Hanuchristmakkah?

 
JOY TO THE WORLD or OY TO THE WOILD?
Santa Claus or Hanukkah Harold?
I saw Mommy kissing Santa or I saw Mama lighting the Hanukkah candles?
Were you raised in a home with Christmas, Hanukkah, both or neither?
Is combining the two sacrilegious?
GROWING UP WITH CHRISTMAS.
There was the tree [I was mesmerized by the decorations and lights], Santa [I couldn't figure out how the big belly fit down a skinny chimney or no chimney...flying reindeer?] and... baby Jesus [no clue who he was & why was there no room at the inn?].  The only thing I understood was all the PRESENTS!
YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SAVIOR!
As time went on I started to grasp the concept of love and giving during the holiday season and at this same time I'm introduced to Yeshua [aka: the real baby Jesus] and develop a personal relationship with Him.  Later I'm introduced to my biological father and rich Jewish heritage.  WOW! Now that answered a lot of questions and brought up a whole lot more, but that's another blog.  
WHAT IS CHRISTMAS?
Christmas' origins, traditions, history and celebrations is the result of the mixture of the  December 17-25 celebration of Saturnanalia [Gregorian calendar] which was practiced among numerous nations since before the 3rd century.  With a good library &/or internet search you can find out that our present customs of celebrating December 25th as the birthday of Christ [aka: Christ's Mass] have their origins in the Roman Empire and not the Bible.
WHAT IS HANUKKAH?
Hanukkah [Hebrew for dedication] is also know as the Feast of Dedication and the Festival of Lights.  It refers to the rededication of the Temple on Kislev 25, 165 BC [Biblical lunar calendar] after it had been defiled by the Syrian king Antiochus IV by sacrificing a pig on the altar among other things.  According to the Talmud there was only one day's-worth of sanctified oil for the Temple's menorah.  The miracle was that the oil lasted eight days---the first Hanukkah!
         "NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER, 
          BUT BY MY SPIRIT SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS." 
          ----Zechariah 4:6
There may not be any direct Tanach [aka: Old Testament] references to Hanukkah, there are extra-biblical ones [Talmud, Maccabees, Josephus] and a direct reference in the Gospels.
         "IT WAS HANUKKAH IN JERUSALEM AND IT WAS WINTER TIME. 
           YESHUA WAS WALKING IN THE TEMPLE IN SOLOMOM'S PORCH."
           ----John 10:22-23 
Solomon's Porch was the largest and considered the most beautiful of the public promenades of the outer courts. It is alluded that this was also where the Sanhedrin met.  In Pesquita's rabbinical text, we learn that the Messianic era was associated with the Feast of Hanukkah, when the children of Israel would bask in the light of Messiah.  It is believed that Solomon's Porch is where the Sanhedrin met.  Thus it was thought that the Messiah would tell them what to do with the defiled rocks of the altar from the original attack of Antiochus IV.  Hanukkah was the time and Solomon's porch was the place where the Temple leaders came to Yeshua and asked Him if He was the Messiah.
         "THE JEWS SURROUNDED HIM AND SAID TO HIM, HOW LONG WILL 
          YOU KEEP US IN SUSPENSE? IF YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, SAY IT NOW 
          SO WE CAN HEAR WITH OUR OWN EARS!" YESHUA ANSWERED THEM, 
          "YES, I HAVE TOLD YOU BUT YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME. THE WORKS 
          THAT I DO IN THE NAME OF MY FATHER TESTIFY ABOUT ME." 
          ----JOHN 10:24-25
SO WHEN IS JESUS' BIRTHDAY?
The Bible does not specifically say the date of Jesus' birth.  It was not in the winter because the sheep were in the pasture. SEE Luke 2:8.  I'll try to make a timeline for you here, but your best bet is to search the scriptures and enjoy the revelation for yourself :-)
* Zecharias, priest of the division of Abijah [1 Chronicles 24: 7-18], & his his wife, Elizabeth conceive a son, who is to proceed Messiah in the spirit of Elijah, during Shavuot [Feast of Weeks] around Sivan 30 [May-June] SEE Luke 1: 5-25; Malachi 4: 5-6.  Adding 40 weeks gestation reveals John the Baptist was born during Passover, on or about Nisan 14 [March-April].
*Mary would have conceived Jesus six months after John's conception, therefore it would have been in the month of Kislev----Hanukkah.  Was the "Light of the world" conceived during the festival of the miracle of lights?  Adding 40 weeks gestation to Kislev 25, one arrives to the approximate time of the birth of Yeshua at Sukkot [Feast of Tabernacles] during Tishri [late Sept-Oct]. 
         "AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND TABERNACLED 
          AMONGST US AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY." 
          ---John 1:14
HANUCHRISTMAKKAH?
Yes, I do celebrate both in my own way.  I celebrate the LIGHT of the world, Yeshua, who has miraculously been the shamash kindler of the light within my heart and my salvation.  I honor all of the moedim [Appointed Times of the LORD], go to Torah study and worship.  I honor and celebrate Christ in Hanukkah, the light of my world.  Happy Holidays!


shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach!!!
deborah
  
REFERENCES:
Bible
www.amfi.org
www.biblicalhloidays.com
www.bible-light.com
www.ffoz.org
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
www.messianicisrael.com
www.vineofdavid.org

when you ENTER FEAR... you INTERFERE

"When you enter fear... you interfere;

when you interfere... you enter fear."  ---deborah ramsgard

     Every time I experience a trial, tribulation or tragedy in my life; at the beginning, I always enter fear.  I have to do a great deal of prayer & meditation to get back to the right frame of mind.  To set my mind on things above.
     This fear [anxiety, angst, agitation... dread, dismay, distress... shivers, suspicion, skepticism] seems to happen when my family is involved, especially my children.  Subsequently, because of fear, I interfere.  Not good.
     Fear should never be the foundation of any action or decision, particularly if I want a positive outcome.  Most of the circumstances that entangle my mind are not in my control any way.
     Woe! I just realized I used the word "entangle" to describe fearful thoughts.  So true.  Fear can get us all tangled up like fishing line.  Once all tangled and knotted; even if undone, it can never be reused.  Fearful or interfering choices can delay, damage or destroy our circumstances or relationships.

     So what shall I do then?

I will cry out to The Eternal One with petitions and praise to shape my worries into prayers.


Shalom Dear Ones,
Deborah

"TORNADO" WORDS

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/tornado.jpg

tor-na-do [tawr-ney-doh]

---noun

1. a localized, violently destructive windstorm occurring over land; characterized by a long funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground and made visible by condensation and debris.

2. a violent squall or whirlwind of small extent.

3. a violent outburst, as of emotion or activity.

4. a supersonic, two-seat, multipurpose military aircraft capable of flying in darkness and bad weather.

www.dictionary.com

Sadly, the news is full of the devastation, destruction and death that tornados have caused recently. These violent uncontrollable acts of nature are so grievous to me.  My heart aches for and prayers go out to those who have lost love ones from these horrific twisters of demise.

I live where earthquakes are statistically most likely to occur, yet because of my experience with tornados in Indiana when I was young; I have huge anxiety and even body memories when the wind whirls here.  The sound makes my skin crawl and sometimes I try to comfort myself by jokingly saying, "Dorothy! Toto! I'm coming!"  Not funny.

What caught my attention, though, was #3 in the definition of tornado above.  Woe!  What kind of tornados can we be with anger-generated emotionally violent outbursts?  I've always said, "stick and stones may break my bones, but words will put me in therapy for years!"  Again...not funny.

I also know I've caused tornado-like damage with my own words.  Words not just to others, but to myself, as well.  [LORD, forgive me.]  So many of us had been taught to treat others as we would like to be treated, yet we don't even give a second thought of treating ourselves horribly with devastating, destructive, deadly words.  Soul murder.

As a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus, I like best what the apostolic writings say to me.  May I sincerely be able to apply this advice to my attitudes & actions towards others... and towards myself.

"Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!  Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them.  Help them see that the Master is about to arrive.  He could show up any minute!  Don't fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray.  Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.  Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."  

Philippians 4:4-8 The Message

Shalom, Deborah                                                                        שלום דבורה

it was a possum & he has more cousins!

Update on the creepy-crawly dudes under the house... possum.  My husband trapped it and let it lose in the field a ways away [at least that's what he said].  But tonight I'm hearing its return or its got a cousin.
This is supposed to be a daybook, not a middle-of-the-night book!  How did possum get their name anyway.  It should be something more along the line of "Biggus Fattus Rat I've-ever-seenus!"  They look like they're from the prehistoric age.  Stink like they haven't had a bath since then either.  This one was 12-15 pounds!!!
Well since we can't get the bark dog just yet, I sure need some ideas.  I need my beauty sleep real bad or I'm gonna look as prehistoric as that possum.

creepy noises at night that keep me awake

Why am I up at 2am?


Because we live on 40-acres out in the middle of a kazillion other acres, without a guard/bark dog and there are these dang varmints making all this creepy noise!  It sounds like someone is on our porch and or under the house...arrrgh!


I know what it is and that it cannot get in the house, but the sound tells my brain otherwise.  It's only a possum or raccoon or wild cat, but sounds human at times...yuck!
If it were human, I could step out on the porch and say, "My husband has his 30-30 loaded and ready," and that'd be it.  You can't say that to a possum under the house.  He could give a poop-dee-doo what you say about your 30-30.  All he cares about is what's to eat around down there.


So... after my husband has had a good night's sleep, I'll ask him take the trap under the house so I can sleep the next night. In the mean time, I'll also be sweet-talkin' to him about getting another dog.


Deborah


ADONAI is my light and my salvation;
whom do I need to fear?
ADONAI is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
Psalm 27.1