My Essentials

I recently got an email offering potentially free products should I blog about 'What's Essential'. Well,  I love the products already (Nordic Naturals), and I really liked that theme. So, I'll take inspiration wherever I find it!

 As a homeschooler, person of faith, and parent there are so many times throughout any given day when I question whether what we're doing is an essential part of our lives--if it's something that truly matters; something that has real value to our family. Is the curriculum we're offering challenging enough? Is the food we're eating nutritious enough? Are the programs we're involving the kids in important enough? 

We find ourselves often boiling things down--trying to shake off the 'cultural stigma' that envelopes each of these questions, to strip off the layers of indoctrination that are impossible not to have. There are so many levels of baggage with somethings. For our family there is a constant evolution of removal and addition; taking away the things that aren't essential but are inherited. Often, I pick certain times in history and think, 'would Laura Ingalls have had that toy?', 'would the Israelites have spent 6 hours a day doing school work?'. Sometimes I look toward the future and consider, 'will it matter when she's 23 if she could read chapter books at age 7?'

 

Ultimately, these questions are just a gauge. We are not the Ingalls--no matter how much we dream. We are not living in ancient Israel, and the future is really out of our control. But, it puts things in perspective; it helps me remember that the focus, the essence of our days should be: love, joy, fun, and gratitude. Shedding everything else, if we can't laugh together at the dinner table, bake cookies for friends, dance for no reason, swing for hours, have tea parties to our hearts content, and constantly offer thanks to the Creator for the bounty of goodness in our lives...well, nothing else really matters. 2 plus 2 will equal 4 whether my three year old agrees or not, the order of the presidents will go unaltered should we save memorizing them for another day. These four words are our essential things, these are the fundamentals that we want to build our family foundation on. So, all things, from how we eat, to what we wear, to gardening and our work, how we spend our money and how we spend our weekends, they are all measured by these essentials.

If everyone spent their days focused on these 4 things, if education encompassed these ideals primarily--books second, if our nation were filled with people who craved these things over riches and power--well, that's the world I want to live in, be a part of. The most powerful way I can make it happen, that anyone can make it happen is to keep them from being secondary as they often seem to be. Imagine if they were everyone's essentials...

 

Why? & Free Crafts

Some of you know the unlabel-able ins and outs of our faith & while it is really only important to those in my 'real' life, I do want to explain something about why it is we celebrate Hanukkah. As with most things in our lives, we try to be aware of the way we're effecting the world, the way we interact, participate and the footprints we leave. We're also careful with the celebrations we've chosen and the events we've allowed to become a part of our 'rituals'. What goes into our bodies is important, so we choose the best foods. What goes into our hearts is the same.

Drew and I were not raised in Jewish homes, though more so than we realized. Our faith walks have lead us to a place that embraces the ancient traditions that would have been celebrated in the time of Messiah, the ones that are outlined in the Old Testament. Those include Passover, a seventh day Sabbath, The Feast of Tabernacles and more. Our conclusion is that these Hebraic festivals are so filled with the spirit of our faith that we have grown to crave them and love them. We've learned that their timing is not only relevant to our spiritual life, but to attaching us with the earth and inspiring our desire to relate to the seasons, the harvests, the animals, etc. in a a seriously connected way.

Hanukkah fits in, not as a commanded feast, but as tradition based on the providence of God in the lives of people who depended on Him, people who were suppressed, suffering and isolated--a place we all feel to be at different times. The message of standing firm, keeping your candle from under the bushel in the face of absolute destruction is one I've not found so well represented in any other celebration.

As with all the festivals, Hanukkah is a time of reconnecting us also with our family and friends. One of our favorite places to find great resources for study put out a Feast of Dedication (the translation of Hanukkah) booklet that had a great essay about the importance of family.

"During this week we are reminded about how the mighty arm of the Lord saves His people. We remind the kids that fiery persecutions come upon those who follow after the Lord, but that in the end, the Lord is always victorious, and He rewards those who seek Him." 

(Light: Rededication, Miracles, Enlightenment, Celebration. 2010. p56.)

Life is not easy and there is no road you can walk on which there will be no stumbling, but if we carry our lamps we can stay on course--we can find joy. This is where our family is. We are not Jewish, but we're not simply Christian either. We are believers and at our best we are doers.

Also, I wanted to share a few links to free Hanukkah activities.

We already love the toymaker, but yay for these!

Lots of info, songs & more here. 

Wish I'd found these before today, but we'll get busy.

And a little Hanukkah coloring book.

& A Creative Jewish Mom has loads of great ideas!

A Day of Rest

The Grims (us) like to mix things up. Most of the folks in our neck of the woods (the south) keep a Sunday rest day. That's the common day around these parts, to stop & celebrate, to worship & fellowship, to honor & remember. While Drew & I grew up in a Sunday-sabbath environment, we now keep it from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday (which basically means saturday).

What does this mean? Well, generally it is our family day & a day of rest. We enjoy nature, enjoy our comfortable home, make merry, read scripture & generally try to refocus on the steadfast things in our lives. Before we were married we knew that shabbat (as it is called in the Hebrew) would be a fundamental for our family. & it is...

Making a commitment to keep this holy day is not always easy, but when we do, it is always fulfilling. & the rituals we use are ancient, with our own modern additions & they connect us completely with our faith. There's nothing richer than the physical side of our beliefs; faith without works is...what?

So, our set-apart traditions often include a treat of Challah Bread, some bubbly juice, a candlelight dinner & a clean home. (I say, 'often', we do our best). Some weeks we order in or go out to a nice meal which helps with the relaxation, easy clean-up & satisfied bellies. But, somehow a home-cooked meal & a special dessert ring in our weekly holiday even more clearly. We have picked up traditions of our own over the years, like coloring pages for Naomi while we read scripture, special breakfasts, coffee sipping & the afternoon nap. Gathering with friends for picnics and kid-play is another regular event.

Our sabbath routine doesn't always go undisturbed--life comes, things happen, the world around us exists & so we adapt. But the weeks in which we get our rhythmic finale, well they always seem a bit sweeter...



Mother-in-laws great 'secret' Challah Recipe: I don't know why I don't have a appetizing picture of challah--it's so pretty. I'll get on that.

• 61/2 cups flour 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 envelope quick rise yeast 
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
• 1/2 tablespoon salt 
• sesame seeds 
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 11/2 cups warm water (1250-1350) 

1. Combine 51/2 cups flour, 1 envelope quick rise yeast, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tablespoon salt in a large bowl. Mix slowly.
2. Add 3 tablespoons oil, 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix.
3. Slowly add 11/2 cups warm (approx. 1300) water. Stir. Slowly add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time to form a dough. Usually 1 cup is needed, but may be more or less.
4. Turn onto floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).
5. Grease bowl with vegetable oil. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Set in a warm place to rise 1 hour or until doubled.
6. Punch down. Cut in half. Knead each 2 minutes. Let rest 10 - 30 minutes until it rises slightly.
7. Cut each piece into 5 sections (making 3 of them slightly larger then the other two). Roll the 3 large pieces into 12" lengths. Braid the three pieces. Form the two smaller pieces into a braid. Tuck ends to gether. Repeat with other portions of dough. (note: this braiding is confusing at first. I generally just braid 4 strands)
8. Place on greased baking sheet. Let rise 30 minutes, brush lightly with beaten egg; sprinkle with seeds.
9. Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 F or until browned. Cool 5 minutes. Remove to wooden board. Cool 30 more minutes. (note: on convection at 330F I bake for 20-25 minutes & it's done).

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