Feast of Tabernacles 2011
Our Tabernacle :-)
Our original plan for Tabernacles this year was to stay in a cabin in Branson with our friends (and my brethren) who are soon-moving up here from Texas. It was to be a good time of fellowship and getting to know my friend Jessica even more. I also planned to go to services on the holy days with a congregation I found online that seemed unlike the bigger ones that are so tainted with man-worship and such other sins. Many things happened to change those plans, though. Truly we are NOT in control of everything, and truly this is a TEMPORARY life full of trials. You just never know what is going to happen and when.
Our laundry room, part of our kitchen, part of our master bathroom, and part of our master bedroom closet had to be torn apart due to an unknown water leak. We had black mold, too. Everything is torn out and mold remediation done, and now my husband and our friend Casey is working on building it all back. We are living in only part of our house. Nathan and I have not slept in our own bedroom, as the bed and floor are covered with our clothes and other things from our closet. The kitchen floor is covered with things that had to be taken out of cabinets, as cabinets had to be removed from the wall. Storage bins from the closet are in the living room. I've been without a kitchen (but not a refrigerator) and washer and dryer, so we've had to eat mostly non-cooked food things, including cold cereal for breakfasts instead of the usual muffins or other delicious breakfasts I make and sandwiches. I have been able to use our toaster oven. I've also had to go do our laundry at a laundromat. SOON I've been told I will be able to use my kitchen again and do our laundry here. I very much look forward to it.
It's interesting that all this was discovered shortly before Tabernacles and that our plans were radically changed. During the Feast of Tabernacles Christians stay in temporary dwellings, and this year we lived (and still are living) in temporary conditions in our own home. It's really given me a lot on which to meditate. It has caused me all the more to look forward to that time when God's Kingdom reigns on this earth...a new world/age, but even moreso I look forward to the time after that 1,000 year reign of Christ and we the saints, to the time not foreshadowed by the Feast of Tabernacles and the weekly Sabbath day, but to the time which the 8th Day foreshadows: ETERNITY on the NEW EARTH with the NEW HEAVEN.
As I mentioned briefly before, Jaden decided to get into candlemaking, so he spent quite a bit of his money he'd saved on candle-making materials. I'll talk more about it in my next post (I promise), but we agreed to let him start using the wood-stove (we've had a few freezing nights) to melt his wax. So, he made his first candles during the feast week (not during the holy days, of course).
Those who know me well know that I use analogies heavily in life, both drawing them myself to get a better understanding of things and painting them to teach others--both adults who read my books, articles and who listen to me talk and my children. I use anything I can in everyday life to teach my children about the Truth. So you shouldn't be surprised that I used Jaden's timing of starting his candle-making to teach them a lesson.
I told the children that candles, the sunlight, the moonlight (reflected from the sun), and other lights are all temporary. Even the earth's day star--the sun--that will shine in the next world/age on this earth when Salvation the Lord and the risen firstfruits reign over humankind, animals, plants, and minerals would eventually burn out, die, if given enough time. The sun is a created star that is going through its limited life cycle. BUT, I reminded them that on the NEW EARTH in eternity, which the 8th Day foreshadows, God will be our eternal Light.
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| And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever (Revelation 22:5). |
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| And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation 21:23). |
I love moon pictures! I also just love the colors of the trees in the fall. The Ozarks are beautiful right now, and the weather has been wonderful. Here's a closer-up picture of the moon on that gorgeous day:
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| Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? (Song of Solomon 6:10). |
The children and I colored coloring pages from the 2008 FOT and 8th Day coloring book produced by the Christian Biblical Church of God*. We rarely ever color around here. It's about time I start teaching Trusten and Liv to color and stay in the lines, anyway. Jaden and I worked on coloring the entire 2007 FOT coloring book back during the FOT of 2007, but it was so long! I loved pages of that coloring book, though, because it had scenes and scripture verses of children playing with wild animals and current carnivorous beasts grazing along with herbivorous beasts. I decided to do something different this year, so I picked the one on the Ten Commandments. I printed sheets for the Ten Commandments, where each commandment had a "bad example" page and a "good example" page, plus a few other pages, including a word search for Jaden. I read to them, talked to them, and we colored all in the tent during some of the day of the feast.
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| Jaden William, Olivia, and Trusten |
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| Liv |
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| Trusten coloring a page |
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| Liv scribbling on a coloring page |
I had a picture of Jaden with one of his finished coloring pages, but my batteries went dead in the camera, and just about always the last picture taken does not keep. So that is sad. I may take a picture of him later and add it to this post.
A sample of the good and bad examples, shown here the third commandment:
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| Bad Example |
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| Good Example |
I also discussed some news with Jade. Very briefly, there was a story of a woman with her adult daughter and another man as accomplices keeping four mentally retarded adults and ten children down in a nasty basement for a long period of time. They were cashing the social security checks on the adults. At the time Nathan and I read the article, it was unknown who the children were. At least some of the captives were abused in awful ways, and they were malnourished. The worst thing is that the woman who did this evil had starved a man to death back in the 80s and had served a few years (eight, I think) in prison, only to be let out to do her evil again! How many times have I seen this happen? If a person is truly repentant, mercy should be shown. If not, why are such people not put to death? Prison has rarely helped anyone imprisoned, and it certainly doesn't help the citizenry who is paying for their upkeep! I reminded the boys of how sad this world is and that in the world to come--when God's Kingdom reigns--this kind of thing shall not be tolerated. Death penalty in the fire immediately. And I assured both the boys that evil people like this who did not repent would not be on the new earth with eternal life in spirit bodies.
Another news story was about exotic and dangerous animals let loose in Ohio by the owner who commit suicide releasing them. There were animals such as lions, tigers, cheetahs, bears, wolves, giraffes, and camels. We talked of how dangerous a situation such a thing is in this world, but in the world to come such animals would roam freely and interact kindly with us. I also talked about how it would be like a garden paradise everywhere and nice forests--no crazy wilderness with bad plants and animals. Food would be abundant and delicious, and every person and animal would live in harmony. I explained how the animals were killed to prevent harm being done to people, though I also shared my frustration with the people's carelessness. Those animals could have been shot with tranquilizing darts...and should have. Some of them were very rare. People will not be so foolish about things the world to come.
Well, that sums it up. We ended up having some semi-good meals on the holy days. Things weren't as planned, but during this commanded Thanksgiving feast of God, I was able to remain thankful through it all, knowing I still have very good things compared to many less fortunate in the world, including spiritual brethren in various places. It can be difficult to realize that when things are going poorly compared to which that we are accustomed, but I have many beloved in various places who are much less fortunate, and I don't think they'd say I have had things go too badly. God speed that day when we are all together, and all our burdens are behind us.
Hope God's people who are reading this also had a blessed feast week. Father's blessings be upon you.
*I do not agree or accept all teachings of the Christian Biblical Church of God or that of Fred Coulter or any other incorporated "Church of God" or their exalted leaders.
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