New Year, Same Hopes

2009 has been a challenging year to say the least.  Lots of bumps and bruises, but the grace of God is an ever-present balm for our spirits.   

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,  I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.(Phil 3:13,14)


Psalm 90, A prayer of Moses
Seventy years are given to us!
Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we fly away.
Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.(2009)

Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
so that we may grow in wisdom. (2010)

O Lord, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. (2009)

Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.
And may the Lord our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!(2010)

(verses 10-17)

WARNING! DO NOT WATCH JULIE & JULIA....

Unless you want to be inspried or rather compelled to cook and bake!

I just got around to watching this movie last night.  It was so good!  Afterward I hunted around on my favorite book site to see if I could swap a copy of Julia's book (no luck, yet).  I even found Julie's blog and read the first week.  Quite good, and added to my already too long list of blogs to read.

Wayne's out of town, so I went to bed late after some reading (trying to finish The Bird's Christmas Carol  before its due back at the library).

Everything was going just fine this morning.  I woke up to my purring alarm clock who does't care if its Saturday nor that I went to bed late.  Came downstairs, fed my alarm clock, poured a hot cup of coffee with vanilla cinnamon cream and sat down to check facebook.  Drove my girl for work at 8 AM. Came home.

This is where things get a bit foggy for me now.  I intended to warm up Laurin's leftover full cup of coffee, but I'm not sure what happened next.  All I know is that the cup of coffee remains on the counter FIVE hours later, because somehow instead of opening the microwave door, something possessed me to open the pantry door, pull out all my baking stuff....powdered sugar, chocolate chips, corn syrup, peppermint chips, oyster crackers, ranch mix, flour, sugar, salt, dry active yeast and oatmeal. 

I didn't even know I had all that stuff in my pantry!

I just started baking like a fiend, which led also to cooking. 

Now mind you, I LOVE to cook, but, I must confess, baking is just not my thing.  My family won't eat biscuits I make, because you could use them to build a house that even the Big Bad Wolf can't blow over. And last year's fudge could have served as the mortar.  Plus, I find it a bit messy, with flour and sugar dust flying around and sticky pots and utensils that are hard to wash.  As a general rule I stay away from baking.

Today was different. I was relentless in my pursuit to use up all my baking ingredients that I buy with the best of intentions but never manage to get around to using.  And NOW I have all these yummy concotions and I'm not quite sure who I'm giving them to!

While I was on a roll, I figured I'd prepare the chicken stock for my Grandmother's delicious Christmas Day Chicken Soup by boiling a leftover carcass from a roast chicken.  I've NEVER done that before!! What in the world came over me? I feel so......like Julia today!!!

So, thanks to Julia I baked up a storm and thanks to Julie I just had to blog about it!

Here's the proof:

How Beautiful Indeed

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Zion reigns. Isaiah 52:7

(Please pause the music player below, before watching the video.)



I realize this song may be interpreted to refer to the Resurrection and we are now in the season of preparing for the Advent of the Messiah. Can we truly separate the two events?

The cradle and the cross.

The Cradle of Christ began the final chapter in God's redemptive plan to rescue His children. The Cross of Christ fulfilled the promise and completed the plan.

How beautiful indeed!

Unto Us a Son is Given......

Wonderful.

 Counselor.

The Mighty God.

 The Everlasting Father.

The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6,7

Can I Just Say YUM!!!

Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (my favorite chef)
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 10 min Level: Easy, Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup dried orecchiette pasta
2 cups Mediterranean-style mixed salad greens
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil), chopped
1 tablespoon goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the water.

In medium bowl, mix the salad greens with the sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and Parmesan. Top with warm pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and wilt the greens. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper, or to taste. Garnish with additional Parmesan, if desired, and serve.

I used ricotta and spinach stuffed tortellini instead of the oreccchiette and it made a delicious substitute.

Verdict:  Everyone enjoyed this at our weekly FLOCK gathering.  This one's a keeper!!

What a Blustery Day....

(Turn off the music player before watching this...and HOLD ON!!)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

Jesus stumped the Pharisees when He asked them this question (Matthew 22:41-45). 

Matthew Henry's commentary on the passage:

"He took upon him human nature, and so became God manifested in the flesh; in this sense he is the Son of man and the Son of David. It behoves us above all things seriously to inquire, "What think we of Christ?" Is he altogether glorious in our eyes, and precious to our hearts? May Christ be our joy, our confidence, our all. May we daily be made more like to him, and more devoted to his service."

Who do you say He is?

We easily embrace him as the Babe away in a manger, with no crib for a bed, laying down his sweet head. Do we so easily embrace that Babe as the Great Shepherd laying down his life for his sheep?  

I'm reading a thought provoking little collection of Martin Luther's Christmas sermons. Luther asks: "What could be sweeter than the Babe?"

Consider,

This sweet Babe who was born into the world just when a heavy burden was decreed to trade his light and easy burden for ours.

This Babe, the Creator of the world born in a stable without notice nor regard, lying in a wooden feeding trough. What kind of throne is that for the King of kings?

 A scared, first time mother having to birth her son alone....in the town of Joseph's ancestors....where was his family, surely they could have housed them, helped with the birth?  But, no one came to give the customary assistance. No one took her condition to heart.  No one attended to this woman. 

was there light to see what she was doing? water to bathe Him? where did the wrap come from?

.  In regarding the Nativity, Luther says:

" ...many of you... who think to yourselves: 'If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the Baby!  I would have washed his lined.  How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger.' Yes you would!  You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you wold have done no better than the people of Bethlehem.  Childish and silly thought are these! Why don't you do it now?  You have Christ in your neighbor.  You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ himself. "

 "What think we of Christ?

Is he altogether glorious in our eyes, and precious to our hearts?

May Christ be our joy, our confidence, our all.

May we daily be made more like to him, and more devoted to his service."