Coming Soon - Bat Barakah

Well, the computer delay continues. I am waiting for an important piece of tax information to come in the mail so I can finish my Dad's taxes for last year which are on my computer before I send it in for repair. That, of course, only delays when I will be getting it back. I have had great difficulty finding a monitor that I can use to see what I am doing. I have to plug in an external monitor to my laptop so I can work on it (without staring into a very dark screen with a flashlight to make out shadowy images and words). Every one I have tried so far has not worked at all. Finally I realized that if I could reduce the resolution on my laptop low enough maybe it would show up on the other screens instead of overwhelming their circuits. So I brought it over to my other daughter's house this morning where I am working and hooked up her monitor, which also didn't seem to work. But when I used a flashlight and managed to get the screen resolution reduced enough, sure enough it finally showed up on her screen. So now I can actually see what I am typing and can catch up a little on things needed to be done on the computer and the internet. I will be very happy when the laptop is finally fixed and back to normal. And as for the Bat Barakah -- I'm sure some of you may be scratching your heads wondering what in the world that might be. Well, it would take a lot of explanation which would be much more thorough if you check out the resources at Family Foundations. But very briefly, it is an extension of the basic principle underlying a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Bar Mitzvah means "son of the law" and Bat means daughter. A Bar or Bat Barakah means "son or daughter of the blessing". It is something extremely important in every person's life but is almost unknown in the Wester Christian culture today. But it is also becoming more known as more and more people learn about it, how important it is for our success in every part of our lives, and begin to reinstate it back into our culture. We have been learning about this for the past couple years. I contacted a man in NC who is leading out in planning and conducting one of these for the young people in his church each year. He sent me a video of the most recent ones which was very moving and inspiring and we decided that our own children desperately need this blessing in their lives. It is a time of empowerment for success, of impartation of identity, a time of recognition, affirmation and a time when something literally supernatural is released in the person's life that is beyond easy explanation. I certainly wish I had received this blessing as most of my friends feel as well. We have been thinking about doing this for some time as I said, but we wanted to involve the important people in my daughter's life which included friends from Norway. We just received a call yesterday that they will be able to come the end of this month if we can plan it for May 5. So that is what we are doing. We are also planning to talk with our other daughters to see if they wish to be part of this ceremony and receive a blessing. Although I am not their biological father, they have become a very intimate part of our immediate family and in some degree look to me as their Dad in various ways. If God wishes to use me to impart whatever blessing I can into their lives in place of their real fathers, I am certainly willing to participate. This is all new to me and I have never been a part of one before - not even as a witness. But I have talked to people who have done this, both in giving and receiving, and I am convinced that it is very real, very significant, and potentially very life-transforming, though maybe not immediately noticeable externally. Please pray for us as we begin planning and preparing for this day. I need an overwhelming infusion of wisdom, love and even prophetic endowment to stand in such an awesome position to be a channel of God to bless my wonderful girls. I do not want them to be short-changed because of my lack or slack. I realize that the blessing really comes from God alone. But He uses people to channel it to us and in a culture where this is almost unheard of it is a bit intimidating to pioneer a new trail. I want this to be a genuine heart experience for all of us, not focused on the external trappings and ceremonies although those may attempt to convey the heart message as well. And for one who is just barely learning about things of the heart this comes as a tremendously challenging assignment.