the Renewal of Every Spring & our winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the little garden giveaway! Sonja said...
I just found your blog this morning and love it. I look forward to reading more in the future.

Thanks Sonja! I hope you do continue to visit! & make sure I get your address so we can ship off your little garden!

In other news, we've been spending our time this week getting ready for Passover. It's a big holiday for us, and the build up is half the fun! Over the past month we've been careful about the things we bring into the house from the grocery store because in a few days we're purging all the leavened items from our home to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread..

While planning is important to avoid throwing out loads of leavened items, the actual act of cleaning our house in a way that removes every last crumb, or shred of 'chametz' is such a physical way of representing a spiritual state. We clean it up, throw it out ,and wipe our hands of it; it represents a renewal of spirit and a cleansing like no other. It's such a story of salvation. Leaven represents sin, and the idea that leaven is permissible throughout the year with this one chance at true purging just reiterates the expectations of the Creator. To know us so well--and how like leaven our sinful nature permeates our lives; Passover gives us this opportunity to purge and really represents the grace we all depend on, the opportunity we are offered to just throw that away and start fresh. Sure, the leaven will return, but in the upcoming week we will focus on life without leaven--life free of the crumbs in the corner or hidden stashes in the back of the freezer, which we always find at some point during the week we live without it, more great imagery...


Anyway, it's a special time of year for most right now, even if it's just spring cleaning. This change of season resonates renewal and I welcome that! Are you feeling a renewal coming?

The Dreamers...

We switched out our coffee filter snowflakes, inspired by Dawn, to rainbow coffee filters. The kids love this little bit of magic--drawing first with markers and then watching the colors spread when spritzed with water. The same method we used to make this butterfly mobile. I think they would have gone on for hours.

Rainbows remind us of a promise:

¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Genesis 9:13-16 

I can see our rainbow study leading us straight into a more thorough study of Noah's Ark. I look forward to taking advantage of free resources like Jan Brett's to cover this theme.

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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