Today was a big, important day. :-) I can't explain how blessed Prairie Husband and I are with Buddy. He is smart, articulate, deep, passionate and always thinking. Today we had one of those hour and a half long deep talks that, as a parent, you never want to end, because your child is sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings with you freely. Buddy is 14 and he's always shared his heart with me and Daddy, never been afraid to talk or ask questions, etc. but as every child does as they grow and mature, it's not as often and not as freely shared as when he was so young and wholly dependent on Mommy and daddy. Today we talked about trust and Truth, about dating and purity and being careful not to sin or cause another to sin. We talked about what it means to "flee from temptation and sin" rather than casually looking away or trying to ignore it. As a mother, I want desperately to help my children not make the same mistakes I made and saw my friends make. I am so grateful, Father, Creator and Sustainer, that you are the God who knows my children better than they know themselves and that you are more than capable of protecting their hearts and minds. YHWH, thank you for little boys, for growing up and for learning how to let go of mommy control. Thank you, for sweet smiles, times spent together, long, deep talks and the trust and love shared between us.
(Material below is copied, but I don't know from where; it was old material I had written out on the back of a meeting handout from late 2010) Many are always seeking answers on death like what happens when you die? Do some soar to heaven while others descend to hell? Is there a holding place called “purgatory”? Do we enter the spirit world? What about reincarnation? Might I return as an eagle? Can the living actually communicate with dead and do the dead haunt the house they used to live in? The truth about death can be found only in the Bible. The book of Revelation says, “Satan deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), thus we cannot expect the majority of human beings to be right about anything! The purpose of this study is to prove these seven simple facts:
What is the Spirit and Soul?The Spirit and Soul is something that is very misunderstood by many sowe will primarily let the Strong’s dictionary followed by the Bible define what they are. Put simply, the Spirit is basically the BREATH of life from God. Both the Greek and Hebrew words translate “spirit” to “breath” or “air.” The Greek word “pneuma” is known by many of you in relation to things like pneumatic tools which are air driven or pneumatic tyres which means tyres inflated by air. As you can see, the word “pneumatic” originated from the Greek word “Pneuma” and means “breath” or “air.” Strong’s Old Testament Hebrew dictionary definition for Spirit. H7307 ruach, Pronounced roo'-akh. From H7306; wind; by resemblance breath, that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions): - air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]), tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y). Strong’s New Testament Greek dictionary definition for Spirit. G4151 pneuma, Pronounced pnyoo'-mah. From G4154; a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare G5590. A person’s soul is just simply a living breathing creature. Have you heard the expression; I went to the park and there wasn’t a soul there? A soul just simply means a person and is who and what you are. Strong’s Old Testament Hebrew dictionary definition for Soul. H5315 nephesh, Pronounced neh'-fesh. From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental). In the Beginning Genesis 2:7 God formed Adam into “a living soul.” Genesis 2:16-17 God warned that if Adam sinned, he would “surely die.” Genesis 3:4 The serpent said, “you will not surely die.” Genesis 3:19 Because of sin, man will return to dust. Ecclesiastes 12:7 Death is creation of a living soul in reverse. We return to dust “and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Job 27:3 The spirit of God does not live in our nose! This is referring to the breath of life from God. Genesis 3:22-24 God did not want Adam and Eve after sin to take from “the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.” So He drove them out of Paradise. Therefore no sinner will naturally “live forever” apart from Jesus Christ. Genesis 5:5 After Adam lived 930 years, then “he died.” The Soul is Not Immortal Job 4:17 The Bible calls man mortal. Revelation 16:3 "Every living soul died in the sea." Souls can die. Ezekiel 18:4 God said, “The soul that sins, it shall die.” Again, the soul can die! Exodus 1:5 “Seventy souls” went to Egypt. Souls are people. Acts 2:41 “Three thousand souls” were baptized. Again, souls are people. 1 Peter 3:20 “Eight souls were saved” in Noah’s day. Again, souls are people. 1 Timothy 6:16 God “only has immortality.” Man is not immortal. 2 Timothy 1:10 “Immortality” comes only “through the gospel.” Romans 2:7 Christians “seek for immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:53 At the end, “this mortal” shall “put on immortality.” Death is a Sleep Job 14:12 The dead “shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep” until “the heavens be no more.” Psalms 13:3 “Lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Daniel 12:2 “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” Acts 7:60 When Stephen died, “he fell asleep.” John 11:11-14 “Lazarus sleeps … Jesus spoke of his death.” 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6, 18, 51 Paul said death was “sleep.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 Those “which sleep in Jesus” will be resurrected. Do the dead haunt their house? Job 7:10 The dead “shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.” The Dead are Unconscious Psalms 115:17 “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalms 146:4 When a man dies, “in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ecclesiastes 9:5 “The dead know not anything.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 “There is no work... nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave.” Jesus Christ Taught the Resurrection of the Dead Matthew 22:23, 29 Jesus rebuked those who said there was “no resurrection.” Matthew 22:31 Jesus taught “the resurrection of the dead.” Luke 14:14 The saints will “be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” John 5:28-29 “All who are in their graves” will be resurrected at the second coming of Christ. John 6:39, 40, 44, 54 All believers will rise “on the last day.” John 11:24 Martha said to Jesus, “I know that he [Lazarus] shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Matthew 16:21 Jesus would “be killed, and be raised again on the third day.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “Christ died ... was buried ... he rose again.” Matthew 28:7 The angel said, “he is risen from the dead.” Revelation 1:18 Jesus “was dead,” but is now “alive for evermore.” Revelation 2:8 Jesus “was dead, and is alive.” Death and Resurrection in the Book of Acts Acts 2:29 David is “dead and buried.” His body is still in the tomb. Acts 2:34 David has not yet “ascended into the heavens.” He’s not in heaven yet. Acts 9:36-41 Tabitha “was sick, and died ... Peter ... prayed; and turning to the body said ... arise ... she opened her eyes ... presented her alive.” Acts 13:36 David “fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption.” Acts 24:15 “A resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” All Believers will be Resurrected when Jesus Christ Returns1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “The Lord himself shall descend ... the dead ... shall rise ... to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 The saints cry out, “0 death, where is thy sting” when they are resurrected at the second coming of Jesus. John 14:1-3 Jesus will take us to heaven when He “comes again.” 1 Corinthians 15:12-23 Paul says there is a resurrection of both Christ and the dead, “but every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.” We Must Beware of Satanic Deceptions Matthew 24:4 “Take heed that no man deceive you.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 Satan deceives as “an angel of light.” 1 Timothy 4:1 We must beware of “doctrines of devils.” Genesis 3:4 The first doctrine the devil taught Eve was that if she sinned she would “not surely die”! 2 Corinthians 11:3 As “the serpent beguiled Eve,” so Satan continues to mislead even good people “through his subtlety.” Matthew 24:24 All can be deceived by the “great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Behold, the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice, and come forth, they that have done good, to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation. ~~Jesus Christ (John 5:28-29) So far it has been proven from the Bible that when a man dies, he is dead, asleep and unconscious in the grave until the resurrection when Jesus Christ comes again. Some will say, if this is true, then how do we explain other verses in the Word of God that seem to teach that either people or their souls go directly to heaven when they die? The following passages are often used to teach an “immediate flight to glory”, whereas, upon closer analysis, they really do not. Read them all carefully, and then don’t forget what Jesus and the rest of the Bible says. The Thief on the Cross Luke 23:42-43 When Jesus was dying on the cross the crucified thief right next to Him said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” First of all, the thief’s question looked forward to the Second Coming, not themoment of death. The interpretation of Jesus’ response depends upon where you place a tiny particle called a “comma.” The fact is, commas are not inspired, but were added over a thousand years later along with chapters and verses. Did Jesus Christ say, “I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” or, “I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise” (at the Second Coming)? Here is one translation that put the comma in the place that lines up with all other scripture. Luke 23:43 TS98 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Here is further proof that punctuation is not inspired. Acts 19:12 KJV “So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” In this verse we see the diseases departed from the sick handkerchiefs or aprons. The comma should have been placed after the word “sick”. There are many such examples through even the King James Bible as well as other translations. Let’s look at just one more that proves beyond all doubt that punctuation is not inspired by God. This following example involves chapters, verses as well as a comma. Matthew 28:1 reads, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” The end of the Sabbath which is sunset and dawn are twelve hours apart, so why the apparent contradiction in the above verse? The answer is found in the translation of this passage. By reorganizing the last verse of Matthew 27 and the first verse of Matthew 28, the apparent ambiguity completely disappears. See Matthew 27:62-66. In Matthew 27:62, a request for a guard on the tomb was made on the Sabbath (the day after the preparation) and that the request was for a guard until the third day. By simply moving the text “in the end of the Sabbath,” from the beginning of Matthew 28:1 to the end of Matthew 27:66, which is where it should have been placed when punctuation and chapters and verse were added, we would have the following. Matthew 27:66 “So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch in the end of the sabbath.” Matthew 28:1 “As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” It was the watch guarding the tomb that began at the end of the Sabbath. Since Jesus was to rise the third day, the Roman guards were put in place immediately at the end of the Sabbath because they anticipated that the body of Jesus would be stolen by the Jews sometime on Sunday. Four reasons why the comma is wrongly placed in Luke 23:43
What about Moses and Elijah? Luke 9:27-36On the mount of transfiguration, “two men ... Moses and Elias ... appeared in glory.” These where not spirits or disembodied souls, but “two men.” Elijah never died. He was translated without seeing death. 2 Kings 2:11. Moses “died” and was “buried.” Deuteronomy 34:5-6. Yet the book of Jude reveals that Michael came from heaven and, “contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses.” Jude 1:9. Moses was also raised, that’s why the devil protested. Then Michael said, “the Lord rebuke thee.” Hence it was a living, resurrected Moses and a living, translated Elijah that appeared on the mount. Immediately prior to this appearance, Jesus told his disciples that they would soon “see the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:27. On the mount they saw God’s kingdom in miniature. Jesus was there, so was Moses (representing all resurrected saints), and Elijah (representing all translated saints at the Second Coming). Both groups are described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Absent from the Body, Present with the LordPaul longed “to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8. The question is, would this transition take place at the moment of death, or at the Second Coming? Paul clarified in verse 4 that it would occur when “mortality” is “swallowed up by life” (verse 4). When is this? In his previous letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that “mortality” would be “swallowed up” when the resurrection of believers occurs at the end of the world. “In a moment ... at the last trump ... the dead shall be raised ... this mortal must put on immortality ... then ... Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55. Thus Paul expected “to be present with the Lord” at the Second Coming. He later wrote, “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout ... the dead in Christ shall rise ... so shall we ever be with the Lord.” l Thessalonians 4:16-17. Jesus said we will be with Him when He “comes again.” John 14:1-3. Because death is like sleep, it will seem like barely a moment until we are “present with the Lord.” Souls under the Altar - Revelation 6:9-11During the “fifth seal,” John “saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood.” This scene is symbolic, representing the martyrs who died for their steadfast faith in Jesus Christ. God said to Cain after he murdered his brother Abel, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10. These words parallel what John saw in Revelation 6. The blood of Abel did not literally cry out from the ground. Neither are there actual souls underneath a real altar in heaven. The “souls under the altar” scene occurs right after “the fourth seal” scene. There “Hell” is seen following “a pale horse” ridden by “Death.” Revelation 6:7-8. Again, this is obviously symbolic and refers to those martyred for their faith and whose deaths cry out to God for just retribution. Those slain are represented as being told to “wait” for God’s judgment and their future reward at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Rich Man and Lazarus - Luke 16:19-31Believe it or not, this is the ONLY place in the entire New Testament that suggests that a lost soul goes into a fiery hell immediately at death. This idea is not taught anywhere else - not by Matthew, Mark, John, James, Peter or Paul. Jesus often told parables. While containing many practical lessons, parables are not meant to be taken literally. Here are 9 reasons why the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is definitely a parable:
Note: We should interpret parables in the light of the rest of the Bible, rather than the rest of the Bible in the light of one parable. Saul, Samuel and the witch of Endor - 1 Samuel 28:5-14 Did King Saul really speak to Samuel after his death? Do the whole host of scriptures that clearly state the dead sleep until the second coming of Christ contradict this passage? Definitely not! In 1 Samuel chapter 28 we find Saul afraid of the host of Philistines and so enquiring after the Lord for help. But the Lord would not answer Saul so he went to the witch of Endor to see if he could contact Samuel from the grave and have him ask God how he could gain victory over the Philistines. Saul of course sinned greatly by inquiring of an evil spirit in place of the Lord. If Samuel had actually gone to heaven, Satan would certainly not have been given permission to bring him down in response to the incantations of a wicked woman. The figure that appeared to the witch had to be an impersonation of Samuel by a demon or even Satan himself. If Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), he can certainly appear as the prophet Samuel. Note in verse 11 that Samuel was supposedly brought up from below. Heretical but popular theology says that righteous people such as Samuel would come down from heaven, but pagan ideas assume that the dead are below ground. This popular pagan idea about death had obviously crept into the beliefs of God’s people well before the time of Christ. See the story of the rich man and Lazarus earlier and John chapter 11 for example. This witch of Endor was known for having a familiar spirit but what is a familiar spirit? It is certainly not an angel of God because of His strong condemnation against consulting with them. A familiar spirit is a demonic spirit (fallen angel) that is in league with Satan. This is what the woman at Endor had. She had communication with a demon that was quite capable of impersonating Samuel. It was not Samuel who appeared but a demon masquerading as Samuel. Note in verse 12 that the first thing the demon did was expose Saul’s masquerade to the witch. Note also that Saul did not actually see anything himself and had to ask what she saw. The witch replied that she saw gods ascending out of the earth and an old man covered with a mantle. What were these so called gods ascending out of the earth with Samuel? More demons! Saul assumed it was Samuel he communicated with based only on what the witch said. Since the witch said she saw Samuel coming up from out of the earth (not down from heaven), King Saul was putting his trust completely in a spirit medium, a necromancer, a witch, against the expressed will of God. So the conversation that followed was not between Saul and Samuel, but between Saul and a witch with a familiar (demonic) spirit. So with all these facts in mind and understanding what the Word teaches about the state of the dead and the circumstances of Saul’s relationship with God at the time, we know that it could not have been Samuel raised from the dead but a fallen angel. The fact that Saul even attempted this séance with a witch or spirit medium was an abomination and rebellion against God of which Saul paid for with his life. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” The italicized words in verse 13 are added by the translator and are not in the original Hebrew text. So if we translate 1 Chronicles 10:13 verbatim, it actually reads as follows: 1 Chronicles 10:13 “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking of a familiar spirit, to enquire;” So this verse also actually states that Saul communicated with a demonic spirit and not the prophet Samuel! One must not base their theology on what they think one scripture shows when several black and white scriptures clearly say otherwise. Out of Body ExperiencesSome will say, but what about all those out of body experiences you hear about? Firstly, when a persons heart stops beating they are not actually dead yet but their body is being derived of oxygen. It has been scientifically proven that when the body is deprived of oxygen that it can start to hallucinate and or have dreams which will probably be based on one’s own beliefs. In one experiment Dr. Ladislas Meduna administered 30% Carbon Dioxide and 70% Oxygen to a subject. Afterwards the subject stated, “I felt as though I was looking at myself, as though I was way out there in space…I felt sort of separated.” There have also been many other experiments done that have made the person feel as though they were having an out of body experience. One cannot base their theology on what one claims to have experienced. The word of God is very clear and is totally trustworthy. One cannot go by what they think they have seen or felt. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight:” Conclusion Does it really matter if we know what happens when we die? Most definitely! The Bible says that people who misunderstand the subject of death will almost assuredly be deceived by the Devil on other issues including the final Battle of Armageddon. Revelation 16:14 says, “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” We must understand what the Bible really says happens when a person dies and what is the truth about death. David declares that man is not conscious in death. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4. Solomon has the same testimony, “The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything.” “Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” “There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10. Jesus said that He would go and prepare a place for us so when comes again we can be with Him where He is now. Obviously the dead cannot possibly be with Him there now according to the words of Jesus. John 14:2-3 says, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” So this is what happens when you die from the Word of God and by no mans interpretation. This leaves only one conclusion to those who believe they have spoken to loved ones in séances etc. Since the dead sleep until the second coming of Christ, theses manifestations have to be demons masquerading as our loved ones to deceive us. As for Purgatory, it is found nowhere in the Bible and was manufactured by the Papacy as a means of extorting money from people through the dark ages. (No offence intended to the many wonderful people in the Roman Catholic Church) Truth is truth and this is the truth about death. As there is no consciousness of time in sleep, the moment we close our eyes we will see Jesus coming in the clouds of Angels. Here are just some of the Old Testament scriptures that could be quoted to prove what happens when you die. Ecclesiastes 9:5 “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatsoever your hand findeth to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither you goest.” Job 14:12 “So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” Psalms 13:3 “Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;" If I was in heaven, I most definitely would be praising the Lord. How about you? Psalms 115:17 “The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.” Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earthshall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Below are most of the New Testament scriptures that can be quoted that proves what happens when you die. Luke 23:42-43 “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you comest into your kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, To day[,] shall you be with me in paradise.” Punctuation, chapter and verses were added when the Bible was translated and the above verse has to be wrongly punctuated to be consistent with ALL other scripture. The following translation of the same verse done by “The Scriptures 1998, Copyright by the Institute for Scripture Research” has been correctly punctuated. Luke 23:43 TS98 “And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” The following three verses prove that Jesus had not yet gone to His Father in Paradise on the Sunday let alone on the Friday. John 20:17 “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” Revelation 2:7 “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the TREE OF LIFE, which is in the midst of the PARADISE of God.” Revelation 22:1-3 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of GOD and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the TREE OF LIFE, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:” Here is further evidence that punctuation is not inspired. Acts 19:12 KJV “So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” In the above verse we see the diseases departed from the sick handkerchiefs or aprons. The comma should have been placed after the word “sick.” There are many such examples throughout the King James Bible as well as other translations. John 5:28-29 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the whichall that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 6:39 “And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” One more time just for good measure. John 6:54 “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 11:11-14 “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Martha understood this as well as she said to Jesus that if He had been there earlier that Lazarus would not have died. John 11:24 “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;that where I am, there you may be also.” Acts 2:29 “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.” Acts 2:34 “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit you on my right hand,” This is what Stephen said as he died when he was stoned. It was obviously well known in those days that death was referred to as a sleep. Acts 7:60 “And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 24:15 “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.“ 1 Corinthians 15:6 “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, butsome are fallen asleep.” While still speaking of the resurrection of the dead, Paul shows quite clearly what happens when you die. Paul says in verses 17 and 18, that if Christ did not rise from the dead then all those that are fallen asleep (dead) have also totally perished. He also says that Christ was the firstfruits, that is, the first to be risen from the dead and afterwards, those at His second coming will be resurrected (verse 23). 1 Corinthians 15:12-23 “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Why do we jump to conclusions? Parents do it. Children do it. Bosses do it. Doctors do it. I know I have. And I certainly don't want to do it again. Not with sickness or pain.
I had not been sick or been to a doctor in 8 or 9 years. Seriously. No kidding. But THIS, whatever-it-was, I had, or was getting or had gotten me, was painful and crazy enough to send me right out the door to find someone who might be able to help. But it took a couple of weeks. I noticed off and on for a several days in a row -- maybe two to three weeks, that my arms were burning, on the back side, and that my hands were going to sleep at odd times, or tingly or burning, like when I was driving or cooking dinner. Other times my shoulder and neck under/near my ears were either achy or burning. Still other times I had stabbing, terrible, hostile, --did I say stabbing? pains in my arms and underarms. OUCH!! Off to the doctor I finally went when there began to be a rash in my underarm/right breast/lymph node area. Diagnosis #1 -- poison ivy. Really? Poison ivy is all you have, Doc? Buddy, who has become somewhat of an expert at having poison ivy even thought the Doc was off. Wrong. Missing the mark. This boy has SEEEEEEN poison ivy; he would know! :( Diagnosis Guess #2 - allergic rash? It was not really a diagnosis as much as it was a question. That was funny, Doc. Um, no. It would be all over my body instead of only in the strategically painful location of .... well... where it is. :-) Diagnosis #3 (1st and 2nd doctor in conference) - Let's not play around with small things. Let's just go right up to the top of the list! Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Yup. IBC. The Big C. Oh wow! That was a long, loooooooooooong two weeks and four days of prayer, research, prayer, talking to friends, more research, and lots more prayer. Doctor (oncology lab) visit #4 -- I have almost no blood left. The vampires drained my body! :) I always thought that if two or more doctors wanted the same blood tests, the labs would DUPLICATE the results and send them to all the doctors. I was apparently wrong about this. Norma G. took 6 vials of blood for EACH DOCTOR requesting blood work! WHAT!? When I asked about it, she just rolled her eyes at me. Norma G was not having a good day. Neither was I. Doctor visit #5 (conference again with doc #1 and 2) -- Big surprise: it's is NOT IBC. It's SHINGLES!!!! SHINGLES!!! You know? Chicken pox on steroids!? Why didn't you see this before, Doc? Why put me through this horrible week and half of appointments and fear and uncertainty and the desperation of learning all I could as fast as I could? And the long nights talking with my husband, about really tough and scary things. And the heartbreak I felt as I looked at my children and husband and thought about things like what their life might be like without me. The birthdays, the milestones, the girlfriends and eventual wives, graduations and 1st cars, the (hopefully) grandchildren and the grand plan of growing old with my one true and blessed love. And the vampires!? Oh my, that was a LOT of blood! Yes, I have now met Shingles. I don't like her. Or him. Whichever. Not. At. All. Why didn't the doc see this before?? She had one answer: "You are a-typical". Most people with shingles have a rash that looks exactly like the text books. Most people with shingles have that rash on their backs and lower torso. Most people with shingles don't have swollen lymph nodes and tender skin all over their bodies, especially not down the backs of their arms! Most people with shingles don't have much fatigue. Most people with shingles get over it in about 2-4 weeks. Aaaaah. That explains it. It's really just typical for me to be A-Typical. And I don't mind one bit, usually. I like being different. :) I also like NOT having shingles. I also don't like jumping to conclusions and knowing what stress and trouble it caused me, my husband and even my doctor. The LORD has a plan and He knows what He is doing. All the worry in the world will not change the love and care he has for me, nor will it change the outcome. I have to learn to trust Him and know that He can see everything that I cannot. I have vowed that I will try not to jump to conclusions any more. It will not be easy, but I will try and the LORD is my strength. I just got this from a friend that I had sent the Thanksgiving information to earlier last week (see entry below this one for more info). She says all of that info on Thanksgiving got her thinking about the origins of Christmas, too, since she'd heard little things over the years. :) She began looking things up and found these articles! Happy reading. ~Prairie
------ Forwarded Message ------ What Are the Origins of Common Christmas Symbols? The following is from The Trouble With Christmas by Tom Flynn (1993, pp. 19, 37-40, emphasis in original): Source: Photos.com"An enormous number of traditions we now associate with Christmas have their roots in pre-Christian pagan religious traditions. Some of these have social, sexual, or cosmological connotations that might lead educated, culturally sensitive moderns to discard the traditions once they have understood their roots more clearly. . . "The pre-Christian elements of Christmas hail primarily from Europe. . . From southern Europe come such familiar pagan traditions as feasting, fertility rituals, tree worship, and the exchange of gifts. From the harsher lands of northern Europe come the ancient conventions we identify with the term 'Yule.' The Yule log tradition, now almost forgotten, rose from this stream. So too are many of the details of holiday feasting, the ritual use of candles, and the earliest forerunners of Santa Claus. . . "Here is a brief review of the pre-Christian sources from which some of our best-loved holiday traditions sprang. "Evergreens symbolize immortality and the continuity of life. . . The Romans, too, decorated their homes and public places with evergreens near the time of the winter solstice. Among the forerunners of today's holiday gifts were strenae, tree branches presented to political and military leaders as tokens of loyalty. . . "The holiday's most conspicuous smaller plant is mistletoe. . . Historically, mistletoe has long been associated with both magic and fertility. Sprigs of mistletoe were once fastened over the conjugal bed on the wedding night. Our modern use of mistletoe as a social aphrodisiac is clearly related. "Nineteenth-century German immigrants to the United States were among the first to use a recognizable Christmas tree in this country, so it is often assumed that the Christmas tree hails from the traditions of northern Europe. In fact, it is more authentically a product of much older southern traditions. Ancient Egyptians viewed the evergreen tree as a fertility symbol. During the winter solstice they decorated their homes with palm fronds, using them as Romans would later use boughs of fir. . . "Gift giving is an inescapable part of Christmas. Christian legend assumes that the tradition began when the Magi presented gifts to the baby Jesus. . . To believe that you have to pitch centuries of history out behind the manger. Long before New Testament times, the Romans were exchanging gifts." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *********************** Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 I recently stumbled upon an article about tree worship on Wikipedia which gives some more information about hanging things on trees that I had not heard about before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_worship It is interesting that there is a lot of information readily available about the origins of mainstream Christian traditions. Christ said there is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed. Satan can deceive, but the truth is not completely destroyed. We are called to test and prove all things! ************************* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do You Know the Surprising Origins of the Christmas Holiday? Many people know the Bible doesn't mention Christ's followers observing Christmas. So where did the holiday come from, and does the Bible condone it? Does it make any difference as long as it's intended to honor God and bring families together? he popular American comedic actor Drew Carey was once interviewed on the television talk show The View. He surprised the audience when he addressed the value of telling children the truth about Santa Claus. "I don't think you should tell kids that there is a Santa Claus," Carey said. "That's the first lie you tell your children." Instead, he told the audience, "Tell kids that Santa's a character we made up to celebrate a time of the season." Otherwise "when kids get to be 5. . . they realize their parents have been lying to them their whole life." Earlier that same year the Arts & Entertainment cable television channel aired a program about Christmas titled Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas. The promo for the program read: "People all over the world celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th. But why is the Savior's nativity marked by gift-giving, and was He really born on that day? And just where did the Christmas tree come from? "Take an enchanting journey through the history of the world's favorite holiday to learn the origins of some of the Western world's most enduring traditions. Trace the emergence of Christmas from pagan festivals like the Roman Saturnalia, which celebrated the winter solstice." Both programs addressed an uncomfortable fact—that Santa Claus is fictitious and that Christmas and its trappings emanate from pagan Roman festivals. But as we'll see, by no means are these the only sources of information about the background of Santa Claus and Christmas. Is there more to these ancient traditions and practices than meets the eye? Does it make any difference whether we continue to participate in them? What does the Bible say about such practices? Celebration of the sun godIt may sound odd that any religious celebration with Christ's name attached to it could predate Christianity. Yet the holiday we know as Christmas long predates Jesus Christ. Elements of the celebration can be traced to ancient Egypt, Babylon and Rome. This fact doesn't cast aspersions on Jesus, but it does call into question the understanding and wisdom of those who, over the millennia, have insisted on perpetuating an ancient pagan festival that has spread through much of the world as Christmas. Members of the early Church would have been astonished to think that the customs and practices we associate with Christmas would be incorporated into a celebration of Christ's birth. Not until several centuries had passed would Christ's name be attached to this popular Roman holiday. As Alexander Hislop explains in his book The Two Babylons: "It is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance" (1959, pp. 92-93). As for how Dec. 25 became the date for Christmas day, virtually any book on the holiday's history will explain that this date was celebrated in the Roman Empire as the birthday of the sun god. Explaining how Dec. 25 came to be selected as the supposed birthday of Jesus, the book 4000 Years of Christmas says: "For that day was sacred, not only to the pagan Romans but to a religion from Persia which, in those days, was one of Christianity's strongest rivals. This Persian religion was Mithraism, whose followers worshiped the sun, and celebrated its return to strength on that day" (Earl and Alice Count, 1997, p. 37). Not only was Dec. 25 honored as the birthday of the sun, but a festival had long been observed among pagan nations to celebrate the growing amount of daylight after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The precursor of Christmas was in fact an idolatrous midwinter festival characterized by excess and debauchery that predated Christianity by many centuries! Pre-Christian practices incorporatedThis ancient festival went by different names in various cultures. In Rome it was called the Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture. The celebration was absorbed into the early Roman church and given the name of Christ ("Christ mass," or Christmas) to conciliate new converts who didn't want to give it up and to swell the number of nominal adherents of Christianity. The tendency on the part of third-century Catholic leadership was to meet paganism halfway—a practice made clear in a bitter lament by Tertullian, a Catholic theologian of that time. In 230 he wrote of the inconsistency of professing Christians. He contrasted their lax and political practices with the strict fidelity of the pagans to their own beliefs: "By us who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God [the biblical festivals spelled out in the Bible in Leviticus 23, which they no longer observed], the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians" (quoted by Hislop, p. 93, emphasis added throughout unless otherwise noted). Failing to make much headway in converting the pagans, the religious leaders of the Roman church began compromising by dressing heathen customs in Christian-looking garb. But, rather than converting them to the church's beliefs, the church became largely converted to non-Christian customs in its own religious practices. Although at first the early Catholic Church censured this celebration, "the festival was far too strongly entrenched in popular favor to be abolished, and the Church finally granted the necessary recognition, believing that if Christmas could not be suppressed, it should be preserved in honor of the Christian God. Once given a Christian basis the festival became fully established in Europe with many of its pagan elements undisturbed" (Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown,Richard Cavendish, editor, 1983, Vol. 2, p. 480, "Christmas"). Celebration wins out over ScriptureSome resisted such spiritually poisonous compromises. "Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostasy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin" (Hislop, p. 93). The aforementioned Tertullian, for one, disassociated himself from the Roman church in an attempt to draw closer to the teachings of the Bible. He wasn't alone in his disagreement with such trends. "As late as 245 Origen, in his eighth homily on Leviticus, repudiates as sinful the very idea of keeping the birthday of Christ as if he were a king Pharaoh" (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 6, p. 293, "Christmas"). Christmas was not made a Roman holiday until 534 (ibid.). It took 300 years for the new name and symbols of Christmas to replace the old names and meaning of the midwinter festival, a pagan celebration that reaches back so many centuries. No biblical support for Santa ClausHow did Santa Claus enter the picture? Why is this mythical figure so closely aligned with the Christmas holiday? Here, too, many books are available to shed light on the origins of this popular character. "Santa Claus" is an American corruption of the Dutch form Sinterklaas, short for Sint Nikolaas, a figure brought to America by the early Dutch colonists. This name, in turn, stems from St. Nicholas, bishop of the city of Myra in southern Asia Minor, a Catholic saint honored by the Greeks and the Latins on Dec. 6. He was bishop of Myra in the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian, was persecuted, tortured for the Catholic faith and kept in prison until the more tolerant reign of Constantine (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 19, p. 649, "Nicholas, St."). Various stories claim a link from Christmas to St. Nicholas, all of them having to do with gift-giving on the eve of St. Nicholas, subsequently transferred to Christmas Day (ibid.). How, we might ask, did a bishop from the sunny Mediterranean coast of Turkey come to be associated with a red-suited man who lives at the North Pole and rides in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer? Knowing what we have already learned about the ancient pre-Christian origins of Christmas, we shouldn't be surprised to learn that Santa Claus, too, is nothing but a figure recycled from ancient pagan beliefs. The trappings associated with Santa Claus—his fur-trimmed wardrobe, sleigh and reindeer—reveal his origin from the cold climates of the far North. Some sources trace him to the ancient Northern European gods Odin (or Woden) and Thor (Count, pp. 56-64). Odin, portrayed with a long, white beard, was said to ride the sky with his eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Others trace Santa Claus even farther back in time to the Roman god Saturn and the Greek god Silenus, companion and tutor of the wine god Dionysus (William Walsh, The Story of Santa Klaus, pp. 70-71). Was Jesus born in December?Knowledgeable Bible scholars who have written on the subject of Jesus' birth conclude that, based on evidence in the Bible itself, there is no possible way Christ could have been born anywhere near Dec. 25. Alexander Hislop points out regarding Jesus' birth: "There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December. "At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in the open fields . . . The climate of Palestine . . . from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October" (p. 91, emphasis in original). He goes on to explain that the autumn rains beginning in September or October in Judea would mean that the events surrounding Christ's birth recorded in the Scriptures could not have taken place later than mid-October, so Jesus' birth likely took place earlier in the fall (p. 92). (note: For example, during Sukkot fits perfectly :) Further evidence supporting Jesus' birth in the autumn is that the Romans were intelligent enough not to set the time for taxation and travel in the dead of winter, but during more favorable conditions. (note: such as during Sukkot when all Hebrews were commanded to celebrate this festival of God!) Since Joseph's lineage was from Bethlehem, and since he had to travel from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, and since his expectant wife Mary traveled with him, it would have been nearly impossible for Joseph and Mary to make the trip in the winter. As recorded by Luke, Mary delivered Jesus in Bethlehem during the time of census and taxation—which no rational official would have scheduled for December. What difference does it make?The Bible gives us no reason—and certainly no instruction—to support the myths and fables of Christmas and Santa Claus. They are tied to the ways of this world and contrary to the ways of Christ and His holy truth. "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles," God tells us (Jeremiah:10:2). Professing Christians should examine the background of the Christmas holiday symbols and stop telling their children that Santa Claus and his elves, reindeer and Christmas gift-giving are connected with Jesus Christ. Emphatically they are not! God hates lying! "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs:6:16-19). Christ reveals that Satan the devil is the father of lies (John:8:44). Parents should tell their children the truth about God and this world's contrary and confusing ways. If we don't, we only perpetuate the notion that it is acceptable for parents to lie to their children! Can a Christian promote a pagan holiday and its symbols as something that God or Christ has approved? Let's see what God thinks about people using customs and practices rooted in false religion to worship Him and His Son. We find His views clearly expressed in both the Old and New Testament. God specifically commands His people not to do what early church leaders did when they incorporated idolatrous practices and relabeled them Christian. Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God gave them a stern warning: "Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them [the pagan inhabitants of the land] . . . and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' "You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods . . . Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy:12:30-32). Many centuries later the apostle Paul traveled to and raised up churches in many gentile cities. To the members of the Church of God in Corinth, a city steeped in idolatry, Paul wrote: "What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? "For you are the temple of the living God . . . Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you' . . . Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians:6:14-17; 7:1). Instead of allowing members to rename and celebrate customs associated with false gods, Paul's instructions were clear: They were to have nothing to do with them. He similarly told Athenians who were steeped in idolatry, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts:17:30). God clearly forbids adopting pagan worship days and customs to worship Him. Jesus Christ plainly tells us that "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John:4:24). We cannot honor God in truth with false practices adopted from the worship of nonexistent gods. Jesus said: "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark:7:6-7). With God no substitutes are acceptable! It makes no difference that Christians mean well when they observe Christmas. God is not pleased. Almighty God, who made us, preserves us and gives us eternal life, has made His will in this matter known to you through His Word, the Bible. Will you honor God or follow the traditions of mankind? To Learn More...Does it matter to God which days and customs we use to worship Him? Why do so many of our holidays have strange customs found nowhere in the Bible? Many people are shocked to discover the origins of our most popular holidays. They're also surprised to learn that the Holy Days God commands in the Bible—the same ones kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles—are almost universally ignored today. The Bible, the Torah, specifically lays out these holidays and holy days in Leviticus. If you are serious about wanting to know more, I suggest you start there. My boys and I went hunting again a couple of weeks ago; not animal hunting. We went hunting for information about Thanksgiving and we found some very interesting stuff.....for instance, I didn't know that Thanksgiving wasn't always on the 4th Thursday. It used to be on the last Thursday. Lincoln gave us Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but FDR changed its placement on our calendar so retailers would have more days available for shoppers before Christmas.
But, the boys and I wanted to know where it came from before that, before Lincoln and FDR, you know -- waaaaaay back when --- especially because as we learned more and more about the biblical feast of Sukkot this year, we saw such striking similarities to what we know as Thanksgiving (both now and in the 1620s when the pilgrims celebrated it with the American Indians). We all know what we are told in school, right? Here are some of the more informative articles and information we found, all copied with the proper links for authentication. Enjoy!! ~prairie Thanksgiving: A Harvest Festival with Roots in Sukkot By Rabbi Elias Lieberman http://www.interfaithfamily.com/holidays/shabbat_and_other_holidays/Thanksgiving_A_Harvest_Festival_with_Roots_in_Sukkot.shtml October 13, 2011. I have the great good fortune to live on Cape Cod, just a short drive from Plimoth Plantation. It was there, in the Plimoth settlement, that history records the first "Thanksgiving." The intervening centuries have made it difficult to sort fact from Hallmark-fiction, but this much we do know, from one contemporaneous account from 1621: There were three days of feasting, in the company of Native Americans. The Thanksgiving holiday that we celebrate did not become a national holiday until President Abraham Lincoln declared it one in 1863. And it wasn't until the 1941 that its date was firmly established by Congress as the fourth Thursday in November. While we cannot be certain about what motivated those Pilgrim settlers to initiate a feast of thanksgiving, it is likely that they consciously drew on a model well-known to them from the Bible they cherished. Seeing themselves as new Israelites in a new "promised land," the Pilgrims surely found inspiration in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus in which God commands the ancient Israelites to observe the Feast of Booths — in Hebrew, Sukkot, "to rejoice before Adonai your God" at the time of the fall harvest [16:11]. In Jewish tradition, the Festival of Sukkot is a joyous occasion to give thanks and praise to the Source of Creation for the bounty we enjoy. In fact, we are told that during Sukkot, "you shall have nothing but joy." [Lev. 16:15] Jews erect a sukkah, a harvest booth, in which they eat their meals, and sometimes sleep, during the festival. It is a reminder of the booths in which their ancestors are said to have dwelled during their forty-year Sinai sojourn. It is also precisely the kind of structure farmers in the Middle East still construct at the edges of their fields as crops come ripe and the need to rise early for harvesting makes it prudent to sleep nearby. The sukkah is a temporary structure, hung with fruits and symbols of the harvest season. Its roof is thinly covered with branches, admitting sunlight, starlight, wind, and rain, reminding of us the precariousness of our existence in the face of the forces of nature. But the sukkah is also a powerful reminder of the many reasons for which we feel grateful to God, not the least of which is the fact that for the other fifty-one weeks of the year most of us are blessed to have solid roofs over our heads, clothes to wear, and food enough to fill our bellies. Such was not always the case for the Pilgrims, who often contended with illness, meager rations, disappointed hopes, and death. During that very hard winter before the first "Thanksgiving," it is recorded that food became so scarce in some settlements that the daily ration of food per person per day was five kernels of corn. In order to remember those harsh times and maintain their gratitude for the plenty they now enjoyed, some New Englanders started the custom of putting five kernels of corn on each plate at their feast. There is a strong thread which runs from the Israelite wilderness experience to that of the Pilgrims and the harsh years they endured as they strove to sink roots in this new land. Like the ancient Israelites of whom they read in the Bible, they were people of great faith who believed themselves to be sustained through God's great mercy and beneficence. That they should rejoice and give thanks at harvest time was as natural an impulse for the Pilgrims as it was for the ancient Israelites. Few of us today are farmers; we "gather" our food pre-packaged from the supermarket, far removed from the natural processes which make or break a harvest. But Thanksgiving and Sukkot come to remind us that there is far more to be grateful for in this world than a bounteous crop. Both of these splendid holidays encourage us to stop and acknowledge the manifold blessings God bestows upon us each and every day. And whether we accomplish that stock-taking over a slice of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie or beneath the leafy branches of a sukkah roof — or both — we understand and embrace the impulse which inspired our Pilgrim and our Israelite ancestors. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Thanksgiving and Sukkot What's the Connection? by John J. Parsons THE AMERICAN HOLIDAY OF THANKSGIVING certainly has its roots in the Jewish tradition of giving thanks to God, and some historians believe that the early "pilgrims" derived the idea directly from the Biblical festival of Sukkot (i.e., "Tabernacles"). According to some scholars, before coming to the New World, the pilgrims lived for a decade among the Sephardic Jews in Holland, since Holland was considered a safe haven from religious persecution at the time. Since the pilgrims were devout Calvinists and Puritans, their religious idealism led them to regard themselves as "new Israel," and it is likely that they learned that Sukkot commemorated Israel's deliverance from their religious persecution in ancient Egypt at that time. After they emigrated to the "Promised Land" of America, it is not surprising that the pilgrims may have chosen the festival of Sukkot as the paradigm for their own celebration. As the Torah commands: "[Celebrate the feast] so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" (Lev. 23:39-43). The highly religious pilgrims regarded their perilous journey to the new world as a type of "Exodus event" and therefore sought the appropriate Biblical holiday to commemorate their safe arrival in a land full of new promise... Recall that during the holiday of Sukkot we are commanded to dwell in sukkahs to remind ourselves of the sheltering presence of God given to our ancestors in the wilderness. After the Jews finally began inheriting the land, the theme of Sukkot shifted to an expression of thanks for God's provision and steadfast love. In that sense, Sukkot is a sort of "Jewish Thanksgiving" celebration. During the fall harvest (traditionally called the "Season of our Joy") the Torah commands us to "rejoice before Adonai your God" (Deut. 16:11-15; Lev. 23:39-43). When we wave our lulavs (symbols of the fruit of the earth and the harvest), it is customary to recite the following expression of thanks: הוֹדוּ לַיהוה כִּי־טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ ho·du la·Adonai ki tov, ki le·o·lam chas·do "Give thanks to the LORD for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever." The Refrains of Praise A basic principle in Bible interpretation is to note repeated occurrences of a word or phrase. This is sometimes called the "law of recurrence." The assumption here is that since God is the consummate Communicator, if a word or phrase is repeated in Scripture, there is surely a good reason. In some cases the function appears to be instructive (such as the two sets of instructions given for building the Mishkan (tabernacle) in Exodus); in other cases it appears to be exclamatory: the LORD doesn't repeat Himself without the intent of getting our attention. But notice that the phrase, hodu la-donai ki-tov, ki le'olam chasdo ("Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His stedfast love endures forever") appears no less than five times in Scripture (1 Chr. 16:34; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1,29; Psalm 136:1), and in each case it is clear that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that God's love for us -- His chesed -- is the primary reason for us to give Him thanks (in Psalm 136, the refrain, "ki le'olam chasdo" occurs no less than 25 times). Notice also that the verb hodu is the imperative ofyadah (to confess or express gratitude) and therefore we can understand this verse to mean that we are to "confess" or "acknowledge" that the LORD is good. Indeed, the Hebrew word todah (תּוֹדָה), usually translated "thanks," can mean both "confession" and "praise." ********************************************************************************************* A Thanksgiving Seder Thanksgiving is perfectly compatible with Messianic Jewish observance, and since the holiday always falls on a Thursday there is never a conflict with Sabbath celebrations. You can create a simple "Thanksgiving Seder" by reciting Kiddush (the blessing over the wine and the bread) and then offering a special prayer of thanks before eating the meal. Everyone could recite the refrain: "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever" (see Hebrew text above). The "Shehecheyanu" blessing may then be recited to mark the occasion as spiritually significant: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה ba·ruch at·tah Adonai E·lo·hei·nu Me·lekh ha·o·lam she·he·che·ya·nu ve·ki·ye·ma·nu ve·hig·gi·a·nu la·ze·man haz·zeh "Blessed are You, LORD our God, Master of the Universe, Who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this season." During the meal, people might take some time to share their own experience of finding freedom in America or to discuss why they regard freedom as important. The connections between Passover (the Exodus), Shavuot (the Sinai and "Pentecost" experiences), Sukkot (God's care for Israel during their wanderings in the desert), and the American holiday of Thanksgiving would also make an excellent discussion. It is also interesting to note that the Hebrew word for "turkey" is tarnegol hodu (תַּרְנְגוֹל הוֹדו), literally, "Indian chicken," which is often shortened to hodu (הוֹדוּ). It is a happy coincidence that we customarily eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and this reminds us of the "thanks" connection: "Give thanks(hodu) to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever." Since Yeshua is the ultimate expression of God's steadfast love (i.e., chesed: חֶסֶד), how much more should we give heartfelt thanks to God for Him? Is there anything greater than the astounding love of God? Can anything overcome it? Can even the hardness of your own heart somehow veto or negate it's purposes? It was because of His great love that God (יהוה) "emptied Himself" of heavenly glory, becoming clothed in human flesh and becoming disguised a lowly slave (δοῦλος). God performed this act of "infinite condescension" in order to "tabernacle" with us as our "hidden King" (John 1:1,14, Phil. 2:7-8). Ultimately our thanks to God is our praise for Yeshua, our Savior, King, and LORD. We wish you a joy-filled time of reflection during this Thanksgiving Holiday. May you remember the many blessings that the LORD God of Israel has lovingly bestowed upon you and your family.... Hodu La-Adonai! selection taken from: hebrew4christians.com ********************************************************************************************* more info here if you are interested: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm which contains this -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. This may not be entirely coincidental: I was taught that our American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, borrowed the idea from Sukkot. The pilgrims were deeply religious people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, they looked to the Bible for an appropriate way of celebrating and found Sukkot. This is not the standard story taught in public schools today (that a Thanksgiving holiday is an English custom that the Pilgrims brought over), but the Sukkot explanation of Thanksgiving fits better with the meticulous research of Mayflower historian Caleb Johnson, who believes that the original Thanksgiving was a harvest festival (as is Sukkot), that it was observed in October (as Sukkot usually is), and that Pilgrims would not have celebrated a holiday that was not in the Bible (but Sukkot is in the Bible). Although Mr. Johnson claims that the first Thanksgiving was "not a religious holiday or observance," he apparently means this in a Christian sense, because he goes on to say that the first Thanksgiving was instead "a harvest festival that included feasts, sporting events, and other activities," concepts very much in keeping with the Jewish religious observance of Sukkot. See Religious Beliefs of the Pilgrims and Debunking a Popular Internet Lesson Plan. and more: http://theshiksa.com/2010/09/22/sukkot-the-harvest-holiday/ and from a homeschooling site: http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2011/10/10/was-the-feast-of-tabernacles-the-first-thanksgiving/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Was the Feast of Tabernacles the First Thanksgiving? Oct 10, 2011 The Feast of Tabernacles is a week-long autumn harvest festival. The two days following the festival are separate holidays, Shemini Atzeret and Simkhat Torah, but are commonly thought of as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was the final and most important holiday of the year. The importance of this festival is indicated by the statement, “This is to be a lasting ordinance.” The divine pronouncement, “I am the Lord your God,” concludes this section on the holidays of the seventh month. The Feast of Tabernacles begins five days after Yom Kippur on the fifteenth of Tishri (September or October). It is a drastic change from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous. The word Sukkoth means “booths,” and refers to the temporary dwellings that Jews are commanded to live in during this holiday, just as the Jews did in the wilderness. The Feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days and ends on the twenty-first day (3×7) of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which is Israel’s seventh month. This holiday has a dual significance: historical and agricultural (just as Passover and Pentecost). Historically, it was to be kept in remembrance of the dwelling in tents in the wilderness for the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. It is expounded in Leviticus 23:43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. What were they to remember? Matthew Henry’s commentary explains, 1.) The meanness of their beginning, and the low and desolate state out of which God advanced that people. Note: Those that are comfortably fixed ought often to call to mind their former unsettled state, when they were but little in their own eyes. 2.) The mercy of God to them, that, when they dwelt in tabernacles, God not only set up a tabernacle for Himself among them, but, with the utmost care and tenderness imaginable, hung a canopy over them, even the cloud that sheltered them from the heat of the sun. God’s former mercies to us and our fathers ought to be kept in everlasting remembrance. The eighth day was the great day of this holiday, because then they returned to their own houses again, and remembered how, after they had long dwelt in tents in the wilderness, at length they came to a happy settlement in the land of promise, where they dwelt in goodly houses. And they would the more sensibly value and be thankful for the comforts and conveniences of their houses when they had been seven days dwelling in booths. It is good for those that have ease and plenty sometimes to learn what it is to endure hardness. They were to keep this holiday in thankfulness to God for all the increase of the year; however, the emphasis is that Israel’s life rested upon redemption which in its ultimate meaning is the forgiveness of sin. This fact separates this holiday from the harvest festivals of the neighboring nations whose roots lay in the mythological activity of the gods. Was the first Thanksgiving a Feast of Tabernacles Celebration? Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. The American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. As they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, it is quite possible that they looked to the Bible (Leviticus 23:39) for an appropriate way of celebrating and based their holiday in part on the Feast of Tabernacles. Note: celebrating Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November was established by the American government and may not necessarily coincide with the pilgrim’s first observance. Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of the Ingathering, Feast of the Booths, Sukkoth, Succoth, or Sukkot (variations in spellings occur because these words are transliterations of the Hebrew word pronounced “Sue-coat”). `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Thanksgiving: the American Sukkot? http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/041112/sukkot.shtml LINDA MOREL Jewish Telegraphic Agency Did you know that Thanksgiving is really a Jewish holiday? Although Thanksgiving is not on the Jewish calendar, historians believe Sukkot may have inspired America's favorite farewell to fall, often nicknamed "Turkey Day." "The pilgrims based their customs on the Bible," says Gloria Kaufer Greene, author of the "New Jewish Holiday Cookbook" (Times Books, $29.95 hardcover). "They knew that Sukkot was an autumn harvest festival, and there is evidence that they fashioned the first Thanksgiving after the Jewish custom of celebrating the success of the year's crops." Linda Burghardt, author of "Jewish Holiday Traditions" (Citadel Press, $24.95 hardcover), says, "Sukkot is considered a model for Thanksgiving. Both holidays revolve around showing gratitude for a bountiful harvest." Today Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, but President Franklin Roosevelt didn't propose this timing until 1939. It was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Roosevelt actually changed Lincoln's decree that Thanksgiving be observed on the last Thursday in November, which sometimes fell on the fifth Thursday of the month. The pilgrims invited local Indians to the first Thanksgiving during the fall of 1621. Historians speculate that this celebration occurred somewhere between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9, but most likely in early October, around the time of Sukkot. "Originally, Sukkot entailed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem," says Greene, who believes the two holidays share much in common. The Puritan Christians who landed on American shores seeking religious freedom were called pilgrims, in deference to their journey from England. Their dream of finding a place where they'd be free to worship as they pleased is a recurrent theme in Jewish history. After their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the ancient Israelites lived for a week in temporary huts while giving thanks for a plentiful harvest. Likewise, during their first winter in Massachusetts, the pilgrims dwelled in makeshift huts, wigwams that the Indians helped them build. While Sukkot remains a seven-day observance, the first Thanksgiving celebration continued for three days, a time frame more similar to the Jewish harvest festival than today's Thanksgiving dinner, which often begins in late afternoon and ends several hours later. With its pumpkin pies and cranberry garlands, Thanksgiving mirrors many of Sukkot's customs and culinary themes. Burghardt says she is amazed at how many of the same foods are connected to both holidays. Piping hot casseroles brimming with vegetables and fruit grace the American and Jewish harvest tables, as do pastries that are filled with apples, nuts, pumpkins and squash. Stuffing one food inside another as a metaphor for abundance is the hallmark of Sukkot cuisine. Yet there's nothing more opulent than the elaborate bread stuffings found inside Thanksgiving turkeys. Burghardt's favorite dishes at both holidays are hearty and basic. When entertaining, she starts with her harvest vegetable soup, which sets a homey tone. "Sometimes we roast sweet potatoes outside on the grill just because it's past the season and therefore fun," she says. "I make my applesauce from scratch." Greene enjoys transforming traditional Thanksgiving recipes into kosher cuisine. "I like mixing New- and Old-World themes," she says. One of her favorite recipes is glazed turkey with fruit-nut stuffing. Bursting with so much produce, it's a one-dish harvest festival. Because the pilgrims and Indians shared roasted corn during the first Thanksgiving, Greene's double cornbread is a fitting choice. It is soft and moist, almost like a kugel. Harvest-time cranberry relish is always a big hit at Greene's house. "Several years ago, I invited a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants to celebrate their first Thanksgiving. While they adored traditional American foods, they were especially fascinated with the taste and bright color of cranberries." But since the two holidays are so close in time, is there any reason for American Jews who celebrate Sukkot to pay homage to a second harvest festival six weeks later? "Participating in Thanksgiving is how we feel American," says Greene, a former food columnist for the Baltimore Jewish Times, who used to submit a Thanksgiving story every year. She agrees with Burghardt that Thanksgiving is a lovely experience. It's an easy holiday to include friends and neighbors of other faiths. "While Thanksgiving is not technically a Jewish holiday, it's not a Christian one either," says Burghardt. "It's a great equalizer with a multicultural theme." Although Burghardt believes that Thanksgiving with its chocolate turkeys and pilgrims lacks Sukkot's depth, Greene feels there's something spiritual about the whole country partaking in a communal meal, even though menus and customs vary from home to home. At her table, she asks guest to share one thing for which they're grateful. "Like Sukkot, at Thanksgiving you're supposed to invite people to share abundance with your family," says Burghardt. "You can't serve too much food. Could there be anything more Jewish than that?" `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Sukkot The Biblical Thanksgiving by Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman http://bustedhalo.com/features/sukkot Each fall, Jews celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, named after the “huts” the Jewish people lived in during their 40 years in the wilderness. Sukkot begins on the night of the largest full moon of the year, the harvest moon. This year it began at sundown on Friday, October 2, and runs through October 10. As a celebration of the year’s largest harvest, Sukkot reminds us to give thanks. The American Pilgrims understood this biblical significance of Sukkot, and made it the basis for Thanksgiving. Tradition calls us to “live” for a week in a sukkah (sukkot is the plural form) — a hut, open to the sky, with some leaves for a roof. (Eating meals there can qualify for “living,” especially during inclement weather.) Living in a hut reminds us of our interdependence with nature. Our buildings and vehicles are artificial barriers, which insulate us from so many effects of nature. We succumb to an “edifice complex.” They distract us from our constant interaction with nature, inhibiting us from “smelling the roses.” They limit our awareness of the impact we have on nature, so we don’t deal with pollution, conservation of resources — dying species, sustainable development, diversity of energy resources — global warming, or even adequate preparation for “natural” disasters. Just ask the residents of New Orleans. As we become more aware of interdependence, we accept our stewardship of nature. What living in sukkot can teach usLiving in sukkot — symbols of freedom from civilization — might teach us to detach from those values of our surrounding society that limit our freedom, such as materialism, isolationism and rugged individualism. Freedom is our ability to “worship God” (in secular vocabulary, to “live as we should”): to use all of our resources to pursue our highest values, to fulfill our potential to create or improve ourselves and our world. If all lived freely, then we would celebrate the Messianic dream, our harvest of the moral deeds, which we plant each time we do one. On the other hand, living in sukkot might remind us of our interdependence with the society around us and push us to connect more closely with the positive values of our American society, such as individual freedom, respect for cultural diversity, caring for one’s neighbors and entrepreneurial creativity. Living in sukkot — symbols of freedom from civilization — might teach us to detach from those values of our surrounding society that limit our freedom, such as materialism, isolationism and rugged individualism.This season of abundance might remind us of our potential to produce from our earth more than enough food and other resources, so that every person can live a most comfortable life. Our Torah/Bible teaches “distributive justice” — that everyone deserves a base, a “safety net,” of food, housing, health care and education. If so, then all would be freed not only from the “Pharaoh” (any factor which inhibits our freedom to do what we should) of poverty, but also from the Pharaohs of oppression. All oppression derives from corruption — when a relatively small group of people uses power to control and obtain more than it deserves, more than its fair share. Corruption cannot flourish amidst widespread prosperity, because not only will a strong middle class demand justice and transparency, but also it will have the power to make those things real. Dwelling in Sukkot might also teach us to protect ourselves from danger not through an exclusive reliance on arms (military and police) and secured buildings, but instead through our love and our connections to other people, based on God’s values. Our prayers call this a “sukkat shalom,” a shelter of peace. The guests we invite to our sukkot, called ushpizim, might remind us that we are not the first people to envision a world of freedom, comfort and caring. The seven traditional guests provide seven role models from Jewish history – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Modern versions ofushpizim add women from our tradition, and may also add recent Jewish and non-Jewish heroes. They might reconnect us to our brit, our covenant with God, our partnership agreement to create or improve our world. We call Sukkot z’man simchateinu, the time of our rejoicing. We celebrate plentiful food and resources, freedom, interdependence with nature — and our ability to create or improve our world, to achieve the Messianic ideals of justice, freedom, peace, caring and creativity. Happy The Author : Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman has been the spiritual leader of Temple of Israel in Wilmington, NC since July 2007. A native of Los Angeles, he practiced for five years as an attorney after graduating from UCLA School of Law. See more articles by Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman (2). 3 comments about “Sukkot”richard -- October 19th, 2009 at 3:22 am thanksgiving ahava -- October 20th, 2009 at 5:45 pm I teach the connection between Thanksgiving and Sukkot also. Did you know that the Quakers in England were persecuted because they protested the celebration of Christmas-because of its pagan roots and that it is not scriptural and that he was NOT born on Dec 25th. That is the main reason that they were persecuted and had to come to America-to keep the scriptures as they were written! ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Here are some more links if you're really finding this interesting..... :) http://www.ucg.org/holidays-and-holy-days/thanksgiving-rooted-biblical-festival/ http://frumteacher.blogspot.com/2007/09/sukkot-and-thanksgiving.html Texas Prairie Girl -that's me. Not by choice though. I came here kicking and screaming a year ago - and frankly my complaints didn't stop for quite a while. The psyche of this landscape is hard to explain and it hit me square in the jaw when I first realized this is where we would call home. This always-windy, forever-flat, treeless, barren, blackland prairie of Texas does something mysterious, something not all that comfortable, to one's soul. At least it does it to my soul. Looking around leaves me with an empty spot, a longing, and dry place, looking for "life". Right now I can honestly say I despise this place. I see no beauty here. I feel no comfort of sense of home. In fact, scientifically, I feel ill -- my blood pressure is literally elevated from the lack of green and life around me. I see grass and mud and I hear wind. How did the pioneers survive in this wasteland? Why did they even try? "Surely those people who stopped here with their horse-drawn wagons long ago were insane!", my head screams. If the wind blowing a gale 300 days a year doesn't make you crazy enough, then certainly the hot, humid, and yet rain-less summers will drive you batty. YHWH, where have you brought us and for what purpose? Surely there is a bigger lesson to learn here. I pray I don't miss it, or that I don't die before I see it.
On the other hand, I cannot help but be completely inspired by the fortitude and stubbornness of those early settlers to this area - the Germans, the Swedes, and those with no particular place to call home. I wonder aloud often, "How did they survive emotionally, much less physically?" And yet, the glorious sun comes up again, and I can see blazing, big and bright, and it floods me with warmth and hope. It must have all the better for those hardy pioneers. Many aspects of this flat, solid, prairie land (and it's people) are absolutely breathtaking in a surprising sort of way. I am still getting used to it. It might take a while to want to call it home, or perhaps it will catch me off-guard? Honestly, I'm praying for being caught off-guard. I just can't see me accepting this and gladly saying this is home. It seems to me that it will have to be an "off-guard" moment. I miss trees and green things. I leaves and flowers. I long to see a "wild" animal, a squirrel or rabbit, or at this point even a neighbor's escaped pet pooch! I miss the beautiful hills of the Texas hill country. I am flat out fatigued of seeing corn field after cotton field after wheat field etched out in perfect rows of rock-hard, black powder. No birds sing here. Squirrels have no trees in which to store nuts. Water gullies from the allusive flash floods stripe the land here and there. So far the silence in the distance during the long nights tells me there aren't even coyotes in this forsaken place. The landscape immediately around our home is stark and barren, as well. We've been here almost a year and half. Finally, out of sheer desperation and necessity, Prairie Husband and I are working to somehow lure in the animals and birds with greenery and hiding places and a nibble of sustenance here and there. We have to set about somehow making this prairie *hospitable*. Flower beds and shrubs are going in. Weeds and Johnson grasses are being ripped from the ground to make way for raised bed garden Seeds are being sown and life is moving forward. It is not hard, not compared to what the hopeful Germans and Swedes had to deal with. I've heard stories of hand digging four or five wells on a property several times a year just to find water to stay alive as the clay soil hardened and dried up in previous droughts. No, we have it easy by those standards. And spring is RIGHT around the corner. Welcome spring and new life. Welcome being caught off-guard. I'm waiting. |
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