I'm really excited to be teaming up with Matanote Stationery today to bring you guys a fun giveaway for the Passover season! For several years, Matanote's Ten Plague Coasters have been part of our Seders. And they are hands down the most asked about item from my Passover tables, even beating out the matzah pinata! Since so many of you have mentioned you love them I thought you would enjoy a chance to get some for free! Along with the coasters, you could win an Afikoman bag! Details on that below.
The coasters are perfect for the ceremonial "waste wine" part of the traditional Seder or just a fun touch for a more laid back Passover celebration. I'm always happy to see daily life items with Biblical connotations. The pictures on it provide a little distraction for kids (an adults!) who are getting restless through a long Seder. Plus, you can work on your Hebrew!
I am also loving the Afikoman bag! Do you guys hide the afikoman at Passover? I have been to a few Seders where the kids have an all out hunt for it and they all loved it! The bag comes with a pretty sturdy piece of cardboard inside so the afikoman should stay reasonably intact even if it is found by excited tiny hands.
And is it just me or wouldn't this be so perfect to use as a super fun clutch at Passover? I mean why not? You will definitely have room for the essentials in here. Plus, if you happen to misplace it I feel like you have a better chance of it getting returned to you! After all, it says there is a reward.
I have also been sending Matanote cards to family and friends for years! While I'm not above a printable or handmade card, it's nice to have the real deal to wish someone chag sameach or Shabbat shalom or mazel tov. Some of my favorites are the matzah card, mazel tov on your engagement, and the thank you card. Which ones would you like? Let me know for extra entries!
Get entered below to win! We are giving away two of the afikoman bags with the ten plagues coasters, and some greeting cards tucked inside. Thank you to Molly from Matanote Stationery for providing such a great giveaway for the Passover season! Be sure to visit her shop and let me know which item is your favorite! Oh, and if you place an order be sure to use the code LANDOFHONEY for 15% off your purchase.
Guys, there is something I am so excited to share with you today; a look at the Hebrew faith on the big screen! I can't wait for all of you to watch this and five of you will be able to win a copy of The Way for yourself as well.
Husband and wife team Luke and Kayte started this film with a simple premise: if Yeshua lived a perfect life then why do his followers today do almost everything differently than how he walked? They traveled to meet dozens of people who discuss what drew them from ordinary Christian faith to a Hebrew lifestyle of Shabbat observance, keeping the festivals of YHWH, and Scripturally clean eating. Check out the preview below.
Not to spoil anything, but the film is even better than the trailer. It was so refreshing to watch this, to see others who have been on a similar journey, to hear their stories of celebrating the Feasts. If you are someone who feels isolated or alone in your faith then please check out The Way! You'll feel like part of the tribe. :) That said, this isn't just a documentary for those in the Hebrew or Messianic movements. I think this would be a great introduction for anyone who is not familiar with this kind of lifestyle. Luke and Kayte did an excellent job of explaining through Scripture the thought process behind the seventh day Sabbath, etc. and even incorporated differing viewpoints as a way to address the 'what abouts' that many of us have dealt with. I would recommend this movie to anyone pursuing the faith, no matter where they are in that journey.
Luke and Kayte
Kayte was kind enough to spend some time sharing more of what went into The Way.
What caused you guys to create
this documentary?
The Way started as a seed of an
idea in Luke’s heart. He’s a journalist, so he’s super inquisitive and great at
finding a story. A few years back, he got a call from his mom that she wouldn’t
be celebrating Christmas that year. He thought that was crazy, so he set out to
research so that he could set her straight with facts. Except he found that she
was right about Christmas’ origins. That led him on a search through scripture
and church history that revealed the ways that modern-Christianity has veered from
the life of Yeshua and the apostles. In the course of all this, I joined him in
this journey and we realized there were countless others around the world
seeking to get back to a more biblical way of life. So The Way is the story of
those people and the things they’ve discovered.
Why did you feel this was an important venture to
undertake?
This awakening is spreading like wildfire right now.
There are truths that God’s revealing from history and in His Word that we’d
love to help share with the wider world. We think a lot of believers are
searching for a deeper connection with God and a richer understanding of His
Word, and we hope The Way will help people pursue those things.
How has the process of making this film changed or
challenged your own faith?
Our faith has grown tremendously
in this process. We’ve spent a year and a half hearing from probably 50 people
about the most formative moments in their spiritual lives and the most awesome
things they’ve learned from the Word. It’s been a sort of masterclass.
Personally, I have such a deeper reverence and awe of God’s goodness,
seeing the love and wisdom and justice in each and every instruction He’s given
us. Instructions that used to seem archaic or arbitrary are such a joy now.
Plus, I feel like I have so much more in common with Yeshua, living this way. :)
Who do you hope will watch The Way?
Anyone who’s curious about the
discrepancies between the way Yeshua lived and the way that modern-day
Christians live. Or anyone who’s made huge changes in the way they live and
worship and are having a hard time communicating their reasons to their friends
and family.
What's something that's going to surprise viewers about
this film?
They’re going to learn some crazy
facts from some pretty surprising sources - things that made me wonder, “How in
the world did I never learn this in 25 years of church, history classes and
Bible study?!"
What was it like to work as a couple on a project like
this?
It’s been awesome - this project
has stretched through for 90% of our marriage! The doc has been the most
rewarding and most challenge thing either of us have undertaken. We’ve gotten
to work as a team, hear each other’s ideas, pray together constantly, cover
each other’s shortcomings and get really good at tackling the insane new
challenges that have popped up every day for the last year and a half. And
during the early editing process, we’d turn watching the 50 hours of footage
into date nights by cooking dinner together and picking an interview to watch
through and take notes on while we ate!
How was your experience getting crowd funded through
Kickstarter?
The Kickstarter experience blew us
away. We knew there were pockets of people who’d be excited about seeing this
story come to life, but we had no idea of the scope of the support we’d
receive! We were nervous about our initial fundraising goal of around $12,000 -
we wondered if we could make it - so by the end of the Kickstarter when the
project had been 330% funded, we knew God was telling us that He’d supply
everything we needed to make the best film possible - and not just financially,
but also in terms of interview leads, prayer support and people with wisdom we
needed.
The Kickstarter campaign was also
how we met our incredible composer, Jake Hull, and many of the wonderful
interview subjects you’ll see in the film. Lots of people reached out to us
with their stories after hearing we were making the film. So even though we
thought we were finished shooting interviews, we ended up doing lots of travel and
shooting more interviews after the campaign - and some of those interviews
became core to the story.
Is there a certain message or takeaway point you hope
to impart to viewers?
We want people to finish watching
the film and to think, “Wow, maybe there’s actually some timeless goodness
still in the instructions God gave in the Old Testament. And maybe there’s a
way that the whole Bible can work together as one story - with the patriarchs
and the apostles and modern-day Christians all with core commonalities in their
walk. And maybe I should take a second look at traditions I’d never thought to
question before.” But most of all, we hope that (as Zac Bauer says) people “go
home and read their Bibles."
What kind of responses have you gotten to this so far?
We’ve had lots and lots of people
tell us that they cried! It blows us away. I think that there’s something
powerful about seeing your story echoed back to you in a medium like this. It’s
very human and affirming. We’ve also had believers who’ve gone to church their
whole lives tell us that The Way answered questions from the Bible that they’ve
wondered about for years. And lastly, lots of people have told us they’re
excited to share The Way with friends and family, to start a conversation about
what they’ve been learning in their walk with God.
How can we learn more about The Way?
You can watch the trailer for The
Way, clips from the film, read FAQs and of course, buy a physical or digital
copy at The Way's website.
We’re also always on Facebook
hanging out with everyone there and posting video clips from the film (or cut scenes)
so come on over!
Thanks so much Kayte for taking time to talk with us! Doesn't she feel like a kindred spirit? I loved the 'real life' that went into this. Mom announced we aren't celebrating Christmas anymore - I can relate! And the creativity of incorporating the making of the documentary into date night. You'll hear more from Kayte when you watch The Way as she makes a couple of appearances! And a huge shout out to Kayte and Luke for providing five copies of the DVD to give away! Here's your chance to watch the documentary at no cost, or if you've seen it already win a copy to share with a friend. This giveaway is only open to readers in the US, sorry my international friends (you can still download a copy at the website) but I will have something special for you guys in a couple weeks. A huge shout out to Kayte for sharing their story and generously giving away five copies of the movie! Winner will be announced Sunday. a Rafflecopter giveaway
