Passover 2011

The best time of the year. We are really trying to make HOLY WEEK so special to our kids with tradition and good memories. Passover is one of our favorites..and oh the coversations that came of it this year with Elijah. It is so amazing how I got to talk to Elijah about the perfect Passover lamb that the Isrealites were to sacrifice and then place the blood over the doorpost so that their first born children would be saved from the death angel. And in the same way Jesus was the perfect passover lamb that was sacrified for us by his death on the cross. Amazing!

Purim 2011

So i guess i need to explain....I am not a Jew...but I love Jewish holidays and their traditions and symbolism of scripture..I think they are amazing teaching tools for us and our children as we all grow in the knowledge of God. Purim is the holiday in which the Jews celebrate God's deliverance of the Jews from the evil Haman through the heroic actions of Queen Esther and Mordecai....

My two little superheros as Mordecai veggie tale style....Purim is a time for children to dress up!

Hamanstachen- traditional Jewish cookie made at purim. It represents one of two things....Haman's 3 pointed hat or his ear.....i am going with the hat.

Tyler and his Yamaka....wanna be Jew.

Graggers(groggers) are noisemakers that children use to block out the name of Haman as the scroll of Esther is read.



"kosher" desserts

Kreplach

Lots of sparkling grape juice.....

Playtime! Love having lots of kiddos at the house!

Buddies eating their celebration candy.

Challah bread: Haman's hanging rope.

One of my favorite things about Jewish Holidays is the symbolism and meaning in all the little details. Challah bread represents the rope that Haman was hung on.





I love this holiday....amazing way to teach the kids Scripture and Truth about God.
Megillah Esther(the scroll of Esther) was our first project this week. We made a scroll our of old paper I had kept, and some paper towel rolls. We printed out a VERY short story of Esther because we are not reading the entire thing at our party like it is traditionally done.

Easter and Passover 2010

Holy week and passover are my favorite holidays. I am so sad that i forgot to take pictures of passover this year. It was so beautiful. We had 17 guest in our small house and I really went all out this year! For me to put on a fancier type dinner is a big deal, because i really like for people to feel at home and be really casual. We had our friends who are messianic jews come to lead it for us this year and that was a nice change. We learn more and more every year about this very special jewish holiday. Elijah's favorite part is when we say the plagues 3 times out loud and dip you dip your finger in the wine(sparkling grape juice). I love the symbolism of passover and how Elijah remembers certain aspects and hopefully will be able to connect it to the sacrifice of Jesus and the freedom we have in HIM.

Holy Week highlights:

egg decorating

resurrection eggs

resurrection cookies

passion play at FBC jax

Passover seder!! A beautiful holiday!

It is funny how people kinda freak a little when i invite them to a Jewish Holiday and we aren't Jewish!  Ha!    I am very impressed with all of those who have come to my purim party and my passover, because YOU have really stepped out of your box and i love that about each of you.

Passover is just another way to worship and teach our children about God.  This is what i feel my calling in life is (DT. 6).  It is a sensual picture of all that God has done for Israel and for us as Believers in Christ Jesus.

 

We had 10 people(the Braun family:  kimberly, kevin, airic and aubrie and John and Kimberly Ross).  We have attending a few passover's with Jewish families, but this was our first one on our own.  Let me tell you it takes a great deal of preparation and study.  I am so mad i didn't take pics of the people, the table setting and the food.  Oh well...next year.  Elijah and Cooper did so well, way better than i expected.  Elijah sat and listened and was very interested.  He enjoyed it when we got to dip our matzo and parsley in the elements.

Menu for Passover dinner: 

Matzo ball soup(the box mix turned out great and was soooo easy! I made 3 boxes for 10 people and that was plenty)

Lamb(note to self: you don't like lamb, find an alternative!  6lbs was WAY too much)

Potato dish (i just made mashed potatoes, cheap and easy)

Green Salad(a friend of mine made a yummy salad)

sparkling red grape juice( i bought way too much...next year try to buy 1 for every 2-3 ppl)

matzo 

Seder Plate:

charoset-apple, nut, cinnamon mixture(yum!!)

morar-horseraddish(yuck, yuck, it actually did as it is suppose to make you tear up)

parsely-(note to self, you only need  one batch)

boiled egg(one of the favorites among our guests, and the cheapest thing i  bought)

salt water(test before you serve, ours was REALLY salted)

lamb bone(freezing for next year)

Things to remember:

prize for the afikomen and for the other kids.

make charoset night before(just because you can)

cook a roast

must read the story of the passover (we didnt read for sake of time...but we missed out)

make macaroons for dessert(make ahead of time, bc you can)

Don't forget you froze you shank bone so you don't have to make a lamb next year!!

Don't you love how i talk to myself in my blog...

Feast of Purim

On tuesday night we had a feast of purim at our house.  It is a jewish holiday to celebrate God's deliverance of the jews through queen esther and mordicai from the evil haman.  It is tradition that you come dressed up as one of the characters in the story or just any biblical character.  I was soooo excited because people came to participate and almost all of them dressed up!!  i was especially proud of kevin, because he knew it was like a dream of mine to do this and he went all out with his costume and in his reading of esther.  He was a champ!!  I made hamanstachen and bought hallah bread, made broccoli and cheese soup, and we had sparkling grape juice.  It was a blast.  The kids made groggers (noice makers) and really got into the story of esther.  They cheered for esther and mordicai and booed and hissed at haman.  It was awesome.  My goal for the whole event was to educate people in the jewish traditions and to demonstrate that we can celebrate judaism bc as Christians, that is part of our history.  In addition, it is yet another sensory way to get scripture into our minds and hearts.  I hope to make this a tradition in our home!  I love having parties to celebrate what God has done!!  May he be glorified!!

I am having a non-alcoholic Purim Party....can you do that?....

........well i am certainly going to try.  Out of my love for Jewish things, including history, i have decided to have a "Feast of Purim."  Purim is celebrating in Jewish tradition to represent God's(by means of Queen Esther and Mordicai) deliverance of the Jews from the evil Hamen, found in the book of Esther.  It is a gathering where children dress up as queen Esther, Mordicai or Hamen.  They come to hear the story of Esther and when the name of Hamen is mentioned they use groggers (noise makers) to blot out his name when it is read.  The other big part of the festival is to drink into the oblivion (but we are going to leave that part out). 

We will see how it goes........Purim is tuesday, march 10th.

We will be making groggers(noise makers) and will give out candy and have light snacks. It is just an educational time to experience with families.