CKW2

In our family, we begin celebrating this 'set apart day' designed by
the L-rd for us by gathering at our dining room table. The table
around which we all gather to enjoy the Sabbath meal becomes a
special place and our family alter. We begin the celebration by me,
the woman of our home, lighting two candles while everyone
closes their eyes and listens to me say the blessing over the
candles.I may use the candle holders that were first used at our
wedding, symbolizing that we are His bride and we are waiting for
Him, our bridegroom to return to us to take us to the New
Jerusalem.

I may use our menorah symbolizing that which was in the temple. We usually
light two candles representing the two witnesses. My head is already covered as
I wear a head covering every day. However, I still like to drape my prayer shawl
over my head when lighting the candles representing that Adoni is my covering
and that I am His bride. I am to be submissive to Him and my husband and my
prayer shawl reminds me of that.I am under His protection when I am in His will.
I sway my hands around the flames encircling the flames gently and slowly and
pray that the flame and its smoke will light the corners and cracks of our home.

Afterward, I pray that Yeshua's light will go forth and that we will continue to
follow Him and be His light in this next week by studying His Word,
praying,teaching our children and ministering to others .( Some families we
know sing the blessing over the candle lighting.But, I have not mastered that
yet.) Like the incense that represents our prayers being lifted up to Adonai, so
the smoke of the candles is lifted up to Him and throughout our home.I pray that
His light will show us any sin in our lives and that we would repent and turn
away from it.Many of these prayers I say to myself with no one else hearing as
they are silent prayers to my Heavenly Father, while others I may say aloud so
that we can all join in together and be in agreement with them.

My husband or our teenage son lift up the home made challah bread and recite from the
heart the blessing for the bread in Hebrew and in English. Sometimes, if we have been
too busy to grind grain and bake challah bread that day, we may lift up pizza crust we
made or pancakes instead. But, we do try to have challah bread for the spiritual
meanings of the challah bread. The challah bread is especially made just for the Sabbath
and has such rich spiritual meanings and symbols from the braiding to the ingredients.

While the bread is lifted up, I think of Yeshua being lifted up to His Heavenly Father
when He died on the tree to take in our sins upon Himself willingly.How He rose
from the grave, conquering death.I ponder how He said He is the bread of life and
no man can come to the Father except through Him.I thank Him for His undying love
and pain for us. Sometimes I think about how His body was torn for us,
brokenhearted, like the middle matzah bread(afikomon)we remember Him by at
Pesach.
How His body was hidden, like the afikomon, but in a cave, covered
in white cloth, which were His buriel clothes and wrappings.How we
as little children come to Him in child like faith, just like the little children who find
the hidden afikomon and bring it back to their father! And, then receive a prize!
Hallelujah! Or, I may remember a sin I committed that day and know that He offered
up His body for that sin. I seek His forgiveness and strength to turn away from that
sin the next time. I may be reminded of something I should have done, but did not;
or I did not do it in the right spirit, and I ask forgiveness again.

Our son offers up the juice in a special glass that we reserve for use only for the Sabbath
meal. He recites the blessing and we often join in unison in Hebrew and in English. I
think of the blood that was poured out for us willingly.I ponder how sweet the L-rd is
just like the taste of the juice and how I want to drink in all He has for me.How so alive
our living G-d is and how He gives us life through His Torah, His Tenach, His New
Covenant, His body, His Ruach Hakodesh.I think about how so many others across the
world are also worshipping in the same way as we are that night and have for centuries.
I feel we are not alone.

We take turns laying both our hands over our children's heads and bless them and
pray over them.We have the children pray for one another too.And, I pray over my
husband and he blesses and prays for me.I covet those prayers and hold them in my
heart.Sometimes we pray for something the children are working on spiritually
and sometimes it is mainly for physical health .Whatever character trait we are
desiring them to have, we take the time to pray for that at this time.We ask them
what they want us to pray for also; we also allow them time to search their own
hearts before the L-rd.

One of my favorite moments on the erev of the Sabbath is gazing at how the candle
flame's glow lights up each one of our faces.I think everything looks better in
candlelight!Even the doll our daughter has brought to the table with all her colored
marker drawings on the doll's head our daughter drew on her to look like hair,
looks beautiful.Sometimes she will cover her doll's head with a tiny silk scarf .We
often have her stuffed purple friend, Barney, join us for Shabbat as well.

We also occasionally put everyone's name in a basket and everyone pulls out a
name with their eyes closed.We read our daughter's name she pulled out to her as
she does not read yet. We then have to 'serve' the person who's name we pulled,
throughout the week, anonymously! We give foot massages or do the dishes for
the person or read a favorite story book to our daughter or do a chore that they
are responsible for, giving that person a break, or serve them hot tea without
being asked etc. It really helps us focus on being a servant and also paying
attention to what we each like and do not like. It takes the attention off ourselves
and unto another family member.Then at the end of the week, we like to guesse
who picked who's name.Sometimes we fool one another and serve two people all
week, making it harder to figure out who has who's name.

We try to go to bed at a halfway descent hour so that we are refreshed in the
morning to prepare for the Sabbath service at our congregation .I think we all
sleep really well on Fridays because we have spent quality time as a family
together with the L-rd and so He blesses us with good sleep for honoring Him.

In the winter our wood stove is constantly ablaze as that is how we choose to heat our home.We
truly love watching the fire through the glass doors of the wood stove and relaxing and talking.Our
daughter calls this the 'family meeting game' , which is simply all of us sharing what is on our
hearts about attitudes, things we want to do, things we want to see changed etc.Noone is allowed
to interupt whoever is sharing or asking questions and we all agree to listen thoroughly to one
another.We may take notes about something that is shared and pray about being accountable to
making it transpire.We 'vent' a lot on Friday evenings and we go to bed feeling refreshed and'set
free' from whatever that was heavily laid on our heart that week.Our daughter can't wait for
'family meeting game time.'

The rest of the evening holds Bible readings and or games that we can all join in on.We love
board games and our daughter enjoys preschool card games.We often have a Bible crossword
puzzle or 'find the word' Bible game to play and learn at the same time.

We usually bring out the musical instruments and start jammin' for the L-rd and may go over the
songs for the Shabbat service we are to lead worship in.

Sometimes we bake cookies which is so much fun when dad gets involved making his favorite
oatmeal/raisin cookies while I tease saying that I wish it was filled with carob instead.

We usually do not answer the phone during this family time, unless it is an emergency, and the
computer is shut off .We usually reserve 'movie night' for Sunday nights.But, if we have found a
really good family moral building movie , we sometimes can't wait till Sunday and watch it
together Friday followed by a question and answer time of what the movie meant to us and what
it taught etc.

We know a lot of families who like to read the Torah portions that will be read the next day at
the congregational service. But, we like to read the Torah portions, the Brit Hadasha etc at the
congregation on Saturdays, hear the message pertaining it and then dig into anything we did not
understand or want to get more insight on during the following week on our own. And,because
we are reading the Bible chronologically, right now, in our home school studies we are always
learning other scriptures in the Bible that we want to research.For instance, we took longer in
reading the creation story because we dug in deeper with unit studies, ancient hebrew letters,
star formations, etc and so we study according to what we are learning at a pace in which we
can dig deep in the order we are reading it.Our reading schedule at home covers more ground
than just the Torah.But, every family needs to cater their reading schedule of daily Bible reading
according to their needs and curriculum.We do read the Torah portions.But, we usually read
them during the service first and decide if we want to research the Torah more that week or
just stick to what we are already learning in our readings in scripture together.

The home has historically been for the Hebrews and then the first Messianic believers a main
focus,' a temple' so to speak, to teach our children in and one another and to fellowship, eat,
worship and pray together.Children are even born in homes .For us, to go back to that value and
begin the Sabbath at home together as a family has been a joy that pulls us together in Him and
allows us to 'delight' in His Shabbat.

Bible and history:

Do a study on where the first believers met for worship.

What is the blessing over the juice(wine), bread, children, wif e?

Can you say it in Hebrew?

Why are there typically two candles to be lit at the erev of the Sabbath?
What scriptures refer to this?

Why does the woman cover her head during candle lighting times?

What is challah bread?(see the challah bread teaching)

What does the table represent?

Science:

What causes a match to light?

What is sulfur?

What happens when light is extinguished?

How does oxygen play a part in a flame?

How does one make candles?

What is bees wax?

What ingredients make candles burn longer?

Why have wicks changed over the past few years?

Why should we check what kind of wicks we have in our household candles?

English:

vocabulary and spelling words to add to your notebooks:

challah bread

shabbat

sabbath

menorah

blessing

Torah

erev

head covering

mitzvah

aleinu

tzitzis

kippah

Study the formation of the ancient Hebrew letters and how they tell prophetic truths by reading
this wonderful, eye opening book:

''Hebrew Word Pictures" by Dr. Frank T. Seekins and can be purchased through
www.hebrewworld.com