WHY NOT MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER?

You have turned my sorrow into joyful dancing.

No longer am I sad and wearing sackcloth.

 I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises,

 My LORD and my God. (Psalm 30:11-12)

It’s 4:40pm at the Gold-Franco house and Bella and I share something extremely special. Besides hugs and kisses and the regular day’s grueling schedule of being a Mom,  we STOP and MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER!!!           

Shaking the shakers in the air, Bella joins in by clicking her sticks. A few seconds later I hand her the my two blocks showing her the awesome rhythm they make. Then, the harmonica makes its sounds and before you know it, Bella and I are marching around the room singing and playing. I say to myself, “I cant believe I am marching around the room with a sinus infection and a headache the size of Brooklyn!" But we laugh and sing and supernatural strength comes over me when I see her joy!

This is the joy of music together. I’ll be teaching  a class this April in Nashville at the Green Hills Mall in TN. (Thursday afternoons) The class comes with 2 cds (one for the car, one for the house) jammed with phenomenal LIVE music for children with exotic tempos &  interesting melodies from all over the world, major and minor, and even some songs we all grew up with. It’s fascinating music to share.

12-STEP / OVERCOMER’S PERSCPECTIVE:

I sit on the couch now playing footsies with Bella. I wish every moment was like this. But it’s not. Sometimes she just cries and cries and wants to be held when I want a break. She tickles my toes and kisses one saying MMMMMMMMMMWA! LOL!  I am learning to ASK GOD FOR WHAT I NEED.  I need His SUPERNATURAL Power. 

Why not read the proverbs and psalms or scriptures everyday? His love and His word refresh us like a fountain pouring over us. Since becoming a Mom, I consider the Word of God medicine to my soul. I sit in bed with my coffee and my Bible. Without it, I tire, I have compassion fatigue and nothing within me sparkles with joy.

JEWISH AND MESSIANIC PERSPECTIVE:

I’m reminded of what I love most about my Jewish culture. When you are Jewish, it’s unheard of to have a celebration without a song and a dance. Davidic dancing, or dancing in a circle is something we do for fun and rejoicing. We sing and dance at weddings and at Shabbat Service on Saturdays. It is tasteful dancing, praising the creator of the universe and giving thanks.  (To check out FREE or affordable Israeli dance classes in your area, check out http://www.israelidance.com)

Though there are many bills to pay and miracles that I am awaiting, I forget all my worries and cares and remember what it means to come to the Lord like a child. Let’s learn to sing and dance and thank God even when things are not perfect.

LET'S PRAY:

Lord, I ask you for strength. Give me a heart of gratitude. Help me to sing and dance like a child. Let me experience your joy!!!

TO JOIN MY MUSIC TOGETHER CLASS THIS APRIL  (UNDER DIRECTOR,  KYM JOHNSON) 

OR GET MORE INFO, CLICK HERE: http://musiccitymusictogether.com.

New classes begin before April. Registration OPEN NOW! J see you there!

Beauty and the Beast... When you just don't feel beautiful

So Joe and I go to a party. We're talking to a new friend, and Joe says, "You know, people often call us beauty and the beast. But I don't think she's a beast!" 


They all laugh cuz they think I am beautiful and he's the beast. Or they laugh because they think he is adorable and cute and not a beast! I don't know. But it's funny and it always makes me laugh. 
I heard Marty Goetz (a singer I really like who sounds like Josh Groben goes to Jerusalem) sing Beauty and the Beast. In his version, we feel like beasts, but God imparts His beauty to us. It was Marty who gave me the idea for this blog. 


To all you ladies reading this who don't feel pretty, and to the men who feel insecure: Perhaps you feel overweight or like you don't measure up the way you would like. I want to admit to you that I sometimes feel the same way. We all do. I take comfort in the fact that our King and Daddy in Heaven removes the "beast" in us and makes us His beauties when we allow Him to fill us with His love, and when we ask him to help us change our attitudes about ourselves. 


Overcoming / 12- Step Perspective: 
Just for today, I will accept myself and who God made me to be. I am not where I want to be but I am not where I used to be. The serenity prayer asks God to give me the peace to accept what I cannot change and so on...and the courage to change what I can. 


WHAT CAN I CHANGE? My attitude.  I can "ACT AS IF," a popular concept from Dale Carnegie, meaning - act like what you know God made you to be, and your mind and heart will be happier. I can also change what I eat, I can wear clothes that make me feel beautiful, and brush my hair and walk like a princess belonging to a God who thinks I am beautiful. I cannot change my weight in one day. It's a process!!! I CAN love myself as my DADDY IN HEAVEN's daughter and princess and let the beauty of the Lord shine through me today.




Isaiah 62:3-5
Then you will be called by a new name which Adonai himself will pronounce
You will be a glorious crown in the hand of Adonai, a royal diadem held by your God... For adonai delghts in you...your God will rejoice over you.

Proverbs 31:30 (Complete Jewish Bible)

 Charm is a lie, and beauty can vanish;
       but a woman who fears Adonai should be praised.

Messianic Perspective:
The Lord , in Isaiah 62 is talking to my Jewish friends who do not yet know the Messiah, Yeshua. When my Jewish people confess and beleive Yeshua is the Messiah, they will be crown in the hands of God- beautiful inside and out and priceless like a royal diadem. My Jewish Mom and brother and friends will be ROYALTY in the sight of God- God's little princesses and princes!


LET NO ONE EVER SAY THAT MY JEWISH PEOPLE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN MESSIAH YET ARE FORGOTTEN BY GOD! (Book of Romans, Chapter 11 at the end says All of Israel WILL BE SAVED!) Messiah will present Himself to all the Jewish people and they will believe.
The reason it says the Jewish people "Will be" a glorious crown, is because without the Messiah, we cannot approach the Father who is perfect and Holy. 


We are reminded of the holiday of Yom Kippur when Jewish people fast for their sin to be forgiven by a perfect and Holy God. Many of my Jewish friends feel they are really NOT FORGIVEN.  I think it is because this ritual of fasting for day for forgiveness of sin is not from the Holy Scriptures but instead, created by man. The scriptures say that there must be the shedding of blood of a perfect lamb for forgiveness. (Book of Leviticus chapter 17:6) Jesus or Yeshua was that perfect lamb. Yochanan (John) saw Him and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)


If you know Yeshua today and He lives in your heart, YOU HAVE BEEN MADE BEAUTIFUL! AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN BEING BEAUTIFUL ON THE INSIDE, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL IN HEAVEN'S EYES! NOW THAT IS A BEAUTY WHICH SHALL NEVER FADE...THE LOVE OF A FATHER IN HEAVEN FOR HIS DAUGHTERS AND SONS.


LET US PRAY:
AVINU MALCHENU, my Father and King, help me love and accept myself today and see the beauty within me as YOU DO! Fill me with acceptance and help me release control over what I cannot change today. Fill me with your beauty and grace. Help me share your beauty with each precious person you place in my path today. Amen.


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Michelle Gold Music: Often described as "Celine and Mariah meet Y'shua (Jesus) in Jerusalem." 

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CAN SOMEONE TELL ME THE ANSWER ALREADY!!!!????

What ARE YOU thinking about today? WANTING ANSWERS?

I am thinking about all the times I go onto GOOGLE to find answers to questions I have. I read all these great blogs by people just like me. 

But can't I just talk to the experts and get the answers!? I realize today that the problem is, often, the best answers are the ones we discover ourselves! THE BEST ANSWERS ARE OFTEN THE ONES WE DISCOVER AS WE EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES.  Sounds deep huh? 

I put the experts in my life on pedestals sometimes as if they are mini-gods. Oh Lord, my God, forgive me for this. 

 Lots of answers can be aquired from asking our doctors, lawyers and couselors, other people who do what I do- and do it better than me. 

BUT I RECALL TODAY THAT THERE ARE SOME ANSWERS GOD WISHES FOR US TO FIND ON OUR OWN. He knows we need to find it by searching, the search (the process) itself makes us wise, and in the end, it makes us a blessing to others. If we have all this information, we can teach others and help them when they have a need.

WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY?

 Luke 22:31 says "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

This scripture above could take up pages of explanation. I encourage you to google it...to go more in depth...LOL I LEAD YOU TO GOOLE! I am not a Bible scholar and Baby Bella is waiting for me so I only want to touch upon the latter part of the scripture if you don't mind. What I notice is Yeshua telling Simon and showing us that because of the process and pain we have gone through, we will be able to use that pain to strengthen others. 

STRENGTHEN: (transitive) To animate; to give moral strength; to encourage; to fix in resolution; to hearten.

(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/strengthen)

Just for today, I can know that my searching for answers will be used to bring joy to others one day. Perhaps the answers I find will be answers that will help someone else.

UNTIL I FIND THOSE ANSWERS:

 I might even DECIDE TO ENJOY THE SEARCH! What a novel idea! It might be painful to NOT KNOW, but I can decide to enjoy my day whether I have found what I need or not. Why? Because I am loved and have the blessing of giving love. My joy is based on the love of God and not on people, places and things. And certainly, I WILL NOT ALLOW MY JOY TO BE BASED ON HAVING MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED! So SELF! Get outa the way! This little Jewish girl from Brooklyn is gonna enjoy this day!

WE CAN DECIDE/CHOOSE to enjoy this day. The scriptures say THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT! 

Step 1 (The 12-steps of AA and Alanon) says "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (people places and things) - that our lives had become unmanageable. (I added text in parentheses which can be used for those who are overcoming from other addicitions- like addictions to obsessing)

King David said this in Psalm 131:1 

 "Lord, my heart is not proud;
      my eyes are not haughty.
   I don’t concern myself with matters too great
      or too awesome for me to grasp"

LET'S PRAY...

AVINU MACHENU, My Father and King,

I admit to you today that I am powerless over people places and things. I am powerless to change the fact that I don't yet have answers to my questions. I surrender all to you and enjoy THE NOT KNOWING. After all, YOU KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR ME! (Isaiah 48:17)  Speak to my heart as I read your instructions for life (The Word of God) and journal about my cares. LET ME SEARCH FOR YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE I KNOW! Let me rejoice that I know You, Y'shua know all the answers and that You are on my side and living in me to guide me. Amen.

DAYENU! The God who is more than enough for us

^{Psalm 37: 18-19} 
Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.


TRUSTING GOD FOR MORE THAN ENOUGH! Oh My Gosh, it should totally NOT BE ME writing this! I have so much to learn about trusting God- especially when it comes to money/provision. In these hard economic times, even those who were wealthy are struggling. Everyone is suffering a little I think...right?


What did I learn about trust growing up?
I was brought up in a reformed Jewish family in Old Mill Basin Brooklyn. Yes! I am a little Jewish girl from Brooklyn. We were taught that God existed but that he was very far away, perhaps too far to make personal and detailed requests. We were taught that education was our greatest goal and money and love came in a close first or second or somewhere in between. I was told that when I grew up, I should become a laywer or doctor, or marry one!!!! LOL


Here I am in Nashville, TN now married almost 11 years to a youth pastor/tent maker. (tent-maker meaning he works in the corp. world by day and preaches by night or weekend) My parents were not thrilled that I married a Christian man at first. But seeing how real and genuine and loving Joe was, they came to LOVE Joe in a very special way. He cares about them like no one else does. That's Joe- my sweet man that I cherish, sent to me by God. 


So trusting God was TOTALLY NOT something I learned growing up. So where do we go now? Well, I look at scripture and then I learn from my favorite program- the 12-step program, balanced in it's approach, originally based on scripture and started by Christians. 




To reflect on the scripture above first:
It says God will give us MORE THAN ENOUGH or as we say in Hebrew, DAYENU! (pronounced Die-aye-nu) At Passover we sing a song that says Dayenu. You might know my song Dayenu as well- sort of a youthful version of the good old traditional. We say in the song, that if God only gave us His book of instructions- His Word, His Torah, we would have said- that's sufficient. If God would have given us the day of rest, it would have been sufficient, and so on,


I believe the song is saying that when God blesses us or gives us what we need or provides for us, it's like, an un-explainable shower of love and goodness that looks like niagra falls! We say DAYENU TO GOD recognizing that He is OUR PROVIDER AND GIVES US MORE THAN WE ASK FOR OR IMAGINE if we just believe and sometimes even when we foolishly don't.


Let's look at Step Three of the 12-step program:
Step 3 says "Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of a God, as we understand him." The God of my understanding is Y'shua. It's clear after reading some of the over 500 references in the Hebrew Scriptures over the years that these references are describing the Messiah and they are describing Jesus or Yeshua in Hebrew. (See http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2053&version=NIV) If you read my testimony, you'll see that I have seen He is Messiah in so many ways- through reading the proof in the Bible, from being healed of anxiety and seeing him answer prayer when I pray in HIS name.


Make a DECISION to turn my will over? Oy boy, I am quite indecisive. So this is gonna hurt! LOL. I cant even decide what to wear in the morning let alone decide to turn my life over!!! Lol. But I have decided that HE is all knowing and all powerful and that he knows what is best for me. (Isaiah 48:17) Turning my Will and life over to God? Can't just say it with my lips. Must mean it. I do this by "taking the actions (I need to take) and letting go of the results." Or, doing what I CAN do and letting go of what I CANNOT do. (See the Serenity Prayer)


For example, If I have trouble trusting God about provision, I make a list of some things I CAN do- baby steps- like- if I have a business, an example would be 
"TO DO: acquire more clients in my business, call 3 people today who are interested"
Then, I LET GO OF THE RESULTS after doing those things. 


Meaning, at the end of the day, I close the books, the to do lists, the computer and exhale. I did what I was called to do, now I am gonna let God do the rest.


Not only will He provide more than enough. BUt also, HIS LOVE is more than enough for us. Like a child embraces her Mommy or daddy, I pray we all embrace HIM today and rest in Him.


Hope this blessed you. Love to hear from YOU. I ask that you keep the focus on yourself- your relationship with God and what has worked for you. Everything I have ever learned or gained was usually from someone else's experience, not preaching. LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! Thanks for listening!