Showing posts with label Advent Reflection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent Reflection. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Ringing in Advent with Apple Dumplings and Family Memories


There's just something magical about the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. In some ways, we rush about in the hustle and bustle of shopping and preparations, but deep down we embrace the peace that the season brings.

As I was thinking about all of these things together, I was reminded how everything really boils down to faith and family. I was reminded of dinners with my grandparents and vacations with them, and then celebrating big Thanksgiving and Christmases at my paternal grandparent's house with all my cousins, then much smaller get-togethers at my other grandparents as my mother was an only child.

Even now, my husband's family get-togethers tend to be larger than my side of the family. His family all live close and mine are more wide-spread. But large or small, all are precious and create lasting memories.

Sometimes it's the tradition of a certain food or a certain time. For instance, my mother-in-law has served a mid-morning breakfast for Christmas for the last several years. The time of day and the break from traditional foods has always been a wonderful respite on Christmas Eve. And who doesn't love biscuits, bacon, and eggs?

In keeping with this month's theme, I'm going to share a recipe, but it might not be one you'd want to serve with breakfast, but then again... lol

We had "Second" Thanksgiving at my house on Sunday since my youngest son had to work on Thanksgiving Day. I invited my in-laws and my mother-in-law came with Apple Dumplings since that's his favorite dessert. She didn't know that I also made Apple Dumplings because... well, it's my son's favorite dessert. So we had 32 apple dumplings between us!

This led to an in-depth discussion of how we made our dumplings, plus another long email discussion among the Seekers of who's made them, how, and what ingredients. I'm not sure if Apple Dumplings has ever has as much air time as they have this week.

So, without further ado, I'm going to share my mother-in-law's version of Apple Dumplings, since it's the easiest thing to remember by far.

Two-fer Apple Dumplings
(I'm calling these Two-fer, because you use TWO of everything)

2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 16 slices
2 cans of crescent rolls (8 per pack)
2 cups sugar (white or brown, or mixed works)
2 sticks of butter
10 ounces of either Sprite, orange juice, or Mountain Dew
Optional: Sprinkle of cinnamon

Spray a 9x16 glass casserole dish with Pam or a smear of butter
Wrap each apple slice in a crescent roll
Melt butter and mix with sugar and pour over the top
Pour the Sprite or orange juice around the edges

Bake on 340-350 until crescent roll tops are nice and brown. There will still be a good bit of liquid/juice, but this will soak up as the dish cools a bit. Eat warm or cold, and with vanilla ice cream if you like.


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Monday, December 20, 2021

A Carol of Christmas


 

Silent Night, Holy Night. All is Calm, all is Bright…


Are you humming the tune to yourself? It’s the ultimate Christmas song, isn’t it?

What is it about this hymn that speaks so well to that deep place in our souls?

Maybe it’s the image the words invoke – the stable, the joyful receiving of a newborn baby, the night filled with stars –

Maybe it’s the nostalgia. How many Christmases have you sung this song at a Candlelight Service at church? How many idle moments spent humming the tune?

Just hearing the opening bars takes me back to a cold Christmas Eve at least sixty years ago and a snowflake-filled sky. The hymn spans the time and brings that scene to mind once more.


 
It’s all of that, isn’t it? 
But when I think of this Christmas hymn, it is the poetry that speaks to my heart the most.

Silent. Holy. Calm. Bright.

Mother and Child.

The Child? A baby.

But not just any baby – this baby is the Savior of the World.

This baby is the long-awaited Messiah.

And then another tune comes to mind…

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given. So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.


The Hope of mankind, given so humbly. So silently. So gently.


During this Christmas week I intend to put away the trappings that have been distracting me since the end of November. Shopping, wrappings, trees, baking (endless baking!) Even Christmas parties and church preparations.

Putting them all away for now because the time of preparation is nearly over.

Christmas Day is nearly here… It’s time to let silent contemplation have its way.



Joy to the World! Our Lord is come!

Have a blessed and joy-filled Christmas!

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Advent Reflection



By Debby Giusti

O come, O come, Emmanuel

The daily scripture passages during Advent set the stage for the birth of the Christ Child as we draw closer to Christmas. Today’s reading—Luke 1:5-25—focuses on Zechariah, who goes to the Temple in Jerusalem to perform his priestly duties and is chosen by a drawing of lots to burn incense before the Lord. Zechariah was well-aware of the great honor he was being accorded as he entered the Holy of Holies, yet when the angel Gabriel appears with news that Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth, thought to be barren, will bear a son, Zechariah doubts the angel’s message could be true. Because of his lack of faith, Zechariah is struck dumb until the birth of his son, John the Baptist, the one who will “prepare the way for the Lord.”
 
Annunciation of the Angel to Zechariah, by Domenico Ghirlandaio,
1490, fresco in the Tornabuoni Chapel, Florence. [PD-US]

Tomorrow’s scripture is the annunciation when Gabriel appears to Mary. In contrast to Zachariah’s doubt, we read in Luke 1:26-38 of Mary’s total faith and her immediate yes—her fiat or “let it be done”—as she readily accepts God’s will for her life with the words, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

The Annunciation, Carravagio, 1608.
Museum of Fine Art of Nancy, France. [PD-US]

The question for us to ponder is our readiness to accept the Lord’s will for our own lives. Are we like Zechariah, unable to believe that God will grant us the desire of our heart? Or are we like Mary, eager to accept God’s will even when we don’t have a clear picture of how the future will unfold?
 
Nativity, Sandro Botticelli, c 1473-1475, Columbia
Museum of Art. [PS-US]

What about our writing journey? Have we given up on following our dream for publication because of our age or our commitments or our inability to believe that with God all things are possible? Are we frustrated by rejection and tired of never having our stories achieve recognition? Have we settled for good enough instead of working to become a better writer? A bestselling author? A world-acclaimed author?

Adoration of the Shepherds, Matthias Stomer, c 1632-1635, North Carolina
Museum of Art. [PD-US]

Or do we trust the Lord enough to follow our dream? Do we shrug off rejection and use it as a catalyst to spur us on? Are we focused on the future with all the promise it holds, instead of wallowing in the unfulfilled past?

Consider the following…

           What’s stopping you from achieving your goal?
What’s holding you back from taking the next step forward?
Are you a Zechariah?
Or are you a Mary?

The Adoration of the Magi, Giotto, 1303, Scrovegni Chapel,
Padua, Italy. [PD-US]

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Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

With abundant blessings and much love,
Debby Giusti

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