Festival of Lights: Day Four

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth (Genesis 49:6). We had a feast last evening… friendship, stories, laughter, food, drink, prayer, and fellowship! On the fourth day of Hanukkah, we celebrated indeed.

Festival of Lights Evening Three

“… in His light, we see light.” (Psalm 36:9). I spent the late afternoon making latkes or potato pancakes. They are a Hanukkah tradition and worth the calorie splurge once a year. Here is a great step-by-step process. Later, our Israeli neighbors upstairs came down, and we enjoyed the time together with latkes and sour cream…

Hanukkah Evening Two

Arise, shine for your light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Gross darkness shall cover the peoples of the earth, but my glory is risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1) Yesterday was such a sweet day with my husband. We drove to Ein Kerem, which is a beautiful town nestled…

Hanukkah Evening One

We gathered with some friends in our neighborhood to light the first candle of Hanukkah. As we walked to their apartment, we noticed the colors of the sky. It was that twilight time of early night when everything becomes gray, but last evening it seemed grayish purple. And we could feel the evening falling as…

Hanukkah Around the Globe

I love the season of light! It is full of miracles and hope, and it sets the perfect entrance for turning the calendar to a new year. Tonight is the first night we light candles… and so on for eight evenings. Our dear friends from the states will join us Monday afternoon and be here…

Dazzle Fade

The holiday dazzle is on a downward slop to fade… but here are few moments to remember.

haiku: kindling

just a baby born blessed is the kindling that sparked redemption’s great flame

That Gnawing Emptiness…

Here we are standing thigh-deep in glittering red and green–or in my case, the glittering white of the season. It’s not going away for a couple more weeks–it will only intensive. Love or loathe it, Christmas celebration is part of the cultural life-cycle that spins our immediate world. Lights, sparkle, candles, scents, ribbons, baking, colors–all of…

Scary Good!

I just finished the Pioneer Woman’s creamy mashed potatoes, and they are scary good! This is a recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas alone, otherwise put it away. It could be heart attack on a plate–there is so much half and half and butter and cream cheese. Since mashed potatoes are so labor intensive, I like to do them…