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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Julie
Julie Smith is the Education Director for the Joseph Smith Foundation. She is the former owner of the Glenn J. Kimber Academy in Lehi, Utah. Julie served as a regional trainer—establishing 18 schools in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. She is a certified teacher for The Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Restoration (TJC) and taught the Making of America seminars written by W. Cleon Skousen and Glenn J. Kimber. Some of her children also traveled across the nation, assisting in teaching during these seminars. Julie taught history and Book of Mormon classes for 10 years. Julie is the mother of 5 children and grandmother to 7. She homeschooled for over 27 years, working through family challenges including pornography addiction, testimony faith crises, and teenage rebellion. She writes and teaches on strengthening the family, working with troubled youth, practically applying the teachings of scripture and the Prophet Joseph Smith, and celebrating higher standards. In her spare time, Julie also enjoys gardening, managing her .5-acre homestead, and hosting Sunday dinners with her family! Her home is a revolving door of guests and friends as her family hosts cultural celebrations and teaching events.
