Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

 

Passover Thinking and Planning

To familiarize myself with the traditions and stories and other elements of this celebration, I borrowed this book from the library.

 

Wonders And Miracles: A Passover Companion

 

I have found this website very informative and have ordered their book for our homeschool.  This page in particular is a quick read as to why a Christian person should celebrate Passover.  Here’s one about teaching the 10 Plagues.

 

Judaism 101 is another very informative site where I have been gleaning some great tidbits.  This is the page about Passover.

 

For some of my thoughts and explorations, you can visit my other blog, here.

 

Striving to learn and live God's purposes,

Striving to learn and live God's purposes,

Happy Canada Day

Striving to learn and live God's purposes,

Happy Easter

Glitterfy.com - Glitter Graphics

The Song I Connect to Easter the Most

I couldn't post the video here, but here's the link:

When I Survey

I love hearing just the voices.

Here are the words and a little history:

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the cross of Christ my God:
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?

(His dying Crimson, like a Robe,
Spreads o'er his Body on the Tree;
Then am I dead to all the Globe
And all the Globe is dead to me.)

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

--Isaac Watts, 1707

The fourth stanza is bracketed as optional and very rarely sung being that it is considered too gory.

I find the most common arrangement, a chant-like tune - to be very sad and glum. The words, in my opinion, are cause for celebration. Look what our Savior and Kind did for us! Us! Sinners, terrible people we are. And yet He went to the cross. When I sing this song, I smile through my tears.

St. Patrick's Day

It's Valentine's Day

I wasn't going to write a Valentine's Day post today, but I read a blog post that triggered some research so I thought I'd share what I found (at least the link).

Basically Christian leaders wanted to change or overshadow the pagan festival.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. Read more here.

We do not make a big deal of Valentine's Day. Never really have. Sometimes there are gifts and candy, but not this year. I got a new van instead and a supper at McDonald's on Thursday. Tonight we are getting together with our church family for desserts.