Tip of the season.

Clothes don't make the man, but being naked will get you arrested.

Hanukkah always comes during finals. I finished celebrating at home, but I failed to finish it here.
A week-ish late:
The 4th Night:
Judas Defeats Timothy and Bacchides
in encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided a very large amount of plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own.

Ah, a regular Robin Hood.

The 5th Night
Last Campaign of Antiochus Epiphanes
Transported with rage, he conceived the idea of turning upon the Jews the injury done by those who had put him to flight; so he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he completed the journey. But the judgment of heaven rode with him! For in his arrogance he said, "When I get there I will make Jerusalem a cemetery of Jews."

and now it is a cemetery of Jews.

The 6th Night
Antiochus Makes a Promise to God
in addition to all this he also would become a Jew and would visit every inhabited place to proclaim the power of God.

The 7th NIght
Antiochus’s Letter and Death
So the murderer and blasphemer, having endured the more intense suffering, such as he had inflicted on others, came to the end of his life by a most pitiable fate, among the mountains in a strange land. 2

The 8th Night
Purification of the Temple
Now Maccabeus and his followers, the Lord leading them on, recovered the temple and the city; 2 they tore down the altars that had been built in the public square by the foreigners, and also destroyed the sacred precincts. 3It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. 6 They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing.

The 25th day of Chislev is usually between the 5th and 20th of December. During these 8 days of celebrating, the Maccabees only had enough oil to last one night, the flame burned for 8 nights of celebrating, which is why the candles of the Menorah are supposed to stay lit for the 8 nights.

The 8 Blogs of Hanukkah- Night 3

Judas Defeats Nicanor

"With these words he filled them with courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts."

What is it about the connection a person feels with their nation that makes them die for it? Is it the same as conviction and principles? That people feel so strongly about what they believe in, they're willing to die for it?
Sometimes, I look up to that mindset, sometimes it just looks like close-mindedness.

The 8 Blogs of Hanukka- Night 2

Preparation for Battle

"For they trust to arms and acts of daring," he said, "but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us, and even, if necessary, the whole world."


That would be such an awesome power. To strike down people with a single nod. Kind of like Chuck Norris.

The 8 blogs of Hanukkah - Night 1

The Revolt of Judas Maccabeus

" Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy. 7 He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere. 8 When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to come to the aid of the king’s government."



That's the way I plan to take over the world. Come without warning, setting fire to the minds, forever pushing ahead. It seems as though that's the only way to get things done these days-to come without warning. If you give a warning, you'll get protested and legislated to death.

Iris Jade is very thought inducing.

Funny, My grandma used to say "The Lord will never give you anything you can't handle."


I like to think that we have some say in what our plans are. Something like we have complete control over what we do and say-with no blame on anyone else. Like nothing is pre-determined unless we determine it. I like having that control over my life.
But then, it's always when those plans go awry that you find something you end up loving forever. Something you would have never even considered.
So...I don't know. Maybe there's this balance that God has created for us. Like he lets us have control, but if we start going in the wrong direction, he'll ruin our plans and show us what we really wanted to do.

I'm rambling and I really don't know. But I do know that what my grandma used to say gives me comfort in the whole thing: No matter what happens, you WILL be able to handle it.