A word about "Memorial Day" in America

MONDAY, MAY 26, 2025, IS MEMORIAL DAY, a somber remembrance for those who died in battle, those who fought to preserve our freedom.  Back in 1976 - 1978, I had the honor and privilege to serve as the NCO-In-Charge of the Survivor Assistance Office at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, which served all of Northern California and the State of Nevada.

Our mission was multi-faceted and included the following:    

(1)  Maintain a “duty roster” of officers who were to be sent, via a detail of two, directly to the homes of fallen soldiers, to personally notify their families of the tragedy. 

(2)  Provide “survivor assistance” to the next-of-kin, which included initiating their paperwork for any monetary benefits, etc.

 (3)  Provide a funeral detail for each internment (the act of burying a deceased person's body or cremated remains in a grave, tomb, or columbarium), consisting of several soldiers (or airmen from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, depending on where the soldiers were to be buried). 

These details included a bugler to play “Taps”; a firing party of 7 soldiers, with each firing 3 shots, resulting in a total of 21 rounds for the traditional “21-Gun Salute”; and two soldiers to remove and properly fold the American flag that covered the casket after "Taps" was played, which they were to present to the next-of-kin as a keepsake. (The folding of the flag is a ceremonial process, with each fold representing a symbolic meaning, and is a way of honoring the service member's service.)

It was a hard job on many levels; yet, very rewarding, because – in addition to my regular duties – I also provided emotional support to myriad grieving widows and widowers who came to our office during my two years there. I often served as a “shoulder to cry on,” and even cried with some of them as they mourned the loss of their loved ones.

I am so grateful to ADONAI for the huge honor and privilege He allowed me to experience by serving my fellow soldiers and their family members during one of the worst times of their lives!

(Below are some photos of our visitation to the local Fallen Veterans' Memorial.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·  

Some wisdom from Lamentations 3

WISDOM FROM LAMENTATIONS 3:

²¹ But in my mind I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope — ²² that the grace of Adonai is not exhausted, that his compassion has not ended. ²³ [On the contrary,] they are new every morning! How great your faithfulness! ²⁴ “Adonai is all I have,” I say; “therefore I will put my hope in him.

²⁵ Adonai is good to those waiting for him, to those who are seeking him out. ²⁶ It is good to wait patiently for the saving help of Adonai. ²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke from his youth. ²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him. ²⁹ Let him submit absolutely; there may yet be hope. ³⁰ Let him offer his cheek to the one who strikes it, and receive his fill of insults.

³¹ For rejection by Adonai does not last forever. ³² He may cause grief, but he will take pity, in keeping with the greatness of his grace. ³³ For he does not arbitrarily torment or punish human beings. (CJB)

A mini-lesson on "fence straddling...."

We used to have a sweet little Miniature Schnauzer named Dallas, who left this world a few years ago at the ripe ol’ age of 14.

Dallas was afraid of many things, and so, it wasn’t hard to contain him in the little postage stamp, fenced-in back yard we had back then, which consisted of just a few wires my husband had fastened to some rebar posts.

Dallas could have easily jumped over the short fence, but luckily for us, he was somewhat of a coward. (He also wouldn’t go near the heat vents in the house, because they were apparently too scary and weird…)

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that the little fence served as a kind “Torah” for our little fur person. As long as he stayed within its boundaries, he was safe. In that yard, he remained close to the house where we could keep an eye on him through the French door.

But if he were to ever escape and run up the hill into the woods, he would run the risk of becoming a meal for any number of predators, including a bear, lynx, or coyote (all of which we had personally seen).

If he had decided to run down the hill and across the properties of two of our neighbors, he would end up on a fairly busy highway. He would face possible danger even if he were to simply trot down our driveway toward the mailbox, because he would have ended up on the road that snaked through our neighborhood where many didn't bother to follow the speed limit.

I shudder to think what would have happened if he had tried to make it all the way to the freeway which was approximately only a half mile away….

What I’m trying to illustrate is that YHWH gave us Torah to keep us safe from this fallen world.

Adam and Eve were safe in the Garden until they decided to break just one little rule. Suddenly, they found themselves outside of their safe haven, in a “fallen world” where hard work, pain, sorrow, sickness and death ruled … where jealousy, greed, drunkenness, lewdness, arrogance, fornication and adultery and all manner of vileness lay in wait as the world’s population began to grow.

In our “fallen world,” we aren’t guaranteed health, wealth, riches or anything else our carnal selves desire. But when we belong to YHWH, we have shalom in knowing that, no matter what else happens, YHWH is with us, guiding and teaching and allowing us to grow in knowledge of Him.

We have His Divine Rules for holy living which serve to make our earthbound existence smoother. And, of course, we have the assurance of eternal life…

The moral of the story?

If little Dallas had dared to jump over his “Torah” fence that kept him safe, he would have mostly likely lost his life.

If YHWH’s people jump their Torah “fence” the world will close in and cause them to lose not only their “way” but possibly, their eternal life….

(See Romans 1:18-32; Numbers 15: 30; Hebrews 6:4-8 and 10:26-27; 2 Peter 2: 19-21; 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10; Deuteronomy 7: 9-10, Revelation 3:16, etc.)

Has ADONAI ever side-tracked one of your goals in life?

One major example of ADONAI’s "side-tracking" me from my goals was back in 1997, when I was Associate Editor of the Colorado Springs Business Journal. I had my eye set on becoming Editor one day, because I was more than qualified.

I had been a school-trained military photo-journalist, newspaper and magazine editor for 22 years, with various other kinds of schooling and experience under my belt, and so I felt certain that I was a “shoo-in.” 

I was new to Colorado at the time, having just moved there from Springfield, Missouri where I lived after my retirement from the Army in 1993. Nothing ever really “felt right” in Missouri, and I had floundered around as a free-lance journalist for a while, selling human interest stories to magazines while working part-time at a television station; before finally ending up at the Webster County Citizen, in Seymour, as a feature article writer and ad compositor/designer.

Looking back, of course, I can see that God’s Hand had guided me to Seymour, because that is where I “got saved” in a little Baptist church – after which I literally felt God urging me (for six months or more!) to move to Colorado.

When I finally complied, I ultimately ended up working at the Colorado Springs Business Journal – a job I loved – feeling that God had placed me here to become the editor one day.

And so, here I was, CERTAIN that I would be selected to replace the current editor upon her retirement!

But I wasn’t…

Instead, my bosses had hired a 22-year old college grad with ZERO experience! To say I was bewildered and devastated would have been an understatement. More to the point, I was ANGRY … really, really LIVID!

As a middle-aged woman with tons of schooling and experience, I wasn’t about to have some carnal, foul-mouthed, smart-alecky KID as my boss; and so, as a new Christian (only a couple of years into my faith at the time), I started praying about what I should do.

Well, God obviously heard me, because that following Sunday, I “happened” to sit next to a man at Assemblies of God church I was attending back then, who told me about a position available with the company where he worked. It wouldn’t be in the field of journalism, but I had all the “right qualifications” – and so I quit my job at the Business Journal and started working for a contractor to the United States Space Command.

Honestly, I hated my new job, but – bottom line was – our amazing ELOHIM gave me TWO miracles there: (1) I met a man who introduced me to Messianic Judaism – which would forever change my faith and my life; and (2) I met my future husband, Lt. Col. Bill Welker (retired), who helped me to create and become my co-host of a website in 2001 that we decided to call The Refiner’s Fire.  (Please see our website’s ABOUT US page)

Coincidence? I think not! YHWH is in charge; and, although sometimes we wonder what in the world He’s doing, the bottom line is, He WILL ALWAYS lead HIS people into where HE needs us to be! All we have to do is to “let go” and stop trying to be “in control” whenever we realize things aren’t exactly going according to OUR will…

 PSALM 46:10-12:  Be still and know that I am Adonai-Tzva’ot…

WATCH OUT FOR THIS NEW TYPE OF SCAM!

WARNING - A NEW TYPE OF SCAM: We experienced a new type of scam when a woman with a local area code called at 8:53 this morning to tell us that someone in Florida was attempting to withdraw $11,000 from our bank's checking account. The whole thing at first "sounded" legit, as she never asked for our bank account or social security numbers, or anything.

She told us the fraud attempt had been stopped, but that there would be an FBI investigation on "an African American woman" the FBI has been keeping an eye on, and that we should immediately go to our bank to report it.

She told us she was turning us over to the security manager - a man, who then also began to warn us to head for our bank while he stayed on the line with us so that they could "verify us via the bank's security cameras." We began to get suspicious when he asked us our approximate "estimated time of arrival," and kept talking to us until we arrived at the bank, and started talking to a bank employee - at which point, the “security manager “promptly hung up!

While we were speaking to a bank manager who was checking our account (and assuring us that the bank had had no notification of any fraud attempt), we noticed that our Ring Doorbell had given us a notification of a slim Hispanic woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing dark sunglasses and dressed in black shorts and and gray and black patterned hoodie, approaching our front door at exactly 9:11 a.m. carrying her cellphone, with something attached to it that resembled a microphone.

The moment she saw the Ring Doorbell, she did an instant "about-face" and hurried back to her car!

That is when it became crystal clear to us that this particular scam was apparently orchestrated to get us OUT OF OUR HOUSE, to allow the scammers time to break in... which is why the fake "security manager" had wanted to stay on the line with us until we arrived at the bank.

Anyway, the bank manager suggested save the Ring video and report the whole incident in person to the police station, which we did. Unfortunately, we were told by the police station receptionist that there was nothing they could do as there had been no actual crime committed.

Clearly, there had been A CRIME ATTEMPT – and we have saved the video, in case we hear of others in our area with the same story, so we can put these criminals away!  Surely, this scam isn’t just local, and so I wanted to warn everyone to be on the lookout for this “new scam.” 

In the meantime, I want to remind everyone to NEVER, EVER give out personal or banking information to ANYONE who calls you on the phone, no matter how “legitimate” they might sound.  There are EVIL people out there, who have no regard for anyone except themselves, and they will do whatever it takes to talk you out of your money or possessions!

\

A rant on the stupidity of mankind

I’M ABSOLUTELY BEWILDERED OVER THE STUPIDITY OF MANKIND!

Why is it that repairs and upgrades on eroding bridges and underground water and sewage pipes, etc., are allowed to remain overlooked and even ignored for decades on end, until they “suddenly” arise as emergencies? Why do we always wait to “fix” something when it borders on “just in time” or “too late” to do anything about it?

How STUPID is that?

One of the latest “emergencies” is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is experiencing several issues impacting airlines, including equipment failures, staffing shortages, and data outages, along with some short communication blackouts in planes, due to the air traffic control network's aging infrastructure. These issues have led to flight disruptions, delays, and even cancellations in some major airports.

COMMUNICATION BLACKOUTS IN SOME PLANES carrying millions of people around the world on a daily basis? THAT IS INEXCUSABLE!

I’m sorry, but I view these things as stupid, lazy and downright incompetent, because ALL of these things could be prevented via some common sense, true leadership, and proper budget and human resource management!

Unfortunately it seems that – even with all the great technology we possess, we are getting DUMBER all the time!

In the meantime, countries continue to taunt and start wars with each other, causing unnecessary hardships and deaths for the inhabitants...

OUR WORLD IS SICK! I do NOT understand why YHWH doesn’t just put a quick end to mankind, because we have done nothing but cause Him distress throughout the centuries.

Regarding the various "Names" of YHWH our ELOHIM...

 

We've all heard people who insist "God has many names."  But is this really true?  We, at The Refiner's Fire, contend that the Holy one of Israel has only ONE Name, and that what is being referring to as "names," would be more correctly described as "titles" - descriptive names ... appellations of dignity, honor, distinction, or preeminence attached to His Character and the things He does and is able to do.

The reality is, our God, the Holy One of Israel, only has one Name, יהוה - which are the Hebrew letters Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey, with the corresponding English letters being "YHWH," which are written out as "Yahweh" - and most likely (but not necessarily) pronounced "Yah-way." (Truth is, no one knows the correct pronunication.)  

We can see this Name being used for the first time in Exodus 6:2, where YHWH tells Moshe (Moses) the following:  

Exodus 6:2 "I am יהוה.  3  I appeared to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov as El Shaddai, although I did not make myself known to them by my name. (CJB)

So, technically speaking, YHWH is the ONLY proper name for God. It is translated in many English Bibles as "God" or “LORD” (all capitals) to distinguish it from Adonai, “Lord.”  The revelation of the meaning of the Name יהוה is given to Moses in Exodus 3:14, as YHWH explains to him:  “I Am who I Am."  This name specifies an immediacy, a presence.  יהוה/YHWH is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13) forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3).

We first saw the "Name" (Title!) of ADONAI used in Genesis 4:26: "That is when people began to call on the name of ADONAI" (“Lord” or "God") and later in places like Genesis 15:2 and Judges 6:15.  It was used in place of YHWH, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men.  

However, most knew Him as “El Shaddai,” which means “The God who performs hidden miracles and exercises mastery over Nature”; and “God Almighty” and “The Mighty One of Jacob.”  (See Genesis 49:24-25; Exodus 6:3; and Psalm 132:2.)

He was also known as "ELOHIM" (“Gods” or “Godhood”; “Creator, Mighty and Strong”) in Genesis 17:7, and Jeremiah 31:33. Elohim is the plural form of Eloah – which tell us that YHWH is many things in the form of ONE GOD, that we humans with our limited human mindsets, cannot possibly understand. From the Bible’s first sentence in Genesis 1:1, the superlative nature of YHWH’s power is evident as ELOHIM speaks the world into existence.

People also came to know יהוה/YHWH as the following Titles, describing His Character and what He accomplished at the time:

EL, ELOAH:  God "mighty, strong, prominent" (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 139:19). Etymologically, El appears to mean “power” and “might” (Genesis 31:29). El is associated with other qualities, such as integrity (Numbers 23:19, jealousy (Deuteronomy 5:9), and compassion (Nehemiah 9:31); but the root idea of “might” remains.

ADONAI-YIREH:  "ADONAI Will Provide" "Genesis 22:14) – the name memorialized by Abraham when God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac.

ADONAI--RAPHA:  "The Lord our Healer” or “The Lord Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26) – emphasizing His role as a provider of healing, both physical and spiritual. The term "rapha" itself means to heal, mend, or restore.

ADONAI-NISSI:  "Adonai is my banner/miracle (Exodus 17:15), where banner is understood to be a rallying place. This name commemorates the desert victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17.

ADONAI-M'KADDESH: God Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy" (Leviticus 20:8; Ezekiel 37:28) – It's a name for ELOHIM that describes His role as the one who sets apart His people for a special purpose, making them holy in His presence.

ADONAI-SHALOM: ELOHIM Our Peace" (Judges 6:24) – the name given by Midyah (Gideon) to the altar he built after the Angel of YHWH assured him he would not die as he thought he would after seeing Him.

ADONAI-ELOHIM: "God" (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5) – a combination of His unique name YHWH and the generic “Lord,” signifying that He is the Lord of Lords. Yahweh signifies "to be" or "being," highlighting self-existence. Elohim, derived from "El," signifies "strength, energy, might, and power" and "to swear, declare, or make a covenant". In the Hebrew Bible, both names are used, with Elohim often representing a generic term for God and Yahweh being the personal name of the specific Deity.

ADONAI-TZIDKENU:  ELOHIM Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) – As with ADONAI-M’Kaddesh, it is He alone who provides righteousness (from the Hebrew word tsidkenu) to man, ultimately in the  person of His Son and Divine Messiah, Yeshua:  ADONAI made this sinless man be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God’s righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

ADONAI-ROI:  ELOHIM is Our Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1) – After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship YHWH had with him, and so he declares, “ADONAI-Roi is my Shepherd. I shall not want.”  (Psalm 23:1)

ADONAI-SHAMA:  ADONAI Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35) – a name for God found in the Bible, signifying YHWH’s presence and dwelling with His people, both in the future and in the present for those who believe the name ascribed to Jerusalem and the Temple there, indicating that the once-departed glory of ELOHIM (Ezekiel chapters 8 through 11) had returned (Ezekiel 44:1-4).

ADONAI-TZEVAOT: (צְבָאוֹת) is a Hebrew word meaning "hosts" or "armies," often translated as "Lord of Hosts" or "God of Hosts" in English. It's a title used for God, particularly in the context of his power, leadership, and sovereignty over all creation, including celestial beings and the universe. The word "tzeva" (צְבָא) means "army" or "host," and "tzevaot" is the plural form, indicating a large, organized group.

EL ELYON:  “Most High" (Deuteronomy 26:19) – derived from the Hebrew root for “go up” or “ascend,” so the implication is of that which is the very highest. El Elyon denotes exaltation and speaks of absolute right to Kingship.

EL ROI: "ELOHIM of Seeing" (Genesis 16:1-14) – the name ascribed to God by Hagar, alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah. When Hagar met the Angel of the ADONAI, she realized she had seen God Himself in a theophany. She also realized that El Roi saw her in her distress and testified that He is a God who lives and sees all.

EL OLAM:  "Everlasting God" (Psalm 90:1-3) – YHWH’s nature is without beginning or end, free from all constraints of time, and He contains within Himself the very cause of time itself. “From eternity past to eternity future you are ELOHIM.”

EL-GIBBOR: "Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:7) – the name describing the Messiah, Yeshua (who came straight from YHWH as he always was, and had been with YHWH as The Word  - John 1:1, 14), in this prophetic portion of Isaiah. "The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot will accomplish this." It's a name or title used for God in the Hebrew Bible, specifically to emphasize God's strength and power. The term "El" (אֵל) means "God," while "Gibbor" (גִּבֹּר) means "strong, mighty, or warrior". As a powerful and mighty warrior, YHWH’s Divine Messiah will accomplish the destruction of His enemies and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15).

As you can see,  יהוה/YHWH "wears many hats."  He is a compilation of Titles that hardly do Him justice, because "WHO He is" and "WHAT He has accomplished" encompasses the entire universe – or even universes! Mere words CANNOT now, and could NEVER describe the AWESOME ELOHIM we serve.  Halleluyah!