Thankful Thursday - A Golden Rule Party

Have you ever been to a Golden Rule party?  We held one at our synagogue on Sunday afternoon. My teacups were delighted to attend, along with my crystal punch bowl, and silver trays.  Oh, how they love a good tea party.

Are you familiar with the Golden Rule?

Do unto others 

as you would have them do unto you

 

 

This is based on Leviticus 19:18, which we repeat every week during our liturgy:

 Love your neighbor as yourself.  I am Adonai.

Yeshua echoed it in Mark 12:31:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 

The Golden Rule is the basis for the rules of etiquette, which was our focus for the event we held for our young men and women.  We held twenty-minute sessions to share ideas about how the love our neighbor through good manners.  

The areas were communication in person, communication by telephone and internet,  table manners, and health and hygiene.  Each attendee was given a folder with relevant fill-in-the-blank note sheets, and handouts with reinforcing graphics.

LaVonne, teaching personal communications -

  

Brenda teaching telephone and internet communication

After each session, we played games to reinforce the lessons.  We all had fun with those, as you can see. 

An ice-breaker to reinforce how to meet and greet and make conversation

Learning teamwork

Learning to hear Hashem's voice

Reinforcing not talking with your mouth full

And, of course, we had food, which is why my teacups were so happy.  I had my heart set on having a tea party, so we did.  It turned out just lovely, as you can see.  Even the young men enjoyed it.

To finish the event, Rabbi taught a boys-only session on being a mensch (a righteous gentleman), and I held a girls-only session about being a virtuous young woman.  I gave them Jewish princess tips and also a princess tiara to remind them that they are a part of His royal family - ambassadors for Adonai.

Everyone, including the teens, had an enjoyable time, and it was a fun, creative way to reinforce the importance of the Golden Rule.

My grandson and I spent the evening before the party making cookies . . . from scratch, I'll have you know.

Martha Stewart would be envious, right?

Look at my little "Happy Cooker".  He loves to cook, especially cookies!

And, yes, of course, he took home a sizable bag for himself.

In the background, you'll see Rabbi Jem is helping, too, by stirring the peanut butter.

Here are a few more shots of the lovely table and food at the party:

LaVonne made these wonderful tea sandwiches, cut and then formed into a cake - so creative! She also made and dyed the bread.  Doesn't she make Martha Stewart look like a slouch?  We're giving her a run for her money, I'm telling ya!

And Brenda made this luscious, colorful fruit salad.

I have to tell you the funny story about the punch.  I forgot to bring the pineapple sherbet, so we just poured in the 7-UP and floated some of Brenda's cut fruit on top.  One of the young ladies said, "Is this water?"  We laughed and said, "Give it a try, and see!"  She liked it and used her good manners to compliment it.

We had a wonderful day together, and my teacups, especially, were over-the-moon thrilled to attend.  

I'm thankful to Hashem for this idea, which had been bubbling in my brain for a long time, and for the sweet ladies who so graciously helped make it happen.  I'm grateful for the help of Rabbi Jem and my grandson and, most of all, for the fine young men and women of our synagogue. 

What are you thankful for this week, Gail-Friends?

I sometimes share my posts with these friends:
  Spiritual Sundays  GRAND Social      Modest Mom Monday Link-up      The Art of Homemaking Mondays

 Hearth and Soul Link Party
   BLOGGING GRANDMOTHERS LINK PARTY     Share Your Cup Wednesday  Wordless Wednesdays    Classical Homemaking Link-Up     
    Favorite Things Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life  Paula's Weekend No Rules Blog Party Friendship Friday 
Sunday Thoughts Link-Up
 OVER THE MOON LINKY PARTY!

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Sabbath Music - The Hound of Heaven

Greetings and Shabbat Shalom to you, Gail-Friends.  I must start off with an apology.  Lately, I'd noticed I was not getting any comments here on the blog but I was busy and just shrugged it off.  Yesterday, I got an email from Blogger asking me if I wanted to continue to get notifications about new comments.   Well, of course, I do!  I don't know what happened to make them stop, but I should be getting those notifications going forward.  I've gone back through and answered the comments made ever since June to catch up, and I sincerely apologize for not acknowledging and responding to your comments.  I appreciate and always respond when someone takes the time to stop in and leave a message, especially the kind ones.

I have a song for you today that always makes me tear up.  The Lighthouse is a song that gives me chills and fills my heart with gratitude because, as the song says, I don't know where I'd be without Yeshua in my life.  He saved me and set me on the right path.

This is a good meditation for Shabbat -- just sit and think where your life would be if you didn't have Him and His Word.  I often wonder how people cope with life without The Good Shepherd's tender love, voice, and guiding hand.  Well, actually, I do know -- because I lived without Him for many years and was pretty much a mess.  Oh, I went to church but didn't truly follow His Word or His Ways.  I'm so grateful for the "Hound of Heaven" that chased me down and brought me to my knees in repentance, where I learned of a whole new world.  Here's the first stanza of that epic poem by Francis Thompson:

The Hound Of Heaven

By Francis Thompson (1890)

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

Up vistaed hopes I sped;

And shot, precipitated,

Adown titanic glooms of chasmèd fears,

From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

But with unhurrying chase,

And unperturbèd pace,

Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,

They beat—and a Voice beat

More instant than the Feet—

‘All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.’

Have you had experience with the Hound of Heaven?

I hope you have learned that that hound turned out to be the loving, tender Good Shepherd.

Blessings and Ahava (love) to you all.

I sometimes share my posts with these friends:
  Spiritual Sundays  GRAND Social      Modest Mom Monday Link-up      The Art of Homemaking Mondays
   BLOGGING GRANDMOTHERS LINK PARTY     Share Your Cup Wednesday Wordless Wednesdays    Classical Homemaking Link-Up     
    Favorite Things Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life  Paula's Weekend No Rules Blog Party Friendship Friday 
Sunday Thoughts Link-Up
 OVER THE MOON LINKY PARTY!

Thankful Thursday - Creative People

I love and am so thankful for creative people.  We have so many of them in our synagogue.  Here are a few examples from our family member, Lavonne Craft.  I call her the Queen of Creativity:

LaVonne has made three beautiful ark* curtains for our synagogue.  The first one was created in 2015.  and it says, "Sh'ma Israel."

The second ark curtain was made in 2016, and says, "Ma'gen Da'vid" and means "Shield of David."  It's also the name of our synagogue.

LaVonne and her husband, David.

All of this lovely embroidery and beadwork is done by hand.  All of these ark curtains are her own designs.


The ark curtain below is her most recent embroidery creation.  The Hebrew is translated:

The Torah is a Tree of Life 

to those who take hold of it.

 What a wonderful and powerful reminder of the joys and blessings of Torah observance.

This picture doesn't do it justice.  Some of the beads are iridescent, and others are sparkly.  I love how the background behind the tree looks like water.  It reminds us that Yeshua is not only the Living Word but also the Living Water.  Beautiful and amazingly creative, right?

She's not just handy with a needle, either.  She surprised us last week with this amazing shofar stand.  LaVonne said she was inspired to build it because those she found were wall-hung, and she wanted a free-standing one that would hold several shofars.  She designed it, cut the wood, sanded, and shellacked it by herself.  I told you she was creative!

LaVonne is a good and creative cook and has written a wonderful cookbook with the family recipes she used while rearing her five children.  It's filled not only with recipes, but family history, photos, and her own poems.

She wrote this poem for Rabbi and me on our tenth wedding anniversary.  She also planned and pulled off a grand surprise party for us at the synagogue.  She's a creative hostess with the mostest!

LaVonne is a fiction writer, too, and has published two novels under her pen name, L. G. Craft.  Here are her latest book and her darling granddaughter, Tala.  You should hear Tala sing the Hebrew during the liturgy.  LaVonne designed the cover for her books, too.  The third book in the series is coming soon, and you can find the books at this link

She's a talented fine artist, too, with beautiful works in varied mediums.  I love this painting done with chalk pastels.

I could go on and on about her creativity and talents because there's much more to tell.  LaVonne has inspired my own creativity and was a tremendous help in publishing my book, Golden Moments.  I'm so thankful to have her in my life as a friend, and also as a member of our Ma'gen Da'vid family.

* The ark holds our Torah scroll.

You can see more of LaVonne's creativity at our Golden Rule Party.

I sometimes share my posts with these friends:
  Spiritual Sundays  GRAND Social      Modest Mom Monday Link-up      The Art of Homemaking Mondays

 Hearth and Soul Link Party
   BLOGGING GRANDMOTHERS LINK PARTY     Share Your Cup Wednesday  Wordless Wednesdays    Classical Homemaking Link-Up     
    Favorite Things Home and Garden Thursday at Delightsome Life  Paula's Weekend No Rules Blog Party Friendship Friday 
Sunday Thoughts Link-Up
 OVER THE MOON LINKY PARTY!