Story of My Life

Tonight at sundown, Purim begins. Have you heard of it? For most of my life, I really hadn't.  I may have heard the word, but I had no idea what it was.  Then I found out I already knew the story of Purim; in fact, it's one of my favorite stories ever!   If you've ever read the book of Esther in the Bible, then you know the story of Purim.  I  love this story, because it is  a real live "fairy tale", complete with a king, a girl who becomes a queen and her courageous guardian, an evil villain, and a happily ever after ending.    Purim is the holiday that celebrates this story.  This holiday is full of joy and celebration, with parties, costumes, parades and fun.  It is also a holiday full of hidden meaning.    At Purim we wear masks and costumes to symbolize the hidden meaning of the holiday.  The Hebrew meaning of Esther's name itself is "hidden".  She was urged by Mordecai (her guardian and relative) to hide her true identity, which she did

To celebrate our 31st anniversary, Robert and I decided to spend the weekend in one of our favorite places: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We have been wanting to stay in the Red Caboose Motel in Strasburg, ever since we learned it existed, so we booked a 2 night stay.  This place is so cute! It's made up of 38 cabooses, a mail car, a baggage car, and 2 dining cars. They're celebrating their 50th season this year! We stayed in a couple's half caboose. There are also family cabooses that sleep up to 6 people, and they even have a honeymoon caboose! We stayed in Caboose Number 2. Inside, it was comfy and cozy. We could hear the clip-clop of horses' hooves, and see the Amish buggies go by from our window. I think more buggies went by than cars! After exploring the area around the hotel (they even have a cute little petting zoo), we went for a drive.  We love to drive around this area, and see all of the

Since I started learning about the Biblical Holidays about 11 (or 12?) years ago, every time one comes around I am amazed at how much these appointed times are teaching me.  I am growing and learning each time I celebrate one of these special, set-apart times, because each one is full of symbolism that reveals God's intricate plan, His wisdom, His goodness, and His unfathomable love for us. Over the years, these holy-days have set a new rhythm to my days, weeks, months, and years.  I am learning to center my life around what God wants, and what His plan is rather than my own. These "appointed times" ("moedim" in Hebrew) are spelled out in Leviticus 23, and can be found throughout the whole Bible. But there is an important time that is not mentioned in that passage, so it often gets overlooked. It plays an integral part in God's calendar, and He calls His people to celebrate it every month.  In Hebrew it is called Rosh Chodesh, which means the head of th