Shavuot 2015

We had a lovely Shavuot Celebration this year.  City on a Hill fellowship shares the feast with many, many other fellowships around the Michiana area.  We always delight in seeing so many friends from near and far during this feast.  There is always lots of catching up to do, fun for the children, and of course delicious food.   Here is how we celebrated :

The decorations are always so festive and add to the specialness of the feast.

 Run down of events

 The worship team did a great job leading in worship and focusing on the Spirit, which is what this feast is about.

 There were plenty of people, male and female, who enjoyed dancing during worship.  It's such an added element that we can't always do in tight spaces.

 The youth did a skit set to music.  If you look closely you can see Alegra in the orange shirt. in the middle of the group.

 The Bovee Family Singers, as some call us, sang 2 songs.  The girls did Oceans first, then we all sang Holy Spirit.  Thank you, Ireena Keeslar for the pictures!

 Alegra played the ukulele and Diella played the rain stick.

 So thrilled that we, as a family, can worship together in this way and bless those around us.

 The sound guy.

These next few pictures are of the men reenacting the wave offering.  It's always such a neat time to see all of the leaders of the homes represented there participate in this part.  

This year we were in charge of the children's activities.  We had about 45 children ages 12 and under by the end of the activity time.  It was a little bit of a challenge, but all in all, I believe they had a good time, learned a little bit about the Fruits of the Spirit which was the theme this year, and were able to get some energy out of their systems before it was time to sit and watch fireworks.  We read them a story, taught them a new song, played a Fruit of the Spirit sticker tag game, and the shoe race game.  We ended with giving them the supplies to make beaded bracelets where each color represented a different fruit of the Spirit.  I hope they all went home and practiced what they learned.  :)

 Spreading Love, Joy, Peace, and Goodness to our friends. 

 He's such a happy helper. 

 Bracelet time!

 One of the very few who were able to get in a nap.  :)

Onto the sky lanterns.  This is always such a fun part of the evening.  Sometimes families join up to let one go and other times friends do it together.  Either way, it creates a sky full of light, special moments with each other, and an awe for the peaceful quiet picture that it gives us as the sun goes down.

The final fun is the fireworks display.  Most people have to wait for the 4th of July, but we do the fireworks with thing early.  It's a great way to end the celebration!  

Thank you to Ireena Keeslar from Wild Rose Photography for sharing some of her photos with me to share with you.  Alegra took most of the other pictures.  If she was in the picture, then I took it or Diella.

I hope your feast was as spectacular as our's.  If you don't know about this feast, check it out. Whoever says we shouldn't have to keep those Old Testament feasts is sure missing out!  :)  May His Spirit be among, within, and upon you today!

Kayaking and Walking -Beautiful Day!

After a late night at our first Spring Family Ball, we decided it would be best to stay home on Sabbath and just relax.  Sometimes you need family time too, and we knew that with the next day being Shavuot we would be needing the extra down time before another big day and late night.  After a little music practice for the Shavuot Celebration, we decided to take the children to a nearby friend's house to kayak.  They love being on the water, especially in their own little boat.  Since these were all last minute plans, I text another friend to see if they wanted to meet up with us there.  Their children love the water as well.  It was a fun time for the children and such a lovely day.  

And of course Benaiah had to swim in the water.  Brrrr. 

 Teaching Saphira how to stir the water laying on her belly.  Didn't need any little ones falling into the water.  

We played in the water for a little bit, then I wanted to get a walk in somewhere, so our family headed to Delth Church Park for a walk.  It was nice to have Jonathon along this time as he is usually working when the children I and go for our summer walks.  I stayed ahead of everyone for the most part and kept up a good pace.  Oh, it feels so good to be back to walking without having the pain.  Very thankful!  Alegra had her camera and usually lagged behind, catching neat moments in nature through her lens.  She is gifted in capturing nature.  Intricate details of God's creation she sees as others just stroll right by it all.  But I will say that some of us saw deer that she missed because she was back behind our crowd.  We don't usually see deer too often or very long with our noisy bunch. :)

We came home and practiced a little more music and I took a good soak in the tub while the others gathered up everything we would need for the next day's Celebration.  Even though we didn't stay home all day, getting out in nature can sometimes be just as relaxing and enjoyable as staying home doing nothing.  An enjoyable afternoon and evening and even got a little fellowship time in with friends.