In this entry I'll post about our celebration of the fall holiday season, consisting of four feasts, one of which is really a fast rather than feast, and within the four feasts, four holy days. Later I will post another entry to catch you up on some of the other things we've been doing in our lifestyle of learning. I'll be using mostly pictures with little commentary.
Feast of Trumpets
The Feast of Trumpets is the four feast and holy day in our Creator's seven-feast and seven holy day plan of salvation. It foreshadows the time of the seven trumpet plagues detailed in Revelation and most specifically the seventh and last trumpet when the firstfruits--the saints called, chosen, and faithful during this age--are resurrected and born again as spiritual-bodied sons of God to help the Firstborn of God our Lord Salvation (Jesus Christ or Yeshua Messiah) reign over the earth in the next age. This is one of my favorite feasts, though it wasn't celebrated this year with a great deal of pizazz as normal, especially when compared to last year's celebration.
Usually, if the children are deserving of rewards for the past year's performance, they will receive gifts of varying degrees. This year we've had to be more careful with our spending, but I got us all galvanized steel pails, so six in all. Elizabeth is too small to use hers now, but I put it back for her.
So nothing fancy, but we like them. I've used mine to water my porch flowers, because the plastic pitcher I used to use for that cracked. The kids can use them to gather things, play in the sandbox, etc.
Some of the usual....
My set of Trumpets scriptures
The "road map" of feasts outlining the plan of salvation
Trumpets memory match game cards
And some not usual...
The four immediate prior years for Trumpets I made sugar cookies and used my trumpet cookie cutter. I made banana pudding for our dessert this year and made my fruit, grain, and seed cereal bars for breakfast. I tried trumpet-shaping them, but it didn't turn out too well.
Some images I printed and cut out for our Trumpets poster project
In the past, for two years when Jaden William was much younger, I did a Trumpets poster project. This one is quite different than those I did in the past. I read and talked about the seven trumpet plagues, and we pasted the pictures to go with each one. Liv doesn't care much about such projects at this point, so it doesn't matter that this is over her head. She did her own thing, anyway.
Day of Atonement
I don't have any pictures to go with this day, but I fasted from food and drink, and Jaden William greatly reduced his intake. He wanted to participate. I certainly do not expect my children to do so, though. We watched an Atonement-themed sermon on Youtube, streamed to the television. And I had some prayer and meditation time outside while the kids played. It was a truly gorgeous day that day as I sat outside in prayer and meditation. The way the sky and trees looked and the way the air felt is still vivid in my memory, as well as the strange way I felt from fasting, which I don't often do when exclusively nursing an infant.
Feast of Tabernacles
We often travel for the Feast of Tabernacles, but this is the second year in a row that we haven't. Last year much of our house was water- and mold-damaged, and Nathan had to rebuild the damaged parts. Here's a small quote from my post last year:
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.
Also last year our friends John and Jessica and their girls were supposed to move up here from Texas. So many things went wrong on their end and ours that it didn't work out. While we had our problems with the house and unable to use our master bedroom and bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room, John and Jessica and family suffered a bout of whooping cough and their own temporary living conditions of staying in various friends' homes and tent-camping, all with no job because John had quit his job, and they had planned to temporarily stay in our home until securing a place up here to rent and securing a job (he was to work with Nathan until then). We were suddenly cramped in our own home without use of even our kitchen, and they had whooping cough (and I was soon to give birth to a new baby).
This year their family came up to keep part of the week of Tabernacles and also the 8th Day with us. We also had others keep the feast with us. Keith from Canada stayed the entire week of Tabernacles and the 8th Day, and our friends Paul and Lisa and Paul's daughter McKenzie and Lisa's son Fabio, as well as our friends Casey and Shana and Dave came for the holy first day of Tabernacles and again for the 8th Day feast. Our family, as well as Keith, and Paul and Lisa and McKenzie tent-camped the first night. Fabio started the night with us, and Casey and Shana and also Dave all came for a hamburger and hot dog cookout the evening of the first day of Tabernacles.
The next day we had a big feast of turkey and dressing, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, salad, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie after having a breakfast of blueberry muffins and snacking throughout the day. Keith gave a sermon on the topic of Truth. I didn't take pictures of our delicious food, but here are some pics:
Our tents/tabernacles, people gathered in our living room
Playing catch and throw with football, conversing around the fire pit
I'd seen a video posted by my friend Chel on her blog that I thought would be cool to play for the kids. We all enjoyed singing to it. I played it twice! Later in the week when John and Jessica came, I learned that she'd played it for her girls, too. It's a popular one put out by the United Church of God.
We went to town to pick up some air mattresses so that Keith and Jaden could continue to comfortably camp out. Trust ended up being sick throughout the week, so we didn't want him out, and Liv shouldn't ever be far from me. By the end of the week it was nearly freezing outside, so everyone had to sleep inside. While Keith and Jaden went into the store, the other kids and I waited in the parking lot, and I snapped some sweet pictures of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's almost always a happy girl.
Later in the week the kids and I took Keith to Paul's and Lisa's earth
bag home, and we ate and had a bible study that night. Nathan worked
all the days but the holy days and one other day, but he attended the
bible study that night after he went home and showered.
Bible study at Paul's and Lisa's with Fabio also attending
The morning before the weekly Sabbath John and Jessica and girls arrived after driving from Texas all the previous night. We all had a wonderful weekly Sabbath day. I'd fixed my usual fall/winter Sabbath meal, stew and cornbread, and we had enough leftover for lunch the next day. It was a wonderful day outside, and we all enjoyed each other's company. We started to watch a sermon but ended up not doing so. Casey and Shana came over during the latter part of the day with some 15 bean soup, which was delicious with some of my homemade salsa and some tortilla chips.
Playing and talking outside on Sabbath, the memorial of Creation and a holy rest day
Trust and Liv playing in sand box
Kaia and Violet in the Sycamore tree
Jaden and Kaia in our tent
Jaden and Kaia reading on couch; the sky as it looked before I left to go to town. Can you spot the moon?
When we got back from town we left to go to Hobbs State Park fall festival. I was sad Nathan did not go, but he had to go do something on a job.
Beautyberry shrub (Callicarpa dichotoma);Kids on Van Winkle Hollow trail (Violet had just fallen and was hurt when I snapped picture)
Children at the old-fashioned games table
They liked the neat games.
Jess looking at the games; John holding Zephyr, their fourth-born of five daughters
Top is Kaia on stilts; bottom is John on stilts
Jaden on stilts
The Van Winkle's old spring house
Jaden talking to the blacksmith about various tools
Various old tools
I was especially fascinated with what I found out was a "miller's hammer," (top) which isn't really a hammer and the claw hammers pictured at bottom
Top: Trusten and Kaia; bottom: Olivia
Flint tools
The labels say it all
The man at the table knapped all these points himself, I think.
Trusten using the pump while he and Jaden listen to the blacksmith talk about forging metal
Top: Jaden trying the pump; Bottom: Jessica with newly picked flowers in her hair (picked by Violet)
Paintings of various buildings from the Van Winkle family's time
From l to r: John, Zephyr, Olivia, Trusten, Violet, Jaden, and Kaia
Trusten being angry and being silly
Top: John with Zephyr, then Trust and Liv; bottom: Jess and I
Top is Jaden and Kaia; bottom are children out by the parking lot after our walk and learning experience
Liv had gotten her feet wet in a stream and walked most of the way back barefoot by choice (she always goes barefoot, so it's nothing to her). I asked to take her picture in the parking lot, but it was her desire to run to the rock and pose. She loves pictures like her momma.
This one was taken before we got back to the parking lot (out of order). From l to r: Trusten, Jaden, Kaia, Violet, Olivia, and Emilia
Elizabeth and I
Eighth Day...
Then we had everyone over again for the 8th Day, which was a nice warm and sunny day after a chilly day. It was such a blessing. We had a lot of outside time. Then we adults (and two infants) all gathered outside for a short sermon/bible study while all the kids (overseen by McKenzie, nearly 12) stayed inside and watched a bible video.
I meant to get a picture myself but forgot, so this is a still image from a short video greeting Keith did, so he's the one behind the camera. Pictured from l to r: Casey, Shana, I (Tara), Nathan, Dave, Fabio, Lisa and my baby Elizabeth, Paul, John, Jess and her baby Indica
Then we had another cookout--hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken (thanks to Nathan) with chips and bean dip (with thanks to Lisa) and pumpkin and pecan pies (my doing) for dessert.
Everyone pictured (Trusten only in second pic, behind chair), except for me (behind camera) and poor Jaden, because I'd sent him for a quick shower, and Dave is at the sidelines.
We had a great feast season! And I hope you did as well, for those who kept the feasts of the Almighty God!
