Category Archives: Faith
Little Miracles
Along with informative links, some posts contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting this blog and our family by purchasing through my links!
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
Along with informative links, some posts contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting this blog and our family by purchasing through my links!
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
December 11, 2010
A local church puts on an exhibit that takes you a step back in time to Bethlehem. I have studied a lot of Jewish traditions and getting to visit a reenactment of the Bethlehem of 2000 years ago is a big treat for me. My mother and my Sis “BD” and her kids “B” and “L” came with us.
Kids at the Bethlehem Sign and posing with the kings.
Kids at the Bethlehem Sign and posing with the kings.
Having the kings wandering around the place is neat and all, but, in reality, it is one of those things that is just not accurately portrayed in the world. The kings didn’t visit baby Yeshua (Jesus) in the stable, they visited the “young child” in a house (Matthew 2:11).
The kids always love the animals. Anna says, “Come here sweet pony, you should let me love you and pet you and …” The pony was totally occupied with eating it’s grain and did not pay attention to the kids what so ever. Anna said she wanted to climb the fence and jump on its back, I reminded her that her legs were too long and the pony was too short. She said she didn’t care, but she resisted the urge.
The “townspeople” was holding a large Boer goat for people to pet. Of course, I couldn’t resist an animal to scratch on. Stewart said he thought, ” No…she won’t touch the stinky goat..she knows better…..”, then yep, I touched the goat. I honestly thought, “Surely they would not bring an “intact” goat up for people to love on!” but alas, they did and now my hand smelt like a rutty ol’ billy goat. Thankfully they posted the ladies with “healing oils” to be the next on the route. Stewart let them rub so peppermint oil on his hand. As soon as I discovered the oil smelt good I rubbed my stinky hand on Stewart’s peppermint hand to help with my goat smell. It helped greatly for me, but unfortunately, some of my goaty smell rubbed off as the peppermint was transferred. Stewart was not happy about that at all.
I believe the synagogue was my favorite part. The “Rabbi” there was very informative, so much that I forgot to take pictures of it but I did snap one of Austin while we listened. The man talked about how different the meaning of words was from Hebrew to Greek. For example, the word “on” to us means like a cup sitting “on” a table, but to the Jewish people “on” means fully committed. He said unless we knew some of the history of the Bible times that we can not fully understand the meaning of the Bible. I was so pleased, that is exactly what I have been telling people. He spoke of the “Shema” and I tried to talk Anna into saying the Shema in Hebrew but she was too shy.
My sis asked me why do the Jewish people write God like G-D. I explain to her that they reverence HIM so much they do not write his name for fear of writing it wrong and having to destroy it or writing it in vain. It makes me think how far away we are compared to them. When people say “Oh My God” all the time about every little thing. We have no reverence for or fear of, GOD.
We walked past the “Inn” that had “no room” and got to pet a donkey that didn’t bite, unlike mine, who does.
We stopped at the carpenter shop where he explained the tools used and gave Adam a shaving from a stool he was making. I am not sure if Adam was thinking it was silly to have a piece of wood or if the smell of the cedar was what caused the face he made in that picture.
We walked on around to the yarn dying booth and Anna and Adam dyed a piece, being careful not to get the pomegranate juice on their clothes.
A couple years ago when we came to Bethlehem, we were intrigued by “finger-weaving” so much that when we returned home I had to look it up and we all learned to finger-weave. Adam took a keen interest in it so we took a picture beside the booth.
Next, we visited the potter’s wheel. Adam and Anna take a turn at trying to mold it into something. Watching it makes me think of the scripture:
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
If only we would be more like the clay, to just accept the firm guidance of our master’s hand, who only wants to mold us into something beautiful, worthy of being the vessel to hold the Holy Ghost and the anointings HE bestows on us.
The music shop family played us a little tune that was actually quite good and gave each kid a flute to take home. Austin looks at me like, “Are you serious? Something noisy?” Adam takes the “rocker” pose as he blows on his flute. They were told real quick by me that they are not going to be blowing it while we were at Bethlehem.
We were getting close to the “pinkie dance” circle, I jokingly ask Austin if he was going to pinkie dance. The look was the answer to my question.
Anna checked out the feel of the grains. The little girls in the booth were talking amongst themselves when one of them did the common ” Oh My God!” saying. Quickly they tried to cover it up by saying, “God has blessed us with the baby Jesus…” I said, “Now you know, real Hebrew children would not have said that.” The looked at me like, “Ut oh.” I just smiled and moved on.
We peek through the window and look at the wedding party. My mom pointed out the Menorah in the middle of the table. Anna says, “They are supposed to set it in the window for all to see.”
“I know, but they don’t know that sweety,” was my reply.
Anna was too shy when we first arrived to do the pinkie dance. I asked her once again before we left if she wanted to. She said, “Yeah, I am in the mood now!” I asked “L” if she was going to, “If Anna will, I will.” So off they went, dragging Adam along.
I left Bethlehem feeling closer and connected this year than in years past. I know it is from all I have learned and studied and my beliefs that make me feel a sense of community.
When we returned home, my two little kids pulled out their “Hebrew” costumes and played “Bethlehem”. It makes my heart smile to see that they too, hold our beliefs dear. Anna repeated to Adam what she heard tonight, ” Shalom, have you traveled far to Bethlehem?”
~Becky~
© Becky Husband & Oh Happy Daze & Disclaimers
Affiliate Links: Thank you for supporting my blog by purchasing through these links.
Christianbook.com carries a wide variety of Christian, Hebrew Roots, & Messianic products along with an abundant amount of homeschool curriculum, inspirational books, movies, music, gifts and more!!
Looking for great essential oils at affordable prices?? Check out Spark Naturals!! Be sure to save your 10% by using coupon code: HAPPYDAZE
Find pretty much anything you need at Amazon.com
![amazon_homepage_assoc_468x60_orange_[2]](https://ohhappydaze.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/amazon_homepage_assoc_468x60_orange_2_thumb1.png?w=472&h=64 "amazon_homepage_assoc_468x60_orange_[2]")
Ads that are displayed below this point are NOT my ads but those of WordPress.com and are not necessarily approved or supported by Becky Husband or Oh Happy Daze. If you saw an inappropriate ad, please report it!
Hanukkah 2010
Along with informative links, some posts contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting this blog and our family by purchasing through my links!
Hanukkah 2010
December 1-9, 2010
We celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas. Click here if you would like to know the story of Hanukkah. I do not celebrate Christmas because I choose to worship Yeshua (Jesus) in pureness and in truth, HE deserves that, and so much more. Through my studies I have discovered that Dec. 25th is not the birthday of Yeshua. From the calculations of the priestly courses, they have figured out that Yeshua was more than likely born during the Feast of Tabernacles. Dec 25th was a pagan holiday, and in order to hopefully persuade the pagans to convert to Christianity, they told them to change the wording of their holiday from “birth of the sun god” to “birth of the son of GOD”. Funny how three little letters being changed, flawed the minds of millions of Christians for 2000 years, but that is how satan works I suppose…here a little and there a little, changing things to deceive the very elect.
I do want to add that although I do not agree with the misled idea of the holiday, I do thank Yahweh (God) for all of the love and good will that is done during this season all in the name of CHRIST. Love is the most important thing you can give or receive as a gift. But you do have to admit it becomes more carnal and commercial with each passing year and the love that was once the focal point of the season has all but been lost.
Now that I have told my reasons and added links so you can fully understand, I will talk about what we did for Hanukkah.
Tradition is to decorate in blue. I love the blue in the house, it makes it look like a winter wonderland. It is crisp and pure and clean feeling.
We bought all kinds of blue candles and candle holders to line the center of our table, an idea I saw on a video online. We wrapped some foam board in blue snowflake paper and set my new square clear glass dishes on them and added the blue drinking glasses for a wonderful accent. We hung blue and white star lights which make the room glow. It is very beautiful and peaceful.
NIGHT ONE
We waited until it was dark outside and lit the first candles on the Menorah while saying the blessings in my best Hebrew and then in English.
Another tradition is to cook fried foods to remember the oil lasting the eight days. For the first night, we made funnel cakes for our nightly dose of “oil”.
We read the first part of the Story of Hanukkah called “Under Syrian Rule“. The last part left them in suspense begging to know what it was that he saw that scared him out of the Temple.
Then I talked about how the Holy Temple is no longer standing in Jerusalem, Yahweh left it that way because now the Temple is our bodies {1Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?} and the Holy Ghost lives inside of us and no longer needs a building made by human hands. In the days before Yeshua, the Holy Temple had been defiled by the pagans which were an abomination before Yahweh. The profane had been mixed with the Holy. I told them how every day we sin and allow profane things in our life and that defiles our Temple and these should be cleaned out by a heartfelt repentant prayer. Hanukkah gives us a chance to re-dedicate ourselves to Yahweh, just as the priests had to re-dedicate the Temple so long ago. It gives us a special day to remember that our Temple needs to be Holy and clean for Yahweh. I believe we should think this every day, but this just makes an extra special gesture, almost like making a New Year’s resolution, and since Hanukkah occurs right before the New Year it seems to all work together very nicely.
My Pastor often talks about the seven parts of ourselves that need to be fully given to Yahweh. We need to serve Yahweh with all our mind, body, soul, spirit, strength, heart, and life. So what I do is take one part each night and discuss how we can use that part for the glory of Yahweh.
The first night we discussed dedicating our mind to Yahweh.
1Co 2:16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
We have an open discussion about the night’s topic and then pray that Yahweh helps us to fully dedicate that individual part of our self to HIM.
We then pull out our nights craft project. Tonight we made glitter Stars of David, representing the flag of Israel.
NIGHT TWO
Waiting for dark we turn on all our Hanukkah lights and light the second light on the Menorah. We choose to have fried chicken for the oil tradition part and our special dessert was pumpkin pie and cheesecake. The cheesecake is the traditional part, in honor of the story of Judith, which is said to have happened during the Maccabean Revolt leading up to the first Hanukkah.
Before our reading for tonight, everyone was wanting to know what it was that the man saw in the Temple. It was not told in the story online so I went and looked it up in the 2 Maccabees 3:25 KJV w/Apocrypha. I won’t post what he saw but follow the links and you can find out too. Then we read the second part of the “Story of Hanukkah” called “The Madman.”
The next part of our Dedication was to dedicate our body. We talk about how we must follow this scripture.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
We discuss ways that our body could be a living sacrifice, like dressing modestly and not “tarnishing our Temple” with drugs and such. We pray for Yahweh to help us to always remind us that our body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost and that we must treat it as such.
Then we then have a snowman craft. There is no Hanukkah tradition there, just winter fun. Austin put his snowman on a skateboard. Anna’s snow-lady ended up on a snowboard with a snow-baby. Adam’s was on a sled with a snow-baby. Stewart’s snowman was skiing, and mine looked like it was all jack-up on mountain dew with his googly eyes. They all looked lovely on entertainment center with the lights shining.
NIGHT THREE
Today was out of sorts because we had to make a trip to the store and ate while we were in town so we did not have our Hanukkah meal for tonight. I did add a string of bead lights to the table, I thought it was beautiful shining among the glass candles.
We read our third part of our story called the “The Martyrs.” And also the story of “Hannah and Her Seven Sons” because it gave us a good look at what the Jewish people had to go through when they were martyred.
Our Dedication for tonight was our soul.
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
But what is our soul? Webster defines it as this:
“SOUL, n.
1. The spiritual, rational and immortal substance in man, which distinguishes him from brutes; that part of man which enables him to think and reason, and which renders him a subject of moral government. The immortality of the soul is a fundamental article of the Christian system. Such is the nature of the human soul that it must have a God, an object of supreme affection.
We talk about how to give Yahweh our soul by doing HIS will for us and not our own.
We pray that Yahweh helps us to let go of our desires and to lead our soul down the path of righteousness.
The kids had so much fun making snowmen last night they begged that the craft for tonight be that they can make a snowman “scene”, so I say OK. Austin is busy sculpting two blocks of Styrofoam into a hill for the skiing snowmen while Anna and Adam get busy making all kinds of snow-people. Adam has to show me with his own body each position he is putting the snow-people in.
Night Four
On night four, we had our big meal with my family because it was a Saturday night. We decorated the long tables we use for gatherings.
We didn’t read from our online story but instead I told a quick version of the whole story of Hanukkah so the family would understand what it was all about and I explain what we do to dedicate ourselves. We had a nice meal of brisket and potatoes and peas I had canned from my garden, along with fresh yeast rolls and my chocolate cream cheese dessert. I had a small gift box for the children that had a small dreidel and some gelt for them to play the dreidel game with. After the meal and story, I told them to go play with the dreidel. They all seemed to enjoy playing and it also gave them a small token to take home to remind them of the holiday.
Night Five
Night five, we read again from the Story of Hanukkah-Mattityahu. We discuss dedicating our spirit to Yahweh.
From a blog I read: Man’s Spirit is the means by which he has God-consciousness and is able to communicate with and have a relationship with God. It is also the means by which man receives God’s will and plan for his life. Finally, it is the vehicle through which spiritual gifts are given and manifested. (1 Cor 2:10-15).
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
I liked how it was talked about in that blog so I used it as my guide. I was feeling ill so we did not do crafts, so we just had a piece of leftover dessert and ended the evening early.
Night Six
Night five’s reading was The Maccabees. Then we talked about giving Yahweh all our strength. Again using that blog for a guide it read: What does it mean to love Jesus with all your Strength? This means many things. First, it means giving Your Body to Jesus and allow Him to use it for His glory and to bring others to Him. Second, it means that once You know how you can best be a light and witness of Jesus’ love and forgiveness applying all your strength, energy, heart and mind to that end.
I was still feeling ill and again cut the evening short.
Night Seven
This night we read The Dedication and read what the blog had to say about giving Yahweh your heart:
Man’s Heart, the essence of his soul, is the part of man which decides how he will respond to what he has learned through his spirit, soul, and body; through his mind, through gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, through the promptings of his conscience, and through his emotions. It is the volitional part of man.
To love Jesus with all our Heart means to turn our volition to serve him with all our talents and abilities to the end of bringing others to Jesus. When we do this, we are loving Jesus with all our heart. We are also loving Jesus with all our heart when we exercise our volition to obey Him in anything else He tells us to do concerning any detail of our lives.
I was feeling much better so we made cut out cookies for our craft. The best kind of craft is edible ones. I tried my hand at shaping out a Menorah cookie but it ended up looking like a wine glass. I will leave it up to them to decorate it to look like one. Tomorrow we will decorate.
We had a dessert of homemade Pecan Pie.
Night Eight
The last night of Hanukkah and I wanted it to be special. We cooked a turkey and dressing and I finally got to try to cook some latkes or potato pancakes which are a Jewish traditional food.
After a big meal we read the last part of our Hanukkah Story- After Chanukah and we talked about dedicating our life to Yahweh as a whole.
The came time to decorate the cookies. The kids had a blast doing this part. Seems to me there was a lot of finger licking going on.
They show off one of their cookies. Adam did pretty well on making my “wine” glass into a Menorah. Anna’s gingerbread house is pretty drippy. Austins snowflake looked a bit hypnotic. Even Stewart got into “painting” the enormous snowman I made out of the last bit of cookie dough.
It was always a tradition in my home as a child that mom would cut out a cookie shape of our hand, so in turn, I do the same with my children. It is their favorite cookie, as it was mine.
I know there is still much to learn and ways I can improve our celebrations but this is all new to me and I am learning as I go what I want to bring into each holiday. When the world lets you down and there is not pure true holy worship or holidays or ways, the Bible is exactly where you need to turn, and that is what I did. If I was going to celebrate something I wanted it to be to the glory of Yahweh, but I also did not want to worship Yahweh with pagan ways.
Deu 12:30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Deu 12:31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, 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
I do not go this route only because we were commanded to but because I love HIM and HE deserves my very best.
The link below is our slide show to the song Eight Days of Hanukkah by Orrin Hatch.
http://youtu.be/yhJT3oBcFjII pray that you to could see the beauty in Hanukkah and celebrate a dedication to Yahweh!
~Becky~
© Becky Husband & Oh Happy Daze & Disclaimers
Affiliate Links: Thank you for supporting my blog by purchasing through these links.
Christianbook.com carries a wide variety of Christian, Hebrew Roots, & Messianic products along with an abundant amount of homeschool curriculum, inspirational books, movies, music, gifts and more!!
Looking for great essential oils at affordable prices?? Check out Spark Naturals!! Be sure to save your 10% by using coupon code: HAPPYDAZE
Find pretty much anything you need at Amazon.com
Ads that are displayed below this point are NOT my ads but those of WordPress.com and are not necessarily approved or supported by Becky Husband or Oh Happy Daze. If you saw an inappropriate ad, please report it!
The LORD Looketh on the Heart
Sunday School today was kinda rough for me. My teacher brought up how he had trained his dog to obey. Well, this past Tuesday we laid my best friend, Foxy, to rest.
 |
| Rest in Peace my faithful friend, I will miss you. |
The good Lord had answered my prayer that He take her rather than let her suffer from the heartworms that had made her so sick, but it was heartbreaking for me to lose my friend.
Passover 2010
Along with informative links, some posts contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting this blog and our family by purchasing through my links!
Well, we had our Passover Seder on the 29th of March. It turned out to be really great. We went through all the symbols of the Seder the best I knew how. I do see some areas I will change next year but the great thing about doing this is learning so much from it.
Blow The Trumpets
The first thing we did was blow our Shofar to call the assembly together to begin our feast.
(Hubby blowing the shofar)
- Num 10:8-10 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
Remove the Leaven
Then we searched for the leaven but since we know that the leaven we are supposed to remove is the leaven of sin, we prayed.
- 1Co 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Lighting the Candles
We lit the candles symbolizing the presence of GOD because JESUS is the light of the world.
- Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
The First Cup – Sanctification
We drank the first cup, the cup of sanctification, remembering GOD took the Israelites out of Egypt and made them HIS people just as HE chose for us to be HIS people.
(drinking the fruit of the vine which for us is Welch’s 100% grape juice)
- Exo 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
- Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Foot Washing
We washed feet, a symbol of humility.
(foot washing bowl with Wisteria blossoms)
- John 13:12-16 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
Hand Washing
We do a little hand washing, symbolizing the purity of heart and hands we are called to exhibit as GOD’s people.
(hand washing & foot washing bowls)
- Psa 24:3-5 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Bitter Herbs – Parsley & Salt Water
The first bitter herb was parsley, symbolizing the hyssop that was used to apply the blood to the doorposts. It represents life, created and sustained by the Lord our God. We are filled with joy at the goodness of God in loving us and caring for us, and bringing into our lives all good things. And yet as good as God intended life to be, it is often mixed with tears. The salt water symbolizes the tears. The Israelites life was full of suffering while they were under the bondage of the Egyptians much as our life is full of suffering when we are bound by the sin in our life. We cannot forget that life is often filled with suffering and tears but we know that GOD is there to sustain us through life and there will be joy everlasting in Heaven.
- Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
- Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
- Joh 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
Appetizer
At this point, I serve a nice appetizer bowl of broccoli and cheese soup.
Breaking Bread
Now we return to the Passover. Three pieces of bread represented the people, priests, & GOD. Custom is to take the middle one of the three pieces of bread, the piece that stood for the priest, the mediator between God and the people, and break it.We, knowing truth, break it to represent Jesus’ body that was broken, wrap half in a linen napkin as HE was wrapped in linen for burial, hidden it as HE was buried, brought back as HE was resurrected, and distributed to everyone, as He gives life to all who believe.
- 1Co 11:23-24 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
The Story
The Telling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt is the focal point of the traditional Passover Seder. I try to liven it up for the kids so I have them guess the plagues in order and I do a few “extra” things so they will have more interaction.
The Ten Plagues
Water turned to blood…
Sand turned to lice…
Disease of livestock…
Hail stones…
(AJ catching my “ice cube” hail stones)
Three days of darkness…
Frogs…
(JC catching the plastic frog invasion I threw)
Swarms…
(Swarms of flying plastic bugs take flight across the room)
Boils…
Locusts….
Death to the first born…
(After we had this year’s Passover, I started wondering with all the symbols in this, what did the plagues symbolize… I will do a blog later when I finish studying it out more)
Salad Served
I let everyone enjoy either a veggie salad or fruits from the salad bar. It helps settle the kids back down and keeps everyone from being too hungry to focus.
The Symbol of the LAMB
We go to the Seder plate and along with other symbolic foods, the tradition is to have a lamb shank bone on the plate to represent the lamb that was sacrificed on Passover. I decided to go “out of the box” here and I put a cross on the plate instead. I feel like the cross is our symbol as CHRISTians that we relate the best with our Passover Lamb who is JESUS.
- 1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
The Second Cup – Deliverance
The Second Cup of the fruit of the vine is the cup of Deliverance.
Just as GOD brought HIS people out of Egypt; JESUS delivered us from our sins and from the evil of the world when HE gave HIM-self to be crucified on the cross.
- Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
The Second Bitter Herb
Then we ate unleavened bread because GOD commanded for HIS people to eat it in remembrance of the haste in which they left Egypt.
- Deu 16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
Twice during the feast two elements representing a mixture of positive and negative experiences or emotions are incorporated into the service. The first was where we ate parsley with salt water and now when we ate
the bitter herb (horseradish). With bitter herbs, we remembered how bitter slavery was in the land of Egypt. We are to allow the bitter taste to bring tears of compassion for the pain that the Israelites felt long ago. But let us also weep for those who are still enslaved and have not yet experienced the deliverance that our gracious God brings.
Bitter Sweet
Then we ate the sweet fruit mix(apples, nuts, & honey, it is made to look like the mixture of clay and straw that the Israelites used to make bricks for the cities of Pharaoh) with the bitter herb. For the slaves in Egypt, hope in a future with God sweetened the misery of their slavery. The contrasting elements serve to remind us that life is often a confusing mixture of joy and sorrow, of bitter endings and sweet new beginnings. It is not our goal to eliminate the negative experiences, rather our goal is to rejoice in the fact that God works in all of the circumstances of life. We know with God, what sweetness that He can bring into the most bitter of our circumstances.
(Sis laughing at her hubby’s reaction to the bitter herb)
- Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
- Joh 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
- Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Dinner Time
At this point of the Passover, we now sit down and have a meal and discuss what all we have learned so far. After we eat and clear the dishes we continue with the last part of the Passover.
(My Pretty Table)
Hidden Matza
Now is was time to reveal that which has been hidden. We will find the hidden matza (remember from when we broke the bread) so that we may conclude our meal. Traditionally the bread symbolized hope for the future, a symbol of redemption. For us, the broken bread of redemption reminds us of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ that was broken for us. Take and eat this, remembering that Jesus died for us, and in so doing accept the grace of God that brings freedom from bondage to sin. We celebrate the fact that our long hoped for Messiah has come, and is our redeemer.
- Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
The Third Cup: Redemption
This cup reminds us of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that was spilled because of us and on our behalf. Drink this, remembering that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, and in so doing accept the grace that transforms us and brings us from darkness into His marvelous light, and allows us to be people of God.
- Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
The Fourth Cup: Thanksgiving
Our Seder is now complete, just as our redemption is complete. We rejoice with thanksgiving, and yet are humbled by God’s love!
The traditional conclusion of the Seder is a hope for the future expressed by Jews throughout history: “Next year in Jerusalem.” We will conclude our Seder with the same expression of hope and faith in God as we await the coming of a new Jerusalem.
Next year in the New Jerusalem!
I am fully aware that my Passover is not like the Jewish Passover but then again I am not Jewish. And I know many people could tell me how I did this or that wrong but I am doing this as a learning process. I am the only person I knew that observed the Passover except for my Messianic Jewish History teacher from high school and he lives a little far away for me to be able to ask him to show me what to do and teach me Hebrew real quick.
GOD is showing me so much stuff by having me observe Passover that I only hit highlights in this blog. There are so many more scriptures I could have put and better explanations for the symbols and such but I just wanted to share my Passover with you all in a “nutshell”. I have observed Passover twice now and this Passover was better than the last and I feel that the next one will be even better. GOD bless you all… leave me a comment. I welcome suggestions and advice.
~Becky~
~Oh Happy Daze ~
Along with informative links, some posts contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting this blog and our family by purchasing through my links!© Becky Husband & Oh Happy Daze Affiliate & Health disclaimersI used the following link the most in putting together my Passover but I rewrote some of ithttp://www.crivoice.org/haggadah.html
I also read and used some ideas from these following sources…
http://www.jewishvoice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Passover_feature_contents
http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/guidelines-for-conducting-christian-passover-service.html
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/seder.html#q8gHU612ilxA
http://your-study-bible-online.org/bible_study/passover/passover-resources-6.html
Affiliate Links: Thank you for supporting my blog by purchasing through these links.
Christianbook.com carries a wide variety of Christian, Hebrew Roots, & Messianic products along with an abundant amount of homeschool curriculum, inspirational books, movies, music, gifts and more!!
Looking for great essential oils at affordable prices?? Check out Spark Naturals!! Be sure to save your 10% by using coupon code: HAPPYDAZE
Find pretty much anything you need at Amazon.com
Ads that are displayed below this point are NOT my ads but those of WordPress.com and are not necessarily approved or supported by Becky Husband or Oh Happy Daze If you saw an inappropriate ad, please report it!
Oh Happy Daze 