Visions & Verses

Exchanging More than Cookies

 
This weekend I was blessed once again to be with my best friends, this time to make and exchange Christmas cookies.  We all have such busy lives, and it is a rare treat to get together and just chat and eat and bake.

Of course, we exchanged so much more than cookies.  The kids exchanged powdered sugar pats on the back, we exchanged updates on the family, recipes, and some sad stories of loss of loved ones.  And of course we shared warm hugs, warm food, love and acceptance.

So, in the spirit of sharing, I share this Persian Cookie recipe with you.  I usually add some sliced almonds on the top before baking.  Also, you may have to play with the oven temperature and timing, as we noticed some real variations among ovens.

I sincerely wish you a wonderful holiday season.  Remember to take time out to enjoy the season and to share the story of the first Christmas with the kids, grandkids and anyone who will listen! 

Blessings to you and your families,

~Jen

Snow Day

He gives snow like wool.  He scatters the frost like ashes.  He casts out His ice like morsels.  Who can stand before His cold? ~Psalm 147:16

Who indeed can stand before the Lord's awesome cold?  Weather is one of those everyday expressions of God's power and awesome wonder.  What seems more magical in these cynical and jaded days than a silent snow storm?  Of course, the aftermath of shoveling and wet gloves and boot puddles are not so magical for parents.  I was working on my new illustration depicting just that when the 'awesome' snow arrived.  Briana had been praying for it for days, faithfully wearing her pajamas inside out and backward with a spoon under her pillow.  It didn't end up canceling church or school and made a nice backdrop to our 'Breakfast with Santa' boyscout event and tree decorating.  I'll be adding color and finishing up my illustration in the next few days.

Looking at the frosty landscape, it is hard to believe temperatures were in the 60's just a few days ago.  I admit I'm not as big a fan of snow as I used to be, but I do enjoy the changing seasons.  I doubt we'll ever celebrate Christmas where the palm trees sway, although a midwinter visit to Nana in Florida might be nice!

As you enjoy the snow days to come (or enjoy mine vicariously), remember that Jesus has washed us white and clean as snow.  Sin has left us stained, but his holy sacrifice has washed it all away and left us standing clean before God, our Heavenly Father.  What a wonderful gift, what a wonderful love!  If you don't know Jesus and haven't been washed clean -- there's no better time than today!  Simply believe that Jesus was the son of God and died to cleanse you of your sin.  Ask him be your Savior, to come into your life and to forgive you of your sins.  That's all it takes to be forgiven the debt of your sin and to receive Everlasting Life!  God bless you all as you enjoy this Advent season!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  ~John 3:16

 

I Give Thanks for Family and Friends

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.  ~1 Chronicles 16:34-36 

Thanksgiving is such a 'homey' holiday, which is why it is one of my favorites.  On this Thanksgiving I was blessed to spend the day with my family and friends.  For many years it has been the same crowd at the same home with the same menu (more or less).  Rather than becoming boring, the sameness has elevated it to tradition status, providing continuity between 3 generations now.  And like the 'first' Thanksgiving, ours includes those born here and those from across the sea, all grateful to a loving God to be living in a land of freedom.

As Advent begins and we await the coming of the Savior, first at Christmas and again someday soon, I look forward to more time with family and friends and the joy that these gatherings bring.  My hope is that you, too, will be able to spend quality time with loved ones remembering the true reason behind this season, and not caught in traffic or malls.  We have a great witnessing opportunity during Advent, showing the love of Christ in all we say and do and in how we spend our time and money.  I pray this season brings you peace and joy, not the world's idea of peace and joy, but the true peace and joy of knowing a Saviour who loves you and forgives you and grants you life everlasting!

I Give Thanks for Hymns

Download 01 For the Beauty of the Earth
  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord;  ~Ephesians 5:19

I had the occasion last week to reorganize my office area.  It isn't the remodel I was dreaming of, but it is much better than it was.  As I was clearing out and cleaning up I wanted some music to charge me up.  Rather than rock or pop, I threw in Greatest Hymns and Greatest Gospel Favorites.  I amazed myself at how energized they made me feel -- physically and spiritually.  I'm one of those people who can hear a song a couple of times and memorize it.  (My daughter seems to have inherited this gift also).  So for me, these hymns and praise songs hid the Gospel message in my heart long before I believed.  The Christmas hymns do the same in unbelievers today, so keep on singing them!

It is such a joy for me to sing unto the Lord.  I am so grateful for music, musicians and composers.  And the stories behind some of our favorite hymns are so compelling.  Bri has been learning about Fanny Crosby in Sunday School.  Although she was blind on earth, she now regards the face of our Lord Jesus every day in heaven.  And through her faith and gifts we can enjoy the blessing of her hymns: Blessed Assurance, To God be the Glory, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior, and so many more.

Hymns can be a source of comfort in hard times, a word from the Lord when you need one, a reminder of God's goodness and promises in times of temptation, and a prayer of praise when your heart is overflowing.  "Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee" (Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah).  Music is just one more way for us to express ourselves and our feelings, and I thank and praise God for that blessing and creative gift!

Lord, let us never tire of singing your praises, and spreading Your Word and the Good News of salvation through spiritual songs and hymns!  We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. 

I Give Thanks for Friends

 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a friend...  ~Proverbs 27:9

I had the opportunity to spend some time with my dear friends this weekend.  We haven't had too many get-togethers this year, so this one was especially sweet.  We didn't talk about anything really important, or even try to catch up on news, really.  We just started chatting about this and that until it was time to go.  It was like picking up a conversation that we started months ago.

I am so blessed by my friends and their husbands and families.  I really can't imagine life -- especially Christian life -- without them.  They are the sisters that I never had.  I can count on them for anything, and though we are each so different, we're also so much alike.  It's so good to spend time with them.

And now I have blogging friends, and friends I've reconnected with over the internet.  They are a blessing too!  I look forward to checking in with them every day and reading what they have to say.

God created us to be relational beings who are dependent on one another.  In our modern society, we like to be self-reliant, and be concerned about our individual rights, but as time passes I yearn to live more communally.  Imagine a neighborhood of friends and family sharing a courtyard, and letting the kids play together, preparing meals together, sitting together in the evenings around a fountain or little fire....  I think the early Christians must have lived like that, sharing everything and helping everyone.  Therefore, friends are living reminders of the relationship we should have with God: sharing ourselves and our 'stuff' with Him, depending on Him, going to Him for advice, comfort and encouragement. 

I thank you, God for my wonderful friends, and for all the ways we are able to be a blessing to each other.  Let my relationships with them always point me back to a deeper relationship with you through your Son, Jesus.  Amen