June
11 Courses • 0 StudentBiography
Shalom rabah! (Much peace!) My name is June. I'm in my early fifties and have been married since 2004 (which is 19 years at the time of writing this). Twenty years ago, fairly fresh out of Bible College, I started an online forum called, "Girlz Talk" which hosted weekly chat sessions for single sisters who were seeking both fellowship & guidance in their walk with the Most High. The entire premise of GirlzTalk was for older sisters in the walk to be very transparent about mistakes they made in their lives to hopefully avoid younger sisters from making those same mistakes or having to learn things the "hard way." GirlzTalk was very edifying & freeing for those sharing their mistakes as well as those who were able to glean from the mistakes of others. This reminds me of Yah's Word, how some things in it are clear examples to follow and others are examples of what to avoid or not do. Fast-forwarding, I married Brother Rod, we had a son (who is a sophomore in high school), and I was also the stepmother of my two bonus sons. As the heavenly Father stirred a hunger for His Word inside of my hubby, he was appointed a deacon, then the Director of Evangelism, and a licensed minister. In each of those roles, I've enjoyed supporting my husband behind the scenes. That was my comfort zone. I am my husband's personal administrative assistant, and I also use my skills in IT for the Father's esteem and building up His kingdom as much as possible. For example, building this online platform for Set Apart Sisters. I find tremendous joy in serving Yah in this manner. Yet, it seemed the Father was wooing me and showing me very consistently that He had some other work for me that involved leaving my comfort zone. "Why me?" I questioned. Surely there are plenty of others the heavenly Father can use who are more gifted, more skilled, and much more articulate! This was my thought process as I begin to deny the very thing that became clearly obvious that the Father was calling me to do. In my mind, I needed to graduate from Toastmasters first, a popular organization that trains people how to master public speaking. To sum it up, I felt like Moshe in Exodus 4:13 when he said, "Please, Yahuah, send someone else." And the Scripture records in the ver next verse in Exodus 4:14 that Yah's anger burned against Moses when he asked Yahuah to send someone else. Finally, I'm beginning to understand that Yah's ways are not our ways. His thoughts and plans, not our plans (Isaiah 55:8-9). Many are the plans of a man, but Yahuah directs them all! (Proverbs 19:21). And who I am to bulk against Yah's plans? I don't want to be condemned to death like Qorah for refusing to accept who the Most High desires to use in certain roles (Numbers 16:1–40), even if it's myself, all esteem to His Name! So it's like coming full circle to be involved in women's ministry again, and it was all organic, nothing I set out to do. To make this story shorter, I find myself today on the women's leadership team, often with fear & trembling (Philippians 2:12-13). I'm also part of a public-facing video podcast with Sister Nicole called, "Kingdom Relationships," where we openly discuss many of the lies told out there today on the topics of love, courtship, marriage, and divorce. The goal, Yah-willing, is to help unravel so many "lies" that are taught on these topics within the Torah community at large, especially within Hebrew camps. There are so many women-specific topics to address in this walk, and while some women are beginning to train others, there doesn't seem to be enough people helping to train up women or providing discipleship (Titus 2:4-8). Many churches within Christianity fail to teach fundamental basics about our faith, and many have not even experienced true repentance in their lives, which is an ongoing lifestyle of constantly examining our hearts through the year, everyday even, and especially on key Appointed Times such as The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Day of Atonement. May the Father help us all to look within on our journies to be more like Him & pleasing unto Him so that we can be like the wise maidens who had their lamps full of oil when the bridegroom appeared. I even published a Heart Search workbook journal, something just a year prior I would never had thought it'd be something I do. All of these events, especially speaking publically (even if it's just on Zoom showing my video), I assure you that's Yah. Because I prefer to be behind the scenes. That's where I'm comfortable. I'm very reserved, quiet, and an introvert for the most part. Even in-person, I'm not super talkative unless it's one-on-one or a very small group of people. These are all events and things I did not foresee, but surely my heavenly Father who knit me foreknew. And once again I find myself often saying the very words of this song, "Yes, Yah, yes, to your will and to your way. Yes, Yah, yes, I will trust you and obey. When your Ruach speaks me... With my whole heart I'll agree... and my answer will be yes, Yah, yes!"