Lights in the darkness 2....

There it was - the true Light that illumines every person, coming in to the world.John1:9

Jesus said "I am the Light in the world.

He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,

but will have the light that is life."John 8:!2

Therefore He says" Awake, O sleeper. Arise from the dead, and the Messiah shall shine upon you and give to you light." For you used to be darkness, but now, united with the Lord, you are light. Live like children of light.Eph. 5:14

Now.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bowl, but put it on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before people,

so that they may see the good things you do

and praise your Father in heaven.Matt. 5:14-16

Lights in the darkness...

It is the evening of December 25th. There are snowflake banners draped over our windows. Smells of comfort foods permeate the air in the house and cookies and candies sit on a tray next to hot cocoa. Children can be heard squabbling in another room, arguing over their gifts and who's turn it is next.

Is is Christmas? Nope. Its Chanukah!

Given the above description, you would not look at our holiday celebrations and say to yourself "these kids are missing out", because they are not. There was no tree at our house, but there was magic when we lit the candles on the hanukkiah. There were no red bows or evergreen boughs decking our halls, but there was an atmosphere of thankfulness and honor for new traditions. Santa was no where to be found and no Christmas carols were sung, yet there were gifts received and gifts given, some made and some bought. There were no stockings, but there were giddy children gathered around to play with dreidels, teaching their father about the letters on the top and bartering for prizes they wanted from each other.

Best of all, no one is complaining of not having Christmas! That is music to my ears.

The children are all embracing the transition to celebrating only biblical feasts. The hardest transition has been for mom and dad. We grew up with Christmas stuff. The pressure to celebrate like everyone else is real and felt keenly. We are both feeling a bit alone and exposed right now, but we are both sure that if Messiah was here, he would not be celebrating Christmas, he would be celebrating Chanukah. So we will keep pressing on, abstaining from pagan holidays and embracing holy days and feasts celebrated by God's people. This is the Feast of Dedication and a great time to focus on being the light that we have been called to be.

I hope that you have a wonderful Chanukah. Shalom