Hi all! I’m just popping in for a quick “hello”… My internet hiatus has been fruitful. I’ve been doing lots of reading, cooking and baking, cleaning out closets, bookshelves and other often forgotten clutter and dust collections… feeling quite productive. Chris and I even have a DATE planned for later this week! ;-)

I’m thinking about selling a bunch of stuff on ebay, stuff I’ve kept around thinking I may use *eventually*, or books read (but not keepers, and some unread as well), clothes, curriculums (yes, I *used* to be a curriculum junkie), just to get it all outta here (simplify, simplify, thin out), and hopefully even make some $change in the process. I’m wondering though how cost-efficient ebaying smaller items truly would be? Packaging and shipping each this or that… any ebayers with tips, ideas, regrets, advice, etc.? Feel free to comment, or email me. I’d love to hear if it’s been worth the efforts to ya?

Speaking of ebay, and simplifying (financially) Chris has his baby – I mean his truck – for sale/auction both here locally, and on ebay. Yes, he’s in mourning… And, if you’re in the market for a luxury/ souped-up, dreamy, MANLY truck, then you’ll NOT find a better deal than here; Chris’s 2004 Ford: F-250

As he wrote in the description (he made me promise not to laugh as I took dictation); This is a SU-WEET Truck!! This is not a “bought another vehicle/need to sell this one” situation! My family and I absolutely LOVE this deluxe truck! We DO NOT want to sell this, but we must. We moved from FL and my income has changed dramatically, we simply can’t afford it anymore. This truck is completely loaded…

I’m so thankful that we’ve had calls and email inquiries… just to know that it will sell for more than what we owe on it is comforting to me… though not too much to Chris, as we’re still “losing money”, considering how much he’d put down on it when he bought it. But it’s been, of course, completely his decision to make, and he’s accepted that it must now be sold. We’re trying to get rid of as much debt as possible. Since Chris lost his FL job, it’s been a struggle for us to make ends meet (as his old income simply can’t be matched here), and I’m praying that the Lord would bless the work of his hands now, as he works as a consultant and installer for ADT Security. But, all financial woes aside, we are doing good.

We are having a wonderful *holiday season* so far! I hope that you and yours find some moments of peace and solitude, as you find time to reflect upon you many blessings. Friday night we went to a huge Christmas party at my kids’ horse-riding instructor’s house. It was so much fun… She’s a beautiful Christian lady (we also attend the same church and “home group”) and dear friend, who has graduated all 3 of her children after homeschooling them all the way through, and it was such a lovely time. They had a hay ride (in the freezing cold and dark, but they loved it!) which my Chris provided on his trailer, the kids had night-time horse-riding fun in Jennifer’s lit up outside arena, LOTS of yummy food, wonderful fellowship and her house was so beautifully decorated with white candles, little lanterns and lights *EVERY*where (and white pointsettias)! We came home with more food than we brought! Jennifer collects nativities, and had some truly beautiful pieces!

Chris and the kids went back over there Saturday to get a trailer full of nice 3yo horse manure – which is practically humus now – for me to spread on my garden plot. We’ll till it under in the Spring…;-) I do believe I’ll have to get some more though… and Jennifer says we can take all we’d like, she’s got a mountain of it! LOL!
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As an aside, a dear online friend of mine, whom I’ve known about 9mos. recently wrote me, and asked me if we celebrate Christmas… She wrote;

I hope you have a wonderful time off during the holidays. Do you celebrate Christmas? My husband likes it, but I quit sending out cards and the girls didn’t even ask for a tree this year (I gave up having a tree years ago, and no longer send out Christmas cards). I think if someone has the energy and money it’s their perogative, but I desperately trying to wean the worldliness out of our lives. I must admit though that my small, old, college town looks beautiful when I drive through it late at night!

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I responded; So, do we celebrate Christmas? Well…. Yes, and No… How’s that for an answer?! LOL! Dec. 25 is not a focal point magical date around our house, neither is Christmas Eve. We don’t have a Christmas tree, or other Christmas fanfare, but we do *decorate* with our collected Winter/Hanukkah trinkets each year (and some fave old ornaments hung on strung lights, and I generally have no problem saying “Merry Christmas” back to someone who has just wished me such, knowing the spirit in which they have offered it.

So, we do not *celebrate* it specifically, but we don’t necessarily *boycott* it either…Our Messianic celebration of Hanukkah, and other *Biblical holidays* have simply begun to take precedence in our house, both in meaning and in actions, as we’ve been studying them for quite a few years now, and do enjoy celebrating them, and learning from them all the many rich object lessons found therein concerning our Lord Jesus. My kids are beginning to find it odd that “not very many other Christians celebrate Hanukkah though”… but it’s good for them, to get used to *being weird, and different* a bit. ;-) Some of their friends were over here enjoying playing Dreidel, and learning its history, the other day, which led to a meaningful discussion on current Christian persecution.

We do share openly with our friends about these Holy days (usually to their fascination and wonderment over never having heard much of them from the Church, nor their Christian applicability (is that a word?) before)… We are enjoying this season tremendously, getting ready for Hanukka (ordered some Hanukkah cookie cutters! here for $1 ea.;http://www.foosecookiecutters.com/store/religious.html *smiles*), which has been a favorite “Holyday” of ours for many years now. Last year Nathan inspiredly proclaimed that he plans to name his first son Judah Macabee… gotta love it!

This will be our 7th year celebrating and studying it, it is SO rich. The year we were in FL I was invited to give a Messianic presentation of Hanukka to our local homeschool group (kids and parents) during the Christmas party at the park. I remember how all of the parents were so intrigued by the significant history and implications of this holiday, as well as the fact that we keep it with the Light of the World, Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew), as its center. I had of course printed out some materials and resources for them to learn further, including info. concerning our Lord’s birth actually being during the Fall, around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. I do so love to get the Truth out there, and lately have been considering how the Lord’s ways are so often different from what I’d expect…

Just the other day, while baking and decorating Gingerbread men over at a homeschooling friend’s house (who was Nathan’s cub scout leader last year), I got to share the whole history and Messianic/prophetic significance of Hanukkah with her and her 4 kids! We got to casually talking about the compromising history of so many of the traditional Christmas trappings, and she was SO interested. Her kids were also intrigued, especially her 14yo son, and her daughter ended up making “Hanukkah angels”. hehehee That is my heart’s passion, to get others interested in studying the Hebraic roots of their Faith, and historically accurate Church history, as so much contextual richness, understandings and deep love of Scriptures and studying His Word follows. And it’s exciting to see our love and enthusiasm catching others’ attention… making them hungry to study His Word more. Among my Baptist, Pentecostal and nondenominational friends from church, homeschool and scrapbooking groups over the years… I’ve been surprised how many people really couldn’t care less about the tree and all, but just do it out of “Tradition!” (think Fiddler on the Roof, LOL!)… Anyways, I hope that you all have a blessed time this season, together with your friends and family.

Yesterday, we enjoyed (well, for the most part anyways – besides the portion of the service that made my stomach turn, where yes, they actually showed a portion of the “Grinch who stole Christmas” movie on the big overhead screens, the Grinch having his “revelation” about the “true meaning of Christmas”)… a celebration and teaching of our Lord’s conception, birth, life, death and resurrection, at our church. Admittedly, we struggled with some of the message portion, like the reference the pastor made about “God’s instituting Christmas”…So, I”m thinking (like I do too much, I think) Ummmm, no, that was us… men of the Orthodoxed church at the time… for this, this, and that reasons… Um, this church (our current church home) isn’t acknowledging/celebrating the Feasts/Holy days God did indeed “institute”… *arrrrghs and sighs* This is our yearly/weekly dilemma… and we, for the sake of sharing fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, do keep overlooking these often times glaring differences in the way we see things. But, alas, there are no Messianic congregations around here, and we have *real* relationships with so many Christians there at church… and that’s what it is about anyways, right?… but yet… *sighs*shaking head* I know, some of you must think I’m a nit-picking ‘ol Scrooge, but a few of you must surly relate to some of our misgivings…

Overall, we enjoyed singing many traditionally Christmas hymns, and took communion together with our church family. My children just love the song “Silent Night”, and we’ve been singing it together as a lullaby each night… So, in that sense, as a celebration of our Lord and Saviour, YES, we do celebrate Him during the Christmas season each year, and what so many Christians perceive as being the essence of Christmas… we do celebrate. We celebrate our Lord, as on every other day, and we do hope to make the most of every opportunity during this season to be witnesses and lights for Him. We do not live near any of our extended family now, and have recently been invited, to attend a *Christmas dinner* with some friends here on Christmas day, and when we return home, we shall kindle the first light of Hanukkah, as the Eve of Hanukkah falls on Dec. 25 this year.

Well, that’s our latest. I’ve been on here way too long again, and am now getting back offline, and returning to my days of rest from the ‘puter, and blogosphere.

Blessings to you and yours during this Season,
May the Light of Messiah be yours ~