On top of my reading plan, the seminary class I'm currently taking is a survey of the Old Testament (OT), which means Leviticus and I will be spending some quality time together.

As I dove into the first 4 chapters last night, I was in need of some help, I consulted my ESV Study Bible for some visual aids to provide perspective, and my brand spanking new textbook for clarification. I hope to share some insights in the coming days, but would like your input as well.

At it's core, Leviticus lets us know that holiness in the presence of a holy God is not optional. As you read it, you must keep the rest of the story in the forefront of your mind, that Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial system with his death, so much of Leviticus is moot, but still infinitely important.

We are told that the meaning of the OT was to make us long for Christ and to make us overwhelmingly aware of our failures and frailties, so that we would cling to the cross, and glorify God with our lives evermore. It's not a list of rules, regulations or how to's. The OT is the story of relationship formed after the fall, and the lengths God will go to in the rescue and redemption of his creation.

Leviticus was written at a unique time in Asian culture where a multitude of other beliefs existed, all with animal sacrifice and holiness codes, but none like these followers of the one true God. Mesopotamians would sacrifice animals to tell the future, reading their entrails. The Jewish sacrifices were directly linked to the RELATIONSHIP formed with God, not as a way to appease him. God sought sacrifice for his people to be clean, not to make him happy. (This of course was foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ in the future, when the entire system would be done away with) The holiness codes separated the Jews from their near neighbors by even greater margins, making them an even more different group of people, for the world to behold.

As we read through the first 4 chapters, nothing alarming, other than the minute details of how exactly the offerings are to be received. In addition, it is made quite clear that those in service as priests will be held to a higher standard than anyone else, and that professional ministry should not be entered into lightly.

More to come tomorrow.

For many, when the term Sabbath is used, immediately a day filled with church comes to mind, which isn't bad, but not the heart of what God is commanding. Let's face it, the pattern was set for us in the ordering of creation in Genesis 1. Do you really think the creator of the universe needed a day to rest because he got so tired? No, it was to teach us that we are not meant to work everyday, not meant to stress ourselves crazy, not meant to drive ourselves so hard we forget our families, and we are not to put anything before God. A day of rest is a blessing from God to keep our sanity and to keep our focus on God instead of ourselves.

We take Friday as our Sabbath and it's the best day of my week. My kids live in this rhythm and know that for all the work mommy and daddy do during the week, there is a day devoted to loving life, and thanking God for all that we have and all that we are called to do.

With the sun finally shining today, we got out of the house to fight back the perpetual stir craziness that was happing:)

We started our day with some swimming at the YMCA

We ate some "Fried Food Friday" cuisine.

Took a trip to the playground

And finished the evening with a little family movie.

What will you do during Sabbath this week?

Needless to say, when we watched this one the other night, it led to tears of joy. Eli and Savannah both can recite some of the dialouge, and we shared it with two bible studies this week.

Enjoy

P.S. Do you think we need help?

What out ladies..... These two fellas are on the loose, dominating soccer fields and emulating their original stud fathers more every day.

As we walked into her room, she almost leapt from my arms to get a book from her book shelf. It was the little pink bible that Eli insisted on getting her when she was born, so she would be "able to learn about Jesus." Usually we sing a few songs as we rock, and then Savannah goes down for the count in her crib. Tonight she didn't want to sing, but wanted to read her bible. The only problem was that her light was turned off so she would go to bed. I asked her if she wanted me to tell her about Jesus, and in that adorable Savannah voice, she said, "ya."

I began to whisper in her ear the story of God's love for her, his creating of the world, our rebellion against him, the love of God for us through his son, the sacrifice on the cross by Christ, and how one day the world will be made right, once and for all. I whispered to Savannah that God loves her more than daddy, and that daddy love's her more than life itself.

I then placed her in the crib, and as I pat her back, I prayed that God would awaken her heart to his love and call Savannah to himself. I prayed for my little girl's future, for her future husband, for her future life devoted to Jesus more than anyone else. It was one of the most precious moments of my life as a parent.

I love you Savannah.......

I've always wondered, what exactly constituted "Manna" and have been met with various explanations that just didn't jive. Like most things I ponder, the answer is right in front of my face, but I just don't see it.

Exodus 16 ---- 31  Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.32 Moses said, This is what the Lord has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.33 And Moses said to Aaron, Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept.35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

Coriander Seed

See, reading the Bible in a year will lead you to all kinds of answers:)

GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to the ingenuity of a little girls invention, turned marketing success, Mr. Tofu enjoyed crisp bacon on his BLT, straight from the microwave. Of course, he wasn't too fond of the vegtables on the sandwich, but he endured them for the savory, salty taste of fatty pig flesh:)

I've tried bluetooth headsets, but they never work and always need charged. The Apple supplied headphones work great and are more practical for listening to music. If headphones are good enough for Jack Bauer, they're good enough for me:)

Now I just need to get a silencer and my gear bag will be CTU complete