Friday is Shabbat time.. I love our friday shabbat time. It marks the end of the week for us as a family, and the beginning of the weekend.

What do we do?

Well, it starts of with Ruth making the Challah ( a breah made with honey) first thing in the morning. As she is making this, she is praying for those people who are going to be sharing Shabbat with us.

The meal starts with Ruth lighting a couple of candles to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world, and that we want his light spread throughout our home.

Next we wash our hands - as the Psalmist says "who can ascend the hill of the Lord...." As we wash our handed we say " I dedicate my hands to the Messiah, the hope of glory to serve him only"

Next I serve the wine, ( or whatever is being drunk at the meal time). In Jewish times, wine represents Joy, so the way we incorporate this into our meal, is by reminding us that as Jesus died on the Cross, he is no longer there, he is alive with us now. We also, then take it in turns to thank God for something good that has happend during the previous week. It's great to hear Isi & Toby joining in thanking God for things that have gone on in the the previous week.

Finally we come to the Challah, which has been sitting on the table covered by a cloth. The challah is a link to when the Jews wandered in the wilderness and God provided the Manna for them to eat. He provided a double portion so that they did not have to collect any on the sabbath.

As such, we have two loaves of challah - we use this as a reminder that Jesus is the bread of life, Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides. He provides for all of our needs.

This is one of the best "new" traditions that we have put in place for "the pages".

Thanks to the Sharmans for introducing it to us.