Hannukah; A reminder for my children and me.

Hannukah

Hannukah is a time of rededicating our temple (ourselves, since there is no temple now) to YHWH.  We are to take time to "cleanse or temples" during Atonement and now, during Hannukah, can work toward dedicating our ways once again because our house has been cleaned. Hannukah is also the season of "the Miracle of Oil."  One lesson in the miracle of oil is this:  Oil cannot, does not, will never be able to mix with water.  We are to be like that oil!  We are called to be separate and NOT MIX with the world (can't be like them because we have a different function)..."come out and be separate from it's ways and standards."  The story of Hannukah is a reminder that sometimes there is a cost to being separate and standing apart from the pressures of a pagan world, and it can be difficult at times.  I think most of us have all experienced this in some way.  YHWH knows what we face and He is not blind to it and with Him we are not defeated. 

 

Hannukah Habayit

I really liked this concept that I read about Hannukah and what it means for our homes as we "Rededicate" them.... Our ancestors lit a menorah and in its glow, they reclaimed their home. The ceremony was called Chanukat Habayit—literally, "rededicating the house."    In our own time, at Hannukah, we think about our own homes as places where we encounter the sacred, and we deepen the way we experience home as a holy place where Abba dwells with us and we seek to make it a place that pleases Him. I like this idea.

My prayer

Abba YHWH, may it be so, that we think about our home as a place that we encounter you, a place you dwell with us and help us to dedicate it to honoring you in all our home is used for.  In feeding and serving, in resting and peace, in worship and petitioning, in meditation and prayer.  Open our eyes YHWH so that we may understand how to create a place where you will dwell among us.  Teach us your ways and help us to have a daily attitude of Hannukah Habayit. 

 Please hear our prayer, YHWH, Amein

Thanks for reading this.  YHWH be blessed and your house, also!

love u

Excerpts on Forgiveness: Part2

An Excerpt from "Living A Life That Matters, ch. 4"

"Are you strong enough to forgive?  Or is the notion of getting even the only power you have over someone who has hurt you?"  Forgiveness, I try to tell them, is a favor we do ourselves, not a favor we do the the other guy.

...you read in the book of Deuteronomy (23:7), "You shall not hate an Egyptian because you were strangers in his land."  You are not to hate the Egyptians for having mistreated you so badly, not because they deserve your forgiveness but because you deserve better than to be permanently mired in the bitterness of the past.  As long as your soul is corroded by hatred, you are still their slave. 

At the Passover Seder, when (we) celebrate the memory of the Exodus from Egypt, we taste a bitter herb before the meal to recall the bitterness of slavery, then immediately override the bitter taste with matzo and wine, which are symbols of liberation (freedom!).  (we are now free from all bondage because of YHWH's words to us...don't hate, forgive!)

Once we realize that the thirst for revenge is really a need to reclaim power (that the person or situation held over us) and shed the role of victim, we can find ways of meeting that need without hurting another person and compromising our own goodness.


Note:


I like the words about not having to compromise our own good.  I have read that the Jewish people believe that it is their duty (since they were chosen to receive YHWH's instructions) to bring good (G-D) into the world.  So likewise, if we are the children of Israel it is our job as well and when we lash out and do hurtful things, we are not fulfilling that role.  


Please understand when I make this note, I do understand how complicated it is to work through situations where forgiveness is required.  I do know that deep hurt is often involved along with many other emotions.  I will not attempt to minimize this topic...it is not small.  We too have had to deal with these topics. I write these words to myself, to remember and encourage myself that we must move forward.  When I stop being able to move forward, then I am bound.  YHWH doesn't want me bound to anyone or anything but Him.  I am thankful knows our needs.


I thought this was a timely observation, being so close to Passover.


Blessings 

An Excerpt from: Living A Life That Matters

What is the difference between revenge and bearing a grudge?


This is an excerpt from the book, "Living A Life That Matters."

Jews are told in the Torah, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart," and the great commandment in Leviticus 19:18, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," is preceded by the words "You shall not take revenge or bear a grudge."  A commentator on the Jewish legal code defines taking revenge as saying, "I won't lend you my garden hose, because when you borrowed my shovel, you broke it."
And bearing a grudge is saying, "I'll lend you my garden hose, even though when you borrowed my shovel you broke it."
BUT the attitude we should strive for is to say "I'll lend you my garden hose because you're my neighbor."

It is cleansing to forgive, to rid your soul of bitterness which is an inevitable ingredient of plotting revenge against the person who has hurt you.  If we fantasize about getting even and never act on it, which is what most of us do, we end up embittering ourselves and not affecting the other person at all.  I remember telling a divorcee who was still angry at her ex-husband for having left her ten years earlier, "Look at what you've been doing all these years.  You've been standing here in Massachusetts holding a hot coal in our hand, waiting for your ex-husband to walk by so you can throw it at him.  Meanwhile, he has been living happily in New Jersey with his new family, and you've burned your hand waiting."


A few thoughts


I like the description above because I think sometimes when we try to understand our own hearts it's hard to do because we're unsure what some sins really look like if I don't have a clear definition.   I also like the reminder given in the description of the woman holding the hot coal.  The only one being hurt by the anger or desire for revenge she is holding onto is her.  It's so sad, but it's her.  It's so odd that we will hold onto things like that.  You'd think we'd want to drop them and run from them as fast as possible but our first child like response is for me to hit you  because you hit me!



"Forgive" defined
1.  To give up resentment
2.  To grant relief from payment


I think, in a way, forgiveness is a form a acceptance of YHWH's will.  When we do it, we agree that He is in control of all things and that He knows what is best.  We accept that He will judge righteously one day. And if we are following Him, He will direct our steps and He will provide what we need.  If we have strayed away from Him, He will allow us to reap what we sew...but He will forgive us and heal us if we return.  


Forgiveness is such a big subject, I just wanted to remember this tid bit from the book.  I love inspiring thoughts. 


Ps 103:12 As far as the east is from the west...that's how far YHWH has moved our transgressions from us.


He has put our wrong doing against Him in a place that I and my wrong doing never shall meet. He wants us to be like Him.