Donalacasa's Daybook: Monday, May 28, 2018

One of my Girl Scouts whom I have known since she was 3 years old gave me a plaque of this

after our final dinner together.  

Outside my window…

It's 10:30 in the morning and already 86 degrees.   It's going to be a hot summer.

I am thinking…

Chag sameach Shavuot!

Counting of the Omer.  What is an omer?

An omer is 10 baths or 1/10 of an ephah, about 2L.  We first see it mentioned in Scripture in

reference to manna.

And the children of Yisra’ĕl saw, and they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not

know what it was. And Mosheh said to them, “It is the bread which יהוה has given you to eat.

This is the word which יהוה has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s

need, an omer for each being, according to the number of beings. Let every man take for

those who are in his tent.’ And the children of Yisra’ĕl did so and gathered, some more, some

less. And they measured it by omers, and he who gathered much did not have too much, and

he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered according to his need.
Shemoth (Exodus) 16:15‭-‬18 TS2009

In Leviticus 23:15-16, we are told to count 50 days from the Sabbath following First Fruits.  Until this

year, I hadn't really realized the significance of the counting. An omer is the measurement of a

person's daily bread.  It represents Abba’s sufficiency in meeting our needs. After this year, I am

convinced that it is not supposed to be just a verbal enumeration, but a counting of blessings!  An

account of all that our Father does for us to meet our needs.

In our Shabbat services, we have learned the Disciple’s Prayer in Hebrew.  A portion of that is:

How much bread is Our Daily Bread?  An omer!

So what happens on the 50th day?  

And you children of Tsiyon, be glad and rejoice in יהוה your Elohim, for He shall give you the Teacher

of Righteousness, and cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as

before. And the threshing-floors shall be filled with grain, and the vats shall overflow with new wine

and oil. “Then I shall repay you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, and

the consuming locust, and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. “Then you

shall eat – eat and be satisfied – and shall praise the Name of יהוה your Elohim, who has done with

you so wondrously. And My people shall never be put to shame. “And you shall know that I am in the

midst of Yisra’ĕl, and that I am יהוה your Elohim and there is no one else. And My people shall never

be put to shame. “And after this it shall be that I pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and

your daughters shall prophesy, your old men dream dreams, your young men see visions. “And also

on the male servants and on the female servants I shall pour out My Spirit in those days.
Yo’ĕl (Joel) 2:23‭-‬29 TS2009

“Even though it is fairly late in the year in terms of the Western calendar, the rains that begin in the

Fall are known as the yoreh, or the early rains, since it is the start of the rainy season. These early

rains are reason to be glad after a hot, dry summer, and the ground can be broken up ready to work

the fields. Towards the springtime, around the time of Passover, Israel will have the latter rains,

known as the malkosh, necessary for the ripening of the barley and grain.

The word for the former rains, yoreh, comes from the same root as to shoot or cast, or teach! Like an

arrow being shot to its target, or information being directly delivered from teacher to pupil, the yoreh

rains are sent down to soften up the ground, ready for the first round of planting. In fact, God’s

teaching is also compared to the sending of rain in Deuteronomy 32:2, “May my teaching drop as the

rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass,and like showers upon the

herb”.

The latter rains, malkosh, are much harder rains that would have just caused flooding and

devastation if they had come earlier on the dusty, dry ground. But these latter Spring rains are

essential for the agricultural cycle too; the “Gezer Calendar” (an archaeological relic with inscriptions

from the time of Solomon) tells us that in January / February time, there was a second round of

later planting in ancient Israel’s agricultural year, called the lekesh. The word for these harder, later

rains, malkosh, is related to the lekesh: the latter downpours can more easily penetrate the softer

ground and bring forth the second harvest in the Spring.

The Spirit of God is often connected with water in the Bible, and God’s provision of water, and some

would see the “former rain” and the “latter rain” as outpourings of the Holy Spirit, as vindication of

the message of the gospel. Joel 2:23 says,

“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for

your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.”

The remarkable signs and wonders that followed the first apostles validated their message so that it

was widely believed, causing the gospel spread far and wide in a relatively short time. Perhaps as the

days get darker and message carried by the true followers of Yeshua seems more and more

preposterous, God will send another “latter day downpour” of his Spirit to accompany his servants,

vindicating their message. Time will tell. One thing is for certain, rain is repeatedly equated with

God’s blessing throughout the Bible:

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” (Isaiah 44:3)”

I am thankful…

Princess Butterfly’s graduation celebration was a great success.  I'm not going to lie. Giving up that

aspect of my life is hard. I am officially retired as a homeschool mom.  Of course, I'm still Mom, and it

is my nature to teach, but the day-to-day instruction and the academic guidance is no longer in my

hands.  There is so much of it that I miss, but life moves forward.

I am wearing…

Denim shorts and my T-shirt with Psalm 91:4 on the back.  For the graduation, I wore

I pared it with

I am reading…

I haven't read much of Parable of the Sower, but I'm still working my way slowly through Humbled by

His Presence.  My time in the Word has been beautiful.       

From the learning rooms...

The day of Princess Butterfly’s graduation, getting out of bed wasn't so easy.  Twenty-five years of

homeschooling was finally done. Princess Butterfly and Crown Prince Sanban were fussing at me to

get up and were bothering me about my emotions.  Before I open my eyes and get out of bed, I could

envision Dancing Angel at 3-½ sitting in our livingroom in Germany pulling on the fringe of the rug

while doing the phonics drill, The Grand Duchess pushing her little yellow chair into the room,

determined to not be left out.  I could see Crown Prince Sanban and his perfect handwriting. I

remembered Princess Butterfly as a baby raising her hand to questions I asked her sisters as if she

knew all the answers.

But they wouldn't  let me stay in my memories.  Princess Butterfly wanted to drive to the graduation

practice.  Crown Prince Sanban was clucking his tongue at me to get a move on.  In a week, he'll

shave that prickly face of his and be whisked away by the Air Force to field training.  The Grand

Duchess was coming to the graduation right after she delivered a speech for her job. When did they

all get so grown up?   And Dancing Angel, though in the heavenly cloud of witnesses, is always

missed on days like that.

This photo shows the date our homeschooling began.  It is the postmark on the box that contains the

first curriculum I ever bought.  Christ-Centered Phonics. I taught all our children to read with it.

This photo shows a portion of Princess Butterfly’s high school diploma with the final date.

After the ceremony, The Grand Duchess presented me with a bouquet of sunflowers.  ❤❤❤❤

  

Pondering these words...  

Our niece's fiance’ says that he sometimes teaches at the undergraduate level, even online classes.  

He has a master's degree. He says full time a professor can make about $70,000 a year. Works for

me!  

From the kitchen...  

It LOOKS like I have come out of retirement.  I assure you I have not. Special occasions only.

Around the house...

Shout out to Crown Prince Sanban whose meticulous eye for detail and compulsive cleaning got our

house in shipshape for the graduation party.  

AYEE! (I don't really know what that means, but I'm told it's complimentary.)

My self-care…

A day of trying on dresses revealed that I am a whole dress size smaller than I was in February.   

Woot!

Shalom and blessings!