Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
Jacob had not always been a good person. He had done some unkind things, but instead of saying he was sorry, Jacob ran away. He lived away from his family for many years, but now it was time to meet with his brother. He had to face up to the things he had done wrong many years before.
When Jacob ran away from his family, he may have thought that he was running away from God, too. The night before he was going to see his brother, God spoke to Jacob in a dream. God reminded Jacob of promises God had made to Jacob's father and grandfather, and that those promises were meant for Jacob, too.
Jacob thought that he had run away from God, but God was always with him.
Activity Advent: Go outside for a weanie roast!
Going against everything inside me, I sucked it up and got dressed to go out of my nice toasty warm wood heated house, to cook hot dogs over the fire for supper. It's not so bad once you commit to the idea, but that happened when I put my boots on. It was a really beautiful night, mostly clear sky, bright moon... and of course the best company anyone could ask for. ;) It was a ton of fun, but was cut short because my dear son seems to take after his mother... as soon as he ate there was no reason for him to stay outside, so he marched right back inside to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
All ready to go! H's classic moose pose...
cutting weanie sticks
A by the fire
blurry family by the fire
H mowing down
A eating the hot dog out of the middle
ok, this one I had to put up because it made me laugh. Shawn takes pictures like he's the bloody paparazzi so I never pose or smile because I have no idea what he is taking photos of... we honestly were having a good time hehee Apparently this is what H and I look like when we eat!
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