The Woman Behind the Keyboard – Pamela

It has been suggested that I answer my own questions and post them. I suppose that is only fair. :-) So here goes.

What is your (first) name? Pamela

What is your website name? http://www.homeshalom.blogspot.com/ (here) We will also developing a website called Messilife.com but that is still in its development...We'll be sure to announce it when its finished though. :-)

Please describe your site: It is intended to be a place to encourage others, edify YHVH, share resources, and connect with others.

How old are you? I turn 40 this year.

How long have you been married? 14 years together 16

Please tell us a little about your family: My dear husband is Ben - he posts here from time to time. He is my lover, best friend and confidant, He knows me better than anyone. He is devoted and YHVH centered with a strong heart for His family. We have grown so much together and pray that never ends...that is one of the (many) things I love most about Him! If anything ever happened to him, I would be incomplete (to say the least!). YHVH knew what He was doing when He put us together (even though we didn't!) at the time. We met in San Francisco where we both lived for 10 years. Living hedonistic secular lives, we met in a comedy club (my neighbor worked there) and was used as our "match maker" - the rest was history. We got engaged and moved in together 3 months later. It took us 2 years to finally get married, which came to pass when we found ourselves in a little church up the coast with a lady we had just met and was trying to do business with. YHVH called me back on that day and I was convicted of my lifestyle, my choices and my current "live in boyfriend/fiance'". Ben went "up to the alter" that day too...and I thought we were on the same page. My world was turned upside down on that day. I told Ben we needed to "make it right" or we were done. We were married a few weeks later. It was a year later I found out that (although he was going through all the motions) Ben had NOT had the same "born again" experience that I did. This was the evening before our scheduled baptism in in the San Francisco Bay, where we were expected to give our testimony. (We had found fellowship at Vineyard Christian Fellowship.) I witnessed (unbeknown st to me) Ben wrestling with the Spirit all night! He gave Himself to YHVH that night and confessed this to me that morning. Boy,that was an emotional day!!! I am so thankful that YHVH is Sovereign! Had I known that Ben was not "on board the faith" when we got married, I NEVER would have married him!!! He told me (much later) that He thought it was a phase I would go through and didn't really think it would make a difference in our lives. We laugh about it now. YHVH blinded my eyes for His purposes at that time or my life would have been very different! YHVH new what I didn't; He saw what I couldn't...I am so thankful. Of course I would counsel my children differently on how to find their mate! We came from unbelieving homes and subscribed to the ways of the world when we met. Living together before marriage (just to pick out one thing) is a recipe for disaster! We were so polluted (the opposite of "pure") when we came together, we had a LOT of refining to do...but YHVH did it and continues too on many levels! We were 24 when we met and came together and had our first baby at 28.

I left home when I was 15...I had a lot of years of bad choices in between there...but the Father is on of restoration! I am a walking testimony of that. (You don't have the time and I don't have the courage to tell it all publicly!) I was a raging feminist to give you some idea of where I came from. I am so glad those days are far behind and I have been set free from so many things which I used to cling too!

At the time of this writing, I have 6 children; 3 girls and 3 boys. My oldest is 12, my youngest is 6 months. I have 2 adopted daughters from Haiti, who have been home for 1 year. Last year we doubled our family adding our adopted girls and baby in the same year. We have much to be thankful for! We homeschool and we see our children as YHVH's..given to us to raise for Him...

Please tell us a little about your faith: My relationship with YHVH is everything to me. When I left home at 15, I said a prayer that went something like this: Father, Its just you and me. I have no one else. I can trust no one. You are my only guide. Please help me learn something from every person I meet, please show me something you want to show me...because I am a motherless and fatherless child. He gave me the gift of faith that day....even though it took me many years to come fully under Him in submission to Him (that day I mentioned up the coast in CA) and start studying His Word; and even though in my ignorance and rebellion and immaturity I danced with the devil more times than I care to admit....He was faithful, He saw through it and kept me alive and protected me from harms way beyond any rational proportion!

I always had a "prayer life", I always had His still small voice, since I first gave my life to him when I was a girl about 7 yrs old. NOW...I have the maturity of years past. NOW, I have the testimony of His hand in my life for so many years whether it was knowingly or unknowingly(hind sight is 20/20), because for me it was both! NOW, I have whole and thriving relationships with my family and extended family. NOW, I have the Torah and a Passion for His Word and its not about ME its about HIM! NOW, I have shed so much of what once was, I can walk more freely in Him. NOW, I know how to TRUST to the core. NOW, I have a husband that takes the lead in our home, but treasures me as His other half which completes Him and helps Him carry out that task. NOW, we are unified in the Spirit and working to raise our family together in HIM. NOW, we continue to grow in leaps and bounds and He is preparing us for things we do not even know. NOW, we understand that the building, the titles, the denominations, the doctrines and traditions are all man's attempt to contain YHVH and make sense of HIM - but it can't be done...we are simply called to trust and obey and walk with Him along the way. Giving Him our hearts and our wills. Giving Him our resources, our physical goods, our time, our philosophies, our agendas, our visions, our dreams, our desires, our service and allowing Him to guide our steps with Davine appointments, Fruits of the Spirit, His Torah, His Messiah, and His Promises.

Please tell us a little about your home: We just moved to an 85 acer farm in TN 6 months ago. It is our hope to homestead it, and invite other families to join us on it to do the same. Than to open it up as a place of refuge for anyone in the Kingdom who is in transition, or needing a safe place. All we have now is a little house and a little barn and LOTS of land. Almost equally wooded and equally pastured. It is fenced. There is country road running through the middle of it, which dead ends to three houses on about 40 acers. We have lots of deer and turkey roaming about. It is located in a rural community and we surrounded by an Amish Community. Its a delightfully quiet place with lots of potential. We have no equipment or experience, just a willingness and YHVH...but we have learned that is enough when we are operating in His will and by His guidance. He provides what we need! It is our goal to have the farm loan paid off in 4 years.

Where have you lived? Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, (NY Ben)

Do you work outside the home? I am so thankful that I do not. I have done some endeavors from the home, and as a true homesteader will again. :-) But my heart is to keep it at home. I would take extreme means to stay at home and train my children (like giving up all comforts most people have and live in a tent if need be!). I am radically committed to my family way. I am also pretty industrious, so I would make an income from home or with my children's help if need be. I am about to start something new...I am planning on doing some data entry for my husband to free him up to do other things in His job, so that we can pay down our debt faster and bring papa home to work and make our living on the homestead....what I do will not be "paid", just lightening his load, so he can do the things which bring in more income and I can do the necessary "busy work" behind the scenes before the kids wake or after they go to bed, or when they are free playing...things like that.

List your top favorite things to do:

1. Studying and Discussing Yah's Word. Praise/Worship/Payer/Dance 2. Hiking being surrounded by Yah's Creation 3. Helping a sister in need 4. Blogging/Writing/Creating 5. Doing things in my lab (the Kitchen)/Playing games (its a tie between those two) 6. Organizing things

List your least favorite 5 things to do:

1. Correcting my children repeatedly on the same issue 2. Talking with people who don't listen (why bother?) 3. Listening to proud and Haughty people. 4. Going to a gathering where I don't know people and they don't know me. (Unless they are HIS people..than its easy.) Empty small talk is torturous to me. 5. Answering the phone.

What do you look for most in a friend? Honesty, transparency, dependability, generosity

What would you say your top 3 strengths are? Honesty, Dependability, Strength

What would you say your top 3 weaknesses are? Compassion, Patience, Selfishness

What are your top 5 values? Honesty, Humility, Thoughtfulness, Integrity, Dependability

What is your idea of a romantic occasion with your husband? Special dinner out alone
with time to communicate, study the Word and discuss and plan for our family. That is SO sexy!

What is your ideal "girls day out"? Just sitting still and sharing our hearts...its always nice to have food on hand...because that can take a while! :-)

Describe a day- in- the-life: No two are the same! We work a lot and keep busy with projects and chores that always change. I try to be sure to sit down and read with the kids every day. We eat all our meals together. We try to rise together and the younger kids got to bed around 8 the older kids stay up about an or so later. Than mommy and daddy stay up an hour or two later.

What are your home school philosophies? We want to teach our children how to be independent learners. We want to instill in them a love of learning. We want to teach them how to use the Bible as their plum line for what knowledge and wisdom are; the thing which we measure everything against. HOW we do this varies. We immerse ourselves in the Word regularly, it is as common and regular as every other part of our life, discussions always erupting about YHVh and His ways and His Word, and what it means and how we live that out, etc.. We like to use a lot of Charlotte Mason's principles - they make sense. Using living books and Creation and so on. I also consider other things which I have learned along the way. Like how to recognise learning styles and love languages and recognising their gifts and building their areas of weakness. Understanding a bit about the trivium and using unit studies as the season applies. We love experiential learning too. We try to teach them to be self disciplined and to govern themselves. To measure themselves against The WORD not other people. I suppose the word "eclectic" would best describe us.

Are you musical? I do no play an instrument well (yet) but it's on my list do "do before I die". :-) I have managed to see that my children are trained and learning instruments. My husband is also currently learning guitar.

List your top 5 favorite movies: The Messiah, Ushpizin, Fiddler on the Roof, The Longest Trailer, The Island on Bird Street

If you could teach a young bride ONE THING, what would that be? Trusting YHVH is the first step to trusting your husband.

If you could teach a new momma ONE THING, what would that be? YHVH gave YOU that baby, no one else. He is YOURS to raise, teach and train, no one else. Not the public school system, not the daycare, not your parents, or your husband's parents...YOU.

If you could teach a new Believer ONE THING, what would that be? Take responsibility for what you believe by going straight to the source (YHVH and the His Word). Know the Book well...There will be a test!! (Many tests in fact!)

What is your biggest parenting challenge? Being patient.

What is your idea of femininity? Strength, patience, long suffering, gentleness, considering others as more precious than yourself, forbearance, shepherding hearts, peacemaking, serving, and thoughtfulness.

What is your idea of modesty? Neither seeking attention nor glory nor fame nor justification nor approval of other. Holding one's tongue and choosing her words wisely. Protective.

If you could only teach your children ONE THING, what would it be? To Love YHVH with all their heart, mind and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves; to be servants. (I guess that is 3 things!)

If you could change two things about yourself, what would they be? 1. That I weren't so serious. 2. That I could have a true servants heart.

What is one thing few people know about you? I love to ride motorcycles! I have had a few in my day, but it is not conducive to this season of life! So I have let that go. And for safety reasons, I would not want my kids on them...so sshhh

What is The Father doing in your life right now? He is strengthening our knowledge of Him in His Word, teaching us to obey and how to BE the parents our children need.

What are you currently studying in The Scriptures? We study constantly as the Ruach (spirit) leads...but we just returned back to the Torah Portion on Shabbats too. We were blessed by a years' worth of curriculum by a friend who was finished with it. It isn't something we would have bought, but we are so thankful to have it, and are using it with thanksgiving and gladness.

List your most recent project(s): I am currently in the process of drying blueberries; transferring my "family cookbooks" into a computer database; developing seasonings mixes (and considering turning it into a cottage industry); learning how to minimally sprout grains to bake breads and cereals and savories; researching natural dental methods as an alternative to a bridge replacement; researching weather or not I must feed my birds grain; researching raising milking sheep (for our family) and for meat and raising goats for sale.

What is your philosophy on marriage? I'm only doing this one time, to one man. I want it to be blissful and amazing with no regrets. I want the kind of marriage that only gets better with time. The kind where we grow old together and when one dies the other follows shortly after from a broken heart....The kind that leaves a legacy of love and stable children who follow YHVH with passion and devotion with have also built happy loving stable families with the same philosophy.

What things do you do to be a good neighbor? I am recently feeling convicted of this. I find myself asking; "what DO we DO for our neighbor?" I am in prayer about this. We always try to be "at the ready" for Davine Appointments, so that we may respond where ever we are needed and go when YHVH says go. This is very important to us and part of who we are...but I am wondering lately if He is giving us some time "off" so that we can tend to the many needs here...or if we are "too busy" to hear Him assigning us. This remains to be answered...but I have recently become acutely aware of it in my spirit...so it is likely I am soon to find out the answer!

INTERVIEWING YOU! Well...its been nice sharing with you. I have been pondering this series and how I would love to see it expand. There are a couple ladies who have agreed to do interviews and we hope to get them soon (I am trying not to pester them about it I know their are more important things to do! But I would love to read about them and I know you would too!) I have also put invitation out there to women whom I admire that have not replied one way or the other...If you are reading this I HOPE YOU WILL LET ME INTERVIEW YOU! However, there are other women who read this blog, that do NOT have blogs (or I haven;t met you yet)that I would be very interested in interviewing. So I want to extend an invitation to all the Home Shalom Readers to contact me if you are willing to be interviewed. You only need answer those questions which you want to. You may contact me by the email in the side bar and I'll email you back, or comment below with contact info. We'll call the interview series "Interview with The Kings Daughters" hence forth. Young or old...I would love to interview more women in the body right where they are. Either new to the faith or an old timer - your story is a very important part of this beautiful tapestry of the Kings Daughters! This series is what you make it, I hope to have a bunch of volunteers. I reserve the right to edit interviews, but try to keep them as intact as possible and always ask for permission to make changes before I publish it.

Much Love,