with the animals. Working with these organizations enables me to have the opportunity to share with others what I believe and in turn I learn not to take for granted the blessings and abilities that He has given me to share.

What words of encouragement would you give to other young ladies who are seeking to please the Most High with their lives?

I would encourage young ladies to keep on striving to do the will of our amazing Father. Pray, study YHWH’s Word, memorize verses and most importantly, don’t believe anything you hear, test everything you hear. If you think about it, our walk is like that of a fish swimming against the tide or current. The world is the tide or current and wants to drown us but YHWH’s Truth sustains us at all times. We just need to ask our Heavenly Father for His protection and guidance for our lives.

2 Thessalonians  2:16-17 states, “And our Master יהושע Messiah Himself, and our Elohim and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good expectation, through favour,  encourage your hearts and establish you in every good word and work."

Kaity

Edit- Kaity has a blog, stop by for a look! daughterofyhwhathome.weebly.com

Hello! First of all, I really want to thank Naomi, Bethany, Emily, and Lydia for giving me the opportunity to share my testimony! I’m Kelsey Bryant and I’m 22 years old. I live in Texas and I love to study the Bible, write, read, play piano, and practice martial arts. However, I think the two largest, most defining facets of my life are 1) that I have a relationship with Yeshua (imagine how much that entails!) and 2) my older brother and I were homeschooled K-12. He, my parents, and I agree that homeschooling was one of the best decisions we ever made!

My mom gave us a fulfilling, God-centered education. I was taught the Bible throughout my childhood, and I was baptized when I was seven. I was blessed to grow up with lots of homeschooled and/or Christian friends, so I was never exposed to the agonies of bullying, cliques, or other petty meanness. I witnessed them only occasionally on TV shows … but even that was limited since we were careful about what we watched.

Even though I grew up in a spiritual home, and had the life of Yeshua within me (I knew Him as Jesus then), there were still issues in my life that needed to be yielded to God. My strongest spiritual awakening came while I was twelve to fourteen. Mostly I was afraid of the fact that I didn’t know YHWH’s will for my life, and that I might be displeasing Him. I even doubted my salvation at times. But YHWH was faithful: when I look back, that period of worry and depression was the gate to the narrow, thorn-hedged path onto which He was leading me. Spiritual parents and activities weren’t going to be enough -- I had to be closer to God than anything this world contained or else I wouldn’t survive. That’s how I felt … life would be meaningless if I didn’t fully grasp Him.

Besides the Bible, YHWH led me to read several amazing books that were like a breath of fresh air as I struggled to figure out what a life yielded completely to Him looked like  -- books by Hannah Whitall Smith (The God of All Comfort, Safe Within Your Love, with David Hazard) and Hannah Hurnard (Hind’s Feet on High Places, Mountain of Spices), the revised Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley, Ester Reid, by Isabella Alden, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, Dear Princess by Mary M. Landis, Jesus Freaks by DC Talk, and Road to Reality, by K. P. Yohanan, the founder of the mission Gospel for Asia. The Father used these to get my spiritual life in order. Any of these I would recommend as something to help you understand how to yield your life more completely to God.

Toward the end of 2005, my family learned we could keep more of the Torah than we’d thought plausible before, so we discovered how to set apart YHWH’s Sabbath and feast days as well as more aspects of our personal lives. That’s been an exciting spiritual journey.

I graduated in 2008; a few months before that I read So Much More by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, which really changed my way of thinking. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I graduated (besides write novels); I didn’t rule out college; but So Much More convinced me that college wasn’t where God wanted me, especially fresh out of high school. This was hard for most of my extended family and acquaintances to understand. But God increased my heart for my family, friends, and home, and He showed me how wonderful it is when a woman can be free to serve in that capacity and not be distracted by a full-time, outside job. The Return of the Daughters, a documentary by the Botkin sisters, and Joyfully at Home, by Jasmine Baucham, also encouraged me during this time after high school.

He’s kept me busy. Besides what I do to help my mom and dad, I work part-time for a friend and neighbor, learning light remodeling and tons of other life skills; take martial arts classes and teach them; teach piano lessons; and do my favorite things of all -- study the Bible and Hebrew, write fiction and non-fiction, and read. Most important has been the time I’ve gotten to spend with my Abba and with my parents.

Because I’ve chosen to remain in my family home, I’ve been able to pursue a writing ministry, which wouldn’t have happened had I chosen college, career, and independence. I’m taking a course with a mentor, keeping a blog, writing for an online magazine (Imagine Mag), editing for another (Harvest Mag), and writing novels that will hopefully touch people’s lives. I don’t know what all is in my future, but God has shown me to continue what I’m doing now, and if there are any other opportunities that arrive, He’ll let me know whether I’m to follow them or not. The future is in His hands and He leads me day by day.

If a person has lived any length of time, he or she learns a few lessons, and, thankfully, I’m not an exception! Here are some that have been important to me:

1) God put you in your family for a reason; don’t be in a hurry to leave them, and don’t hesitate to put them first.

2) Life is happening right now; don’t wait for anything before you start to live, to feel content, to realize that you have everything you need and want right now. No prospective husband? Rejoice in the extra time you have with your parents and siblings, to pursue your gifts without having the responsibility of a household, and to grow and mature into someone a godly man would want to marry.

3) No matter where you are in your life, your life has value now. You’re not wasting time. As long you live according to the way God wants you to live, you’re fulfilling your purpose, right where He wants you.

I hope you are blessed as you seek to yield ever more to YHWH’s will. He gives us more than we ever think of requesting … in Him you’ll find everything you ever desire. The most significant thing you can do is lose yourself in His love … and the other important things will follow. Be strong, be prayerful, and trust in Him!

“I exalt You my Elohim, O sovereign; and bless Your name forever and ever. All day long, I bless You, and praise Your name forever and ever.”  –Psalms 145:1-2

Shalom!

First off, a special thanks to the lovely ladies of Everyday Set-Apart for asking me to do a post for them.  I am so thankful that I get to share a bit of my story and walk of faith.

Everyone is led on different paths and lifestyles. We each live a life specifically designed and unique for a purpose—bringing glory to our beautiful Elohim.

My name is McKenzie Mauck, and I am 19 years old.  I, like some other believers out there, live in a household with a family that is not Torah observant.  My walk of faith is supported with that of a loving fellowship and mispacha of like-minded believers. 

A little background story of where my walk began. I went to public school, and graduated from Westfield High School in 2012. I came to faith about four years ago when I met my best friend in English Class at the end of sophomore year.  She had just moved to Indiana at the time and asked if she could sit with me at lunch. That very moment… we “clicked”. We became like two peas in a pod. At the time, I was not a believer of any sort. I claimed to be “Christian”, but my actions spoke other things.  She was a friend when I needed her the most and then it came to a point that I had to start thinking seriously about my actions and most importantly my faith.  This friend had ministered to me and because of Yahweh’s light shining in her, I had learned about who He really is.  I learned about the feasts, Sabbath, worship, prayer, more than I could ever imagine.  She became like a sister to me, and when she moved out of state that became a real turning point in my walk with Yahweh.  I had to learn what it meant to have a personal relationship with the Creator and not depend on another person or family. This was MY relationship and not anyone else's.

My story takes a twist, because I chose the path of college.  I go to Indiana State University and I am studying Special Education.  Yahweh has shown me that I am meant to help people and I have always had a passion for those with disabilities. After asking for guidance and confirmation that this is the path intended for me right now, I can say that this decision was meant for me. This past year at school I was able to learn so much. I’ll let you in on a secret…it wasn’t necessarily about school things either. Don’t get me wrong, that plays a part though. Honestly though, in the big scheme of things, that is little to what Yahweh has done.  He has shown me a lot about my faith and what it truly means to be set-apart.  Yah has shown me many things and given me wisdom and guidance when I needed it most.  I have learned what trusting Him really means and living everyday set-apart for Him. Through Yahweh’s unfailing love and mercy He has shown me the blessing that it is to be called His. He has given me strength to endure the tough times and the peace to go along with it. It is through Him that I receive strength and it is only through HIM that I left my first year of school stronger than I came. Leaving home was scary and at times I really wanted to give up. This college experience though has helped me grow in my faith. I learned more about who I am and my personal stance. I am still learning and always will continue to learn. My passions have grown stronger and many doors have been opened. Being off on my own really opened my eyes to different things and coming to Terre Haute was probably one of best decisions that I have been led to thus far. This past year has been filled with adventures and trips that I would have never taken before.  I have made wonderful friends and met so many diverse people!  I have learned so much more about scripture and how it plays out in your daily life.   I learned the importance of being a light and letting that light shine.  The list could go on and on.  If I could take all the things I have learned and combine it into one short phrase it would be that Yahweh works in such wonderful and mysterious ways.


I was also asked to give some resources that have helped me in my walk. I have read several books over the last year, but here is a list of my top three:

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

The Lost Art of True Beauty by Leslie Ludy

A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George

Remember to keep faith and prayer constant in your life. It is important to give yourself anew every day and continue to grow. Open your heart and mind to Him. Yahweh will only take you as far as you are willing to let Him. 

Blessings and peace be to you!

McKenzie

Dear Readers,

This July marks our very first anniversary of writing this blog- “Everyday Set-Apart”.

Everyday Set-Apart was started with the intention of encouraging young ladies in their walks with God. We understand that every girl is different and God has a unique purpose for her life. Because of our unique callings Yahweh has situated us in different geographical locations, placed us in very different families and given us all different visions for life.

In celebration of this 1 year anniversary we have asked some of the young woman we know to guest post on our blog.

We girls are honored to be sharing a series of guest post by several godly young women of Yah. This series is titled “Daughters of Yah”; we will post a new article once or twice a week and will continue until the end of July. All of these young women are 18 years and older, followers of Yahweh- the one true God. All of them come from different geographical locations, different families and they are all pursuing Yahweh’s special plan for their life. We have asked them to write about their lives and what makes them different.

Even though they all believe in same God and are seeking to obediently follow Him, their lives are vastly different, yet strikingly the same. Through their articles we think you will be touched at the beauty and holiness that these young women exude.

We hope you are encouraged and intrigued by the beauty of their lives as they seek to live everyday set-apart.

Naomi, Bethany, Emily and Lids 

I was so excited when the Potts asked me to make a guest post for their blog! So, this my everyday perspective from a sister that has THREE brothers and NO sisters! Did I mention that two of those three are identical twins!?! OY!

First, the bad news:
1. They find the most creative ways to annoy me. Like during school, the twins (one on each side of me), would make their art erasers climb “Mt. Eden” (that’s me) to “conquer” it. Of course, they’ve never conquered  Mt. Eden, because I always flick them off before they reach the peak (the top of my head!).
2. If I don’t hide when they play army, I become the target of their manhunt. So, no matter what I am doing, I must stop and hide when I hear them playing army. My favorite hiding spot recently (shhhh, don’t tell them!) is under our air hockey table in an old toy box.
3. They find all kinds of ways to distract me from what I’m doing … Elijah just LOVES to show me any and every thing he’s learning in school … even though I’m trying to get school done too! I mean, I don’t show HIM everything I’m learning – he’d go NUTS!
4. I’m always being tricked or scared by someone… Just the other day, I was working on my Bible narration when Jonah sneaked up behind me and I about jumped all the way TO the Holy Land!
5. They seem to do whatever they want no matter what I say … I’ve asked them (okay, yes, I’ve even yelled at them –nicely, of course!) not to mess with my toy sheep (Sheepy), but they just think it’s a big joke – APPARENTLY. On top of that, every time we go to see my grandparents, they bring along my special Lego dinosaur so that they can hide it and make me think it’s going to get lost … EVERY time we go!!! 

Okay, I could keep going, but I think you probably get the point. Besides, I really do think that the good outnumbers the bad… 

Now for the good news:
1. They’re my best friends…and my mom keeps telling me to hang in there when it’s rough sometimes (like the days I think  Sheepy is my only friend) because they’ll always be there for me in the long run.
2. There’s always someone around to be my hero. I can’t count how many times one (or all) of my brothers have come to my rescue or stood up for me.
3. I actually kind of like all the rough-housing, playing outside, racing our bikes and all that stuff … besides, I get stronger when I wrestle them … and I’m still trying to figure out  a way to get faster at running than Jonathon (he’s really fast!).
4. Since they tend to play in pairs, there’s always one of them around for me to play with and that gives me the chance to get to know them personally. I love that time. 
5.  I love that my little brother just LOVES me to read to him. Even though I get kind of tired of reading out loud to him sometimes, I love that he wants me to so badly. It makes me feel pretty special…and I feel really bad when I don’t have the time to read out loud to him.
6. I don’t have to mow the lawn, weed-eat or do other things of that nature. With three brothers and a very hard-working dad, there’s always a “man” around to take care of those sorts of things, which frees up my time to be able to do some of my favorite things, like help my mom in the kitchen, pick strawberries from our strawberry patch and work on my knitting (I’m making a scarf right now & working on a blanket for my brother).
7. There is always someone around doing SOMETHING to make me laugh…always! And they don’t even have to try!