Happy Happy Joy Joy...the feast of Purim




Hamentaschen

 

We celebrated the feast of Purim yesterday. Ok, maybe we didn't celebrate it per-se, but we did think about it and talk about it and eat some baked goods and read the book of Esther...so that's our way of at least acknowledging it. I also attempted to bake some traditional Purim snacks for our friends...a bit difficult when I still have no clue what the icons on my oven mean and the Celsius temperatures still bother me...so the extra crispy challah bread and the super bland hamentaschen weren't the best, better luck next year.

Purim is a time of joy and remembrance and honoring God for keeping His promises both then and now. We remeber Esther and Mordecai and the way God used them both to advance His kingdom and to save the Jewish race once again. It's sort of the 'Mardi Gras' of the festivals, complete with costume, song, dance, parade, lots and lots of wine, lots and lots of food, and joyous celebration. With everything going on it the world, it's easy to get caught up in the negative, hopeless attitude that ensnares many. We can become addicted to the news and what's going on each millisecond. We can throw the towel in and repeat phrases we once thought only our grandparents might use like 'this world is going to hell-in-a-handbasket' and all that gibber-jabber. So every now and then, it's nice to drop the dark cloud and do a little dance, thanking God for being in control of our lives, this world and always having a plan, even when things seem hopeless.