NOT NOW! It’s too soon for Christmas!

Many books have a presence in the cyber world on Amazon.com. My books are in the company of those of 5,000,000 other authors! The problem with being an author in the United States is that people are reading less and less. I learned while in Israel that per capita more books are printed in Israel than any other country in the world. I need to get my book translated to Hebrew!

I have written books to be read. It takes work to write a book. Although at times the material for the book pops out, and goes on the page easily, it is not in presentable format. Sarah can tell you from proofing my books when I write the tenses I use get all messed up, so what was written needs improvement. The author of a book goes through the book seven or more times to make sure what was written is accurate, to correct spelling and punctuation errors, and to remedy other issues.

I write books because there are things I desire to share, and things that need to be shared. I want people to understand the world of Biblical times. I desire to open doors for people to understand the Jewishness of the New Testament. I want the world to see the reality and truthfulness of scripture. It takes hard work to write a book, and harder work to market a book.

Because Christmas is now only two months away, it is time to recommend my book Advent Journeys to those who are reading this blog. Advent Journeys is enjoyable to read, for yourself or as a gift for you to give. In the pages of this book Sarah and I have worked to bring out the real meaning of Christmas.

Each week during the Christmas season, Advent Journeys invites people to walk with men and women of the Christmas story. The first week, readers will join Zechariah in the Temple. The second week, the reader will walk alongside Joseph and Mary as they journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. On the third week, a shepherd shares what life is like in the fields. During the fourth week, the reader will journey with the Magi from Persia to Bethlehem. The fifth week contains Joseph’s journals from the day he leaves Bethlehem until the time he settles with his family back in Nazareth. The fifth week is shared to help people get ready for the New Year. The book includes a bonus Chanukah week, written through the experiences of a Maccabee. Each day’s presentation includes a short journal and three or four thought ideas and questions.

The books, especially (at this time of year) Advent Journeys, are great reads. Advent Journeys can actually bring someone (if read) a better Christmas.

Advent: It doesn’t just happen!

In our high speed world you can have anything almost instantly. We would like the easy road to be best; but it isn’t always.  The best things in life take a little preparation.

Take Christmas for instance.  We all want to give the best gifts, which until the age of cyber shopping required multiple trips to the stores, and a never ending search for the “perfect” gift.  Now we can sit at home and shop (Some places would say in three easy clicks); but it is not that easy.  We still have to find the “perfect” gift, and to satisfy ourselves we look for the “best” price.  The experience requires visiting multiple sites in order for the gift to match the likes of each person for whom we are shopping.

We would like to have the best decorated home on the block in just three easy steps.  But anyone who has decorated their home will tell you even the simplest design requires more than three steps.  To place pre-strung icicles on the eaves of a one story home takes at least six steps on the ladder … in multiple locations!

Ask anyone, simple is a lot harder than it looks.

We all desire the perfect Christmas filled with closeness to Christ and filled with Christian love.  But the Christmas experience we really desire does not just happen.  A spirit filled Christmas requires preparation.

For my children I wrote an Advent guide.  Then I placed each activity on an Advent Calendar to make sure it got done.  Over time I produced pamphlets to share with others.  (This year my daughter and I printed a book.)  As we diligently followed through on our plans for each day, when Christmas Day arrived we found it was more than the presents: Christmas was Christ. it was more than just a day: December 25th became the high point of a season.  Our preparation made a great difference.

And not only did the preparation make a great difference each year … now that my children have grown and I hear them talk about their Christmas this year: the effort and preparation I put into each year as they were growing up paid dividends.  For they carry with them the memories and the desire to keep the real Christmas alive for themselves, and share with others.

What will your Christmas look like?  Rather than just letting Christmas “happen,”  I would recommend a plan.  And one plan (if you want it as simple as it could be) I would recommend is to buy our book Advent Journeys and use it for personal and dinner table devotions this year.

Passover Preparation - Day 5 - Procuring the Provisions

Hallel Psalm 117:1 O praise the Lord, all ye nations! Praise Him, all ye people! 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord!
Passover is a festival of celebration. Our people received the freedom, which brings life and happiness and joy. And, as is common, we celebrate by eating. The Passover meal is to be like a Thanksgiving meal, with lots of food and lots of people. When we eat together we tell stories, play together, and sing together.
     When families gather for Passover, everyone knows what the Seder will include, so they come hungry. This element of preparation requires a diligent person to plan and cook the meal. They need to buy meat, Motzah, morror (bitter herbs), ingredients for Charosis, the wine (at least four cups), the egg, and of course the vegetables.
     Sometimes we take the preparation of the Seder meal for granted. This is not to be so on Passover, for the story of this feast is told through symbolic foods, starting with the green vegetables. While it might appear that going to the store to purchase enough food for all the members of the family is a simple matter, we are reminded of a time before stores existed, when the family had to raise enough food for themselves or they would starve!
     While sometimes vegetables are given to balance the meal, or as a healthy food, on Passover green vegetables mean even more. They speak of life, for the world is reawakening to life once again. Our gathering is at the Spring Harvest time and we are called to give thanks to God who gives our crops and our food (even if we go to the store, we must remember it all starts with the planting of crops).
     The green vegetable is dipped in salt water to remind us of the tears our forefathers shed when in slavery. They had to produce crops, not only for themselves, but first and foremost for their taskmasters, the Egyptians. The saltwater calls to our attention the hard work of their physical toil, and the difficult reality that sometimes the seeds we sowed do not provide as much food as we would like and we go hungry. Bitter Herbs remind us how bitter life can be under slavery, in drought, under persecution, or when harsh circumstances come our way.
     In your daily life, are you a slave to your existence? Is your survival a day to day matter, getting the things done which you must, coming home tired, and then doing the same thing the next day? Or do you take time to celebrate each day and give thanks for all things - small or great - which God has afforded to you for your enjoyment?
     We eat the green vegetable to remind us to give thanks. And also we eat Charosis, and partake of four glasses of wine, to remind us that simple thanks is never enough in life - we must see even the small gifts from God with great joy and allow simple thanks to overflow into abundant rejoicing!
     Passover is a lesson on new growth and new things. It is the story of our new nation. The descendants of Israel left slavery to become a new people with all the trials and possibilities that would bring. The purpose of this feast is to call us to the perspective that we must give thanks for all things (whether easy or hard); and we must show gratitude to the God who provides everything (small and great); and that thanks is not enough, for God desires us to live life in joy, no matter the circumstances.