the brew*crew adventure

Today we visited a little folk festival being held at a local State park just down the road from our house. It was fun, T made a beautiful corn husk doll that I'll forever treasure. N won second place in the greased watermelon race, and Chris learned how to make rope from poplar bark. We all chased baby S around. I especially enjoyed watching her dance and visit with all the people sitting in the open-air chapel, as we listened to the Gospel Bluegrass band playing their mountain melodies.

It has been a good weekend... a restful Sabbath. I'm finally starting to get used to Chris's being home on Fridays. It's a lovely arrangement, makes the whole weekend feel longer. Lately he's been working 10 hr. days (some days more), getting his 40 hrs. in Mon.-Thurs., which gives us longer weekends, and has been nice.

Last night we had a big Shabbat dinner, basked in the warmth of our special time together, with our Lord, by the calm glow of the candles and our blessings one for another. N remarked upon how much he loves the Sabbath traditions. T asked how we came to know about it. We talked, we laughed, and I thanked our Lord inwardly for the binding of our hearts together that I was feeling as my heartstrings were being tugged upon.

Thursday morning, the kids and I spent at the lake with friends, and then I was pleasantly surprised by Chris's early return home from work. Then on Thursday evening we were blessed by the music of Ted Pearce, live! I've been a fan of this singer/songwriter/guitarist for some time, so when I received an email from a friend (thanks Crystal!) letting me know that he and his sons (who are traveling and rocking with him, the "bearded band" as they call themselves) would be playing at a local coffee shop last Thursday evening, I was a wee bit excited. Chris and I took the kids along and went to the "Manna Bagel Shop", where we were warmly welcomed by a host of new faces.

We all had a wonderful time of worship with these fellow Believers, many of whom were members of a local Messianic congregation other than the one that we've fellowshipped with, all of whom we met for the first time there. Baby S, who loves to dance at the sound of music, did just that and at one point a gentleman handed her a tambourine, which she knew exactly what to do with! It was all that I could do to keep her corralled and out of the circle of dancers on the floor, lest she trip them up. It was a night of Hebraic dance, singing, clapping, testimony and heart-felt praise as we worshiped the God of Israel in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

I love the way that Ted explained the meaning of our Lord Jesus's name in Hebrew, which you may view here: Yeshua (wish I could figure out how to embed youtube on my blog here!) Many (most?) of his songs are taken straight from the Scriptures... as he said wryly, "Everyone please open your hymnals to the Book of Isaiah!" LOL

We bought his album, Hallelu et Adonai (Hebrew for Praise the Lord), which I've wanted for some time and absolutely LOVE! I think that I like it even better than his other one we have, Zealous Over Zion, which is also wonderful.

We'd almost taken the kids to a friend's house, but I'm actually glad that it didn't work out that way and they came along with us instead. Yesterday N told me that he was inspired by Ted Pearce, to diligently pursue his own guitar practice. That's good. T says that she'd like to learn to play "those drums", the bongoes, now. Hmmmm... we'll have to stick with the violin for starters, for now. We were all inspired by Ted's wonderful testimony of how he went from Atheist to Messianic Gentile Believer in Jesus/Yeshua, as well as that of a ministry close to his heart: March of Life.

My heart was encouraged. This has  been timely nourishment to my spirit, filling our home and our children's hearts with enthusiastic praise and worship of our beloved King as we sing and dance together. The Lord has really richly blessed us through His ministers lately, over here in NE TN, both local and from abroad.

I haven't even gotten around to blogging about how blessed Chris and I were to be able to go listen to and meet esteemed Biblical scholar, Dr. John Garr, at a little church in Jasper, VA. Many of his articles and books are available to read right online for free. I cannot recommend his well-researched and inspired teachings highly enough! How wonderful it was to meet he and his wife, and to personally thank them for the invaluable contributions his work has made not only in my own spiritual walk, but to the whole Body of Messiah. I'm eagerly anticipating the publication of the books that he mentioned he's working on.

Tomorrow I shall begin my week out right, with digging in the dirt as T and I tend to the garden (we've some squares to re-plant) and hanging laundry out on the line. Yes, this weekend has been music to my soul so far...

Studying like a Berean takes time... and one thing that I've learned over the years is not to rush through articles or books when I'm studying any aspect of the Word. Inevitably when I take on a new study, once I begin digging, I'll usually end up with more questions first, as my thoughts are stirred up, and then as I search out and ponder the answers, I'll find myself surrounded with numerous books, articles and Bibles as well as invaluable input from other like-minded Berean-type Believer friends whom I've consulted with questions concerning any given topic/issue...

And so it has gone for me in this last week as I've ventured into this particular study as well, which Julie is hosting here. Thus I'm still gathering my thoughts on the first three portions of the study, all of which I've now read, but am still holding up for analysis. So far, I've really appreciated the fact that doing this study has gotten me digging deeper, praying more specifically about some things and formulating more concretely what I believe. That is always good... and I just love when the Lord prompts me in a direction and I sense His gentle guidance as I go along.

I was glad when Julie announced that she'd slow down the pace a wee bit, as I would be pretty behind at this point if she hadn't, since when endeavoring to "study" an issue, I usually end up doing more than a simple read-through of any given materials... and right now I have a lot on my plate already. What can I say? I'm a slow eater in the physical realm as well... but I hear that's good for digestion anyways, and so I've resigned myself to the fact. And as much as I love my scholar's hat, there are quite a few others I must dawn every day as well, and so, I must allot my time wisely, which means putting away my books (which I could easily while away my days in) to get out the kids' books and study with them, or joining Chris when he says, "Let's watch a movie" or "Let's take the kids to the park", and then there's every Mom's never-ending nemesis... house cleaning and laundry, of course... in my case lately, piles of laundry, which I can tolerate covering the couch for a couple of days, but when the pile starts to encompass the floor around the couch, and I'm having to dig through it to find clean bibs for the spit-up queen, I must determine to set aside my reading- yet again (which have I mentioned, I much prefer?)... to take up the mundane. But like I said, I'm a slow one I guess anyways, and I digress. Okay, back to this here study...

First off, I'd like to throw out a disclaimer to anyone who may have jumped on board (or may be considering) this study per my invitation. I am not very familiar with the writers of this particular study, and therefore cannot stand by their teaching wholeheartedly at this point. Upon initially looking over the material purported to be covered in this study, my inclinations were that it would surly follow along the lines of what I've learned over the years concerning Hebraic roots studies, and would make an easy sort of introductory study for others, as well as review for myself, providing guidance for digging deeper into covenant theology and the Hebraic roots of our faith. So far, I'm thinking that maybe The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread, one of the books that I began with years ago, may be a better way to go for anyone interested in that focused goal for study. Mike and Sue do, however, recommend this other article, The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to Salvation, which I also just read this morning, to supplement this study.

As I'm reading the studies, I'm finding myself needing to look up Scriptures and then even reading some commentaries and referring to some other reference books I have here on hand for clarification here and there to truly approach this study as a Berean...

First of all, Mike and Sue, the authors of this study start off by telling us the purpose of their ministry, Restoration Ministries International, namely to provide awareness to the Church of "the Hebraic foundations of understanding and practice upon which the early Church was founded", by equipping God's people through the provision of "practical resources for God's people to live out His restorative truths to fulfill His purposes."

These are commendable goals, which I do share with the Dowgiewiczes. I also agree with their beginning premise that "Through these truths our Father is revealing the trust-based obedient lifestyle of our father Abraham."

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

~Hebrews 11.17,19

Concerning our father Abraham, I would like to add something here that was not mentioned in this study, but which deeply moved me when I learned it years ago. The first mention of a "Hebrew" in the Bible is in Genesis 14.13, in reference to Abraham. It comes from the Hebrew root word abar, which means "to cross over", thus a Hebrew is one who has crossed over. And just as Abraham responded to God's calling him out, as he crossed over the river into the land which God was giving him, and then trusted and obediently responded to God's requirement that he lay his promised inheritance upon the altar, so too we as Believers in Yeshua/Jesus as our Messiah do respond in faith as we cross over spiritually from this world, into His Covenant (as did the Israelites as well, cross over the Jordan into their Promised Land), and then even physically as we learn to appreciate the many physical symbolisms of walking and living out obedience to His teachings (Torah).

Hebrew:

Derivation.

(1.) The name is derived, according to some, from Eber (Genesis 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The Hebrews are "sons of Eber" (10:21).

(2.) Others trace the name of a Hebrew root-word signifying "to pass over," and hence regard it as meaning "the man who passed over," viz., the Euphrates; or to the Hebrew word meaning "the region" or "country beyond," viz., the land of Chaldea. This latter view is preferred. It is the more probable origin of the designation given to Abraham coming among the Canaanites as a man from beyond the Euphrates (Genesis 14:13).

(3.) A third derivation of the word has been suggested, viz., that it is from the Hebrew word 'abhar, "to pass over," whence 'ebher, in the sense of a "sojourner" or "passer through" as distinct from a "settler" in the land, and thus applies to the condition of Abraham (Hebrews 11:13).

from Easton's Bible Dictionary

So, you see, in the truest sense of the word, we as Believers grafted into the true vine, we are Hebrews... I don't know about you, but that was a "wow" revelation for me.

As I've explained above, I am in total agreement with the premises and message of this first lesson, pretty basic stuff. I must say a big "Amen" to the statement made in Lesson #1, here on page 3,

It is vital that you embrace the Covenant relationship which Jesus has made possible. So many false, man-centered gospels have been developed in the past few centuries. Many today are embracing them to their eternal destruction. (see Matthew 7.21-23)

I did, however, notice something concerning this lesson that I would like to bring into question, and to make others doing this study aware of... Really, I am a bit surprised that no one else has yet seen nor brought it up. As I read under "Priority #1", there on p. 3 of the pdf document, where the Scripture John 7.38,39 is quoted and then used as proof text for the following paragraph/statement in paragraph 3, I noticed that it seemed a bit off, as if the Scripture were being taken out of context, as I understand it.

The problem though isn't in the point trying to be made, as I have learned through my own studies over the years how truly, as this study says, the "foundation for our salvation is found in the Older Testament, and made clear in the Newer Testament as a continuum." That's definitely true, like I said, no problem with the *message* being taught here, BUT what doesn't settle with me is the use of that particular Scripture from John to say so, as I don't think that's what it's saying at all... this is a Messianic Scripture, where as you may or may not know, Jesus is proclaiming that He is the Messiah during the Feast of Tabernacles, particularly during the water pouring ceremony.

John 7.37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

As Jamieson writes in his commentary concerning this Scripture:

37-39. the last day, that great day of the feast—the eighth (Le 23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremonies. "The generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar. Then the words of Isa 12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act, intimated in Joh 7:39, was expressed" [Olshausen]. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed—accompanied with sound of trumpets—that it used to be said, "Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all" [Lightfoot].

Jesus stood—On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching—"Jesus stood," probably in some elevated position.

and cried—as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people.

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink!—What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of "thirst," and the eternal satisfaction of them by "drinking." To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh 4:13, 14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea—in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob's well—here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (Mt 11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (Joh 6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as "the Bread of Life," and as both able and authorized to appease the "HUNGER," and quench the "THIRST," of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah's ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no Money!" &c. (Isa 55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, "He is guilty of death," or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, " My Lord AND MY God!"

John 7.38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

38. as the scripture hath said—These words belong to what follows (emphasis mine), "Out of his belly, as the scripture hath said, shall flow," &c. referring not to any particular passage, but to such as Isa 58:11; Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8; Eze 47:1-12; in most of which the idea is that of waters issuing from beneath the temple, to which our Lord compares Himself and those who believe in Him.

out of his belly—that is, his inner man, his soul, as in Pr 20:27.

rivers of living water—(See on [1801]Joh 4:13). It refers primarily to the copiousness, but indirectly also to the diffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others.

But in this lesson, they've left the comma out of the Scripture -after me, before "as the Scripture said", and that comma is there in every version of this Scripture that I've checked, and it's important, as its absence completely changes the meaning, naturally. See here. From lesson #1, p.3: "Jesus makes clear how you can enter into this Covenant: "Whoever trust in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him..."

But what the Scripture actually says is:

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Notice the COMMA, because it changes the meaning completely. I'm not sure why they would do this (omit the comma), except to use the Scripture to prove their point, but that's just wrong imho- obviously- and even unneccessary since there's plenty of other proof texts for that premise anyways. And I don't want to be petty, and wouldn't bring it up except that I feel obligated to do so since I have already committed myself to this study, and after consulting two trusted people have been told that I should throw my misgivings out here into the blogosphere for others to consider as well. So, why am I the only one who's even seeing it and am I missing something?

Those words, by the omission of that comma, are made to belong to "Whoever trusts in me"... they have it written in the study as "Whoever trusts in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." And then they go on about how only Scripture in existence then was the Old Testament -granted, of course, but I don't think Jesus was specifying as to "how" to believe on or trust in Him here, His point was that for "whoever trusts in Him", then *comma*, "AS SCRIPTURE HAS SAID, streams of living water will flow" versus believing on HIM as Scripture has said... am I making sense here?

Then they go so far as to say (on the same page), that based on that (their) interpretation of this Scripture (which I didn't find in any other commentary I checked, and I checked a few) that "You can recognize deceptive gospels because they omit the covenant stipulations Jesus speaks of in John 7:38,39" What?! What covenant stipulations? But they're making reference to the previous inference they drew that we should "trust as the Scripture has said" (without the comma, which- did I mention- is there in my Bible). I'm not seeing that He's laid any covenental stipulations per say out there... but they're saying that the covenant stipulations are to "trust in Me as the Scripture has said"... I don't see any, besides the trusting part. And as far as I can tell, they've put the emphasis in the wrong place and therefore have interpreted that very important Scripture all out of whack, which is SO ironic since this very Scripture points SO vividly to Jesus's Jewishness and recognition of the Hebraic temple ceremonies of the day as He proclaimed Himself to be the Jewish Messiah, through reference to the Hebraic customs and writings of the day. And besides, in my humble opinion, that seems to be a bit simplistic of a statement to be made anyways, concerning how to recognize deceptive gospels. So, what gives?

Then again, as far as I can tell, reference is again made to this faulty interpretation of this particular Scripture (John 7.38-39) on page 15, paragraph 8, of the article they refer readers to, The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to Salvation. It says, "To be 'born again' was to trust in Jesus 'as the Scripture has said' - as Abraham trusted." To read a wonderfully insightful little Hebraic commentary piece on Jesus's conversation with Nicodemus (Nakdimon in Hebrew) concerning being "born again", click here.

As I said, I have now read the study up through Lesson three, and have quite a few more thoughts that I'd like to share, but I'm finding myself short of time, so please bear with me as I trail behind everyone else. Now that I got that awkward bit of discrepancy out of the way and off my chest, I feel like I can move on. There's also a lot of good stuff here, and I hate to come out all contrary to begin with, but I must share honestly here with what I perceived, the good and the bad.
Another quote that I would like to "Amen":

So much of Christendom today "outsources" wives and children for others to teach. This was never God's intent, and violates so much of His Word pertaining to the relational intimacy of the home and parental influence in spiritual growth.

And then, from page 4, also of Lesson 1:

Nor should other people or programs compensate for your shortcomings in this responsiblity.

And, that's all for now, since I must attend to other things around here, and have already spent quite a few hours on this today alone. I do have so much more to share though, as my thoughts have been running every which way and many intriguing points brought up that I would like to expound upon, but it will be as I find time... and I am determined to fold that laundry and cook meals for the family first.

Blessings and Shalom to you all~

If you have ever felt sick and tired of churchianity…and felt Father drawing you to something else…something more real…more intimate…more simple, then please pray and consider joining us in this study.

I would like to extend an invitation to all of my friends and readers here to join me and some other ladies (gents?) in a study we started yesterday. We'll be reading through and discussing a study put together by Mike and Sue Dowgiewicz of Restoration Ministries Int. that can be found here, entitled Discussing How to Restore the Early Church. Our study is being hosted by Julie of Seeking the Old Paths and so far she's posted the first two parts, here and here, which I have printed out for easier reading.

It's a lot to read each day, especially since I'm looking up all of the Scriptures as I go, so I may not keep up with Julie's pace, but I will be posting each portion of the study as I go, along with my own thoughts, which will inevitably set my posts back behind hers a ways. Please do join me if you're interested, and let me know. It would be great if you would post your own thoughts on your blog or in the comments section over at Julie's blog, if you do decide to study with us. I promise that you will find it interesting, to say the least... I'm challenged already.

I don't know about you, but this has been a topic of great fascination to me, from the time that I began to think about, question and realize (about 10-11 years ago) how very different the concept of discipleship within the Church is today from what it was in the first century, and how very relevant and important an understanding of the Hebraic culture and mindset of yesteryears (context of the Bible) still is to my Faith walk today... and how it colors my understanding of the Word of Adonai (or lack thereof), and its translation into my daily walk with Him.

I still consider myself such a fledgling in understanding the things of God, and do so look forward to growing closer to Him as I seek to hear His Voice daily. I hope to post some of my thoughts on as I go through this study. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to write about something though, and just get so overwhelmed with where to begin and how to proceed that I just end up writing nothing at all. That's the sort of writer's block that I usually suffer from... so many ideas jumbled together and bottlenecking that very few end up coming out. Hopefully I will overcome that particular hindrance.

I'm somewhat familiar with Restoration Ministries, since I'd read a few articles from their website a few years back when I was researching home churching. I found the "I Hate Nicolaitanism" article particularly encouraging, validating and thought-provoking. I remember sharing excitedly of all that I'd read with Chris. I haven't gone through this particular study though, and am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us as we read and share this message together. When Julie asked me join her in this study, I knew right away that it would be very timely for Chris and I as we're seeking Him for direction right now in quite a few areas. I also thought that it might provide a good opportunity for some of you to delve deeper into the Word with me, and to learn more of our great heritage as well. It should also be a good catalyst for me to write/share some more about our journey down this path on my blog, as well as some of our recent struggles as we've been in this time of transition during the last couple of years... intimidating topics that I've been considering and wanting to write more about for some time now.

For a long time -since we'd first begun learning of our Faith's Hebraic roots, about ten years ago- we'd remained within the mainstream Church, but definitely felt like outsiders in many regards, wondered why these Truths weren't being taught (besides by our Sunday School teacher that introduced us to this during an in-depth walk/study through the Book of Genesis), and just kept pretty much under the radar, as we began to celebrate the Biblical Holidays. We've also rejected all notions of replacement theology, as we've learned to recognize it for what it is. During this time, we've been able to share with a few friends we've met from various congregations (as we've had a few interstate moves during that time) of the wonderful treasures that we were finding in our studies along these lines, and have hopefully inspired a few to pursue these studies on their own.

In the last year we've been blessed to worship and study with our local Messianic congregation, though we've still not been settled within our spirits as to what direction the Lord would have us go... as far as regular fellowship and coorperate worship goes. We're still attending our weekly Bible/book study with our friends from the Messianic congregation, and still enjoy the comradery and loving fellowship of friends we've made from a local non-denominational church that we'd been attending the first couple of years that we've lived here. But Chris and I are going to start having a more formal study time together each week during the Sabbath, home-church starting with just us if you will, as we seek our Lord for what direction He would have us to go from here... We'll be going through this study together as we do. I think that it's a good place to start, again...

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

~ Ecclesiastes 3.11

We had a wonderful time camping out last weekend, as we celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering, aka. Sukkoth, with friends new and old. We also helped our local congregation to build a little sukkah the weekend before in front of the church building where we meet at. They said that they build it there every year and leave it up for a couple of weeks to serve as a testimony for all who see it.

You may go here to read more about why we, as New Covenant Gentile believers in Jesus as our Messiah, Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Also, my dear friends Carla and Jenny have recently written lovely posts about this holy day as well, also known as Messiah's Feast, here and here.

A time for worshiping our King under the sukkah... this little guy was gettin' his boogey on!

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Revelation 21.3

...and for remembering Who is our shelter...

For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27.5

And we're just practicing, because according to the prophet Zechariah, someday soon...

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to WORSHIP THE KING, the LORD of hosts and to KEEP THE FEAST OF TABERNCLES"

Zechariah 14.4,16

On Sept. 15, during the Days of Awe, we dedicated and blessed our baby S during our Messianic fellowship's Shabbat service, under the chuppah, which is actually a tallit (prayer shawl) right after we all sang the Sabbath Prayer of blessings over our children (the same one sang in The Fiddler on the Roof, beautiful!).

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:13-14

[MOTHERS AND FATHERS]

May the Lord protect and defend you.
May He always shield you from shame.
May you come to be
In Israel a shining name.

May you be like Ruth and like David.
May you be deserving of praise.
Strengthen us, Oh Lord,
And keep us in Messiah's ways.

May God bless you and grant you long lives.
(May the Lord fulfill our Sabbath prayer for you.)
May God make you good husbands and wives.

May the Lord protect and defend you.
May the Lord preserve you from pain.
Favor them, Oh Lord, with happiness and peace.
Oh, hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.

Thank you Father for our children, and for this new blessing in all our lives. Guide and direct us Lord, that we may be the parents you've called us to be. Draw our childrens' hearts to Yourself. May they follow hard after You alone. May Your hand of protection be upon this precious little life, which we offer back to You.

Click here to read more about the Sabbath blessings for children, customarily given by the parents on Friday evening.

Click here and here to see more pics of baby S.

Did you miss me, maybe a little?

Well, my blog was temporarily out of order, due to web-hosting issues for homeschooljournal.net, as Andrea explains here. But all is back in order now, and I'd like to publicly say "thank-you!" to both Ron and Andrea, who in the midst of moving their entire household (what timing, huh?), still managed to find time to straighten out the issues so that our blogs would be back up and running asap. Ya'll are just TOO good... hope that you get settled soon.

So... time to update, though it may take me a few days. Yesterday we spent all day outside, gardening, mowing, etc. We had a lovely time though, it was a gorgeous day for playing outside- in the dirt and hose. Today I'm in the midst of deep-cleaning my bedroom, something it's needed for some time... dusting, getting all the laundry off the floor, folded and put away, going through the stacks of books on the dressers and floor, and putting them away (even getting rid of some- clothes and books, and doing some mending that's been put off too long too), etc. I'm also simultaneously directing the kids in cleaning their own bedrooms. So far, they've filled three large trash bags with clothes from their drawers and closets that they've outgrown... just since the last time we did this only a few months ago! Now they've moved on to thinning out their toys, getting rid of stuff they're not playing with. I'm going to have lots to post on free-cycle here shortly!

Later on this evening we'll be attending a Pentecost/Shavu'ot celebration service with our local Messianic congregation, after which we'll all go out to eat together (the kids can hardly wait, they're having so much fun with the suspense of not knowing *where* we'll be eating, trying to guess), so I may not get to typing much until tomorrow. Last Saturday I went to a day-long teaching conference held by this same congregation, along with Gary Huff, about "Pentecost; Before and After"... it was absolutely fascinating (always love to learn new stuff about the Bible and history that I just haven't seen or heard before- the parallels between the Torah being given on Mt. Sinai and the disciples Pentecost experience in Acts 2 are wonderful and so amazing!), inspiring (what awesome times of worship we had too, and the dancers did their Hebraic folk dancing to some of my favorite songs- I'm gonna have to join that dance group asap) and kinda nice just to go somewhere by myself for the entire day too (though I would have loved to have Chris along).

Well, I've rambled on long enough and I'd better get back to work, so I can get finished up here before we leave, and Chris needs me to cut his hair too. I'll type ya later!

I'm not really feeling very talkative lately (maybe you've noticed?), but wanted to blog a bit of what's been going on around here lately anyways. Afterall, I did promise an update, didn't I? So, what have we been up to?

Remembering, Celebrating & Worshiping

This last Sunday night Chris, N, T and I enjoyed a wonderful Passover Seder dinner with our local Messianic congregation, Beth Shalom.

It was beautiful, and the kids' favorite part was the dancing (well, besides the eating!). We've been reading together about the first Passover from the book of Exodus, and some childrens' picture books, and also of Jesus's sharing this meal with His disciples before His deah, and then His resurrection. N and T watched one of N's favorite movies yesterday, Cecil B. De Mille's "The 10 Commandments". It has been a refreshing time of encouragement, remembrance and worship for me, and for all of us I think.

Also, Jenny has a lovely post here about Passover, and the Cup of Redemption, which is ceremonially taken after dinner, and which Jesus Himself shared with His disciples.

The third cup of wine is taken after the meal. It is the cup of redemption, which reminds us of the shed blood of the innocent Lamb which brought our redemption from Egypt. We see that Jesus took the third cup in Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.'" This was not just any cup, it was the cup of redemption from slavery into freedom. This is our communion cup.

~ excerpted from The Meaning of Passover

To see more pics from our Seder, click here.

To read more about the Passover from a Christian/Messianic perspective, you may see my post from a couple of years ago here, and there's a good article here and another here.

Riding

N and T started their horse riding lessons again last month. Their instructor takes a break during the winter every year. So, they're beginning their third year now of formal English riding instruction, and are becoming pretty good little riders, if I do say so myself. I think that T is becoming more and more horse-crazy, if that's possible. She spent this morning, making home-made molasses and bran horse treats for the pony she's riding, Baldrick, whom she "misses so much"... She had the idea and did a search for good "horse treat recipes" on her latest favorite site, a kid-friendly search engine. Then, she wrote it down and followed the recipe herself, turned out some great tasting (yes, we tried them), chewy horse treats for her pony. Well, it had been a whole day and a half since she saw him last! *sheesh* LOL

On Saturday T had her first horse show of this year, and she was so excited that she barely slept the night before. I know because she kept waking me up every hour with, "I'm so excited, I just can't sleep..." We had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get her ready and to the barn to help load the ponies into the trailer. It was a really long day for her, well week really, since she spent most of Wed., Thurs., and Friday over at her riding instructor's house/barn with her lesson and then preparations for the show (shaving and bathing the pony, cleaning and conditioning tack, etc.). She's looking forward to her first year of showing, once a month, with cute little "King Baldrick".

Chris and I have just been so blessed to see how the Lord's provided a way for her to participate more actively in this sport which she loves so much, but would normally be out of our range financially. J, her instructor, asked me if she could show this year, because the academy that hosts these particular shows is giving her free classes/slots for one student and pony to show in each month (normally each class costs a certain amount which can range from $20+ per show, depending upon how many classes the student shows in, the average being at least three), since she already has so many students signed up to show. And she wants T to fill that complimentary spot. "Of course!", says I, what an unexpected blessing!! I think her teacher, J, is just as excited about it as we are too, which makes it so fun.

To see the rest of of the pics from her show, click here.

Demolition, Planning & Building

The past couple of weekends, Chris and N have been working hard salvaging oak wooden planks from a huge antique barn before it's to be destroyed by a developer that Chris knows, who gave him permission to take whatever he wants. Though it's a messy job and alot of work, this is has been a huge blessing and answer to prayer, since Chris has been specifically looking and asking around for salvageable barn wood to use for the various building projects he's been planning out... our new and improved (larger) chicken coop (which he's now working on, pics forthcoming), a big harvest-style dining room table, a headboard for our bed, and a bunk bed set for T (she's been wanting "rustic, horse-style" instead of the girlie white wicker trundle bed she has now (which I love btw, oh well, 'tis her room). He plans to plane the wood for some of the furniture pieces. It's amazing to me how finished and beautiful looking his handiwork is once he's finished. He has such an eye for detail, a true craftsman. I'm sure that N will learn a lot from Chris, who has had N working alongside him like a little man lately.

Playing, Resting, more Planning, Learning & Cleaning

So, Spring has sprung around here, and we're all absolutely loving it!! Once again, we have daylight until 8p.m., the windows are open and we don't need to heat nor cool the air at all, which is so nice, and the landscape is turning all green again too! The kids have proclaimed the weather as suitable for playing in the hose-water on the trampoline and running barefoot outside. They've been spending a lot more time down at the creek too, which Samson loves (nothing like a romp in the mud and water to make a dog's day). N has been bringing armloads of bionicles and GI Joe figures outside to play, building them little forts, etc. and T has been playing horses outside a lot, both alone, with me and with her kindred spirit friend, M. I've been playing at taking lots of pics of Spring blooms, but have yet to upload any of my pics.

Last month was a welcome reprieve from the months prior, since I had one less baby I was watching. It had been getting pretty stressful for me there for awhile, so the month long break was very timely. I'd been sleeping in until 8-8:30 most mornings, glorious, I tell ya! The mother had temporarily moved out of state with her daughter (the older of the two babies I've been watching for the last year), but has just recently returned again, and asked me to babysit for her again. I accepted, so my mornings are earlier again as well.

Now I have two crawling babies here, a 10 month old and a 14 month old, chasing each other, and me, around... crawling up my legs, reaching to be held and constantly getting into everything. It can be a bit much at times (I'm finding myself praying more), but the extra income is so nice, allowing us to spend some $$ on (hopefully) finishing the renovations on our old house here, without going into debt, and we're going to buy a new mattress for Chris and I (yay!!) -so it's well worth the extra work and inconvenience to me and our kids. And it's only for a few more months... We'd spent most of our tax return on paying off all of our credit card debt, and so now the only debt we have is our mortgage, and I'd like to keep it that way!

This is little E, the three yr. old we're keeping, brother to the 10 month old baby I just mentioned. He's a sweetie, and I feel badly that he and his little baby sister will probably be stuck in daycare soon. Their single Mom has recently put herself on a list for income-based daycare. So, I may lose them anytime, really. I plan to keep the other baby through the month of July, and then will take a couple of months off from baby-sitting to have our own little bean that's due in mid-August. After that, I'm going to just play it by ear as to whether or not I'll babysit anymore.

The kids and I went to a local homeschool co-op's visitors' day a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. I plan on enrolling both N and T in the weekly classes for each of their age groups next year, and they ARE. SO. EXCITED. This will be our first time to join a homeschool co-op. We've also been drawing out plans for our garden this summer, some of which we'll be planting pretty soon. It will be a simple garden this year, with N and T each having their own "little bit of earth" to garden and care for. T is growing herbs and helping me with a few of the veggies. N has some flowers and veggies picked out to grow. I'll share our gardening plans in greater detail a little later.

Schoolish type stuff has been happening around here lately too, though minimally. But we're happy with it. Reading (both independently and aloud to me), writing (daily copywork, and some written narrations here and there) and arithmetic of some sort are getting done most days, and I read aloud to them at least an hour almost every day, but not nearly as much as I'd hoped to before we'd started baby-sitting. So, much of what we'd planned to do this year will be pushed over to next year I'm afraid, but so goes it. And you know what? I am SO okay with that... we've had a wonderful year, full of challenges and life lessons that we never could have planned for, nor anticipated. We've lived and learned together, exactly what we were supposed to for this season.

I've been quite pleased with how well both N and T have progressed with their writing this year. T has written some stories, and writes in her journal almost daily, this of her own volition. She and N both are slowly working through the Writing Strands 3 book together (originally it was just for N, but then T insisted that she could and would do it with him), and lately have enjoyed writing letters to friends and family (their idea even). Their spelling has improved greatly, I think as a cumulative result of all their reading, copywork, spontaneous oral spelling quizzes that I give them (per their request, from the lists in their McGuffey readers-they love it!) and our sporadic work in our AVKO Sequential Spelling book (something else we really like and will continue with).

N and T have each recently completed a Developmental Mathematics book at their own levels, but have both decided that they very much prefer their Singapore math books to the Dev. Math books, so we've happily gone back to Singapore (with renewed vigor and appreciation on their part), and will continue on with that program, at our own pace. This week we're taking our Spring break, and so I'm not requiring anything academic from them, and yet today and yesterday they both wanted to play their Singapore math cd-rom, Vroot and Vroom, "just for the fun of it", and there they sat hurriedly scrawling out equations so they could find the answers and get through the mazes! So, math happens anyways. As does reading...

I walked in the dining room the other morning, to find N busily munching left-over pizza for breakfast, thoroughly engrossed in a library book... gotta love it! Also, below are some pics of their recently accomplished copywork. I recently invested in a couple of books of quotes and verses, compiled by Sandy Queen, for copywork, "The Thematic Copywork Lessons for Girls" and "The Thematic Copywork Lessons for Boys" books. They may also be used for dictation lessons, and are designed for children in grades 4-12, but has been working fine for T too, since she's a pretty advanced writer for her age. Though it seemed a bit pricey at first, this has turned out to be just the thing for us. Now that kids know exactly what they're to copy to each day, independently, it's actually happening every day, consistently... no scrambling for a worthy excerpt, or squabbling over its length being "tooooo long!" Each days work is already laid out, lessons numbered, nice and simple. N even exclaimed to me that he really likes his new copywork book (he really likes to know what's next, and this way can easily see what he has to accomplish). So, it's working for them (and me), and they're enjoying it, wonderful! After they complete these books, I plan to maybe compile my own copywork book for each of them, for a year at a time, since this system works so well. Or maybe they could just copy from one text for a term, year, whatever, with pre-determined portions already marked out/decided upon?

The copywork books are typed in a manuscript print, and N and T transpose each of their lessons into cursive (which they were already becoming proficient at when we started these books). N had asked if he could write his in print, rather than cursive, one day, "to take a break from cursive writing for awhile". So, I let him, and it was so funny that as he began, he was surprised to find that he was having a hard time keeping from writing words in cursive (he's gotten so used to it), and even commented on how much slower-going it seemed, to write in print. So, he ended up choosing to start over and write that lesson in cursive afterall!

Here's some of N's recent copywork:

And some of T's copywork:

With all of this lovely weather, and plans for a very busy summer ahead for us, I've been feeling the need to do some serious Spring cleaning. So, I decreed this week Spring break for the kids, and for the rest of this week, that is what I shall be about- cleaning! This will also allow me to get used to having both of the babies again, see what sort of routine we all work out together, before trying to do too much more with N and T seperately. I did recently buy the Beautiful Feet Geography Through Literature guide and maps to go along with our Holling C. Holling books (we already had), hoping to get the most out of these beautiful and informative books. I'd really like to get started on that soon, but am wondering now if it's even feasible, or will have to wait until after our baby girl's born (and thus we're not baby-sitting the other three anymore)?

My brother and sister-in-law will be visiting us next week with their four kids (which they unschool). Michael has an interview for a teaching position at a college campus about an hour and a half away from us, and so may even be moving here this summer, if he decides to take this job. He's graduating in May with his PhD in Physics, just has to complete his thesis. I'm so proud of him and Sharon (he's been in school in a long time, and Sharon's done alot to help him make it work!), and so looking forward to seeing them - it's been a couple of years!

So, I think that this should bring you pretty much up to date with us, and I'm starting to get a stiff neck from sitting here for so long, so I'm signing off for now! Happy Spring to ya~

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

~John 8.12

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

~John 1.3-5

Read more here: God’s Lamp, Man’s Light - Mysteries of the Menorah

Hanukkah is a season of miracles. It's a memorial of God's redemption and salvation. Here's an excerpt of an article that I read recently, which so beautifully enunciates what we've found to be true as we've begun to study, understand and celebrate the Biblical Feasts of Adonai. As we remember the great miracles of the past that happened there, we are encouraged to trust Him for the miracles that we need, or hope for, now... and in days to come. It is a fun time of worship, remembrance and expectation.

When God designed the world, He designed a cycle of seasons, focusing on the planting, tending and finally the reaping of crops (later, He designed a cycle of feasts to celebrate the various key times in this cycle of seasons). With exquisite creativity He designed each season, and even every nuance of each season, to be a physical picture of the spiritual world, with each season reflecting various spiritual principles. Just as surely as spring is the season of natural rebirth and growth, winter is the season of miracles!

Hanukkah is the winter festival. Nothing grows "naturally" in winter. The season of winter, after all the crops have been gathered and the fields lie dormant and bare, is a season of austerity; a time when the ground becomes hard, cold and unyielding. The landscape in winter is bleak and barren, and the land produces nothing. Through winter seasons we depend totally on our Creator to sustain us. This is the season of Hanukkah, the season when the great miracle of restoration occurred in the time of the Maccabees. This is the season of miracles!

As winter descends on earth, it is the time to open our hearts in anticipation of miracles of restoration in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. It’s a time to draw ever nearer to the "Ner Tamid" (Hebrew for "eternal flame") that brings warmth and light to the world in a dark season. That eternal flame is Yeshua HaMashiach. Yeshua said in John 8:12 - "I am the Light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light which gives life". He refers to Himself as "the Light" again in John 12:35.

Those of us who have the Ner Tamid of Yeshua burning in our hearts can expect to experience miracles during Hanukkah! Yeshua tells us in John 14:12 and 13: "Yes indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father. In fact, whatever you ask for in my name, I will do; so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Hanukkah is the time to pray for the restoration of your hope and the miraculous resolution of hopeless situations. The season of Hanukkah is the time for miracles!

~ Season of Miracles

I am delighted to be able to tell you all that this year... during this Season of Miracles, we have a very special Hanukkah miracle of our own to share. I had thought to wait on telling this, but I'm terrible about waiting... and it just seems like the right time to tell it, with this lovely, quiet season of remembrance and great expectation upon us.

As I'd mentioned the other day, we are remembering the life of our baby Judah as we enter into this Hanukkah season~ the time when he/she would have been born. And so, I've anticipated that it would be a somewhat sad time for me, for us... this year especially. And yet, our Lord has blessed me with such peace and joy really, a relinquishing of everything- all my expectations- to completely trusting in Him... an acceptance of His timing, in all things, and overall a deeper appreciation of His sovereignty in my life. This is how I was feeling, thoughts that I'd been mulling over, when I received a letter (a real, snail-mail on paper letter!) from a dear, treasured friend of mine. She'd written choice words, and included a few Scriptures, with baby Judah, and our loss, in mind. One in particular did specifically minister so to my heart when I read, and re-read, and re-read it again last week;

Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

~Psalm 139.12-14

Yes, that one, that concept... trusting completely in His Sovereignty... Darkness and light are alike to You.

In the midst of tragedy and despair, our mourning... The darkness and the light are the same to Him... how paradoxical, how utterly beyond my comprehension He is. I can trust in His orchestrating of all things in my life.

And little did I know... that even as I read that Scripture, and pondered His forming of that child we loved so much and lost... the profundity of light and darkness, miracles and mourning, spiritual concepts I am reaquainted with every Hanukkah... that even the night is as bright as the day to Him (and Lord, make it so for me, give me the faith that I lack)... that concept, the Truth of that reality, His working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose... the deeper realization that even in the midst of darkness, tragedy and the unknown, in our mourning, there is HE, He sees all, His promises of hope and of a future are there in the darkness... though we may not see them, and in light.

Even as these ideas and more were flooding my soul with such peace as I entered spiritually into this particular Feast of Light... the knowing that HE IS IN CONTROL, no matter what, and I can trust Him, and I DO trust Him... as I read that Scripture, I just felt such a peace and such a release as I wept one last time for Judah... contentment as I let that Scripture and my friend's gentle words wash over me... as I thought of all that Hanukkah has come to represent to me over the years... of our blessings, His miracles in our lives, healings as I rededicated my heart and mind to trusting His Way...

Even then... yet unbeknownst to me... I was already expecting... another miracle. Yes, I just found out last weekend, that we are expecting our own very special miracle! Our Hanukkah baby, Judah, is no longer with us, as our Lord chose to take him, or her, home so very early... but in the midst of the darkness of feeling that child's loss, we have been granted with the light of this new hope, this precious child. ~ smiles~ This little one that I carry now is due on August 21st, I'm only 4.5 wks. along yet, but I feel good. I haven't spotted at all either, whereas with baby Judah, I'd been spotting for over a week at this point, so I'm confident and hopeful that all is well... I'm just plain exhausted though (but glad for it!).

What mystery, and depths of perfection... His timing, in all things... our very own Hanukkah miracle... Through a friend He sent the Word that the Lord has used to help me to hold it all close to my heart in... to see it for what it is, to tell it to others. I'm holding on to all of these Scriptures now, as promises, for this child... for whom our Lord made the way.

Chris was weeping and smiling at the same time when I told him last week. We're praying for the safety of the baby and I. We plan to tell the kids tonight in a creative way. hehehehe I can still hardly believe it myself!

Judah was our first reversal baby, and this little one is our second miracle baby... in so many ways...

Click here to see a short Chanukah Miracles presentation.

God raised him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name (Philippians 2:9).

Although Chanukkah (the Feast of Dedication) is not a festival specifically commanded in the Scriptures, we are told that Yeshua observed it in first-century Jerusalem (John 10:22). He certainly affirmed the importance of the Maccabean victory of 164 B. C. E. and celebrated the preservation of his people, Israel. A central part of the observance is the lighting of the nine-branched chanukkiyah (Chanukkah menorah, or lampstand) to commemorate the miracle of the oil.

We are told in the Talmud that as the Maccabees kindled the Menorah in the restored Temple, one day's worth of oil lasted for eight days until a new supply could be produced. Hence, we light one candle for each of the eight days. Why the ninth candle? We call this candle the shammash (servant). It is the first candle lit, kindled by the match; in turn, it gives light to the other eight candles. Although shammash means "servant," it is clearly exalted above the rest of the candles of the chanukkiyah. It stands taller than the others.

The shammash candle is a perfect picture of Yeshua the Messiah. He left his glory in heaven and humbled himself to become a shammash to mankind. Yet after his death, he was raised by the Father and exalted. We can only experience the light of God as we receive it from his Son, Yeshua, the Servant.

Thank you, Abba, for the light of your exalted servant, Yeshua HaMashiach (the Messiah)!

Today I will...seek to be a light in the world as I have received the light of Messiah.

~excerpted from the devotional book, The Voice of The Lord

T last night, on the first night of Hanukkah 2006, which was also the beginning of Shabbat.

We said our Sabbath blessings over eachother first. Chris and I laid hands on each of the kids, and prayed for them, blessed them. Then I read Psalm 112 over Chris, and he read Proverbs 31 over me (the kids love that part, they get downright giddy). We said the blessings of "the bread from the earth" and wine (kiddush) "the fruit of the vine", read and talked about His being the the Bread of Life (the Word made flesh), and He the vine, and we, the branches. I then lit our Sabbath candles and I prayed aloud for Yeshua's Sabbath peace and light to fill our home this day and always. We then remembered our Lord's work on the cross as we partook of the bread and wine (grape juice, it's cheaper) together. Afterwards, N recited aloud (read) the Hanukkah blessings as T and I lit the menorrahs.

Serve him truly and sincerely (Joshua 24:14).

No doubt about it! Chanukkah (the Feast of Dedication) is a fun holiday. The sights and sounds of this festival remind us of the great miracles that happened so long ago. The chanukkiyah (Chanukkah menorah, or lampstand) brings to mind the miracle of the Temple worship which was restored after the Syrian- Greeks defiled the House of God. Although there was only one day's worth of kosher (ceremonially acceptable) oil, we are told in the Talmud that the oil burned for eight full days until a new supply could be produced by the priests. Perhaps the greater miracle was found in that the army of the Maccabees was able to drive out the powerful Syrian-Greek forces of Antiochus Epiphanes. Mattathias and his sons realized that unless they stood against the pagan culture, the Jewish people would perish by sword or assimilation.

As we reflect on the history of Chanukkah, we realize that it was actually a test by the Ruach (Spirit) of God. The path was easy leading to compromise with the Hellenistic world. Many chose that route. But the road was narrower and more difficult that lead to God's kingdom. Putting it another way, Chanukkah was a battle of the gods! Who would prevail? Would it be the god of the world or the one true God of Abraham?

Every generation faces the same crossroads. Joshua called Israel to make the choice and responded to his own challenge, saying "as for me and my household, we will serve ADONAI" (Joshua 24:15).

As we light the chanukkiyah this year, what will our choice be?

Today I will ...choose the path of HaShem (God), even though it will probably be more difficult than the world's path.

~excerpted from the devotional book, The Voice of The Lord

This Friday, our family will be celebrating Hanukkah for the eighth year together. Yes, we believe that our Messiah is very much to be found in this Hebraic Festival of Light, which He Himself observed. It has become such a preciously intimate time for our family, anticipated and appreciated more each year I think. We're thus celebrating Jesus very differently during this season, through Hanukkah (when He was most likely actually conceived by the Holy Spirit~ could this be why Mary's reply to the angel Gabriel was a portion from a traditional Hanukkah prayer?), the Festival of Light, rather than through Christmas as we used to, and as most other Christians traditionally do during this time (which we respect, the Lord has just led us differently).

We've actually taken to celebrating His birth during the Biblical Feast of Sukkot, which is when He was most probably actually born. Also, prophetically, Sukkot anticipates the coming kingdom of our Lord and Messiah Jesus wherein all the nations, all people, shall come up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD during the festival (see Zechariah 14:16). So... we're a bit of an oddity. Who knew? LOL

Those of you who know us well already know that Hanukkah is a special time for us. And for those of you who may not, or want to know more about it, just follow the links (highlighted words above) to learn more. You may also go here, here or here (click the highlighted words). It's been a wonderful journey of discovery the Lord has brought us on thusfar, and we are excited to be entering into this special Season of Miracles once again.

I've included a list of Hanukkah books that we're reading in my sidebar. We'll also be referring to our Biblical Holidays book, as we do every year.

Our daughter, 7 yo T, who has grown up celebrating Hanukkah, wrote this about it last August on her own blog;

Hanukkah is a holiday that's very fun. Hanukkah is fun because it is a day that you know that God is truly your King, if you believe in Him. God saves you after you ask for forgiveness for your sins.

Hanukkah is eight days long. Hanukkah is when you should celebrate that God comes to rescue you, like He rescued the Jews from Antiochus and his armies.

Aaaah... yes, He has indeed come to rescue us, and how we shall celebrate!

So, we're all looking forward to celebrating with good foods, kindling the lights of the hanukkiahs each night, crafts, baking cookies, gift-giving, games and sharing our celebration with friends. I also look forward to the moments of still, quiet reflections that I have come to cherish... There's a song on Marty Goetz's Festivals of Lights cd that I so appreciate, which expresses our sentiments during this special holiday. We like to listen to it each night (and try to sing along with the Hanukkah blessings which are also sang on this cd) while reading, drawing or just watching the candles burn... and think about the lyrics.

CHANUKAH

Make my life Your temple

L-rd at this season start

To pull down every idol I have raised up in my heart

(Chorus)

On this Chanukah

On this Feast of Dedication

I dedicate myself to You

Take my defiled altar

Come and cleanse and come repair

So every time I falter I can run to meet you there

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

And with every candle on the menorah

That illuminates the night

Comes a prayer You'd kindle

In me, Yeshua

A desire for Your fire, for Your light

Make of my mortal body

A house worthy of Your name

Rid me of what's ungodly and every hidden thing of shame

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

And with every candle on the menorah

That illuminates the night

Comes a prayer You'd kindle

In me, Messiah

A desire for Your fire, for Your light

Take my supply of oil

Not enough to burn long I fear

But, oh, how I pray I may one day say,

"A great miracle happened here!"

Also, a dear friend of mine shares her own special testimony of sharing Hanukkah with others here, in her Christmas Conundrum, and how the problem resolved itself here.

A great site for kids: Hanukkah for Torah Tots

More about Hanukkah @ Wikipedia

And here's a peek into our celebrations last year: Hanukkah, Night 5 and our Hanukkah 2005 flickr file.

Happy Holidays to you and yours~

Blessings in Messiah,
our "Ner Tamid" (Hebrew for "eternal flame")

~ Beth & family (aka. the brew*crew)