May Light always surround you ;
Hope kindle and rebound you.
May your Hurts turn to Healing;
Your Heart embrace Feeling.
May Wounds become Wisdom ;
Every Kindness a Prism.
May Laughter infect you ;
Your Passion resurrect you.
May Goodness inspire
your Deepest Desires.
Through all that you Reach For,
May your arms Never Tire.
~ D. Simone
Hanukkah begins tonight with the lighting of one candle. An additional candle is lit each night.
The Shamash (Servant) Candle is placed in the holder that is higher than or set apart from the other eight holders. The Shamash candle is used to light the others on each night of Hanukkah.
Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) stated in Mark 10:44-45: Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
First Candle:
Genesis 1:3-4 describes the creation of the first light: Elohim said, Let there be light”/ and there was light. And Elohim saw that the light was good; and Elohim separated the light from the darkness.
Second Candle:
Exodus 13:21-22 reveals that YHVH is the source of Israel’s light: And YHVH was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night; from before the people.
Third Candle:
King David reminds us in Psalm 27:1 and Psalm 18:28 that YHVH Himself is the source of our own individual light: YHVH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? YHVH is the defense of my life; whom shall I dream? For You light my lamp; YHVH my Elohim illumines my darkness.
Fourth Candle:
Psalm 119:105 and Psalm 119:130 describe the light that comes from YHVH’s Word: Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
Fifth Candle:
Messiah Yeshua is the greatest light of all: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:4-5). As Messiah Yeshua was in the Temple in Jerusalem watching the illuminating lights, He declared: “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Aged Simeon was promised by YHVH that he would not die until he saw Israel’s Messiah. When he saw Yeshua as an infant in the Temple, he knew that this One was the Light of Israel and the Nations.
Simeon declared, “My eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:3023). For Elohim, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Messiah (2 Corinthians 4:6)
Sixth Candle:
After we come to know Messiah, we are to be a source of light for the world. King Messiah tells us in Matthew 5:14-16: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Seventh Candle:
The prophet Isaiah speaks of the future glory of a restored Israel in Isaiah 60:1-3: Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of YHVH has risen upon you…And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Eighth Candle:
Revelation 21:22-27 gives us a description of our glorious eternal dwelling place in the New Jerusalem: And I saw no temple in it, for YHVH Elohim, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of YHVH has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed; and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
“Do not hold your breath for anyone,
Do not wish your lungs to be still,
It may delay the cracks from spreading,
But eventually they will.
Sometimes to keep yourself together
You must allow yourself to leave,
Even if breaking your own heart
Is what it takes to let you breathe.”
~ Erin Hanson
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Just because one person rejects you doesn’t mean you need to reject yourself.
Just because some people choose to disregard your worth and treat you without kindness doesn’t mean everyone will, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to imitate their behavior.
The truth is that the way other people treat us isn’t about us—it’s about them and their own struggles, insecurities, and limitations. You don’t have to allow their judgment to become your truth.
You may not be able to control what other people say or how they act, but you can always choose how you treat yourself.
You can choose who you surround yourself with, and who you let go of. And no matter what your circumstances, you can choose to believe in yourself and your worth.
Because at the end of the day, trying to please everyone is exhausting and impossible. No matter how you change or who you become, there will always be someone who doesn’t approve.
So instead of wasting your energy in a futile attempt to become someone that other people want you to be, give yourself permission to be exactly who you are. And know that who you are is exactly enough.
The right people will find their way into your life.
These are the people who will love and accept you wholeheartedly and without conditions.
These are the people who matter.
Let go of the rest.
~ Daniell Koepke
“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
~ Ansel Adams
Watashiato (n) – Curiosity about the impact you’ve had on the lives of the people you know, wondering which of your harmless actions or long-forgotten words might have altered the plot of their stories in ways you’ll never get to see.
~ Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Aibohphobia is the (unofficial) fear of palindromes, which are words that read the same front and back and, you guessed it, the word itself is a palindrome.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: The phobia or fear of long words.
No matter how tough it is, just take one step at a time.
~ Unknown Author
No matter how slow, how small, or how wobbly, forward is forward and every step counts.
~ Unknown Author
Phobophobia: fear of having a phobia
When you eat fruit, do not throw seeds in the garbage pipeline. Wash and dry them. Put them in a box and leave it in the car. When you are on the way, throw through the window in places where there are no trees. Nature will take care of them itself. In Asian countries, this practice has existed for centuries. That’s why now their fruits grow everywhere.
~ Unknown Author
A man needs heroes. He needs to believe in strength, nobility and courage. Otherwise we become sheep to be herded to the slaughterhouse of death. I believe this. I am a soldier. I try to fight for the right cause. Sometimes it is hard to know.”
~Louis L’Amour, Sackett’s Land
You’ve Changed.” They Said.
“We’re Supposed To.” I Answered
~ Samantha Wilson
My Most Favorite Things 