Gevurah of Tiferet - Discipline of Beauty

Like last night I truly believe this week's Counting is going to be the difficult one to deal with.  Today is Gevurah of Tiferet or Discipline of Beauty.  As I talked about yesterday, beauty is a god in the United States.  For that reason I have chosen to use beauty instead of compassion for the definition of Tiferet for the Counting this year. 

I am going to make this brief, for it is probably going to be a stormy night for many of you.  How much stock do you put in your own beauty?  Do you seek it or seek to stay away from it?  This is where the discipline comes into play.  HASHEM created you and you are beautiful!!!!  All of HASHEM's creation is beautiful.  Does His word not say, 

"And why be anxious about clothing?  Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow.  they neither work nor spin thread, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these."  Matthew 6:28-29  JNT

You see you can down play your personal beauty to the point of making yourself unattractive for fear of beauty or you can seek to draw attention to yourself in a way that is not pleasing to HASHEM.  Perhaps it is something you do not consciously think about.  Women, if many of you are like me, you have no idea that men think the way they actually do.  I am going to recommend a book to you and you NEED to read it.  

For Women Only  by Shaunti Feldhahn

It is a short book but it is an eye opener and please read it especially if you have daughters.  We do not realize how much our clothing makes a difference.  Please do not misunderstand me here, I am not saying that we are responsible for men raping women, WE ARE NOT!!!  Men who do that are sick individuals and they need help!!!!  I am talking about every day ordinary thoughts that we are creating within men that we can help.  

Here is where I want to really go with this discipline of beauty thought....WE as women have bought into the lie for far toooooooo long!!!!  We have said, "well, this is what men want, so we should give it to them, right?"  WRONG!!!  We need to be saying, "What does HASHEM want?"  It does not matter what the men want, it only matters what our God wants!   Let's talk women's liberation for a moment, if you want to jump on that band wagon, ladies we should be in an uproar over the hamburger commercials where they are using pornography to try and sell a jalapeno bacon burger!!!  For crying out loud, the latest one shows a woman in a scantily clad dress practically having an orgasm while eating the burger in front of her daughter's date!  It is time WE stood in unison to protest the degradation of women in this manner and especially the degradation of beauty in this manner!  DISCIPLINE!!!!  

Beauty is something to be treasured, not exploited!!!  How do you feel about beauty in your life?  Do you draw attention to yourself or do you try to hide it?  Seek to allow both your inner and outer beauty to shine the way HASHEM designed it.

Shalom!

Its All About Tiferet! - Chesed of Tiferet

It is a new week in the Counting of the Omer and this week's subject is all about Tiferet.  As a refresher, Tiferet is beauty or compassion.  Day one of week three is Chesed of Tiferet.  This can be defined a couple of different ways.  I am going to challenge you, because of our society and the pressures of it, from the direction of Beauty.

Without love, beauty is only a picture or a one dimensional image.  With love, beauty is a multi-dimensional object that is able to reach out and become involved in the world around, in essence it becomes compassion.    A second way to look at it is that without love, beauty is something we can get a very skewed perspective on.  How many women abuse their own bodies or spend thousands of dollars on themselves all in order to look like some model in a magazine and then have to spend hours in therapy all because they couldn't achieve it?  In the United States, especially, we worship beauty as if it were a god rather than worshiping God who is the maker of beauty!

If you look back you will see the definition of love is God.  When you place God with beauty it will put beauty into its proper perspective.  Beauty is not something physical we should seek, but something Godly.  Beauty is all around us.  God has given us more beauty than we can imagine if we are sensitive to the Spirit's voice.  He will show us all the glorious beauty in the world if we will just take our eyes off ourselves long enough to see others and Him for a moment.  Are you willing to look?  Sometimes those things of beauty can only be seen with spiritual eyes.

Over the next 24 hours, rather than seeking the love of beauty the way the world does; why not seek the Love of Beauty from the Biblical perspective.  Look around you at the beauty of God's creation.  Seek out the beauty in the things He has given us and in His Torah.  

Until tomorrow, Shalom!

Malchut of Gevurah - Mature Discipline

It is day seven of week two of the Counting of the Omer.  We have at last reached the end of the week on discipline.  Now what on earth could mature discipline mean?  Well, it really is pretty simple.   Mature discipline is reaching a place of owning it.  It is a place of understanding that YOU are responsible for where you are and where you are headed and IF you are going to change it is up to you.  You cannot sit back on your duff and do nothing waiting for God to change you.  It does not work that way. 

Unfortunately many people believe that is the way spiritual change takes place.  They know there is some kind of “sin” in their life and they pray and pray for “God to take it away” and keep on doing the very thing they are asking God to take away.  Teshuva – repentance, means to make an about-face and go in the opposite direction.  Decide in your heart you want to change, turn 180 degrees then walk in the opposite direction AWAY from the thing you want to change from and LEAVE THAT THING BEHIND!!!!   For heaven’s sake DON’T walk back toward it!!! 

On the day of Your accounting before HASHEM, He will not accept an answer from you such as; “I just couldn’t change, you see I was a victim of an abusive home,” or “I had an alcoholic father,” or “I thought you were going to take it away from me Lord, but I guess whatever didn’t kill me was to make me stronger, right, God?”  He is going to ask you what YOU did to change! 

HASHEM has given you His Torah and His Ruach Ha Kodesh so you will know how to change, how to discipline yourself.  Now, are you going to own it?  Are you a mature adult or, in the words of Paul, do we need to heat a bottle of milk for you? 

Tomorrow we start a new week in the Counting, are you ready?  Shalom! 

Yesod of Gevurah - Committed Discipline

Its day 6 of the second week of the Counting of the Omer and it is Yesod of Gevurah - Committed Discipline.  For discipline or boundaries to be effective we must be committed to them.  Nothing works better to help you stick to those commitments than having a partner; who is also committed to the same thing with you.

Have you ever wanted to start working out, but had no one to go with you to the gym?  It is extremely difficult to do things alone, isn't it?  This is the place for a partner to come into play.  Living a life that is seeking to be holy requires a partner to help shore us up on the days when we are weak.  A day or so ago I quoted Hebrews 12:11 about discipline being painful in the beginning, but in the end it brings peaceful fruit of righteousness.  If you read the next verse in that passage, you will see that Paul goes on to quote Isaiah 35: 3 and Proverbs 4:26 when he says:

"strengthen weak hands and give support to failing knees; and make a level path for your feet so that what has been injured will not get wrenched out of joint but rather will be healed."

These words are to the believers in Paul's day, but the words in Isaiah and Proverbs were also for the Jews telling them to hold each other up and encourage each others faith.  You see, each of us have days when we are strong and we also have days when we are weak in the knees.  We have to take turns holding each other up.  We all need a committed partner that is in the race for the long haul to help us make sure we keep up the discipline or keep the boundaries in place.

Do you have a partner running alongside you?  If not, you definitely need one.  Reach out today and find that person to run beside you.  Until tomorrow, Shalom!~

Hod of Gevurah - Humility in Discipline

Another day of discipline and two more days of discipline to go!!!!  Oh the joy, right?  You can never get too much of a good thing, can you?  Come on now, admit it, you kind of like this discipline thing, don't you?  No, I don't either, but it has to be done.  I would rather talk about love myself, but we can't have all the cake, we have to have a little beans and broccoli too!  Okay, let's look at this humility in discipline thing.

As I looked back at day five of week one of the Counting, I noticed that I used the word Majestic rather than humility to describe Hod.  It is the same and interchangeable.  You see, it is how we relate to HASHEM and see ourselves in relation to Him.  Unless we look at all discipline as being allowed by HASHEM in order to make us into the most beautiful, magnificent and spectacular creation it is for naught.  When we keep discipline (or boundaries) in the proper perspective for ourselves, we are then able to keep the way we discipline (or set up boundaries for) others in the proper perspective.

As you look back to the past four days of our conversation on discipline, what has your perspective been on that discipline?  Have you seen it through the eyes of HASHEM?  Have you seen it as a wonderful, precious gift to you from the Father?  As you pass that discipline or boundary along to someone else, are you using humility as you do or are you biased in your discipline?  An old saying fits very well here, "there but for the grace of God, go I."

Until tomorrow, Shalom!

Netzach of Gevurah - Enduring Discipline! Oh NO!!! I can't do that!

Please tell me we don't have to endure discipline forever!!!!  I don't want discipline to go on and on and on!!!!!  LET ME OUT!!!!   Is that what you thought when you read enduring discipline?  Well, let me give you a fresh sigh of relief, UNLESS you are hard headed and keep on straying far away from HASHEM and need to be disciplined to bring you back into the fold, ha ha!!!!

How about looking at it like this;  keeping on keeping on with the things that work.  Have you started a plan to a healthier you?  Keep going!  Have you put yourself on a budget?  Keep going!  Have you started tithing?  Keep going!  Have you started studying Torah?  KEEP GOING!  Well, do you see what I mean?  Enduring discipline!!!!

What about enduring boundaries?  Set boundaries that will last beyond a lifetime.  Go back to our talk about boundaries in a previous post and think deeply about the meaning of that and seek to set boundaries that can last for generations.  What difference can you make on the generations to come with the boundaries and disciplines you set forth today?

It is Shabbat (Sabbath), so worship the Lord your God tonight and tomorrow!  Give Him the glory and honor He deserves!  Make His praises glorious!  He is!  Anochi!!!

Until tomorrow, Shalom!

Tiferet of Gevurah - the beauty or compassionate side of discipline

I am running a little behind but the day isn't over yet!  Today is all about the beauty of discipline or perhaps the compassionate side of discipline.  What could be beautiful about discipline?  Well, perhaps Paul said it best when he said,

"No discipline for the moment seems to be joyful, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."   Hebrews 12:11

The beauty of discipline!  Oh how difficult it is to give up those candy bars and cookies, but oh the beauty of fitting into those smaller sized clothes, am I right girls?   Is it worth the pain?

What about the compassionate side of discipline?  Is there someone in your life, possibly yourself, that you have placed boundaries upon, but you have shown no compassion while setting those boundaries?  Maybe you have wanted to shed some weight, but you have put unreasonable goals upon yourself?  OR do you have an eating disorder?  Do people tell you all the time you are too thin, but you see someone who is fat when you look into the mirror?

Girlfriend, God does not want you to look at yourself any other way than beautiful.  He does not want you to see yourself through the world's eyes and the world has lied to you LONG enough!  If there is no compassion in your boundaries or discipline, you have some serious pain to be dealt with.  I am not trying to be funny or cute.  I love you and God loves you more than you could ever imagine.  If I am talking about you here, you need to know that the causes behind these things are serious issues and they need SERIOUS help.  PLEASE email me if you have no one you can talk to and I will help you find someone that can help you.

I will say this to all my readers, Ladies, there are so many of you who are hurting beyond belief.  I can not tell you how many women have come to me over the last five or so years and just started pouring out their hearts to me.  I have heard story after story about sexual abuse from woman after woman.  Let me just say this for today.....YOU ARE NOT ALONE!  There are thousands of you who have suffered tragic events at the hands of men who are far from Godly men!  And there are people like me who are waiting here with open arms to hold you and help you heal, but most of all there is a heavenly Father who loves you more than you could ever dream.  He has been holding you all along.  I know you have a lot of questions to ask about why then and why didn't He stop it, but that is for another time and that is a part of the healing process.  Today I just want you to know there is someone who cares.  It is time for you to heal, and that process may be painful, but it must occur so you can see the beauty.   The blending of Love and Discipline (boundaries).

You see, the discipline can also be seen as boundaries and there is so much beauty in a boundary, because there is truly a freedom in boundaries.  When you have a boundary all around and you know nothing can get inside to harm you, well, there is FREEDOM!  Freedom to love, see all the beauty and enjoy the life you have without fear!  And that, my friends is a beauty beyond comparison!!!

Until later tonight, Shalom!!!