Was out in the cold early this morning. When I entered the house, it felt warm n' toasty inside until I took my coat off and then it was noticeable that the temps inside HOME HAVEN are on the chilly side. The Bank sign downtown shows the local temperatures and blinked 5 degrees. Brutally cold. At least it's not windy.
The skies are blue and I look forward to the week-end. Need to pour me another cup of coffee and fold some towels.
I use to wash the kids' bedsheets every Friday and make up their beds with freshly laundered ones. This takes me back to when I lived in the Houston area. It would get cold there as well in the Winter. There are days that I wonder what life would have been like if we had stayed put.
When my children were young.....I wish I had done a few things differently. Like what? Like pray more for them and with them, played more with them, taught them more life skills, read to them more, shared more...slowed down a whole lot and put more emphasis on HOME LIFE being far more important than SCHOOL Activities. Taken more Family walks and had more Family Talks. Sat around the Dinner Table and lingered more. I wish we had had Friday Night Dinners like a Shabbat Dinner where we dressed in our best and spoke Blessings over one another.
I believe that this would have encouraged them to have more respect toward each family member and amongst themselves in which they would develop a healthier outlook on life. To encourage them. To know how important they are as a child of God, as our child and as a person in general.
When words of blessings are not spoken, there is a chunk of substance that is missing from one's soul.
I'm not Jewish, but can see that Shabbat Dinners would be a way of blessing and encouraging a healthier, emotional state of well being when practiced in a loving manner sensitive to developing and enhancing the upbringing of ones own children and one's life. Truly believing.
Found Shabbat info at: http://www.kveller.com/traditions/what-to-expect/what-to-expect-shabbat.shtml
5. What is the blessing over the children?
Some families bless their children one by one. Starting with the oldest, the parents will put their hands on the child's head and give the child a blessing.For boys, the introductory line is:
May you be like Efraim and Menashe.
For girls, the introductory line is:
May you be like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.
For both boys and girls, the rest of the blessing is:
May God bless you and guard you.
May God show you favor and be gracious to you.
May God show you kindness and grant you peace.
Most parents give each child a kiss after they are blessed.
In traditional homes, a husband may sing Eshet Chayil to his wife. Eshet Chayil is a poem from the book of proverbs extolling the virtues of a good wife and mother.
http://www.kveller.com/traditions/what-to-expect/what-to-expect-shabbat.shtml
Shabbat--the Jewish Sabbath-- is a 25-hour period of rest lasting from just before sunset on Friday evening until nightfall on Saturday. The idea is to take a break from ordinary life, and focus on family, community, and spiritual growth. In our fast-paced lives it can be a welcome change to stop rushing from work to preschool to the grocery store…and instead enjoy a weekly reconnection with the people and ideas that really matter in life.
Friday Night By Dasee Berkowitz
While families have different customs related to when they bless their children, my husband and I place our hands on our son's head right after lighting Shabbat candles and utter an age-old prayer into his ears.
The blessing itself is remarkable.The first part of the traditional blessing connects the child to a long line of Jewish heroes and heroines with characteristics worth emulating. It asks God to bless a son like God blessed Ephraim and Menashe (Joseph's sons who, according to commentators, are the only brothers in the Bible who did not have a competitive relationship). For a daughter, it asks God to bless her in the way God blessed Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, fore mothers who possessed qualities of strength and softness, modesty, and conviction. The second part of the blessing asks for more general guidance from God:
May God bless you and guard you.
May God show you favor and be gracious to you.
May God show you kindness and grant you peace.
In a remarkable way, the traditional blessing for children on Friday night links us back to the profound feelings we experienced at the moment of birth--the power of a legacy this child is inheriting, coupled with the profound responsibilities we feel to protect and care for our child.
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I wish I had told my Children more about the Fallen Nature of Mankind and what to notice when out and about. I wish I had explained more to them in a loving way how important they are as a human being and the eternal importance of being a child of God. LIVING LIFE. What real success is....it is more valuable to be in a relationship with the Almighty and attentive to His counsel than answering to the world. The importance of living a balanced, quiet and peaceable life should be a goal that one sets before them and then lives it.
With all of that said, may you have a fantastic week-end. Stay warm and rested. Thank you for stopping by.
Beloved,
May God bless you and guard you.
May God show you favor and be gracious to you.
May God show you kindness and grant you peace.
How can this be bad?
d
