My Bad Experience With University School of Colorado Springs

I was told today that my son could not and would NEVER be accepted to a Christian school called The University School of Colorado Springs.

The administration did not even take the time to interview me or my son in person. We are so disappointed. We were just exploring possibilities. It felt like a door was slammed in our face.

I think there might have been some anti-semitism involved with the school director's decision.

She made the statement that the fact he is not a believer and his age was the reason she did not "feel right" about considering my son's application, but I think the fact that our family is Jewish was a factor too.

We will never forget that he wasn't even given a chance to apply.

Something just doesn't seem "right" about the way this was handled.

I was told by the school's director that she just didn't have a good feeling about considering my son's application. My son's feelings are really hurt and he feels now that all Christian schools operate like this school.

There is something true to my son's assumption. I worked for a Christian school after I graduated from college. I was only there for one school year, but the entire experience can be summed up as "NOT GOOD." The administration of the school I worked for didn't act in a godly manner at all.

Now I'm glad my son was not given a chance to even apply to the University School of Colorado Springs. I also don't have any desire to ever again deal with a school that calls itself Christian.

Perhaps one day this school will realize that slamming the door in our face (and probably the faces of other past and future applicants) did nothing but confirm to my son that many Christians do not follow Jesus' example. Does Jesus say, "I don't feel good about you wanting to join me and follow me?" I think not!

Did Jesus Visit the Earth in 1981?

In 1981, on a Friday night, a guy named FRIEND knocked on our door. He was wearing a white robe and sandals and had long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. He spoke in a gentle and loving manner. He was quite tall and handsome.

We gave him some food and talked about God, I recall. We then took him to meet some of our other friends, including Dan's cousin Doris.

The next day we talked about the encounter. Doris was almost sure that FRIEND WAS JESUS! I've never been that sure...I just felt like FRIEND was some guy that sure did a good job of playing the part!

We never saw FRIEND again, but I will never forget that encounter!

FRIEND looked like the guy in the attached photo (but was a bit taller and younger I recall.)

Regarding Isaiah 53

During my spiritual search, I read a book published by Chosen People Ministries concerning Isaiah 53. Yesterday, I noticed that a Jewish website, posted a very strong response about that chapter saying that the Christian interpretation is wrong. I posted that link on Facebook and got quite a few comments. One comment was a link that I want to post here too.

• Isaiah 53, The Suffering Servant - Cutting through the distortions and mistranslations of this enigmatic text. - From AISH.com
  
• Isaiah 53: What Did the Rabbis Say?
  

Link to the Story of My Son's "Spur of the Moment" Bar Mitzvah

I finally figured out how to get this online. It's the story of Joel's very non-conventional Bar Mitzvah! The name of this story is The Bar Mitzvah Minus the Year of Planning!!!

Two Links

These two articles are written by my rabbi. I am don't want to give up being Jewish. That is all there is to it. These articles say a Jew can no longer be Jewish if they believe in Jesus.

• What Kind of Jew...Are You???
• “Messianic Judaism”
  
  

Modern Technology!

Things have become so modern! People can now log in to worship services via the internet. and studying the scriptures can be done online.

Last night, I logged into an online worship service followed by a discussion in a chat room type format.

It's not quite the same as sitting down in a physical room with a group of people, but it was a good experience.

What was really cool is that my friend from California and another friend from Maryland were in the chat room discussion! Who would have thought that several people from all over the USA from different times zones can discuss God together all at the same time !?!?

For me, this was a good thing, since, at this time, I don't want to go inside a church. I also am so moved that my friends cared about me enough that they joined in on the chat room discussion and also the service. I do feel loved and I do feel cared about.

Will a Bunch of People Disappear On May 21, 2011?

Somewhere in the late 1970s, when I was a student at Colorado College, I saw a very cheaply done movie called "A Thief In the Night." The story was about The Rapture. The movie was shown at college campuses all over the USA, and many young people joined The Jesus Movement after seeing the film. ( I remember one friend in particular, named Jeff Wolf, who told me the movie scared him so much that he went forward at an alter call after seeing the movie.)

Anyway, one night, somewhere in about 1982, my husband, Dan, and I went to bed very early. I woke up around 12:30 AM and Dan was GONE!

I panicked. I really believed The Rapture had occured! I began looking under the bed, under the covers, and even inside drawers and closets for Dan's clothes or some sign of Dan.

I finally got on the phone and called Dan's brother. He came over to our apartment in the middle of the night. He looked for Dan outside behind bushes. Our car was still parked in front of our small apartment. Dan's brother looked inside and under the car. NO DAN.

Alll of a sudden, Dan walked up to our apartment and wondered why his brother was looking behind trees in front of our apartment in the middle of the night! Dan explained to me that he couldn't sleep and had gone for a walk to buy a magazine.

I told Dan I had truly believed he had been raptured. We've laughed and laughed about thiis for many years!

It such a funny story, but when I hear about people predicting that the world will end this coming Saturday, May 21, 2011, I think about that night!

Has God Given Up On Me?

Someone told me that eventually God gives up when we keep ignoring Him. I am wondering now if God has given up on me? I don't feel God's presence lately. When I pray it seems like I'm being ignored.

Is this feeling coming because I don't want to go to church? Is not having any "fellowship" giving me this feeling that God is not with me? I just don't get it. Can't I seek God on my own without doing it the way everyone else does?

I'm really down. For those who read this blog, keep me in your prayers.

Girl Meets God

Girl Meets God is a book I read in early 2003. It's the story of Laura Winner. She came from a reform Jewish background. Since the Orthodox don't consider someone Jewish unless the person's mother is Jewish, she went through an Orthodox conversion. She'd been brought up Jewish and wanted to completely accepted as a Jew.

After her conversion, she still didn't feel completely accepted in the Orthodox Jewish world. She was treated as if she wasn't "as good."

Later, she turned to Christianity.

Her book was really a "fun read" I recall.

When I read the book, I really felt I got to know the author. I wanted to sit down and talk to her about her life, experiences, thoughts, and feelings for hours.

Her spiritual journey is probably similar to the journey many Jews take. Some of us go on a journey that seems to never quite end. Winner's "journey" has not ended. She has continued to seek God by bringing Jewish rituals into her Christian way of life and beliefs.

Like Laura Winner, something is going on with me. I want to be close to God. I want to know Him, but I want to do so as a Jew -- not an Orthodox Jew (although I admire the Orthodox very much and want to learn from them), but as Jo Ann the Jew that believes in God with all of her heart, soul, and mind. If that means believing that Jesus is the Messiah, I'm okay with that, but I don't want to stop being Jewish either.

The only way I can figure out how to do that is to blog about my thoughts and talk about some of my thoughts with those who are close to me that understand my spiritual journey.

One more thought for today: I am not totally convinced about the "one way thing." Jesus may we "a way," but when I see the ways so many people I know (Jews and Gentiles) seek God, it is hard for me to truly believe that God is not there for everyone who seeks Him.

Light These Lights - Oh Hear My Prayer

I heard Debbie Friedman sing this song today on a CD I just bought and absolutely LOVE this song! I keep playing the song over and over again!

Even though it is not Chanukah time, this song can be sung all year long. I believe the lights are symbolic of how the light of the Jewish people needs to be passed on and the prayer is for everyone who comes our way.

LIGHT THESE LIGHTS
(Oh Hear My Prayer) - Music and lyrics by Debbie Friedman



Oh hear my prayer
I sing to You.
Be gracious to the ones I love,
And bless them with goodness, and mercy and peace.
Oh hear my prayer to You.

Let us light these lights
And see the way to You,
And let us say: Amen.

I've Been There, Done That...I've Seen It All...And I'm NOT Going Back

From the time I was a little child, I was told that Jews don't go to church and that Jews don't believe in Jesus. Even though I knew that, I just had to explore how the "rest of the world" worshipped and believed, so I decided to explore, what was to me, the unknown (the Christian world).

I was a young Jewish girl who wondered what went on inside of all those churches I'd see as I drove through my city and in other cities. I'd never been inside a church in my life. That was then...that was over 30 years ago.

I learned, by venturing inside, what went on inside churches. I also learned about Jesus, but I didn't truly understand the Gospel.

Although I did not truly believe, I learned all the motions. I learned how to behave and I learned all the lingo.

I visited ministries like Glen Eyrie (that belong to the Navigators), Keith Green's Last Days Ministiries commune, and several mainline denominations.

It wasn't long before I stumbled on The Jesus Movement and enjoyed the non-traditional way of approaching God that I found there.

As time passed, I learned what charismatic groups were. I also learned about and visited pentecostal groups. I saw people fall down and get "slain in the spirit" and I saw what I thought might have been healings.

I have worked for some well-known ministries and I was a missionary. I've passed out religious literature on the streets. I've done street "testimonies" in New York City! I worked as a teacher at a school owned by a church.

I've also attended what seems like hundreds (maybe thousands?) of bible studies. I've seen all sorts of types of worship meetings and prayer meetings. I've listened to bible studies and sermons on the radio and on tape. I've heard many, many stories of changed lives and read about great religious leaders.

In my lifetime, I believe I may have stepped inside about every type of church or denomination (including some cults or cult-like groups).

There was a period where I grew tired of the Christian religious scene and walked away from it, but I found that I was still "hungry" for God and sought God as a Jew.

After much searching, now, in 2011, I may have decided that Jesus is the Messiah, but does that mean I need to go inside any more churches, listen to sermon after sermon, or sing and listen to hymns and songs, and "fellowship" with people that I don't even know without my family?

You see, after years of not belonging anywhere, my family feels comfortable together worshiping God inside a reform Jewish temple and also learning about G-d from Orthodox Jews. It's where we belong. It's where I belong.

I did take some time in March and April of this year to visit some churches again, but what I find there is just not for me. I've been there...I've done that. I'm just not going back.

How good and how pleasant it is for family and freinds to gather together in unity!

Last night, the service at Temple Beit Torah was run by the religious school. Teenage kids really ran the entire service and the younger kids brought the food. What also made the service special was that my dad came and so did my friend Hellene, and her dad. My whole family and close friends wer together and the temple was full of families. The atmosphere felt like a celebration!

As I reflect on last night, I realized how much of a blessing it was to be with so many Jewish families and feel a part of the Jewish community not only in Colorado Springs, but in general. A joy was present because everyone present took pleasure in knowing they could worship God as a Jew in a very comfortable place and in a very comfortable way.

The service was really fun! I thought about the song Hine Ma Tov. I have always like both the English and Hebrew words.

• Listen to Hine Ma Tov (traditional Hebrew version)

The lyrics, in Hebrew, read: .הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד

In Romanized Hebrew:

Hine(y) ma tov u’ma-nayim

Shevet akh-im gam ya-chad

Or in Romanized Biblical Hebrew:

Hine mah Tov umah naʿiym

sheveth aḥ-iym gam ya-ḥadh

Translated, the hymn means, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity."

Review of No Compromise - The Story of Keith Green

I finished the book No Compromise: The Story of Keith Green last night. The book was written in 1987, only six years after his death by his wife Melody Green. Apparently, an updated version is now available. I guess I'll order it and read that too.

Although it is so very sad that he died along with two of his children, I did enjoy the book very much. It took me into the world of the late 1970s Jesus Freaks. It's hard to believe that Keith Green lived to be only 28 years old. He did a huge amount in the seven years that he was a believer!

On July 4, 1978, I visited Keith Green's commune with my cousin Loren. After the visit, I decided I couldn't live there. I wasn't ready to give up everything for communal living. I always wondered what my life would have been like if I had made a different decision.

After reading Melody's book, I doubt very much if I could have handled being there, but I did live in a similar place: The Atherton House. (We didn't have anyone like Keith Green running our house...)

Regarding the story:

What's left in my mind is the way Melody moved forward. She lost her husband and two of her children (who were cute little tots) in a flash. She had to move forward in her life and did. She really believed God took her family away and that Keith's time on earth and the time he served God with her was for a reason.

Wow....

Too Much "Christian Stuff" May Have Come My Way Too Fast

I have been doing a lot of thinking about "me" lately and realize that what has happened to me in the past few months may be that too much "Christian stuff" came my way too fast. I think I see why some Jewish believers believe quietly and keep things to themselves. I have to go that route. I just can't "do this" otherwise, but I will keep on blogging...

I Don't Want to Be a Clone

There is a song, written by Steve Taylor, that may sum up what I've been thinking about.

• Listen to I Want to Be a Clone

I Want to Be a Clone - Lyrics and Song by Steve Taylor

I'd gone through so much other stuff
That walking down the aisle was tough
But now I know it's not enough
I want to be a clone

I asked the Lord into my heart
They said that was the way to start
But now you've got to play the part
I want to be a clone

Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
Cloneliness is next to Godliness, right?
I'm grateful that they show the way
'Cause I could never know the way
To serve him on my own
I want to be a clone

They told me that I'd fall away
Unless I followed what they say
Who needs the Bible anyway?
I want to be a clone

Their language it was new to me
But Christianese got through to me
Now I can speak it fluently
I want to be a clone

Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
Cloneliness is next to Godliness, right?
I'm grateful that they show the way
'Cause I could never know the way
To serve him on my own
I want to be a clone

Send in the clones

Ah, I kind of wanted to tell my friends and people about it, you know?

What?
You're still a babe
You have to grow
Give it twenty years or so
'Cause if you want to be one of his
Got to act like one of us

Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
Cloneliness is next to Godliness, right?
I'm grateful that they show the way
'Cause I could never know the way
To serve him on my own
I want to be a clone

So now I see the whole design
My church is an assembly line
The parts are there, I'm feeling fine
I want to be a clone

I've learned enough to stay afloat
But not so much I rock the boat
I'm glad they shoved it down my throat
I want to be a clone

Everybody must get cloned