Hanukkah Days 6 and 7

We had a great time on days 6 and 7 of Hanukkah. We are kind of sad to see it coming to an end tonight. What wonderful holiday with such importance, that we have missed out on all these years. We hope to enjoy Hanukkah in the future as part of our families tradition and celebrations. Here are a couple of pictures of the last 2 days.

Here are the pictures from day 6.

Here are the pictures from day 7. Every one got a new brush and comb set for their gift. They were excited but not as much as if it had been a toy, but goodness knows there is no shortage of toys in the toy box.

Here is a black and white picture of the menorah on day 7.

Somewhere Warmer Than -63 Degrees Below?

I want to go somewhere warmer…. Is there such a place? Sometime I wonder. This morning a friend told us early this morning it was -63 degrees below zero about 5 miles from here. Later some one else in town said it had warmed up to -42. That sounds better but really once it gets below -35 it all just feels awful!  Nothing left to do but ride out the weather and pray for clouds. A clear sky means very cold weather for Alaskan winters. The clouds act as a blanket keeping the warmth from floating away so fast. Sunshine in the winter here has very little warmth, you can not use it for passive solar heating.  Our thermometer is still attached by our old front door, and we can not read it, all we know for sure is that it is COLD! Jason needs to go move the thermometer to the front of the addition next to our new front door, but at least now we can pretend it is not so bad, and dream of being someplace warmer.

Hanukkah Day 5

Today was a very full day. We delivered many loafs of stollen to family and friends. Jason played a lot of fun games with the children this morning, like “Simon Says”, “Red Light – Green Light” and “Hide the Button” with a ball. We had our time lighting the menorah, and a late dinner, and off to bed. Here is a picture of part of the children today. Blessings to you!

Stollen? Who did it?

For many years making Stollen (German fruit bread) at the holidays has been a family tradition past down in my family. I started making it last year and think it is neat to keep the tradition going. We normally make it to give as gifts to bring to neighbors, friends and family. But don’t worry this is not a fruit cake that people need to hide from! On the contrary many fruit cake haters have tasted and LOVE the Stollen. However the recipe is one I can not give out (Family Secret) Sorry.

I made a double batch that makes 4 loaves you can see them fresh out of the oven here. They were just a tad darker than I like but were still nice and soft. Next I put a good coat of glazing on them with a sprinkling of chopped pecans. Wrap them in tin foil and off to the neighbors house they go. I think they taste great sliced with a little butter on it.

Hanukkah Day 4

Wow, the half way mark already! DAY 4 !I hope this does not come to an end to fast!
We are still having loads of fun.

Tonight we lit the menorah. Then a little later each child received a holiday bag with a few treats and a stuffed animal. They each treasured a new pencil and sharpener, a new toothbrush, a few candies, and a bouncy ball. At bed time Jason read the story Hanukkah for us. He did a great family devotional that we all enjoyed. It was nice to see the children’s eyes alight as he gave wonderful examples they could relate to about how Hanukkah related to us who believe in Yeshua. It would make a great sermon, but most christian churches are not willing to speak of Hanukkah to much.

Hanukkah A Closer Look As A Christian

I know it can be hard giving something up when you have not felt fully persuaded, or ready to do so. With us leaving Christmas has been a steady progression in our lives of peeling back the layers of the onion sort of speaking. We knew the pagan roots were there but we insisted it was ok because that is not what it meant to us! Surely God understands. We were assuming a lot beings he has never said “go your own way I understand it doesn’t mean that to you.”  However when faced with the truth of his words, we were convinced of the verse in Deuteronomy, that we mentioned in our other post Christmas not just for pagans any more.

Deuteronomy 12:30-31
30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 Thou shalt not do so unto YHWH thy Elohim: for every abomination to YHWH, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

Then when we heard how these pagan roots were the exact same sun god worship YHWH was speaking of, and all the disgusting practices in more detail it made much easier to walk away from. Any time Either of us are to tempted to think of Christmas to fondly the other of us tries to nicely remind the other of the horror of the roots of this holiday. We both have despised Halloween, and to find out it is much the same type of holiday, child sacrifices and all, it makes our choice clear when we might be tempted to look back to long.
Hanukkah is a very neat holiday even for us Christians! I think we have been robbed by not being told the story of Hanukkah growing up in the church. I think there are many anti-semitec roots in the churches that were against anything to Jewish. Very sad. Our Messiah was a Jew and so were the apostles and nearly the whole early church. Until Peter had the vision of the animals being lowered down to him and being commanded to eat. As believers in Yeshua (Jesus) we are not bound to celebrate any thing under the law. We feel that is left to us to decide as individuals. But there is a wonderful world of our Jewish roots of Christianity unfolding to us with a deeper meaning to many scriptures we read. We have just finished day 2 of our Hanukkah celebration. We have really been enjoying it. It is hard if not impossible to convince someone to do something if they do not see a reason or a need to do so. We feel that Hanukkah will give us a chance to still have a wonderful chance to have family traditions and memories we will cherish together for years to come and there is no harm done by it as there was with easter and christmas.

Many ask about Jesus celebrating Hanukkah? Is it true? Where at in the Bible? It is in the book of John 10:22-23. I found this (see below) passed around the net via email, I don’t know who wrote it but would love to give them credit. However it has a lot of good information in it. I hope this will bless you as it has us.

Should a Christian celebrate Hanukkah

Chanukkah (or Hanukkah) is the Jewish Festival of Dedication, also known as the “Festival of Lights.” It is an eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which typically falls in November or December on our calendar. Although this Jewish festival in not mentioned in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), it is referenced in the Talmud: “On the 25th of Kislev are the days of Chanukkah, which are eight… these were appointed a Festival with Hallel [prayers of praise] and thanksgiving” (Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud).

Chanukkah is probably one of the best-known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. Because of this, it is ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion and people, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on the Jewish calendar.

The holiday of Chanukkah celebrates the events which took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel. It begins in the reign of Alexander the Great, who conquered Syria, Egypt, and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs, and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.

More than 100 years after Alexander, Antiochus IV rose to power in the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. One of the groups which opposed Antiochus was led by Mattathias (Matitiyahu) the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee (“The Hammer”).

This small band of pious Jews led guerrilla warfare against the Syrian army. Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion, but the Maccabees succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land. According to historical accounts, Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem in December 164 BC. The Holy Temple, the Jewish religious center, was in shambles, defiled and desecrated by foreign soldiers.

The Maccabees cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. When it came time to re-light the Menorah (the multi-branched lampstand), they searched the entire Temple, but only one small jar of oil bearing the pure seal of the High Priest could be found. Miraculously, the small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought. From then on, Jews everywhere have observed a holiday for eight days in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil. The observance of Chanukah features the lighting of a special Chanukkah menorah with eight branches (plus a helper candle), adding one new candle each night.

In the Brit Chadasha (The New Covenant), in the Gospel of John, we learn that Jesus the Jewish Messiah was at the Holy Temple during the “feast of dedication” or Chanukkah: “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon” (John 10:22-23).

During this great season of remembering miracles, Jesus pointed out to His listeners that the miracles He had done authenticated His claim that He was, indeed, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (see John 10:37-38). His works and His true character clearly demonstrated who He was.

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). The Lord Jesus gives all of us, Jew and Gentile, the “light of life.” And He commanded us to “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Should Christians celebrate Chanukkah today? First, be mindful of the fact that we are under no obligation or “law” to celebrate any of the Jewish festivals given to Israel in the Torah (Law of Moses). But to all true Believers in Jesus Christ, especially those who have a profound appreciation for the Hebraic roots of our Christian faith, celebrating the “true light” of this world only seeks to glorify our wonderful Lord and Savior.

As Christians, we can celebrate the “Festival of Lights” as we rededicate our lives to Christ and acknowledge Him as the perfect and true light of this world. As believers, when we celebrate Chanukkah it reminds us of God’s wonderful miracles on our behalf. It reminds us of God’s protection throughout our lives. It reminds us to remain true to God even when the world around us tries to force us into assimilation.

Jesus told us that whoever follows Him will not have darkness, but the Light of Life. What a wonderful time of the year to remember and commemorate the great miracle that God has done for us, by giving us new light and new life.

Hanukkah Day 3

Day 3 of Hanukkah has come and is almost gone. We had a fun day.

We lit the third candle on our log menorah.  The children are loving the menorah lighting each night (and so are we). This has been a fun time, filled with learning for all. Hanukkah is known as the festival of lights and the feast of dedication. It seems to be an appropriate time to look at the life we live.  As Christians we are the temple of God. So it seems right then to look at where our focus has been in our life compared to where it should be. Just as they rededicated the temple we can look at areas where we can be more Christ like.

The paper menorah has been a neat project too.  Anna helped put our paper cut-out flame on our paper menorah for our third day.  I think we will do this next year too. We had fun opening a few gifts from Grandparents again. Gloves, hats and doll were in abundance, along with many smiles. We also plan on reading more of the story of Hanukkah tonight. Starting new family traditions can be a fun time as we are seeing first hand.

Hanukkah 2008 Day 2

Wow it has been a long day. It is tomorrow already in fact, but until I go to bed I will refer to it as today… you got to be sleepy for that to make since I think.
We had a nice day today. Today was the second day of Hanukkah according to the corrected calendar that we go by. We had Jason’s parents over for a holiday meal and we lit our second candle on our menorah. We had a nice visit and a great turkey dinner. Here is a picture of Anna and her pie before and after cooking. It is a mixed berry pie, with whole wheat crust.

We also made a fun paper project with the children. We made a menorah out of card board rolls left from TP and paper towels. The children colored paper to cover them. Then we glued the rolls together, then glued them all to a piece of wrapping paper covered cardboard. Jason helped glue the paper cut out flames in place, and the children seemed to be pleased with our art project as you can see below.

Wooden Menorah

Here are a few pictures of Jason making our new wooden menorah. The base is made from a Spruce burrow cut through the middle. It made a perfect stand. Then he notched the small log growing out of the top of the borrow, so the cross piece would set in place securely. Then he cut the cross piece (or arms) and drilled the 3/4 inch holes for the candles. Next in the middle he drilled a one inch whole for the vertical log that holds the Shamash (the Servant candle).

The vertical log was glued in place with Gorilla Glue after pre-drilling and screwing the cross arm in place. You can see the “worm tracks” in the wood zig zagging back and forth giving lots of character, the same as the log railing we made.

Hanukkah 2008 Day 1

We have decided to celebrate Hanukkah. We think the history of how YHWH put things in order for Yeshua our Messiah to come was crucial. By setting His people free from sun god worship, and let them cleanse the Temple and set things in order. This year December 24th marks the beginning of Hanukkah according to the “astronomically and agriculturally corrected Hebrew calendar” which we use to mark the Feast Days and other biblical events. If you as a Christian have not looked deeply into the awesomeness of Hanukkah, I would encourage you to do so in light of the need for things to be ready for the coming of Yeshua. Even Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated Hanukkah.

Here are some pictures of our first day of Hanukkah. Here is our new wooden Menorah Jason made from a burrow. You can see the “worm tracks” eaten into the wood, giving it a very unique character, like a finger print.

Here is the lighting of the Shamash (the servant candle) and the first day’s candle.

We decided since we were not doing christmas any more see our post christmas its not just for pagans any more. That we wanted the children to have some fun and let them have one gift every night for the eight nights of Hanukkah. The first few nights letting them open the gifts from one of their Grandparents that they gave for Christmas/Hanukkah. Here are a couple of pictures of them opening their first gifts.

Hope you all have a Blessed Hanukkah!!!