Happy Hanukkah!

So, even though God didn't explicitly ordain this particular holiday in the Bible (like Passover, for instance), Jesus Himself made it clear that it was worth celebrating! Instead of going into all the details about what it is and why our family celebrates it, I thought it would be helpful to link to my wonderful friend Jenn's blog, because she does such a brilliant job of explaining it all!

So here you have it!

http://www.girlseekstruth.com/2008/12/happy-h-word.html

and an update with some additional, AWESOME, God-totally-loves-and-uses-WOMEN-in-powerful-ways information:

http://www.girlseekstruth.com/2010/12/apparently-its-not-just-about-maccabees.html

I did want to also add something about the dreidel game (not a law, but a custom associated with Hanukkah)! Some rabbis maintain that back when the Jews were being persecuted by the Greeks, and the study of the Torah had been outlawed, children (and adults) would gather to secretly study God's Word, even in the streets where there was a risk of a Greek official walking by. When one of them did, they would quickly pretend to be playing dreidels as a cover. Additionally, the Hebrew letters on the 4 sides of the dreidel (and the words they represent) are another teaching device. The four letters are Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin, which spell out the acronym Nes Gadol Haya Sham ("A Miracle Happened There" - the miracle, of course, being the miracle of Hanukkah). Any number of people can play dreidel, and it's a great game for young children!

To play,
1. Each player begins the game with an equal number of game pieces (about 10-15) such as pennies, nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, matchsticks, etc. "Gelt" (chocolate coins) work well too!
3. At the beginning of each round, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot." In addition, every time the pot is empty or has only one game piece left, every player should put one in the pot.
4. Every time it's your turn, spin the dreidel once. Depending on the outcome, you give or get game pieces from the pot:
   a) Nun means "nisht" or "nothing" (Yiddish). The player does nothing.
   b) Gimmel  means "gantz" or "everything" (Yiddish).  The player gets everything in the pot.
   c) Hey means "halb" or "half" (Yiddish). The player gets half of the pot. (If there is an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes half of the total plus one).
   d) Shin means "shtel" or "put in" (Yiddish). The player adds a game piece to the pot.
5. If you find that you have no game pieces left, you are either "out" or may ask a fellow player for a "loan."
6. When one person has won everything, that round of the game is over!

Start lighting your menorahs tomorrow night, everyone! Check out this totally blinged-out one I found! :)

"Chânak." Mind Officially Blown.

I love it when God takes something with which I'm already familiar, and decides to blow my freakin' mind with it. LOVE IT! So much so, that I am currently sitting in bed next to my snoring husband at close to midnight because I couldn't fall asleep without writing about it. I've been reading "Grace Based Parenting" by Dr. Tim Kimmel, and although there are a couple tiny parts of it that didn't resonate well with me, overall I think it's an amazing book. Growing up in a REALLY strict grace-less environment, I never learned how to truly trust God and live as a Christian in a secular world (without living in some degree of fear). Fortunately, God was gracious enough to teach me these things as a young adult, and this book is helping me recognize how I can teach my children these same concepts early on and hopefully spare them some of the brokenness I had to work through in order to get where I am. As I was reading tonight, I came across Proverbs 22:6:

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

You don't know how many times I've heard this verse. Probably starting from childhood when my mom would use it to explain why I had to go to church or not use curse words. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with either of those things, but what I love about this book is that it explains how to *teach* your children how to love and long for the character of God, rather than follow some set of principles for the sake of looking obedient. Interestingly, I guess I never really understood the meaning behind this verse! As many Christians (like my mom) understand it, it's about raising a child to be a "good Christian" so they will never depart from that lifestyle. WOW...does God have something in store for us, fellow parents! And I'll give you a hint: it involves His *GRACE* to us as parents!

So, let me start with what initially blew my mind. The phrase "in the way he should go" does not mean "in the righteous/religious way," but rather, in the path that is in harmony with that particular child's disposition, talents, and character. The author puts it like this:

"Some translations say 'train him up in his way,' which is actually a more literal rendering of the Hebrew word dereck. One of the most accurate English synonyms for dereck would be the word bents. This is how this same word is translated in Psalm 11 referring to the bend of a bow. If you were making a bow out of a tree limb, you'd first study the limb to figure out what its natural 'bent' is. Then you'd string it. If you didn't do this, when you pulled the bow back, it would snap because it was strung against its natural bent rather than with it. In the same way, we are to groom our children according to their natural bents. This means coming alongside them with a plan to help leverage their natural and unique gifts and skills into highly developed assets that they can lean on in the future." (p. 111-112)

In the back of my head since Eli was born, I kept holding myself to some imaginary standard that I had to raise Him (and now Eden) to be the perfect "Christian." I know it sounds ridiculous and maybe even a little prideful, but I wanted them to pray well, speak well, worship well, play music well, and have a heart for the homeless, share the gospel with courage...and on and on and on (though those are all wonderful things, and many do happen naturally as you follow Christ). That is a heck of a LOT of weight on my shoulders, and as I've come to learn, it's not a burden that God has placed on me, but rather one I've given myself! The "way my children should go" is not some ideal singular *WAY* that only Christ Himself could accomplish. God has given me the grace to understand that my prime role as a parent is raising my children to first and foremost LOVE, SEEK, and TRUST God, but also come to an understanding of how God made them unique for His purpose.

The pressure came off of me tonight and I suddenly felt better able to breathe about this whole parenting thing! Because you know what? Exploring the unique personalities and giftings of my children in order to help them live for God the very best way they can is truly one of my greatest joys. It doesn't feel like a burden at all, but rather an amazing gift from God that I don't deserve. As I'm learning, Eli is not the most verbal child, but he LOVES to sing and dance with me when we listen to worship music (or any music, for that matter)! It's like all his little boundaries and limitations fall off and he just revels in it! He is also so, so, SOOOO sweet and content. Almost nothing upsets him or scares him - even during my pregnancy we prayed for the spiritual fruits for him - particularly peace, gentleness and self-control. After just 2 years, I can see the ways God made him so unique, and I can't wait to help him explore and develop these characteristics for God's glory! Eden is completely unique in different ways. She is my little warrior princess - I can already tell! God has given her a fire in her spirit and she is going to do amazing things on the spiritual battleground in her lifetime. She learns quickly, communicates well, and holds her ground...just like her spit-fire (ok...stubborn) momma. And those are qualities God can use in powerful ways! This parenting thing is seriously the best "job" in the world!

God blew my mind another way tonight, too. The first phrase in that verse is "train up," which, low and behold, is the Hebrew word "chânak." So I'm sitting here with my handy-dandy Key Word Study Bible (KJV), and I decide to look up this term in the Strong's Concordance at the back of the book. It's #2596, if you are interested. It means to initiate, discipline, dedicate, or train up. Under the description, it says that one use "is related to the dedication of a house or temple"...hmmmm...why does this sound familiar??

Then I look. The word is the primitive root for the next word (2597/2598): chânukkâh, which literally means "dedication." Guess what TOMORROW is, people?? Yeah, God chose to reveal this to me the day before the Festival of Dedication. Seriously. Mind. Blown.

I'm some combination of too giddy and too exhausted to really fully understand the full relationship between the dedication we as parents are called to have regarding raising our children to glorify God with their lives (Proverbs 22:6), and the miraculously provision and rededication of the Temple after Judah Maccabee and the Jewish army's victory over the Seleucids. Interestingly this Hebrew term "chânak" is also used in Hebrew literature to describe a method midwives used to stimulate the sucking reflex in newborns (covering their finger with the juice of crushed grapes or dates and massaging the baby's palate). This was used to both stimulate sucking and cleanse the baby's mouth of amniotic fluids. Additionally, the dedication ("chânukkâh") of the Temple began with a purification, or cleansing, since the Greeks had desecrated the holiest areas. As I pray about what all this means, God is starting to reveal to me that part of training up my children is the concept of asking God to purify them from ungodly influences. It may sound weird (or maybe extreme?), but there is so much hate, doubt, idolatry (money, power - you name it), fear, indifference, etc. in the world around us. These things are not of God, and they make their way into our children's minds and hearts, often unbeknownst to us. There is a battle going on out there, whether you believe it or not, and perhaps one of the first steps toward "training up" our children in the way they should go is to be deliberately and prayerfully protective about keeping them "clean" in the same way newborns' airways have to be clean, and the same way God required the Temple to be clean. I have to pray and think a LOT more about this all...I'm just beginning to get revelation on it. But WOW, I am going to have a whole new appreciation for Hanukkah, which starts tomorrow! If you have any added insight to share about this, please leave a comment! :)

Ok, maybe I should try to get some shut-eye now... Hanukkah Sameakh!

Leaven ≠ Gluten. Wait. What??

I am officially the worst blogger there ever was. I'm well aware of the time lapse between posts, but I promise that I think about it every day...that has to count for something, right? Eli is doing well - he's almost 6 months old now, and is REALLY interactive (even says "MA!!" without knowing it's meaning, of course), and loves to laugh and giggle at weird sounds (i.e. paper ripping, or Velcro). He's also sitting up for short periods of time on his own, and is fascinated with kicking absolutely everything, including my now slightly bruised legs/thighs, and our rather simple-minded dog. We started him on rice cereal about a week ago, and much to our amazement (not really) he takes after his daddy when it comes to eating. The only thing that has been a little frustrating has been getting him to use his arms to push himself up into a mini-pushup, and because he's so reluctant about this, he still can't completely roll over by himself. So, we've been doing some PT with him to encourage him to use his arms more. My guess is that he's just too stubborn and has no interest in all of the typical motivators, like toys.

Me: C'mon Eli, use those arms!! Push up!!
Eli: *upset*
Me: Ooohh!! Look at this toy! Don't you want to turn your head toward it??? Look UP! Look UPPP!!!!
Eli: *MAD*
Me: OH! How about THIS?!? A funny face?? A pacifier???? If you just push up on your arms and turn your head up toward me, we can get you rolling over! Just give it a try?
Eli: *Angrily burrows his red little face farther into the floor*

Anyway, hopefully this will resolve itself soon! On another note, we celebrated Passover this week, which is awesome because (unlike Easter...which is based on multiple Pagan traditions...when you have a minute, go look up where the word "Easter" comes from...sorry, all you egg-hunting, candy-eating, bunny-loving people out there), Passover is something Jesus actually celebrated, AND God commanded us to teach to each generation. So, we thought our first year with Eli would be the perfect time to not only host a Seder, but lead it for the first time at our house. We had about 10 people come, including 2 baby boys (Eli and his cousin Jack), and we had an ABSOLUTELY AWESOME time of learning about the traditions, God's deliverance, and the connections with Christ's first and second comings. Pretty cool stuff, if you ask me. Way better than chocolate bunnies.

After the initial Seder on the first night, we are commanded to not eat leaven (yeast..or anything else that would cause bread to rise) for 8 days, as leaven is compared to sin in the Bible (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). So, Jake and I are in the middle of this fast, and it's teaching us a lot...

...and providing good entertainment. SO! Funny story. We were on our way to Bible study on Wednesday night, but had to rush since it was right after Jake got out of work. To save time, we decided to place an order for take-out at Red Robin and pick it up on the way. I knew it would be pretty hard to explain that we couldn't eat anything that had "leaven" in it, so I just figured I'd tell them we were gluten intolerant, just to be safe. I ordered the chicken bruschetta burger without the bun, and Jake got the turkey burger without the bun, and a side of melon (he's also on a diet). We're all proud of ourselves, and everything. When I go in to pick up the food, the girl had written "ALLERGY ALERT" all over EVERYTHING, and quickly assured me that they hadn't put any salt on my french fries (pretty much the best thing about Red Robin). I tried to play it off like I OBVIOUSLY understood that salt would be a no-no for me and my poor gluten-intolerant husband, and thanked her. When I got back to the car, we hungrily took out our food in eager anticipation. What we found was less than climactic. My "burger" comprised of a piece of chicken with some cheese on it. Instead of the plethora of sauces that usually come on this sandwich, they had provided me with about 4 containers of ranch dressing. The french fries were cold and lacked any flavor whatsoever. Jake was even more fortunate.. He uncovered a turkey burger patty surrounded by lettuce that was missing both the chipotle mayo sauce, AND the side of melon! Apparently protecting the gluten-intolerant person means avoiding all methods of flavor at all costs, as well as potentially death-causing melon. Apparently silverware has gluten in it, too, as there was none to be found, despite their clear effort in giving us sandwiches without buns.

It totally serves me right for lying to the take-out lady. I will never do it again - especially not when the whole purpose of my lie was to avoid a food that is supposed to represent sin, which would include things like lying...........God has a sense of humor when he teaches us things, sometimes.

P.S. BEST RECIPE EVER for Passover OR those poor, gluten-intolerant souls!! This cake tastes like chocolate Heavenly fudge melting in your mouth! I just substituted about half the bittersweet chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate. Try it out! :)

Brit Milah!

So, I'm finally trying my hand at blogging (it's actually kind of intimidating when you think about it...pouring your heart and mind out for everyone to read, and hoping it will be entertaining enough to capture their attention) - please be gracious! First of all, I just want to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and prayers throughout the whole process of bringing Eli into this world. He is such a testimony for so many reasons - from the way God protected the pregnancy after a painful miscarriage, to an AMAZING uncomplicated, quick, and beautiful water birth the way we envisioned, to a supernaturally fast and easy recovery, to the blessing of this little baby's calm spirit. We truly believe that the Holy Spirit has been present and active since day one of Eli's life, and give God all the glory for how everything went down! Mind you, we have tough days and frustrating moments in the middle of the night, but God says,

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. -James 1:5

...and believe me, we ask! Every day!

Today was Eli's circumcision (Brit Milah literally means "the covenant of circumcision"), and even though it's commonly done throughout the United States today, I was really curious about its origins. If ya'll know me at all, that means it's time for some RESEARCH!! Coming from a Judeo-Christian background, I knew that the Old Testament describes it as a physical symbol of the covenant between God and His people. But what does that mean?? And what about the other times it talks about circumcision in the Bible?

In Genesis 17:9-11, God institutes circumcision for His people, and literally describes the cutting off of the foreskin as a token of His covenant with Abraham (to increase and bless the nation of Israel). Any male in a Jewish household was commanded to be circumcised, and this was also accompanied by a Jewish naming ceremony. One thing I found really interesting is that God specifies to wait 8 days until after a baby is born to perform the ceremony. Did you know that it takes about 8 days for a newborn's blood to start clotting appropriately? The liver requires Vitamin K to synthesize key clotting factors, but the gut isn't colonized with Vitamin K -producing bacteria until the baby is about 8 days old!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!? I love when science so clearly supports Biblical law! I'm such a nerd.

Later in Joshua 5:2-7, Joshua performs the circumcision rite on his people at Gilgal after God dries up the Jordan river, allowing them to cross. It's a reminder of God's PROTECTION. It's also done a second time after 40 years in the wilderness without observance (the people had been disobedient and were cut off from the land). This time it's followed by eating fruit of the land (instead of manna, which was the only thing available for 40 years), signifying God's PROVISION.

There are many accounts of circumcision in the flesh, but the Bible also discusses "circumcision of the heart," which basically means purity of the heart. Deut 10:16 commands us to circumcise the foreskins of our hearts and be no longer stiffnecked. Later God promises to circumcise the hearts of His people when He gathers them to the promised land (30:5-6), in order that they might love God with all their heart, love Him with all their soul, and in order that they might live. The term "circumcision" means so much more than a physical procedure; it implies a purity of heart that results from "putting off" superfluous and ungodly attitudes. (Romans 5:28-29, Colossians 2:11, Philippians 3:3, Galations 5:2-6, Jeremiah 6:10, Exodus 6:12)

SO! Now that we have a better concept of circumcision, Jake and I decided to have a Bris-style blessing ceremony for Eli (but much more casual) as a way to recognize and celebrate our son's identity in God's covenant. We prayed over him before and during the procedure, and my mom stepped in as the Kvatterin (an honored person, often childless, who hands the baby to the person performing the rite). It was actually amazing to watch them perform the procedure - Eli looked right into our eyes calmly (laying on the red knit blanket that his auntie JJ knit for him), and didn't even cry! We ended the day with a Seudat Mitzvah (celebratory meal), during which we recited many of the blessings from the traditional Bris ceremony. Following are some of the blessings that I, Jake, and my mom took turns praying over Eli. He's been very peaceful since his circumcision, and we attribute all of that to God's protection. What a blessed day!

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning circumcision.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to enter him into the Covenant of Abraham our father

Just as he has entered into the Covenant, so may he enter into Torah, into marriage, and into good deeds.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, Thus shall you bless the children of Israel, say to them: "The Lord bless you and guard you. The Lord make His countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His countenance toward you and grant you peace." And they shall set My name upon the children of Israel, and I shall bless them.'"


The rest can be found at: http://www.circumcision.net/Bris_Ceremony.htm