I am hoping to make a new devotional for each month this year… that’s a big challenge, but it is something that has been on my heart. For AUGUST, our monthly theme will be GOODNESS. We will be trying to find ways to show a little more GOODNESS through routines and habits.
Last month’s theme was SELF-CONTROL and let me tell you that LIFE sure has a way of putting our lessons to the test but GOD is GOOD and HE has seen us through some difficulties and HE can do the same for you!
Here is the FREE printable, if you’d like to join us:
In today’s garden reflection, I’m sharing what the Lord has been teaching me about faithfulness through the simple rhythms of tending a garden.
Gardening reminds us that growth takes time. Seeds are planted long before they’re seen, and harvest comes only after seasons of patient care. In the same way, God calls us to remain faithful in the small things, trusting Him even when we can’t yet see what He’s doing beneath the surface.
Whether you’re in a season of planting, tending, waiting, or harvesting, I pray this post encourages you to trust God’s timing and rest in His unfailing faithfulness.
Pip: Welcome back to Pollywog’s Place — where the calendar is not a passive object but a living document requiring lunar consultation.
Mara: Susie at Pollywog’s Place Blog has been mapping out the Biblical Feasts for 2026, walking through what each one means, when it falls, and how families can actually observe it. Let’s start with the dates themselves and the theology behind them.
Biblical Feasts: Key Dates for 2026
Mara: The core question this post answers is practical: when, exactly, do the Biblical Feasts fall in 2026, and what is each one actually commemorating? It’s a reference guide with real theological grounding underneath the dates.
Pip: The post sets up why you even need a guide like this: “Unlike holidays, where the dates usually fall at the same time every year, Holy Days are not set dates. I always have to check the Jewish calendars as the Biblical Feasts vary according to certain signs like cycles of the moon and sun, which I have no way to accurately calculate.”
Mara: So the upshot is that these aren’t dates you can memorize once and move on — they shift with lunar and solar cycles, and the start time shifts too, since Jewish dates typically begin at sundown the day before.
Pip: The post lays out all seven main festivals across two seasons. Spring opens with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, both running April 1 through 9, followed by the Feast of First Fruits on May 21 through 23. Fall brings the Feast of Trumpets on September 11 through 13, the Day of Atonement on September 20 through 21, the Feast of Tabernacles running September 26 through October 2, and the Feast of the Eighth Day on October 2 through 3.
Mara: Each feast carries its own weight. Passover marks both the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt and the crucifixion of Jesus. The Feast of Unleavened Bread remembers the Israelites leaving in such haste they couldn’t let their bread rise. Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, foreshadows the coming of the Messiah.
Pip: The fall feasts shift in tone. The Feast of Trumpets looks forward — the post notes kids get to blow the Shofar. The Day of Atonement is described as solemn, often marked by a 24-hour fast. And Sukkot is framed, memorably, as “Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one.”
Mara: The post also notes that Sabbath, while not a Biblical Feast, is treated as a commanded observance — and links out to companion posts including Starting Our Sabbath and Sabbath Day Resources for families building that practice.
Pip: There’s an honest note running through all of it — this is a family learning alongside their readers, not a finished authority handing down conclusions.
Mara: Two seasons, seven feasts, and a calendar that asks you to pay attention to the moon — that’s a different relationship with time than most of us are used to.
Pip: Next time, we’ll see what else is taking shape at Pollywog’s Place.
Here is a quick overview of how we are using the Light of the World Advent Study in our Homeschool this week. We have incorporated different subjects into the devotional, but this is completely optional. You can make this work for you and your family. We pray that this helps you as well… if you enjoy this, please like and share it with someone you know!
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