Did you ever have something leap off the page, land on your face, toss you back and forth, screaming, “PAY ATTENTION!”? This week I was casually searching the internet for the surname, Bocchimuzzo. (I occasionally dabble in family history.) As I was scanning a document from a Catholic church looking for this surname, words–having nothing […]
No Chanukah, No Jesus
Most of us think Chanukah is merely a Jewish version of Christmas, instituted to appease Jewish children when all their friends are getting new bikes and new dolls. Right? Wrong. Chanukah predates the birth of Messiah by over 160 years. “Okay, Ro,” you ask, “but why should we should we care about Chanukah? Why should […]
Alone on Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving Day is all about gathering with family and friends, overeating, watching Santa arrive at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and maybe some football. But is it really? This Thanksgiving, as has happened in recent years, I’ve been by myself on Thanksgiving. But before you feel sorry for me, know that this year it was a conscious […]
Time is Running Out
During the 2016 elections I was in Israel. I remember sitting in the cafeteria of the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem. The staff was putting on a parody of the elections–some dressed as Clinton, some as Trump–bantering back and forth with Trump clearly the butt of most of the jokes. To be honest, I was insulted but […]
God is Talking, Are We Listening?
I know. I’ve been gone a long time. No excuses. I don’t like being away so long, and I’m sorry I disappeared. I’m sitting in a hotel room in Franklin, Tennessee waiting for the Jerry Jenkins’ Your Novel Blueprint writer’s meet up to start. The event is still 4 hours away. I should spend that […]
Israel is God’s Firstborn
This morning I was reading Romans when it dawned on me that just as Messiah, Israel is God’s firstborn, was also sacrificed for the sake of the world, and will be raised from the dead! In Exodus 4:22, the Lord told Moses to declare to Pharaoh, “Israel is my son. My firstborn.” There’s no arguing […]
Confessions of a Writer
Stephen King said in his book ‘On Writing’, you can’t be a writer if you are not a reader. I must confess it’s been a long time since I picked up a good book and read. Oh, I’ve read a lot of articles, a lot of non-fiction, and a lot of the Word. But when […]
Without Love
I often say that if I had it to do over, I would have been an archeologist. I love research, especially when it comes to digging into the past. That’s what I loved about traveling to Israel – there is so much past to walk through, so much to be touched and experienced there if […]
How Do They Not See It?
This morning I was reading from Luke chapter one. Gavri’el visited Miryam with the news that she was pregnant, and her cousin Elisheva was as well. Miryam headed straight to Elisheva in the mountains of Yehudah. When she entered the home, Miryam made a brachah over Elisheva, and Yochanan danced in her womb. This very familiar story sounds […]
All That Work for Nothing?
How often when we read the book of Leviticus do we get bored…eyes glazing over as the words on the page drift by without meaning? We yawn and skim over all the detailed instructions given by God to Moses thinking, “This has nothing to do with me. The Temple’s gone…Yeshua’s done away with the sacrifice…ho […]