MOTh: Days 26 and 27

3 Gifts Preparing

I've failed at this since Thanksgiving time.  In my defense, there's a storm brewing, and it's been killing my head for the past couple of days.  As much as I feel strongly about snow, I wish it'd just do its thing already and leave my head out of it.

1. I'm thankful that I have options of where I want to go from here.  Granted, the only option I'm going to take is the one G-d puts in front of me, but I don't need to feel panicked about it while waiting for Him to show me His way.
2. I'm thankful for all the Christmas and Chanukah stuff laying around my apartment.  I think I'm going to try to get around to putting it up tonight. :)
3. I'm thankful for the mission G-d is preparing me for.  I know that He's got a plan for me specifically, and that warms my heart to know. :)

A Gift Handmade

One of my professors in college made my Harry Potter wand for me.  I'm a child on the inside, so I was thrilled.  :)

A Gift Held

Miss Paisley Grace means a ton to me.

and a Gift Happy

재영's sweet smile always could make me happy.  :)

Chanukah 5772

Well... I finally get to post about CHANUKAH!  If Chanukah was a person, I would fall in love with it.  But, as my friends at Blimey Cow pointed out, I should be more conservative about my usage of the word "love," so, we'll just say that I really like Chanukah.  As I explained to my friends, Chanukah is a holiday about eating fried food, swapping chocolate, and spinning tops - if you can't find something in there to like, I can't qualify you as a person, so you should stop reading now (just kidding).  But my point is that it's really fun.  (For the REAL meaning of Chanukah, click here... I mean here... oh, sorry, I mean the title.)

Anyway, I threw a party, as is quickly becoming my Korea-tradition, and we had an excellent time.  This is how it went down:

1. My family and I made potato latkes and apple latkes, then I went out and bought some 호떡 (Don't get confused, they have nothing to do with rice cakes.) and 붕어빵 (which are usually shaped like fish when you buy them on the street, but that requires a special waffle iron, so don't sweat it).  We ate all these yummy yummy foods until we were stuffed... mostly because I was cooking for an expected 12-15 people, and 9 showed up.  Oops.


2. I gave a short lesson/presentation on the history and traditions of Chanukah, then lit my menorahs and gave everyone a line of tea-light candles so they could sort of make their own, too.  My dad had the brilliant idea of grabbind cups to raise up the shamash, so the menorahs could be kosher.

3. We then broke into two groups and played some excellent games of Dreidel.  It was better than usual, and I think this had something to do with it:

Yeah... We play by our own rules.  How very American of us.  Ah well... the vast majority of us are Waygooks, so I'm not complaining.  Although, how my head teacher fits into that mix, I may never know.

Hope your holidays were good!

(PS.  The next post is one I've been especially looking forward to posting, so be excited!)

<3

This blog is quickly turning into my notes on G-d.

But I see nothing wrong with that, especially since there's nothing going on in Korea that you'd really want to hear about at the moment.  There are some big plans coming up, but nothing right now!

The following was emailed to me, along with my weekly candle-lighting reminder:

The Hebrew month of Kislev is a great time to celebrate the light you have to give. This month hosts the shortest days of the year, and therefore the darkest. But we also have the upcoming holiday of Chanukah—a festival that says "Light will conquer." How will you light your inner flame this month? You have a unique goodness that is worth celebrating...and there has never been a better time!

Interesting thought, isn't it?  Right now, I'm getting up and out the door before the sun is awake, and I'm getting back home after it's asleep.  My vitamin D is lacking, and I'm feeling it.  These few sentences couldn't be more fitting.

But Light will conquer.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, 

but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

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