Have you ever thought about the fact that really wonderful things seem to happen on 3rd days?
I have; for instance – The Resurrection of Christ!
Wouldn’t you have loved to have been around on THAT 3rd Day?
I guess the next best thing would be to attend the 3rd Day of The Feast of Tabernacles!
THE ABILITY TO BE FLEXIBLE AND TO MOVE IN UNITY
Do we have plans for how to spend this 3rd day yet?
We ALWAYS have a “proposed” plan; yet at the same time; we are ALWAYS flexible, just in case God shows us a better plan when we arrive at this time.
With a family as large as ours it is impossible NOT to live any other way. One of the first things we discuss when we all arrive at The Feast of Tabernacles is that this is a time for rest, freedom and no stress; and a time to follow God’s lead in how our worship, fellowship and play will go.
Every day we DO try to focus on another element of the festival. I usually pull those suggestions together and present them in a little notebook for all to flip through. Most of the time I leave those suggestions laying on our living room coffee table in our temporary place.
Anyone can suggest changes to the plans I suggest. We always discuss and decide as a group. So what I suggest here, may or may not be what we actually do when we get there.
THE PROPOSED PLAN FOR THE 3RD DAY
Of course, during all seven days we are keeping the main focus of the feast; rehearsing the fact that Christ will reign for 1,000 years during the Millennium. We think about how God’s people will get to rule and reign with Him. That fact is so BIG and amazing that we just have to keep celebrating it over and over again every day of The Feast of Tabernacles.
For specifics though; so far this year we have plans to celebrate the birth of Christ on Day 1; and then we will have a lot more fun celebrating the blessings that come with the use of our Sukkah on Day 2.
FLEXIBILITY
None of these themes of our days are set in stone. Everyone is always free to celebrate however they wish, or however God leads them to go.
I am only sharing what He has shown US so far for the year of 2023/5784. Every single congregation and gathering does this planning in a little different way. Please don’t think we are setting religious rites or patterns of worship for all. Absolutely not! This is simply what our family has decided to do this year.
Some years we have a lot of pre-planning and try to follow a loose, relaxing and flexible schedule. Other years we just play it by ear and listen for the voice of God to lead us when we get there. This year I’ve found that all of the the praying and asking for God’s suggestions BEFORE we get there has been helpful in building the anticipation and excitement for our new year together.
LET’S GET THANKFUL!
If nothing changes, Day three’s focus will be all about Thanksgiving.
Are you aware that our American holiday of Thanksgiving actually spun off of Sukkot harvest celebrations found in the bible? The pilgrims and the puritans studied the scriptures all the time and they wanted their celebrations in the new land to reflect God’s Annual Celebrations and Holy Days.
So; The Feast of Tabernacles is definitely a very special time to be thanking God for all the blessings He has bestowed on us; both individually, as a family and corporately as a nation.
BEING THANKFUL
Don’t misunderstand this focus now. It definitely isn’t going to be a dupe of the American Thanksgiving celebration (that will come later at the traditional time at our house.) However; our time will definitely be a week that is all about gratitude and thankfulness for a good harvest from the past year that just went by.
The “temporary dwelling” we rent speaks into this reason for so much thanksgiving. God has provided the resources that paid for this huge celebration.
This experience helps us to remember that Jesus is the source of our security and safety and we want to be thankful for that too. He is our hope when things seem hopeless. We do not depend on manmade structures or material blessings for our joy. In our hearts and spirits we know that our Savior will ALWAYS be here for us and that spiritual blessings will always come.
The things of the earth may all pass away but the spiritual things of the love of Christ will remain forever in our hearts. So we look for ways this week to note and underline and celebrate our gratefulness for the amazing, supernatural blessings we receive from God. We are especially thankful for the blessings of the harvest, both the physical harvest and the spiritual harvest of the year gone by.
PRACTICAL PRACTICES THAT WILL HELP US
There are a lot of practical things we can do to remind us to be thankful. One is to sing The Johnny Appleseed blessing together for our meals on this day. “The Lord is good to me; and so I THANK THE LORD, for giving me the things I need; the sun and the rain and the apple seed; The Lord’s been good to me!“
HEARING GOD’S STORIES
Our sukkah story for the day is about Father Abraham and Sarah. It speaks of how they were grateful to God for all of the promises He made to them. They were especially thankful for the giving of a very special son in their old age. He brought laughter into their home.
If you want to read this story; you can find it inside my latest book called GOLDEN TALES FOR RAINY DAYS. It is available on Amazon.com or you can obtain it through this link:
One thing we will offer thanks for today is the fact that our country has been blessed through the years with such rich and amazing history. We may venture out to more places on The Antebellum Trail to see some more of that history.
GOD IS THE POTTER; WE ARE THE CLAY
One of our adventures will take us on a tour of The Happy Valley Pottery where Jerry and Kathy Chappelle have turned a rambling chicken ranch into a unique little community of working artists.
APPRECIATING ART
We will get to see how mud is shaped and formed by the artists of the area into beautiful pieces of art. These are useful as well as beautiful. I imagine that we will be thanking God all day for how He does this same type of thing to our lives as He molds us and shapes us year-after-year, festival-after-festival.
On the way to see some more of the pottery displayed in Blue Women of Pottery and Winterhawk Pottery; we will stop and purchase some fruit and vegetables to cook later in the evening. We will be browsing through the many roadside stands of fresh fruits and vegetables we will pass on our way. This will, of course, remind us to thank God for the abundant way He provides for our tables and keeps us healthy and nourished.
FELLOWSHIP AND HOSPITALITY – JUST LIKE FATHER ABRAHAM
One of these old Southern towns we will stop into on this day is the town of Madison, GA. It is widely known for being one of the most hospitable towns on earth. This will reflect our story of Abraham and Sarah. They were always providing hospitality to those who would stop in and visit with them in their Sukkah. Once inside, they would share the stories of God with them.
GAMES
I will have a game for us after we return to our Sukkah and share our evening meal together. Maybe we will play this game under the light of our fire pit. I will have a bowl full of questions for everyone and they can pull out one as we go around the circle. When it is their turn they will answer the question written down on what they pulled out of the jar. Here are the questions we will discuss:
QUESTIONS FOR THE I AM GRATEFUL TO GOD GAME:
1) Describe a special blessing that happened to you last year and how your life improved.
2) Recount a peak experience from the year gone by; what made it special, and why you are grateful for it.
3) Share a special favor you received last year, how it helped you, and how it touched you.
4) Describe a special gift or talent you have, how you use it, and why you are grateful for it.
5) Name someone you know who makes your life better and why.
6)Think of something you used today that other people take for granted.
7) What do you appreciate the most about the person sitting next to you?
8) Describe something you are particularly grateful for in your life and why.
9) Name something that you do often that makes you happy and why.
10) Describe something that happened this past week that you are grateful for and why.
11) Share something you have done that you are particularly proud of and why. 12) What parts of our adventures today that displayed hospitality from others are you grateful for?
13) Like Sarah and Father Abraham; are you grateful for laughter? Name something today that made you laugh.
14) How has coming to The Feast of Tabernacles this year made you feel more gratitude toward God?
END THE DAY WITH A SONG OF THANKS AND PRAISE
Maybe we will end our night-time devotions around the fire-pit next to the lake by singing an old favorite song written by Don Meon:
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given
Jesus Christ, His Son
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given
Jesus Christ, His Son
And now let the weak say, I am strong
Let the poor say, I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us
And now let the weak say, I am strong
Let the poor say, I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us
Give thanks
God bless you all as you enjoy His Feast this year!