December Advent Week 2

Monthly fitness or food or photo challenges have been part of my new lifestyle for the past couple of years. But, it's December and those of the childlike heart await the arrival of Christmas and Santa and presents. The only challenge is to not sneak a peek! There have been eleven challenging months. December needs no challenge. December is expectant. December is celebration. December is the crossing off of days to something grand!

I choose to mark the advent of Christmas and the New Year with words of importance and contemplating how I respond to those words, daily. Will you sit with me to mull these words? Will you allow them to unlock a puzzle box inside your spirit preparing you for the future?

If we should accidentally drop a day, we will not sweat it, but will turn around from our too-busy stride to reclaim the word and the beautiful gifts of God's thoughts He has waiting just for us.

December Advent Week 1

Monthly fitness or food or photo challenges have been part of my new lifestyle for the past couple of years. But, it's December and those of the childlike heart await the arrival of Christmas and Santa and presents. The only challenge is to not sneak a peek! There have been eleven challenging months. December needs no challenge. December is expectant. December is celebration. December is the crossing off of days to something grand!

I choose to mark the advent of Christmas and the New Year with words of importance and contemplating how I respond to those words, daily. Will you sit with me to mull these words? Will you allow them to unlock a puzzle box inside your spirit preparing you for the future?

If we should accidentally drop a day, we will not sweat it, but will turn around from our too-busy stride to reclaim the word and the beautiful gifts of God's thoughts He has waiting just for us.

Make it Home for Christmas

Your city will be lit up with red, green and silver, 

but it will all turn dingy grey if you aren't able to walk down it's streets. 

Your bells will be ringing merry and bright, 

but will start to sound sadly void of joy if you're laughter is not in the air.

Your tree will be beautifully ornamented, 

but it's branches will look empty and bare if you aren't able to rest beside it.

Your home will welcome each passerby with candles in the windows, 

but they will snuff out in darkness if you don't walk up the drive.

Your table will be prepared, set and ready, 

but the food will taste woefully bland

if you aren't in your chair to help us eat it.

You see, there is no one and nothing like you.

No picture, video or memory can replace the feeling of having you home

to warm the room and spread the happy.

So do us all huge favor...be safe and come home, soon, 

because we love and need you.

Drive all night if you have to.

     Fly across the sea.

          Walk the extra mile.

               Crawl through the snow if it takes it...but please...

Make it Home for Christmas!

--Terry Allen

2-on-Tuesday: White Chocolate - Candy Cane Truffles

Why, YES, I do want to dazzle guests with my culinary skills! Even if you do notknow how to turn the oven on, you'll look amazing presenting these on the dessert table or as gifts!

I picked up the recipe on Pinterest from YourCupofCake.com and assembled the ingredients. Used my stand mixer for the truffle fudge and just left it in the same bowl. Sealed the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and left overnight in the fridge until I was ready.

I used my indispensable Christmas Kitchen Tool #25 (aka my hammer) to crush the candy canes inside a freezer zippered baggie!

When I was ready, I scooped the truffle fudge out, rolled into cute little one to two inch-ish balls and quickly rolled in the crushed candy canes. To top it all off, the dazzling little truffle went into mini holiday paper cupcake liners.

Really, there's nothing to it! Here's the recipe...

White Chocolate - Candy Cane Truffles

4 oz.         Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup        Powdered Sugar

1  1/4 cup White Chocolate Chips, melted (Hershey's Premiere White)

1/2 tsp      Peppermint Extract

1/3 cup     Candy Canes, crushed

• Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
• Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, just until the chips begin to melt and give them a good stir to complete the melting. You do not want to scorch the chips!
• Add melted chips and peppermint extract to cream cheese mixture beating until smooth and creamy!
• Cover and refrigerate. (As soon as it is cooled and set, you could start a'rollin, but I waited until I had the time the next day!)
• Use a mini ice cream scoop for ease and consistency for your truffles. Then, roll it in between your hands into a smooth ball. 
• Roll around in a bowl of crushed candy canes!

Tips:

**After I made a batch, I stuck 'em back in the fridge until serving time. 

**The website suggests: Roll in candy canes the day you plan to serve them. Or else the candy layer will get sticky from absorbing the moisture in the chocolate.

OK! Go be dazzling!

HISTORIC 12 Days of Christmas

Despite its standing as a Christmas standard for carolers and the Muppets, this fun tune has a cryptic past. Who knew?

Evidently, the year of 1558 A.D. was critical for England's royal family who did not share religious faith nor sisterly affection. For the next 270 years, Roman Catholics were persecuted and not permitted to practice their religion. Rumor has it someone wrote the little Christmas ditty so Catholic children would learn important doctrinal tenets on the sly.

I am not Catholic, but I sure can appreciate parents taking a positive, spiritual role by employing a creative teaching and memorization method for their children. Check it out:

"On the first day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE gave to me a PARTRIDGE in a PEAR TREE."

Our "True Love" who is the living and loving Heavenly Father (a/k/a God) and gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as the means of redemption on an old, rugged cross or --for the secret code of the carol-- the "Partridge in a Pear Tree."

And, so, the symbolism continues...

Two Turtle Doves = the Old and New Testaments
Three French Hens = Faith, Hope and Love
Four Calling Birds = Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Five Gold Rings =  First Books of the Old Testament known as the Pentateuch
Six Geese a'Laying = Six Days of Creation
Seven Swans a'Swimming = Sevenfold Ministry Gifts found in Romans 12
Eight Maids a'Milking = Beatitudes
Nine Ladies Dancing = Nine Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5
Ten Lords a'Leaping = Ten Commandments
Eleven Pipers Piping = Eleven Faithful Disciples
Twelve Drummers Drumming = Twelve Points of the Catholic "Apostle's Creed"

Pretty cool, argued history lesson, huh? 

This reminds me of when God had given the Ten Commandments to Moses, who instructs the Israelites to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. Memorize His laws and teach them to your children over and over again" (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).

Let me encourage you to be the spiritual teacher in your home challenging your children to memorize Scripture and to develop a personal relationship with God, our "True Love."

For God so loved the World in this way:

He gave His One and Only Son,

So that everyone who believes in Him

Will not perish, but have eternal life!

John 3:16

~"Sam"

Well. So, it turns out I'm NOT Super Woman.

1. Make the bed
2. Make breakfast
3. Pack their lunches
4. Feed pets
5. Run
6. Clean house
7. Do laundry
8. Finish the gift list for Christmas
9. Un-decorate the house
10. Pull tubs of Christmas decor from attic
11. Finalize menu for Thanksgiving
12. Write Center of the Pie blog posts & recipes
13. Prepare guest room
14. Grocery Shop
15. Shower, Shave, Shampoo!
16. Dinner with friends, tonite.
17. 
    

...And, that's just today. Does she sound familiar?

Yep, I'm one of those overachiever list makers who, when discovering something to be done that wasn't originally on my list of To Do's, will go back and add it to my list just so I can mark it off as being completed. It only intensifies during the holidays! Knowingly, as if on a suicide mission for Santa, I will create a overly long list of tasks to accomplish before crashing into my contour pillow and clean sheets before midnight. (CRUD! That wasn't on the list... 17. Change sheets)

Oh, sure, at that point is when the Holy Spirit reminds me I haven't read my eDevo and Bible or prayed, yet. 

I really do love reading the Bible, especially the Old Testament partly because it reveals the personality of God. Take for example the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. God, who in a mighty display of nature, gave the busy leader of Israel ten specific directives in the earshot of the people. The Creator commanded the attention of an entire, busy nation.

In a similar account, Elijah was busy about doing God’s work; predicting famine, raising the dead, calling down fire from heaven and having 450 prophets of Baal slaughtered, when he is threatened by a nasty lady (the Super Evil Woman of her time). In fear and spiritual exhaustion, he runs for the mountains on the backside of the desert.

Sleeping in a cave and depleted of his own reserve, Elijah experienced a powerful wind, earthquake and fire caused by God, yet, was not in any of them. Then, the Creator gently whispered something to catch the attention of a solitary man. No longer busy, he simply sits quietly with the Father receiving supernatural strength and wisdom.

When I need God to speak into my life, my Creator knows just when and knows just how to capture my attention and settle my busy, self-asserted-Super-Woman self.

Take some time to read Exodus 19 & 20 and 1 Kings 19. Have a wonderfully blessed Christmas!

~"Sam"