They were held in captivity for 70 years. Until along comes King Cyrus the Great issuing a decree that they could return to their homeland. And about 50,000 Israelites took him up on this. And as they returned, they carried with them a history book called Chronicles. The author, possibly Ezra, was a remarkable, thoughtful man. He realized that most, if not all, Israelites had very little memory of their ancestry or history. So he wrote it down for them, starting with Adam and

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.   Psalm 102 In the Jewish culture, a fter the burial of a person, the family returns home to sit shiva   for seven days. Shiva is the Hebrew word for seven. During the shiva week, mourners are expected to remain at home and sit on low stools, indicating “feeling low,” as an expressi

We were nervous and excited as we entered the small room. Donna (my best friend) and I had been invited to a prayer workshop. We had no idea what to expect. We just felt that this is where we were meant to be. Where God was leading us. We didn’t know much more than that. We just knew that this was our next step in knowing God. We had no idea what we were about to experience. As Margaret, the workshop leader, began to talk, I started taking notes, notebook of notes both with h