Dear Friends,

During these days here at Beit Immanuel we are celebrating Chanukah, the Festival of Light. Most of you are probably familiar with the customs of our holiday: lighting the Chanukah candles, retelling the story of the Maccabees and their fight with the Greeks, and of course eating sweet doughnuts!

This year we set aside a special time during the Festival to give thanks to our God for his grace and faithfulness to us and to encourage one another to look to Him for the everyday miracles that help get through each day. The Lord has been so faithful to all of us, and to you giving us strength and courage to meet challenges of our lives.

We listened as older folks and young folks talked about how God has always been there. We heard of how people went through successful surgery even though doctors said there was no more hope, of men who found work when the chances looked bleak, about healed relationships, of the birth of a grandchild, about an elderly women who discovered the gift of painting in her old age and more.

It is our joy to share these stories with you openly because together we are partakers of God's grace. Sometimes our lives are so busy that we miss what is really important. Let's slow down during this Holiday Season, step out of the race to go shopping or make travel plans, and have a good long look at where the Lord has met with us: perhaps at a child's bedside, waiting at a train station, or on our way to work... or perhaps there is no place that the Lord has not been there for us.

It is a good time to remember Jacob's prayer, "I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness which thou hast shown to thy servant, (Genesis 32:10). In this humble statement, Jacob recognizes how undeserving he is of God's grace and mercy, and yet how faithfully God has blessed and prospered him. We can also acknowledge that though we do not deserve any of this, yet God has always been there with us and for us.

May this Holiday Season not only be a time of giving gifts to one another, but also an opportunity to offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord our God for all that He is, for all that He has done and for all that He will yet do for us.

Happy Chanukristmass to all and may the Lord grant each one of you all that you pray and wish for yourselves and for your loved ones.

The Team at Beit Immanuel