A Nation Mourns

Shalom,

Six lives were lost today...six families are missing a husband...a father...a son...a grandson...an uncle...a brother...a son-in-law...a brother-in-law...six homes are now forever void of the presence of one who lived there...who will never enter that doorway again...

An entire Military and Nation mourn the death of these Six Sons...

In Israel, when a member of the Military Family that is so deeply embedded in the fabric of every part of the Society is killed, the entire Nation sits Shiva...this Shiva is no respecter of persons...none is immune...none is exempt...none is excused...Israel is "One Family" when it comes to Her Military...each Branch of the Military is intertwined and makes up the whole that is today's Army of G-d...

There has always something "special" about the Military here in our American Nation...the vast majority of us rise to show them respect for the service they perform to protect and defend us...and countless hundreds of other Nations and Peoples around the World...those who treat what these men and women have done and do with disrespect are viewed by the rest of us with contempt...let your mind wander back to the Vietnam War...recall the violent protests on college campuses by leftist love children who even then cared nothing for the heritage that made our Nation great and kept us free...think how we felt seeing these pathetic punks burn our flag...trample our flag...refuse to defend the way of life they were born into...it was simply horrible to see...and it cost us a President who was forced to resign due to over vigilant surveillance...and another President who wore out trying to contain the morass that this War became...

Today, here in America, those same leftist love children who grew up to believe treason of their Nation is their duty, continue to violate our Nation's heritage...now they do it through Academic channels as they teach hatred of America...and they do it through elected offices they have used and are using to destroy our freedoms...no pride...no honor...no patriotism...traitors then...traitors now...even our highest office is occupied by one of their protegees...

In Israel, every family of every generation since She was Re-Born in 1948 lives and breathes the daily life of the Army of G-d...no matter where you go in His Land, you see them...dressed in their uniforms...the insignia of their unit/branch clearly visible on their shoulders...on their berets...and always the machine gun slung over their shoulders...casually...like we American women carry our shoulder bags...

Israelis show the utmost respect for these young men and women who are their Brothers and Sisters...they either have or will serve alongside them...there are no exceptions...even today the Religious Jews have formed their own Military Units...standing alongside their kin...fighting to defend their Land...they all understand the same undeniable truth: as a Nation, they stand alone...abandoned by nearly every other member of the United Nations...that cesspool of evil that has the gall to call itself "The Family of Nations"...all the while ignoring Israel...the VERY Nation that the CREATOR HIMSELF FORMED and CALLS THE APPLE OF HIS EYE...

G-d sees all this...He who watches Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps...there are records kept...tears are stored up in bottles He labels...one day soon the scales of justice will be brought out...the Prophet Daniel tells us that Belshazzar thought G-d's Children and Land meant nothing...and even committed the sacrilege of drinking wine from the Vessels of the Mishkan...the Temple of YHVW...even typing this gives me chills...suddenly a man's hand was seen writing on the wall of Belshazzar's palace these words: "Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin" - which interpreted mean: "G-d has numbered the kingdom of Belzhazzar and brought it to an end" - this man had been found "wanting" and was to be no more...

There will be an inquiry into this tragic helicopter crash which claimed six of the best and brightest the Nation of G-d produced...if there was any foul play involved...tampering that could have caused this loss...anything amis in any way...if something like that turns out to be what happened, look for the Hand of G-d to once again write on the wall of those who perpetuated this: Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin - your kingdom has been numbered by the Creator of the Universe and it is brought to an end...

In the meantime, a Military and Nation mourns their Sons...and we light the Shiva Candle and mourn with them.

"Master of Mercy, the One Who Heals broken hearts, we cry out to You...our Hearts ache with the pain of our loss...watch over and shelter the families and loved ones of those who were killed in this tragic crash...Oh Compassionate One, bless them and inspire us with Your Goodness and Righteousness in the days to come...shatter not our faith in You and never allow us to forget the memories of these lives."

Baruk Ata Adonai, Asher B'ya no Nefesh Kol Khai, v-Ruakh Kol B'sar Ish
(Holy One of Blessing, in Your Hands are all souls and the spirits of all flesh.)
AMEN. (Shiva Prayer by Rabbi Arnold Stieble)

Promoting Evil

Shalom!

Once again the enemy of Israel and Her Children has struck...this time on American Soil...this vile and despicable administration has ordered that the PLO flag be flown in the USA...at the entrance to "their mission building" in Washington, DC...

The horror and outrage that I feel at this announcement is so deep that it took my breath away to read the article...day by day we see our once great Nation - founded on Judeo-Christian Values - being systematically destroyed by the filth that occupies elected offices here...this administration has brought more harm upon us in less than 2 years than any War fought on our soil or around the world...the depths to which they have sunk surely has opened the lid of Hell...

The elections this November are so critical...I believe they represent the last chance we have to try to restore our Nation...if we do not stop them at the ballot box, I fear the battle will have been lost...

Chuck Colson has founded "The Manhattan Declaration" project...his latest article states that we may have reached the "Tipping Point"...and that Civil Disobedience is in the wings...something we have not seen since the Boston Tea Party that led to the Revolutionary War...the Patriots of Old knew when "enough was enough"...will we have the intestinal fortitude to do likewise?

Will you join me in mobilizing everyone you know to VOTE for men and women whose lives evidence the Judeo-Christian values we espouse? Your VOTE DOES MATTER! Let's pray fervently for G-d's Divine Protection and Guidance as we WORK while there is STILL DAY!

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! Your LIVES and the LIVES of your loved ones DO hang in the balance!

Tisha B'Av

Shalom!

Today is Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, 5770.

This is a day of great solemnity and intense prayer and reflection. It is the date of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples of G-d in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.

It is hard to fathom what took place on this date - the abject horror and suffering of the Jews - the sacrilege of the Romans as they violated the Temple Mount and destroyed His Temple... having seen and walked in this Holiest of Holy areas in Jerusalem, I can tell you that the realization of what happened there cuts to the very marrow of the bone - and inflicts emotions on the heart and mind that are incapable of being described...

The entire time I was in Israel it seemed to me that I was incapable of shedding tears...our schedule was so tight...our visits with Her Leaders and the locations they shared with us so intense...I wanted to shed tears many times during those 10 days...even tried to...but could not...something so deep inside of me was affected that I felt as though it was not really "me" that was there seeing all that I saw...

When we finally boarded the plane late that night for the flight home, I settled into my seat and THEN allowed my mind to begin to replay every day that we had been there...and then the tears came...it seemed to me that I cried most of the flight home...I was so affected by my memories that I could not even look at the photos that I had taken without breaking down...nor could I share them with even my husband...as soon as I would start to look at them and try to tell about them, the tears flowed and I "shut down" verbally...

Israel is alive and vibrant today...all that the Roman legions threw at her in AD70 has been negated...her Diaspora is really over...all the Jews of the world CAN "go home" when THEY choose to...G-d has restored His Land for Her...the Six Million who were slaughtered by the Horrors of Hell that were Hitler's Germany have been replanted in the lives of those born from those crematoriums...her Temple Mount is in sight of Her Eyes again...

I cry today also...for my dear loved ones THERE...in The Land that we so mutually love...they have suffered so much...seen so many friends and loved ones they knew murdered by the enemies of G-d who have butchered them in these past 63 years since Ben Gurion "birthed the modern Nation of Israel"...loved ones there who suffer the physical and emotional pain of terror attacks...of empty seats at family tables...beautiful names and faces that haunt my mind and heart in ways that are magnified one thousand times in the hearts and minds of those who saw them destroyed...it is heartbreaking to see the destruction of the once solid bond of support and friendship between our two Nations...nothing Israel has done deserves this...the blood is on our hands...and we sit in judgment for harming His Land and Children...He will not tarry much longer as He repays those who have done this..brought this harm to His Loved Ones...

It will not be long until Messiah comes...as an Evangelical Christian Zionist I am profoundly aware of His "Birth Pains"...and I am watching for Him in the Clouds that appear every day...He will come on those Clouds...both the Old and New Covenants teach this...Israel will sit Shiva for Him as they mourn their "First Born Son" and look on Him who was pierced for them...and for me...and for every soul that ever was created...all the aborted babies...all the maimed...all the persecuted...all the weak...all the old...all the infirm...all the shunned and despised...all who have longed to see Him and look on that Face that so loved them that He laid down His Life for their Eternal Salvation as the Lamb Slain From the Foundation of the World...

When He does come, there will be no more time for repentance...time as we have known it will have run out...all that will be left is the sorrow of those not caught up with Him in the Air...

I want to walk on those Streets of Gold in the New Jerusalem...I want to worship Him on His Holy Hill in His Temple...I want to to sing the songs of Zion that are so dear to my heart with all the loved ones who have gone before...I want to bow my knees and cry HOLY, HOLY, HOLY - L-rd, G-d Almighty! Who WAS and IS and IS to come! King of Kings and L-rd of L-rds!

On THAT day, Tisha B'Av will become what it was INTENDED to be when G-d commanded the 12 Spies to Cross the Jordan and bring back the report so that His Nation wandering in the Wilderness could CROSS OVER and inhabit the Land HE has prepared for them! And then the Redeemed of the L-rd will rejoice with Israel and Her Children as She becomes the "Or La Goyim" She was birthed to be!

Pray in agreement with me for that Day!

Baruch Ha Ba! Baruch Ha Ba B'Shem Adonai! B'Shem Yeshua!

Responsibility

Shalom!

Internal character development is key to becoming a leader...when you "give your word" to someone, it should be mean something...that person should be able to depend on you to follow through with what you said you would do...

Today, it seems as though people "give their word" without any firm commitment to backing it up...to fulfilling the promise they made by saying they would do thus and so...it is all too expedient to get what you want without any repercussions...there is no honesty behind the spoken words...it gets tiring...

In my work and world, promises made mean they must be fulfilled...people depend on me doing what I have said I would do...even if I am tired...or not feeling well...or have other situations that arise, I must do what I said I would do...the work we do with Israel and Her Children is far too important to "play" with promises...or worse yet, to not meet deadlines that are critical...

Something has happened to our society...pledges mean little...playing trumps working...the quick trumps the slow...and I find myself usually left holding the bag because those who said they would do what was agreed upon fail to meet deadlines...or worry about honoring verbal commitments made...

Lesson learned: when I get burned by those who fail to do what they have said they would do, rather than trusting again so quickly, I need to add a layer of insulation to ward off the instant trust that I mistakenly give so quickly...the broken promises have nearly obliterated the windshield.

I resolve to vet people and situations far more thoroughly...it is always me that gets burned.

The Measure of A Man

Shalom!

How do you measure the impact of a life?

A man died on this date in 1971. He was a good man...he loved his wife...he loved his children...he loved his parents...above all else, he loved his G-d. He was my father. His name was Claude B."Bud" Board, Jr. He was 51 years old.

He was part of "The Greatest Generation"...he fought in the South Pacific on a Naval Destroyer Tender in the Second World War. He loved his ship so much that he named his dog "Denny" after the USS Denebola that he served on.

I was 8 months old before he even got home from "The Big War"...I have no memories of those days...what I know of them I learned from my Mother who waited for his return at her parents home in West Newton, Pennsylvania with me, her first born child.

When one thinks of the "measurement" of a man's life, to understand how to measure that life you need only look at his family. My Mother has been a widow for 39 years today...she never dated, not because she couldn't...she had no desire for anyone else in her life...always telling my brother and sister and I that "when one has had the love of a lifetime, there is no room for anyone else"... I like that...it always gave me a feeling of "completeness"...

You look at his children also...what their lives have amounted to...how they have reacted to the influence of this man...my brother and sister and I all married Christian Spouses...we worship with that same spouse each L-rds' Day...we tithe our incomes to His Kingdom Work...we are actively engaged in our respective Church Families...each of us graduated either college or business college...we each have worked every day of our adult lives...we have each served our Country and Our G-d in every way we could...my life today consists of full time work for and with The Land of G-d and Her Eternal Covenant Children...my brother and sister AND Mother all "get it" about Israel and do all they can to support Her as well. My sister and brother's children and their grandchildren married Christian Spouses...and worship together on His Day...in His House...and they are training yet another generation of "Board's" to know and love the Messiah who gave His Life for them so that they might have the forgiveness of sins and the promise of Eternal Life with Him in His Heaven.

Maybe the world measures the worth of a man by the dollars he earns...the title he achieves in his business or professional world...how many cars he owns...things like that...it seems to me that the way G-d would have us measure the worth of life...even one that is cut short in its very prime...is the legacy of his family.

Well done, Dad! Your wife...your children...your sons and daughter-in-law...your grandchildren...and your great-grandchildren...all bow their knees to the G-d you taught us to love and serve...we have carried on these many years without your physical presence in our daily lives...the one who has suffered most is your wife...but the loneliness has been borne gracefully and with dignity and honor by her...you would be proud of how what you planted has grown and matured! Thank you for all the life lessons you taught...the example you set...the discipline you administered...it was not in vain!

On this day, I asked Yeshua to "call you up" to His Side and let you know that your family on this side paused to remember your life and passing...tears were shed...memories were recalled...hearts were broken once again as we counted down the hours of this date you left us for Home. We are running our races as best we can...the finish line is becoming clearer each day...your bride has been well cared for by your children...she is anxious to see you again, and so are we!

The audit of your life is complete...you stayed the course and finished well! We now will continue to try to do the same! We will see you There...reunited with the L-rd we all so dearly love...never to be parted again!

Until then!

How Can This Be?

Shalom!

I just posted a YouTube clip to our Facebook page...I wasn't sure if I should post it or not...it is certainly nothing civilized human beings would ever want to see or know about...I typed WARNING: BRUTAL AND GRAPHIC in the comment box so that anyone who thought about watching this YouTube clip would think TWICE before doing so...and yes, I paused before I hit the "Share" button...but this story has to be shared...

I received the link to this YouTube clip late last night...I knew when I saw the heading of the clip and the blurry image with it that it was going to be difficult to watch...my DNA cringes and recoils over any violence...but last night I forced myself to face reality and clicked the "Play" button for this YouTube clip...I wish I had not as it has left me physically sick for nearly 24 hours now...

The YouTube clip is entitled: "Muslim Girl Being Kicked and Stoned to Death"...a young girl, probably about 12-13 years old is lying on the ground...dressed in black pants and a warm up jacket...she is trying to cover her face with her arm and she lays on her side...surrounding her are "men" who, as the clip starts to play, are shown kicking her repeatedly...over and over...then they begin to both kick her and throw stones on her...she continually tries to shield her face from their assault...the violence quickly escalates and the footage becomes a blur of only legs kicking and kicking and kicking this little girl...with large stones being thrown...hurled on her at the same time...the clip is only 1 minute 25 seconds long...that is all it takes for her to be murdered...as the seconds wind down, you see her barely moving now...and then a "man" takes a huge piece of concrete...like a huge 2 foot concrete brick...and slams it onto her head...and blood explodes out of her now lifeless skull...and the clip ends...

I will never forget that I saw this...this little girl had a name...had a mother and father...possibly siblings...probably extended family...perhaps some of those shown kicking and stoning her to death were relatives...this is often how it is handled...it is called an "honor killing"...the girl/woman is alleged to have brought "shame" on the family...in this part of the world, this kind of thing is allowed...many times even encouraged so as to "keep people in line"...

There is a young woman, nearly 18 years old now, who lives in my city...she ran away from her family years ago because she couldn't bear the life she was born into...the "government" forced her to return here...her parents and family live here...she testified that she didn't want to live with her family ever again as she knew she would be killed in an "honor killing" much like the YouTube clip I watched last night...until she is legally 18 years of age, the "government" can, any time it wishes, force her to return to her family where she will certainly be murdered because this case has brought so much public attention and outcry...she desperately needs our prayers for Divine Protection...and she needs the Grace of G-d to carry her far away from these individuals who are her physical family before they do to her what was done to the little girl in the YouTube clip...

Today, I had my little niece...nearly the same age as this little muslim girl, with me at a swimming pool...the only care she had in the world was what time was the adult swim break because she had to get out of the pool...that is because we live in a world that values LIFE...there can be no peace...no relationship...no anything with "people" who would kick and stone a little girl to death...

Tonight, when you say good-night to your children or grandchildren, think of that little girl in the YouTube clip...and vow that you will do everything in your power to protect and defend the Spark of Freedom that G-d birthed in you...she never had that chance.

Milestones

Shalom!

Tonight marks a milestone in my life. Two years ago tonight, at a Bless Israel Night in Pennsylvania, I heard a man speak that forever changed the course of my life. I had read this man's Bio and was awed by the resume of achievements in his young life...and I thought that hearing him as a Keynote speaker at this event was going to be very interesting...but NOTHING that I had THOUGHT about hearing him speak could have prepared me for the life altering change that resulted...

How do you track the steps that G-d directs in your walk of faith and service? How do you measure the worth of those significant moments that you KNOW that G-d brought you to? From 1989 to 1996 Ohio restored its' Statehouse Complex and Senate Annex...I was honored to be the Executive Director of the 501.C3 that raise the private dollars for this immense undertaking...one day in 1994, I left my downtown office and drove to a bookstore called the Christian Armory...looking for a book to read...something other than "work" related material...as I walked into that Bookstore, I went to the set of bookshelves where NORMALLY there were LOTS and LOTS of books to choose from...THAT day those shelves were empty except for ONE book: "The Jewish Roots of the Faith" by Marvin Rosenthal. I had no idea who Marvin Rosenthal was, nor had I ever thought ANYTHING about the Jewish Roots of my Christian Faith.

I was raised in a nearly all Jewish neighborhood...a WWII baby born in 1945...when my parents moved to Canton, Ohio in 1952 WWII was barely over...and most of the Jewish Friends I had in that neighborhood told stories of entire families being "lost" in the Holocaust...from the age of 7 I began to study everything I could get my hands on about the Holocaust...even forcing myself to read the horrific experiments Hitler had performed on Jewish Children...I remember watching the Nuremberg trial footage on TV with my parents who carefully taught us what these vile and despicable men had done to the Jews of Europe...G-d had His Hand on the direction of my life even at that very early age...

My parents were devout Christians and we were raised in a very deeply spiritual home with every ounce of respect given to the G-d of Creation and His Son, our Messiah. We were "in Church" every time the Church Doors were open...I taught a Bible School Class...sang in the Church Choir...was a member of the Women's Fellowship...and served as the Missions Secretary for our Church...the man I married was a Christian man and we have worshipped together every week for 35 years as husband and wife UNITED in our Faith that "G-d so loved the World that He sent His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall never perish, but have Eternal Life." My FAITH was VERY real and VERY strong...made that way by LOTS of mistakes I made over those young and formative years...by the suffering that resulted from those mistakes...and by daily devotional study and prayer time...

However, NOTHING in all the 49 years of my life PREPARED me for what I was about to learn. I took that book off the shelf and stood there reading through it from cover to cover...overwhelmed at what I read...in less than one hour my entire life turned upside down! All the things I had never understood in the Bible suddenly began to make sense to me...even in that hour 16 years ago, I could glimpse that my life course was about to undergo a drastic change...

That's why I was at the Bless Israel Night in Pennsylvania...by 2008 I was FULLY immersed IN and working FOR Israel in EVERY way I knew how at that time...I was eager to hear this Eeki (Itshak) Elner because he would be the FIRST "KEY ISRAELI LEADER" I would ever hear in person...but again, like in 1994, I had no idea that my life was about to take another drastic turn...

When Eeki was called to the stage to speak that night, he followed a deeply anointed time of worship led by the World's Leading Worship Artist - Paul Wilbur. That is why I was in Pennsylvania...I was Paul's Executive Assistant and had gone to set up the Live Concert Paul was doing for this Bless Israel Night...the Shekinah Glory was so powerful during that Concert time that people could barely stand up...it was one of the most Ruach/Spirit filled nights I had experienced...the audience was just beginning to quiet down when Eeki began his Keynote address...as he began to speak, little by little the audience of 3500 individuals began to get more and more quiet...as his speech built toward its finish you could hear a pin drop in that auditorium...his comments on the necessity of "All Jews returning to the Land of their Ancestors" caused 3500 individuals to leap to their feet and give him a thunderous five minute standing ovation...it was during this standing ovation that I turned to my friends with me and said to them: "we have just seen the Restoration of Israel"...I did not know how prophetic those words would turn out to be...

Eeki left Pennsylvania that night...I never got a chance to talk with him...I was swamped with the work for Paul and never could get away to speak to Eeki...the next day, I asked for his email address, and wrote him an email telling him how moving his speech had been...and suggesting that he ask my husband to come to Sderot to teach a course on Ethics at his Leadership Institute...

That mail led to Eeki's reply to me and a series of correspondence began back and forth the Atlantic about how to put together a 501.C3 in the USA to raise awareness and financial support for the work of the Israel Leadership Institute/ILI that Eeki had Co-Founded in Israel...that organizational plan led to me asking Paul for his blessings to step aside from working for him so that I could become the Co-Founder and Executive Director of a brand new 501.C3: The Alliance For The Future Of Israel/AFFI.

Since that night 2 years ago, Eeki's ILI has graduated two Classes of the brightest and best Israeli Men and Women who will lead the Land of G-d in every piece of Her Mosaic. In those 2 years I have met the men and women who serve on the ILI Board of Directors and been honored to have many of them stay with Bill and I...formed close friendships with these men and women who are larger than life itself...and been honored to be their guest in Their Land...it is journey worth all the money in the world...the hours have been exhausting...the work unbelievably invigorating...the challenges mind boggling...the personal and spiritual attacks some of the worst I have ever experienced...

Yet, here we are...at the beginning of the third year of our beloved AFFI and ILI Institute..thinking about the selection process for this next class of Israel's brightest young men and women...praying for His Wisdom and Guidance as we contemplate the next steps He has for us...

I am pausing to reflect on the Milestone that we have crossed this night...and giving the G-d of Israel the full praise of my heart that He allowed me to hear this young David Ben Gurion speak that June night in 2008...and asking Him to watch over and protect Eeki and his ILI Board of Directors, the ILI Students and the families of these loved ones that have become so dear to my heart...and saying again: "HINEYNI ADONAI - Here I am, L-rd, use me!"

Thank you, G-d, for my milestone marker...what a Journey it has been! The best is yet to come!