Three Words for Love

This short film was made as an wedding intro..it was so good - I had to share it.

Betrothal - Life with the Warrens

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the Warren Family. We had the pleasure of meeting this family a couple years ago at Family Week in KY. When I was corresponding with Nancy (Momma Warren), I thought I would put this post in the "hopper" to do "down the line". But as the day unfolded...I found I could not wait to share them with you any longer! :-) They are from Oklahoma and have 4 older children (all pitcured above - with the newest addition to the family!). Even though our personal time with them was brief, it was sweet. This family's light shines bright for Yah. They love Him and live their lives - as sold out servants for Him. I am looking forward and am hopeful that we will get to know them better in the coming years, as they are an inspiration and encouragement to our family. They have raised their children to follow in His ways and their first son has just gotten betrothed this past fall! They have given me permission to share their story with you. If you want to be encouraged and just a peek into another family's life who is "walking" in Yah's Torah as best as they know how, in love and full acceptance Messiah...you might want to "follow" their blog...I do! :-) If you would like to meet them in person - you may be able to find them at Family Week (sponsored by HaYovel) or serving in the vineyards of Israel with HaYovel, or maybe you will see them in OK or in their big 'ol bus passing through your town as they minister (through life) where ever Yah sends them!

Here are Berret and Devin's Betrothal Links:

Bride in the Vineyard! (Or as Heather would say, "the vineyard snatchin'"!) If you are a 'Romantic' you must start the story here and you might want to get the tissues because..your gonna need them! (I did!)

Both Families prepare on the morning of the betrothal.

Pictures of the betrothal! So beautiful!

The young couple's pictures in Jerusalem. No one catches 'New Love' like Heather Meyers!

Agina, be sure to go back and visit their family blog...Life with the Warren Family, as the wedding is coming soon!

I am so blessed by witnessing (and sharing) these people and events with you! Having "come out" of the world and it's belief systems and it's casual approach (and warped views) of the holy covenant of marriage, these examples help us see there is so much more!!! I am soo very encouraged and hopeful for the next generation of young people who are raised in the Scriptures and who are strong enough IN HIM, to live set apart lives right from the start! How blessed they will be - NOT to have to sort through all the pain and damage that comes with the world's ways! Oh...These young people are still human and will have plenty to contend with in life..but they are "light years" ahead of us whom had who had to purge those things in which we adopted/subscribed/lived out...when Young People give their hearts and lives to Yah early on and choose to live for Him - they are a powerful force to reckoned with in the Kingdom of Heaven!!!! I rejoice with dance and singing for the banner of love that Yah has placed over them! May they always stay under it's glorious protection and provision!! May we be encouraged to press into the things that Yah has called us all to do! May we, as mothers and fathers, NEVER FORGET...we are raising Israel!! (YHVH's children)

In Him,

Betroth You to Me

This is one of my most favorite artists and my favorite song. It's one of those songs, I get lost in - in worship and sing at the top of my lungs and start swaying, dancing and spin too..You know.... the kind of song you end up embarressing yourself with, if anyone else walks into the room! :-) So join me and blast it! :-)



Shabbat Shalom!

Bridegroom Songs - Betrothal

Here is a little sound track for your enjoyment - as a part of our betrothal series. These songs were written and sung by Braden and Talitha Waller in their betrothal period. They wanted to share and show the parrallel between being the Bride (and Betrothed) of Yeshua while in the process of their own betrothal and marriage. We were so blessed by it. It is still one of our favorite "albums" my kids belt out every word with great passion ( it is the cutest thing to see!).

I pray it blesses you as well! Enjoy.

What God Joined Together - Winner!

Congratualations to the two winners of our "What God Joined Together" Giveaway!!

Andi S.
and
Jamileh

I will send them out ASAP! I pray they are a blessing to you!

What God has Joined Together - Give Away

I am delighted to give away another wonderful resource to encourage families in the concept and application of Betrothal. This is the story of Israel & Brook Wayne (of Wisdom's Gate Ministries) in the format of CD, called What God has Joined Together. It is a wonderful story shared by both the bride and the groom of how they came to the idea of betrothal and the details of how that unfolded for them in a fun "he said - she said" format. The end of the story brought lots of 'hoops and hollers' of excitement and joy from our family when we listened to it. I believe you will be as blessed by this testimony as much as we were.

But wait...theirs more.... :-)

Israel Wayne also offers a course on CD, called Preparing for Marriage that I am excited to include in this drawing. It is a teaching on the practical principals of betrothal, so that young people (and their parents!) may prepare themselves for a path of purity and relying on YHVH to lead them to their future husband/wife. Israel Wayne shares four and a half hours of practical, Biblically based advice and personal testimony on preparing for marriage. In this inspiring, convicting, and sometimes humorous series, Israel discusses dating, courtship, and betrothal and answers the question of; " What is the Biblical pattern for relationships, and how do we walk it out in the real world?" Here are the topic titles:

1. The Dating Culture
2. The Family Culture Courtship: Is It Biblical?
3. Betrothal: Is It Practical?
4. The Betrothal Stage
5. The Divine Romance: Christ and His Bride

I have 2 copies of each of these items that will go to 2 winners of the drawing (1 of each item to each winner). The winners of the drawing will be drawn/announced on Monday, Dec 26. In order to enter the contest, do one or more of the following:
1. Leave a comment saying you would like to enter to win.
2. Post this drawing on your blog linking back here for others to join. (Leave a comment telling me you did!)
3. Announce it on Facebook or Twitter linking people back to this blog post. (And leave a comment telling me you did.)
4. Become a Google follower or email subscriber to HomeShalom (and leave a comment telling me you did).
5. Offer to share your betrothal story at HomeShalom if you have one.
6. If you are a current Google follower or email subscriber to HomeShalom - just leave a comment saying so and that will also get you an extra entry!

My blog is still on the small side - so your chances to win is pretty good! :-) I want to thank Ben, my dear husband, for funding and supporting this drawing!

Betrothal Testimony - Shining Stars

I thought I would share this little testimony of Betrothal that was published by a magazine we enjoy called Shining Star Magazine

Betrothed - Video Give Away Winner

It was really hard for me NOT to buy everyone who entered the drawing a copy of Betrothed...but our budget would not allow it. :-( However, I was able to rustle up TWO copies to give away for this drawing. So I am pleased to announce two winners today. (My little Eliana drew the names out of a basket this morning. )

THE TWO WINNERS ARE:
Moria and Sigalit Chana

Please stay tuned for many more posts on Betrothal...I am also planning another giveway for a different item. :-)

I will leave you with a sweet little home video of Braden and Tali's Betrothal done by his brother. The back ground music is sung by the bride and groom. The people joining in the ceremony are parents, grandparents brothers and sisters blessing their union. Close friends were also in attendance but not visable in the video. When the bride drinks the wine, she excepts the covenant - but at the end of it all- the groom goes away to prepare a place for her and they do not see each other face to face* until the groom comes riding in on a white horse on their wedding day to take her to be with him. (You'll have to see that in the video!)

B&T Betrothal from Zac on Vimeo.

Even though the bride and groom did not see each other in person between the betrothal and wedding, the did cultivate their relationship through lots of other communication, like phone calls and letters as the prepared for the marriage and future together.

What is Betrothal? How does it Compare?

Here is a WONDERFUL LINK to a chart which compares Christian Dating, Courtship and Scriptural Betrothal. At the the end of the chart are some questions and answers. It is a wonderful resource that shows the outline given in the culture of Biblical Marriage in the Scriptures.

I would like to point out one thing that may be of concern to my readers. I know it was to me. Do you wonder if betrothal is an ARRANGED MARRIAGE? In all the applications that I have witnessed and as for our house - it is NOT. An Arranged marriage is done soling amongst the father's with no consent to the bride and (often the) groom. That is not what we are promoting here. Here, a young man who is spiritually in step with YHVH (God), he petitions HIM for a bride and waits for the answer (this could happen quickly or take YEARS!). When he is lead to his bride and confirmed in his heart it is whom The Father has for him; he takes this revelation to his own father (and mother). They seek confirmation from YHVH (God) and if they receive it, they bless the son to move forward and petition the maiden's parents. This is done without the young lady's knowledge at first to protect her heart above all. The same process takes place between the young man and maiden's parents. They likely interview the young man intently (or take time to get to know him if they don't already) and seek confirmation for Yah. If this is approved, the parents go to the daughter and bring the request and discussion before her. If she is willing, the same process continues with the maiden and YHVH. She has full rights of refusal - the choice is ultimately hers. She has as much time as she needs. IF she accepts, than maiden's father will contact the young man and they will arrange for them to get together so that he may ask her in person, and a betrothal date is set. The future bride and groom remain in their parents homes until the wedding day. A katubah (marriage contract) is signed at the betrothal and the covenant is made. There are other traditions that usually occur at that ceremony too, it is usually a more private ceremony than the wedding - but not always. Then the bride and groom both prepare for their lives together, in their own ways, until the time of the wedding. The betrothal is a spiritual covenant.

When you have families who have raised their children up in The Scriptures, in Purity, strong family values, in good relationships with one another, and in intimacy with YHVH, of COURSE they hope and pray that their children be married to a spouse with those same values, vision and direction! Divorce is not an option here, so one's marriage choice quickly becomes the most important decision one would make in his or her life. If we are in right standing with our family and Creator - this process is very natural and beautiful. If we have done our job as parents, our children will not view this process as a hindrance, but as a blessing and a gift. They have learned to trust us and Yah (God) knowing we only want the what is best for them and we are willing to go the extra mile to help them. There is trust between the 'children' and parents, trust between children and Yah (God). Through the bound of the The Spirit, trust is also developed between the in-laws as well . The bond that is created in the process between the both families and the new couple is rooted in The Spirit - right from the start. (If Yah be for them who could be against them???) A celebration in the community and the support received to bless this couple is so beautiful. The romance that is cultivated between bride and groom, in between the betrothal and wedding day is Spiritually rooted and so very much more rich and "REAL" than the more shallow effects of dating/courting and mere fleshly attraction. The day of their wedding IS coming and their hearts and minds are set on preparing for their future together. They have full support from parents and siblings through the whole process. It is a beautiful transition of life - unlike any other. The young couple is encouraged, edified and equipped to start their own family. Another generation for The Kingdom is established in love, purity, community, righteousness, kindness, and full support! Its beautiful!

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them in the comments.

Betrothed - Video Give Away

Betrothal is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. It is a simple and beautifully old fashioned way approaching marriage. And we are finding that the concept is taking hold in families and young adults who want so much more out of marriage that what they see in today's culture. They are going back to the "old ways" simply because they are better! We are encouraging our children in this direction/method of the marriage process. We hope that they too, will see the beauty, wisdom and quality it will implact in their marriage and family right from the start. We have known for a long time that we wanted so much more for our children then we had, growing up in secular families. We are very well aware of the very sad marriage statistics in churches and hope for so much more for the future of our children. As a result, we became committed to learn what a Biblical model of marriage would look like. We want to raise our children with the values of being pure upon entering marriage, but saw SO many contradictions in dating...and even some issues in the alternative called "courting". We were so encouraged, a few years ago, when we became friends with a beautiful family, that opened our eyes to the concept of Betrothal. {It was no coincidence that this happened shortly after Yah (God) had been showing us independently about the amazing story and patterns He has weaved through all of His Scriptures from Gen. to Rev. about US being HIS bride. More on that topic to come in a future post! So we were already so aware of it's Scriptural basis - before we even thought about practicing it!} But our friends, were several steps ahead of us in that understanding and were applying these same principals in their understanding of marriage! They made a video documenting their firstborn son's experience. In the process, we were blessed to become friends of the bride's family as well and were present at the wedding filmed here. Since then, we have (and are) witnessing about 7 other young couples walk this process of marriage out as well. It is so beautiful and we are blessed to witness families of all ages embracing this beautiful way of starting a family in purity, commitment, and putting YHVH (God) at very center of it all- even BEFORE they come together in union. I am going to start sharing more on this topic here on my blog, as a witness to those families that have gone before us. I hope to share more of our understanding of betrothal and it's many variations and it's core features. I hope to share testimonies and stories of young couples who have made this choice in recent years to encourage and hopefully open the eyes of other families...as mine have been - as to what a beautiful option this is!

The following is a trailer to the video, Betrothed - That I will be giving away.



If you would like to enter the giveaway please do at least one of the following things. You will be entered one time for each thing completed. Leave a comment declaring the things you have done, so I can include your entries and get back with you, if you are the winner.

1. Become a new 'Google Follower' of Home Shalom. (Let me know if you are already a 'following' the blog and that will also give you an extra entry.)
2. Become a new email subscriber to Home Shalom. (Let me know in your comment if you already are and that will also give you an extra entry.)

3. Leave a comment saying you would like to enter the contest.
4. Cut and paste this post and share it on your blog.
5. Volunteer to share YOUR Betrothal story on Home Shalom.

The winner of the contest will be announced on Monday Dec 12th and sent out (postage paid) as soon as the address is received.

If you don't care to try your chances and just want to order the video right away, it can be purchased HERE. Here also, is the soundtrack to the film... This CD remains a family favorite of ours! It sings praises to the Father and the beautiful parallels of us as His bridegroom.... here is little glimpse of some "home footage" of the wedding by someone else who also attended the wedding. It is placed to a song written and song by Talitha (the Bride) that is on the CD soundtrack:

This post was shared at Simple Lives Thursdays