Eight Nights of Lights 2011 - Night 8 - Penance

Tonight's topic is Penance - thinking reflectively about your life's path--and what changes you might want to enact. 

Penance is defined as a feeling of regret for one's wrongdoings. 

The Psalms tell us "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  And only as I have aged have I learned the true meaning of that statement.  It is only as I study scripture that my path is illuminated.


Tonight's video is so much fun.  I'm showing you such a simple easy way to make gorgeous tapers!

Kathy was here today and we hung a hat rack on the wall for the tapers.  I think it looks great under this oil painting of the Western Wall that mom did back in 1985.

These are full 12" purple tapers

These are the pink - full and the creme 6" tapers that I made in the video

The glitter isn't photographing very well....but they are completely covered.

Pink glitter over pink wax

Now, for this last pair I did an interesting experiment. That broken brown beeswax in the video....I used it to cover a pair of candles and then poured turquoise glitter over the brown wax.  They came out looking more like a pine color - but they sure are beautiful!!!  It took a 3" wide strip of beeswax to go around the candles.  I melted it very soft.  Worked great!

Every year, on the last night, I share my favorite Hanukkah song.  In Exodus, it indicates that there were about 3 million Israelites who left Egypt. And it tells us that they sang a song unto Jehovah. They sang in unison.  Without knowing ahead of time - the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit ever!  Now, can you fathom a choir of 3 million people singing in the desert?  I went to the desert in Israel.  And I sang this song while I was there.



Make my life Your temple
L-rd at this season start
To pull down every idol I have raised up in my heart

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You

Take my defiled altar
Come and cleanse and come repair
So every time I falter I can run to meet you there

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You

And with every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes a prayer You'd kindle
In me, Yeshua
A desire for Your fire, for Your light

Make of my mortal body
A house worthy of Your name
Rid me of what's ungodly and every hidden thing of shame

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You


And with every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes a prayer You'd kindle in me, Messiah
A desire for Your fire, for Your light

Take my supply of oil
Not enough to burn long I fear
But, oh, how I pray I may one day say,
"A great miracle happened here!"

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You
My Yeshua, I dedicate myself to You.

by Marty Goetz (he played in Denver this morning and I had the thrill of hearing him live!!!)

Hanukkah - my Eight Nights of Lights. Jehovah Jesus Messiah - the Light of the World. This is my way of spreading a little light into the night. I hope you have enjoyed it all. May Jehovah bless you richly in the year to come.

Night 7 of 8 nights of lights 2011 - recycling container candles

Tonight, it is the practice to reinforce the rituals of the past 6 nights. So, tell the story of the great battle, eat more good food, share some humor, play some games....and truly just enjoy the blessings of life.  


So, it's about repeating....or recycling....and that's what I'm going to do in tonight's video:







Can you imagine someone tossing out a $20 candle???  Barely used from the looks of it!  And the smell of Cotton!  Fresh laundry....clothes on the line on a hot summer's day....yumm!!!

And just look....it looks brand new!!!

I did want to mention the Milwaukee heat tool I used in this video. It gets HOT!  Don't let the kids use it.  It can catch paper on fire quite quickly.  And it's not cheap.  But....it is powerful and will melt wax quickly and it will also melt UTEE and other stamp products quick.  I think a well furbished studio will have both - a Milwaukee for when you need heat fast, and a Heat-It tool....for a cooler heating.

So while the rest of you were running to the mall to the after Christmas sales today.....I went to my local thrift store to see what I could find that you had tossed away!!!

But with all the candle making fun we're having this week (have you tried it all out yet?) don't forget that Hanukkah is a story about people fighting for the right to believe what they want to believe, for the men who cleansed the temple, and for a unimaginable tiny amount of oil that miraculously lasted for eight nights when it should have only lasted for one night.

Night 1, Eight Nights of Lights 2011 - paper on candles???

So, why Hanukkah if I'm not Jewish? Well, the word Hanukkah is Hebrew for "dedication". The festival of lights is held to celebrate the miracle of the oil lamps.....but it is also a celebration of the determination of a people to defend their right to worship in their own way without interfence. I simply stand in solidarity with them.

The feast of Dedication is referenced in Daniel 11:31 and John 10:22. But the story is told in 1 Macc 4:52-59.  On this night, you tell the story of why the holiday is celebrated - the great battle, the great victory, the oil that sustained.

And on this night, I'm going to show you how to recycle used candles.  I'll share my techniques with a variety of things this week including bread dough ornaments, airbrushing techniques, some watercolor ideas, a few surprises and I hope, a whole lot of fun!!!  As a mixed media artist, it' not just about paper - it's about all the mediums out there!  I hope you enjoy!





Tear cardboard and cover with stickles.  Add silk ribbon and a charm. Quick and easy

A silver peel-off with crystal stickles over it

2-toned candle.  mini tinsel over a beaded ribbon with peel-offs on top

Wrap in scrapbook paper.  Star has a base of polymer clay with glitter, a charm in the center and epoxy on top

Polished stones using alcohol ink with peel-offs on top

Use wax away to clean the candle (I'll do that video later), then gold paint and stickles on top of each snowflake

I bought each of these at half off day at my local thrift store for 50 cents each.  The video will show you how to clean old candles using a potato peeler.  Easy way to get wax to remelt for about 50 cents a pound!


When the lights go out, my house will be shining bright!!!