Say hello to Abbey Richards. She has been kind enough to share with us a little about herself and I know you will be blessed by getting to know her.

1.      Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a stay at home homeschooling mother and wife. We live in a very small town in western ND. My husband works for a local farming/feedlot operation. We have 2 daughters, age 4 and 6. I enjoy many things such as gardening, reading, crafts and learning. But most of all I enjoy the blessing of being able to be home teaching our children.

2. When and how did you begin your journey of following Torah?

We first heard the words Torah in the spring of 2010.  Prior to this we were “lost” in a search for a church home and our hearts were longing for more; more from the church, more from ourselves, and wanting more of God. When we heard our first teaching of Hebrew roots and Torah the longing for more began to make sense. Since before the birth of our first daughter I was always seeking a book of instruction to help us create a family and raise our children. When I found Torah and first heard it defined as Gods teaching and instruction I knew that Yahweh  was bring us back to His heart. Torah soon began to answer many fo the questions of things that I has been seeking. It was not just the first 5 books of the bible, nor was it just  “old law” as we had been taught in the past. We knew it was our call to strive to live closer to the principles of God. We saw the bible come alive as a REAL LIFE INSTRUCTION book. We are now on a journey as we begin to celebrating the feast days and pray our eyes and ears are open to more and more pagan things. Our steps may be small but we know that Yeshua holds us in His hand.

3.What truth really sealed the deal for you?

Many times I prayed for a mentor to help guide me in being a Godly women, I was always seeking out parenting books and children’s ministries trying to find the “best” way to teach our children. The first time I was told about Torah the actual definition was revealed to me as “teaching and instruction!” I praised Yah for answering my prayers! And as we dove into the truths, my life unfolded and I was given a peace that I have never experienced before. I was overwhelmed with how the lives of the Hebrew people were MY past and the bible was MY story!
I will never forget the first time I heard my daughters playing and as they were setting up their dolls hearing one ask the other “Do you want to play Passover?” As a mother my heart rejoiced that Yahweh’s truths will be spoken in their lives in ways I could have never dreamed of just a few years ago.

4. What has been your greatest blessing since beginning this Torah journey?

The greatest blessing for me and my husband has been finally finding  guidance and peace. We didn’t need a mentor, we needed Yahweh! And we needed to know that his principles were NOT done away with! Torah and Yahweh’s laws were what my heart was seeking. There they were in plain site right in my bible but I had never “seen” then like this before; the true standards given to us in a world where I was beginning not to trust anything. Our marriage is now stronger as we strive to model it after the Gods ways and not the worlds and our family is united. We have MANY blessings!

5. What has been your biggest challenge?

We feel so alone. We desire fellowship and support of other believers. I am thankful we do have a few people who “get” it but I long to walk side by side with other like minded families through this beautiful journey closer to our Fathers heart.

6. What does a typical Shabbat look like at your house?

Most weeks we try to have a special dinner on Friday. We do not do all the typical Shabbat rituals of lighting candles and making Challah but we take time to bless one another and make it a very special time for our family.

7. At your season in life, what is your most significant contribution to the Messianic community?

I hope that it is my children. That we will have guided and trained them to be a generation that hungers for God and His ways and that stands for truth without hesitation.  I will be able to rest in Yahweh’s hand on their lives. That because I will draw so close to the Father through seeking to teach them, that they will be so strong in their faith and they become much more loving and merciful to the world around us.

8. What would you like to share with other believers?

Once I began to really read and study Torah and all the principles I had time of being overwhelmed on how to change my life to match that of the scriptures. I started to judge myself and to feel inadequate as such a worldly women trying to honor her king. I dove deep into prayer about many issues and He revealed Himself to me so powerfully, reassuring me that I was the exact person on the exact path that He lay before me and that my walk will not match that of any others. He called us all out in a unique way for different purposes. No matter what you do for a living or where you live, if your eyes have been opened to Torah and you see the beauty in God’s principles and Feast Days that you are right where you need to be and right who He needs you to be! Trust, rest and enjoy as Yahweh takes your hand and leads you on your very own path. (This is very much easier said than done!).

Thank you Abbey for sharing with us.

If you would be interested in being interviewed, please contact me at sheepmommy@ yahoo.com.