Christmas – Live the Crazy Life

Advent, Bible, Christmas, community, Holiday, patience, Prayer, Trust, Trustworthy

The difficult ones

December 17, 2024 1 Comment

It’s the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The time when things either slow down as you are wrapping up your year, or speed way up and you are preparing for Christmas and trying to wrap up your year. Either way, it is a weird few weeks of time. So many parties, so much to do, snow and icy roads, the list of things you thought you’d get done this year and didn’t. Ahh the Holiday Season. I am a fickle holiday person. I am either all in and loving it, or I am not into much at all. This year I fall to the latter of those. It’s almost the middle of December and I just have my tree up, no ornaments, no tree skirt, no other decorations other than a few snowmen. I don’t really know why some years I could just skip November and December and jump right into the New Year in January. Sometimes it has to do with relationships. You know the ones that are awkward, or hard, or non-existent that this time of year just somehow seems to highlight.

I was preparing for my Advent study, and we were told to read Romans 15:4-13. This week’s word is Hope. This isn’t the traditional Advent where you look at Love, Hope, Peace, and Joy, but we do have a focus word each week. So, like I said, this week’s word is Hope. And at Christmas time, hope makes me think of the line from Joy to the World that says, “The thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.” Something about that wording gets me every time I hear it. This year, I feel weary for many reasons, mostly because I have been going warp speed, with no slowing down in sight. It’s not been a bad year, but it’s a busy one. And when I am weary, I am not at my best people-wise. I bet you feel the same way. It’s hard to deal with someone who isn’t the easiest person for you to get along with when you’re tired.

We all have people in our lives who, shall we say, test our patience. It might be a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, your kid’s teacher, or whoever it is, we all have them. When I was reading Romans 4 for my Advent study a portion of that chapter hit me as the key to dealing with the person in your life that needs a little extra grace. Romans 4:5-7 reads, “Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice. Therefore, accept one another just as Christ has accepted you, to the glory of God.”

That verse has a whole lot going on. When I read it I thought of the person in my life that I have a difficult time with. God has convicted me many times over my negative thinking and judgmental thoughts of this person. I know that it’s ok to not be best friends with everyone, but when it is someone you are around alot, it’s always best if there is peace and not tension. Ok, so the truth is it isn’t about the other person, the one that makes me crazy, it’s about me. There is always going to be people who just rub you the wrong way, but God has a plan to help you get through and it is spelled out in Romans 15:4-7.

I looked into the meaning of a few words from these verses. It says, “Now may the God who gives….” The first thing to do when dealing with someone difficult is to stop doing it on your own. For me, that means praying when I know I am going to be around this person. The next part of the verse tells us what to pray for. Romans 4:5 says it’s God who gives you endurance and encouragement, and He grants you the ability to live in harmony with others. Why does He do this? So God will be glorified. It takes the pressure off to know that it is God’s job to give me endurance and encouragement to live in harmony with others. That is where we start, leaning in to God, trusting Him for endurance and encouragement.

Endurance in this verse means steadfastness, to remain under, to wait, to hope, to expect. It means steadfast endurance, particularly in the face of trials and difficulties, remaining faithful and patient under pressure. Encouragement means calling someone to your side for the purpose of offering comfort. It comes from the same word used in John 14:26 when the Holy Spirit is named the Comforter. Lastly the word harmony means being of the same mind. It often implies a deliberate choice of thought or attitude.

Here is the takeaway. It’s not the person who makes us nuts. It is how we deal with the person that matters. Do we stew over how frustrating they can be? Do we agonize and stress when we know we have to see them? No, we pray and ask God to give us hope that we will find common ground with this person. That the relationship won’t always be strained, awkward, or difficult. We ask God to comfort us when this person hurts our feelings for the thousandth time. We can’t change other people, but we can allow God to change us. So this holiday season, or whenever you are going to be around those people who are difficult for you for whatever reason, remember Romans 15:5-7. Write it down. Keep it somewhere where you can read it, and pray before you are around them.

Let’s choose to accept people for who they are while praying for God to give us endurance, encouragement and the ability to live in harmony with one another. Let’s glorify God in all of relationships – even the difficult ones.

Christmas, cookies, Holiday, Recipes, Uncategorized

A Christmas Kiss to Eat

December 6, 2022 No Comments

I must confess I do like to bake. But somehow I like it even more in the winter and at Christmas. It’s just not fun to bake when it’s 100 degrees. But now its cool/cold-ish and I am baking away. It helps that I have a women’s Christmas event that I am baking for at my church too!

I avoid gluten but am not celiac so I can eat it. My mom however is and she doesn’t eat gluten at all. My daughter in law is dairy free and I wanted to make something for people whose allergies or health issues cause them to not eat certain foods. I found a recipe called Coffee Kisses. They were simple and cute as you piped the dough with a star tip and a piping bag into a beautiful swirl. The recipe was not gluten or dairy free, but I thought I would give the recipe a try and swap the butter for a vegan one and the flour for one that’s gluten free. Everything was working out. I got the dough piped out real nice and they looked perfect. I popped them in the oven and waited….

Here is what the first ones looked like after they baked. So flat!

What came out was super flat coffee crisps. My kids said they tasted great. I was disappointed. So I tweaked the recipe a bit more adding more gluten free flour to stiffen the dough and adding baking powder. The result was a dough that did hold its shape but wouldn’t go through the piping bag.

Since the recipe was called Coffee Kisses, I had the idea to shape the dough into the Hershey chocolate kiss shape and bake them. They turned out great. They for sure look homemade but that’s ok because they are. Once you drizzle a little chocolate on top they are perfect. The good news is now anyone can make these – no piping bag or star tips required. Just a mixing bowl a cookie sheet the ingredients and your own two hands.

For all my gluten free, dairy free friends out there I got you covered with this recipe that you WILL be able to make on your own!

Here’s the recipe:

2.5 cups gluten free flour (I used Cup 4 Cup multipurpose gluten free flour)

2 sticks and 2.5 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsps instant coffee

2 tbsp hot water

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

and a few shakes of the salt shaker.

Directions

Mix the instant coffee in the hot water and stir. Blend the butter and the sugar until creamy. Since it is dairy free butter it isn’t as hard as regular butter so you don’t have to bring it to room temp to mix it! Bonus!! Once that is blended add 1 cup of the flour mix until blended, then add the coffee and water mix, the vanilla, baking powder, salt and the rest of the flour. Mix until well blended. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer that I used but a handheld mixer would work just as well. I did end up mixing the last bit of flour in by hand.

Pre-heat your oven to 325. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Then take about 2tsp of dough and roll into a ball. Pinch the top to form the peak of a the kiss like a Hershey kiss has. Place cookies spaced out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 mins.

This is the shape of the cookies before they are baked.

And this is after baking them. They held the shape so much better than the first batch.

Once they cool melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or whatever type chocolate you want and drizzle over the top.

You can add 1/2tsp of coconut oil to the chocolate to help it drizzle better.

Serve these with a great cup of coffee.

Recipe will make 35-40 cookies depending on how big you make the kisses.

**Make sure your chocolate is dairy free or if you forget that like me leave some without chocolate for those who can’t eat any dairy.

Drizzled chocolate on this whole pan before I realized it’s milk chocolate!

Christmas, Friendship, Jesus, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized

Getting to the feet of Jesus

November 26, 2022 No Comments

It has been a whirlwind of a week for me. Starting last Saturday. It was the wedding rehearsal day for my second oldest son. Which was fun, confusing (lots of discussing who walks in before who, and what word in the song do we start to walk out to kind of stuff.) All in all a good day, a little surreal but good.

Then Sunday morning (church day not the wedding day because both parents on each side are pastors and well, pastors have church services we do weekly) my daughter and oldest son alert me to a shooting in a town 20-30 minutes away. Five lives have been taken and 18 more are injured. My heart breaks. This shooting is yet another hate crime. Thoughts are swirling, Why God?, How God? And then to happy nervous thoughts. Yikes, tomorrow is the big day…

Then Monday, wedding day. Great day. Lots of emotions – all happy. Then Tuesday, back to work for Christmas decorating day. Then Wednesday, finally a lull in the week. Followed by Thanksgiving which has its own set of emotions. What I am grateful for and who do I want to smack for getting in the way while food is being put in the oven and taken out of the oven in crazy amounts. And now finally Friday. Black Friday. Why do we celebrate a day of being grateful and then call the next day Black Friday? Weird. Anyway, no Black Friday shopping here. Just a quiet house for the first time in a week – ’cause there are extra friends and family around because it was Thanksgiving and a wedding in one week.

I am sitting back in my office – which was turned into a spare room for said friends and family. Life is slowly making its way back to normal or as normal of the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas can get.

I’m working my way through a study on Jesus via the book of Luke. The author, Erica Wiggenhorn, does a great job of leaving you daily with deep thoughts to ponder. Today’s is based on Luke 5:17-26. For those of you who don’t immediately know Luke 5:17-26 (if you already knew what this section of Scripture is about, you ROCK, because I would not have known without having read it this morning), it’s about the paralyzed man with the amazing friends who go to great lengths to get the paralyzed man to Jesus.

When I say great lengths I mean like physically carrying the man on a mat to the house that Jesus was in, only to find one way, through the crowds, to get to Jesus. Determined, they carry the man up the stairs (outside) to the roof, cut a hole in the roof, create some sort of pully system so they can lower the man through the hole to the feet of Jesus. That all took thought, skill, muscle and teamwork. Once the man is in front of Jesus he is both healed and declared forgiven for his sins. He leaves carrying the mat his friends had been carrying him on all night.

The author of the study (Erica Wiggenhorn) poses the questions “Are you that kind of friend? Do you have friends like that?” My answer is I hope so to both. Then she takes it further, “Are you that kind of neighbor?” If your neighbors are some of your really close friends NEVER move, because that is not so common in today’s world.

Then she says “When we become people who readily admit our own desperation for Jesus, the door opens – or the roof is dismantled – for us to become people who will do anything to bring our friends to the feet of Jesus as well as to have their sins forgiven.” She goes on to say “Are you and I ready to become mat-carrying, roof- raising, believing-the-best-for-others kind of people. Will we allow Jesus to make us people with such faith and audacity that the world is left in wonder?” (Unexplainable Jesus, pg 72-73)

As I sit here this morning, once more in my office, in my quiet home, Jesus I want to be that kind of person to my friends, to my neighbors and to those I don’t know. I want to clear a path for people to come to the feet of Jesus because He can handle any situation we lay at His feet. He can make right any wrong. He can heal, and He can forgive sins. He alone can make whole what is broken in our bodies, in our hearts and in our world.

Friends, will you join me in being people who take others to Jesus? Someone who carries those who can’t walk to the feet of Jesus? Someone who won’t stop until the hurting, the broken, or the lost are at the feet of Jesus?

Over the next month as holiday madness ensues, let us remember our job isn’t to be the best host, give the best gift, or have the prettiest decorated house… but to help take those around us, friends, family, neighbors, and strangers to the feet of Jesus.

Advent, Bible, Christmas, family activities, family fun, Hanukkah, Holiday

The Hanukkah Experiment

December 21, 2019 No Comments

First of all, and right off the bat, I am NOT Jewish by birth. However, one could argue that I am Jewish by my faith in Jesus. (See Ephesians 2:19 and 3:6)

A few weeks before Christmas I was doing an Advent study. I love Advent. It makes Christmas less crazy for me and a little more fun. I have admitted in the past I am not crazy for Christmas as some of you out there are. I honestly most years could take it or leave it. It was probably best when my kids were little simply because of their enthusiasm and excitement. But alas, now they are older and I’m right back in the “what is all of this nonsense about?” mode. You have to agree – Christmas is a crazy time of year. Tons of people going nuts about buying the right gift; tons of food that isn’t good for anyone’s waist line (can you say cookies, fudge and cakes oh my?); and if you have allergies like me, well then it is temptation city on top of adding a few “Holiday pounds”. Ok, you get it. I am not in love with Christmas. But I am in love with Christ. Thus my battle with Christmas. Is it really supposed to celebrate the birth of my Savior? I have just never been able rationalize the whole thing. The two – Jesus and Christmas – just don’t go together in my head. No matter how many birthday cakes are made for Jesus on Christmas, it’s still plain weird to me. Before all of you who love Christmas stop reading, I will get to my point. In the Advent study, I read John 10:22-23 which says, “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.” Feast of Tabernacles I know. The Passover Feast, yep, know that, too. But the Feast of Dedication, that one I didn’t know. So I looked into it. In researching I discovered that the Feast of Dedication is Hanukkah. It is also known as the Festival of Lights.

And so my search to understand Hanukkah began. All I knew is it’s about the Maccabees and candles and oil for the lamps that last 7 days longer than it should. I will spare you tons of details so this post won’t take you an hour to read. The main points I learned was that a bad guy named Antiochus who called himself Epiphanes which means “God Manifest” defeated the Jews, took control of the temple, and desecrated the temple. On the fifteenth day of Kislev (which would be our November/December), Epiphanes held the pagan Saturnalia ceremony where a pig was slaughtered on the altar in the Holy of Holies, and the blood was sprayed throughout the temple. This was the last straw, and a rebel group of Jews known as the Maccabees fought back against Epiphanes. After a 3 year battle, they finally won. The Maccabees took back control of the temple and began to clean up the horrible things done in the Temple to defame it. The Maccabees lit the candles in the temple and kept them lit for 8 days with only enough oil to burn one candle for one day. The number 8 in the Bible means Resurrection and Regeneration or new beginnings.

The original foundation of the temple was laid in Kislev. In Haggai 2:18 it says, “From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, (Kislev) give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought.”

I will put this altogether for you now. Jesus was at the temple during the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah). The temple was destroyed in the month of Kislev and re-dedicated 3 years later in the month of Kislev. Oh and the original temple foundation was laid on in the month of Kislev. Call me crazy, but things are adding up. And here is where this blog gets good.

With all of that and a few other things I learned while studying, I think celebrating Hanukkah is a way to honor God. So we are going to give it a whirl this year. We will start on December 22nd because that is the day that Hanukkah starts. We will light a candle each night and my husband will read the traditional prayer spoken when the candles are lit. Then we will deviate from Jewish tradition to Storey tradition. Each prayer spoken while lighting the candle has a key phrase in it – the reason you are thanking God. We will expand on those phrases and talk as a family how we can rededicate our temple (our lives, since the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, and 6:19-20 that our bodies are temples and the Holy Spirit lives in them.) We will thank God for His goodness and offer a new way to honor Him in our lives.

It will look something like this: Click Here for the outline of traditional prayers and the Storey’s way of dedicating our lives accordingly.

We still have our Christmas tree with gifts galore under it and our advent tree; but this year we have a menorah too. This year in the midst of the craziness we will settle down, light a candle, pray, and reflect on new ways to live for God. It’s my way of pushing back against the self-absorbed ways of Christmas to shout Glory to God in the Highest, and unto us a Savior has indeed been born! That Savior is Jesus who now lives in me and I will honor Him first!

Advent, Bible, Christmas, Holiday, Uncategorized

The Season Of Advent

November 26, 2019 No Comments

Oh Advent how you make my soul relax, sing, and full of what matters most. Advent season starts traditionally on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and goes for 4 or 5 weeks depending on your religious affiliation. But I’d rather not focus on specifics of Advent but rather the intention and meaning of it.

The word Advent means “coming”. In general it means arrival of a notable person. But to me, Advent means so much more. I have done some sort of Advent calendar for years with my kids. There are so many creative ways to do the traditional Advent calendars on Pinterest. I think I have probably done most of them. But this year I decided to branch out even more in the world and season of Advent and do two Bible studies on the subject.

Both studies focus on slowing down and taking time to notice all the sensations of the Holiday Season. They both focus you on Jesus but in very different approaches. For the Christian, that is the purpose of any Advent activity – to focus on God, not ourselves, our wants, our desires. In the words of Ann Vankamp, “He begs us to spend the attention of Advent on the little, the least, the lonely, the lost.”

I shared a blog about Advent last year. You can read it here. This year, my intention in studying Advent a little deeper is learning to find God in every day, and honor Him with every day I live. I am focusing on the little things; slowing down and taking time to savor reading the Bible this season. Paying attention to needs spoken or unspoken by those around me. Taking them to Jesus and seeing how I can be used to help someone else encounter God in a deeper way. I have challenged myself with activities from both studies I am doing right now. If you are looking to do a study on Advent, I would highly recommend either of them. The Greatest Gift by Ann Vankamp and LifeWay Christian Resources women’s study called Advent – The Weary World Rejoices.

As I take time over the next few weeks to prepare my heart and my family for Christmas, I want to know that I am preparing for the right thing, the right reasons. Not a season of chaos, over-indulgence, stressful parties, and endless shopping; but rather on making a lasting difference in the people whose lives intersect with mine.

However you get ready for the Christmas season, I want to encourage you to make Advent part of your traditions. Take time to recognize what really counts this year. Slow down to notice those who really matter to you. Make space in your schedule for God to speak. Then make a resolve to follow through on what God speaks to you. Be courageous this Holiday season. Share what you really believe about Christmas. Take a step of faith and bless someone who can never bless you back; tell a stranger that Jesus loves them. Share your faith journey with someone, and invite them to start their own journey with Jesus. Be intentional about what has your focus and where you give your time. Don’t let the chaos around you determine how you respond to this season.

For traditional advent readings click here.

Bible, Christmas, family activities, family fun, Holiday, Uncategorized

Advent-Make room for Jesus

November 26, 2018 No Comments

A week ago I taught at our church’s Women’s Event on Advent. I shared where and how Advent originated and how it changed over the years. I am not sure what the word Advent means to you. But to me it means making room for Jesus. We have been doing Advent “calendars” in my home for years. Well actually we have never done a traditional Advent calendar. I’ve always made my own. I guess it is more appropriate to say we have done Advent Christmas readings for years.

I have done them with my kids at Christmas for at least 8 years but I think probably longer. We started with the general Advent reading from the Book of Luke in the Bible and a few verses from Matthew. As my children grew we adapted our Advent readings to include the names of Jesus, the wonder of Jesus, and this year we will look into the gifts God gives us. I have included the scriptures we used in our boxes at the bottom of this post.

I figure since we give gifts to one another we should be familiar with the gifts that God gives us. So I began to compile a list of the gifts from God mentioned in the scriptures. And keeping with the gift theme I found little boxes on Amazon

and then embellished them with ribbons so we can hang one each night on our Advent Tree.

Our Advent Tree is just a little 3 foot tall tree I keep near our kitchen table where we usually do our Advent readings.

You could use any Advent calendar that you add your own verse to like the ones we made at our church this year!

Or you can do ornaments or whatever you like.

My kids have grown quite a bit over the years, but I still try to slow life down, sit together as a family at some point in the day, and reflect on the goodness of God. I cherish taking a small breather in a day that is filled with so much busyness; to reflect that God is the best gift giver and that God cherishes these moments of reflection and togetherness more than I do.

I want with all my heart for my kids to have a thriving, vibrant relationship with Jesus. And I want to honor Jesus in Christmas above all else. It’s funny how the time of year that is supposed to be about the birth of our Savior gets swallowed up in gifts, parties, trees, lights, cookies, and all the other Christmas festivities. But as I read in the Bible it wasn’t all that different when Jesus was born. I mean they weren’t decorating trees, and making cookies to share with the neighbors, but it was a busy time. The entire world at that time was being registered for the census ordered by Case Augustus. In those days when a Census was ordered you had to travel back to the town you were born in to be counted.

We read in Luke 2:4-6 the story of Joseph and his betrothed wife Mary traveling from Galilee to the town of Bethlehem. They traveled somewhere between 80-90 miles. For most of us traveling that far is nothing. It’s less then 2 hours in a car, no big deal. But to travel in those days was a challenge. You were on a donkey or maybe a camel or even a horse. You didn’t have room to take much with you. The road wasn’t a paved highway, but rather a dirt path to follow. After traveling for somewhere between 4-7 days, Mary goes into labor. The King Jesus is about to be born. But the world around them was buzzing with the people going to be counted. The world around Mary and Joseph hardly took notice that a king was coming to this world to redeem His people. Luke 2:7 says “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in the swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Because there was no place for them……

I wonder how many times Jesus is pushed to the side in our lives because there was no place for Him.

While we certainly should have daily time with Jesus, Christmas seems to be the time that is hardest to accomplish. There is so much to do. And Advent has become my way of daily making space for Jesus in my life and the lives of my family. My Advent tree is a visual, daily reminder to make room for the King. It reminds me that all of the fun and festivities are second to Jesus.

God wants us to have fun, celebrate ones we love, enjoy life, but never at the expense of time with Him. I encourage you to find a way that works for you; but make space, make room in your life for Him this Christmas. Take time and experience God’s greatest gift to us – the gift of knowing and having a relationship with Jesus!

Gifts of God

Christmas, Holiday, Recipes

Naughty and Nice Christmas Cookies

December 15, 2017 No Comments

It’s Christmas time, and if your house is anything like my house it means making Christmas cookies. Cookies for probably 4 different parties, for the neighbours, and a school event or two. I have two tried, tested, and awesome Christmas cookie recipes for you. One is naughty – full of all the stuff that tastes good but isn’t good for; and one that is a little more healthy and gluten-free.

I will start with the naughty one. I have been making this sugar cookie recipe at Christmas for as long as I can remember. We made them every year since I was little. The dough is great – rolls out easy with a little flour dusted on the surface you are rolling them out on. And, bonus, the whole recipe makes roughly 12 dozen medium-sized cutouts – more if you use a small cookie cutter, and less if you use big ones. The dough freezes great, so you can make a few for a holiday event and then freeze the rest to make later. The cookies, once they are made, freeze well, too. Even once they are frosted you can freeze them. Just unstack them to thaw or the frosting will stick to the other cookies.

Here is the recipe for the sugar cookies and a link for the frosting that I made and used.
Sugar cookie cutouts
3 cups Parkay (I couldn’t find Parkay so I used Imperial brand margarine. (DON’T USE BUTTER unless you want oily cookies)
2 2/3 cups sugar (I cut this back to 2 cups and no one has ever known until now.)
1 teaspoon salt
8 egg yolks (you can plan on making egg white omelettes the next day or egg white quiche for dinner like me!)
4 tablespoons 1/2 & 1/2
4 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups of all-purpose flour
Instructions
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and well combined.
Then add egg yolks while mixing on low. Mix until egg yolks are well incorporated.
Then add the 1/2 & 1/2, vanilla, and salt.
Lastly, add the flour. I add 1-2 cups at a time. If you use the paddle blade on your blender it helps.
Once all the flour is mixed in, divide the dough into thirds, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour. If you are planning on freezing any of it,l double wrap it or put it in a plastic zip freezer bag for later use.

Once chilled roll out dough to 1/4 in thick and place on greased cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer for 5 mins, then put into an oven heated to 350 degrees. (Putting the cutouts in the freezer helps them hold their shapes better while cooking.) Cook for 8 mins. Let cool and decorate.
Here is the link to the frosting recipe I used:https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/simple-cookie-glaze-recipe

And now for the nice recipe. It seems these days there is always someone with food allergies (myself included). These cookies are gluten-free, sugar-free, and nut free. I did use an alcohol sugar blend but no white table sugar. I call these naked gingerbread men because without frosting they really are a healthy option for the holidays that taste good too!
Here is that recipe
Naked Gingerbread Men
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup sugar substitute (here’s the link for the one I used: https://joyfilledeats.com/sweetener/
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon (21 g) honey (or maple syrup)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
Cream together the butter and the sugar substitute.
Mix in egg.
Once combined mix in the spices – salt, honey, molasses, baking soda, and vanilla.
Lastly, add flour and mix until all is combined.
You can freeze this dough, too, at this point. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and then in a zipper freezer bag.
Roll dough out (I used cocoa powder to dust the board. If your dough isn’t sticking you won’t need this.)
Place the gingerbread men on a greased cookie sheet and then in the freezer for 5 mins before placing them in a 350-degree oven for 8 mins.
Once they are cooled, you can decorate them or leave them naked.

Happy Holiday baking to you!!

Bible, Christmas, family activities, family fun, Holiday

That’s What Christmas is All About

December 7, 2017 No Comments

For years I have struggled to find that balance to make Christmas fun, memorable, exciting, and focused on Jesus. There is so much Christmas all around starting often months before December that I have a hard time not getting swept up in it. I love making crafts and baking which the Christmas season lends itself to perfectly. I love giving gifts and decorating my house. And if I am not careful I can have the best Christmas, one full of fun memories, family, great food but maybe not so much Jesus.

It’s hard to find that balance, isn’t it between celebrating Christmas and celebrating Jesus? I know there are a million ideas on how to keep Christ in Christmas but let’s face it, it is HARD. It is hard to focus on two things at once, at least for me.

I have swung the whole pendulum of Christmas over the years from no tree to a small tree to 3 trees. As well as giving a lot of gifts to giving a few gifts. Yet every year I have this mix of thoughts as Christmas approaches. How do I celebrate family, friends, fun, and a blessed life, all the while making Jesus my top focus of the celebration? I have yet to find the perfect way to do that. But I will not give up. I will keep trying.

This year I am trying a few new things and a couple that we have been doing for years.

To start I have a verse I am focusing on this season. The first one is Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, to us a son, is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

God has been speaking to me to slow down and focus on the here and now. To stop being so rushed to move onto the next thing or get stressed about the future. This verse gives me so many ways to do that.

Christmas: the celebration of a child being born, a son is given to me, for me, to save me. But that’s not all. Christmas is a time of giving gifts. God gives gifts too. First He gave us His son and then the names or attributes. In Hebrew names were more than just a name. They were attributes possessed by that person. So we are given this son of God, to fill us with wonder, to guide us with His counsel, and to be a Mighty God when we feel so small and powerless. He is an everlasting Father and our Prince of Peace.

This verse frees me to celebrate Christmas, the wonder of Christmas, making wise choices with my time and my money because He will counsel me in how to do these things if I ask. He will be mighty when I am lacking strength this season and he will be a peace in the midst of craziness.

The second verse I am focusing on this season is Luke 2:10. “And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.”

Fear not! I can stop fearing that I am somehow missing the mark this season. That I am not doing a good enough job of making Christmas about Christ. I can just let it go. I can know that I am held by a God who loves me and I don’t have to earn that love. And I can have great joy in knowing God and His love for me. After all, it was because of His great love that Jesus came to earth (see John 3:16.) And the best part is this good news of God’s love and the gift of Jesus is for all people. “For all people” has an interesting meaning in this verse. It means every part that applies; the emphasis of the total picture while focusing on one piece at a time.

Isn’t it nice to know that God sees the whole picture of humanity while simultaneously seeing the individuals that make up the whole?

Along with those 2 verses, I try to keep my family focused on Jesus too. I started a new tradition this year. I made each of my 3 kids an ornament with their name on it and a bible verse. I asked each of them for a verse that speaks to them the most right now. Then I incorporated the verse into the ornament. The thought being, each year as we hang those ornaments on the tree we will talk about how God moved in my children with their verse. Just like we talk about how cute they were in that kindergarten picture that is glued to a paper cut out of a star.

Year by year we can see through ornaments how God has used His word to empower us, change us, and set us free.

We are also doing an advent reading this year. It’s a new one that focuses on the wonder of Christ. We read the devotional each night and hang a snowman on our advent tree. Why a snowman? Because I love snowmen and when I can get all the family to join me, well that’s magical.