You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
- Matthew 5:14-16
Today is November 1st, 2023. I have waited a long time for a bridge near me to finally open as it has been under construction for a very long time. It is supposed too finally open today. It is a bridge I have crossed my entire life, mostly when I would drive to my grandmother’s house when I was younger. This bridge stood between me and her, someone I am named after, my legacy. I am thankful the bridge is finally complete.
This message is going to be long, but I hope that God inspires you to slow down enough to come on this journey with me, for God has woven a beautiful message that is extremely relevant for our time, for the times we currently find ourselves in, for a time such as this.
If you are willing to take this journey, allow me to set the stage. Many years ago, on August 10th, 2007, God gave me my calling. As I sat in a leadership retreat, listening to a man talk about the story of Esther, I heard God clearly call me to be like her. Shortly after this, God began to reveal amazing symbolism in my life that made me in fact have a special connection to her. It was a lot of fun. Although there are many connections I hope to be able to share with you someday, my favorite is that fact that the name Esther, as well as my middle name, both mean “star.” Because of this, throughout the years, God has really highlighted this similarity, speaking to me often about stars, about the fact that we, as His people, are all meant to shine like stars, stars that shine bright for Him, that shine forth Christ’s light to a hurting world, much like Esther did in her time.
A few weeks after that retreat, two nights in a row, I was inspired to watch two different movies. The first one was The Nativity Story which I loved since God had used this movie a lot in my life during my season of waiting on the promise He had given me to return my promised bridegroom to me. God used this movie to bring forth a phrase out of my mouth that I used a lot then and even now to encourage myself, that “He will align the stars anyway.” I loved how this movie portrayed how despite all the confusion, doubt, and chaos, that the stars did in fact align bringing forth the light, or the Star of Bethlehem, that also summoned in the birth of Christ. God knew all along what He was doing and nothing was going to stop His plans to bring about Christ. Nothing was going to stop Christ’s first coming.
Before I watched that movie, I thought about lighting a new candle that God had inspired me to buy but for some reason, I decided not to. The next night, I decided to watch the movie One Night with the King, a movie about Esther that I had only seen once in the theatre. As I went to push play, I heard God say, “Susan, tonight I want you to relax with Me and light a candle and watch the movie.” So, this time I lit a candle and it burned through the entire movie.
The first time I saw this movie I thought that it was an okay movie, except for the fact that I thought that the stars and her necklace were cheesy. If you haven't seen this movie, Esther carries with her a crystal necklace. After making her plea to the king, she puts this crystal up to a flame and stars, like the Star of David, dance around the room reflected by the light. Like I alluded to, this scene was the thing that I disliked the most the first time I saw this movie. This time however, as I sat there and watched Esther dangle her crystal in the flame and become engulfed with stars, along with Haman and the king, I realized that I too sat there, surrounded by the stars on my walls that God had inspired me to put up right before this, also with a candle lit in front of me. I then heard in that moment God’s still, small, voice say, “Susan, this is for you.” This “cheesy moment” was for me. Interesting.
What happens next in the movie, is that the king then leaves, and as he is gone, Haman begins to taunt Esther. We get a brief sense that the king didn’t believe her, or see the stars, and isn’t going to come back. But he of course comes back and the first thing he does is fight off Haman, condemning him to his plight. He then goes to Esther and she asks him why he came back to which he relies because “I saw them. I saw the stars.” Waterworks! This was indeed for me! This once cheesy scene and movie line, is now one of my most favorite of all time and I now can never watch it without crying. I cry because I know what it represents, Christ’s second coming because of a new type of aligned stars - God’s Wonderful Web of Wonder.
The reason God had inspired me to decorate my room with stars is because of the journey He was taking me on to reveal to me this vision He had shown me, one He inspired me to call His Wonderful Web of Wonder. It is a vision of His people, His Stars, aligned, covered by the Blood of the Lamb, shining the Light of Jesus Christ for the world to see. It is a vision of Revelation 12:11. It is us, God’s Temple, described in a new way. Proof that God does and will align His Stars anyway. He aligned them once forming a star that lit the way for Christ the first time (the Star of Bethlehem) and He intends to do it again, in a new way (His Wonderful Web of Wonder). The King of kings will always enter this world in light!
Not long after this, God added to my name symbolism and this star theme by inspiring me to write down my legacy, a 3 generational legacy starting with my grandmother. I wrote down my grandmother’s name, my mom’s name, and then my name, since my name was comprised of their names joined together. For my first name is my mom’s middle name and my middle name is my grandmother’s middle name, that when put all together in order, along with their meanings which I had just looked up, formed a sentence that shocked me. The sentence read, “Flowering Star to be born on Christmas named Lily Star.” My birthday is in December.
Fast forward to July of this year, 2023, when my family took a trip to see “Esther” at the Sight and Sound Theatre. Of course already loving Esther, I wanted to buy a lot of the merchandise in their gift shops that represented her, but after I picked up one little bookmark, I ended up buying almost everything. I did so because the bookmark had one of those pictures that changed when you tilted it. When I picked it up, I saw Esther with a watering can, watering a tree. I then moved the bookmark to see the tree begin to flower, and bam! My spirit perked up and tears began to stream down my face. I knew instantly that Esther wasn't just a star, but a “Flowering Star.” I then began to look around the room as if my eyes had been opened and there it was. All over the room was merchandise that depicted a star that looked like a flower. There was a mirror like this, and a steppingstone with this, t-shirts and sweatshirts with this, etc. I knew God was speaking to me. But then, my eyes fell on something else, Esther’s logo. The creators of this play had crafted one for her for this play and an even bigger jolt hit my spirit. For, not only have I often felt a strong connection to Esther but also to Mary as God has spent the last two decades, as you know, calling me based on Revelation 12:11 to give birth, like Mary, to the Word of my testimony and to encourage all of God’s Stars to do the same. Just like Esther’s story is a testimony, we all have one, one that has the power to defeat the enemy. When we truly come to realize this and together start testifying/shining for the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Word of our testimonies, we will be unstoppable and God will truly be able to use us, like Esther, for a time such as this.
Anyway, with that said, the big jolt came when they didn’t just fashion a logo for Esther within this play with a simple flower inspired star, but one that also looked like the Star of Bethlehem. I knew God was speaking! Picture the Star of Bethlehem but with the middle portion of the star also looking like a flower, or flowering star. THIS WAS HER EMBLEM and what could be found on so many things to buy. I have never desired a tattoo and still probably will not get one, but if I did, you now know what it would look like, like this emblem, this flowering star. I literally could not stop feeling in my spirit that God designed this just for me. It was very surreal.
About a week after this trip, I ended up getting a phone call from a friend wanting me to join her in starting a ministry to share about God’s appointed times and Biblical feasts as laid out in Leviticus 23, called “L’Dor V’Dor” which means in Hebrew “from generation to generation.” I had never heard this phrase before. She wanted me to be a part of this in order to bring the Bride of Christ element to the ministry for she knew that God had woven a message through my testimony about preparing His Bride, the Church, for Christ’s return.
(This next section is a recap of my testimony seen in the last few blog posts. Skip ahead if this is familiar to you, but please keep reading afterwards, to the end.)
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It started many years ago, after I separated from my boyfriend Joe. Knowing that Joe was the one for me I entered a time of great heartache. God allowed this season because He knew that my desire for a relationship, or for Joe, was stronger than my desire and love for Him. Because of this God had plans to bring transformation into my life by dealing with my idol worship. He led me through this desert. But just like the Israelites in the desert in the Old Testament, God sustained me, provided for me, and showed up for me. One of the ways that God showed up for me was by speaking directly to me for the first time, giving me a promise. He said, “Susan, you and Joe will be together.”
The desert is useful for eventually God used it to turn my head knowledge into heart knowledge. My theoretical faith into practical faith and I proclaimed with Job that “My ears had heard of you before but now my eyes have seen you (Job 45:2).” I fell more in love with the Lord.
Around this time, I was involved in a mission organization and found myself driving home from another state after a retreat. During this drive God chose to confirm His promise to me. While listening to a worship song by Michael W. Smith, I looked into the sky and saw that the clouds spelled J O E – Joe, and I knew that this was a sign from God confirming His promise to me that He would truly return my promised bridegroom to me.
However, despite God’s confirmation my promise didn’t happen right away. In fact, it was 7 years between this moment with the clouds and my wedding day. But what happened in those 7 years serves as great symbolism. For during this time, God began orchestrating the events of my life in order to prepare me for the fulfillment of His promise to me and for my wedding day, and in doing so, He unveiled a message that spoke about how we all should use this waiting season, or this Bridge Story season, as He inspired me to call it, as a means to get His Bride ready.
As it says in Revelation 19:7, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”
But what does this mean exactly? How do we make ourselves ready? What are we supposed to be doing during this waiting season, this season we find ourselves in between our promise given that Christ will return to us and the fulfillment of that promise?
Well, two of the most important steps that God revealed to me on my journey were first, that we begin living lives that testify to Him, and second, that we begin rehearsing for things to come.
One Bridge Story during this season of waiting in my life addressed this call to rehearse. It’s a chapter in my life called “God’s Appointed Times.” During this season in my life, I was invited to attend a retreat. The topic revolved around something I was not expecting, for a Jewish Christian woman was there to speak about God’s appointed times as laid out in the Bible and why we, even as Gentile Christians, should still celebrate them. One of her main reasons was that they are lasting ordinances that serve as rehearsals of things to come. Not expecting this topic but knowing God wanted me there, I asked God what He wanted me to learn from this, He said, “Susan, if you honor My appointed times, I will honor yours.” Waiting on a promise God gave me to return Joe to me, my own bridegroom, I knew in my heart what God meant. So, I set out that year to honor God’s appointed times and other festivals.
It was a really fun time as God led me on this journey, for He orchestrated my life to show me how important these celebrations are to Him and eventually, I made it to the end. I was about to celebrate my final one which was Purim, again causing me to feel a strong connection to Esther.
And once I did, God did two things to prove His faithfulness to honor my appointed time. First, the same day I celebrated Purim, a magazine was released and placed in stores with my picture on the cover, giving me a form of a coming out, making me feel like a true star. I did not know that they were going to put my picture on the cover. And second, shortly after Joe ended up asking my father for my hand in marriage. God was faithful! My promised bridegroom had come. And I walked across that bridge from promise to fulfillment.
I love that God inspired my journey to end with Purim and of course see great symbolism in this, for Purim is the celebration of deliverance of God’s people through Esther’s plea as a Bride of the king.
Well, it is our time, our season, our time such as this, BUT WE MUST MAKE OURSELVES READY just like Esther did. Let’s just say that like Esther we need our beauty treatment season, our season of preparation, of transformation– our BRIDGE STORY season – and God knows this.
After my own Bridge Story waiting season came to an end, or my preparation season, like Esther, after I had accepted God’s call to live a life of testifying to Jesus and had rehearsed, in His eyes I became a bride made ready, for my wedding day finally came. Almost exactly 7 years to the day that God wrote Joe’s name in the clouds, I married him. And only in God’s way, by His doing, did our wedding represent all 3 fall feasts - the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
First, the Feast of Trumpets (Christ came):
Since God had led me on a journey through His feasts, Joe and I had a Jewish inspired wedding. Because of this, we had someone blow the shofar to start the ceremony.
The venue God had picked for us through Joe was in another city and so being an hour away from most of our guests, in my mind, I thought that we would start the ceremony at least 5-10 minutes late in order to give people more time to get there. But this was not the case. For as the women and I were still upstairs praying, I thought about taking off my wedding dress after we were done in order to go to the bathroom one last time but something inside of me stopped me and I am so glad, for had I done that, I would not have been ready. Because before we knew it, since no one told us we were starting, even my wedding coordinator that was with us praying, all of a sudden, we heard the shofar blast and we all looked up at each other in shock.
Without a warning the trumpet sounded and at that point we didn't have time for anything else. Good thing I was ready! Dressed in white and ready to go!
I knew God was speaking.
For, someday all of us, without warning will hear that shofar, that final trumpet blast. I pray we are all ready.
Second, the Day of Atonement (Christ saved):
What truly made me ready? Was it really the fact that I had my white wedding dress on? No. For due to his love for me Joe would have married me while wearing anything. But this wasn’t always the case, for there was a time when I was so ugly, consumed with my idol worship that I wouldn’t have married me. But as it was, my journey of transformation had made me new, or renewed. But even this was a journey made possible first and foremost by the Blood of the Lamb, the covering of Christ. His atoning sacrifice, His shed blood is what makes us a pure and spotless bride as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). He truly is the “dress” that adorns us and the only One that can truly renew us.
Finally, the Feast of Tabernacles (Christ dwells):
At first, I wasn’t sure how God included this feast into my story, but God then assured me that He would give me the words to say. The following day, He woke me up at 1:20am with a warm sensation in my heart followed by an instant vision in my mind and a clear message that followed. I wondered why God chose to wake me up in the middle of the night to give me these words regarding Tabernacles but then what instantly came to my mind was a verse from Matthew 24 where Jesus talks about the Bridegroom coming like a thief in the night. He will come like a thief in the night to tabernacle with us. So, what better time to commune with God over this idea.
Well, the clear vision and message that God woke me up to give me was this, that Joe, my bridegroom, provided the huppah, the covering. He was the one determined that we have a huppah. He designed it and built it completely by himself with the help of his father. He constructed a beautiful wooden wall and then made the poles that held the beautiful white linen covering. He then decorated it with wood stumps, flowers, and lanterns. In the Jewish tradition, the bridegroom would build a suitable dwelling for his future bride onto His father’s house. He waited for his father’s okay as to whether or not it was finished.
I had very little to do with this. The only thing I added to the final set up of the huppah was being led to place a menorah on the table under it. Wanting a Jewish inspired wedding but still longing to embrace the fact that I was a Gentile, I briefly struggled with using a menorah instead of just candles until God led me to the perfect thing. It was in fact a menorah but it’s base was the grafted in symbol. It had the ichthus (the Christian fish symbol) with a cross in the middle. It was Perfect!
I remember, during my bridge story waiting season, asking God a question. I did so during a moment of weakness, and I say weakness, because I didn’t just ask Him a question, I screamed it at Him in anger. But in His mercy, He chose to answer me anyway. I asked Him, “What are You waiting for?” I believed His promise. He had woven many stories into my life that I had written down and had faithfully begun to share, even with Joe. And through this testifying Joe had returned to me for the most part. So, I didn’t understand what I was still waiting for. Why the delay? Do we not all find ourselves thinking the same thing, wanting to ask God the same question in regards to Christ’s return, and also almost in a frustrated, angerly way?
Well, to help us all with this frustration, here was God’s merciful reply. He answered “For the moment when My glory will be best revealed.”
You see, I didn’t understand God’s timing then but now I see. He wants ALL at the wedding feast of the Lamb. He waited for a time in my life, a time He orchestrated, when both Jews and Gentiles would be represented at my wedding. For if you knew my background and the church I grew up in, what a testament this would be to you. For had Joe and I gotten married when I first wanted to marry him, the attendance at our wedding would have looked a lot different. But as it was, at this perfect time in our life, we had both Gentiles and Jews at our wedding. We also had both Jew and Gentile Davidic dancers at our wedding that danced dressed in white.
Only God. We are grafted in. We are all invited.
So, as I walked toward my bridegroom’s covering, the huppah that he had made just for me, I will never forget his face. It was the most beautiful face I had ever seen, one that was truly inviting me to come and tabernacle with him.
I actually saw that same face again on this first day of Fall this year. Between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, Joe and I went to a museum that we have in Kansas that revolves around the birth of Christ. While there, at one point, while listening to a beautiful worship song and looking upon a scene that reflected the moment of Christ’s birth, Joe walked up and stood next to this scene and began looking straight at me. Once again there was that face, and deep within I just knew that it was Christ looking at me through Joe. For this face that smiled and beamed at me penetrated my soul. I then noticed something else, that directly on the other side of Joe was a beautiful tent canopy that they had erected to represent the Feast of Tabernacles. And in that moment, knowing based on my testimony just how much God uses Joe to represent Christ’s return, God brought a phrase strongly to my mind. It was: He came once to tabernacle with us and He is coming again.
Standing between a symbol of Christ’s birth and a symbol of His return, there was the ultimate Bridge Story but it wasn’t yet complete. It is a two-part bridge just as God has revealed to me that Revelation 12:11 is a two-part verse. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Jesus came once to tabernacle with us as a baby and grew up to become the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world, forming the first part of the bridge, but the second part belongs to us. The second half of the bridge, the half that starts where Christ left off is still incomplete for God is waiting on us. He is waiting on us to testify, to also give birth, like Mary, to the Word of our testimonies for the enemy is defeated once again by the Word of our testimonies. Christ is the Word of our testimonies which is why we also hold the same power.
So, I testify that God’s appointed times are alive and well and that He is still using them to speak. For they truly are set up and set apart to be rehearsals for things to come. Christ is looking upon all of us with that same FACE, longing once again to tabernacle with us, which is why He also longs/NEEDS for us all to make ourselves ready, to get His Bride ready, by rehearsing and collectively living lives that testify to Him, our ultimate Bridegroom. For, He knows that our collective testimonies will complete that great bridge, that final Bridge Story that will lead others to Christ, both Jew and Gentile, in this final hour, for God wants all at the true wedding feast of the Lamb and for all to join Him under His covering.
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I stated the exact day that God gave me my calling earlier, on August 10th, because that is the exact day that Joe asked me to marry him. It was the exact day that God truly honored my appointed time. I actually didn’t notice this at the time, but noticed it later as I looked back onto my testimony. But God was in the details and revealing that my calling to testify and to encourage others to do the same, truly has to do with another appointed time, the return of our Ultimate Bridegroom.
Another story from my Bridge Story waiting season is when God laid on my heart around Christmastime one year, while Joe was with me, to buy a big statue of Mary holding Jesus and one of Joseph standing alone, statues that were part of a Nativity set where the pieces were sold separately. I then was inspired to give the Joseph statue to Joe and keep the Mary statue for myself. It was a little awkward as I felt a little crazy, but nonetheless, Joe accepted the statue. I then looked at that lonely statue of Mary for years as I waited, knowing based on my belief in God’s promise that someday these statues, along with Joe and I, would be united. Now married, in God’s faithfulness, I look at these two statues together again every day while I have my quiet time. God has an appointed time for everything - to align every star.
So, as you can see, based on my testimony, I was excited to join with my friend, willing to be a part of any opportunity to testify and to teach about God’s appointed times, but I was still a little unsure at first, that is until yet another visit to the museum in my state that has a lot to do with Christ’s birth. For, also within this museum is a room set up to look like a synagogue with doors that originated in Persia during the time of Esther. For this reason, I always choose to refer to this room as “Esther’s room,” and to those set of doors as “Esther’s doors” especially since the first time I ever came to this museum they spoke about Esther a lot, saying that “She was essential in bringing forth the Lamb.” And she was, for even back then Satan tried really hard to annihilate God’s people through Haman in order to thwart the line that led to Christ. God used Esther to save His people for this reason. To save them in order for Christ to enter the world the first time.
Just about two days after hearing “L’Dor V’Dor” for the first time, I found myself back at this museum and as is custom for me, before the presentation started, I went to take a peek at the scene that represents to moment of Christ’s birth. As I did, this time I noticed that the candle that always sits there was not lit. I was tempted to ignore this but then felt a strong urge to go and tell someone that worked there. I did and then let it go. Later, as I walked past the front, I saw the candle sitting on the front counter. I mentioned to the ladies there that they must’ve changed the candle out and I thanked them because as I said to them, “It really adds to the ambience for it reminds me of that eternal flame that burns next to the doors in the synagogue room.” One of them then spoke up and said, “You know she’s here, don’t you?” She was referring to a woman in a story I had once overheard being told to someone in that synagogue room, a lady who had been in Iraq and had seen that that flame was still burning in the original place where those doors once sat. As you can imagine, this testimony intrigued me then and so when I heard that, I went up to this lady and asked her if she would tell me her story personally at the end of the tour.
She didn’t wait for the end but chose to share when we got to this same room, this “Esther room.” She was of Jewish dissent and shared how she had been in Iraq at one point in time. She began to well up with tears, saying that she did so every time she sees those doors and remembers her experience in Iraq. She said that she had been detained across the street from where these doors used to be with others for 18 days and that she endured constant gunfire. She said that she had a view of this room that although now a residence, used to be a synagogue. She then said that this room still looked exactly like these doors except of course now the doors are missing. She then mentioned that these doors were actually not entrance doors but were the doors to the Torah room, a special room synagogue’s use to house the Torah, or the Word of God, when not in use.
I asked her about the light near the doors and she said that this light was called “Near to Me.” She said that it represented an eternal flame, a single flame. She then said that the light in the scene of Christ’s birth, the one God had earlier used me to relight, was also this “Near to Me” eternal flame. She talked about how she believed “God is the One that starts these flames and keeps them lit and that all the people do and did long ago was to trim the wicks and add the oil.” She then said, “This flame that God started doesn’t have a beginning or an end.” We all then agreed that God is the original Light, and that His true eternal flame is in our hearts. We then also went on to agree that this little light by the doors was representative of this eternal flame, or the Word of God (Torah) that we house in our hearts. It was a beautiful conversation being had by both Jew and Gentile believers.
I was sitting on the top row of one of the the far sides of the room, which meant that literally straight in front of me was a whole row of people, and in the middle of them sat this lady. Also, straight in front of me was this eternal flame next to these “Esther doors.” I starred at this light the entire time everyone talked. And as I listened, I knew in my heart, sitting in this room with the doors of Esther that God was confirming my calling, the one He gave me on August 10th, 2007. Then all of a sudden, the very moment I had that thought, something was said that made three women in the row in front of me, one right after another, as if they were doing the wave at a sporting event, say “L’Dor V’Dor.” Starting from the front, from the one sitting closest to the eternal flame that was just spoken about, she said “L’Dor V’Dor” and then another midway said “L’Dor V’Dor,” and then finally the one closest to me said “L’Dor V’Dor.” It was beautiful, almost like a song. It was like they were ringing bells, starting farthest from me and bringing it closer to me like a fragrance that was wafting up towards me and upon me. I knew in that moment that God was confirming this ministry that had just started a few days earlier, (or maybe I should say many years earlier). For just a few days ago I had never even heard that phrase. What then came to my mind and what I wrote down is, “Vessels for God’s Word for future generations. We are God’s venue.” I love how God didn’t say “Synagogue” or “Church” but “venue” for this wording includes us all.
As everyone moved on into another room, this lady approached me and asked me if that was what I had wanted to hear, but I told her that I wanted to know about the flame, if it was true that the one she saw in Iraq was actually indeed still burning and she said yes. She then elaborated about her experience and her view of that synagogue room that was still in existence and how that flame served as a sign of hope for her. She was trapped under intense fire, not knowing whether she or the others were going to survive another day and that light became a source of hope for her. She said she and those with her took their bedsheets and filled them with sand and then rolled them up and placed them on top of them for protection from the enemy’s constant fire.
I knew I couldn’t paint a more beautiful picture or sign of my true calling, and its season, than this, especially in that room with the “Doors of Esther.” It was like God was commissioning me, truly passing on the torch. God wants to use me, and all of us, to be a vessel for His eternal flame, to bring hope to a world that doesn’t know if they’re going to survive for one more day, a world under constant fire, bound by the enemy under heavy oppression. It was as if God took the light from that eternal flame near those Doors of Esther and through the beautiful song of three women sitting in front of me, brought that flame up to me and upon me, me who, like you, is called to be like Esther and to save God’s people.
And whether you believe it or not, we do need saving. We need saving so that through us and our light, Christ can enter this world a second time.
Oh, we do need saving! Read on.
A few weeks later, in August of this year, already going strong for L’Dor V’Dor, before speaking at a Bible study later in the day, after dropping my daughter off at school, on my way home, there was a lady that was determined to beat me. At one point she almost forced me off the road and put both of our lives in danger all because she was determined to get in front of me. She literally started to merge right beside me. I honked two times but it became obvious that nothing was going to stop her from merging in front of me. I admit that her determination also caused me to want to join in this game. However, all the while this obsession was starting to overtake me, I couldn’t help but think about the worship that was lost with these thoughts and the anxiety that was replacing it, that I should have just let it go and turn on worship music, creating time and energy that would not be taken away from me. After it was over and she finally turned another direction, I asked God what He wanted me to learn from this. He said over and over, “People are in a race to get nowhere.” Such truth! People work so hard at life and completely miss the point of it. For the only things that will matter are those things that will count for eternity, those things that God includes in the race that He has laid out for us.
On September 30th, the first day of The Feast of Tabernacles, on an errand to find something I needed for a presentation we were doing at a church that evening, I ended up finding something that I didn’t need. However, in reality I believe God did want me to have it, for it was a tiara that instantly made me think of both Mary and Esther combined. I had to buy it. On the way home I ended up having a vision. I envisioned both Mary and Esther together passing this to me with Christ between them guiding their hands, as all three looked straight at me. This tiara now sits in a Queen Esther mug that I got at the Sight and Sound Theatre. God is fun!
By October we had led several people through the Biblical fall feasts for the first time. On the 7th, we held our final celebration for the Feast of Tabernacles by the lake. On this day, Israel was also attacked by Hamas.
The following day, Sunday the 8th, my pastor said something that perked up my spirit. He said, “Even in the midst of chaos, God will show up and give you new. God is at work even in the darkness. Shine your light.” What came to my mind is how just like the chaos in the world when Mary gave birth, that this current chaos is not going to stop God from bringing forth another birth, the Word of our testimonies – new stories for a new age that desperately needs them. For a generation that desperately needs to hear that Christ is alive and well and still moving in and through our lives. God still wants to align His Stars anyway.
On October 10th, I came across a video about a star event along with a solar eclipse that was supposed to take place on Saturday the 14th. It intrigued me because it painted a very good case for this event representing Revelation 12:1-2. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 was also read. The video was called “The Birth Eclipse.” The annual solar eclipse was set to start at the feet of Virgo, the constellation of a woman. At Virgo’s feet was to be the asteroid “Child.” The eclipse was said to start in Oregon and make its way to South America. The eclipse was said to pass over Corpus Christi which means “The Body of Christ” exactly at noon. Amos 8:9 was read at this point. The eclipse then was to make its way to the Panama Canal (The Panama birth canal). The last place to see the eclipse was to be Natal, Brazil. Natal means “Birth Place.” Isaiah 66:8-9, Jeremiah 30:6-7, and Matthew 24:6-8 were then read.
On October 11th, my friend and I headed out of town in order to share our ministry with a Bible study group in another state. Knowing that there was a Sight and Sound Theatre there, I asked her if she would be willing to go and see the “Eshter” play again, even though she had also already seen it. She said yes. So, on the 12th, after presenting to the Bible study group where I got another chance to share a big portion of my testimony and about God’s appointed times, we went to see “Esther” and the experience was even better than the first time. I also almost spent just as much!
What an experience. It was an emotional rollercoaster and after it was over, I will say that my spirit, as did my friend’s, felt the way it did after I once cast out a demon. It felt like it had just fought a battle. She and I just kept hearing over and over in the play “from generation to generation” and each time we heard it, it made us cry. Neither of us had taken notice of this phrase the first time we saw the play. At one point, Mordecai even looks up at Esther who stood on a balcony to give her his plea and actually started his plea by saying “From generation to generation.” Waterworks! As you can imagine, that hit me hard.
Then at another point in the play, Haman also says “From generation to generation” and in that moment it became clear in my spirit that there are two sides to this concept, to this “coin.” It’s like an ancient coin, that only by God’s divine hand, had I just recently acquired that has the Star of Bethlehem event on one side and a picture of Zeus on the other. Apparently that celestial event was so magnificent that even the heathens represented it on their coins for years, as I was told. So, this coin represents the good and the bad. One side has this amazing, God-given celestial account and the other side a picture of an idol, of Zues. It represents the true eternal, ongoing battle. Worshiping God or our idols.
In terms of Haman, here is where my main tears came from. At one point while referring to him as “an Agagite” and recounting what the Amalekites did to God’s people saying that “They killed many, including women and children” etc., my ears perked up because THAT HAD JUST HAPPENED AGAIN. For I, like most of us, have also watched the social media videos, watching account after account of Hamas killing women and children, the elderly, even cutting off the heads of babies. Horrific things that have caused the media outlets to proclaim that this is the worst attack since the holocaust. Here I was watching a play about Esther, visually seeing a recounting of the spirit of the antichrist in and through Haman, something that happened thousands of years ago, AND YET IN THAT EXACT MOMENT HISTORY WAS REPEATING ITSELF.
I was also once again amazed at their artistry in this play, how they were able to project an image of a snake so well going in and out of the pillars of the palace, a snake representing Haman (or Satan the serpent) and of course the color red that they used and the logo they had created for Haman just made it all look like Hitler and the swastika.
Emotional rollercoaster.
On Saturday the 14th, still on our trip, I woke up to hear, “The heavens declare My glory.” I then went like usual to have my quiet time on the balcony. It was a cloudy, cold day but I sat out there as long as I could. I knew that this was the day of the eclipse but I just assumed that we wouldn’t see it until around noon although with the clouds I wasn’t sure we would see it at all. My devotional was on John 14. It talked about God giving us peace, something needed during this unsettling time in history. It talked about how the Holy Spirit will calm and remind us of everything Christ has said. I needed that.
I then asked God if He wanted to tell me something and I heard, “The heavens declare My glory.” I then walked back inside to hear my friend say that the eclipse where we were was to be between 8am and 9am which was exactly when I woke up and had been outside. I had no idea the eclipse was happening in that moment because of the clouds but God knew. I believe God wanted me out there spending time with Him in that moment, and that the cloud cover was His mercy for had they not been there I would have been tempted to look at the eclipse which you are not supposed to do without appropriate eyewear. But as it was, the clouds allowed me to spend that time with Him during the eclipse, during the exact time when the heavens were declaring His glory. It is time to give birth.
We then headed back home during which my friend took us a special way, a way that led to my bridge, a bridge I have tried to find again on my own several times over the years. I had asked her on the way there if we could stop by and I am thankful that she hadn’t forgotten. As I stood on my bridge, the bridge that she and her husband had taken Joe and I too long ago, back when I was looking for a bridge for the cover of my book “Bridge Stories,” I knew in my heart that God had finally brought me back at this moment in time for a reason. It truly is time for bridge stories, to complete that ultimate bridge through God’s Stars giving birth to the Word of our testimonies.
Two weeks later during church, God spoke to me about joy, even telling me that there would be joy in the wedding that my husband and I were going to photograph that afternoon. As I went to sit down, I did so to the Casting Crowns song “Who Am I,” hearing “Who am I that the voice that calms the sea calms the storm in me?” We all need to reflect on this truth.
My pastor continued part two of his sermon revolving around “Lessons from the Mob,” truly revealing through Acts, chapter 19 that history is repeating itself. The same things the Apostle Paul experienced are happening right now, especially on college campuses, riot after riot.
My pastor started by talking about the spirit of confusion, of being double-minded and I prayed, “Lord, help me not to be double-minded, giving into the spirit of confusion.” For, I had actually felt myself going there that week. He then ended by talking about hatred and prejudice saying, “It was Satan’s weapon of choice.” He then asked, “What is behind the hatred of the Jewish people?” He then quoted a series of verses, starting with Revelation 12:1-13. In reference to this passage, he then started to talk about the idea of giving birth and what came to my mind of course was that star event/solar eclipse that had just happened two weekends before and how I had already had my attention drawn to the beginning of Revelation 12 because of it and that video I had seen, and I knew that him bringing this verse up was not by accident. But then what came to my mind is something I hadn’t noticed and I’m surprised that I hadn’t for it is the fact that this chapter that starts out talking about stars and giving birth also includes Revelation 12:11, my life’s key verse, and with this revelation I heard, “I have called you, like the first Esther AND Mary, to battle the spirit of the antichrist. Their plot is your plot, their calling your calling. Therefore, as I was with them and helped them, I will be with you and help you.” This calling is for all of us. We are the next in line, from generation to generation.
My pastor, in referring to Revelation 12, then pointed out how he believed this to refer to Israel as the woman, that Israel was a vessel to birth Christ and that we are now the vessel or venue. Then after quoting Acts 1:11, he talked about how Christ is coming again and that He will do so into the land, to the Mount of Olives. He then pointed out how the land is still important. He said, “We may ask ‘Is the land really all that important?’ It is because Satan doesn’t want to see God’s plan fulfilled. Satan wants to attack the land and God’s people, both things highly important when it comes to God’s fulfillment.”
He then went on to say, “Israel’s cause has not always been just. America’s cause has not always been just but God’s covenant remains… He is a covenant God… He knew all about your struggles and unbelief but He still chose you. We as the Church don’t always do the right thing but we are still the Church. God made a covenant with His people and the land.” He then said, “He didn’t get the child, now he pursues the woman (Israel).”
And what God was about to reveal to me later that day was how Satan is of course also pursuing the people, the Bride of Christ. Satan wants nothing more than to put her out of commission. To stop her light from shining for he knows what defeats him, Revelation 12:11 – They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb (that which Mary gave birth to) and by the Word of their testimonies (that which God wants us to give birth to through us).
Later that day, Joe and I went to photograph the wedding. I knew God wanted us to do this wedding because it literally just fell into our laps. I even tried at first to get out of it, thinking that our wedding photography days were behind us. But God had a reason.
However, wow! How to describe it. This insight is solely based on the revelations I now have about the day, for in the moment, I was so confused and felt briefly like Satan was running the show. For, joyful? Was the wedding joyful? I guess so, for people seemed to have a good time and the reception had the typical cake, dancing, and bouquet toss, etc. However, once I describe this wedding, you will understand why at first, I doubted greatly whether I had heard God in church correctly, at least the part where He said this wedding would be joy and talked about my own season of great joy coming. For, we got there to find that the bride’s wedding dress was black, the color of mourning. She also wore a big black veil upon her head that draped down her entire back all the way to the floor. Knowing God uses weddings in my life to speak about being the Bride of Christ, you can only imagine the sinking feeling that welled up within me. (If you have not read or watched my message “Bride Has Made Herself Ready,” I hope you will be inspired to do so, for these were the last weddings that God orchestrated in order to speak about the status of His Bride. Things haven’t improved much).
Anyway, at first, I felt a darkness, especially as I briefly also entertained the thought that God was prophesying me. Was I a bride in black, in mourning, or somehow evil? All sorts of thoughts went through my head, especially as I noticed that their cake topper was two skeletons, and that intermingled with the typical fall elegant table decorations were jars of fake blood. I began to spiral downward fast, something that always happens especially when I fear that I have heard from the enemy in my prophetic words and not God. So, I began to ask God over and over what He wanted me to learn from this. What was He trying to say to me through this death theme? What came to my mind was the phrase, “Displaced joy.” Over and over, I heard, “Displaced joy.” I didn’t quit understand this at first, but I had to start taking pictures anyway.
And it was rough. It was difficult to take the normal wedding pictures, like the one of just the dress hanging on the wall or even more difficult, the actual bridal portraits, but that is what this bride wanted. Again, a true first for us, for nothing about this wedding was unusual or unlike the other weddings we had photographed except for the bride’s choice in dress color and a few dark décor elements. Other than these choices, her bridesmaids wore the typical fall color dresses of a beautiful rose/maroon color, as did her 5-year-old daughter who was her flower girl. The groom and groomsman wore vests that matched this same maroon color, again typical for this time of the year. The mother of the bride and the mother of the groom both wore dresses that were almost a spring rose/pink color. The guests at the wedding all looked like your typical nice, well dressed, average wedding attenders.
So again, all seemed normal except the bride. To even prove this point, later in the evening Joe and I ended up talking with the caterers, a husband-and-wife team. After they had finished serving everyone, they got their plates and sat at our table to eat. The first thing the wife said was, after pointing to the bride across the room, “Is that one in black the bride?” I could tell by her expression and voice tone that she was surprised by what she as seeing. I knew that what she was really asking was “Is that one that doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest, the bride?” We said yes. She then went on to tell us about a Halloween wedding that her and her husband had once catered where everyone came in costumes. She said that the bride and groom dressed up like hillbillies. They both then alluded to something that I had been thinking all day, that that type of wedding would almost be easier to accept. For, if they had chosen to have that type of wedding, or a full-blown goth-type wedding, it would have made more sense to me, not that I would have wanted to photograph that one, but this one confused me because like that lady pointed out, only the bride seemed out of place. However, despite these thoughts, I really knew deep down that God had a reason for this. For had the wedding not looked like other typical weddings we have photographed, for the most part, He would not have been able to symbolically get His point across – that there is an issue with His Bride, an issue of displaced joy.
For, I do admit that there was joy. Everyone seemed happy they were getting married and had a good time. And there was definitely joy in the face of her little 5-year-old girl. She was so excited that her mom was getting married and that she looked like a princess in her flower girl dress and tiara headband. She danced around and said many times, “I look like a princess,” which is what made my next photos to capture the hardest of the day. For her mom wanted pictures of her daughter in her wedding dress. Ug! I will never forget placing this sweet, innocent, princess on that beautiful white velvet lounge couch and watching her mom place that dark covering over the top of her head. In my spirit it felt like she was draping her daughter in death and darkness, in a funeral gown. Yet, all the while the little girl beamed with joy as I took her pictures, still excited her mom was getting married and still excited that she was a princess. What kept repeating in my head was “From generation to generation.” What legacy are we passing down to our children?
I then really struggled with my thoughts about this bride, much as I had done with that one bride that we had found to be drunk when we showed up to take pictures at the beginning of the day. I couldn’t understand what kind of woman would get drunk on such an important day, at least that early in the day. Now, I couldn’t help but to think what kind of woman chooses to wear black on her wedding day? For, I see black very differently than I used to. I used to wear a lot of black myself, almost only black, until just about a year ago when God told me to stop wearing it. He knew that I used it, especially as an introvert, to hide. Instead, He told me to come out, to stop hiding, to stop hiding my light and instead to shine for Him. He said that His ambassadors don’t wear black, at least for the reason I was wearing it. Ever since then, I have seen black quit differently and so her choice in dress really bothered me. For, much like the houses I drive by decorated for Halloween, I wondered why she would want to cover herself in death. Or why she would want to proclaim or prophecy over herself darkness, mourning, or even despair. How did this make the groom feel? If I was a groom and saw my bride walking towards me in black, I would think that she wasn’t hopeful about our future together or that she wasn’t interested in having a wedding but instead a funeral.
Why do we wear a white wedding dress? Well, I chose my white wedding dress to symbolize that I am the Bride of Christ. I also chose for the women that danced at my wedding, both Jew and Gentile, to also wear white, for we are all pure and holy, spotless Bride’s covered by the Blood of the Lamb. I wore white to reflect that I was a light-bearer, meant to proclaim to everyone watching that I was called to be the light of the world. I did so to proclaim hope and to prophecy a bright future to come. To this day, I always picture myself in my white wedding dress dancing with Jesus when I truly worship.
Later I was led to Psalms 45 and saw that it was a wedding song. Verses 13-15 says, “All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her – those brought to be with her. Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.” Verse 17 then says, “I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.”
“I will perpetuate your memory through all generations.” From generation to generation what are we passing down? Although we don’t know whether or not this woman’s wedding dress in this psalm was white, we do know that it was interwoven with gold and a beautifully embroidered garment which alludes to it being bright and a symbol of the joy and gladness of the day, as this entire psalm is mostly symbolic of being God’s Bride and entering His presence, the presence of Him, the King.
So again, from generation to generation, what are we passing down to the next generation as the Bride of Christ? Hopelessness, evil, darkness? Or true joy, light, hope? I began to ponder this throughout the day. I had several moments to sit by myself and wait for the next photo moment and as I did, God began to bring light to the darkness in my own mind and heart. And although I knew that He was starting to show me the current status of His Bride, the Church, as a whole, I also knew that this included me. For, I began to reflect on my own despair and depression that had started to creep in over the last week or so. I began to think about all of the fulfillment to promises that God has prophesied this year that I was still waiting on, and about all the things in my day-to-day life that were really bringing me down, not to mention the weight of the world. And as I did, a verse strongly came to my mind after which it all became clear and I knew exactly what God was saying. The verse was Nehemiah 8:10b which says, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” I then thought about something that my pastor says a lot. He often asks the question, “Where does your joy come from?” He then points out that true joy should not come from external circumstances. With that thought, God brought me strong revelation and my mind then began to flood with all the things that I have been trying to find my joy from lately, especially in terms of fulfillment. I always think that in order for me to be truly happy that fulfillment, or even just simply life, should look a certain way. But what God heavily laid on my heart is that none of that really matters. Our joy should not, and will not, truly stem from those things. Our joy and strength come from the Lord, period. Job is one of our greatest examples.
I then asked God again what He wanted me to learn from this experience and He said, “Susan, My Bride is dying. The joy of the Lord is to be My people’s strength but right now they have displaced joy. True joy and strength are found in Me, nothing else, especially circumstances. The future will only be bright and joyful if eyes focus on Me.”
In that moment, my spirit knew exactly what God meant. For, it’s true. Times are dark, and the future is getting darker and if we don’t focus on the Lord and find our true joy and strength in Him and instead in our external circumstances then we will truly be like a bride dressed in black, dying, in mourning, instead of in white, radiant and shining for the Lord. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Job’s world fell apart all around him, but he stood firm, knowing where his true strength came from. What if the same happens to us?
What God then brought to my mind was Peter walking on the water, along with the phrase, “He was dying.” Peter was actually dying. He was in the process of sinking and drowning because he took his eyes off of Jesus. He took His eyes off of Jesus because of the wind and the waves that crashed around him, because of the distractions and the chaos, the fear. This is exactly the state of being that God says we are in right now. It is the place where Satan wants us to be for when we are distracted and have given into fear, we are out of commission. We are useless, for great, overpowering testimonies that defeat the enemy are not taking place, are not forming, testimonies that God wants us to pass down to future generations. This is exactly where Satan wants God’s army, His Bride, to be, in despair and under his heavy covering of oppression and darkness, all while enduring his constant fire.
Still on a break, I then picked up my phone and opened Facebook and the first thing I saw was a picture a friend had posted of a moment she had serving overseas. It was a picture of her in a black hijab. All you could see were her eyes, and in that moment, I knew God was speaking and I knew exactly what He was pointing out. He was clearly pointing out that Satan’s oppressive covering truly had befallen His people, even me.
It’s a two layered covering, for not only do we have the weight of the world’s problems to worry about and to get us down, to weigh heavy on us, but again, our own personal problems. Lately, I and my friends, have truly felt this weight. For life is busy, rushed, and difficult. It’s clear that Satan wants us all running around like a chicken with its head cut off, for that is how I and my friends have felt lately. I personally have said and felt like I have been failing at life, at balancing all of my responsibilities and I then have felt guilty of not finding time to pray for the world like I should. Is it true that all of us are, through Satan’s tactic of chaos and confusion and definitely distraction, truly in a race to get nowhere? I sure feel like I am. However, Satan on the other hand knows he is in a battle and a race for time. Do we? Instead, we need to choose this day whom we will serve and in what race we run in. Hopefully with God’s redeeming and restorative power, we can turn back to the race that the Apostle Paul talked about in 2 Timothy 4:7, 1 Corinthians 9:24, and Philippians 3:14. For, if you are like me, before I even knew it, I found myself in a deep dark place that week prior, depressed and in despair, yet like Joe, my own bridegroom said towards all of this, “But all the while the wedding is still happening.”
The wedding is still happening because our God is a covenant God. He will get the victory because He died to set us free, free from the enemy’s oppression and power. So, let us remember that our Bridegroom deserves better. He deserves a Bride that isn’t drunk yet fully attentive and there, but also fully alive and shining bright, portraying hope, light, and life, not only to the dark and dying world around us, but for future generations.
The next day, I thought about how I was not looking forward to editing these wedding pictures. However, I was thankful to God for renewing my perspective, for restoring my displaced joy, or at least my understanding of where my true joy needs to come from. During my quiet time I actually found myself praying that God would restore me and then found my devotional to be on that very topic. I am now convinced that my future will be filled with great joy, that I will have a season of great joy just as God prophesied. Will it be because times get brighter? Maybe not. Will it be because fulfillment will look the way I expect? Maybe not. I don’t know such things but I do know that it will be because, despite any circumstance that come my way, or how dark the world may seem, that the joy of the Lord will be my strength. And that whenever I forget this important truth, which I probably will, that I have a God, a covenant God, that will not leave me this way. He will always be there to renew and restore me, to rekindle my light, and to realign me to His perfect will and put me back on the true race I need to be running.
We all need to remember this and we all need to master this idea now, for if times do get harder and darker, we need to live this truth. We need to truly know where are joy comes from if we are not only going to survive like Job, but thrive and shine and be useful in the battle. And we definitely need to pass down this truth to the next generation, whose battle may be even harder. For, as God has clearly shown me, and all of us, based on the times, we still have an enemy out there to defeat.
I once asked God many years ago why Christ didn’t just come back now. He replied, “Because there is still an enemy out there.” If Christ’s death and resurrection was all that was needed to make Satan and his oppressive attacks disappear for good, then why are we still here and why is he still on the loose? It is because of Revelation 12:11 – They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimonies. It goes back to this two-part verse and that two-part bridge. Christ does long to come back to us. He longs for His wedding day, which again is why He also longs/NEEDS for us all to make ourselves ready, to get His Bride ready. For, just as He used Christ and His light to defeat Satan once (Rev. 12:11a), God intends to use our light, the Light (that is Christ) in the rest of His children to do it once again (Rev. 12:11b). For we are co-heirs and co-laborers with Christ after all (Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 3:9). Therefore, it’s truly time that we get our heads in the true race and live, like Job, as if what we believe about God is true. It’s time we give birth like Mary and then shine like a Star, like Esther, through our collective testimonies.
On October 25th, I went once again to that museum. On my way there, God kept bringing to my mind more revelation to the strong underlying message that He has been unfolding – that there are two sides. That both God and Satan have a legacy passed down from generation to generation. Also, not only does Satan have his own legacy but of course he wants to take out God’s, God’s people, His Bride. God also brought a previous message to my mind if you are inspired to go back and watch/read it, called “God Wants to Loose His Love,” where I share my story about casting out that demon that caused my spirit to feel like it had been in a battle. It is a story that conveys how Satan has infiltrated the Body of Christ.
Anyway, with these thoughts God set the stage for my visit. He did so by again revealing that the same story is still going on just in a new way, for the battle is ongoing. It will continue to be ongoing until the enemy is defeated, his legacy stopped, and Christ returns to take us home. But in the meantime, we have work to do, which is why Satan is trying so hard to put us out of commission.
Once there, we entered an area set up to look like the tabernacle. Looking at the altar, I was inspired to envision myself laying myself on it and I said a prayer to God about laying my life down on the alter. Then standing in front of the menorah, I prayed that God would light my fire and help me to feel the joy of the Lord so that I could shine bright for Him. In that moment, I heard the leader say, “God doesn’t give us direction and placement for no reason,” and I knew in my heart that God was affirming my inspired prayers and placements in that moment, especially when after he said that I noticed that I stood right in front of two shofars. They were to my back but directly in front of me was a view of that sukkah covering on the other side of the room, both symbols to me of Christ's return.
At this point, I felt something that I don’t have a lot of experience with, for a strong urge came over me to get on my knees. I didn’t hear God tell me to get on my knees, I just had a strong, almost uncontrollable need, one that I eventually could not ignore. The thought that came to my mind first was that this crowd would accept this gesture in the moment but I didn’t want to be a distraction. But then I thought about going next to the scene that represents Christ’s birth instead.
As I walked over, I began to cry heavily, especially as I walked past the front entrance to this display. I knew that the presence of God had fallen upon me. When I got to my destination, I fell to my knees, feeling instant relief, and began to weep. I eventually found myself laying completely prostrate there – there beside this scene but also with the sukkah in full view. I then heard, “Arise Susan and see My glory." I then stretched my arms out above my head and heard, “You are My bridge. Arise and shine . . . for a time such as this. Arise and shine bridge. I will make a way through you.” Then after speaking to me about both Mary and Esther, God said, “Shine My light from generation to generation.”
I then joined the others up top where I was inspired to sketch some symbols. I started by sketching the symbol that represents the Holy Spirit on a capstone they have, but then noticing that on the opposite side, there was another capstone, I drew it as well, especially after really noticing that it was a flower, an encircled flower. The flower was surrounded by three circles. Maybe these represented the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I don’t know, but I do know that this caused me to begin talking to my aunt about 3’s, about the significance of the number 3. For we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt, the way, the truth, and the life, the 3 sections to the tabernacle and temple, etc.
I then began to see a pattern in these symbols I had seen before. Although I had already had Joe draw the ones over the door to the room representing Christ’s birth, having noticed that they were flowering stars, this time God brought me more revelation, especially as I also looked at the huge Israeli flag hanging on the other side of the building, looking at the Star of David. Starting with the first flower I sketched, they all together evolved from a flower to a complete star. For the two above the door, opposite the first one, portrayed one a little more evolved into a star from the first, but still obviously a flower and then the other, on the other side of a cross-like figure looked more like a star then a flower but still more rounded than the Star of David. In my journal I sketched them in reverse order as to keep the evolution in the correct order but then I remembered that the Hebrew language is read from right to left, not left to right and so they were in fact depicted in the correct order. I then finished by drawing a Star of David and the cross-like figure, knowing from what they have said in the past is actually a picture of a common tree in Israel (a flowering tree) and not a cross, although it looks like a cross. This all at first made me think of Esther or Hadassa which means “myrtle tree” which I visually learned from the “Esther” play at the Sight and Sound Theatre is a beautiful flowering tree.
But then the true revelation in all of this came to me. It is that Christ WAS the first Flowering Star. He was the first and true Light of the world that came into the world, placed in that manger. He was the first in line. Then there was Esther. And now there is me. There is us, you and me both. From generation to generation, God’s legacy lives on for a time such as this. Christ had His time on earth. She had her time on earth as a Bride of the king. And now we have our time on earth as a Bride of the true King of kings. There are the 3’s again.
We then all walked down the stairs and as we did, I overheard a young man say that he "had played Joseph 25 times." I couldn’t help but to think in that moment that God had a reason for him being there. For the fact that I, feeling also like Mary, was hearing this from a “Joseph.”
Once downstairs, looking at the entrance to the room representing Christ’s birth, I heard the leader also refer to an engraving of a snake. He then mentioned Genesis 3. He then also actually brought up Hitler and what then came to my mind was the snake depicted in the “Esther” play, used to represent Haman. Stars and snakes. Where you find a Star, you also find a snake. There are two sides to this coin.
I then began to talk with my aunt again about something that instantly came to my mind, about three specific names and as I rattled them off, I noticed something I had never noticed before, nor have I ever heard anyone talk about this “coincidence” before - Haman, Hitler, Hamas. They all start with H. There is that 3 again. Satan is a copycat and he has his own legacy, his own signs of a generational line. And because his line is also continuing, now through Hamas and also Hezbollah, another H, the battle continues and therefore so does the need for God’s Stars to arise, to arise and shine and become that bridge that God wants to work through to once again crush that snake’s head. The end will not come without this battle, without God’s Star aligned and shining bright for the Bridegroom to see - a thought which God then confirmed yet again.
For as that song started to play yet again that they always play while we sit by this scene, I decided to go and sit on the side I normally sit at, but on my way, I noticed that a rolling chair sat under the sukkah’s edge. So, based on my last experience there, I thought that I would sit there in a way as to be under the covering and still see the scene, which I did for a brief moment until a man can and stood right in front of me blocking my view. Because of this, I decided to just roll on back to the center of the covering and when I got there, in worship I looked up. I looked up to see illuminated stars all around above me and my spirit perked up greatly. I hadn’t noticed there were stars on this covering from the outside due to the colorful chaos but underneath they all became clear. In fact, all you could see were the lit up white stars shining through a deep blue color and I knew God was speaking. There is no greater prophetic picture of what we should be doing, of the race we need to be running then this – God’s people aligned in the darkness, shining like Esther for a time such as this, by giving birth to the Word of our testimonies like Mary. This is God’s Wonderful Web of Wonder. These are the stars that will make our own King say, "I saw them. I saw the stars."
Once again in “Esther’s room” or that synagogue room, my ears perked up when our leader talked about 3’s, how this room had three main walls. It was a triclinium synagogue. He then mentioned that this is also how an upper room is set. Interesting!
While we were in there, we heard from the man who prays in our capital that they had just elected a new house speaker who got a unanimous 221 votes. The man that shared this news, along with his wife, spend most of their time praying in our nation’s capital. He then shared about how the night before that Michael W. Smith had led a worship night in the Nancy Palosi caucus room and then said, “God is cleaning house.” We then as a group prayed for our nation. Finally, he shared that more churches have arisen in our capital then ever before. My friends, don’t believe the lies, especially of the media. God is on the move and you learn about His movement through TESTIMONY! Believe.
As we were about to leave, I ended up in a conversation with the man who had played Joseph 25 times. I asked him about this. He then began to tell me about a nativity play that is held every year in a city near where he is from. They hold it in this city’s little park. Where had I heard that city name before? Oh yes, it hit me that this was the little town outside of where I went to college that I used to drive to all the time in order to spend time praying, worshiping, and crying out to God on the drive. Then when I would get there, I would find this same little park and have a quiet time on the merry-go-round. Talk about a merry-go-round, or God bringing things full circle for what God brought to my mind is the fact that one time on this drive, I surrendered my will and life to Him truly for the first time. God brought this “Joseph” to remind this “Mary” of the first time she surrendered to the Lord after having just done it again near a scene representing Christ’s birth. You cannot make this stuff up. Wow! It was all I could do to hold in my tears. Mary truly had to surrender her will over to God in order to carry and give birth to the Lamb of God, to the Blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11a). We also must truly surrender to the Lamb of God, if we are going to truly give birth to the Word of our testimonies (Rev. 12:11b). For we must not love our lives so much as to shrink from death (Rev. 12:11c). Don’t think in all of this that I have forgotten that part or don’t know about the last part of that verse. But, to live is Christ and to die is gain – that is the race we are on!
Friends, fellow Stars, we have a choice to make for a time such as this, as the next in line. What will you choose? I hope and pray it is to join me, to join me on the race that leads to victory and joy. It’s time to give birth. It’s time to be still and sit at Christ’s feet and to believe Him for new, to fill your life and story with things worth testifying about, not only for this generation in despair and darkness, but also for the next. It is time for us to reclaim our joy and in Christ’s strength take up that eternal flame that started with Him, our first Flowering Star. For in doing so, by shining this eternal light, together we will also be used by God to be a bridge, the final bridge that will summon back our ultimate Bridegroom and bring forth His covering upon us once again. But until then, we are in that “Haman taunting” moment. The spirit of the antichrist is taunting us, hard. Our King has left for a season and while He is gone, we are in the thick of the battle, the ongoing battle.
But the day we truly form God’s Wonderful Web of Wonder, and engulf this world in unified Star light, wooing the lost, both Jew and Gentile towards the Lamb of God, our Bridegroom King will say, “I saw them. I saw the Stars” and then like the first Esther we will have been essential in bringing forth the Lamb once again, for a second time. For, He will then return and put our enemy in his rightful place. Oh, what a day. Oh, what a day. How we all long for such a day. It is a day that WILL come because we have a covenant God. But for now, it’s time to bloom. Time for all of God’s Stars to flower forth. It’s time for us like Mary, to give birth. And ultimately, it’s time for us, like Esther, to arise, to arise and shine, and together form that completed bridge. So, Esther’s arise! Arise. Arise. Arise!
When I went to see The Nativity Story for the first time, the movie was proceeded by only one preview which was odd. Looking back however I came to believe that it wasn't by accident. The preview was for The Last Mimzy. Although not a Christian movie, and one I don't necessarily advocate, I know it was not by accident that the plot was about a young girl saving future generations by building a spiderweb-like bridge to the future. The day I was led by God to find a tangible representation of His Wonderful Web of Wonder, it was in October so I found a lot of spiderweb structures but somehow I just knew that these were not it, although I knew God's idea included His people being aligned or woven together in such a way. Eventually my eyes fell on the perfect thing. It was a wall hanging of stars, aligned and held together like in a web-like circular pattern and the entire things was covered in red. The paint job on it actually made it look like blood. I knew this find was from God. It was a physical representation of His Stars aligned, covered by the Blood of the Lamb, shining bright collectively. So, again I say, Esthers, God's Stars, arise. Arise and shine for we have a bridge to finally complete!
I just went to check. The bridge I have waited on is open. It’s go time. It’s turbo time. Let the true race begin.