13 Attributes of Mercy

The 13 Attributes of Mercy are the very words that God taught Moses for the people to use whenever they needed to beg for divine compassion. The 13 Attributes of Mercy are found after the incident of the Golden calf, when God threatened to destroy the people of Israel rather than forgive them (Exod. 32:10). According to the Talmud, Moses felt that Israel's sin was so serious that there was no possibility of intercession on their behalf (Rosh Hashanah 17b). At this point, God appeared to Moses and taught him the Thirteen Attributes, saying: "Whenever Israel sins, let them recite this [the Thirteen Attributes] in its proper order and I will forgive them." Thus this appeal to God's mercy reassures us that repentance is always possible and that God always awaits our return."

 The 13 Attributes of Sin are: 

- The Lord! (Adonai)--God is merciful before a person sins! Even though aware that future evil lies dormant within him. 
 - The Lord! (Adonai)--God is merciful after the sinner has gone astray. 
 - God (El)--a name that denotes power as ruler over nature and humankind, indicating that God's mercy sometimes surpasses even the degree indicated by this name. 
 - Compassionate (rahum)--God is filled with loving sympathy for human frailty does not put people into situations of extreme temptation, and eases the punishment of the guilty. 
- Gracious (v'hanun)--God shows mercy even to those who do not deserve it consoling the afflicted and raising up the oppressed. 
 - Slow to anger (ereh apayim)--God gives the sinner ample time to reflect, improve, and repent. 
 - Abundant in Kindness (v'rav hesed)--God is kind toward those who lack personal merits, providing more gifts and blessings than they deserve; if one's personal behavior is evenly balanced between virtue and sin, God tips the scales of justice toward the good. 
 - Truth (v'emet)--God never reneges on His word to reward those who serve Him. 
 - Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations (notzeir hesed la-alafim)--God remembers the deeds of the righteous for the benefit of their less virtuous generations of offspring (thus we constantly invoke the merit of the Patriarchs). 
 - Forgiver of iniquity (nosei avon)--God forgives intentional sin resulting from an evil disposition, as long as the sinner repents. 
 - Forgiver of willful sin (pesha)--God allows even those who commit a sin with the malicious intent of rebelling against and angering Him the opportunity to repent. 
 - Forgiver of error (v'hata'ah)--God forgives a sin committed out of carelessness, thoughtlessness, or apathy. 
 - Who cleanses (v'nakeh)--God is merciful, gracious, and forgiving, wiping away the sins of those who truly repent; however, if one does not repent, God does not cleanse. 

There are many "translations" to these terms, in that they can be stated in various ways. I wanted to create something I could print or have printed on a canvas or frame. I came up with the image below. Such an awesome reminder of who we are dealing with when we ask for repentance, which we ought to be doing, and to know He is so MERCIFUL!

The Rabbi

I just have to post about this because it was so special and unique to this child, my sixth precious gift.

I have always dreaded circumcision and in some ways I wish I hadn't started and just left them in tact the way God made them.  But, we decided with Cole to circumcise and since ours are all so close in age we have continued to do so with each additional boy.  We've not ever had problems but I will say I walked in on a scene I didn't love with Westin.  Before the Dr's had brought them to me and they were all wrapped up and I could nurse, etc.  It wasn't so traumatic.  But, with Westin I went back into the room and there was blood everywhere and he was screaming.  It was pretty alarming for me.  He settled down and I nursed him. It was over. 

Well this time, the pediatricians office told us she couldn't do it, because it was a little twisted.  So they referred us to a urologist.  My neighbor recommended maybe looking into a Jewish Rabbi.  I hadn't ever thought of that before.  She took some time to look it up for me and to find one locally.  I'm so thankful she did that.  

I called up Rabbi Semol and he said he'd take a look at Beau and determine if he could perform the circumcision.  So, I took him over there 7 days after he'd been born to be examined by the Rabbi.  Sure enough, he thought it was a small twist and he could perform the procedure.  So, I turned him over, walked outside for 2 minutes, so I couldn't see it happen, and came back in to....

Surprise, a calm baby, barely crying, no blood and a perfectly circumcised baby!  PRAISE GOD!  I nursed him, comforted him even though he wasn't crying, paid the Rabbi and was on my way.  They were so kind and so lovely. 

I wish I'd thought to do that 8 years ago.  It was amazing.

So, Beau is a baby of firsts!  First encapsulated placenta, first homebirth, first Rabbi (Moyel) circumcision, first baby with three names...wow the firsts keep coming and he's my 6th baby.  Pretty amazing little man! You are special.

Passover and Easter Celebration

Since learning so much about Christmas and it's pagan roots this last year (don't worry we aren't giving up Christmas), I've realized that most of our holidays has such roots, glazed over in Christian terms and language with good intentions built in.  Easter is the same.  But, we don't want to cast aside opportunities to teach and mold our children with the gospel.  And we don't want to miss the fun!

So, we've tried to be very intentional about guiding them towards the things about these holidays that reflect Jesus.  This year we decided to celebrate Passover with a Seder Meal.  We actually attended two of them.  The first with Apologia Church and a completed Jewish Rabbi.  He walked us through the Passover and connected all the dots to Jesus on the Cross and the gift of salvation.  It was awesome to hear the symbolism God ordained in the Passover and the picture it paints of Jesus.

We then shared a Passover meal with the Levin's, led by Dan and Justin.  Kelly made the most amazing matzo ball soup and prepared most of the meal for us to share.  We walked through all of the wonderful symbolism again, only in a slightly different way and really drove home the beautiful picture of Jesus.

We continue to be wow'd and moved by all the beauty and wonder built in to the Jewish celebrations, festivals and feasts.  I'm so excited we have decided to walk this path of learning more and celebrating our adoption into God's Chosen People.  

On Easter morning we did the "fun" and had baskets with simple gifts and a small Easter egg hunt.  We then attended church and came home to watch the Passion of the Christ as a family.  It was a wonderful, quiet Easter Sunday.

Christmas in Pictures

We had a great Christmas this year.  We had Christmas Day at my parents house.  After opening pajamas Christmas Eve and gifts at our house in the morning we had the kids get ready and eat breakfast before making the drive to my parents house to open their last gift from us and their gifts from my parents.

They get 3 gifts each from us and this year we were all done shopping by the second week in December. It was great, I ordered everything online.  Super simple and within budget! (kinda)

We had a Soup Christmas and it was yummy.

The kids were abundantly blessed by grandparents and auntie Andrea and Nik.  

It was a wonderful, exhausting, yet wonderful day.

Merry Christmas.

(We did Hanukkah this year in which we got to discuss with the children a truely sacred tradition in which God provided for His people and prepared the way, restoring the Temple and setting about the Light.  It really offered a great opportunity to make the holiday season about Jesus in a much more real way than his Birthday.  We can't change that Christmas has pagan roots nor ignore the opportunity to discuss Jesus birth, create traditions, and make memories.  I just know better now some of the truths of Christmas which make Hanukkah so much more meaningful and took the pressure off Christmas! It was a great December.)