A Word on Traditions

This is my post for Preparation Day Link up #2.  Click here to join us.

There are a lot of traditions regarding Sabbath and how one should prepare for it.   Traditions are not necessarily all bad, but we need to be careful in how we approach them.

For instance, Sabbath traditions would be lighting two candles, making challah, having a challah cover, using a pure white tablecloth, making cholent so you have food for the next day, saying the traditional prayers.  (Cholent is a type of stew that uses beans and meat and served on Shabbat afternoon).

I know we have people fairly new to keeping Shabbat and I want to say that you do not need nor have to do any of these traditions.  Do them if you like,  but you do not have to.  And we should not feel guilty or let others make us feel guilty because of which traditions we follow and which we don’t.

I do light candles because I like it, but it is not a command.  My challah cover is a flour sack towel that has designs on it.  I have never used an all white tablecloth…sometimes I don’t use one at all.  Other times I use place mats, or a table runner, or leave the table bare.  Whatever floats my boat or what I have time for that day.

In the summer I don’t bake challah or anything else in the oven for that matter-it’s too hot.  That’s what the bread machine and slow cooker are for!

I do not get special Shabbat candles, nor do I care if they burn for one hour after lighting.  I use what I have on hand whether it be tapers or votives or tea lights.  The point is this-do not let the fact that you may or may not have all the accouterments tradition says you need.  If you want some of those things, great…if not great.  Do what you want to make Shabbat for you.

Usually my Shabbat meal is lasagna-becuase it is quick and my blessing likes it.  Works for me! It is supposed to be a joy for us-that means all of us, women included.  Tradition should never carry the same weight as “Thus the Lord said” even though many people treat it that way.  Don’t let that stop you from doing, preparing, enjoying Shabbat.

Your Footsteps Become My Pathway

This is a post for Shabbat Shalom Link Up #15 . For more information, please go to my Shabbat Shalom Link Up page at the top of this blog.  My contribution this week is a song by Kathy Shooster-“Your Footsteps Become My Pathway.”

Preparation Day Link Up #1

Please join us for the Preparation Day Link Up.  More information can be found by clicking on my page that says Preparation Day Link Up.  My tip is not to do it all on preparation day, but do some work before hand.  I find that when I clean and cook all on the same day, I am exhausted by the time dinner rolls around.  If you can cook before hand, even if it is the night before, or clean the night before and then cook on preparation day, it helps immensely.  You will not be as tired or as stressed if you have some things done beforehand.

Ten La’esh Lipol- Shababt Sahom Link Up #13

Ten La’esh Lipol (Let the Fire Fall)

If you would like to join us, please see my Shababt Shalom Link Up page for more information.

Penny Wars

Image by ThreeIfByBike via Flickr

The congregation just finished penny wars.  This was a fund-raiser of sorts for the youth.  I am not really sure how much they made as we were not told what the final outcome was, but that is not the point of the post.

We were told that this was a way for the youth to “work” for the money…but there was not much work involved.  The premise was that pennies were points, so the more pennies the more points.  Anything higher than that was used to subtract points.  Two jars were set up-boys had one, girls had the other.  Each week at service we would get an update of who was ahead and were encouraged to “help our side” by putting pennies in the right jar or by putting higher denominations in the other jar.

As I stated earlier, we were told that they would work for the money but they did no work at all.  Secondly I have problems with the whole sabotage part of the deal.  The youth should be encouraged to work with, not against each other and this activity does the opposite of that.

The only time the jars were out were at service, thus encouraging people to focus on the sabotage instead of the unity we are supposed to have in the body.

I do know that I am not the only one that was troubled by this-some of the youth were bothered by it too.  One of them even had the courage to tell the leaders why they did not like it-good for that youth!

I am not sure what they hoped to accomplish by this exercise.  All I know is I am glad it is over and we no longer have to hear and be encouraged to participate in it.

 

 

Chai HaShem-Shabbat Shalom Link up #12

It is that time of the week again :

Shabbat Shalom Link Up

I look forward to this every week. My contribution is Chai HaShem by Steve McConnell

Enjoy! For more information on how you can join with us, go to my page entitled “Shabbat Shalom Link Up”.

Judgment House

Some of you may know this by another name-h*ll house.  There is one in our area and some of the youth went last year and this year.   Both years we received reports that several people accepted Yeshua and this year the report was that several of them realized they needed to choose God now.

I know that the people running the youth group are sincere.  It is a small group, so I do wonder  how we could  have had several people both years come to Him.    I wonder about the “counselors” as I know one of them was spoken to and was asked what happens now with the people who made professions and what if they backslide, etc.?  Her response was that once they “that prayer”, they’re saved and God has them forever more.

Let’s look at them say 6 months to a year from now.  Are they showing good fruit?  Are the things they are posting on the social networking sites and their own blogs showing the good fruit?  I have looked at some of these and I can tell you they are not.  When they say they are into astrology, when they say what element they are, when you look on their information pages and read the conversations with some of their friends,  nothing has changed for them.

And that is the problem…they get caught up in an emotional experience that has no substance.  They go back the next year and repeat the same experience-get caught up in the emotion and conditioned response they are supposed to give, or do it because they know they will be in trouble if they don’t, or because their friends did it so they will too.  So now we have unregenerate people who think and are told by others that they are saved-which in turn makes it harder for them to do the true work of salvation and sanctification.

They have been given a false promise that can very well lead to their destruction.