Today is the first day of the omer. Actually, it began last night.

Beginning with the second day of Passover, Jews begin counting the days. For 7 weeks they count, 49 days. This is called “Counting the Omer,” laid out in Leviticus 23:15-17. The omer was a measure of grain, an offering of thanksgiving for the freedom of Pesach. On the second day of Pesach, an omer of barley was brought to the Temple as an offering. The counting culminates with day 50, which is the holiday of Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, the holiday of Pentecost. Shavuot is a like a Hebrew Thanksgiving, and on this day, two loaves made of wheat were offered in the Temple. Jews don’t go to the Temple today, because there is no Temple right now; but they still offer prayers and thanksgiving to God for all that he’s given us. Many decorate their homes and synagogues with greens and flowers, to remember the harvest. Some stay up all night studying Torah. And they read the Ten Commandments in the morning service.

“I have earnestly desired to eat this Pesach meal with you before I suffer.”

Tonight begins the first night of Passover, of Pesach, the Jewish holiday of remembrance and living-out the Israelite escape from Egypt. It is a holiday of questions, of upheaval, of chaos, of suffering and deliverance. And for Christians, also the beginning of a significant spiritual change.

The journey begins...

On Tuesday, I assigned the ISBN for the eBook edition of Walking in the Moment Between Tick and Tock": 978-0-9816925-6-2.

I told Bowker about it, so I’m committed now. I told them it was to be released on June 20, which happens to be my birthday.

I also put the book up on GoodReads.

All I have left is to finish up the formatting, then upload to Amazon, B&N, and Kobo. But I’m also giving away copies of the ebook with its launch, through Father’s Day and my Birthday and the beginning of Summer—the beginning of Party Season. So stay tuned.

The Truth about Bananas

Apropos of nothing, a couple of photos I happened across on Flickr:

One reason I’ve been absent is because I’ve been working on a new book, a book that I’m now on the verge of releasing. (Exciting!)

Walking in the Moment between Tick and Tock a short, inspirational book (about ¼ the length of a full-size novel), looking at the period between Passover and Pentecost, between Pesach and Shavuot, integrating insights from both Christian and Jewish thinkers. It tells the story of these holidays as linked parts of the same narrative, two ends of a single span, and not as two independent holidays— I didn’t invent the idea, of course. But I found a number of profound insights connected with this idea.

Today’s double teaser from Walking in the Moment between Tick and Tock: From Passover to Pentecost: