Before vs After-House

This is the Before and After on the outside of house

Messiah's Mansion on Yom Kippur

 The Tabernacle. The ingathering. The place where the Lord came and dwelt with the Israelites in the wilderness.
On the day of Yom Kippur we were fortunate to have a life-size tabernacle come to Kernersville, NC. Even though I have read the scriptures describing the Tabernacle many times there is something so very holy and moving when you can actually walk through and experience it first hand.

After a day of fasting I was humbled to lay my hands on this innocent spotless lamb and ask that
it take the sins of myself and my family and then be asked to take a sword and be the one to sacrifice it. John 1:29 Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

The Menorah in The Holy Place
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:7



The Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant- In it the emblem's of Israel's sin. The tablets of the commandments which they had broken,
the manna they had complained about and Aaron's rod meant as an answer to their rebellion of leadership all
covered by a Mercy Seat with the blood of sacrifice to cover sin and make atonement.

Todah Yeshua for being my sacrificial Lamb, pure and holy and dying for my sins so I may one day stand in the presence of Adonai.



Bathroom Remodel

This is the original bathroom. Yes-the walls were covered in vinyl
siding and we had to walk out on the back porch to get to it.
No door either, only a curtain!

This is the finished product. We did everything
ourselves except for the plumbing and electrical.
Tim even put in heated floors!
You can see the support in the upper left
corner of the picture where the wall used to be before
we enlarged it.

This is the part we added on. It used to be
the porch.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Yesterday we returned from a 12 day trip of Israel. What a beautiful country it is. I loved the culture and the people-especially the children. I was especially impressed with the sense of peace the Israeli people have. If you walk through their shops or watch them interact with each other you will very seldom see them act in anger. That was surprising to me because the country is surrounded by known enemies who may attack at any time yet they are not allowed to defend themselves without reprisal from the rest of the world. Their tax rate is over fifty percent. Imagine if half of your paycheck went to Uncle Sam. There would more than a little anger boiling over. They have a peaceful demonstration at City Hall-we turn to domestic abuse. I understand that "Pray for the peace" refers more to the volatile situation surrounding their existence as a country and the countries that border them but as a people they are at peace.
However their country is similar to ours in that many have turned away from the Lord. In Judges chapter ten the people of Israel began serving other gods and the Lord became angry with them and sent the armies of Ammon to cross the Jordan and fight the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. I know that many don't believe the Lord works that way any more but this is a clear example of what happens when we turn away from the Lord. He will find a way to wake us up and turn us back to Him. Teshuva in Hebrew means to return to a state of spiritual purity and we are now in a month in the biblical calendar that asks us to examine ourselves and return to the ways of the Lord. We often drift away from what we know is right and that's a normal occurrence for we are human and sinful. In Hebrew it's known as Yetzer Hara or temporary confusion a temporary drifting away. But this is the perfect time for all of us to redirect,get back on track and return to that state of spiritual purity.
The Lord told the Israelites in Judges 10:14 if you want to serve other gods and you are in trouble then let them save you. But the Israelites understood what they had done and in teshuva returned to the Lord and confessed that they had sinned and the Lord saved them.
This is the time that Israel is receiving their wake up call from God and we are also. Our economy is on the brink of collapse and Israel is on the brink of war. It is time to return to the Lord. So instead of praying for the peace of Jerusalem please join me in praying for the salvation of Jerusalem and the salvation of America.
Psalm 27:1 Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?
Psalm 35:3 Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me "I am your salvation."
Psalm 53:6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Jesus or Yeshua in Hebrew means He saves or salvation. In the Brit Chadasha or New Testament it states:
Luke 1:69 and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
In Romans 11 it talks about Israel being hardened and only a few elect received Yeshua as their salvation. But it's time for the olive branch that had been broken off to be grafted back in again(Romans 11:11.) It is time for teshuva. So please when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem remember also to pray for their salvation.

Life marches on

The last two weeks have held alot of change for us here at Lion's Gate. John Michael went through exploratory surgery to give us an idea of how critical his kidney condition was and thankfully the doctor believes he will be able to save the kidneys without a threat of dialysis. What a relief-yet still it rests on John Michael's shoulders- time will tell if he is mature enough to handle it.
Lance has now been a week in Haifa, Israel. I feel there is great purpose in his semester there and pray for his protection. He says it is absolutely beautiful and you can see for miles in all directions. His four roommates are all from Israel and he likes them all. They have all served in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) which gives them common ground right from the start. He has one month of Uplan which is intensive language training six hours a day six days a week. Then in late February he will start classes. He seems a bit overwhelmed with it all right now but sounds happy.
I finally can sit in my livingroom with a fire glowing brightly from our freshly installed fireplace insert-its motor gently humming filling the room with warm blasts of air. We now have two inserts in two fireplaces which at thirty degrees outside makes it plenty warm inside. This is our heat source and we struggle with installing anything more that would make us more dependent on electricity. The wood floor went in last week and it is so beautiful I won't allow shoes, dogs or cats in the room. The dogs lay at the doorway and try every now and then to sneak in but I won't allow it. The fireplace facade is the last thing needed to finish the room. The framing is built, we just need to drywall and paint it.
We are working diligently to move off the grid and become sustainable in our own right but sometimes feel it is an overwhelming task. There are days when it seems it should be our highest priority and other days when I just want to sell everything and just rest for awhile with no animals to take care of, no fruit trees to prune, ponds to fill,gardens to till and plant. I think if we could just hire one person who might live on the land rent free and work here we would progress much more quickly. I guess that is something I will have to take to the Lord in prayer.

Dining Room