Author: mrshlovesjesus

Hello, and welcome to my little cul-de-sac on the web. It is a delight to make your acquaintance. Before you read another word, please go grab yourself a beverage and something yummy to nibble on, and then come back, flop down in your comfy chair, and take your time reading the rest. OH MY…what is that little yumminess you have there? I’d love your recipe! Where do I start? I’m a sixty-something (shhhhhhhhh), still-doesn’t-know-what-she-wants-to-be-when-she-grows-up wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, niece, cousin, aunt, stranger, and friend, with a fiendish hankerin’ for spoiling people. I was born and raised in the fly-over country of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains, which might explain my natural ability to fritter away hours dreaming up stuff to do (‘cause there was nothing to do except what we dreamed up to do). I’ve decided on the senior side of life, that my favorite things are cooking up something new in the kitchen, crafting something homemade for my walls, excavating treasures from the living words of God, tinkering a little bit in my yard and garden, and nurturing relationships with the precious people God has graciously placed in my life. I pray if you have stumbled here by some devine happenstance, that you will find a treasure and that God will get the glory. Please, by all means ransack through all my recent posts and try any of it out that you like. I’m sure it will all look cuter on you anyways. Someday I hope to hear all about it! The Father's great peace and blessings to you friend!

Entertaining, Family Fun, Feast on This, Mexican Fiesta

Stir Crazy® Mexican Fiesta

April 28, 2015March 1, 2016 mrshlovesjesus

Well, today is my yard work day. There is grass to mow (like seriously if it doesn’t get done today I’m going to have to get goats), rakes to leaf (wait, did I say that right? You see why editing is such a chore for me), a few gardening tasks, plants to water, and bamboo to chop (that is taking over my river bank), and yet here I sit, drawn to the screen of this infernal contraption again like cats to catnip. All I can think about is writing and telling you (that one dear anonymous person out there who might see this post) all about the Fiesta Party I threw for my sister years ago, believing with all my heart that my experiences will be the cat’s meow, soooo captivating to my audience-of-one that you get right to work planning your own Fiesta Party, for Cinco de Mayo in fact, maybe, which is coming up very soon. Prrrrrr (that was Kitty-soft-paws…from Puss-in-Boots –yeah, was it lost on you? Hey, what can I say, I’m a dork!).

Okay, all kidding aside, this really is a fun way to spend an evening with your friends – your kooky friends who like to cook, and eat, and play games. Since I purchased my game many howling moons ago, Decipher seems to have gone out of business and their games appear to be out-of-print, which is truly unfortunate, however, you might get lucky to find a copy at a thrift shop or online. Until then I will share the contents of my box with you and let you improvise.

HERE IS HOW THE GAME WORKS: Have you seen the Food Network show, Chopped? It is a lot like that. You split your guests into two teams (a SALT team and a PEPPER team). These teams play a game against each other to win ingredients from the pantry of groceries you purchased ahead of time. Each team then has 90 minutes to produce a main dish, side dish, and dessert with the ingredients that they won, and recipes that they have stashed in their memories. At the end of 90 minutes, everyone sits down to partake of the created dishes and judge them. Stir Crazy provides the spinner, grocery lists, chef’s hats, aprons, and a cassette tape with audio instructions, and about an hour or so of perfect fiesta dinner music. I’ve included a picture of this for the visual people out there – me, me, oooo pick me.

“How many cooks can you fit in your kitchen?” I didn’t see any way for two teams to be able to prepare their dishes together in the same kitchen, specifically my itty bitty galley kitchen for sure, so I sat up a 2nd kitchen in our den (just off the kitchen) using a long table and electric skillets, an electric double- burner camp stove, a toaster oven, pans, bowls, and utensils, and paper towels. The BBQ grill in the back yard was also available as a third stove. And may I also suggest a wash station be added to this auxiliary kitchen with a basin of hot soapy water, another with rinse water, and a pitcher of water for cooking. It will keep you from having to constantly invade the other team’s kitchen (possibly catching an elbow to the eye) to get water or wash things. Of course what host would mind the imposition (and possible bruising), since your guests are basically making their own supper? Ha!

At my party I announced the time periodically during the preparation, and retrieved necessities for anxious contestants on an unyielding deadline. I ran for drink refills for everybody, and took several pictures. I had to stop and laugh, yes, nearly pee’d my pants a few times, as the interaction between players got pretty hilarious. I heard a husband shouting sarcasms to his wife on the team in the other room, “Who said this was fun? We’ve got to have a party like this!”

The players not only cook the food, they are also supposed to decorate tables within the time limit. Everything they do is judged, everyone votes by secret ballot and prizes are awarded at the end, even a prize for the dish the dog wouldn’t eat.

Well, I guess I can’t vouch for my guests, but I had so much fun with this party. We didn’t end up with a dish that the dog wouldn’t eat, everything turned out yummy, which was an accomplishment considering that no recipes are used. And after supper we found places to sit all around my tiny little house, and played games.

Here are the scrapbook pages from my party:

I scanned my copy of the host guide for you and have included those images here. Read through it in planning your own party.

I also have included a copy of the invitations.

Missing of course are the chef hats and aprons, the cassette tape (with the audio instructions for how to play the game, and the wonderful mood-setting music), and name badges (badges? – we don’t need no stinking badges).

Recipes for Snacks and Beverages (provided by the host)

REAL MEXICAN COFFEE

12 cups water

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 whole cloves

1 ½ sticks of cinnamon

12 oz. whipping cream

1 ½ oz. Unsweetened baking chocolate

1 ½ cups coffee beans, ground

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

In saucepan, boil water. Stir in brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon stick (broken in half). Reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes. Whip cream into soft peaks – refrigerate. Stir chocolate into brown sugar mixture until melted. Add ground coffee. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Strain mixture through coffee filter. Pour into cups and garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

COLLEEN’S EASY VERSION OF MEXICAN COFFEE

Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves to the 4 scoops of coffee grounds that you put in the filter of your coffee maker. Pour in cold water and brew . Add 1 oz. Unsweetened baking chocolate, 1 tsp. Vanilla, and ½ cup brown sugar to the freshly brewed coffee in the pot. Let it sit on the hot plate until chocolate melts. Stir immediately, or keep in a thermal carafe. I serve mine with Coffee mate French Vanilla creamer, canned aerosol whip cream, and a sprinkle of cinnamon to garnish.

HORCHATA (pronounced Or-chaw-ta)

Makes about 5 to 6 cups

Ingredients

1 cup of long grain white rice

1 cup chopped almonds, without skin

5-6 cups of water (to taste)

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup of simple syrup or sugar (more or less to taste)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

In a clean coffee grinder (one that does not smell of coffee) or food processor, pulverize the rice into dust. If using a coffee grinder it works best if done in batches.

Combine rice, almonds, cinnamon, and 3 cups of hot tap water in a large glass bowl or pitcher. Let sit covered overnight.

Pour the mixture into a blender and purée several minutes until as smooth as possible. Add the sugar and remaining water and blend again for just a few seconds.

Strain the horchata through a sieve lined with 3 layers of damp cheesecloth, or a tea towel, into a bowl. Pour a little at a time and keep stirring to help the mixture go through the sieve. Once all the liquid has passed through to the bowl, gather the cloth together at the top, give it a twist and squeeze out any additional liquid. Pour the liquid into a clean pitcher. Cover and refrigerate.

The drink should keep several days, refrigerated. Serve in tall glasses over ice. Garnish with ground cinnamon, or some lime zest if desired.

TOMATO SALSA

5 large Plum tomatoes (vine ripe) – diced (skin on)

2 medium Garlic cloves – chopped

1 or 2 *chilies – diced (*Chilies of choice: roasted Anaheim, Chiles de Árbol, Pasilla Chiles, Serrano, Jalapeno, Poblano, or Habañero)

2 slices, ½ inch thick, of white onion – chopped

½ tsp. Dried oregano

¼ tsp. Ground cumin

2 tsp. Olive oil

1 tsp. Rice vinegar

½ tsp. Salt

Fresh Cilantro to taste

Lime juice to taste

Pan roast your chili of choice. Dry the frying pan, peel, seed, and de-vein chilies. Pan roast the garlic until just toasted. Toss in bowl with remaining ingredients. 1 Tbsp. of canned tomato sauce can be added. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips.

COLLEEN’S MANGO SALSA

2 large ripe mangos, peeled, diced

1 cup finely diced Mexican or Hawaiian papaya

2 Tbsp. finely diced white onion

2 Tbsp. finely diced red bell pepper

2 Serrano chilies, minced with seeds

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh Cilantro

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint

½ tsp. Salt (or to taste)

Toss all ingredients together gently in a glass bowl. Refrigerate and serve cold, within 4 hours for best texture and flavor. Great served with roasted grilled poultry, fish or pork…but I just love it with tortilla chips as a dip.

FROZEN MARGARITAS

I bought a Margarita Bucket from Sam’s Club and to that I added:

Tequila

Margarita salt (for the glasses)

Limes (for garnish)

And you’ll need Margarita glasses for your guests

A day ahead of your party, add desired amount of tequila to the contents in the bucket and place in the freezer. As guests request, dip and swirl a Margarita glass in the slushy liquid in the bucket and then dip in the Margarita salt to coat the whole rim of the glass. Use an ice cream scooper to scoop out the Margarita slush into the glass. Serve with a slice of lime placed on lip of glass for garnish.

SANGRIA

1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)

1 Lemon cut into wedges

1 Orange cut into wedges

1 Lime cut into wedges

2 Tbsp sugar

Splash of orange juice

2 Shots of gin

1 cup of sliced strawberries or raspberries, grapes, and melons

1 small can of diced pineapples (with juice)

4 cups ginger ale

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice from the lemon, orange and lime wedges into the wine. Toss in the citrus wedges (leaving out seeds if possible). Add pineapple, then sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries, grapes, melon and ice just before serving. If you’d like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. The best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the refrigerator which allows the flavors to really marinate into each other.

If you would like to make yours non-alcoholic, use a bottle of sparkling red grape juice in place of wine and replace the gin with 2 Tbsp of instant tea.

After Dinner Entertainment

You can make it a dinner and movie night, in which case I would recommend re-watching something like Zorro (with Antonio Banderas and Selma Heyek), or a spaghetti western like The Magnificent Seven, or The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, or the cartoons Rango, and/or Puss in Boots.

Game Options

LOTERÍA

In case you are unfamiliar, Lotería is basically a bingo game, except instead of numbers it is pictures. Everyone gets a Lotería card and a handful of pinto beans to mark the spots. Each player antes a dime into the pot for each round. A deck of cards with the same pictures is shuffled and used by a caller for calling the spaces.

And just like Bingo, a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line is a “Lotería!” The winner collects the dimes wagered for that round. You can increase the ante if you’d like. We were poor.

Everyone clears their cards and pitches in another ante for the next round. It is easy to play, and perfect for mixed-age crowds. The only challenge is keeping up with the caller, who is supposed to keep a fast pace. If you are unfamiliar with Spanish you have to keep watching the caller to flash the card so you can see the picture. It’s a lot like a tennis match (look up, look down, look up…), but it is also enormous fun.

I asked my mom if she would be the caller for our game, since she was the only one that knew Spanish and could pronounce the words correctly.

CANASTA (cards)

I love this game. Lots of fun. Players who are unfamiliar will catch on pretty quick. This is a great game to play for hours, snacking and refilling drinks in between sets.

MEXICAN TRAIN (dominoes)

I love this game too. I especially love to play it with JoAnn, although I am sure she cheats with her constant table talk of how she can’t see the dots and doesn’t know if she has any dominoes to play, and then miraculously has none left to play when everyone else at the table is stuck with our stupid piles of double twelves and such.

MEXICO (dice) – see rules at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico and http://www.ehow.com/list_6720314_rules-mexican-dice-game-21.html

If you want to make a night (or day) of it, I have, on other occasions, set up game tables around my house and split my guests into groups of four players, each group starting at a different table, with a different game being played at each table. After an hour or so I ring a bell to signal them to move to the next table for the next game. When all the players have made it through all the games, its goodnight Irene! Or, Jose! Or Maria! Or whatever your party name is.

It is helpful to have at least one person at each table that is very familiar with how to play the games, so they can teach it to the others who may be unfamiliar.

Allllllllrightythen….I guess that about does it. Thanks for reading and have a blast my amigos and amigas!!! Andale, andale, arriba, arriba! (Please trill your R’s and use your Speedy Gonzales voice, I beg you!) 🙂

“And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it [is] the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13

Entertaining, Family Fun, Feast on This, Kentucky Derby Party, Office Parties

First Saturday in May — KENTUCKY DERBY PARTY

April 24, 2015May 25, 2016 mrshlovesjesus

It’s April. My sweet little granddaughter is over and she is chompin’ at the bit to take a carrot across the road to feed the colt. The neighbor’s painted mare has had her foal and he is just about the cutest thing we’ve ever seen! He looks just like his mama, but with l-o-n-g legs and a miniature little body. He is the star attraction at grandma’s house these days, following his mama around, nursing, nibbling on grass, and growing like a weed. Now that he has learned to walk and run, he has begun to jump and romp and play. Oh my goodness he is darling.

Just like that little colt I’m jumping in the stalls to have a party!!! And perhaps because of him, I want to have a Kentucky Derby party. The timing could not be more perfect. The annual Run for the Roses is held the first Saturday in May, the Preakness is three weeks later, and the Belmont Stakes rounds out the triple crown another two weeks after that, in June. How fun would it be to dress up and get to go to the actual Churchill Downs in Louisville, and see the horses run live? So much history. So much tradition. So many stories.

I’ve always loved horseracing. When I was a kid, while other kids’ dads were leaping out of the stands at little league baseball games, my dad was listening to a commentator on the radio announce, “The horses are at the paddock…they’re in the gate, aaaand…(ring) THEY’RE OFF!” Our town used to hold pari-mutuel racing at our fairgrounds for a good many years and my husband and I would go for the afternoon almost every weekend of the season. As far as I’m concerned any sport that you can attend LIVE is the best.

At the official website for the Kentucky Derby (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/) there is a tab for planning your own Kentucky Derby Party. There you can preview the horses and bet the derby, pick up recipes like Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie and the Early Times Mint Julep, and sort through a fitting spread of party game ideas (KentuckyDerbyParty.com).

Think I’ll call my party the Hoffman Stakes, and of course hold it at the Hoffman Downs (aka: our house). I kind of like the idea of Derby foods too, and bluegrass music is picking in my ears. I think it would be fun to have everyone come dressed nice, as if they were going to the real Kentucky Derby…fancy clothes, and fancy hats for the ladies (or, we could be casual and do crazy hats for the ladies and gents). I like the idea of a Buffet of derby foods, so guests can help themselves for the duration of the party. If I have them arrive about an hour before the telecast we can spend some time getting to know the horses and making our wagers with each other, and then when the race is about to begin we can gather around the television to watch the run-for-the-roses LIVE! After the race and the excitement and the exchange of wager winnings, I have an evening of games planned, a video game, a board game, and a yard game, in addition to all the snacking and sipping, and contests and white elephants, and…..oh just keep reading….it’s gonna be a hoot (I hope). I’m so excited!!!

Here’s my plan:

1 Month Ahead – Find everything for the party:

PARTY GAMES (for after the big race)

Purchase and get familiar with them. My plan: Set up a video horse racing game in the living room for 10 players, a horse race board game in the dining room for 10 players, and a horseshoes pit game outside for 10 players. Rotate between games about every hour.

I chose Derby Day DVD game

This DVD game comes with a DVD, play money, lucky horseshoes (cardboard), a bookie betting board and pen, and instructions for play. I purchased mine from Amazon.com several months ago and paid about $20 for it (I believe), and it works perfectly in my USA zone DVD player. The game is super easy to play. Just pop the DVD in the player and press start when ready. The instructions say to hand out $100,000 to each player or team for betting money. Once that is done and someone has been selected as the bookie, you press play on the DVD. The pre-race parade for race #1 pops up on the screen. In the parade each horse is shown briefly with their name and odds. There are 12 horses in each race. Once all 12 horses are shown on the board the DVD goes into pause mode so that everyone can place their bets. Once all bets have been placed you just hit the pay button and the horses are off. You watch the race and the announcer gives the play by play. At the conclusion of the race a slow motion photo finish comes up with the winning horses listed. The DVD goes into pause mode again so all winners can receive their winnings from the bookie.

There is a quick betting guide on the back page of the instructions that tell you what the pay off is for each bet under each of the odds. The horse that finishes dead last is the “Wooden Spoon” and the person or team who bet on him gets their money back. When all winners have been paid the DVD may be started again for the next race. Eight races finishes a game, and whomever has the most money at the end of the eighth race is the winner. Lucky horse shoes are used by players or teams when placing a bet and will double the amount won if the horse bet finishes in the money. Lucky horseshoes may only be used once.

At the end of 8 races you can start another eight. The horses will be the same for each of the next 8 races, but they will not finish in the same order as they did in the first 8 races. So you can play and play and play until you are sick of playing. The horses are simulated. The races are not actual race footage. It is like a video game, but it is well done. Your guests will be screaming at the TV just as if they were at a real racetrack.

The Horse Race Game (board game)

I purchased my game from Amazon.com quite a while back and paid around $25, I believe. This is the game description from the manufacturer: “Add some excitement and a real adrenaline rush to your next get-together. The Horse Race Game is one of those games your friends will ask for again and again. Players line up their horses at the gate, pay entry fees and place bets. Then roll the dice to move the horses forward or add to the purse. The anticipation grows as the pot gets bigger and the horses advance, till one crosses the line and the “”owners”” share the winnings-it’s a different race every time and anyone can win! 8 years and up.”

And this is the Product Description: “And down the stretch they come! Bring the excitement of the track into your own home with this board game tribute to the sport of horse racing! In fact, it’s the official board game of the Kentucky Derby. Don’t worry – you can’t lose any real money in this game – you’re playing with fun money! Players pay a $1.00 entry fee and are then dealt cards with racehorses on them, such as Skybiscuit and Peace Admiral. Some unlucky horses have been scratched from the race. If you roll the number of a scratched horse, you’ll have to pay the pot! If you roll the number of a remaining horse, that horse advances a spot. You’ll experience the rush of a neck-and-neck horse race, board game style! Only one horse will cross the finish line first – will it be the favorite, or will Longshot Louie take the prize? If your horse wins, you’ll collect the pot. The person with the most Fun Money at the end of the game is the winner. Game comes with Game Board, Fun Money, Horse Cards, Dice, Plastic Racehorses, and Game Instructions. For 6 or More Players, Ages 8 and Up.”

Outdoor Game of Horseshoes

Set up a horse shoe pit outside (I think I’ll set up an Easy-up behind each pit for shade and put misters all around each shelter to keep my players cool, since it is sometimes pretty warm in this neck of the woods this time of year. And also, a cooler for cold beverages at each pit, and a boom box with music).

Horseshoes is an outdoor game played between two people (or two teams of two people) using four horseshoes and two stakes. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet apart.

In horseshoes, there are two ways to score: by throwing “ringers,” or by throwing the horseshoe nearest to the opposite stake. (This scoring system gives rise to the popular expression “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” — I’m such a sucker for such random and possibly useless information) A ringer is a thrown horseshoe such that the horseshoe completely encircles the stake.

Point System
1 Point – The nearest horseshoe to the stake within 6 inches
2 Points – If both of one player’s horseshoes are closer than the opponent’s or a leaner, the case where a horseshoe literally leans on the stake
3 Points – A ringer! (If each player throws a ringer, the ringers cancel and no points are scored)
Most games are played to 21, winner must win by two.

I made permanent pits because I had the perfect place and lots of room for them, but maybe you don’t want to. Champion Sports has an indoor/outdoor horseshoes set with rubber horseshoes that can be set up instantly anywhere and offers a little bit safer play.

Auction & Door Prizes

Purchase a few Auction Prizes (DVDs: Secretariat, First Sunday in May, The Long Shot, Seabiscuit, a gift copy of the horseracing board game, a horseshoe ring puzzle, or…

a dirty old horseshoe from Churchill Downs (pictured left)

http://www.atasteofkentucky.com/shop/taste-kentucky-dirty-horseshoe-from-churchill-downs-p-232.html?atokID=ee531ca6f4a06912ffb88a57c82f8039

I think I’ll also make a big batch of Bourbon Balls (recipe below) to send home with my guests, placed in cellophane bags and tied with jute and a little rose attached. Or, I could do inexpensive mint julep cups filled with dirt and have live mint plants planted in each (I have a ton of mint growing in my garden). These could be part of the decor during the party.

Make Blue Ribbons for the Hat Contest

(I made blue ribbons out of construction paper years ago for a bulletin board at an elementary school. This is what I will do with the leftovers!)

The Derby hat is a longstanding tradition of the Kentucky Derby. Almost all the ladies at the race or any Derby party will be wearing a spectacular hat. For my party I was thinking I would require ALL of my guests (boys and girls) to come in CRAZY HATS! The girls may want to wear the frilly stuff, but the men can get creative. Drag out those Mickey Mouse Ears hats from the family trip to Disneyland, or the Rasta Hat with Dreads from the party store. Got a sombrero? Or Cowboy hat? Oh my gosh…where is that coke can hat my grandma crocheted in the 80’s? Or that beer can helmet with long curly straws?

I’ll offer prizes for the most ornate, the most stylish, the most creative, and the most bizarre and possibly even most juvenile.

OTHER HAT CONTEST PRIZE CATEGORIES:

Most Outrageous Hat

Ugliest Hat

Most Colorful Hat

Biggest Hat

Smallest Hat

Most Boring

Funniest

Fanciest

DO THE SHOPPING: Buy Plates, Napkins, silver beverage cups, etc. and all the silver service I can lay hands on to serve my buffet foods in, and find decorations.

Make a banner for front door, and a jockey cut-out for photo-ops

Purchase play money to use in place of real money, if preferred for all the betting games.

Party Music

Every party needs great music. To set the tone for your Derby Day celebration, try a Kentucky-based play list. Here’s some inspiration to get you started.

Here is a fun selection I found from the PARTY SOURCE:

Louisville (Dwight Yokam)

Kentucky Moonshine (Pure Prairie League)
Eight More Miles to Louisville (Willie Nelson)

Kentucky Borderline (Rhonda Vincent)
Louisville (Lou Peggy Lee)
Kentucky Gambler (Merle Haggard)

Louisville KY (Ella Fitzgerald)
Blue Kentucky Girl (Emmy Lou Harris)
Kentucky Jelly (Brad Paisley)

Kentucky Derby (Chet Atkins)
Blue Moon of Kentucky (Patsy Cline)
Kentucky Rain (Elvis Presley)

My Old Kentucky Home (Three Dog Night)
Kentucky Woman (Neil Diamond)
Going Back to Old Kentucky (Ricky Skaggs)

Mint Julep (Etta Baker)
You’re in Kentucky (Rosemary Clooney)
One Mint Julep (Xavier Cugat)

*** You can go to Amazon.com, click on digital music in the search box, search for Kentucky Derby music, or any of the music listed above, and then place all your favorite tunes into your mp3 cart. Once you’ve downloaded all your music you can burn it to a CD, or save it to a portable jump drive, or send it to your phone or mp3 player, and be ready for your party right now. Here is a playlist I made recently:

Invitations

Plan the guest list. Let guests know that there will be a CRAZY HAT contest in various categories (craziest, prettiest, biggest, etc.) for both males and females. If desired, ask each guest to bring one horse-themed white elephant type gift to trade for wager money (use these gifts as Auction/Door prizes at the end of the party).

Make a flyer listing this information, and include a ticket (like the one I made, pictured to the right, based on ideas I found online) for each guest in the envelope with the flier. Tickets can be created on the computer or ordered from Party411 online.

The invitations/tickets should have the seat assignments for each guest listed somewhere on the ticket. I placed mine at the bottom. The guests won’t have a clue what those numbers mean until they arrive at the party and are asked to present their ticket. The numbers will tell them what game they will be starting at. I will have a number taped to each “seat” of the three games. The players will have to walk around and find their starting place. After the first game is played, divide the players of the horseshoe pits into two groups, and also the DVD and board gamers. Send half of each group to join half of another group at a new game (so that everyone mixes and mingles). Do the same for the last game as well.

SET THE TABLE! There are a few horse print tablecloths available online (Horse & Hound, Party City, Amazon.uk, Amazon.com), if you plan ahead and give yourself time for shipping. OR, you can toss any tablecloth down (burlap, black and white, turf, white linen and lace, etc.) and then find some cute horseshoe eyewear at the party stores, or some real horseshoes from your local seed/feed store (painted gold, black, OR flat gray) and scatter them around on your table, along with a selection of little horse figurines (found in the toy section at most Wal-mart stores). Set each place with red plates (layer a square plate on top of a large oval plate, and top with a small round plate, even alternate colors – red with a black print and silver charger/underplate on bottom). Add a ROSE print hand towel to each (you can even tie up the silverware with a thin leather lace, and silk rose), and then for a centerpiece fill a galvanized metal bucket with stemmed red roses.

Plan the Food and Drink (make my shopping list) Purchase the ingredients that are not perishable now, and those that are perishable a day or two before the party.

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH HENRY BAIN SAUCE

Henry Bain Sauce was originated by the head waiter at the Pendennis Club in Louisville in 1881 and is a mainstay of Derby cuisine. Freeze any leftover sauce for later use.

YIELD: Makes 3 dozen appetizer or 12 main-dish servings

Ingredients

1 (9-ounce) bottle chutney

1 (14-ounce) bottle ketchup

1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce

1 (10-ounce) bottle steak sauce

1 (10-ounce) bottle Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 (4 1/2- to 5-pound) beef tenderloin, trimmed

Dinner rolls

Preparation

Process chutney in a food processor until smooth. Add ketchup and next 4 ingredients, and process until blended. Chill sauce at least 2 hours.

Stir together butter, salt, and pepper; rub over tenderloin. Place on a lightly greased rack in a jellyroll pan. (Fold under narrow end of tenderloin to fit on rack.)

Bake at 500° for 30 to 35 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion of tenderloin registers 145° (medium-rare). Loosely cover tenderloin with aluminum foil, and let stand 15 minutes before serving. Serve tenderloin with sauce and dinner rolls. — Southern Living MARCH 2004

HOT BROWN SANDWICH

Another cornerstone of Louisville cuisine is the Hot Brown Sandwich. Created by the chef of the Brown Hotel, this open-faced sandwich consists of two slices of toast topped with juicy roast turkey, tomato slices, crispy bacon, and a blanket of Cheddar-Parmesan cheese sauce. The sandwich is then broiled until the cheese sauce turns golden brown. Many variations can be found, most commonly country ham is added and a cheddar sauce is substituted. http://www.thepartysource.com/derby/derby_recipes.php

Serves 8
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds sliced turkey breast (I have used the sliced packaged roast turkey breast, found near the sliced hams in the meat section at Walmart…and I have also purchased peppered sliced turkey breast from my grocer’s deli counter – sliced just under about 1/8th inch thickness. Both worked really well.)
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
16 thick slices ripe beefsteak tomato
16 slices apple wood-smoked bacon, cooked crisp
Cheese sauce (recipe follows)
8 slices of good fresh-baked farm bread (I found an english muffin bread loaf that was perfect)
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

CHEESE SAUCE

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups half and half
1 ½ cup grated sharp white cheddar (I used a mixture of sharp, medium, and mild)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two until the raw flour flavor has cooked away. Whisk in the half and half and bring to a steam, whisking constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese until just melted. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

To assemble: Top each slice of bread with about 3 slices of turkey breast. Ladle the sauce over the top, sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano over the cheese sauce. Place under the broiler and cook until bubbly and golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and top each with two slices of tomato, and two pieces of bacon. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

THE BENEDICTINE

From Louisville’s Benedict Hotel comes the Benedictine, a cucumber canapé spread.

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, grated

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 small onion, grated

1/4 tsp salt

1 drop green food coloring (optional)

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Squirt of Tabasco Sauce or dash of cayenne

Crustless white bread

Olives, cherry tomatoes, parsley, or watercress for garnish

To make it, start by grating the cucumber, skins and all. Wring it out in paper towels to absorb most of the moisture. Combine with remaining ingredients in food processor and pulse until well combined.

The most common way to eat the Benedictine is to make finger sandwiches by spreading the mixture on bread. With a round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut rounds out of bread slices. Spread a small amount of mayonnaise on bread rounds. Spread cheese mixture on half the rounds and top with another round. After spreading the mixture on the bread, thread cherry tomatoes and black or green olives on decorative toothpicks and use for a garnish. Or, garnish with a sprig of parsley or watercress.

This mixture also makes a fantastic dip for veggies and crackers.

CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD

The cranberries make these Cranberry Chicken Salad finger sandwiches a bit sweeter than cucumber sandwiches. They are colorful and look great on a tray of canapés.

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4 cups shredded chicken

1/4 cup onion

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Add mayonnaise, sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse until well blended.

Add chicken, onion and cranberries and pulse until mixture is well combined but still a bit chunky. If needed add a couple tablespoons of milk to achieve a spreadable consistency.

Spread cranberry chicken salad on bread squares (I like whole wheat) and serve cold. Makes 24 finger sandwiches.

JEZEBEL SAUCE

1 (18 ounce) jar peach preserves

1 (18 ounce) jar orange marmalade

1 (18 ounce) jar apple preserves

1 (18 ounce) jar pineapple preserves

5/8 cup ground dry mustard

1 (4 ounce) jar prepared horseradish

In a bowl thoroughly mix all ingredients. May be stored in sterile containers in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Great served poured over cream cheese and served with wheat thins crackers.

COLLEEN’S RACETRACK PIE

There can be only one dessert on Derby Day and that is Derby Pie. The original Derby Pie is about half a century old. George Kern and his parents Walter and Leaudra worked together to invent the dense chocolaty, nutty dessert at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky where George was manager. If you want true authenticity, order one and have it shipped right to your door (http://www.derbypie.com/new/bring_a_pie_home.html). If you order it from A Taste of Kentucky they will ship it with an honest to goodness dirty old horseshoe from a horse that has run at Churchill Downs attached to the top of the box. Fun!

Although I’ve never been to Kentucky, nor ever had a slice of George Kern’s original creation, the descriptions remind me of a Nestle Toll House Pie I made several years ago. The pie was soooooo yummy that I clipped the recipe from whatever magazine and saved it for all these years. This is a fitting time I think to pull it out and make it over into my own Racetrack Pie. Since there’s not a Kentuckian on my guest list, I doubt anyone will ever know it’s a knock off.

Ingredients

2 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shells, thawed, pricked with a fork.
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Kentucky Bourbon (Jim Beam)

1 1/2 cup butter, softened room temp
1 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans if you prefer)

PREHEAT oven to 325° F.

Directions

BEAT eggs in large bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, sugar, brown sugar, and bourbon. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shells, dividing equally between the two.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve with a scoop of ice cream on top, and a tiny drizzle of bourbon splashed over (optional).

Note: If you live in south Texas and have an HEB near you, they have recently come out with some designer ice cream flavors. The Whiskey & Honey is a perfect topper for this wonderful pie! If you don’t live in Texas and don’t have an HEB, I’m sorry for you. Maybe Ben & Jerry’s has something similar???

BOURBON BALLS

1 cup finely crushed vanilla wafers

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1-1/2 cup of powdered sugar, divided

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 tablespoons bourbon

1-1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Combine vanilla wafer crumbs, chopped pecans, and 1 cup of the powdered sugar. In a measuring cup, blend the bourbon and corn syrup and stir into the dry mixture.

When thoroughly blended, cover and refrigerate for an hour or more.

Sift about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar onto a large piece of waxed paper. Shape small amounts of the dough into balls then roll in powdered sugar.

Store tightly covered in the refrigerator. Makes about 3 dozen.

MINT JULEP

I had my first sip of Mint Julep when my husband and I visited the Oak Alley Plantation just outside of New Orleans and dined in their little restaurant on the grounds. Seems like they had a few different versions. I don’t remember which one he ordered, a lemon one I think, and I remember liking it. You can’t have a Kentucky Derby party without Mint Juleps. For my party, I was thinking of making a pitcher and lettin’ people fix their own glasses, first with crushed ice and mint sprigs, then julep mix, and stir. They can help themselves all party long.

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

6 or 8 sprigs fresh mint

Crushed ice

5 cups good Kentucky Whisky/Bourbon (a pint + a fifth)

Silver Julep Cups (they must be silver, never paper or plastic)

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered pitcher with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight.

Ideally you would make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces Whisky. Then stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. For the sake of convenience I’ll add my bourbon/whiskey and my mint syrup to a beverage container just before the party and let my guests toss a shot of this Julep mix over a cup full of crushed ice (Sonic sells their wonderful ice by the bag, by the way, and it’s PERFECT!!!). Garnish with mint sprig.

NOTE: I made a non-alcoholic version of mint julep for a luncheon recently. I added the minty simple syrup to my large galvanized beverage serving container and then substituted the bourbon for 5 quarts of Lemon Seltzer water. I chilled it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I filled each Julep cup with Sonic ice, covered the ice with minty seltzer water mixture, and then garnished each with a lemon slice and sprig of mint. It wasn’t bad…refreshing actually!

I have looked and looked and looked for inexpensive metal cups for my Juleps for several years, and have been unsuccessful. At the last minute I ended up buying my little silver disposable (taboo plastic) cups at Party city. You might have some luck shopping at the Party Source for yours.

MINT TEA OR LEMONADE

Mix up a big batch of fresh brewed iced tea and/or a huge pitcher of real lemonade and have in a serving container on the drink buffet. Have a container of the minty simple syrup setting nearby, along with crushed ice and mint sprigs. Let your guests fill their silver cups with crushed ice, drizzle the desired amount of syrup over the ice, and add their tea or lemonade, then garnish with mint sprigs.

Want more food ideas? Check out these Top 20 Kentucky Derby Recipes http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Holidays-and-Events/Events-and-Gatherings/Kentucky-Derby/Top.aspx

A Derby Party is also a great theme for a luncheon. I had the honor recently of hosting an end-of-the-year luncheon for the staff of a local school. Since the luncheon landed in May, in the middle of the triple crown horse racing season, and since it was getting down to the finish line of school, a Derby theme seemed a perfect choice.

2 Weeks Ahead

Make and send invitations (and remember to mention the CRAZY hat contest)

Order red roses from florist, or purchase silk roses

Play the board game(s) enough to get familiar with how to play them, and how long a game will last. Make sure race DVD works.

Arrange for helpers. Need a helper to be the bookie for the DVD races game, and one to explain play of the board games; another at the horse shoe pit. (You will be busy keeping the food fresh and drinks full). Need someone to serve snacks, and usher people to their start locations, and someone to take pictures.

Confirm that you have all your serving dishes and pieces, glassware, etc. If you are throwing a big party, this is the time to make sure you have enough tables and chairs and make arrangements to rent some if needed.

1 Week Ahead

Grocery shop for all non-perishable items and stock the bar.

Prep and/or cook any make-ahead items.

Make blue ribbons for the hat awards, and ballots.

2 Days before the Party

Clean the house

Do all the decorating and set up the buffet table.

Adorn tables with vases for the red roses and set some decorative horse shoes around.

Set up the jockey cut-out.

Set up the betting booth.

Check to make sure you have all the parts and pieces to all the games and enough plates, cups, napkins for guests.

Day before the Party

Get out all serving pieces, fill vases with flowers and place in fridge, chill beverages.

Do all the perishable grocery shopping, beers, and get several bags of ice.

Prepare whatever foods can be made up a day ahead.

Pick up the roses from the florist and keep in the refrigerator until ready to set out.

Make sure the horse shoe pit is ready to play, set up gazebos, and set out a cooler for ice and beers.

Set up the prize table.

Have blue ribbons for the hat awards.

Set up the table for Auction/Door prizes

Arrange for a helper to serve snacks on trays

Day of the Party

10AM

Prepare last minute foods for party.

Place roses on tables.

Place a sign on front door and/or yard signs.

Set music up in CD player and horse race DVD in DVD player.

Set up the board game(s) on the dining table.

Place race forms, funny money, betting cards, and pencils near the TV where the DVD races will be shown.

Set up board game(s) at dining room table(s).

2-3 hours before guests arrive

Chill out; take a nap, a shower, veg in front of the TV, relax. Be a guest at your own party. It will be so much more fun that way.

3PM

Make sure the horse shoe pit cooler is filled with ice and beers and have it ready to take out at last minute.

Set out food and drinks on hot plates and in ice buckets, buffet style.

Start music playing in the background for when guests arrive. Make sure the CD with the trumpet tune is ready to go on a boom box.

Make sure you’re dressed and ready to greet your guests with your full, relaxed, warm, southern hospitality.

4PM PARTY TIME!

As guests arrive make a big to-do about their hats and take pictures.

Encourage guests to help themselves to drinks and snacks

Collect the horse gifts brought and place on Auction/Door prizes table; inform them of what game they will be starting with and have your helper assist them in locating their seat

Let everyone mingle until all guests have arrived.

Parade of hats (take lots of pictures)! Encourage guests to take photos of themselves behind the jockey cut-out (silks) between sets of play.

Explain the order of play for the evening.

Ask guests to help themselves to the buffet table to eat, and let them know it will be open all evening.

4:15PM

Hand out Racing forms with the lineup of horses. Direct guests to the Kentucky Derby website if they want to place any real bets.

Have the television tuned to the station that the race will be broadcast on. Allow guests to mingle and talk about horses.

6PM

Watch the race on TV.

Give guests a few minutes to celebrate and talk about the race.

6:30PM

Begin play at each game station, and the wagering for the first race, at the sound of the trumpet tune (which should be ready to play on CD player).

…And They’re Off

Play the video for the first race, and start the other games simultaneously

Repeat wagering and video races at whatever pace will keep things hopping, allowing guests to snack and talk between races.

If the DVD has 12 races, play one every 15 minutes (to go with the board game taking about an hour). Each group will watch 4 DVD races before moving to the next station.

All players rotate to next game. Allow time for snacking and drink refills.

***Pass out ballots and have guests vote on the hats. Collect ballots.

7:30PM

All players rotate to next game. Allow for more snacking or dessert and coffee.

9PM

All sessions wind to a close.

Call guests together and let them use their winnings to bid on the Auction/Door prizes

***Award prize ribbons for “best hats”

What if I have a guest list of night owls who want to party on late into the night? I want to be prepared with plenty of snacks and if we have to run out for more beverages we will. We could gather everyone around the TV and play the DVD game, or gather everyone around the table and play the board game, or set up some lights outside for a night game of horseshoes…for as long as everyone is having fun.

Before my guests leave, remember to give door prizes (gifts) as they head off into that good night. 🙂

“I returned and saw … the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all” Ecclesiastes 9:11

Bunco Party, Entertaining, Feast on This, Fun with Friends

April Fools Bunco

April 7, 2015August 23, 2022 mrshlovesjesus

Get your neighbors, coworkers, husband’s coworker’s wives, or your church ladies together and start a monthly Bunco group. April Fools Bunco would be a great way to kick off the start of any group and here are my ideas for a zany night of fun.

Let’s start with INVITATIONS

I got some girly little purse invitations at the party store, because I thought they were adorable, and then just wrote in all my party information on the insides. I added some “Texas” blingy crosses to some of them and got them in the mail about two weeks before my party. I didn’t give away any information about my party having April Fools pranks.

There are lots of other invitations out there that have dice on them, and perhaps that’s the way you would prefer to go. If you want to give a small preview to your party, you can add a prank to yours…perhaps a paper spider that pops out when you pull the flap open on the invitation, or a funky scent spritzed on the paper. Or you could encrypt the invitation information into a secret code puzzle that they have to solve in order to find out the details, or cut it into puzzle pieces that they have to put together.

Now let’s think about our TABLE SNACKS

I made two snacks for each of the three tables: “puppy chow” served in dog bowls, purchased from the dollar store (and totally sterilized in the dishwasher), and multicolored Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, served in actual fish bowls that I picked up at Wal-Mart in the aquarium department (and also sterilized in the dishwasher).

The recipe for the “puppy chow” (Chex® Muddy Buddies®) is usually featured somewhere on the box of Corn or Rice Chex cereal boxes. I hope it is okay for me to share it here with you.

Now, moving on to SWAG BAGS

I filled little brown paper bags with inexpensive gag gifts (bubba teeth, stick-on mustaches, packets of Doughnut Seeds, which were cheerios – the flavored kind. It was an idea I saw in a Family Fun magazine I believe click here for instructions). I gave these bags as prizes after each round of play, so that my guests would act up and be silly if they wanted to while we nibbled on refreshments (featured below). I hoped that by the end of the evening everyone would win something even if they didn’t win a Bunco money prize.

Here is the SET-UP for an April Fool’s Bunco

Set up the three tables as usual, but make table #3 a “loser” loser table, if you know what I mean – L-sign to the forehead, L-O-S-E-R table! Find a table that wobbles (taping a small stack of washers to a leg of the table will do the trick). Set 4 mismatched chairs around it (like an ottoman, a bar stool, an office chair, and a bean bag chair). Place a whoopee cushion under the seat pillows of one chair. Give them 3 different size dice, a big toddler pencil or a teeny tiny pencil or a crayon to keep score with, a random stack of scrap papers stapled together for a score pad, and even nasty tasting snacks like wasabi peas, or anything bland and tasteless from the health food store, and serve in ugly bowls, chipped bowls, or just a paper plate.

You could replace the bell on table-one with a squeaking rubber duck toy, or a train whistle, or a bicycle horn, or one of those cans of air, just to be weird and obnoxious.

MUSIC

I usually like to have some kind of music going in the background of all my parties to put everyone in the “party” mood as they walk through the door. So…what kind of music shouts “April Fools” to you? This is probably going to totally BUST my “Christian” image to admit that I own one, but I thought a Bob Rivers CD would be the perfect touch (to lend that sort of “Jack Ass” element to the party). Oh dear. Yeah, Bob’s CDs are undeniably the anti-type to Philippians 4:8. (Feel free to substitute your own music selection here if that is just too embarrassing for you. It actually might be too embarrassing for me too with certain of my friends ). At any rate Bob’s songs are ones that you think you know. They sound just like the originals of hits from the 80’s/90’s. His songs, however, if you are not familiar, are parodies, spoofs of the songs from a couple decades ago, with twisted (altered) lyrics – “fool” you music that is super funny in a tacky, crude, gross, ill-mannered, irreverent, vulgar, unashamed sort of way. I have, dare I admit, his Twisted Tunes Volume 1 and 2. I wonder if I turn the volume way down if anyone will notice the lyrics??? You know what might make a great alternative is Anita Renfroe (Christian comedian), except that all of her awesome parody songs are in video format and scattered between several DVDs. Oh Anita, you need to do something about that!

What about PARTY FOODS?

I’m so glad you asked. Here was the line up for my party… but there are a million great ideas out there! (Pinterest)

April Fools Bundt Cake (actually a calzone)

For this use a tube of Pillsbury Pizza dough, lay it in the bottom of a non-stick Bundt pan and press a channel into the center of it all the way around so that the dough is spread up the sides. Use a jar of pizza pizza sauce, pepperoni, cooked sausage, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc. and carefully spoon this sauce in the valley of the dough that you placed in the pan. Carefully layer another tube of pizza dough on top and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven as directed on dough package, until a toothpick inserted in the bread part comes out clean. Remove from oven and invert onto a pretty cake plate. Use the finest quality Mozzarella cheese slices you can buy and arrange them on top of the “cake” in a thick layer. Return cake to oven just long enough to melt the cheese to look like icing. As you can see, I let mine melt a little too much and I didn’t have any extra cheese to fix it. Don’t do this. Lol! Remove from oven and serve warm.

Meatloaf “Shepherd’s Pie” Cupcakes

Do you have a good meatball or meatloaf recipe? Mix your ingredients together and use a large ice cream scoop to shape your meatballs about the size of a poolball. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a large meatball into each of the paper-lined cups of a muffin pan. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes until meat is brown and pulling away from the sides of the pan (internal temp 165*F). Invert onto a paper towel lined rack to absorb grease. In the meantime set up a new muffin pan with foil cupcake wrappers. Transfer each meatball into a foil cupcake wrapper in the new pan and set aside.

Make enough instant potatoes for 8 servings, following directions on the box of instant butter flavored potatoes, substituting the water for beet juice. Use the juice of 2 cans of beets (not pickled beets), being sure to add enough water to the juice to equal the amount called for. The more beet juice, the stronger the color your potatoes will be. If you want them to look really red, use only the juice of the beets and no water. Transfer the mashed potatoes into a frosting piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe the potato “frosting” onto the meat cakes. These can be kept warm in the oven until ready to serve (up to 30 minutes). Sprinkle with a grind or two of peppercorn mélange just before serving. You could also sprinkle some grated Parmesan, chopped chives, and bacon crumbles on top.

Ham & Cheese “cinnamon” Rolls

Unroll a tube of Pillsbury Pizza dough and roll it with a rolling pin to thin it just slightly. Spread with a thin smear of honey mustard (or dijon, as you prefer), and then lay slices of thin sliced ham over the entire top, and then a layer of thin sliced baby swiss over the ham. Roll up, jelly-roll style and slice as you would cinnamon rolls. Lay on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden on top.

Spaghetti Casserole Cake

Use a box of any favorite Duncan Hines cake mix (or your favorite homemade) and bake in a non see-thru 2 X 9″ pan as directed on the box. Cool on rack. Refrigerate several hours. Place one can of cream cheese frosting in a piping bag fitted with the small hole tip. Pipe the frosting back and forth all over the top of the cake until it is covered in what looks like spaghetti noodles. This will take forever, but it is worth the effort. You may need to use another can of frosting to achieve the effect and completely cover the cake. Place about 12 Ferrero Rocher chocolates randomly on top of the frosting. Warm a jar of plum or strawberry jam in the microwave for about 15 seconds, stir and then drizzle over the “meatballs” and slightly onto the frosting. Cake may be kept in the refrigerator the remainder of the day until ready to serve.

PRANKS (hahahahaha)

Place a jar of nuts-in-a-tin on the kitchen counter or serving table (the kind with a spring-snake inside), so that when a guest opens it to get a snack the snake will pop out.

Make a beverage or set out some kind of candy that will stain everyone’s mouth blue (or whatever color) for the evening. Or make sweet and unsweet tea and switch the labels.

Place a roll of some kind of gag toilet paper in the bathroom. (Mine was printed with “Oh Crap!” all over it)

Put a fake spider in the bathroom sink, or beside the toilet, and several other places.

A Little pre-party prank…

Before my guests arrived I turned off all the lights in the house except for one lamp near the front door. I had on a pair of pajamas, smeared a green mud mask on my face, and put some pink hair rollers in my hair. When my guests arrived I answered the door reluctantly, like I had no idea who could be at my house, and stood there for a moment before them with a befuddled look on my face. After a moment I opened my eyes wide, as if I’d just had an epiphany and said, “OMGosh, is that TONIGHT?” As my guests hemmed and hawed about what to do, I broke out with a smile and blurted, “April Fools!”

Okay, April Fools, no I didn’t. I would have, but I didn’t think about it until I was writing this blog post. I just answered the door like it was any other party. But please, if you are a courageous cuckoo, will you please do it for me? It’s be fun!!!!

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PRIZES

At the end of each set of six rounds I gave out SWAG BAGS to the Highest Score, 2^nd Place, Most Buncos, Last Bunco, and Booby. Then we took a snack break. We finished the evening giving out the money prizes and then gathered around my table, laughing, telling stories, and staying up way past our bed times.

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CHECKLIST

In preparation for any themed or un-themed BUNCO party you will need:

12 party invitations (plus, be prepared to make phone calls to make sure guests will be attending and find subs if not)

Appetizers, snacks, dessert

Beverages

3 tables with four chairs for each

3 dice for each table (total of 9 dice)

Personal Score cards and Vis-a-Vie markers (12 total cards, 2 markers per table – 6 total markers)

Score pads and pencils for each table (3 total pads, and 3 total pencils)

5 Envelopes for prize monies:

Mark one envelope “High Score”

Mark one envelope “2^nd High Score”

Mark one envelope “Most Buncos”

Mark one envelope “Last Bunco”

Mark one envelope “Booby”

Bell: You can have a bell, like those at a motel that you tap the knob on top of and it rings, or you can have a clangy old school teacher’s bell. If you purchase a Bunco game it will have some sort of bell included in it. Or as I mentioned before you could have a squeaky rubber duck, a huge baby rattle, a whistle, a train whistle, or a bicycle horn, or basically anything that makes an obnoxious noise.

Bunco Buddy (this can be anything from a little bean bag toy, to a special crazy hat, to a lei, or even a big fuzzy die). I had a flying monkey toy that screams when you shoot him.

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SET UP YOUR TABLES

Here’s how to set up your three tables:

Table One 101_4688

Bell

Bunco Buddy

Score pad and pencil

Vis-a-Vie markers

Dice

Snack bowls

Table Two

Score pad and pencil

Vis-a-Vie markers

Dice

Snack bowls

Table Three (Remember, if this is an April Fools theme, make this the “loser,” loser table. If you missed the suggestion above, make the table rickety, by using two TV tables and taping a stack of washers to the bottom of one leg to make it wobble, or use a heavy piece of cardboard balanced on an exercize ball for a table, with mismatched dice, an oversized pencil or crayon for keeping score, torn pieces of paper to keep score on, mismatched chairs – a rocking chair, a bean bag chair, a bar stool, and an office chair, for example, and make the snack for that table something not very yummy – unflavored rice cakes, vegan veggie crisps, wasabi peas, swedish fish, you know, that sort of thing. And for added fun, put that table in a part of the house where players can hear the bell ring, but where there’s maybe not a lot of room, or it’s a little cold, or a little hot, maybe the laundry room with piles of clothes everywhere and the cat litter box where they have to step over, or maybe you have a loud and obnoxious clock that you can hang hear that table, or next to a kid’s room who is playing drums or basketball, or…you get the idea.)

Score pad and pencil

Vis-a-Vie markers

Dice

Snack bowls

•

Once all of your guests have arrived and each has paid their $5 to the prize fund ($5 X 12 players = $60), separate the monies into the envelopes as follows:

High Score – $20

2^nd High Score – $15

Most Buncos – $10

Last Bunco – $10

Booby (lowest score) – $5

• Announce to the guests which table is Table One, Table Two, and Table Three (if they couldn’t already distinguish them).

• Players can snack and play and visit during the first set, then take an appetizer break between sets – use the restroom, take a smoke break, check cell phones, etc.

HOW TO PLAY

You will find the instructions for how to play the basic game on any boxed Bunco game found at any game store (Wal-mart, Toys-R-Us, K-Mart, Target, etc.).

If you do not want to buy a pre-packaged game, you can use the templates I have pictured (and detailed) in this post, plus you will need nine dice, a bell of some kind, a Bunco Buddy, and pencils and scratch pads to keep score during play at the tables.

Variations to the Boxed Game

I’ve discovered that people play Bunco differently from group to group and state to state. In Wyoming all the groups I played with basically played the game as instructed in the box, but as a gambling game just did their payouts a little differently.

Here in Texas they do everything different. This is the crazy Texas version I’ve been introduced to:

TEXAS BUNCO: It is the same in that there are two teams at each table who work together to beat the other team at the table, and whenever the winners or losers move they can’t have the same partners at the next table. BUT…they don’t work their way through the numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6) as in the boxed game, but rather ALWAYS only roll for 6’s every set, every round, every game. If you roll three sixes that is a “Texas Bunco,” and whenever a TEXAS BUNCO is rolled, anyone at the table may grab the dice to steal the points. Since Buncos can be stolen, you can imagine how this results in a pretty physical game and riotous behavior. Dice and people often times end up on the floor in a wresting match. As you can imagine it is too wild for snacks to be on the tables. There might even need to be some ground rules about how long a woman’s fingernails can be (as they could be a lethal weapon – hahaha).

If you get only one or two sixes when you roll, they count as one point each, but you get to keep rolling. You must roll at least one six to keep rolling, otherwise you pass the dice. If you happen to roll three ones that is called “snake eyes” and your team loses all your points acumulated during that roll. If you roll three of any other number, it counts as five points total and you get to keep rolling. If no scoring dice are rolled, play passes. The first team to reach 21 is the winner of that round. You can play six rounds and then take a snack break, and then come back and play another six rounds. You can play as many rounds as you want, as long as it is decided ahead of time so that nobody feels cheated out of the prize monies at the end.

Winners move up a table (unless they are already at table one), and losers move down a table (unless they are already at table 3). My neighbor’s group plays with men and women and everybody pays $5 to play. They give prizes for MOST WINS, MOST BUNCOES, and MOST LOSSES. They play with at least 12 people, but the more the merrier (multiples of 4). Her group usually does a carry-in pot luck supper, which is served in courses between rounds – six rounds played, then they serve appetizers or salads, six rounds played, then they serve the main course, six rounds played, then they serve dessert, and during dessert and coffee the prize monies are distributed.

The church ladies I played with in Wyoming paid their money to the host, who passed it on to whoever was hosting next. That next host used it to buy prizes to give in place of money prizes at her party. We always played at the church, but each took turns bringing the snacks. After a while we all just started bringing a wrapped, $5 gift instead of money. Another thing your church group may enjoy doing is to increase the price per person to play, and have each person choose a charity in your church or community that each can play for. You could have several written on pieces of paper and let everyone draw one out, or let everyone choose their own (favorite charity), such as the church nursery, the food pantry, a women’s ministry, a missionary couple, a local private Christian school, a crisis pregnancy center, a pet rescue, a child advocacy ministry, etc. Upon arrival, have everyone that is playing pay their money and then put down on a sign-up sheet who they are and the charity they are playing for. At the end of the night only the big winner gets the money, and the host will be responsible for delivering it to the designated charity that week.

The way Karen’s group played Bunco: We all paid $5 as we arrived. The money ($5 X 12 people = $60) was divvied up into prize envelopes: First Place ($20), Second Place ($15), Most Buncos ($10), Last Bunco ($10), and Boobie ($5).

We had 12 laminated personal score cards labeled Table 1, 2, or 3 and Team 1 or 2 also labeled on them, which we drew upon arrival so we would know what table and team we were starting from. We used Vis-a-vie markers to mark our cards after each round with our wins and losses, and at the end of the night, after all prizes had been awarded, we washed them off and they were ready for the next time. At the end of this chapter are some Bunco cards that you can copy/print and cut apart. If you would like, you can laminate them and use Vis-a-Vie markers just like us to mark wins and Buncos, and tally totals on for your party. At the end of your evening these cards can simply be washed off and reused as long as they were laminated in a laminator machine and cut apart having a 1/2″ frame of laminate around them.

Starting with any set of numbers we marked a circle around the games we won and an X through the games we lost (as shown in the diagram here to the right). Notice there are three sets of numbers, a set for each game.

Notice the score card here shows Table 1 Team 1 at the top? If you drew this card you would start playing at Table 1 and you would be on Team 1. The starting position is no longer relevant after play has begun.

Choose who will be the scorekeeper. There is one person at each table who will keep score. This person will have the Table Tally Sheet (shown here to the left) and pencil, and will keep track of points for both teams at the table. The scorekeeper will draw a vertical line down the center of the Table Tally Sheet and label the first column “US” and the other column “THEM.”

At the sound of the bell (Table One rings the bell) someone at each table should pick up the dice and begin rolling. If the roller rolls a ONE they get to keep rolling. If no ONEs are rolled the player’s turn ends, and they pass the dice to the player on their left. Each ONE rolled counts as one point. Three ONEs rolled at once is a Bunco (if you are on round one), at which time the person rolling will shout BUNCO! And earn a score of 21 added to whatever they earned up to that point, they should now take posession of the Bunco Buddy and need to mark the Bunco on their score card, and then continue rolling until no more ONEs are rolled. Three of a kind of any other number besides a ONE when you are on round one scores as 5 points, and the player gets to continue rolling.

Whomever is holding the Bunco Buddy is responsible for passing it along to the new Bunco roller when they yell, and need to tell them which Bunco they rolled (1^st, 7^th, 10^th, etc.). So if you roll a Bunco, and yell, the person who tosses the Bunco Buddy at you will tell you which Bunco number you rolled (it will be the next number after the one they rolled), and you’ll mark that on your scorecard.

Keeping score… let’s say it is round ONE; the roller rolls a ONE with her first roll, everyone at the table would say “one” and the scorekeeper, if she was on the same team would make a tally under US, then if the roller rolled another ONE with the second roll, everyone would say “two” and the scorekeeper would mark another tally under US, and if she rolled another ONE with the third roll, all the players at that table would say “three” and the scorekeeper would mark another tally, then if she rolled 3 fives, everyone would say “eight” (3+5) and the scorekeeper would mark the five more tallies, then if she rolled three ONES, that would be a BUNCO, and everyone would say “29” (8+21) and the scorekeeper would mark the tallies), the roller would catch the Bunco Buddy as it sailed through the air toward her, mark on her scorecard which Bunco she got, and pick up the dice and roll again. But if this time she rolled a 2, 4, and 5, with her dice her turn would be over. Her total score would be 29, as recorded by the scorekeeper, and she’d pass the dice to the player on her left, which is a player on the opposing team.

Now, if she was sitting at Table ONE, someone at that table would ring the bell marking that round ONE is over, because whenever a score of 25 is reached at Table ONE the round is over for everyone. If she was sitting at Table Two or Three and Table ONE has not rung the bell yet, play would continue until the bell has sounded.

A night of Bunco consists of three sets of play (notice the three sets of numbers 1-6 on the personal score cards). Each set consists of 6 rounds. The first round everyone rolls ONEs… the second TWOs… the third THREEs… etc., and you can only get a Bunco is your roll three of the number of the round that you are on. If your team ends the round with a higher score than the other team at the table, you both get to draw a circle around that number (if you were rolling for 3’s, you would circle the 3) on your scorecard for that set, the other team would mark an X on 3’s, and the two who circled get to move up a table (unless you are at Table ONE already, in which case you get to STAY at Table ONE). If you were the losing team you must draw an X over that number on the set you were playing, and you stay at your current table (unless you were at Table ONE, and in that case you must move all the way down to Table THREE), and if you were already at Table 3, you just stay there.

When you stay or move to your next Table the two of you must also change partners, so you will have a new teammate for the next round. And it will continue to change from table to table all night.

Please consult the rules of play in your purchased Bunco Box, if mine seem confusing.

At the end of the third set all players add up their circled games, plus their total of Buncos for a TOTAL SCORE, which they will write in the bottom space on their score cards. The score cards can then be lined up on Table ONE from highest score to lowest. In case of a tie for high score those players will roll off to determine who should take the prize. If the player that wins the roll off is also a winner of either first or last Bunco they forfeit that secondary prize and the person who rolled the second or next to last Bunco wins the prize instead.

Once all prizes are awarded, dessert is served.

Some Bunco groups that I have belonged to have served alcoholic beverages during play, and others, for various reasons did not. Use your best judgment in serving wine, frozen Margaritas, Sangria, or designer Martini’s considering that most of your guests are likely driving, and some may be addicts trying to stay sober. Italian sodas, Iced tea (straight up or flavored, hot or cold), fruity lemonades, and designer coffees (flavored, regular or decaf, hot or cold) are good alternatives.

Would you like to start a monthly Bunco group with your neighbors, or just have a Bunco Party now and then? There’s no better time than the present to get started hosting one and see where it ends up.

OTHER BUNCO THEMES TO TRY,

now that you’ve gotten the ball…or…umm…dice rolling. 🙂

Red Hat Ladies Bunco

Pajama Party Bunco

Come as you are Bunco:

Make your calls to your guests to see if they can all make it, do it at a time when you think they may be wearing something they wouldn’t want anyone to see them wearing, without makeup maybe, or dressed up super fancy. Maybe early Saturday morning, or at night just before bedtime. Maybe when you know they are gardening, or painting the back bedroom. Inform them that your Bunco party is a COME AS YOU ARE party and they must come exactly as they were at that moment.

Halloween Masquerade Bunco:

All players come in complete disguise. Spend the evening trying to keep your identity under wraps (by altering your voice to a Mickey Mouse voice, using a heavy made up accent, or whispering, etc.). See how long everyone can stay in character. At the end of round one give each person a number to wear around their neck, and give each player a sheet with the numbers 1-12 listed. While everyone is endulging in snacks, have each person write next to each number who they think that person is. At the end of round two do the big reveal. Then round three you can all relax and just play.

Strip Bunco (It’s actually a pool party – or hot tub party, but you can keep that a secret to the end if you wish):

Oooo, racy! Invite your fun girlfriends to this one, the playful ones with a sense of humor. Don’t tell your guests anything except the theme and that they will lose clothing for every loss. Let them think the worst (hopefully you have a group with a fun sense of humor).

All you are going to tell your guests is that they better wear lots of clothes, and just to be safe, that they should wear their swimming suits underneath. If someone loses all their clothes down to their bathing suit that’s all the farther they will have to go. No one loses past their swim suit. You can choose to tell everyone up front, or once they arrive at your house, or make them sweat to the end of the game, and spill the beans only when someone is having a panic attack.

The night should be a lot of laughs, but here’s the really fun part: Dessert will be served in the hot tub. Whatever you are wearing at the end of Bunco is what you’ll be wearing in the hot tub. Some people who thought themselves pretty sassy for not losing very much will think differently whilst they sit in a hot tub with 6 shirts, 3 pairs of socks, and 2 hats on their head. Ha! Okay, I’m not really that mean. They can shuck their duds to join us.

Monthly Holiday Theme’s:

SEPTEMBER-Grandparent’s Day- everyone brings photos, either of their grandkids or grandparents. These can be shown around and bragged about, or put on a bulletin board for everyone to guess whose people belong to whom.

NOVEMBER-Thanksgiving-feast

DECEMBER-Christmas-white-elephant &/OR ornament exchange

JANUARY-I-Have-A-Dream (everyone shares a crazy dream they recently had, or something they are passionate about, from having a fast food restaurant that serves only fresh fruit and veggies, to making it mandatory that all kids learn to write with both hands in school, to health insurance for pets, or whatever they’d like to change about our world)

FEBRUARY-Valentines, Mardi-Gras, Super-Bowl-tailgate, Academy Awards

MARCH-Saint-Patty’s-Day, Easter Egg Hunt

APRIL Fools (encourage light-hearted pranks and Bubba Teeth silliness)

MAY-Mother’s-Day-garden-party or Memorial Day (honor Mom, or a military member)

JUNE-Father’s Day BBQ

4^th-of-JULY picnic, fireworks, and party poppers

AUGUST-Beach party, or Back-to-School

Football Theme

High School or College Alma Mater Theme

60’s Theme

Beehive (hairdo) theme

Punk or Goth theme

AND SOMETHING ELSE…

You can decide if your group wants to do appetizers and dessert or a full meal, and who will bring what.

Usually the HOST provides beverages and table snacks (usually a bowl or two of something – something sweet and something salty, like chips, pretzels, cheese doodles, Chex mix, Cheez-its, flavored popcorns, mixed nuts, etc. and M&Ms, Hershey kisses, Nibs, jelly beans, Halloween candy, and such).

Or, if doing a meal the HOST provides beverages and the main dish and everyone else brings sides.

Usually the GUESTS take turns providing carry in appetizers (ie. cheese and crackers, veggie tray, fruit platter, stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, cream cheese veggie pizza, etc.) and/or desserts (cake, pie, cookies, etc.).

Or, if doing a meal the GUESTS bring in the sides (salads, veggie sides, starchy sides, bread, and desserts).

Good luck with your party. If you think about it, would you please come back here and tell me how yours went? I’d love to hear. God bless you.

Some of the kooks that showed up to my Shindig! :) — Some of the kooks that showed up to my April Fools Shindig! 🙂

Here are the PRINTABLES: https://mrshlovesjesus.wordpress.com/bunco-printables/

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“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God…'” Psalm 14:1

Entertaining, Feast on This, Holidays, Saint Patrick's Day

Irish for a Day – Saint Patty’s Supper Recipes

March 16, 2015January 27, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

Now, a girl with the name COLLEEN simply must, absolutely recognize Saint Patty’s Day with a dainty feast fit for a leprechaun, don’tcha think? Yes, she simply must!

And this Colleen (Irish Gaelic for “girl”) is a BIG fan of corned beef and cabbage, even though I met an Irish laddy once who said he’d never heard of it until he came to America. Apparently it isn’t an Irish dish at all. Well, I guess my family has been here too long and we’ve forgotten. Anyway, I don’t care. I must have it at least for St. Patty’s Day. And the leftovers make for a right amazing Reuben sandwich (dark rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, 1,000 Island dressing, Swiss cheese, and then grilled like a Panini) – YUM, …or… Reuben Cream Cheese Dip on little rye melba toasts.

And this is how I make my Corned Beef…

CORNED BEEF, CABBAGE, AND BABY NEW POTATOES

2 large corned beef, (will shrink in size when cooked)

2 Tbsp Pickling Spices

2 small bags of baby red or yellow Potatoes

2 sticks of butter

1 large green cabbage chopped into bite-size pieces

Seasoned Salt (or Creole Seasoning)

Preheat oven to 325*F. Rinse corned beef well and pat dry with paper towels. Place fat side up in a large crock pot, early in the day. Add clean, cool water until meat is almost totally covered. Sprinkle the fatty tops with the pickling spices that came with the roast, and also an extra Tbsp of pickling spices per portion of meat. Cover with lid and let cook on high setting all day (at least six hours or more). Check for doneness at the sixth hour and if meat falls apart easily it is done. If not, cover and allow to continue cooking another hour. Check and repeat as necessary. When meat is tender, turn the temp to warm and proceed making the rest of the meal.

Place potatoes (whole and unpeeled) in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil (you can use the broth from the meat if you desire, but if you do, then do NOT add salt). Boil gently for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, as the potatoes are nearing done, in a large frying pan, melt a stick of butter until it has separated and clarified. With the heat on medium high, place chopped cabbage in the butter and stir fry it until just tender and slightly translucent — just a minute or two. Turn heat down to low, add another stick of butter, and the cooked potatoes (cutting them in quarters as you add them). Toss both together until completely coated in melted butter. Taste to see if it needs salt and add Creole Seasoning as necessary.

Remove meat from crock pot to a serving dish, slice the meat with a sharp knife, and drizzle with reserve liquid (make sure pickling spices have been filtered out). You can whip up a quick batch of horseradish sauce for those who desire it (my husband must have it). To make this sauce I add about a teaspoon of prepared horseradish to about half a cup of dairy sour cream and stir.

TO SERVE: Pile slices of meat on plates and spoon cabbage and potatoes on the side. Serve while piping hot, with a little prepared horseradish sauce dalloped on top of the meat, if desired.

EASY IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round ball and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. HINT: To give a real authentic look, before baking any Irish bread recipe use a knife to cut a cross in the top of the loaf. According to old Irish folklore, the cross will ward off the devil. The Irish are a quirky superstitious people! Don’t you love us?

Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.
This Irish bread recipe makes 1 (1 1/2 pound) loaf, 15 servings.

IRISH BEEF STEW WITH GUINNESS® STOUT

Ingredients: (may want to double or triple for a large crowd)
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 bay leaves
2 pounds beef stew meat cut in 2 inch cubes
1 large white onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, whole
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (mixed with a little cold water)
2 14-oz cans beef stock
1/2 cup Guinness® stout
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 pound carrots, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat a 6-quart Dutch oven. Add the oil and the bay leaves. Cook the bay leaves for a moment, toss the meat in flour and then add to pot. Brown the meat on both sides on high heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for a few minutes until it is clear. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and flour, and stir well until smooth. Add the beef stock and stout; simmer, stirring, until the stew thickens a bit. Add the remaining ingredients and cover. (No potatoes? This must have been a recipe from the potato famine era – you may add a couple large Yukon gold potatoes if you wish).

Place the pot in a 275° F oven for about 2 hours, stirring a couple of times. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. Serves 4. Delicious served with a big GREEN SALAD with GREEN GODDESS dressing!!!

And for Dessert…
EASY IRISH WHISKEY CAKE
Ingredients:
Cake:
1 yellow cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/3 cup Irish whiskey
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Glaze:
1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 to 1 cup Irish whiskey (to your taste)
Strawberries and whipped cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease and flour a Bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool; invert onto plate. Prick holes in cake with wooded kabob skewer. Melt butter in saucepan. Add water and sugar. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; slowly stir in whiskey. Drizzle over top and sides of cake, allowing it to be absorbed into cake. Continue until all glaze is used. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream on top.

HINT: The secret to success with this Irish dessert recipe is that it tastes best when it has been made the day before serving. And, what’s really special is to find fresh, ripe strawberries growing on your strawberry plants for a garnish!!!

Cocktails:

CHEF SHERIDAN’S ORIGINAL IRISH COFFEE RECIPE:
• Heat up a stemmed whiskey goblet, or coffee mug.
• Pour in one shot of Irish whiskey.
• Drop in three white sugar cubes.
• Fill nearly to the top of the goblet with strong black coffee (stop about an inch from the rim).
• Stir gently.
• Pouring it over the back of a spoon, gently add heavy cream to fill the goblet, floating it on top of the coffee.
• Do not stir – the full flavor as intended is achieved by sipping this drink through the cream.

Hint: If at all possible, use fresh cream with no additives for the best effect. Most heavy cream for sale in stores in the United States contains additives, which can actually make it difficult to float the cream on the coffee. If you find that you’re having this trouble, try beating the cream only until thickened, not fully whipped and carefully sliding a dollop on top.

Now what about the table?

I like to scatter my table with little paper shamrocks (I’ve written little Irish blessings on all of mine and laminated them so I can use them year after year), and gold foil chocolate coins.

Now we can’t just have supper all by itself. That would be boring. It has to also SOUND Irish while we are eating and so while you are out shopping for groceries, grab yourself a CD of Irish music and have it playing while you make your supper, and also while your guests arrive to help you eat it. One of my favorite CD’s is Celtic Tribute Players, Tribute to Flogging Molly. It is just instrumental. But you can look for another Celtic CD selection at Wal-mart. There is always something Irish in their line up of mood music, usually near the candle section.

Here’s a fun song from The Celtic Tribute Players tribute to Flogging Molly:

And after supper, cuddle everybody up on the couch and watch a movie. I happen to like Far and Away, because even though my family did not come across an ocean or build the railroad tracks that brought them there, my beloved family did come all the way across the country to do the Oklahoma Land run, featured in this movie. And even more than that, the cannon used to signal the start of the race (in the movie) was borrowed from old Fort Casper (or was it Old Fort Laramie?) in Wyoming. So, it is a wonderful little tradition to watch it every Saint Patrick’s Day. 🙂

I’ll leave you with some of my most favorite Irish Blessings…

May the blessing of the five loaves and the two fishes which God divided among the five thousand be ours; and may the King who made the division put luck in our food and in our portion.

Bless, O Lord, this food we are about to eat; and we pray You, O God, that it may be good for our body and soul; and if there be any poor creature hungry or thirsty walking along the road, send them into us that we can share the food with them, just as You share your gifts with us.

May this food restore our strength, giving new energy to tired limbs, new thoughts to weary minds. May this drink restore our souls, giving new vision to dry spirits, new warmth to cold hearts. And once refreshed, may we give new pleasure to You, who gives us all.

The grace of God and the favor of St. Patrick on all that we see and all that we do. The blessing that God put on the five loaves and the two fishes, may He put on this food.

OTHER GRACES

From the orchards of Armagh
to the fields of Wicklow,
May God bless the farmer’s work
and help his crops to grow.
And St. Swithin intercede for him
that weather rain or shine
his labors are rewarded
this coming harvest time.

Like the gold of the sun, like the light of the day, may the luck of the Irish shine bright on your way. Like the glow of a star, and the lilt of a song may these be your joys all your life long.

Bless the house
and bless the hearth,
bless the work
and bless all here.

May your faith be strong
May your heart be true
and the devil n’er
make a liar of you.

May you be blessed with
warmth in your home,
love in your heart,
peace in your soul
and joy in your life.

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May God grant you always…
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light.
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May your blessings outnumber
The Shamrocks that grow.
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

May your troubles be less,
And your blessing be more.
And nothing but happiness,
Come through your door.

He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses more;
He who loses faith, loses all.

IRISH TOASTS

May you live as long as you want,
and never want as long as you live.

May the grass grow long
on the road to hell for want of use.

As you slide down the banisters of life
may the splinters never point the wrong way.

May your troubles be as few and as far apart
as my Grandmothers teeth.

May the roof above us never fall in,
and may we friends gathered below never fall out.

May the Lord keep you in His hand
and never close His fist too tight.

May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you, The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

May I see you grey and combing your children’s hair.

May your doctor never earn a dollar out of you
and may your heart never give out.
May the ten toes of your feet steer you clear
of all misfortune, and before you’re much older,
may you hear much better toasts than this.

May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been,
the foresight to know where you’re going
and the insight to know when you’re going too far.

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings,
slow to make enemies, quick to make friends.
But rich or poor, quick or slow,
may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

May the frost never afflict your spuds.
May the outside leaves of your cabbage
always be free from worms.
May the crow never pick your haystack,
and may your donkey always be in foal.

Here’s to you and yours, and to mine and ours.
And if mine and ours ever come across to you and yours,
I hope you and yours will do as much for mine and ours,
As mine and ours have done for you and yours!

May you live to be a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent!

May those who love us love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

“So he brought him into his house and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.” Judges 19:21

*This entry taken from the book Come for Supper? the memoirs of a reluctant hostess, by Colleen Hill Hoffman. If you enjoyed it you might also enjoy my Asian Hot Pot party, Polynesian luau supper, Cajun crab boil for a crowd, or Brazilian steak house home feast. Look for my book at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and lulu.com. or search for it in Google Books. Thanks for reading and God bless you. 🙂

Easter Traditions & Recipes, Entertaining, Family Fun, Feast on This, Holiday Memories, Holidays, Summer Activities for Kids, Testimonies & Personal Stories

Mrs H’s Easter Dinner Cookbook

March 14, 2015December 30, 2017 mrshlovesjesus

Easter Traditions

After a busy morning of egg hunts and hide-and-seek baskets, our little brood (hubbie, kids, and me) would nab a quick breakfast and get ready for church. The first few years of our young Christian lives we just went to our church like normal, but somewhere along the way we decided to visit different churches for Easter. I guess just because Easter service is a show anyway and we already knew what our own church was doing, so why not explore. It’s been a neat tradition with many interesting experiences.

Our family has always leaned more toward the contemporary type churches with a little tradition mingled in, maybe wading toward the charismatic side but not off the deep end. One year we decided to try the Methodist church downtown, the big brick building with the gorgeous stained glass windows. The congregation, when we arrived, seemed mostly older. I recognized a few of the faces as high society movers and shakers in the community. We chose to sit in the balcony, since there wasn’t such a thing in our church, and marveled at the three-story high pipe organ that the organist played masterfully. I’ll admit I was distracted from the words in the hymnal for watching how much effort it was for her to play that immense thing. Her legs were jumping, her hands were all over the cascading terraces of keys, and she kept pushing and pulling levers while still working away at the melody. She coaxed amazing sound out of that gargantuan brass piped spectacle.

The church itself was so formal and so fancy with tall ceilings and carved walls, the balcony, and a pastor who stood at a podium at one side of the stage and wore a robe and a colored sash. It wasn’t anything like our casual, modern, smaller-budget church.

As incredible as the ambiance was, it wasn’t the most memorable part of our experience that day. That part was coming up. There was a darling family sitting right behind us who had a little girl about our Gracee’s age who had sneaked in some candy. Gracee had too. It kept them both occupied for most of the service. But as soon as the music stopped and it got quiet, and the pastor began his rehearsed and monotone sermon, alas, that’s when Gobstoppers exploded without warning and spilled like a sack of marbles onto the polished wooden floor beneath, making us all jump.

The million little balls rolled for what seemed like an eternity down the floor between everyone’s feet, hollering and screaming as they went, echoing into the rafters with deafening clarity. I wondered what it sounded like to the people in the pews below as it was ringing literally in our ears. With a hundred or more eyes all glaring in our direction, we lowered our eyes down to our Gracee fearing it was her doing, not daring to move our heads or move the expression on our faces at all, and she, with huge wide eyes herself, moved backward in the pew, cupped her left hand over her pointer finger, and pointed with desperate innocence behind us. We smiled in relief but didn’t dare look back that way to add more shame to their humiliation. We all just sat like stones and waited for the commotion to end. It finally did thank goodness and our attention turned once again back to the drone of the pastor’s eulogy.

Note to self: If we should ever come back to this church, never let the kid bring jawbreakers and sit in the balcony. Then again, it might have been God’s sense of humor to liven things up a little. Whew, it was stuffy in there.

Another year we visited the Assembly of God church at the foot of the mountain. The pastor there had invited his Christian motorcycle group to come and give the sermon. As the congregation sat quietly waiting, a man in leathers turned the key on his Harley, parked outside the sanctuary in the lobby, and then drove his super shiny rumbling machine into our midst and up the center aisle, with exhaust fumes trailing in his wake. He parked it sideways at the base of the pastor’s podium, turned off the engine, and began his sermon from the mount of his studded leather seat. The other tatted and muscle-bound members of the group, also decked in their riveted and logoed black leather jackets, hats, and chaps, sat in chairs flanking the preacher on either side. It was AWESOME! His sermon was good too. And looking around, I also noticed that I knew quite a few of the members who went to that church too, and they all came over and greeted us after.

Another year we attended the huge Highland Park service held at the Event’s Center, with its thousands in attendance, which is a lot for this community. It had that mega-church feel, like maybe a church in a big city would have. It was an amazing worship service put on by very talented musicians and extremely gifted singers, and projected like a concert from the stage out to us in the stadium, showcasing the enormous talents of its members. Their pastor preached a beautiful sermon and it was all just a gorgeous display. It was neat to see that I knew quite a few of those people as well… many were coworkers.

And one year we attended a smaller, more intimate church, where the worship and sermon was lively and interactive. The pastor was very engaging and authoritative. At one point in his preaching he wanted us all to raise our hands and worship the Lord in our spirits. We did. It was fairly easy as he was very charismatic and the congregation was all eager. When our collective response didn’t quite seem aggressive enough for his liking, he told us to stand to our feet and worship our Savior with cheers and shouting. He begged us to let go our inhibitions and give Jesus the kind of accolades we would dispense at a sporting event. We did, and it was loud and joyful. When that just still wasn’t quite corresponding to his yearning, he shouted to us to get up on our chairs and reach our arms to the ceiling and give the Lord a shout of glory. We did, we did, we did. And some jumped and bounced. And hallelujah we did! And even though it was just a tad outside of our comfort zone, and we felt a little silly, when in Rome, we did! And it was kind of amazing. And none of us got hurt!

Some Easter’s we’ve come home to a homemade feast and other times we’ve gone out. One year we had Easter dinner at Denny’s. Our waitress asked for our drink orders and then gave each of the girls a plastic Easter egg. She said there were little prizes inside. The girls opened their eggs and each had a slip of paper in it. The waitress took the papers and disappeared returning moments later with Dani’s prize, a nice little Easter basket with a few goodies in it. She was thrilled and began to rummage through it, Gracee looked on in wonder. The waitress disappeared and returned a few seconds later with the news that Gracee had won the grand prize, and then presented her with a huge white stuffed bunny rabbit with long dangling ears and a big blue bow tied around its neck. Gracee was surprised and her dad and I were thrilled for her. As he and I returned to our mugs of hot coffee we caught the look on Dani’s face. She was frozen with one hand still in her tiny basket, jaw dropped, eyes fixated on this giant furry outrage…

Oh dear, I better stop there. Long story short, this was the Easter that went down in the annals of our family history as the Easter of the loathsome big blue bunny. And with that I wish you all a happy Easter filled with special moments that make you smile, beam with precious memories, and love and laughter, and years and years of great traditions. God bless.

EASTER EGG HUNT FOR KIDS: When my kids were little and the few years of their age made a big difference in their abilities, I assigned one or two colors of eggs to each child and they were only allowed to “find” their own colors. This was the only way I figured would make the hunt fair for the younger one, and challenging for the older one. At the end of the egg hunt the kids then went on a scavenger hunt to find their Easter Baskets. This was one of the scripture scavenger hunts I put together for my kids when they were about 4 and 9. Their dad helped them with this because he was usually ready for church and I still needed to be. This gave me time to get dressed and my hair done. Then we got them dressed and our family headed off to worship our risen Lord.

SPECIAL NOTE: Since this blog post was originally written I have come up with another pretty dang fun and awesome, kid-approved (actually, “whole family approved”) all-day Easter activity that I’m pretty excited to share with you. Follow this link to more Easter Fun & Games!

Easter Chatterbox

Your kids can use this little “cootie catcher” as a way to share their faith and the Easter story with their friends and classmates:

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RECIPES

Our Easter Dinner is usually pretty simple. Who has time to fuss in the kitchen when we’re going to be dolling up for and going to church all morning? I like to have it ready when we get home, so we can enjoy the after dinner egg hunts and games and crafts and whatever.

For my Glazed Ham…

I start with a nice hickory smoked (if you know somebody that does them locally – mmmmm those are the best), spiral sliced ham that only basically needs to be heated because it is already cooked. Just wrap the ham in foil and heat as instructed on the package directions (mine, as you can see, got a little over heated waiting for us to return from church – I would recommend a little lower temperature on that oven if you are doing what I did and are trying to have dinner ready to serve as you walk in the door from church). I whipped up a batch of Jezebel Sauce a day or two before so I would have it to glaze the ham with, and then to plate it I covered mine with whatever fruits I had on hand, fresh or canned. On this day I covered mine with a large can of Fruit Cocktail and some sliced oranges. You could go with peaches, pineapple, pears, plums, cherries, mango, apples, appricots, or whatever!

Jezebel Sauce

1 (18 ounce) jar peach preserves

1 (18 ounce) jar orange marmalade

1 (18 ounce) jar apple preserves

1 (18 ounce) jar pineapple preserves

5/8 cup ground dry mustard

1 (4 ounce) jar prepared horseradish

In a bowl thoroughly mix all ingredients. May be stored in sterile containers in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Great as a glaze or served poured over cream cheese and served with wheat thins crackers.

Plate your hot ham, decorate it with the fruit, and pour the glaze over. Return it to the oven to warm the glaze and fruits, approximately 15 minutes. Serve.

Scalloped Potatoes

I’m rather fond of Martha Stewart’s recipe, although I left the skins on my taters, added some red onion, a sprinkle of pepper, and also some rosemary for garnish after it had baked. And because I had covered mine with foil it didn’t have her lovely golden top on it.

And I’m completely nuts for this cold, crunchy Pea Salad!

This is the dressing. Mix it up in a large bowl.

1/3 cup sour cream

1 T. Mayo

1 T. vinegar

Salt and Pepper

This is the salad:

4 cups. frozen peas

1/2 small red onion, chopped

6 oz. cheddar cheese cut into small cubes

3 T. chopped fresh parsley

Add the salad ingredients to the dressing in the large bowl. Cover with plastic and keep in fridge for 2 to 4 hours before serving.

When ready to serve…

Crumble 8 slices of crispy cooked bacon. Transfer the pea salad to a serving dish and garnish with the bacon, or you can add the bacon to the salad before transferring to your serving dish, whichever you prefer.

And for dessert…

EASY STRAWBERRY NAPOLEONS RECIPE

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cold whole milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups whipped topping
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. Unfold thawed puff pastry on cutting board.

With a sharp knife, cut pastry into nine squares. Place on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar and vanilla; set aside. In another bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for two minutes.

Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set. Stir in whipped topping and until thoroughly blended. Cover and refrigerate.

To assemble, split puff pastry squares horizontally for a total of 18 squares. Set aside six tops. Place six of the remaining puff pastry pieces on individual serving plates. Spread about 1/4 cup pudding mixture over each pastry square. Top with a spoonful of strawberries and another piece of puff pastry. Spread remaining pudding mixture over pastry pieces. Top with remaining strawberries and reserved pastry tops.

In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Transfer chocolate to a small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Cut a tiny corner from bag; squeeze chocolate over napoleons. Yield: 6 servings.

Visit my Pinterest Easter Feast page for more recipes!

P.S. Got leftover ham?

Here are my two favorite things to do with it…

Ham & Potato Casserole

6 potatoes cut into slices or cubes as you prefer (or a bag of frozen hash browns)

2 cups diced ham leftovers

2 cups shedded cheese

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 stick of butter, melted

2/3 pint carton heavy cream

3 Tbls flour

1 jalapeno, diced

A sprinkle or two of spicy dry rub seasoning (basically just cayenne powder and ground black pepper)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl and pour out into a large greased casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove foil, give the dish a good stir, return to oven and bake an additional 1/2 hour uncovered. If it appears to be getting too golden on top, it is probably done. My oven seems to take a little longer than other peoples. This dish is a great way to get rid of several things you might have left in your fridge. 🙂

Deviled Ham (for sandwiches)

These are my husband’s favorite!!!! He will flat out gorge on them for two solid days in a row. So I usually make all the deviled ham into sandwiches, lay them in a casserole dish, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and store it in his “mancave” fridge where he can just help himself until he is sick. LOL! P.S. I rarely measure my ingredients for this (although I did for you this time to make sure it would turn out), but I never have the exact same amount of leftover ham, so I’m going to say we start with 2 cups of ground ham and you can double or half the other ingredients in porportion to what you have, okay?

I grind my leftover ham in a hand-crank grinder (old school), and then to approximately 2 cups of ground ham I add:

1/2 tsp. ground pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/3 cup minced onion (about a quarter of a large onion)

1/3 cup minced celery (about 1 rib of celery)

4 Tbsps sweet pickle relish

1 Tbsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard

Moisten with mayonaise until misture holds together and is slightly creamy. I start with a good heaping serving spoon of Mayo, and then maybe a little more than that.

Mix together by tossing and stirring until everything is mixed well. Cut the crusts off of your favorite white sandwich bread. Spread slices with the deviled ham and cover with another slice of bread. Cut sandwiches into quarters and poke a decorative toothpick through to hold them together. Serve with whatever was leftover on the relish tray (carrot sticks, cream cheese stuffed celery sticks, green and black olives, deviled eggs, spicy pickled okra, spicy pickled jardinière mix, pickled asparagus, dilled green beans, little dill and sweet pickles, etc.), chips, or whatever you have. These go great with cheddar cheese soup. Check out my recipe in my blog post “Soups On.” (<<< click link)

“And when [Herod] had apprehended [Peter], he put him in prison…intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Acts 12:4 (KJV)

Entertaining, Feast on This, Fun with Friends, Murder Mystery Party

How to Host a Murder®

March 11, 2015July 3, 2016 mrshlovesjesus

Τhe air was crisp on that November evening, in our desolate little town. Howling winds raged in the darkness and barren cottonwoods swayed in the furor. A cluster of fallen leaves straggled across the street like a gang of miscreants, and a dog barked in the distance to the rhythmic sounds of footsteps crunching across the newly fallen snow.

Out of the blustery umbra a bristly figure appeared in the moonlight, undaunted by the fierce weather around him. He approached the old house, mounted the rickety front porch steps, and lumbered towards the entrance, making the windows of the dwelling shudder with each quaking stride. An abandoned cob web snagged against his cumbersome wool coat as he reached to open the door. Grasping the tarnished brass knob in his strong clutches and turning it slowly, the heavy, weatherbeaten door screeched open on its hinges. A tiny mouse squeaked and scurried beneath his feet as he stepped across the threshold into the darkened room.

A mysterious, persistent smell invaded his nostrils and wafted in the air eventhough an eerie silence hinted the old house was empty. Gloom hung thick in the room. Lurking silhouettes hunched as ominous obstacles throughout the quarters making it hard for him to set a course. Beyond the menacing shadows he glimpsed a faint light from an outside street lamp peeping through a kitchen window, illuminating a meager corridor into the next room.

Pursuing the glow, the stalwart man drew near to the entrance of the kitchen, where the narrow rays of soft yellow light exposed a dreadfully macabre scene and what appeared to be a bloody knife left precariously behind on the countertop.

Was he too late? Had someone beat him there?

His heart throbbed in his chest. He reached for a weapon. His mind raced for what to do next. All-at-once the looming silence was broken by a shrill screech from a far-off room, and then a startling crash.

The man lunged in the direction of the racket, adrenaline pulsating in his veins. Goaded by masculine fortitude, he felt his way along the walls as he slithered surreptitiously down the staircase. His eyes were pinned open as he scanned the darkness for any slight movement. Struggling to control his erratic breathing he bravely decended to the bottom step where suddenly, out of the obscurity, a boney, emaciated figure crashed into him and groaned. The man gasped in surprise…

Did I have you going? Did I? Wringing my hands and cackling a wicked little laugh. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee. Oh, how fun. Alright, here’s the reality behind this teaser. The intruder was actually my husband coming in from work. The house was dark because, well, it’s November, and I’d been on the computer most the afternoon since putting supper in the crock pot earlier in the day and hadn’t noticed that the sun had gone down, so none of the lights were on in the house upstairs, and unfortunately for husband I had rearranged all the furniture that morning as well, so that’s why the room was hard for him to walk through.

When I heard his footsteps upstairs it was right about at the same moment I had just discovered the perfect idea for my mystery-loving Mom’s birthday party, which sent me bolting to my feet and squealing with delight. In the chaos my chair fell backwards to the floor with a deafening crash. I just left it lay and hurried to greet my loving man. That’s when our bodies collided at the bottom of the stairs. And there you have the inspiration for my little attempt at fictional writing. How did I do? Meh…don’t quit my day job, right? 🙂

How to Host a Murder is a long-running series of boxed murder mystery games published by Decipher, Inc. Players take on the roles of suspects after a murder has occurred, all attempting to expose which one of them is the murderer.

Decipher Games may be out of business now, but their games live on and are available at Amazon.com, eBay, and several online game stores like Funagain Games. I have also found them at garage sales and thrift shops. If you Google the titles (I’ve listed most of them below), several buying options should come up. The games first came out in the early/mid eighties, and most have been revised and updated. Definitely look for the newer versions. They are just so much better written, and the very newest ones will include a CD instead of a cassette.

Your game box should include:

A cassette tape (or CD)

A host guide with instructions

A sheet of secret clues

8 Guest invitations and envelopes

8 Name tags

8 player manuals, containing secret information

A diagram of the crime scene

Optional dinner and costume suggestions

This is how your party will basically play out:

You choose your guests (you’ll need seven of them plus yourself makes eight), send out the invitations (included) at least a couple weeks in advance, and provide the meal and beverages. Each guest’s invitation includes a leaflet about the character that they will be playing. Your guests will be searching second hand stores, vintage clothing shops, Salvation Army, and costume stores for the perfect outfit to wear, and they will be studying up on their character so they can get their part just right for the night of the party. Participants are to come to the party in costume and in character. Give your guests suggestions for where to find costumes, and give them time to round them up.

As the host you also will have your character to play, and therefore will need the same preparation. In addition, you will be serving a suggested three course meal (usually fairly easy), which you will need to prepare ahead of time. You might choose to decorate as well, and have some sort of music to lend atmosphere while guests are reading their scripts and eating. The cassette or CD will also include some background music, and it will have all the narrative to explain the game to the guests. All you do is press the play button.

The game comes with booklets for each character, which you hand out at the start of your party. They resemble play scripts. You will gather your guests around and play the cassette/CD at the beginning of your party. It will explain everything, instruct everyone on what they are to do, and set the scene. You and your guests will play the game in three acts (each act being made up of one part: reading scripts, so everyone knows what their character did and did not do, and then the second part: aggressively interrogating the other guests, and being aggressively interrogated, in an effort to piece together the mystery). A course of supper will be served at each intermission.

I chose:

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE GUILTY, because it takes place in the little Wyoming Territorial town of Roadkill (on July 2, 1881). In response to a warm invitation from His Honor, Judge Waylon Payne, I invited my guests to be gathered in his home beside the courthouse, in the heart of town, for a sumptuous dinner. Dinner was to be followed by the hanging of the infamous, formerly elusive Malevolent Seven – a villainous gang of criminals rumored to have secretly victimized our fair territory for many years. Although no one knew the identity of the Malevolent Seven, my guests and I spent the evening figuring it out. Assuming the role of an Old West Character we solved the murder that occured just before the festivities, by using the clues provided, the crime scene diagram, etc., and in the process exposed the many secrets of Roadkill, Wyoming.

I set the scene of my party by decorating the living room and dining room with western theme decorations I found at our local party store. They had a swinging saloon door that I hung in the doorway to the kitchen, and another in the doorway to the bathroom. I decorated my table with gunny sack material covered with a clear plastic table cloth, and used bandanas for napkins, and piled the center of the table with a couple of old revolvers, some spent bullet casings, and a vase of roses. I threw some saddle blankets over the couches and draped a lasso off the back rest. I also found a great CD of old west wagon train music that I had playing when guests arrived.

The Characters:

BUTCH CHASTITY
Legendary Butch Chastity is the first lady of outlaws. Her all-woman gang are the Amazons of the American West. There’s nothing coy or dainty about Butch. She can drink her fellow outlaws under the table; she can hold her own in a game of poker; she can rob a stagecoach in record time; and she can kill a man just as soon as look at him-and often does. In her secret hide-out, a place called the Hole in the Mud, Butch plans the most daring of heists, including her many famed train robberies. It has been rumored that Butch has gotten away with more gold than any outlaw alive. Costume Suggestion: Dungarees or jeans, boots, suspenders, gun belt, pistol, holster, bandanna and cowboy hat.

P’ELVIS SWAGARIN
When a mysterious lone gunslinger rides into some dusty western town, it’s usually P’elvis Swagarin. Solemn, poker-faced, bowlegged-he’s a cowboy’s cowboy. Born Peter Elvis Swagarin, he’s P’elvis to those who know him. He’s a man with no belongings but the shirt on his back, his gun and his saddle….a man who sleeps beneath the icy stars, a horse his only companion. P’elvis appeared out of the prairie heat just two days ago, and ever since he arrived, the whole town of Roadkill has been whispering in hushed tones, wondering who he is and what he wants… Costume Suggestion: Dungarees or jeans, chaps, boots and spurs, suspenders, gun belt, pistol, holster, bandanna and cowboy hat.

HELENA HANDCART
Matriarch of the Handcart clan, Helena is the mother of the Handcart boys: all thirteen of them. Billy-Bob, Bobby-Rae, Little Ricky, Martin and Lewis, Harpo, Groucho, Sleepy, Sneezy, Manny, Moe and Jack. Oh-and, of course, the Beav. Unfortunately, she had to bury all thirteen of her sons after they were tragically killed in a shoot-out at a dairy farm. The now infamous gunfight at the Parkkay Corral left her with nothing but memories. A strong woman, she has been able to survive, although most of the time she remains secluded on the sprawling Handcart Ranch, managing the family cattle business. Helena owns half the territory and never lets anyone forget it. Costume Suggestion: Long black skirt with matching blouse, brooch, gloves, bonnet.

CHIEF BREAKING WIND
Chief Breaking Wind is the distinguished leader of the Cowpai tribe-an honorary position these days, since the entire Cowpai tribe fell victim to a mysterious disease several years ago and perished. Still, the stoic chief keeps his traditions alive, trusting that, with his help, the Cowpai will rise again. Unwillingly relieved of his tribal responsibilities, the chief has since opened a successful barber shop in town and, ignorant historical references notwithstanding, hasn’t scalped a soul. Still, no one ever angers the chief. Costume Suggestion: War paint and a breechclout for the truly adventurous; loose-fitting trousers, tunic with embroidered or painted symbols, native-design blanket, moccasins or soft, slouchy boots, black braids, feather headdress. (I also brought along a woopie cushion).

ELVIRA-LYNN FEKSHIN
Elvira-Lynn is the consummate soiled dove and makes no bones about it, so to speak. She’s known throughout the territory, and there’s even that famous saloon song written about her- My Heart Burns for You, and Other Places, Too. She’s the proud madam of the Pigeon Ranch, the best little you-know-what in Roadkill. Since Judge Waylon Payne is one of her steadiest clients, the law does a good job of looking the other way. To look at her now, you’d never guess she was born in the gutter and suffered a sickly childhood, battling everything from consumption to bubonic plague. But now she spreads, among other things, sunshine wherever she goes. Costume Suggestion: Low-cut blouse, corset, garters and patterned hose, be-ribboned bloomers, fancy hat with feather plumes, cigarette holder.

WYATT HERTZ
Wyatt Hertz is by far the most famous lawman in the West. He kept the wild frontier town of Roadkill under tight control, keeping the locals in line with an iron fist of fear. That is, until a shotgun blast caught him in the tender parts. Legend has it that Wyatt was ambushed by the vicious Partridge Family gang, and he didn’t stand a chance. That was a year ago. Since then, he’s retired, letting Judge Waylon Payne reign as both sheriff and justice of the peace. Now Wyatt runs a lucrative rent-a-horse business. He never lost a gunfight, and some folks believe he could take out a whole gunslingin’ gang with a single round from his six-shooter. Costume Suggestion: Dungarees or trousers, full-cut white shirt with black scarf or bolo, brocade vest.

DEE ADELA MUERTE
She is known as just Adela to her friends. Adela is a Mexican beauty with the most pious of spirits but is plagued by bad luck. She’s been thrice-widowed-each time as a newlywed. Her first husband, a local politician, died shamefully during one of his secret outings to the Pigeon Ranch. Her second husband, the town pastor, died while preaching, and her third husband, the town undertaker, keeled over from exhaustion while planting the thirteen Handcart boys. Now poor Adela is left to deliver Sunday sermons and forced to become town undertaker. Still, she knows that she will rise above her misfortune. Until then, she’ll continue to wear her black mourning veil. Costume Suggestion: Black blouse and long skirt, black gloves, large hat heavily draped with black net or tulle.

ELIAS TRUIST-HEATH
Young Elias is an up-and-coming heart-throb gunfighter. He can dazzle spectators with his quick draw and a spin from his guns, and when he’s not showing off his slinging skills, he’s demonstrating his pugilistic prowess. He’s known as the best brawler west of the Mississippi and comes out of every fight with nary a scratch. Orphaned as a boy, Elias was raised under the firm, wise hand of Judge Waylon Payne. After a patriotic stint with the U.S. Cavalry, Elias returned home to Roadkill and to the women who adore him. Costume Suggestion: Tight dungarees or jeans, half-unbuttoned plaid shirt showing genuine or applied chest hair, sideburns, mustache, bandanna tied at neck, gun belt, pistol, holster, boots and cowboy hat.

Not knowing what we were doing at first, we started out a little slow and timid, but in the end had a total blast!!!! The weather was the worst it could have possibly been outside with heavy snow and burly winds, but all my guests showed up, dressed charmingly, in character, and all were excited to play. If I’d have given out awards, Karen would have won the Emmy for her character performance of the saloon girl. She was a riot. This particular title suggested that the host make a roast chicken for supper (super easy – most grocery stores have these available in the deli), but having played the game I would suggest that you make a nice beef stew instead, and that is easily accomplished in a crock pot. I won’t tell you why the stew. You’ll have to just trust me.

I would also like to make this little warning. These games are a little racy. Especially the saloon girl’s part, and Wyatt and Butch’s parts as well (in this version we played). It’s not X-rated or anything like that, I wouldn’t say even R-rated really, and there is no explicit language that I remember, but the subject matter is maybe a little PG-13. The box warns that you need a sense of humor and a light-hearted attitude toward deceit, larceny, sex, and murder. But, the box also says, How to Host a Murder is so much fun, it’s almost criminal, and it really is.

If you or your guests would be offended at some of the “adult” themes, there are some teen mysteries you could try instead. Decipher has created three teen versions.

Some titles in Decipher’s How to Host a Murder (Adult) line-up are:

The Watersdown Affair (…finds you at the Watersdown Mansion, a 1930s English mansion and the elegant home of Sir Roger Watersdown. This colorful narrative includes characters such as Dr. Malcom K. T. Praktiss, the personal physician, the actress Miranda T. Shetes, the mystery author, the attorney, the socialite and more! Theres no shortage of suspects, glamour or scandal in this winding tale of murder, sex and deceit! This boxed game even includes invitations, a CD with period music, menu suggestions and more! Bring the game to life with costumes, props and theatrical flair for a party everyones dying to attend!

Powar and Greede (in this title players are guests of the producer W. Anton Powar. At a gala, guests find out that 1936 is curtains for a mutual friend).

The Grapes of Frath (set in June 1925, aboard a yacht in the Mediterranean. The Fraths have invited several “friends” for a cruise. In a secluded bay of a Mediterranean island, murder is discovered and the passengers must decide who amongst them has committed the crime).

The Last Train From Paris (Players role-play their parts, to figure out the murderer while dining in a train car during World War II).

Archaeologically Speaking, It’s The Pits (Arthur E. Faxe, the eccentric entrepreneur and amateur archaeologist, sails this month for ancient Mesopotamia in search of human fossils and in the hope of proving the Darwinian Theory of Evolution. Faxe has chosen a region of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley known since ancient times as Vages for the site of his expedition. This area is distinguished by an immense and prominent boulder that can be seen for miles and is known locally as the Rock of Vages. A small cleft, or opening, at the base of the rock is the site of an unusual collection of fossils. The cleft, discovered in 1854 by French archaeologist, Henri Formie, is described in scientific literature as Rock of Vages, Cleft Formie. By arrangement with the local government, Faxe and his entourage will establish an extensive camp in an abandoned military fort near the archaeological site and overlooking the Tigris River.)

Hoo Hung Wu (I have heard that this is a hard one. Some loved it; some hated it. The setting: The Autumn Moon Festival in eighth-century China, celebrated between two families).

♥ The Chicago Caper (This is a fun one that my crew has also played. Loved the costumes for this one!!! It is September 1928 in Chicago. Guests receive an invitation to S.P. Keasys place, a private club near the headquarters of notorious gangster Hal Cappone. Upon arriving, Hal is discovered murdered).

The Class of ’54 (Join the Roley High class of 1954 as they celebrate their fifth reunion with a performance by their most illustrious graduate, Rock N. Roley. You and your guests can enjoy burgers, fries and a cherry coke or malt (ambitious hosts can stick with the suggested menu of brandied pot roast) while you investigate the murder of a beloved rock star. The cassette tape, features a malt shop atmosphere and Sargent Joe Flighty’s tough-cop narrative, goes a long way toward setting the mood. Solve the murder of Rock N. Roley and expose the truth about the tragic death of Becky Sue Lamour on that fateful Homecoming night. A four-hour mystery dinner party for eight people).

The Duke’s Descent (You are invited to Airesborne Castle, family seat of the Dukes of Airesborne. Assume the role of one of the potential heirs to the title. Imagine your home is an English castle as you and your dinner guests enjoy hours of suspense and intrigue).

Tragical Mystery Tour (The Tragical Mystery Tour finds you among the tuned-in and turned on, off on a cross-country road trip to Beefstock with one of the hippest rock singers of all time. While you’re hanging out at her love pad, an explosion rocks the house. The psychedelic bus has been turned to dust with someone on board. This one got lots of good ratings on Amazon).

Maiming of the Shrew (It is the Twelfth Night of Christmas, and you’ve been invited by renowned playwright William Sheepsheare and his beloved Lady Katheter deVane to dine like kings and queens at the Glib Theatre. But, when you arrive, there are blood stains upon the stage).

Roman Ruins (Roman Ruins blends history and mystery for a hilarious and captivating evening of devilish delight! Having mentioned your name in his Roman epic, the renowned poet, Flabbius Corpus, invites you to a banquet for the premier recitation of his historical work. When you arrive, you discover theres been a murder in the garden and a priceless statue is missing).

An Affair to Dismember (One of the newer releases. Set in the Castle Von Morgue in Deadbolt, Transylvania on All Hallows Eve. Written by award winning author Neil Shusterman, the guest list includes: The Mummy of King Aldrinktotat, a Rogers and Hammerstein monster, a kosher cannibal, a deadly dentist, a flamboyant clairvoyant, a wicked witch and more! You assume the role of one of these ghoulish characters and solve the murder mystery on a dark and stormy night).

(There may be others)

So get you a box and a fun group and a good meal and a rockin’ costume and go have a blast!!!!

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints… is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Ephesians 1:26-28

Bible Study, Feast on This, Holidays, Hospitality, Jewish Feasts

Feast of Booths

November 16, 2014October 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

Continuing with our study of the feasts of Israel is this, our final feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. If you have missed the other studies, you may click the links here:

The Lord Our Passover (Passover & Unleavened Bread)

FIRSTFRUITS

Happy Firey Tongues Day (The Feast of Weeks – Pentecost)

Feast of Trumpets

Feast of Atonement & The Lamb’s Book of Life

My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Ezekiel 37:27 (NKJV)

THE FIRST TABERNACLE

Do you remember the story in the Old Testament where Moses went on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God, but returned only to find the Hebrew people had constructed a golden calf all that time he was gone, and were worshipping it? Aaaargh!!!! I think Moses was pretty much at his wits end with them. He angrily tossed and broke those stone tablets, and went straight to burn their stupid idol (32:20). In his frustration he went out and met with the Lord in a tent far away from the camp. He called it the tabernacle of meeting (33:7) and there God and he talked things out. The Lord asked Moses to come back up on the mountain and He would show him what to do.

When Moses returned to the mountain, God gave him instructions for building a Tabernacle of worship for the people, so that they could have Him with them in their wilderness wanderings. God made Himself accessible to the people.

Later, on in the timeline of history, when David became king, he sought to build God a permanent dwelling place, where the Ark of the Covenant (from all the way back in Moses’ day) could be kept. His son Solomon fulfilled his father’s vision, and the temple was built in Jerusalem.

Through the building of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:8; 29:45; Leviticus 26:11-12) and the construction of the temple (1 Kings 6:13, 14; 2 Chronicles 6:18), God demonstrated again and again an outward expression of His persistent desire to dwell with man. But we are to make no mistake… These tabernacles were only temporary provisions. God’s word tells us that He does not dwell “in temples made with hands.” (Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 7:48-50; 17:24, 25 cp. Jeremiah 7:4; Matthew 24:1, 2) (*http://www.dianedew.com/habitatn.htm)

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” 1 Kings 8:27 (NKJV)

God’s house on earth was regularly robbed and desecrated by evil kings throughout the Old Testament. And even in the New Testament religious people of that day were using it in ways that God never intended. Jesus overturned tables when He found that people were turning His Father’s house into a den of thieves.

In 70 AD God’s Tabernacle (Temple) on earth was finally destroyed for the last time when the Holy Land was conquered and God’s people were scattered over the face of the earth. It has never been rebuilt. All that remains is the western wall, where orthodox Jews and people from around the world go to pray and press their paper petitions into the cracks between the stones.

HISTORY OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

Though God’s tabernacle on earth was misused and eventually destroyed, The Father never wanted His people to forget about His dwelling place, because it was after all a copy and shadow of things to come. The design that He showed to Moses on that mountain was and is a copy and shadow of His tabernacle in heaven (Hebrews chapter 8 and 9; Revelation 21). The purpose of the tabernacle is to give man a place on his/her level to meet with our Maker, for the purpose of fellowship! A place where we can remember the covenant God has made with us, lay down our sins, learn of His will and His ways, and sup with Him! The ritual of “church” is a practice that, in it’s very best, gives us a picture of heaven. Our modern “church” is rooted out of an ancient Hebrew practice ordained by God…

“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.”

Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (NKJV)

jewish-sukkah-free-printable

The Jewish Feast of Ingathering or Feast of Booths, as it is sometimes called, is the last of the yearly feasts of Israel. It takes place in the fall, at the end (or ingathering) of the fruit harvest.

In modern Hebrew culture, The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is celebrated by God’s children who first put up a Sukkah (like a gazebo with an open air roof) in the days leading up to the feast date. It can be built on a porch (as long as the porch does not have a roof of any kind), or in a back yard (as long as its location is open to the sky and not sheltered under any tree cover). The Sukkah can be made of an existing structure, as long as the roof is replaced entirely with “sechach,” which is vegetable matter that has not previously been used for any other purpose. It must be four sided, with one side open for entering and exiting. The roof cannot be premade – it must be newly constructed of twigs and branches of palms collected for that particular Sukkah that year. Inside is a table, and all the family meals are taken in the Sukkah for the entire holiday. Guests are invited and encouraged.

The week-long feast of Tabernacles is book-ended between two Sabbath days of rest – Leviticus 16:30-31; 23:34, 41. On the first day of the feast the people of Israel were to “take the foliage of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and use them for the roof, and also offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, and rejoice before the Lord for seven days” (Leviticus 23:40,36). All native Israelites were to go out and dwell in these booths for the seven days of the feast to remind them of their ancestors wandering in the wilderness.

(For more info please visit this terrific website!)

EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US

As with all the feasts, Jesus is the pivotal point on which they all are hinged. Each of the feasts are a copy and shadow of things to come.

The first four feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost) happen in the spring and summer, and each has been fulfilled by Jesus, our Passover Lamb without spot or blemish, the Resurrection and the Life, the Bridegroom of the church, our Messiah.

Three feasts remain: Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.

Click here for the fall-feasts-free-printable

The ultimate fulfillment of the last three feasts, as it appears, will be when Jesus sounds His trumpet at the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and gathers His elect “from the peoples” (Eze. 11:17) – the rapture; atones for His chosen (Yom Kippur), taking the sacrifice from the cross and sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat in heaven (Lev.16:3, 14; Rom. 5:9-11), permanently penning the names of those atoned for in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And then gathering us, His bride, the elect, and the church, from the heavens, from one end of heaven to the other, to gather us from the many mansions (Sukkot) He has built in His Father’s house (where we will be kept safe from the great tribulation to come)…

For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5 (NKJV)

…to His great Tabernacle in the New Jerusalem.

“And there we shall all ever be with Him…” (1 Thes. 4:17)

The Wedding Feast

To understand the Feast of Tabernacles with a little more clarity, I feel like we need to understand the Jewish Wedding customs. I see the two of them just so very intimately intertwined.

In the Old Testament, it was the custom for a son, or his family, to choose a bride. Having made a choice, the son would then go to the father of the bride and negotiate a “bride price” or dowry. Once the dowry was paid, the son would ask for the bride’s hand in marriage, seal the covenant with a sip of wine, and place a ring on her finger. The two were engaged at this point, or in Jewish terms, betrothed. It was a legally binding agreement.

The groom then left his bride and returned to his father’s house where he would begin building a home for the two of them. This home was built in his father’s estate. As you can imagine the groom was anxious to go back and get his bride and get the show on the road, but the son would not be allowed to go back until his father approved of the house that he had built.

When the house that the son built finally passed his father’s inspection and approval, the father would give the son permission to go back and get his bride.

When he went to retrieve his bride, while he was still a ways off, he and his groomsmen would begin shouting, and even blowing a trumpet to alert her. The bride was supposed to be dressed, packed, and ready to depart at a moment’s notice. She was to have an oil lamp ready, and all of her bride’s maids as well, in case he came at night. In her time of waiting she was to remain consecrated, set apart, and bought with a price. And when the groom arrived with his groomsmen, they would then snatch the bride away and begin a joyous procession to the father’s house. This would alert the townsfolk and bride’s families that the wedding was taking place, and they were all invited to come.

At the father’s house the bride and groom exchanged rings and vows were spoken. Afterward, the two of them would disappear into the house he had made for them, and there they would remain for seven days. They were not considered married until the marriage was consummated (John 3:29). The bride and groom remained in the chamber and spent that time getting to know each other in every intimate way. The wedding guests continued to celebrate with feasting and drinking wine and dancing until the seven days were finally ended and the bride and groom could share in a grand feast together.

If you are familiar with the scriptures it’s easy to see so many illustrations of Jesus and the church in this beautiful tradition. If you are not familiar, I encourage you to seek the scriptures for yourself.

First, we are a chosen bride:

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

“For I [Paul] am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ. 2Corinthians 11:2

Jesus made a covenant with His apostles (Passover/Last Supper) that passed on to all who of us who have believed and received Christ as Lord. At the Last Supper Jesus said, “This is my blood of the everlasting covenant, which is poured for many.”

The dowry He paid for His bride, the church, was His suffering and death on the cross (Unleavened Bread/Crucifixion/Passion of the Christ). “But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot.” 1 Peter 1:19 (AMPC) It was a high price, but greater love hath no man than this, that He lay down His life for His friends.

The figurative ring that Jesus placed on His bride’s finger is the deposit of the Holy Spirit into our hearts when we accept His proposal. He set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. And He has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts. (2 Cor. 1:22 & Ephesians 1:13-14)

It is the seal, the promise, guaranteeing He will return for us someday. Jesus told His disciples it was to their advantage that He go to heaven, because unless He went, the Holy Spirit could not come back. The Holy Spirit is the betrothment, the signed contract.

When Jesus told his disciples that “in my Father’s house are many mansions” ( ) and “no man knows the day or the hour of my return, only the Father,” ( ) they understood the symbolism parallel with the wedding custom.

When the apostles preached that Jesus would return with a shout, and a trumpet (1 Thes) to gather up His bride, the Jewish people of that day HAD to have begun to see the mystery of the gospel, as I pray we do.

The feast of Trumpets is fulfilled by the rapture (gathering up and snatching away) of the church (all the believers of the earth) – the Bride of Christ. And the feast of Tabernacles is fulfilled when the church dwells in heaven in our little sukkah’s (booths, tabernacles) that our Bridegroom has built for us, to keep us safe for the last seven of Daniel’s prophesy – the great tribulation.

Jesus was Jewish, and He used things familiar to Jews to teach kingdom principles; the Jewish people got their customs from the Father to begin with. It is all patterned after things in heaven. When we draw the veil back on those Jewish traditions, it gives light to our understanding of the scriptures and how Jesus fulfills all of them. Oh how I would love to be adopted into a Messianic Jewish family and to know the ways and practices of the people of my Lord. How I appreciate the knowledge of my Jewish brothers and sisters like Zola Levitt and others, whose wisdom I draw upon heavily in my understanding of the scriptures.

Who is the bride and who are the guests? I believe I am interpreting Zola Levitt correctly that the bride is the raptured church (Christians and Messianic Jews), and the guests are the family of the Father (the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) who repent as a nation (at their feast of Atonement) of their rejection of their Messiah.

It’s maybe a little odd of me, but I am thankful for Israel’s unfaithfulness (the Father knew they would be – as Hosea’s wife was), because it allowed me, YOU (and all Gentiles), the blessed opportunity to be grafted into the promise, and a new covenant, and to share in that great feast in God’s tabernacle in the New Jerusalem at the end of the age.

The Lord’s Time Fully Come

I’ve often wondered about the two places in scripture where Jesus draws back from participating in a certain activity, saying My time has not fully come. The first instance was at the wedding in Cana when Mary, His mother, asked Him to show His works and do something about the lack of wine. Jesus told her His time had not fully come, but obeyed His mother, and did His works in secret. I believe His reluctance to manifest a miracle with wine (especially the wine for a wedding banquet) was because He is saving himself for THE WINE that will be shared with us at THE WEDDING FEAST in heaven…the fulfillment of the Last Supper, which He told his disciples He would not drink of until we are all able to drink it with Him, at His table, in His kingdom.

The second time Jesus made that statement (in John 7), His brothers were getting ready to go the Feast of Tabernacles and pushing Him to also go and show His works to the people. Jesus told them to go without Him, as His time had not fully come. Jesus did end up going, but secretly. Hebrews 8:2 tells us, the true tabernacle is with God and not men. Jesus was well aware of the many mansions (Sukkahs, tabernacles) that await us in His kingdom. Our Lord observed the feasts on earth knowing they have a fulfillment in heaven. He has slipped away to prepare our places, that where He is we may be also, and He is waiting for His Father’s command to return for us, His bride.

His time fully comes in that day, when we shall sup with Him in His tabernacle, and He with us.

“Come away with Me…” Mark 6:31 (NKJV)

…is an invitation that Jesus continues to extend to anyone who can hear His voice. It is the essence of “Tabernacles” to come out from the lives we’ve built for ourself and commune with God.

In Jesus the intent of God’s heart is fulfilled. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt (or, tabernacled) among us…” (John 1:14) His name was called “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God With Us.” (Matthew 1:23) The tabernacle of Moses was only a type of “the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man…” (Hebrews 8:2, 5; 9:25) “… Behold, the tabernacle (the abode) of God is with man, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people …” (Revelation 21:3)

God’s ultimate intention, however, has been to make His abode within the heart of every believer (John 14:23). Jesus promised that the same Spirit that “dwelleth with you … shall be in you.” (John 14:17) His place of habitation is within His people: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:10)

In Old Testament times the Spirit of God would “come and go” – His Presence would enter, bless, and depart (Numbers 9:15-23; 11:25; 2Chronicles 5:13-14). Yet the Lord longed for a place in which He might continually dwell, or make His abode. “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation … here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” (Psalms 132:13, 14) (*http://www.dianedew.com/habitatn.htm)

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:4-6 (NKJV)

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2 (NKJV)

“And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I [John the Baptist] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:10-12 (NKJV)

“And the fire will test each one’s work (our Firstfruits), of what sort it is. If anyone’s work endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:13-17 (NKJV)

“Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’ Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved to the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” Romans 11:25-29 (NKJV)

So while our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, gathered around tables inside their little outdoor huts, covered with palm branches, let us all remember, our bodies are the temple of the Lord, and let us eagerly look forward to the ingathering (harvest of souls) that shall take place, and the great supper that the Lord is preparing, where we will ALL share that communion cup with Jesus finally, after all this time.

‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

Revelation 19:9 (NKJV)

“Surely I am coming quickly.” Revelation 22:20 (NKJV)

Bible Study, Devotional, Feast on This, Holidays, Jewish Feasts, The Parables

The Feast of Atonement & The Lamb’s Book of Life

October 22, 2014September 23, 2023 mrshlovesjesus

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV

In case you are just now joining me on this eye-opening journey through the feasts of Israel, I want you to know that this is one in a series of studies on the Jewish holidays. The other feasts that proceed this one are: (Passover & Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost and Trumpets). And then following this feast is the feast of Tabernacles.

Studying the feasts is a great way for us to gain greater insight into God’s master plan for His creation, and has opened a window of fresh air for me to God’s kingdom in heaven. These feasts are not just for Jewish observance, but are an opportunity for each of us to get to know God and His plan for all of us.

By the way, though Yom Kippur is referred to as a “feast” day, it is actually a “fast” day, and a day of somber reflection. It is to be dedicated to reconciling oneself with God and with each other. No work is to be done on this day, except the work of reconciliation.

The “Days of Awe”

I think it is appropriate that we begin the study of the Atonement with the Days of Awe.

This ten-day tradition is observed in the fall of the year, after the last summer harvests (olives/grapes). The Jewish days of awe commence immediately following the Feast of Trumpets (the celebration of the Jewish agricultural New Year), and are an annual time of repentance, reverence, and fear of God. They conclude at Yom Kippur (the Atonement) where another trumpet blasts.

According to several websites that I visited, devout Jews will spend the days of awe rising while it is still dark in the morning and going to synagogue to pray, in sincere penitence (prayer, fasting, worship, and asking God’s forgiveness for every single sin in their lives committed through the year). They will also go and make things right with their fellow-man, settle legal matters, and try to make right anything they know someone has against them, and making restitution.

In writing this, I am reminded of the passage in Matthew 5 that says, (verse 23) “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (verse 24) leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

The Lamb’s Book of Life

At the end of the Days of Awe, at sunset on the beginning of Yom Kippur, the custom of the Jews is to present themselves to the priest. The books are opened to see what disputes and legal matters are there, and what accusations have been brought (by two or three witnesses) against them during the past year. All secret sins are also to be confessed. Only the sins confessed are atoned for.

Then, having righted all the wrongs with one’s neighbors, brothers, sisters, family, friends, and God himself, having cleared their conscience of everything against themselves to the best of their ability, the priest then makes an atonement sacrifice for the people’s sins, blots out all their sins from the books, and writes their names in the Book of Life.

All the sins confessed and atoned for from the previous year are forgiven, never to be remembered again, as if they had never happened. When every single Jewish family has presented themselves before the priest, as the sun is setting on Yom Kippur, A HORN IS BLOWN, signaling that the ceremonies are completed. The slate (record of wrongs) is wiped clean…..until next year in Jerusalem!

Unfortunately, anyone who fails to appear before a priest out of laziness or rebellion, when that trumpet sounds, their sins remain. Anyone who refused to participate in the observance, their names are written in the book of death.

If the reader is a student of the Bible it is easy to see the parable or likeness this observance has for God’s kingdom in heaven. As with all the other feasts, Jesus is the fulfillment, and each will come full circle as a copy and shadow of things to come.

Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (verse 18) For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (verse 19) Whoever therefore breaks on of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called lease in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus, our Great High Priest says in Revelation 3:5 says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

The Bible says, God has set before us life and death (Deut. 30:15,19 ; Jer. 21:8), just like with Adam and Eve, with the same free will to choose for ourselves. Think how amazing that is. Just like in the garden of Eden where there were fruitful trees for life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which if Adam and Eve ate of would cause them to die.

Why, oh why, when we have LIFE all around us are we so tempted by death? There is freedom in life and only slavery in death. How is it that the devil can make death soooo appealing … soooooo tempting? Snake oil salesman!!!!

Amazingly, even when we’ve chosen death, God still makes a way for us to repent and be reconciled to Him. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8 and 21:27). John the Baptist proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Our Passover Lamb has made the atonement sacrifice Himself for each and every one of our sins, one sacrifice for all time (Hebrew 10:1-18). The blood He shed as Passover, on the cross, is sprinkled on the mercy seat in God’s Holy of Holies by Jesus, our High Priest, to atone for our sins and make these bodies, these frail and cracked vessels of clay, inhabitable by His Holy Spirit.

“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. “ Revelation 1:5

Only the sins we’ve personally confessed to Him, and only the relationships we have reconciled, are under the blood (what has been bound in heaven is bound on earth and what has been loosed in heaven is loosed on earth). Why hold onto them? Why try to hide them? Why not give them ALL to Him to be destroyed? When we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. All the other books (containing offenses) are wiped clean. (Do a word study on “Book of Life” at BlueLetterBible.com)

“For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14

When that trumpet sounds at the fulfillment of Yom Kippur, the door to heaven shall be closed forever, just as the doors to the ark of the covenant and the Holy of Holies are closed until the next observance of the feast.

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15

The Great White Throne of Judgment is a judgment for unbelievers. No one at that judgment has his name in the Book of Life; their punishment is sure.

(Read more at: GotQuestions.org)

This coming Yom Kippur could very well be the last to be celebrated on earth. Possibly the last chance for people to make things right with God before that door of grace closes forever. Will you be a wise virgin who makes it inside for the banquet, or a foolish virgin who is shut out forever? (Read about the Wise and Foolish Virgins)

Behold I stand at the door and knock… Choose you this day whom you will serve!

I don’t think it is a coincidence that there are TEN DAYS of AWE and TEN COMMANDMENTS! I also don’t think we have to be hemmed in by a particular season to be repentant of our sins. Any time is a good time to get right with God.

Do you have any unconfessed sin? Do you know someone who has something against you that you need to make right? The Lord could be coming at any time. Are you ready? No man knows the day or the hour. Therefore, now is the time to take care of those things that would disqualify you for the prize. Be reconciled to God!

I invite you to spend the next ten days with me taking a sober look at our lives and getting serious to make things right with God? Let us choose life and not death!

Day One

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to all the gods I have besides You. What do I spend my money on? What do I spend my time doing? Forgive me Father for having other gods before You! I choose life!

Day Two

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the “graven images” I have made for myself – lucky rabbit’s feet, lucky horse shoes, lucky charms, horoscopes, seeking mediums, believing in fables and old wives tales, superstitions, and the false doctrines of the Nicolaitans, self-worship, or putting my faith in anything other than You, God? Forgive me Father for trusting in empty, inanimate objects and chance, or reducing You to the same. I choose life!

Day Three

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the many times I misuse Your name in a day? Forgive me Father for using Your name inappropriately, as a curse word, as a sware, as a lucky charm, and not in actual conversation with You. I choose life!

Day Four

Help me Lord to spend today focusing on the holiness of the Sabbath day as a day of rest, not only for myself, but for all of those around me, and to show reverence to You. Jews observe Sabbath (Shabbat) from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Christians hold Sunday as holy. You Lord show grace for our differences (Romans 14:5-6). So, whatever day I have to rest and show reverence, teach me how to keep it holy unto You. Forgive me Father for all the times I’ve been flippant and selfish and irreverent with Your Sabbath. I choose life!

Day Five

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to all the ways I dishonor my parents. Do I talk badly about them? Have I dishonored them by thinking of them only as a burden, or the inheritance they might leave to me? Do I love them? Do I do things for them and care for their needs? Do I spend time with them? Father forgive me for not giving my parents the honor due them. I choose life!

Day Six

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the ways I have taken life away from another. What about abortion? Oh Father God in heaven, forgive me! I choose life!

Day Seven

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the death this sin has brought to me, my family, my nation. Premarital sex, extramarital sex, promiscuity, cheating, porn, and even looking upon another with lust in my heart. Forgive me Father that I have been a seeker of pleasure rather than of a seeker of You, and help me to overcome by the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. I choose life!

Day Eight

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the things I have inadvertently or on purpose taken and not returned. Whether it was an object, or someone’s character, or even someone’s identity. Father God, reveal to me my sins, and help me to put each one under the blood. I choose life!

Day Nine

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the false witnesses I have committed. If I lose my integrity how do I ever get it back? It is so easy to lie when I am backed into a corner and trying to avoid trouble. Sometimes a story seems more interesting when it is embellished with a little exaggeration. Sometimes I want to fit in with others and find myself sucked into gossip. Father God, help me to be a person of integrity. Help me to always tell the truth. I choose life!

Day Ten

Help me Lord to spend today opening my eyes to the things I want. Am I greedy for another person’s looks, or money, or fame? Do I want what someone else has, a nicer house, or job, a sexy spouse, new clothes, or a new car? Father God, make me sensitive today to all my little jealousies, and forgive me of them. Wash my sins away in the precious blood of Jesus. I choose life!

* * *

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; and you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” Isaiah 58:6-9

How big of a debt has God forgiven me of over these last ten days, and over my lifetime, really? I pray that God would sober my heart for how great His mercy has been towards me, and in turn give me mercy for others that I have had a hard time forgiving.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. ³⁰And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³²Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

³⁵“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Matthew 18:21-35 (NKJV)

*Compare to what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 5:17-26

God’s Timing

No man knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. The Lord may come tomorrow, next week, later this month or a thousand years from now.

Are we looking for a sign? Let us remember what Jesus said to the Jewish leaders of His day in Matthew 12:39, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

I find it terribly interesting that the Book of Jonah (Old Testament) is traditionally read at the haftarah on Yom Kippur (the Feast of Atonement), the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, when they contemplate God’s judgment and repent.

Jonah couldn’t believe that God would send him to preach repentance to the gentiles/heathens of that day, and was bothered even further when they accepted the gospel that he reluctantly preached. I believe God intended the experience to provoke His Jewish children to jealousy, so they would to turn their hearts back to Him as His favored ones, which is exactly why we who are not Jews have been welcomed into God’s kingdom (Romans 11:11) for a time.

I believe Jesus perfected the ministry of Jonah. As Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the whale (death), Jesus was in the grave. Through a miracle Jesus lived again, arose, and ascended to His throne where the Holy Spirit was released to inhabit every person who believes on the Son, because of the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in heaven by our High Priest – Jesus, and the Christian church was born – Nineveh believed!!!!

Read Jonah 2 in your Bible!

If we are looking for a sign, there are plenty to consider: Earthquakes, floods, famines, hurricanes forrest fires, volcanoes, signs in the sun (solar eclipses), the moon (blood moons), and the stars (star of Bethlehem). There are wars and rumors of wars. Our earth appears to be in the throes of birth pains continuously and exponentially. In the last days the Jewish people were to be gathered back to their homeland. Not only have they been given their homeland back in this generation’s lifetime, but their capital city of Jerusalem has recently also been restored and recognized.

Amazingly God has protected His word (the Bible) throughout all of time, so that it should not perish for all these centuries, even though many hostile generations have tried, until every tiny jot and tittle is accomplished. That in itself is a miracle.

God’s people, the Jews still exist, through all these millennia, despite every attempt of every other race on the planet to try to cleanse the planet of their existence. Another miracle.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Could it be YOU that He has been waiting for, for all this time? Could it be us, and this generation, that He has waited for?

I know that I am probably coming on pretty strong – like a mother who is sending her children out into the dangerous world and just wants them to know the dangers and come back home safe. But I want to soften my tone for just a minute and ask, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid to love Jesus? Has something or someone (in the church or this world) hurt you and you are afraid to love?

The Fighter

Keith Urban

I know he hurt you
Made you scared of love, too scared to love
He didn’t deserve you
‘Cause you’re precious heart is a precious heart
He didn’t know what he had and I thank God, oh, oh, oh
And it’s gonna take just a little time
But you’re gonna see that I was born to love you

What if I fall (I won’t let you fall)
What if I cry (I’ll never make you cry)
And if I get scared (I’ll hold you tighter)
When they’re try’na get to you baby I’ll be the fighter

What if I fall (I won’t let you fall)
What if I cry (I promise I’ll never make you cry)
And if I get scared (I’ll hold you tighter)
When they’re try’na get to you baby I’ll be the fighter

Look in the mirror
You’re beautiful, so beautiful
I’m here to remind you
You’re my only one, let me be the one to heal…

I love this song. Can we sing it again with the one who hurt us being Satan, and the Fighter being Jesus?!!!!!! I love it even more when I think of it this way!!!!!!!!! Give Jesus a chance. Let Him heal you. Let Him love you the way you were meant to be loved. Let Him search your heart and cleanse it of all the wicked ways that you’ve been drug through. He won’t let you fall!!!!! He’ll wipe all the tears from your eyes!!!!! And when you get scared He’ll hold you tighter than anyone ever has in your whole life. ❤

Making Prayer a daily part of our lives

Seek Him in the morning (pray and read the scriptures)

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” – Psalms 5:3

Visit this website for 12 Helpful Morning Prayers and verses

Seek Him during the day (pray and read the scriptures)

“We know that all creation groans and is in agony even until now. Not only that, but we ourselves, although we have the Spirit as first fruits, groan inwardly while we await the redemption of our bodies.” – Romans 8:22-23

Visit this website for some beautiful daytime prayers and scripture readings iBreviary

Seek Him at meal times (pray and read the scriptures)

“Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts…”

Visit this website for some terrific mealtime scripture prayers Intoxicated on Life

Seek Him in the evening (pray and read the scriptures)

“At evening withhold not your hand.” – Ecclesiastes 11:6

Visit this website for a great set of evening reflections Morning&Evening.org

Seek Him upon your bed (pray and read the scriptures)

“At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” – Isaiah 26:9

Visit this website for cross references related to the above scripture BibleHub.com

Put on the whole armor of God, and pray continually with all kinds of prayers
Be watchful (pray and read the scriptures)
Keep seeking, keep knocking, keep asking (pray and read the scriptures)
Seek peace and pursue it (pray and read the scriptures)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. – Jesus

(Mathew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5)

Before you go, may we have a prayer together?

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters, my spouse, my parents, my children, my friends, my family, and for myself, that You, O Lord will forgive us our sins, all of our sins, sweep our houses (body, soul, & spirit) clean and put our houses in order. I pray Your blood will cover ALL our transgressions and that You will write our names in the Lamb’s book of life forever. I pray that You will fill us with Your Holy Spirit, as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. I pray that You will tune our ears to hear what the Spirit tells us, and help us to remember everything You have told us in Your word. I pray that we will each grow stronger in Spirit every day. I pray that You will suit us up in the Spiritual Armor this day and every day, wash our feet of the heathen dust of the earth, and be attentive to our prayers. If the enemy asks to sift us as wheat I pray that you will tell him NO. I pray that You will bind our enemy, cast him as far from us as the east is from the west; cast out every fear, pull down every stronghold, and cast down every high thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I pray that You will put a hedge of protection around us, place us under Your feathers and in Your shadow, surrounded by Your holy guardian angels who will intimidate and chase away every enemy, real or imagined. Set for us safe boundaries that the enemy cannot penetrate. I pray that You will put in us a desire to seek peace and pursue it with every person in our lives including You. When we are weak You are strong. I pray that You will give us clear minds, to this end, that we will forever worship You in Your kingdom, and forever be with You. We love and honor You. We worship You, O precious merciful LORD. We magnify Your name in all the earth. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

“In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”
Proverbs 16:6 NKJV

“And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11

Next year in “New” Jerusalem!

(*Le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-Yerushalayim)

* Closing toast for every Passover and every Yom Kippur observance, every year. Note that both feasts are about the blood, the Passover blood of the Lamb of God that takes away our sins, and the Atoning blood of our merciful High Priest that cleanses away our sins.

Please visit this website (Hebrew4Christians) for a more in-depth study of Yom Kippur, the fall feasts and High Holy Days, from a messianic Jewish perspective.

Bible Study, Devotional, Feast on This, Holidays, Testimonies & Personal Stories

Feast of Trumpets

October 2, 2014October 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

Four Feasts we’ve studied (Passover & Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost), three Feasts remain (Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles). The remaining three are fall Feasts, and all three take place at the last harvest of the year, the grape harvest, and within the span of about a month.

The Feast of Trumpets

This year (2017) the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, arrives on the evening of Wednesday, September 20 and will end in the evening of Friday, September 22, of this Hebrew Year 5778.

This is how it got started:

Then God spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying:

“In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:24-25

What was the offering to be made by fire to the Lord?

“… one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. (a blood offering). Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil. (an unleavened bread offering). Also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, (scapegoat) besides the sin offering for atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.” Numbers 29:7-11

Rosh Hashanah is always observed on the first two days of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. Why is a “New Year” celebrated in the middle of a year? Because it celebrates the end of one agricultural year/season and the beginning of another. It’s what we might call a fiscal new year, like the one when we have to choose our healthcare plans. In God’s kingdom it is all about the harvests, the harvest of crops and the harvest of souls. How many stories did Jesus tell where He used sowing seeds, watering plants, tending crops, and bringing in the harvests to describe His kingdom and our ministry on this earth?

The trumpet is often used to gather people. Trumpets, and shouts, were also used as a weapon of war, for example, to bring down the walls of Jericho. And in the same vein, “… I [Jesus] will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 (KJV). I believe that we who are His will hear the trump of the Lord one day very soon, and that it will gather us from the heavens and the earth, to protect us from some severely ugly times. I believe God will allow the ugly times to come to hopefully show the deceived who they are truly worshipping, and hopefully it will turn their hearts.

It was seventy years after the death and resurrection of our blessed Savior, that the Jewish people became a scattered people over the face of the earth, their temple destroyed, and their land taken over, but it was prophesied that in the last days God would gather them again to their promised land (Deuteronomy 28:58-67). After just under 1900 years it has happened as prophesied. In 1967 the Shofar blew in celebration in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount after the victory of the Six-Day War between returning Jews and the occupants of the promised land. Since that time Jews have been allowed to return to their homeland! Even so, it is still fearcely squabbled over, and hard to believe that such a tiny speck of a place on the globe could be the object of so much violent hostility. It seems there will never be peace in Israel.

The holiday though is also very relevant to Christians, as we also are a scattered people all over the globe – as God wanted us to be so that we could share the gospel with every tribe and tongue and race and nation; and we are also scattered between heaven and earth. (Please check out: Should Christians Celebrate Rosh Hashanah?).

“And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year… prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad” John 12:49-52

Clearly in the New Testament it is a trumpet that will summon and gather God’s people from all the places where we have been scattered:

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17)

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

* * *

This picture of “gathering people” reminds me so much of something from the little town where I grew up. Atop of the hill, in the center of town stood a charming little log church with a steeple. The pews were each hewn of split logs, and even the pulpit and altar were hand-made of logs and hand cut boards. When the time for Sunday Service came one of the elders or deacons of the church would undo the bolt on the doors, turn the knob, and pull the front double doors open, and then He’d begin clanging that big brass church bell, taking grasp of the thick rope that hung down into the front foyer with his two strong hands and pulling with his body weight, then letting the rope rise back up, pulling it down again, and letting the rope rise back up. The sound would echo across the rooftops and down that lofty steeple, causing all the nesting birds to take flight.

Magically, at the clang-clang-clang of that bell, folks began bustling from their houses and vehicles, all dressed in their Sunday-best go-to-meeting clothes. Ladies in dresses, spritzed with perfume, curled hair in hats, wearing makeup and white gloves. Men, freshly shaven, in suits with stiff collars and ties, and hair neatly parted and combed into place. Children, bathed, with shining faces, coiffed and suited and well-mannered, as miniatures of their parents. They all strolled and shuffled up that hill, smiling and greeting one another, and gathering through the open doors, taking their places in the rustic hardwood pews for a sit-down spiritual feast. Oh how lovely it was on Sunday morning to hear those church bells ringing! The piano playing. And the choir singing.

In the same way as the church folks gathered in to satisfy their hungry souls, so similar was the practice on ranches all over my rugged cowboy state. When supper was ready it was common to hear the cook or the wife step outside and run the wand around on the triangle and holler, “COME AND GET IT!” and here they’d come. The hard-working, broke-back, famished ranch hands would wobble to their feet, swing a leg off their horses, toss their tools in a box, remove their hats to wipe the sweat from their brow, and knock the dust off their pants as they started the journey to the chow hall. They all came a hobblin’ from the far corners of the fields, some smiling, and some grunting, and all eager to fill their aching bellies, have a laugh (or a cry), share a story, and then call it a night.

Can you hear the church bells ringing? Can you hear the choir singing? Can you hear a little lady belting out, “COME AND GET IT! O weary sojourner, come and hear the word of the Lord!”

Our Savior is coming! The Landowner is coming to settle accounts, and gather His grapes into the winepress. I don’t want you to be taken by surprise.

Scripture says, two men will be in the field and one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be in the kitchen. One will be taken and one will be left (Matt.24 & Luke 17). The wise virgins will go with the bridegroom and the foolish virgins will be left behind (Matthew 25).

“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking…until the flood came and took them all away…” Matthew 24:36-39

“You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.” John 14:28-29 (NKJV)

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24: 23-27) …for those who are HIS!

Have you ever wondered why we dream that we can fly? Not fly like a bird, but rather float like a balloon, but with the ability to maneuver up and down and left and right with our arms and legs, like we can in water, but without any resistance. In my dreams I am able to fly above my enemies, just out of their reach. I can go farther and faster than them.

(Thank you Carleen Sabin for making and posting this beautiful You-Tube video)

The word of God says that some of us will fall asleep (die), and some will just fly away (like Elijah). The redeemed will be blessed to experience the Rapture, the magnificent fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. The defiant, who refuse to hear the word of God will be left behind. If you’ve been riding the fence, please don’t wait until it is too late. Get with a believer or a pastor today. Don’t let the trumpet of God surprise you. Come, while the door is open.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever will believe on Him shall have eternal life. John 3:16

Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 18:9-10

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life: he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God. 1 John 5:10-13

Behold I [Jesus] stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20

Bible Study, Devotional, Feast on This, Holidays, Jewish Feasts, Sunday School Lessons, Testimonies & Personal Stories, The Parables

Happy Firey Tongues Day!

June 8, 2014October 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1

Pentecost is celebrated in late spring/early summer (on these dates).

Most folks are familiar with the word Pentecost and the event in the New Testament which it represents. It was on this day a little over 2000 years ago that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they all spoke in tongues. It is the day that marked the birth of the Christian church.

But several thousand years before that, God introduced Shavuot to His people (Exodus 23:16). Shavuot was a memorial to be observed exactly 50 days (or 7 weeks plus a day) from the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits – which was the tithe (bikkurim) and regard to God for the spring harvest, which took place right after Passover/Unleavened Bread. In Jewish history, it marks the day that the Torah was given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai and is celebrated today by the reading of the book of Ruth, as well as dressing in white robes, and holding baptisms.

The word “Pentecost” means fiftieth. Originally, on this blessing-of-the-summer-harvest or pilgrim “feast of weeks,” the people were to bring out of their habitations two loaves of bread, and unlike the feasts before it, this time the bread was baked WITH leaven. The loaves were to be of the same weight and was therefore called the Counting of the Omer (a dry measure or sheaf of grain).

Firstfruits and Shavuot are both grain harvests. Firstfruits is a harvest of barley, and is the setting for the story in the Book of Ruth where Boaz harvests his fields and leaves behind a little for the gleaners (the poor who lived in the land). Ruth came to glean in order to provide food for herself and Naomi, her mother-in-law, who had both been away in another country until the death of their husbands forced them to come back home. Boaz was Naomi’s close relative, and therefore Boaz honored a Hebrew obligation to redeem the land for his cousin/close friend who died and left no living male descendents to carry on his name. Out of respect for Naomi, Boaz graciously married Ruth (who was not Jewish) and the two had a son, Obed (who was king David’s grandfather and is listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5), giving him a share of Boaz’s wealth and an inheritance in the land (and in the kingdom to come). Boaz became the kinsman redeemer, and his valor is a gorgeous picture of hospitality.

Shavuot is the firstfruits offering of the wheat harvest, waved to the Lord to honor and thank God for His provision. The leaven in the flour of those loaves was covered by bread that had risen, the leaven therefore was no longer visible. The summer wheat harvest was always a bigger harvest than the spring barley harvest, but a mere drop in the bucket compared to the fall (fruit) harvest.

Copy and Shadow of things to Come

Once again, Jesus is the fulfillment of these beautiful Jewish feasts. He is our “Bread of life.” He has covered our “sin” (leaven) by his body that was sacrificed and now is risen.

He is our Kinsmen Redeemer because He has graciously married us, who are not Jewish, and given us a new life and an inheritance in the kingdom to come, grafting us in and making us part of the family of God by His redeeming blood.

The Torah brought the Law of God to His people ~ and ~ The Word/Logos-of-God brought the Spirit to His people

It is to our advantage that Jesus ascended into heaven after redeeming us, for if Jesus had not gone, the Holy Spirit could not have come (John 16:7). We all needed the Holy Spirit to come, for so many reasons, including…

We would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon us (Acts 1:8)

He would teach us and guide us, and help us to be discerners of truth

He would empart to us Spiritual gifts that would enable us to do the will of God

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the heart of Pentecost. Like the other feasts, Pentecost has a first observance, followed by a middle ritual observance part, and finally a fulfillment, both on earth and in God’s kingdom to come. The Jewish Feasts were and are a copy and shadow of things to come. Jesus, before He ascended into heaven (BTW: on the very day of Firstfruits, as the wave offering to God of the harvest of souls to come), instructed his disciples to…

“tarry in the city until they were endued with power from on high” — Luke 24:49

It was an event He had been preparing them for since before He went to the cross, and one He reminded them of again after His resurrection, during the 40 days of His appearances before His ascension. He told them He would be leaving and that it was to their advantage that He go, for if He didn’t go the Holy Spirit would not come (John 16:7).

He encouraged them that the Holy Spirit would stay with them and help them (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin (John 16:8). He would guide them, and relay to them whatever He heard from the Father (John 16:13). He would tell them of things to come (John 16:13), remind them of the scriptures that they had read and heard, and give them power to heal and to preach ( Luke 4:18; 1 Cor. 12:9). All very vital things for a people who’s Savior was traveling on to His throne and would be out of sight until His promised return. It was a token of assurance for them, as He is for us, that our Lord will keep His promise to come back for us (2 Cor. 1:22).

The Mystery

There is a LOT of philosophy out there about the Holy Spirit. The New Testament church has been divided and subdivided over this issue of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. This very country that I live in today was birthed out of such divisions. There are scholars with waaaaaaaaay more credentials than lowly little me to debate the issue, but the one thing they, and I, and we all have in common as the basis for our beliefs are the eye witness testimonies of the men and women who were actually there when the event occured. Some of Jesus last words to His Apostles were, “You are witnesses of these things.” And that is something no one else on the planet can boast. It makes the word of God, the Bible, an extremely valuable document. And if anyone wants to know about the Holy Spirit of God all we have to do is seek Him in the scriptures. Study the scriptures and you will find Him! The scriptures are in fact the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:15) and they are intricately woven.

In the closing chapter of Luke Jesus said,

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

I have prayed that I may rightly divide this word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), and scripture always teaches scripture. So, I am convinced that Jesus wanted His disciples to go and wait in the city, to stay in the city, to NOT LEAVE THE CITY of Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came to them, because of the confirmation of Acts 1:4 – just in case they had other ideas, since Jesus had just told them in Luke 24:47 that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He didn’t want them to go off on a missions adventure just yet, and certainly not without the company of the Holy Ghost.

No question the disciples were saved. No question their lives were totally changed when Jesus came into their lives. But their calling, their ministry was not complete without the Holy Spirit, without the fullness of God, because they had His work to do.

“The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17

In John 20:22 it says Jesus breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” possibly prophesying how the Holy Spirit would come to them – in a breath or wind from heaven, and demonstrating that it is He who gives us the ability to receive the Holy Spirit.

“And the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostsrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

So where did the disciples go after their Messiah had ascended to heaven and disappeared out of their sight? They obeyed their Lord, and went to the city, as Jesus had instructed, “and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” Luke 24:53. And they were in the upper room all together in fellowship, with one accord in prayer and supplication, all eleven disciples and the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers (Acts 1:12-14). While they were there clinging to Jesus in prayer and biding the time with each other, they chose a replacement for Judas. They obeyed Jesus directions and trusted His order and His timing.

As Fish Drawn Up in a Net

I wonder what draws you to this post today? Are you searching for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost? Are you here reading this today because you are at a place in your new spiritual walk with Jesus where you have experienced His passover (saving blood) and unleavened bread (cleansing), you’ve communed with Him as Savior, and experienced His breath of new life – been baptised in water for the remission of sins. You know that your soul is among His firstfruits offering, but reading in John and Acts you feel as if you lack the power and courage to truly love as the Bible tells us to love (1 Corinthians 13)?

Are you reading about the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, and know that you don’t always have those qualities or virtues evident in you?

Are you reading about Spiritual Gifts in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12, and haven’t a clue what yours are, much less the ability to fan them into flame (2 Timothy 1:6)?

Are you timid and fearful to share your faith?

Do you always seem to be under attack by the enemy, unable to fight him off or get your head above the flood of your struggles? Is your Spiritual Armor laying on the pages of your Bible instead of covering your body?

Are you reading in your Bible of people who over and over again received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, and you don’t speak in tongues? You neither speak in a foreign language that others can understand, nor a prayer language that only God understands?

These are the very things that drew me to seek the truth of the Holy Spirit, the baptism, the indwelling, the empowering Holy Spirit in the scriptures. The Feast of Pentecost!

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 8:18-23

What is my motive? To be better than others? To be held in high regard? Are my motives poisoned by jealousy? Is there bitterness or iniquity in my heart?

Honestly, in my quest to know the Holy Spirit of God – the truth, I have found many imposters, or maybe not necessarily imposters, but seekers like myself who were blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine, and tossed by every tempest. It has been the blind leading the blind in many cases. Some also may have pretended to be filled with the Holy Spirit just to fit in with all the craziness sweeping through. There are tongues of men and tongues of angels (even dark angels). Tongues can be faked. False teachers abound. There are tares among the wheat!

I am not called to judge, or pluck up what I think are weeds. We are to be patient with those weaker in faith, as our Father is patient with us.

But I am convinced the scriptures will lead us to the truth, if we search for it with all of our hearts. And I believe the Holy Spirit is not gotten by any other means than that Jesus give Him to us, and that Jesus gives Him to us for for His own good purpose (not ours): to enable us to hear His voice and fulfill the gifts and calling He has placed on our lives, to be fruitful to take the good news of Christ’s love to the world, to be equipped for ministry (Eph. 4:12-16), and to be able to have those private conversations with Him that nobody else can understand or evesdrop on, especially Satan. And I believe it isn’t something we have to fear will be weird or scary – just like our Salvation wasn’t weird or scarry, but glorious. I believe the Holy Spirit is poured into us to be poured out of us, and that we have a constant need of refilling, or of fanning into flame, when we feel empty, weary, or lost.

Our Father desires to give us good gifts, and if we ask for the Holy Spirit out of right motive I am confident He will give Him to us (Luke 11:11-13) and that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in us (Gal.5:22-23).

I believe in order to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit we must love God from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5), and be willing to do God’s will, and follow God’s instructions, and not quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19) who leads us. (*Quenching the Spirit is, I believe, to withhold love by suppressing conviction, prohibiting manifestation, or snuffing out a Holy fire that is kindled in our hearts). Like the parable of the rich young ruler who tells Jesus he has done everything that is required, but is there anything else that he must do, and Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it to the poor, and come follow Him. If we are like this young pharisee and desire to keep anything back, we will never receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 14:25-33; Luke 18:18-22). We must be empty of our own will, because the Holy Spirit will sometimes lead us where we do not wish to go (John 21:18). The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Could it be that we must cling to Jesus like the apostles did – in the church, continually praising and blessing God! …and in one accord with the brethren in prayer and supplication? The word of God says, if we seek Him we will find Him, when we search for Him with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:13)! It says that where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is amongst us (Matthew 18:20). “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven,” Matthew 18:19.

So, the discpiles waited in the city, but the use of the word “Tarry” is even more incredible than that…

The word “tarry” captured my imagination when I studied this scripture. So I pulled my Complete Word Study of the New Testament book off the shelf and researched the word tarry in Luke 24:49. When I did I found that the Greek word translated tarry in this one place in the scriptures is kathizo (Strongs 2523) and next to it is a tiny grammatical code “aim.” It is an abbreviation of the words aorist imperative, which indicates that this was a simple action to be done in the future, not “pim,” which is present imperative, and would have commanded a continuous or repetitive action.

This is another one of those instances when the Bible proves to be parable-like, with special things hidden away in it that the Lord only shares with those who seek Him. Why does the Holy Spirit prompt us to be curious about the words in scripture? Because the jots and tittles in scripture are important, so much so that not one of them shall pass away until they are fulfilled. Words mean things. Jesus’ choice of words is important. I’m so grateful that I had the time to obey the Spirit’s prompting and study this out, because there was treasure hidden.

I looked up the word kathizo and found that it means to sit, to set down, to seat down, to dwell. It is never used however when the action is to rest, but refers rather to a person taking a special seat of importance, one reserved for important tasks, like a judge sits at his bench in a courtroom to hear a case, or a king on his throne to govern his kingdom, or a preacher in his pulpit to preach to his congregation, or a watchman at his post to guard the city. It isn’t about taking a load off; it’s about taking the captain’s chair in the control tower. Literally the scripture could be read, “…but sit (take your place) in the city…until you are endued…”

Isn’t that interesting? Well, I hope YOU’RE sitting down, because I have something pretty exciting to share and I can hardly wait for you to see it. Please turn to Acts 2:2 and fill in the blank below to find out what the disciples were doing when the Holy Spirit arrived:

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a rushing might wind, and it filled the whole house where they were ________________.”

What a beautiful mystery!

Jesus told His disciples to literally go sit in Jerusalem in the special place, and when the time had fully come for the Holy Spirit to arrive, here He came, first with a voice in that mighty rushing wind, as if the Lord were whispering from His throne in heaven: Are you sitting? Here it comes! It honestly gives me goosebumps to think of it…

Twelve Apostles SITTING, as on thrones – like the elders sitting on thrones around God’s throne – Revelation 4:4. Kings and Priests. A copy and shadow of things to come!!!!

And just in case that isn’t awesome enough, let’s finish that verse of scripture with a discerning look at the word “endued.” I always thought it meant imparted or given, but it is Strongs #1746 enduo, and it means CLOTHED – in the sense of sinking into a garment (sitting into it perhaps?); invested with clothing; arrayed… Wow!

Twelve Apostles SITTING, as on thrones, and CLOTHED in white robes, with crowns of gold on their heads – Revelation 4:4.

This scripture reveals the Holy Spirit as clothing, as an investment – as a deposit guaranteeing our redemption, as Spiritual Armor, as a robe of righteousness, as a Bride made ready!!!!

Check out these scriptures about white robes and fine linen…

“Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Revelation 6:11

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife and made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelation 19:7-8

The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the power to do righteous acts, which we get to read all about in the Book of Acts! A righteous act is like righteous judgment – it is an act or a judgment that knows every hidden thing. The only way for a human to know every hidden thing is to have it emparted to us by an all-knowing God. Who can know the mind of God except the Spirit! The Spirit reveals the mind of God to us and therefore the will of God.

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True…He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood... – Revelation 19:11,13

There is a dress code in heaven. This is why the person was thrown out of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:11-14. He was a fake (Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 23:25-33) in filthy rags. He was a “tare,” who grew up among the wheat, but he doesn’t fool the King!

Oh wise virgins, seek Him while He may be found – fill your lamps with the oil that lasts until the bridegroom returns (Matthew 25:1-13) – like the oil of Hanukkah.

The apostles received power when the Holy Spirit came upon them…

Let me set the actual scene: Jewish people from every nation and language of the world were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, and consequently they all became eye witnesses of the spectacle of its fulfillment. When the Holy Spirit gave divine utterance to Jesus’ apostles, the people there each heard the gospel of salvation being preached to them in their native language. Everyone present became witnesses of the power of Jesus in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and took the testimony back to their homes far and wide, and ultimately to the ends of the earth. And the powerful sermon that Peter bravely preached to them that day, by the power of the Holy Spirit that was newly poured into him, resulted in the salvation of 3,000 people.

3,000! This was a greater number of souls than was harvested at Jesus’ crucifixion – FIRSTFRUITS (when the graves were opened and the bodies of the saints were raised), but only a drop in the bucket to the fall harvest – Feast of Trumpets, which is yet to come. I believe 3000 is an intentional number, for it was the exact number who were killed on the day the law came down from Mount Sinai, because of the golden calf (Exodus 32:28). Second Corinthians 3:6 says, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

The giving of the Law (and the Torah) at Mount Sinai, after the Passover, and after their baptism in the Red Sea, marked the birth of a new nation bound for their promised land… In like manner, Pentecost marked the birth of the Christian church, the adopted children of God, with the same inheritance (eternal life in God’s kingdom) as our Jewish brothers and sisters. Jew and Christian = two loaves.

Let’s recap the closing words of Peter’s famous sermon: Repent! Be baptized! Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

The promise is the same today as it was yesterday, and last year, and last century, and that magnificent day in the ancient world.

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 10:37).

If we are born again, we are laborors for Christ. One disciple may plant the word of God into mens hearts, while another waters what was planted, but truly it is only the Lord who gives the increase and causes the seed to to live and breathe and have its being. No man comes to the Father except the Spirit draws him. If it is the Lord who gives the increase then it is foolish for us to get puffed up and take credit for anything, isn’t it?

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Paul asked of the new Ephesian disciples. “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them…” (Acts 19:2, 6)

Ask, and It shall be given to you! The Spirit cannot be purchased (Acts 8:14-24), and if you do not have Him working through you, beware (the Seven Sons of Sceva, Acts 19:11-19). But, if you are saved, and you fear the Lord, and your motives are pure, ask of the Father and He will give you the Helper to clothe you, to lead you, protect you, enable you, empower and guide you in all wisdom.

“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:11-13)

If you have asked Jesus into your heart, confessed and repented of your sins, been washed and cleansed in the blood of the Savior, been baptised (died to your old fleshly ways and been raised to new life) making confession before men, and yet feel timid to do the work of an apostle or ambassador of Christ, or you didn’t speak with new tongues, or because you don’t feel the power (boldness) that the scriptures speak of to preach or to heal, then ask my dear brother or sister, please ask.

We must do as the disciples did and spend our time in the church praising and blessing God, clinging to Jesus humbly. We must sell everything we have (the iniquity in our heart) and follow Jesus (Philippians 3:8-11). If we give God our whole hearts, Jesus will sweep us clean and put us in order (Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26) – breathe on us! But then He must also fill us with the Holy Spirit so that when those old spirits come knocking again, there will be no room inside. Without the Holy Spirit we are unable to do the will of God. We are unable to resist the devil. And we are slaves to our flesh (the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak). The Holy Spirit is given to us for our good and the good of the world.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Philippians 3:12

You and I are in the summer harvest time of God’s calendar: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)

Let us be WISE VIRGINS and fill our lamps with the *oil that doesn’t run out (read about the history of the feast of Hanukkah or Dedication when after cleansing the temple, the priests lit the Menorah with a day’s worth of oil, but it burned (gave light) for 8 days and never went out until the rider on the horse returned). (*Oil is another symbol used for the Holy Spirit in scripture.)

And let us look forward to that great fall harvest, when the greatest body of Jews will join the church at the Second Coming of Christ (Zechariah 12:10; 13:1), the great fall (fruit) harvest when “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). That is when the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled. God will bless us who have blessed her, and curse those who cursed her, and welcome us both to our inheritance. Two loaves!!!!!

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:46-47

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*This mini-Bible study is part of a study of the feasts of Israel. If you have enjoyed it you may also enjoy reading about all the other feasts in scripture: “The Lord our Passover,” “FIRSTFRUITS,” “Feast of Trumpets,” “No Man Knows the Day or the Hour…,” and “Feast of Booths.” You can find the links to these in the list of recent posts listed on the right column of this page. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I pray that you are blessed by God’s word and filled with a desire to know Him with all of your heart and share Him with a lost world.

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FIRSTFRUITS

May 15, 2014May 31, 2020 mrshlovesjesus

Are you ready to accompany me on another captivating adventure into the Biblical Feasts of Israel? Are you as addicted to this series of adventures as I am? If you missed our first excursion into the Biblical holidays of the Hebrews, please get your passport up to date by clicking on the link under recent posts (or here: The Lord Our Passover) to catch up, and then be sure to come back here for FIRSTFRUITS, the second stop on our tour.

“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:16

The Firstfruits observance rose out of the sawdust of the construction of the very first ever “church” (the tabernacle) and its priesthood. The Hebrew people, wandering in the desert, on their way to the Promised Land, were instructed to give their first best of their first spring crops to God and in return God would bless their spring harvests. He would also use these offerings and tithes to fund the operation and ministries of His house on earth.

“But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses…to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.” There you shall take your offerings, your sacrifices, and your tithes. “And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deuteronomy 12:5-7)

God established that His people (the Hebrews) seek His dwelling place (the tabernacle), and go there, packing their tithes and offerings, partaking of the communion (which had been established between Melchizedek king of Salem and Abraham their ancestor in Genesis 14:18-20), and there rejoice before the Lord.

“And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide.
And you shall go to the priest in those days…then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall say…I remember what you delivered me from ‘and now behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’
Then you shall set it before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase…and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled…then you shall say, ‘I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me.
Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people…’”
(Deuteronomy 26:1-15)

According to Leviticus 23:9-12, the priest would wave a sheaf of green barley from each offering of the new harvest before the LORD (north, south, east, and west); a male lamb was then sacrificed as a burnt offering to the LORD; there was also a grain offering of unleavened bread made with oil, and a drink offering of wine.

Green barley

I took this photo of a crop of wheat growing in a field near my house. The farmers all around me planted winter wheat in their fields last year. When spring came, with perfect warm and dry conditions, most of them were counting their chickens, as the saying goes, hoping to cash in on the terrible, relentless drought we were suffering with exactly the right low maintenance/minimum water required crop. I enjoyed watching as the beautiful fields of green slowly began turning amber gold, and the warm Texas sun dutifully accomplished its work.

One late afternoon weeks before the harvest those still green grains got bent over and blown down by a tornado and wind squalls. The gusts mischievously pounded the crops with down drafts in the night while we were all sleeping, and in the morning when we rose the fields looked as if aliens had crafted crop circles in the night, or as if herds of elephants had bedded down in the middle of them. Every field was sculpted with strange mazes and patterns of wheat pinned to the ground in random fashion. The farmers kept their optimism that their crops were still harvestable.

Just when the wheat was almost perfectly aged and ripe for harvest, south Texas got smashed with a month of flooding rains. Inches and inches of rain. Rain that carried houses away, washed bridges away, washed all our firewood and even our picnic table away, and filled up all the lakes and rivers to overflowing. The wheat fields sat in standing bogs. After a few weeks the amber waves, well, what remained of them, began turning a grayish tan. Even so, the farmers held out hope that the sun would come out, dry everything out, and there would still be something enough to salvage.

The sun did eventually come out. The wheat did eventually dry out. When the wheat was finally dehydrated enough for harvest the farmers turned the key on their gargantuan tractors, and lowered their combine blades down to the ground to rake up their pitiful, drowned, and wind damaged wheat. The blades dragged across rocks and hard clumps of dirt, in an attempt to reap every kernel possible. The damage to their equipment ended up exceeding the small pittance they netted from those fields. There was little to no profits that year, only tax write-offs and equipment repairs.

So when I read this scripture about green barley I realized that there is still a lot of faith to be had between green FIRSTFRUITS and that actual golden harvest, at least in south Texas.

“Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firsfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” Proverbs 3:9-10.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. And try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, so that he will not destroy the fruit…” Malachi 3:10-11.

“Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20

The Firstfruits Resurrection

Now, here again is a mystery which gambols and pirouettes on the chiastic ring structure of scripture – the focal point of all the mysteries, Jesus! Let’s begin with the amazing coincidence that Jesus, our male Lamb, sacrificed, arose from the grave on the very day of Firstfruits – three days after Passover/Unleavened Bread.

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

So, not only did Jesus rise again, but as He did, He waved a “firstfruits” offering to His Father in heaven, as our High Priest, passing through the rent curtain of the Holy of Holies on earth and entering the Holy of Holies in heaven.

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” Matthew 27:50-53

We learned in the Passover study that Jesus’ body is the unleavened bread, pierced, striped, and broken for us. His shed blood is the wine of the new covenant. When we partake of the communion, we remember His sacrifice until that day when He shall eat and drink it anew with us at the wedding feast of the Lamb, in His kingdom.

“We have a High Priest, (in the order of Melchizedek Gen. 14:18 ) who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man” Hebrews 8:1,2,5.

Jesus is the first-begotten of the Father (Heb. 1:6); the Firstborn of Creation (Col. 1:15-16); the first-begotten of the dead (Rev. 1:5) and is the Firstfruits of those who are to be resurrected (1 Cor. 15:20-23). And just as He is our Firstfruits, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” (James 1:18).

There are 50 days between the waving of the green barley and the next “firstfruits offering, the waving of the two loaves of wheat bread. Those fifty days are called “the counting of the Omer.” Each day of the Omer a sheaf of grain is waved by the priest before God.

“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Our High Priest, Jesus, spent the first 40 of the counting of the omer showing Himself to His disciples and others, by many infallible proofs. He spent the time preparing His disciples, telling them He would be gone for a while, and though they grieved over it, it was to their advantage that He go, for unless He went He could not send the Holy Spirit back for them. He instructed them that after He was gone to go and take their place in the city and wait until they were given the seal of promise. Then He went to the Mount of Olives where He bid farewell to all and a cloud hid Him away. His beloved disciples then went and waited, as instructed, as we also must, for the promise of their redemption.

“…but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23)

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

The green barley was the waving of the firstfruits – and corresponds to the resurrection of the O.T. Saints. The Lord descended into Paradise after His death on the cross to preach the gospel to them, and sprinkle His blood on the mercy seat for them, and they were resurrected.

The two loaves that are waved at Shavuot/Pentecost represent Jew and Gentile, who are commissioned by Jesus to take the gospel (plant and water seeds, in the fields which are white for harvest) to all the word. Jesus waved them to the north, south, east, and west. It has taken 2000 years, but the gospel had to be preached in all the world as a prerequisite for Jesus to return for His bride. When our job is complete, He will rapture the living and resurrect the dead of His church (N.T. Saints).

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

Our Lord has gone to make a place for us! His promise that He will return for us is the seal of the Holy Spirit, which came at Shavuot/Pentecost, at the firstfruits of the wheat. We accept His bridal contract when we ask Jesus to live in our hearts and take His cup (communion). The dowry He paid was His blood on the cross. The Bridal gift that He left is the gift of the Holy Spirit who can only come to live in us when we are made clean by His blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies in heaven.

Acts 2 was the “early rains” upon the fields. There will also be “latter rains” poured out, Joel 2:28-29 just before the Lord comes for His church. The wise virgins had their lamps full of this, but the foolish did not. See the blog post about the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (in the list of recent posts on the right side of this page).

* * *

There is a famous credit card commercial on TV that asks, “What’s in your wallet?” In the same vein I ask,

“What’s in your BASKET?”

This is the question on my heart now every time I walk down the isles of the big box stores at Easter, strolling among the purple baskets, green baskets, yellow baskets, pink baskets, and blue baskets…baskets filled with candy and toys…baskets for little girls and little boys…baskets filled with grass and eggs. Longaberger baskets, Peterboro baskets, and great big Texas baskets filled and decorated with bread, or flowers, or fruit, used as centerpieces on our dining room tables. What’s in your basket? What do you have to present to the Lord?

With our High Priest now seated in His heavenly sanctuary, what firstfruits will we present to Him in our baskets?

There is one thing I know, we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out when we die (1 Timothy 6:7). Not our riches. Not our fame. Not our social calendar. Not our church attendance. The only things to follow us to heaven are the souls of people whom we have invited to the great banquet, AND our other good deeds, which were done in obedience, and in secret, without fanfare, if they survive the fire (done out of love) – 1 Corinthians 3:14-15.

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)

“And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” John 4:36.

I wonder, could the firstfruits in our baskets be the PEOPLE whom we’ve brought to the house of God (church), shared our faith with, helped in times of need, and fed and fellowshipped with around our tables?

Are my firstfruits fireproof?

Why was Cain’s offering not accepted (Genesis 4:3-5)? I believe there is a big hint in the wording of the scriptures that tells us he gave an offering, but it was not of his “first” fruits. Abel’s offering, on the other hand, was of the “first” born of his flocks.

Also…

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20

And perhaps the biggest of all, if we do the good we know to do out of obligation rather than love, we may as well not done anything at all (1 Corinthians 13:3). Love suffers long, is kind, does not envy, doesn’t parade itself, and if not puffed up. It doesn’t behave rudely, seek it own, or easily provoked. It thinks no evil. It doesn’t rejoice in other people’s misery, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails.

Something the Holy Spirit put in my heart to consider also is Matthew 5:23-24: “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled with your brother, then come and offer your gift.”

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them” Revelation 14:13.

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I’m excited for our next adventure in the feasts (the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost). You’ll find it under the title: Happy Firey Tongues Day! Come take your place at my Lord’s table, and let us sup together these blessed feasts that the Lord has laid out for us in His word. Let us be rich and well fed on the Word that we may have hope for our future!

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

Bible Study, Come for Supper, Easter Traditions & Recipes, Feast on This, Holidays, Hospitality

The Lord Our Passover

April 16, 2014October 18, 2018 mrshlovesjesus

The word of God is such a trip! Passover was the first Jewish feast that opened the wardrobe door for me into a fascinating “kingdom of Narnia” waiting on the other side. The feasts of the Hebrews are sooooo darn …well, enrapturing! They paint a portrait of such amazing detail about our Savior, in a parable sort of way, that’s hidden in plain sight. The feasts are a living picture of God’s beautiful, hospitable plan for His people (Jew and Christian) – each with a humble beginning, a kind of boring ritual middle part, and then an <angel chorus> let there be light – gleaming fulfilment in God’s kingdom. Each is a dim reflection, a copy and shadow of things to come, given to us by a God who, like those feasts, was and is and is to come. We Christians are grafted in with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and they with us, as two parts of a whole. We come together at this Passover feast for a full and rich understanding of our Creator and His amazing plan of salvation.

Christian, come celebrate Jesus the Christ this Easter in a way you never imagined. And Jewish person, come dine at the table of the Lord, the Last Supper, and drink the cup, and break the bread, and comprehend the beautiful covenant He has made with us both.

“I [Jesus] will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:29

We never know what an act of hospitality will mean in the grand scheme of things. All we know is that God expects us to do it. He has set Himself up as our example and He promises we will be blessed if we show hospitality out of love for Him. Moses, who was on the run from the Egyptians for killing one of the task masters over his cruel treatment of a Hebrew slave (which were the people of Moses), encountered the incredible hospitality of Reuel (Jethro), a kenite shepherd and the priest of Midian. And because of Jethro’s generosity to open his home, Moses was kept safe from his enemies, and was free to hear from and commune with God, and in the process, found his purpose and calling in life. (Exodus 2)

God said to Moses from the burning bush: “I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10)

Moses went to Pharaoh and beseeched him to “Let my people go!” But Pharaoh would not, not until God sent plagues, and a final plague that would take the life of every first born male in the land.

To be spared this plague, the people of God were instructed to take a lamb from their herds, a year old male without flaw or defect, on the 10th day of the month Nisan and keep it until the 14th day Nisan. This gave them time to inspect the lamb to make sure he had no flaws, and it also gave them time to get to know their lamb and become personally attached so that he would not be just a lamb, but their lamb.

The morning before the Passover, the Jewish people were instructed not to use leaven (yeast) in the bread they made that night, perhaps because leavened dough takes time to rise and the people would not have time for that. The Hebrews were also instructed to slaughter their lamb at twilight, and to use the blood from that lamb to paint the door frames of their homes. The innocent little lamb became their substitute for the death sentence (final plague) to “pass over” them. They were to roast their lamb over fire, eat it all that night, and burn up all the leftovers. The meal also included bitter herbs, which God intended to be used by the children of all future generations to ask the questions that would enable the Passover story to be told and retold and practiced from generation to generation, until the feast would be fulfilled by God. (God’s great plan has been to release us all who are slaves of sin, and brings us all into His rich kingdom, flowing with milk and honey).

The spirit of death indeed passed over God’s people that night, but not the Egyptians, and in his grief Pharaoh finally let God’s people go.

Did you know … that Passover has been observed by the Jews continuously for the last 3,500 years? It is the oldest observed feast in existence.

This is what a modern Jewish Seder looks like. It tells a story going backwards and forwards that I am blessed to share with you.

JEWISH SEDER TRADITIONS

Because leaven is used as a metaphor for sin in the scriptures, Jewish homes are thoroughly scrubbed (kind of like a spring cleaning), to rid them of every single tiny particle of leaven that might be hiding in the cracks and crevices, the bottoms of pants pockets, or lingering in bowls, pans, or on the kitchen utensils before Passover.

We can all observe this practice symbolically by taking to heart the words of the psalmist, king David:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Passover begins at twilight and often lasts until midnight or longer. The meal begins with the lighting of the candles on the table, and the meal blessing is given by the woman of the house:

We, who have metaphorically been sitting in darkness of God’s great plan can imagine a candle being lit in our hearts tonight as we study the Jewish Seder and heed the words of Isaiah 9:2:

“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)

As the woman of the house, I offer a prayer that God will speak to your heart and bless the words that I’ve placed here as food for your soul.

In Hebrew tradition, the youngest person is to sit to the right side of the leader at the table, and to his left is the guest of honor.

AT THE LAST SUPPER: It is traditionally believed that John, the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” the younger son of Zebedee, one of the pair that Jesus called Boanerges, or “Sons of Thunder” was the youngest disciple. Perhaps this is what triggered the discussion (arguement) between James and John and the other disciples, who would sit on His right and left in the kingdom of heaven (Mark 10:35-45 and Matthew 20:20-28). If John would get to sit at Jesus’ right, of course their mother wished that her other son James would get to sit on His left. And of course this caused a hue and cry with the other disciples (Luke 22:24). Jesus lovingly rebuked them (and remained discreet about the seating arrangements of His kingdom), except to say…

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)

“I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Luke 22:29-30)

THE FIRST OF FOUR CUPS OF WINE (Exodus 6:6-7): The meal begins with a cup of wine – the first cup… “I will bring you out,” says the Lord. The father pours the first cup and asks everyone to stand, and then he raises it to heaven and prays the prayer of sanctification (or Kiddush).

THE WASHING: One of the family members brings water and towels to everyone, that they may all be cleansed to handle the food.

Bodily cleansing vs spiritual cleansing: You’ve heard it said that cleanliness is next to godliness. Clean hands prevent the spread of disease, yes, but the Pharisees of Jesus day had become very legalistic about “the washing.” Jesus rebuked them in Mark 7 after His disciples were caught eating bread with unwashed hands. Jesus distinguished rituals and doctrine from true faith by saying, “Whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it enters his stomach and not his heart…what comes out of a man…evil things overflowing from his heart, those defile a man” (Mark 7:18-23). In other words, a pure heart is better than clean hands. That is the goal of our Savior – to give us a clean heart.

THE GREEN VEGETABLE: A green vegetable is dipped into salt water and eaten. It symbolizes that Passover happens in the spring, and the salt water represents the tears of the pain and suffering of slavery.

God’s word says ( in Genesis 8:21; Proverbs 22:15; Psalm 51:5 and Ephesians 2:1-3) that we are born with a sin nature. I wonder, does that grieve us? Because of our natural bent to sin we prove that we are slaves of sin. It is a commonly preached doctrin that humanity was made a slave of sin in the garden of Eden. For many of us it’s a tearful struggle to truly overcome the powerful temptations that constantly barage us – and to have the strength to stand up against Satan’s flaming arrows that are incessantly fired at us. God sees our tears.

THE MATZAH BROKEN: There are 3 pieces of Matzah (unleavened bread) in a linen bag on the table. In a traditional Seder the head of the house removes the center piece (afikomen), breaks it in half, puts half back and wraps the other half of the broken piece in a napkin and hides it somewhere in the house.

Afikomen is a Greek word (the only Greek word in the entire Passover) and simply means – I came. Isn’t that interesting? It was not part of the observance in Jesus’ day. It was added to the Seder by the Rabbis later; and it represents the lamb, and tradition holds that it must be eaten.

AT THE LAST SUPPER: Jesus broke bread with his disciples and said it was His body that was broken for us. Matzah is unleavened (leaven represents sin) cracker-type bread. It is pierced with a fork and has stripes on both sides from the grill that it is cooked on. Scripture tells us (in Isaiah 53:5) “He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

FOUR QUESTIONS: In Exodus 12:26 the children are to ask what is meant by this service. And so the youngest at the table (and often reclining on the leader) gets to ask the traditional questions that will tell the Exodus story: Why is this night different from all other nights?

On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread; why on this night do we eat only unleavened bread?
On all other nights, we eat all kinds of herbs, but why on this night do we eat only bitter herbs?
On all other nights, we do not dip even once, but why on this night do we dip twice?
On all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but why on this night do we eat reclining?

AT THE LAST SUPPER: “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of the His disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). This seems to confirm that John was the youngest, and sitting to the right of Jesus at the Last Supper.

THE SECOND CUP…I will rescue you from their bondage. A second cup of wine is poured and the questions are answered with a long and detailed story of the history of Israel, from Abraham’s calling out of Ur all the way through to Moses and the 10 Commandments.

Each plague is described and a little wine is poured out for each.

The Passover Plate is part of the telling of this story. Before the second cup is consumed Psalm 113-118 (which is the Hallel – a word that means praise) is spoken.

It is believed that the Levites chanted this Hallel while the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

THE MATZAH DIPPED: After a second “ceremonial” hand washing, the top Matzah and what is left of the middle afikomen are broken up and given to each person at the table. Each person dips the bread into the horseradish and haroset (a sweet apple concoction) and then eats it. It symbolizes the sweetness of God’s redemption from the bitterness of slavery. There should be enough horseradish on the bread to cause the person eating to shed tears.

AT THE LAST SUPPER: “[Jesus] rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded” (John 13:4-5). Jesus is the sweetness and the one who washes us. “And Judas, who had dipped with Jesus, went off to his task, as a slave of sin.”

THE MEAL: At this point the lamb is served, with bitter herbs and Matzah. Modern meals include fish, matzah ball soup, glazed chicken, stuffing, potato kugel, honeyed carrots, stewed fruit, and sponge cake. (This is the menu I fervently desire to serve my guests for Easter Dinner at least one Easter in our lives).

AT THE LAST SUPPER: “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:15-16)

This just melts my heart, that it was Jesus’ fervent desire to eat this one last meal on earth with His closest friends. Perhaps it was the sweetness that would get Him through the bitterness of the Cross. The taste of which would linger on His tongue as He was bruised for our iniquity. It should linger in our minds until that day when we can savor it WITH HIM, in His kingdom.

It simply astounds me how Jesus was the fulfillment of so much history, but how he is the pivoting point in the chiastic structure of scripture that also shows us our future. These feasts are a picture of what has been, and what is coming, so clearly illustrated in this verse. Jesus celebrated with His friends a meal that had been part of all their lives for all their lives, and part of their culture for as long as people had lived on the earth. And He tells us that it has yet to be ultimately fulfilled in heaven. This very feast, this very meal. Oh my … just very cool!

THE MATZAH FOUND: After supper the kids are excused to go look for the hidden piece of afikomen. Like an Easter Egg Hunt in a way. Whoever finds it is rewarded, and the piece is broken up and shared by all.

THE LAST SUPPER: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26) “which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19)

This is the communion bread, the bread of the covenant, and the Holy Communion that He instituted with us His church, that we all practice to this day! And may we continue to practice this ritual, as our Hebrew brothers and sisters practice Passover/unleavened bread, until the day we are seated at His table eating it with HIM! 🍴🍪🍷

THE THIRD CUP…the cup of redemption, is poured and sipped, and one of the children goes to the front door to see if Elijah the prophet is there to welcome him in (Mal.4:5).

AT THE LAST SUPPER: Jesus presented “the cup after supper” (Luke 22:20). “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. This is the cup that Jesus used to institute the Holy Communion, which He asked that we keep in remembrance of Him.

In Matthew 17:10 the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say Elijah must come first?” Jesus said that Elijah has come (He was referring to John the Baptist – Mal.4:5-6; Luke 1:17), and is coming to restore all things. How curious that Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration, since the first Passover came through Moses and during Passover feast the Jews look for Elijah. The name Elijah means Jehovah is God.

THE FOURTH CUP…I will take you as My people. The cup of acceptance or praise is poured and drank.

AT THE LAST SUPPER: Jesus did not sip of this cup. “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:17) “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29)

CLOSING HYMN: The Seder ends with the singing of the last part of the Hallel (Psalm 115-118).

THE LAST SUPPER: “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Matthew 26:30)

*Much of the information for the Jewish Seder Traditions came from: The Feasts of the Lord, God’s Prophetic Calendar from Calvary to the Kingdom, By Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal

WOW! Is it a coincidence that Jesus and his disciples sang, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone?” Psalm 118:22

Remember the leaven that is purged from all Jewish homes before Passover? Paul, a former Jewish priest said, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) which connects directly to the ancient Passover practice of removing all leaven from Jewish homes.

Is it a coincidence that Jesus was perfect, without sin, and that he was crucified on a cross at the exact time as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered and prepared?

Is it a coincidence that fathers break and hide the middle piece of unleavened bread during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in the exact timeframe when Jesus was taken from the cross and buried in a tomb?

John the Baptist (the New Testament version of Elijah) called Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29-30).

John, the apostle, who reclined on Jesus at the Last Supper definitely believed Jesus to be the Passover Lamb, referring to him as such 27 times in the book of Revelation.

And Simon (Cephas), whom Jesus renamed Peter, for on the rock (the New Testiment translation of Petra – where the name Peter comes from) He would build His church, said “we were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers, but the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

And Philip hearing the Ethiopian reading Isaiah the prophet, asked if he knew what he was reading when he read “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before it shearer is silent…” and beginning at this scripture, Philip preached Jesus to him.”

Jesus, it says in Hebrews 9:28, was offered once to bear the sins of many. He was without spot or blemish (Hebrews 9:14).

Jesus our Passover (Rev. 5:9), made atonement for our sins at His death, and as our High Priest forever went and sprinkled that blood on the mercy seat in heaven (Lev. 16:3, 14; Rom. 5:9,10).

When Jesus ascended to heaven forty days after Passover (see my Bible study blog post for Firstfruits), He sent the Holy Spirit back for us, as promised, (see my Bible study blog post for Pentecost) to live in us when we accept Him as Savior and make Him OUR Lamb, as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Pet.1:3-5; Rev. 5:6).

The Holy Spirit invisibly seals us (marks us) on the day we believe. God knows whose are His (2 Tim. 2:19), because we have His Spirit inside of us to mark us.

Marks in Scripture:

“Do not come near anyone who has the mark” (Eze. 9:6). In Genesis 4:15 God placed a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him for what he did to his brother. The mark protected Cain, just like the Passover blood protected the Israelites.

And just as God saved his people Israel from the plague of death in Egypt, Ezekiel tells us of a man dressed in linen with a writer’s horn at his side (Eze. 9:2,11) who will “Go through the midst of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it” This seal will protect them from the one whose job it is to destroy everything wicked.

This part of Ezekiel (9:3) sounds very much like what Revelation tells of a warrior/angel who places a seal on the servants of God, of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (Could this be an application of the blood atonement reserved for God’s chosen people, His elect?). This seal is marked on their foreheads (Rev. 7:1-8; 14:1) (akin perhaps to the phylacteries of the original priests (Exodus 28:38; Exodus 13:16; Deut. 6:8).

These elect are the firstfruits to God (Revelation 14:4).

After that remnant of Israel are sealed/marked, then Revelation says we are all gathered together, of every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, and we shall all worship at the throne of God with palm branches in our hands (Rev. 7:9-12 Palm Sunday in heaven, or likely the Palms we shall bring for our Sukkah’s – which you can read about in my Feast of Booths blog post); for death shall have no dominion over us (John 6:54, 57, 58; Rom. 6:9-11).

Now this one should give you goosebumps, if you don’t already have them … a footnote in my Bible (New King James Version Spirit Filled Life Bible, Thomas Nelson Publisher) for Ezekiel 9:4 says, “the Hebrew word for “mark” is taw, the final letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which in the ancient script looked like an “X” or a cross.” A CROSS, really? Is that amazing? Rev. 22:13 says that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. What the disciples thought was the end of their Messiah, was just the beginning of a new testament, with an amazing end. What were Jesus’s last words as He gave up His last breath on that cross? “It is finished!” Therefore, He who began a good work in us will see it on to completion (Romans 9:28 Philippians 1:6).

Of course Satan, ever attempting to counterfeit God, will try to force his mark on people (Rev. 13:16). He masquerades as an angel of light. Beware and be watchful. His mark will be a requisite for anything to be bought or sold. Oh how I desire to either be with Jesus by then, or be completely self-sufficient and off the grid – and content with such things as I have, and part of a body of believers who takes care of each other (Acts 4:32). For those will be terrible times.

In Revelation 22:4 it says that we who have the Spirit shall all see God’s face, and the Lamb, and His name shall be on our foreheads. Amen. Christ, our Passover and the I AM, is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2).

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6

Bible Study, Come for Supper, Devotional, Entertaining, Feast on This, Hospitality, Testimonies & Personal Stories

Welcome…

June 27, 2013April 15, 2020 mrshlovesjesus

Welcome…

…to my new adventure in writing… (I’m just horsin’ around, really).

Sooooooo…if you’ve stumbled upon this post today by some divine fortuity, and lavished even one precious minute of your life (that you’ll never get back) upon reading my stuff, I hope and pray you leave with something eternally useful in your heart.

GIFT OF HOSPITALITY – HO HUM

The Lord has been patiently prodding this stubborn old mule/me for years to fan into flame the gift – if you want to call it that. But my obedience to obey ebbs and flows as the ocean tides. One season will bring a warm current of inspiration, and as it runs through will have me twirling and tossing about in swirling eddies of eagerness. I’m coaxed from my inhibitions, like a feral cat out from under a rickety porch, to crack open my front door, peek with squinted eyes outside to see who might be there, and even muster the courage to inv… to inv… to invite you inside. Encouraged by your warm response I might feel eager to throw an even bigger shindig next time.

But just as surely as the autumn leaves fall off the trees, a cool wind will blow in my heart (life gets busy, or sad, or new interests vie for my attention; a dish will go awry, friends will cancel last-minute, or the heartwarming comedy I so carefully constructed somehow ends in tragedy – ugh, drama). The disappointment loosens my grasp on that high place where I had climbed to. I lower my sails, dump my plans overboard, pull up the anchor (or actually it’s the welcome mat), switch off the porch light, turn the deadbolt on my decorative, etched glass door…and retreat into the depths of my quiet abode with just my loved ones and my thoughts.

The funny thing about a comfort zone however, is that it is only serene and nice for a while, and then it becomes dreary, and boring, and lifeless. Ho-hum! In my lackluster funk I make up my mind that I am sick to death of all the same old dishes, and begin to only half-heartedly piddle in the kitchen. All my meals end up as “blackened” (something) – the smoke alarm becomes our new dinner bell. The answer to what’s for dinner is met with, “Are you talking to me?” in my Jersey Mike’s Godfather voice …or “TAKE OUT!” I give up wanting to cook even more, because I have no (nix, nada) desire to clean up the mess afterward. Ho-Ho-Ho-humbug!

The longer this season lasts, the more lowly I feel until desperate for friendship I’ll dust off my Bible and invite Jesus for coffee. God bless Him, He is always faithful to bring a sermon, steer me to a new recipe, drag me to some new person, or march me by a holiday, and before I know it His warm El Niño will drift back into my heart again. His latter rains will fall on my parched and sun-baked soul, and what-do-you-know I’m floating in the great flood plain again.

God’s word, the company of Jesus, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit never fail to re-persuade me that LIFE IS ALL ABOUT THE TABLE – and our calling to it is irresistible.

This blog is my homely confession but handsome voyage. Could it also be yours?

COFFEE WITH DAD

Many years ago, one summer Sunday morning, I was a young mom with young children, and a brand new Christian. Husband was gone to work and I was ready to leave for church, but my car wouldn’t start. I called my dad to ask him what could be the matter with it, hoping it might be something simple that I could fix, and then be on my way. He said he’d be right over, and the generous, helpful man that he predictably was, in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, was there. We popped the hood and he worked his magic, as dads always do. He made the old jalopy live again. But by this time it was a half hour past the start of church and I decided I didn’t want to walk in late. So I made a pot of coffee, put the kids in their play clothes, and Dad and I sat for a visit.

My dad and I have had our share of “philosophical” conversations over the years, and a few about religion. I’ve never seen my dad read the Good Book, or grace the pews of God’s house, except for the time when he and Mom came to my baptism, but that isn’t to say he is devoid of religion. I may never have sought to be baptized (saved) if not for my dad, who made it clear he hoped his girls would all do that for him some day. His mother (my grandmother) was certainly a Spirit-filled, God-fearing woman as well, and had to have had at least as much influence on him as she did on me – his daughter.

This particular day, as the flowers prayed and the birds sang, Dad and I had church at my table. We sipped our brew and explored the back roads of many religious topics until our little heart-to-heart finally found a bench to rest on. Out of a quiet moment he asked me if I thought Jesus was the sort of man who would sit down and have a cup of coffee with you. Being a very new Christian at the time I didn’t know very much of my Bible, but the Holy Spirit dropped a scripture in my thoughts just then, and with assurance I spoke, “Oh yes, I think Jesus is exactly that kind of man. It says in Revelation, ‘Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me’” (Revelation 3:20).

I think both our hearts burned within us just then. Dad sat, quietly, thinking, and then he gathered up his hat, sipped the last drop from his cup, and said, as he went to the door, “There have been a few times in my life when I felt close to God, but this might be the closest.” And with that he placed his cap and was on his way.

I cherish this and all the good memories, for Dad is now a prisoner in the dark world of dementia, a mere whisper of the man he once was. He is fragile, and old, and many miles away from me now. As I write this he’s in a nursing home recuperating from a fall in which he broke his hip. I called Mom this last Veteran’s Day and asked her to pass on my “Happy Veteran’s Day” wishes to Dad. I was surprised when she said, “You can tell him yourself, he has been very lucid today. In fact he just asked about you.” “He did?” I replied in astonishment. “Yes, he said, where’s my Colleen? I seem to have lost track of her.” It reduced me to tears instantly! …And again now as I write about it.

Dad didn’t talk long, but we got to hear each other’s voices, and for a brief moment God filled my heart another time with affection for him, on this meandering, uncertain road of life we journey. I hope God used our chat that summer day. I hope my dad trusted Jesus in his heart and found his peace with God. Jesus certainly used my dad to speak to me that day too. For it was after that I began to realize, and piece together in my heart, a portrait of our Father’s kingdom, and His ministry at the supper table.

If you read His word and follow the bread crumb trail, the sum of the Bible points us to a meal with Jesus. The first scraps to fall from the Master’s table are in Genesis, where God gave Adam and Eve a garden for their table and communed with them there (Genesis 2:8-9; 3:8). It follows them out of the garden, leads into an ark (Genesis 7:1, 16), and back off again (Genesis 8:20). “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs…behold I establish my covenant with you and with your descendents after you” (Genesis 9:3, 9). The bread crumbs lead Abraham to the land of promise (Genesis 12:7, 8) and into a tent by some terebinth trees (Genesis 13:18) where he had a meal with God. “Then Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.” (Genesis 14:18) He blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him a tithe. And God made a covenant (a name change and circumcision was established) with Abraham there (Genesis 15).

The Lord and two others visited Abraham’s tent later and received Abraham’s hospitality, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by…” (Genesis 18:3-5). And when Abraham sought a wife for his son Isaac, his servant encountered the plentiful hospitality of Laban, Rebekah’s brother (Genesis 24:31-33, 54-55). And thus God taught all of us, His children, about hospitality.

God staked his tent in the Wilderness with us here on earth, broke bread (or manna) and passed the offering plate through Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy; teaching us to share the bounty of our crops and herds (our tithes and offerings) to help the needy (Levite, stranger, fatherless, widow). From one great deliverance (Passover) to the next (Purim) God teaches His people to celebrate with feasts. Hot dishes have been passed from one judge’s table to another, one king’s table to another, and one prophet’s table to another, until they found their place at the Last Supper – a rehearsal of Passover but also a glimpse of the future Wedding Feast of the Lamb. For it was at this supper that Jesus instituted the Holy Communion and said, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). He told of this Heavenly Feast in Matthew 22 and Revelation 19:9, giving us glimpses of heaven, and something to look forward to.

Jesus, in his earthly ministry, said to the wee little man, Zacchaeus, “Come down from there, for I’m coming to your house,” And to the church of the Laodiceans in Revelation He announced, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). God has been our host and asks to be our guest. He teaches us to be both good hosts and good guests. His Spirit flows into and then out of each of us. I have found God’s WORD to be a magnificent tapestry of the art of breaking bread. He is the Father of it and His word begs us to learn to practice with Him, and to look forward to a fulfillment in heaven. This is the spirit and inspiration behind this blog, although it is comical, almost scandalous that God would have me (honestly me?) put together a blog about hospitality.

Surely He jests.

EATING & DRINKING – GOD’S DESIGN?

My sister is a Baptist and you know what they say about Baptists don’t you? Well, they love to eat! Her church has about as many food fellowships as worship services. I’ve been included to participate in many of them, and although some may call it excess, I think they are wise indeed. “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children” (Matthew 11:19). Every feast established by God in scripture is a shadow of things to come – a rehearsal of a future event. “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” Colossians 2:17.

When tax collectors and sinners drew near to Jesus, to hear Him, the Pharisees and scribes of that day also complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them’ (Luke 15). So Jesus spoke parables to them. He told one story of the prodigal son (the wayward son who squandered half the family wealth – as we do also when we spend God’s gifting on ourselves and our own pleasures). When he returned home (as we do when we accept Christ as Savior), his father (like our Father in heaven) ran to him (even though his sins were great) when he saw him returning home and coming down the road. With tears in his eyes he hugged his neck, kissed him, and blessed God that he had returned. The son asked forgiveness, but the father never mentioned his transgressions. Instead, he called for the best robe, a ring, and sandals for his feet. And after that, he threw a grand feast with music and dancing, because his son had been lost and now he was found. I believe that is the picture God wants us to see of heaven. It’s exactly what I believe is going to happen. That is how thrilled I believe our Lord will be to see us and welcome us to heaven, and to His table.

THE SUPPER TABLE – A COPY & SHADOW

It is a shame to admit what we in this country have done to the supper table (shoved it off in a special room that nobody goes into, made a shrine of it, or piled it high with unfolded laundry and school books – wait, am I the only one?). God didn’t intend meals to be in front of the TV (not that there’s anything wrong with that on occasion), and surely He intended for meals to not be a necessary evil, but a blessing. God made us to need food. He gave us fruits and vegetables, grains, fishes and meat to be received with thanksgiving for nourishment. But beyond that, He gave us herbs and spices and tongues and taste buds to ENJOY the flavors. Why would He do that? Surely He knew some of us would have no self-control, or that we’d eat all the wrong things and for all the wrong reasons, and make ourselves sick, or develop allergies, or make endless diets to fix endless problems? Stop the merry-go-round for a minute and think…maybe we wouldn’t have all those issues if we went back to eating our meals with gratitude, at the table, with our Unseen Guest.

“And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you” Deuteronomy 12:7

Maybe if mealtime was a retreat and destination rather than a filling station beside the busy highway of life we wouldn’t have to count calories, check our plate size, or worry about the cholesterol count – the Lord would bless that food to our bodies for strength and health. And that satisfying meal would sustain us to the next one. Maybe if we took the time to savor truly delicious food (coupled with rich conversation) we wouldn’t have such an addiction to garbage food (and gossip)? Perhaps if we made the Lord the center of the experience we’d have His blessing upon it, and all the diets and obesity would go obsolete. I don’t know…just sayin’.

Here’s an idea. Would you be willing to give it a try with me? Shall we make the effort to make at least one dinner a month (for now) into a “special occasion?” Shall we gather around the table and eat before the Lord? This doesn’t have to be a huge production; it just has to include reverence and gratitude, and our Master – who has provided it. We don’t have to be limited by my scanty recipe suggestions, or be wrangled into cheffy cuisine – but sometimes a new cookbook inspires my enthusiasm. And if we’re too nervous to cook, there’s always take-out. The main thing is that God, family, and friends are gathered around, that there is love, and a table is at the center of it – and that we learn what God’s heartbeat is about eating with others, with friends and strangers, with family and with Him. For if we learn it, I know (I just know it) we will be blessed in it. We’ll see the big picture.

Are you in this with me? Are you ready to find a blessing? Our kids might even want to invite their friends over to show off their cool mom’s creativity with food and music and decorations. Then again, you might be thinking, “No kids, just hubby!” Send the kids away for the evening and surprise the husband with a gourmet meal and romantic evening. Maybe there are no kids or they are grown and moved away. Maybe there is no husband? What if the next time we ate a meal out all by ourselves, we sought out another who may be in the restaurant all by themselves, and we shared the meal and a grace with them?

Who knows that God placed us here for such a time as this? Do we know our neighbors? Why not have them over and pay them back for all the snow shoveling they did with their groovy little machine over the winter, or thank them for the times they watched the house, took in our mail, watered our garden, watched the dog, and made it look like we were home when we were away. Wouldn’t it be nice to show our appreciation by making an evening unforgettable for them!

Maybe there are some new neighbors (or acquaintances at work…or church)? Shall we introduce ourselves, treat them to a home-cooked meal, and in the process introduce them to … well … God’s Supper Table, and give them a glimpse of heaven?

In the pages of this blog I’ve shared themed meals and recipes from all over the world, for the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind; here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but we are all one in Christ. This gospel shall be preached in all the world, and all the nations will be gathered before the Lord, for He has redeemed us from every tribe and nation, every people and language.

I’ve shared some of the most precious things I’ve learned from scripture. And I’m passing along a hodge-podge of other little things too (crafts, projects, hobbies, etc.) as life has brought them to me, I am sharing with you.

I hope you’ll enjoy my little cul-de-sac on the Web. It is all God’s doing. I hope you’ll join with me also in fanning into flame this gift that God has placed within us. Let us not forsake the gathering of ourselves together, or neglect the spiritual nourishment that our earthly bodies so desperately need.

May our Lord bless and keep you forever! IJN Amen

After Dinner Entertainment

Game Options

“And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it [is] the gift of God.” Ecclesiastes 3:13

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I chose Derby Day DVD game

The Horse Race Game (board game)

Outdoor Game of Horseshoes

Auction & Door Prizes

Make Blue Ribbons for the Hat Contest

DO THE SHOPPING: Buy Plates, Napkins, silver beverage cups, etc. and all the silver service I can lay hands on to serve my buffet foods in, and find decorations.

Party Music

Invitations

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH HENRY BAIN SAUCE

HOT BROWN SANDWICH

THE BENEDICTINE

CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD

JEZEBEL SAUCE

COLLEEN’S RACETRACK PIE

BOURBON BALLS

MINT JULEP

MINT TEA OR LEMONADE

“I returned and saw … the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all” Ecclesiastes 9:11

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Let’s start with INVITATIONS

Now let’s think about our TABLE SNACKS

Now, moving on to SWAG BAGS

Here is the SET-UP for an April Fool’s Bunco

MUSIC

What about PARTY FOODS?

PRANKS (hahahahaha)

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PRIZES

CHECKLIST

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SET UP YOUR TABLES

HOW TO PLAY

OTHER BUNCO THEMES TO TRY,

.

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God…'” Psalm 14:1

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“So he brought him into his house and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.” Judges 19:21

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RECIPES

P.S. Got leftover ham?

“And when [Herod] had apprehended [Peter], he put him in prison…intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Acts 12:4 (KJV)

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Pursuing the glow, the stalwart man drew near to the entrance of the kitchen, where the narrow rays of soft yellow light exposed a dreadfully macabre scene and what appeared to be a bloody knife left precariously behind on the countertop.

Was he too late? Had someone beat him there?

His heart throbbed in his chest. He reached for a weapon. His mind raced for what to do next. All-at-once the looming silence was broken by a shrill screech from a far-off room, and then a startling crash.

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints… is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Ephesians 1:26-28

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My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Ezekiel 37:27 (NKJV)

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” 1 Kings 8:27 (NKJV)

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5 (NKJV)

“Come away with Me…” Mark 6:31 (NKJV)

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2 (NKJV)

‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

“Surely I am coming quickly.” Revelation 22:20 (NKJV)

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“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV

The “Days of Awe”

The Lamb’s Book of Life

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15

Behold I stand at the door and knock… Choose you this day whom you will serve!

God’s Timing

The Fighter

Making Prayer a daily part of our lives

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. – Jesus

(Mathew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5)

Before you go, may we have a prayer together?

“In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.” Proverbs 16:6 NKJV

“And they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11

Next year in “New” Jerusalem!

* Closing toast for every Passover and every Yom Kippur observance, every year. Note that both feasts are about the blood, the Passover blood of the Lamb of God that takes away our sins, and the Atoning blood of our merciful High Priest that cleanses away our sins.

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The Feast of Trumpets

For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

“In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”
Proverbs 16:6 NKJV