Chanukah - Jonathan's Story

Thank you, everyone, for your very positive response to "Jonathan's Story."  I plan to have it completed in the next few days, and it will be available in PDF for your convenience.  (Thank you, Pam!)

I hope everyone has a very meaningful and powerful Chanukah this year!

Chanukah - my contribution

There has been much talk of Chanukah lately, especially with it only two weeks away.  Parents want to teach their children truth rather than fairy tales, but still maintain the fun and build memories.  I humbly offer my contribution.  I propose a dramatic retelling of the Maccabees story, with a cliffhanger at the end of each day.  I have also included a few fun activities to follow each day's part of the story.  I have posted part 1 below, to be read on the first day of Chanukah.  If you like it and think it would be helpful to your family, please, please leave a comment.  Then I will post the other seven parts of the story.  I hope you enjoy it.

Jonathan’s story part 1

My name is Jonathan. When I was young, terrible times came to our people. We were told we could no longer obey the precious torah of our fathers. A strong and mighty, but desperately wicked king named Antiochus Epiphanes rose to power. I remember it like it was yesterday…



My brother Judas burst through the door.

“Father, have you heard the news? The beautiful lamp stand and all the wonderful things in the temple are gone!”

“Yes, Judas. I heard.” Mattithias, my father, looked up and I could see that he was weeping.

“I fear terrible times are about to visit our people. Many have not been faithful. YHVH promised to curse us if we do not obey. If only they could see that the precious commandments bring life and happiness. They teach us how to love each other and worship our Creator.”

I began to cry too, to see my father so upset.

As the days passed, news came that Antiochus had reversed all the laws of torah and set up false gods, idols, and pagan practices throughout the land of Israel. The family down the street had a little baby boy named Caleb. They circumcised him on the eighth day, just as torah commands. But soldiers came for them. My father did not hear in time to help them.

He gathered my brothers and I together and we did not eat. I was hungry, but I knew there were more important things than food. We prayed, and confessed, and pleaded with YHVH to save our people. When we finally got up from our fast and began to eat bread, I saw a look on my father’s face. I shall never forget it. He was determined, his face in stone, and he simply said, “Boys, we will obey YHVH no matter what.”

The next day, I helped load food on the donkeys. Dried fruit and cakes and wine in a goatskin were loaded, along with blankets. We began our trip to Jerusalem. I was worried. Wouldn’t there be trouble there? Hadn’t they already sacrificed a pig on the altar? I shuddered at the thought. What was my father thinking?

As we saw Jerusalem rise up ahead of us on the horizon, my father began proudly singing the songs of ascent.

“Praise ye YHVH! Praise, oh ye servants of YHVH! Praise the name of YHVH! Blessed is the name of YHVH from this time forth and forevermore.”

My brothers and I all lifted our voices together. It seemed as though the rocks sang out with us, relieved to hear a familiar song.

And then the gate loomed up ahead of us, and I wondered what lied ahead.



TO BE CONTINUED…



Activities: Read the Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 113-118. Use tambourines, drums, whistles etc. and pretend to march up to Jerusalem while reading the psalms. Even in troubled times, the Maccabees held their heads high, determined to obey YHVH.
A beautiful cd with the Psalms 120-134 sung in hebrew is available here.

The scriptures tell us that even the stones want to cry out and praise YHVH. Paint some rocks with pictures of YHVH’s beautiful creation.

The Outdoor Hour - Challenge #1

I know I'm a bit late in the game, but I was pleased to discover The Outdoor Hour last week.  I have the book "Handbook of Nature Study," but it had been sitting on a shelf.  We are not new to the idea of nature study however.  I have been teaching my children flower names and looking for spider webs, etc. for years.  I have fond memories of walking the yard with my Dad, while he checked on all the trees he had planted.  He loved to show me the new growth on the pine trees and name the wildflowers that he knew.  I used to joke that any tree that was shorter than me was only a stick in the ground.  Perhaps this fed his desire to check for growth literally every day.  At any rate, he gave me a love for nature and walking around looking for details.  Thanks, Dad!

So we got back in the habit this week, and went for a nature hike along one of our property lines.  My kids were very excited to go for a walk with mommy, but were a bit skeptical when I told them to try to find something new and special.  Holly told me, "Mom, there is no way we are going to find something new.  We've seen everything out here."  At first, I was tempted to believe her.  We have seen these trees, and grass, even the remains from squirrels eating up in the tree.  But YHVH is not limited by trees and grass.  He gave us some wonderful new things to see.

First, they noticed that the grass and weeds were changing color, just like the leaves on the trees.  We found red strawberry leaves, and orange fern.  Some seagulls flew overhead.  Then, as the kids ran ahead a little, I looked down and saw a rather surprising thing, a piece of birch bark.  I didn't know we had any birch trees.  So I showed the kids the unique bark and challenged them to find the tree it came from.  A search commenced, and soon we found a lone birch tree that even I couldn't get my arms around.  What a delight, especially since this is one of my favorite trees.  We talked about birch bark canoes, and how I used to write notes on the pieces of bark. 

We also discovered some lovely green moss on the ground.  The kids enjoyed feeling the fuzzy texture.  We, of course had to see if we could find some on the trees.  We found about three varieties.  By the way, moss does not just grow on the north side of trees, as I had always heard.  So, if you're expecting to use moss to get you out of the woods, think again!

Our other very cool discovery was a fallen tree branch that was bigger than the tree it snapped from.  It must have come down in our recent nasty wind storm.  I was able to nonchalantly point out that the wood turns gray as it is exposed to the weather.

An old bottle, a wayward corn husk, and the always essential pinecones made their way into our collection.

What did we learn from challenge #1?

Even my seven year old tree climbing genius has not discovered everything in YHVH's wonderful world!

We Stand with Israel

Israel, our Jewish brothers, we want you to know we stand with you.

We are Ephraim, your brother.

We may look different, but we serve the same Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We read the same torah portion to our children.

We are learning the same Hebrew language.

We eat kosher.

We celebrate the same holy feasts as you.
We keep the seventh day Shabbat.

We wear the same tzitziyot.

We pray the same Amidah.

We teach our children the Shema.

We love you and we support you.

When you are blessed, we are blessed.  When you are cursed, we are cursed.

We pray for you, we speak in your defense, and we will fight for you.

Shema Yisrael, YHVH Eloheinu.  YHVH Echad.

We are one.  It is time to stand together and see the salvation of YHVH!

(Those who count themselves as Israel are encouraged to post this wherever they can.  Please link back to this post.)

Praying the Amidah

I have been blessed to begin praying the Amidah every night before I go to bed.  In case you are unaware, the Amidah is a collection of 18 prayers that Jews around the world pray three times a day.  When you see people at the wailing wall, they are praying the Amidah.  I was surprised to find out the Yahshua and even Daniel were probably praying the Amidah.

It is beautiful and so relevant.  I would like to share some of my favorite parts. 

"You sustain the living with kindness, resurrect the dead with abundant mercy, support the fallen, heal the sick, release the confined, and maintain the faith of those who sleep in the dust."

I love the idea that even when His people are dead and gone, He maintains their faith and promises to resurrect them when the time comes.

"Forgive us our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, our King, for we have willfully sinned; for You pardon and forgive.  Blessed are You, YHVH, the gracious one who pardons abundantly."

This is something we should certainly be praying three times a day.  To be quick to confess is to find forgiveness quickly.

"Sound the shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth."

I feel like this is our call home, and Judah prays it every day!  Some day soon, they will recognize their brother Ephraim and we will all live together in the land with Yahshua at our head.  Praise YHVH.

"We shall thank You and relate your praise - for our lives, which are committed to Your power and for our souls that are entrusted to You."

This is something I have been trying to pray from the bottom of my heart.  The idea of resting myself in YHVH's hands can be scary and also is the only thing that brings real peace.  But as I read the Psalms and even the prayers in the Amidah, YHVH is a God that can be trusted.  He shows great kindness to His people and never forsakes them.  His compassion never ceases.

"For Your miracles that are with us every day and for Your wonders and favors in every season - evening, morning, and afternoon."

I want to be watching so I can see the miracles and favors.  He is so good and His kindness is shown even in the things that seem hard to us.  May I recognize His hands even when the road seems rough.

If you are interested in learning more about the Amidah, I found an excellent article with the full Amidah at the end, found here. 

Shabbat Shalom!