Time for Baking

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything under the sun.  Today is the time for baking!

I know that most families have traditions around the holidays.  We all tend to think that the other families' traditions are odd but that our are perfectly normal.  That being said, the longest running tradition that I am aware of in OUR family is Cookie Day.

For as long as I can remember, it has been our family tradition to gather the day after Thanksgiving and bake peppernuts.  Peppernuts are a traditional German cookie (there are 2 types, those with anise and those with cardamom - ours are the latter).  No matter where we are on Thanksgiving Day, we all gather back together on the Friday after.  It is not unusual to bake up to 3 batches of cookies at about 700 cookies per batch.  We warm up the leftover turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes and yams.  We mix the dough, roll out the cookies and have cooling racks set up all over the kitchen.

This year, for the first time, it is at our house.  Truly, there is nothing like being surrounded by 25-30 family members and baking cookies.  May you and your families have an amazing day as well.

What Are You Thankful For?

There is so much to be thankful for in my life.  

• I have been cancer free for 2 years now
• We moved into a new home last month
• I have 8 children, 3 "kid-in-laws", 1 grandson and the most amazing wife
• I am employed at a thriving company
• I live in a country where I can worship the way I want; have access to churches, teaching and radio ministries and can witness openly
• We have never gone hungry, been homeless or suffered persecution

The list could be much larger of course.  I have great friends, wonderful family and the Hand of God in my life.  As we gather around the table this holiday season I want to remember that there are many here in this country and around the globe that have far less but are so much more grateful than we are.  Sometimes when we are so very blessed, we start to take those blessings for granted.  Take a few moments today to reflect on the Grace and Mercy of our Heavenly Father and remember.

blessings on your day

VOTD

 

Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

~ Psalm 95:2, NLT

Live right and live well!

[repost]

Isaiah 42:6 - “I am God. I have called you to live right and well. I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.  I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations."

God has kept us safe for a purpose. He gives us the mission to live right and well. This twofold purpose draws other people to Him. Not just to be righteous, but live well.  Enjoy life.  Delight in each day and in the people God has placed in our life!  Thank you Lord for Your amazing plan. 

Joani L. Burris
Refined daughter of the Most High King

Verse of the Year

⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.


Joshua 1:7-8 (NLT)

Altars

Altars are interesting things.  What we call an altar today bears little (or no) resemblance to the altars that the Israelites built during the time before the kings.  From the time of Abram, altars had a special meaning.  Every time there was an interaction with God, someone stopped and built an altar.  They built altars when they were blessed, they built altars when they were disciplined, they built altars when God revealed Himself.

Altars in the Old Testament were special.  They were built of "undressed stone" (just big rocks that were laying around nearby), they were named (and remembered) and often assembled of a particular number of stones (12 is the most common).  Time and again these altars are spoken of as "and it is known by this name today" meaning that people of subsequent generations saw the altars and knew why they had been built.

Altars today are often little more than ornate (or not so ornate) tables that hold up candles, bibles and the host during communion.  The commemorate nothing and stand for nothing.  They have no special or lasting significance.

When was the last time you stopped and built an altar?   When was the last time you acknowledged what God had done or was doing in your life and immortalized the moment?  When was the last time you opened the photo album and walked your children through the altars of YOUR life?  How many of us can recount even one event from our parents and grandparents lives showing the Hand of God?  How many of our children will be able to do that for OUR lives?

Build an altar today.  Create a memory/record of what God has done for you.  Share it with your children so that THEY won't forget either.  We need more altars.

blessings on your day

A Little Help

Last weekend we finished up the move from the rental (Wednesday Emma cleaned the rental and returned the keys).  Aaron came up Friday night and along with Kennedy and his friend Rick helped me load up the truck with the last few (very heavy and awkward) pieces of furniture.  Aaron stayed until Sunday afternoon and installed my stereo system (speakers are mounted in the ceiling) and hung out with us.  It was great seeing him.  Aaron has been - and continues to be - a source of encouragement to me.  He has shared some of the same struggles that I deal with in my life.  The difference is that he is actively doing something about about 25 years earlier than I did.  He is an awesome man of God and I am very proud of him.

Saturday afternoon, Hannah and her BF Tyler came up as well.   I think I spent more time with Tyler last weekend than I have in total since I met him  :)  He is a really good guy and I am glad to see that he makes my daughter happy.  Sunday we all went to church together and then I made supper before they headed back south.

It was a great weekend and spending time with some of my children made it very special indeed.

Before and After

I Won't!

I have always maintained that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.   I have often been told that I am  acting like a kid.  The other day I stumbled over a quote on the internet that seems to sum it up pretty well :)

"I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope." -Meredith Grey