Why is Hanukkah eight days long, or what is the point of one flask of oil when you need eight?

I saw the question posed recently as to why Hanukkah is eight days long if the flask of oil was enough to burn for one night. Does that not mean that the miracle only occurred on the 26th of Kislev for the remaining seven days, when the oil should have already burned out? This may seem like a trivial point, but believe it or not Rabbis have discussed this question for centuries and proposed numerous answers. Here is my thought: Was not the fact that even one flask of consecrated oil was found a miracle in itself?

God had miraculously provided a flask of oil that had been preserved from desecration. But what was the point? It was only enough oil for one night and there was no way that more oil could be prepared and consecrated by the next night. It would take a week to prepare more oil. Why even bother lighting it at all? Nevertheless, they chose to worship God to the best of their ability and they took what oil they had and lit the menorah in the Temple. And miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, until more oil could be prepared! It is as if God, in His divine wisdom, provided this flask of oil and said, “Here. It may not seem like much, but trust Me, this is all you are going to need.”

God often does not give us all of what we need all at once. Sometimes He just gives us the next piece, the next step. Just like the manna in the wilderness, always enough, but they could never gather extra. God was asking them to trust Him. Perhaps God is offering provision in some aspect of your life, saying, “I know it doesn’t look like much, but trust Me, this is all you are going to need.” Will you trust Him?

The Holiday Season is upon us!

So the stores already have all of the Christmas merchandise out, the holiday season is upon us! There is planning, shopping, cooking, and decorating, and even MORE SHOPPING to be done! The holidays sure can be overwhelming, are you feeling a little bit stressed?

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, and forget what it’s really all about. Luke 10:38-42 tells us about a woman who did just that:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
You see, Martha found herself overwhelmed by the preparations she felt were required of her. But Jesus was not so concerned about the meal and the niceties; Jesus desired fellowship. What He wanted was for them to put everything else aside and sit at His feet. Mary was not shirking her chores, she was seeking the heart of God. And Jesus says she had chosen the best part.

I hope that this holiday season you, too, will choose the best part. Take time to relax and spend time with your family. Before we dive into the increasingly commercialized Christmas hubbub, take time to remember what Thanksgiving is about. Thank God for His divine provision and preservation, for bringing us safely through another year. Take the time to enjoy fellowship with your loved ones and thank God for one another.
And when Christmas time really comes, consider celebrating it a little differently this year. Christmas is not about fancy things and spending lots of money. It is about God with us. Not as a conquering king, but as the humble son of a carpenter. Not the way we expected, not with armies and wealth to rule and reign; He humbled Himself to live among us, He came to suffer and die. And that is how He saved the world. He lived among us and showed us the way, and in due time He offered Himself up for us.

So this year, maybe we should spend a little less on impressive ornaments and displays and expensive gifts. Focus instead on giving ourselves, our time and attention, to the ones we love. Give more presence, rather than presents. And set aside some of what you might have spent to help those less fortunate. Surely you remember how Jesus loved the poor and cared for the orphans and widows. He even said, “Just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.” So set something aside this year to give Jesus a birthday gift.

I pray that God blesses all of you with a wonderful holiday season, free of stress and full of fellowship with the ones you love. May He keep your hearts and minds as we seek Him and become transformed into the image of Christ.

Total Eclipse Experience

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

the sky displays his handiwork.”

I watched the total eclipse at Westminster Presbyterian church. I was heading for Spring City, but I realized it was going to be very crowded there and another 20 minutes of driving would only get me about 30 seconds more of totality. The view there was great as the church is up on a hill. So I just stopped and asked if they minded if I joined them and they welcomed me.

It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Up until right before it reached totality you could not even see that a chunk of the sun was missing without the eclipse glasses, it was simply too bright. It was strange that the sun was feeling less intense, but for no apparent reason. And it was interesting to the see the crescent of the sun through the glasses, but what was truly spectacular did not come until totality.

I don’t even know what I captured here, you can see a great
ball of light even though the sun was a mere crescent,
and there appears to be mirror image of the sun to the left.
This probably explains it.

As totality approached, you could see the light fading quickly as it turned to night in the middle of the day. The entire horizon was transformed into a sunset, except the sun was missing because it was high overhead. But the moment we saw the corona appear quite clearly around the dark circle of the moon, you could hear a collective gasp from the crowd. I would love to describe it, but words fail and no picture could possibly do it justice. During totality you could finally look directly at the eclipse without protective glasses. The wisps of pure white light streaming from the black disc was spectacular and the whole sky was an amazing sight. Then, as the sun began to emerge it began as a point of spectacularly bright light on one side of the moon and as it grew brighter it appeared to encircle the moon at the same time it was emerging from one side. For a moment, the emerging sun was encompassed by a rainbow. It was a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight! I totally stared into the sun as it emerged from behind the moon. No, I did not go blind and it was a sight you would not want to miss. In only a few moments, however, the sun was once again too bright to observe with the naked eye.

I snapped a few pictures during totality, but in reality it appeared much larger, the black disc of the moon was much larger and sharply defined, and the wisps of light radiating from behind it where not so bright but much more delicate and detailed than what the camera captured.



I realize the video shows almost nothing of the eclipse itself, but I invite you to watch my eclipse video to share in the experience.



If you have a chance to observe the eclipse in 2024 (or any other total solar eclipse, depending on your location), I urge you to do so. Even if you have to travel 100 miles, it is something you really must experience for yourself!

This is actually the partial eclipse, moments after totality.

I saw a fender bender today, and it warmed my heart.

So, I was sitting at a red light when the car beside me just rolled right up into the car in front of it with a little CRUNCH. I winced when I saw the bumper crumple. The damage didn’t look serious, but the real collision was potentially yet to come. How would the drivers react?

I think we all know how the unexpected inconvenience of a fender bender can cause tempers to flare. Weren’t you watching where you were going!? But it’s just a scratch, why are you making such a big deal of this!? So I watched, a bit anxiously, to see how the two drivers would handle the situation.

For a second, both drivers just sat there. The driver in the back car emerged first. She was immediately apologetic, “Oh, honey, I am so sorry! I was trying to get a bug off of my back...” she was saying as the front driver emerged from her car. As they both inspected the bumpers, she began to offer her insurance information and ask if the other driver thought they should call the police. The driver in the front car responded, “Oh, honey, that is just a scratch, I’m not concerned about that...”

As the light turned green and I pulled away from the scene, I had seen enough to realize that both drivers had responded with nothing but kindness and compassion towards the stranger in the other car. What could have been a tense and angry encounter had turned out to be a surprisingly congenial interaction. After all of the hatred that has been in the news lately, that small display of human decency and compassion did warm my heart.

By the way, their skin was not the same color.

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!

Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said!”
(Matthew 28)

When Jesus was crucified, the disciples lost all hope. He had explained to them before how He must suffer and die, and how he would be raised on the third day, but they did not truly hear what he was saying. It could not sink in because it violated all of their preconceived notions about Him and what they thought He had come to do. Surely, this was just one of His inscrutable sayings, some parable they could not discern the meaning of.

But Christ knew the only way to redemption was through sacrifice. He had been teaching His people this for centuries, from the tenth plague in the land of Egypt where the angel of death passed over each household where the blood of the lamb was found on the door posts, and through the annual Passover meal that was eaten in remembrance of God’s salvation on that occasion up to the last supper He shared with His disciples.

But they still didn’t get it until they saw the power of the resurrection. Now they understood. Not only had Jesus died for them, He had conquered death and reigns victoriously. It was the power of the resurrection that energized this ragged groups of men — dispersed and hiding in fear — to turn the world upside down. The same man who denied Christ three times before the crucifixion would boldly proclaim His name before multitudes, doing miracles in the name of Jesus. The disciples would be beaten and imprisoned repeatedly, but nothing could stop them from talking about the risen Lord. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lived in them, and continues to live in each believer today! (Romans 8, Ephesians 1) The power of the resurrection changes everything.

Christ is risen! It was the greatest news anyone has ever received. For centuries the church has celebrated Pascha (Πασχα), the resurrection, as the most sacred and joyous holiday and on this day we greet one another with echoes of that news, “Christ is risen!” (Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!) and the joyous reply, “He is risen, indeed!” (Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!). May the power of the resurrection transform you, as it did the disciples, and as it has the faithful through the centuries.

☙ SoapCalc versus Soapee ❧

One of the first tools one needs in making soap, if they deviate from a specific recipe or try to develop their own, is a lye calculator. Soap making requires a bit of precision, it is very important to use the right amount of lye and the amount of lye varies depending on the types and proportions of oils and fats that are used. Most people use a piece of software to do these calculations for them and help develop their recipes. You can tell it how much of various oils you want to use, what percentage superfat you want (the amount of excess fat you want unreacted when the lye is used up), and how much water (or other liquid) you want to use relative to the oils or the concentration of the lye, and it tells you exactly how much lye and liquid to use to achieve this.

In my experience, by far the most popular lye calculator is a web-based app called SoapCalc. People frequently screenshot their recipes in SoapCalc to request advice. Most new soapers are immediately directed to this resource. I initially developed my recipes in SoapCalc as well. But I soon began to look for a free software option. I was particularly interested in the idea of a Linux-compatible desktop application, but I found another web-based application that was open source, Soapee. I was intrigued and wanted to know how the two compared. But most people seemed to have never heard of it and nobody could offer much of a comparison. So I dug in and did some research myself. I shared my findings with a Soap Making group on Facebook and asked for input. So what I am sharing here is an updated version of what I shared there.

Layout and design

SoapCalc is more rigid and compact. Soapee has a newer, more fluid design, but doesn’t fit as much information in the same space. SoapCalc has sponsor ads on both sides while Soapee just kind of fills the screen.

Lye options

Both offer options for NaOH or KOH. SoapCalc offers a check box for KOH that is 90% purity (although it does not make it clear what it assumes if this box is not checked). Soapee allows you to specify the percentage purity of KOH and also has a dual lye feature to use any proportion of NaOH and KOH. This is commonly used to make shave soaps that are soft and whip up a rich, creamy lather. Smaller amounts of KOH are used by some soapers to adjust the lather of their general purpose soap bars as well. Soapee also helps the beginner by listing NaOH as being for solid soap and KOH for liquid.

Measurement options

Both offer similar units of measure. Soapee offers kilograms, in addition to grams, but that seems trivial. Soapee also offers percentage for fragrance oils, in addition to g/kg, but that also seems trivial. Soapee has an option to specify total weight of oils and water, rather than basing the recipe on oil weight. Both support specifying water as a percent of oils, lye concentration, or water to lye ratio. Soapee also has an option to specify a water discount, but I don’t really understand the point of this and haven’t found anyone who could explain why you would not just adjust your water amount to begin with. Soapee also has an option to superfat after cook, for hot process soapers, in which case it calculates a 0% superfat recipe and tells you how much oil to add at the end for your superfat. You don’t specify what oil to use for your superfat because it does not matter to the lye calculations since won’t be reacting with the lye anyway (but you can, and should, include this in your notes when you save the recipe).

Oils and properties

Soapee has a longer list of fats and oils, but both have all of the fats and oils I have commonly seen used, plus plenty of exotic options. But I guess if you don’t find an oil you want to use in SoapCalc, you may find it in Soapee. They both show properties and fatty acid profiles for individual oils and the recipe as a whole. They both calculate properties in the same way. Soapee only lists fatty acids that are present in the recipe, while SoapCalc always presents the same list and those that are absent will show 0. The “creamy” property in SoapCalc is called “stable” in Soapee. Soapee has a “longevity” property that is not in SoapCalc. (Stable/creamy is the total of palmitic, stearic, and ricinoleic acids; longevity is palmitic and stearic acids.)

Saving recipes

SoapCalc allows you to save a limited number of recipes as cookies. They can only be referenced by number and are gone when your cookies are cleared. Soapee allows you to create a login, save recipes long-term, and reference them by name.

Calculating Recipes

SoapCalc requires you to click one button to calculate the recipe and another to view/print it (which opens the calculated recipe in a new tab or window). Soapee calculates the recipe automatically and displays it below the calculator as you tweak it.

Names and notes

SoapCalc allows you to name a recipe and include additives and notes on the recipe view/print page. These are lost when the tab or window is closed. Soapee allows you to name the recipe and include a description and notes/method, which can include rich text and pictures. These are saved with the recipe.

Conclusion

Overall, I have found Soapee to be the superior app, both for beginners and advanced soapers, in spite of being lesser known. I think that SoapCalc is more widely known in part because it has been around for a long time. But my personal recommendation would be to give Soapee a try.

Render unto Caesar

You have probably heard it quoted many times that we are to, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. This is often taken as instruction to submit to government authority, but I think we sometimes overlook the significance of the latter portion of this text.

ἀπόδοτε, translated “render” in Mark 12:17 KJV, means to give back, to repay what is owed.

“The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1 NET)

“All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.” (James 1:17 NET)

“All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.” (John 1:3 NET)

“O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all. You are the source of wealth and honor; you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name! But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours.” (1 Chronicles 29:11-14 NET)

So whatever we may owe ”Caesar”, we owe God everything!