Hi, I'm Lora Enox, and this is my family blog. Our family consists of me, my husband Donald, our three sons, a dog, and a cat. Dakota, our oldest son, is 12, born March 5, 1999. Austin is 9, born August 23, 2001, and Joshua is 4, born May 18, 2007. Donald is a professional driver for Moore Freight Services, hauling glass all over the continental US. I am a stay-at-home mom and I homeschool our boys.
Dakota is my outdoorsy baseball jock. He plays left field and relief pitcher for his local Little League team, and loves to go hunting and fishing. He also enjoys target shooting and participates in 4H Shooting Sports. He also loves airplanes. When he grows up, he wants to play baseball all the way through the major leagues, then retire and become a charter pilot.
Austin is the quiet, bookish one of the bunch. His favorite activity is to sit in a corner and read or just observe the world around him. Although he occasionally enjoys fishing, he definitely prefers indoor activities. He is learning to cook and enjoys the independence of making his own breakfast from time to time. Austin has mild ADD but does well as long as he has adequate supervision when tackling longer tasks.
Joshua is a rambunctious, outgoing little boy who loves to jump on the trampoline, swim in his pool, or go on playdates with his friends. His favorite characters are Thomas the Tank Engine and Lightning McQueen, as evidenced by the fact that the first movie he ever sat through without whining to leave (at least until the last 20 minutes of the show) was Cars 2, which we saw as a family a couple weeks ago.
We acquired our dog, Jake, in November 2009. Jake is 3/4 black Lab and 1/4 either border collie or blue heeler. He loves to play and is a very excitable boy.
Butch, the cat, was born to two neighborhood strays that were also born on our property. We brought him in the house last winter, only about 2 1/2 months old, to raise as a mouser (yeah right). Thinking he was a girl at first, my sons named him Misty, only to discover a couple months later that he was indeed a boy, whereupon my middle son promptly re-named him Butch. Butch is pretty much a typical indoor cat. He sleeps a lot during the day and is extremely active at night starting around 8 pm, when he will run back and forth, jumping and pawing at doors, furniture, ankles, then take about 5 minutes to cuddle in someone's lap, then repeat said process until everyone is in bed. He loves to chase lasers and chew on his catnip mouse, and of course he LOVES to eat.
One thing that is a bit different about our family, and has started many an interesting conversation when people find out, is that we are Messianic believers. This basically means that, while we believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is EXACTLY who He claimed to be when on this Earth, and that He is absolutely our salvation, the lifestyle we have is traditionally Jewish. We keep the Jewish feasts of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot, all of which will be detailed further as their seasons approach, but do not celebrate Halloween, Christmas, or Easter due to the pagan traditions associated with them. We keep the original sundown-Friday-to-sundown-Saturday Sabbath and watch our Messianic church service online Friday nights at 7:30. We believe in keeping what our Torah teacher calls "Biblical kosher," which means that while we do not eat pork, shellfish, or other nonkosher meats, we do not necessarily adhere to such Pharisaic teachings as keeping our meat and dairy products separate. Many would call us "Messianic Jews." However, this is a misnomer. "Jew" actually refers to people who are either of the tribe of Judah or who live in or near Jerusalem and Judea. As has been stated by many knowledgeable men, "all Jews are Hebrew, but not all Hebrews are Jews." Since we were most likely (no one really knows for certain if they live in the Diaspora) descended from Gentile believers who were grafted in, we are most likely not Jews but rather are grafted-in Hebrews who follow the example of the first-century church. Remember, when the New Testament was written and certainly when Yeshua walked this Earth, there were no Scriptures but Torah and the writings of the Old Testament prophets. The Scriptures referred to from Matthew to Revelation are, in fact, the Old Testament. These were not done away with or nailed to the Cross when Yeshua gave up His earthly life. Rather, they were fulfilled (brought to fullness of understanding) while He was yet alive. Therefore, all the laws of Torah STILL APPLY to those who would claim the Name of YHWH.
That pretty well introduces you to us and explains our religion. If you have questions about the Messianic religion or would like to explore the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith, I recommend you visit the website of our online congregation, http://www.lionlamb.net/. Our Torah teacher, Monte Judah, is very anointed and knowledgeable about such things. Other questions, such as those about our family or homeschooling, can be posted in comments. We look forward to hearing from you! Blessings in the Name of Yeshua the Messiah, and let us not forget to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Lora
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