In Loving Memory ...

Shalom dear Friends and Family,

 

In Ecclesiastes we read:

 

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 

Earlier today, I saw a list of the names and pictures of the 40 IDF soldiers who have died in fighting for Israel in the Operation Protective Edge.  In loving memory of these guys and their sacrifice, I wanted to share this with you all.  Please prepare yourself though, it is not easy to look at this list.  It is heart-wrenching.  Each morning, our family looks at the Israel news ... we hope and pray that our eyes do not meet with any more casualties ... but if there are, we hold our breath as we look at the names and silently pray, "Father, let it not be --- ".  Please remember the families and friends of these guys in your prayers ... I cannot even fathom what they must be going through.  Our hearts deeply ache for you all in this time.  Please also continue to pray for the rest of the soldiers ... for their protection, strength, comfort and faith.  Please pray for the leaders to have wisdom in the decisions they have to make.  And also, let us not forget to pray for the civilians ... even through the turmoil and war, may they find peace and rest on this Shabbat.  In Psalm 122:6 it tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem ... may I add in, ve'kol Yisrael (and all of Israel).  But most of all ... let us pray for Israel to come to know their Savior and Redeemer, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach! 

 

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom.

 

 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ תודה ישראל ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Thank you Israel)

 

 

St.-Sgt. Amit Yeori, 20, from Jerusalem, was killed Friday when Maglan forces clashed with terrorists in southern Gaza.

  

 

Lt. Roy Peles, 21, from Tel Aviv, was killed overnight Friday after the armored personnel carrier he was traveling in was hit. He was raised to the rank of lieutenant after the incident.

 

St.-Sgt. Avraham Grintzvaig, 21, from Petah Tikvah, was a Nahal soldier and was killed as part of operational duty in the northern Gaza Strip overnight Friday, he was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant in wake of the incident.

 

St.-Sgt. Gal Bason, 21, from Holon was an engineer corps soldier and was killed as part of operational duty in northern Gaza.

 

 

St.-Sgt. Guy Boyland, 21, from Ginosar, a combat engineer,  was killed in a firefight with Hamas gunmen on July 25 in the southern Gaza Strip.

 

St.-Sgt. Guy Levy, 21, from Kfar Vradim in northern Israel was killed in action Friday afternoon, July 25, in central Gaza while serving the Armored Corps.


NCO Master Sgt. (res.) Yair Ashkenazy, 36, from Rehovot, a reserve soldier serving in the reserves brigade of the Bahad 1 officer training base, was killed in battle in the north Gaza Strip early on the morning of July 25, 2014.


Lt. Paz Eliyahu, 22, from Kibbutz Evron, a Paratroopers officer, was killed when an explosive detonated near his position on July 23, 2014.


St.-Sgt. Li Mat, 19, from Eilat, a Paratroopers soldier, was killed when an explosive detonated near his position on July 23, 2014.


St.-Sgt. Shahar Dauber, 20, from Kibbutz Ginegar, a Paratroopers soldier, was killed when an explosive detonated near his position on July 23, 2014.

Captain Natan Cohen, 23, from Modi'in, a company commander in the Armored Corps was killed in Gaza on Tuesday, July 22. He was promoted from the rank of Lieutenant posthumously.


Captain Dmitri Levitas, 26, from Jerusalem and Geshur, was killed by sniper fire in Gaza on Tuesday, July 22. He was a company commander serving in the Armored Corps.

 

St.-Sgt. Evyatar Turgeman, 20, from Beit She'an, was killed on Tuesday morning in a firefight with terrorists in Gaza. Turgeman served in the Paratroopers Brigade.

NCO Ohad Shemesh, 27, from Beit Elazari was killed in action on Monday from enemy fire in the Gaza Strip.

St.-Sgt. Oded Ben Sira, 22, from Nir Etzion served in the Nahal brigade. He was killed on Monday in clashes with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

St.-Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, 22, from Ashkelon served in the Golani Brigade. He was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

St.-Sgt. Yuval Dagan, 22, from Kfar Saba served in the Golani Brigade. He was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

St.-Sgt. Tal Yifrah, 21, from Rishon Lezion, served in the Golani Brigade. He was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Chief Warrant Officer Baynesian Kasahun, 39, of Netivot served in the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division. He was one of four soldiers killed when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad, which used a cross-border tunnel to infiltrate southern Israel on Monday morning.

Sec.-Lt. Yuval Haiman, 21, of Efrat, was a soldier from the Bahad 1 officer training base. He was killed Monday morning when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad.

Sgt. Nadav Goldmacher, 23, of Beersheba soldier from the Bahad 1 training base was killed Monday morning when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad.

Lt.-Col. Dolev Keidar, 38, of Modi'in, was commander of the Gefen Battalion of the IDF’s Bahad 1 officer training base. He was killed when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad Monday.

Stf.-Sgt. Shachar Tase, 20, from Pardesiya, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.


Stf.-Sgt. Daniel Pomerantz, 20, of Kfar Azar, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.

Sgt. Shon Mondshine, 19, of Tel Aviv, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.

Sgt. Ben Oanounou, 19, from Ashdod, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.

Stf.-Sgt. Oren Simcha Noah, 22, of Hoshaya, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.

St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, 21, from Poriyah served in the Golani Brigade and was in the infantry APC targeted by Hamas in an attack in Gaza on Sunday. St.-Sgt. Shaul's body remains unaccounted for.

St. Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, of Jerusalem was a Golani combat soldier killed during IDF operations in the Shejaia neighborhood in Gaza on Sunday morning.

Sgt. Max Steinberg, 24, a lone soldier from Woodland Hills, California who lived in Beersheba, was killed in action overnight Sunday. Steinberg was a Golani brigade sharpshooter.

St.-Sgt. Gilad Rozenthal Yacoby, 21, of Kiryat Ono, was killed in action in Gaza on Sunday along with 12 other soldiers and officers in the Golani Brigade.

Capt. Tsvi Kaplan, 28, of Kibbutz Merav, was killed on Sunday in Gaza. Kaplan was set to become a company commander in the Golani Brigade in the coming months.

Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or, 32, from Acre, was killed on Sunday in Gaza. Since his conscription in the IDF, Bar-Or served in the Golani Brigade through numerous conflicts in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.


Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21, a lone soldier from South Padre, Texas who lived in Ra’anana and served in the Golani Brigade, was killed on Sunday.

St. Sgt. Oz Mendelovich, 21, of Atzmon in northern Israel served in Golani. He was killed on Sunday in Gaza.

2nd-Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, from Ramat Yishai served in the Combat Engineering Corps and was mortally wounded on Saturday as a result of an anti-tank missile fired at an IDF vehicle in southern Gaza.

St. Sgt. Bnaya Rubel, 20, from Holon, served in the Paratroopers 101st Battalion. He was shot dead by a terrorist in Gaza who emerged from a tunnel shaft and opened fire at soldiers.

Maj.(res.) Amotz Greenberg, 45, of Hod Hasharon was killed on Saturday morning trying to stop Hamas infiltrators who had crossed Israel’s southern border through a tunnel.

Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, from Nahariya was killed in action on Saturday when his patrol unit encountered a Hamas terrorist cell that had infiltrated into Israel close to the Gaza border.

St.-Sgt. Eitan Barak, 20, of Herzliya was killed at around 3 a.m. on Friday morning, becoming the first fatality since the IDF ground offensive began Thursday night. A combat soldier in the Nahal Brigade, the circumstances of his death were under investigation.

Please Pray

Shalom Friends and Family,

 

I just wanted to ask for prayer on behalf of our Israeli brethren.  I do not know how many of you keep up with the news and what is happening in Israel ... but they need our prayers.

 

For those of you who did not know, last month 3 Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered.  For years now, Gaza has been firing rockets into Israel ... but recently it has gotten worse.  Hamas (Islamic terrorist group) has claimed responsibility for the death of the teens as well as the hundreds of rockets fired on Israel.  I just saw a report that from about 12am on Friday (in Israel) to about 1:30pm the same day, 44 rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza.  Israel's Prime-minister Benyamin Netanyahu has said that Hamas will pay for this and has started an operation called "Operation Protective Edge" to protect his people and to put an end to these terror attacks.  On the other hand, in Gaza, Hamas is using civilians as human shields from Israel's defense fire.

 

We heard from one of our friends in Tel Aviv, and she said how they spend most of the day in the basement of a building which is like a bomb shelter.  She also said how there was a parade that day on the street we lived on while in Israel this last time.  She said that 400 Muslims where marching yelling, "Death to the Jews".  This sounds peace-loving doesn't it?  We have friends who are in the army and also one (that we know of so far) who has been called up ... Israel has called up 40,000 reserves.

 

Psalm 55:16-17 says, "As for me, I will call upon Elohim; and YHWH shall save me.  Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice."

 

Please, take time to pray for our Israeli brethren and the Arab civilians that are innocently caught in the middle.  It is very dangerous.  Please pray for protection, for strength, for wisdom (especially for the government leaders and soldiers).  Please also pray that this situation will bring people closer to the Father and that their eyes will be opened to their Messiah Yeshua ... and that they will find peace and comfort in Him.

 

For those of you who have iPhones ... there is a app at you can download that will give an alarm each time a rocket is fired from Gaza ... I think this is a great way to keep up with covering Israel with our prayers.  If you don't have an iPhone ... you can keep up (to some extent) with watching the Israeli news from Arutz Sheva, Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, etc.  Lately, I have been watching J-Post's live blog which give updates regularly.

 

Thank you all so much and Shabbat Shalom!

 

This song is from Psalm 121, sung by Sons Of Korah. 

A Month In Review: June

Shalom Dear Friends and Family!

Happy July 4th!!!  I hope you had a beautiful spring, and a wonderful start to SUMMER!!!  This past month really flew by for me.  When I realized we were nearing the end of the month, I questioned myself whether I should take the time to do a blog post or not, because I had a lot of other things calling for my attention.  But I decided to go ahead and take the time ... I hope y'all feel special now!  I figured that I had made a decision at the beginning of the year to post once a month (to the upmost of my ability), and just because I've made it halfway through the year, does not mean I can skip a month now:)  So here we are!

We were thrilled when the 500 copies of Shining Stars were delivered to our door!  We quickly set to sealing, labeling, and stamping them to be sent out to the subscribers the following day. 

In the picture below, we were almost done ... YIPPEEEEE!!!

This is typical Abigail and Lydia! 

One time when we were trying to get Abigail to give us a normal, pretty smile for a picture, she told us she had better not, because it would not be a correct representation of herself:)  You just got to love her ... she makes us crack up all the time!

And a normal shot!

It has been really pretty here with all the wild (and planted) flowers.  I enjoy seeing the tiger lilies come up every year.



I love this picture of Abigail.

At the beginning of month, Ima flew up to visit her mother in DE.  She was gone for about a week.  On that Shabbat when she was away, we went to our friend's house to visit.  As you may notice, most of the pictures on this post are with our fellowship friends.  That is because we did a lot together this month, and that seemed to be the only time our photographers really got the camera out!

Eliyah is such a beautiful little girl.

We almost always go for walks together!

I could not decided which one of these pictures to post, so I decided to do both! 

I can't tell you how many times I have seen these faces when Abigail and Finley are together!

This one is sweet!

On the second weekend of June, Tommy flew in from Israel to Washington DC and Ima picked him up.  The following week they drove down here in a car my grandmother gave Tommy.  It was really nice seeing him again after 6 weeks :)

Lydia and Tommy.

We had lots of puppies last month.  We had Beagliers ...

... chocolate Labradors ...

...and Coton  De Tulear puppies!



  

I like this picture of Hannah ... she has always loved farm life, and this picture is so fitting!

I enjoy seeing Abigail's pictures as she practices photography!

The Shabbat after Ima and Tommy got back, we had a rather large Shabbat meeting. 

Here we are going for another walk :)  There were SO many babies and children on this walk, it was SO much fun!

  

Ruthie and Eliyah.  

Isaac walking Sophie.

Madison, Cadence, and Aliyah.

Talking to George and Mike (the donkeys)! 

Now talking with our neighbor Barbara and her grandson Cole.  Cole was so cute ... I was holding Ezra in a Moby baby wrap and Cole (4?) wanted to see him.  So I bent down so he could see him and he asked me, "Will he come play with me?":)  It was so cute ... but I had to tell him he was too small:(

  

The following pictures are from the going away party we had for the Eatons.  It was a sad evening as we said good-bye.  We love you all and miss you A LOT.

Madison, Cadence and Lydia.

Hannah holding baby Ezra!

We enjoyed watching these two grow up together:)  There were lots of training sessions ... but they are both so cute!

 

Andrea with her oldest daughter, Madison.

You just gotta love this little guy's smile!!!

Me with sweet little Rohan.

The children (and fathers) hit golf balls for awhile and then the children started playing Kadima.

Lydia with "Chubs" (a.k.a. Ezra).

And me holding Ezra.

This last week we went to a state park to go fishing, swimming, and canoeing.

Samuel behind a waterfall.

Each time we go there, I am amazed by the rock banks ... no wonder they call it "Rock Island".

Passing some strangers:)

Tommy took a fishing pole and decided to fish out of his canoe ... but he didn't get anything!

Okay, I had better go now.  I hope you have a blessed July.  As we remember the Independence we have in our country, let us not forget to pray for those in other countries, who do not have the freedom to openly worship our Creator. 

Also, please remember the families of Gilad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrah (the three kidnapped teenagers in Israel) as their bodies were found on Monday.  Please pray for comfort for the families as the mourn the loss, and for all of Israel.  Todah (thank you)!

Shalom!