DEDICATING OUR HOME AND RE-DEDICATING OUR LIVES

This week was Hanukkah, a festival time of re-dedication. 

The story goes that after years of war, the Jews won back the holy temple in Jerusalem. The Greeks had invaded and destroyed the temple, making it a place to bring sacrifices to their chief god, Zeus. The Maccabees then cleaned the temple and rededicated it.

DEDICATION

The name Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew word “dedication.” The Maccabees gathered together and held a special ceremony called hanukat or habayit when they rededicated the temple.  This story is celebrated each year for an 8-day festival with lights. 

We thought as a family that this would be a wonderful time to dedicate our new home we had just moved into a few months earlier. It has been taught that only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness. It was a perfect time to remember our new home was to be our sanctuary, like a “command base” a place to go forth from to awaken and help cleanse other families.

Our celebration was simple. We gathered the Sunday before Hanukkah with a family fast and then Brad dedicated the home to God through prayer as a place of worship for the family, a place of safety from the world, and a place we could grow and expand spiritually as a family. The place was set apart as a sanctuary and a place for all to gather. We ended the fast with a meal and thanksgiving. 

We then began Hanukkah with one of our married children and his family. Again, we focused on rededicating our lives to stand as a family together against the destroying forces of culture, invasions, and destructive forces on the family. 

We discussed, sang songs, prayed together, and ate our traditional fried bread tacos!  I love gathering with my family and sharing these new traditions with them and remembering God and His goodness together. 

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