Wednesday Words

"These verses [about the wise men] show us that there may be true servants of God in places where we should not expect to find them.  The Lord Jesus has many 'hidden ones', like these wise men.  Their story on earth may be as little known as that of Melchizedek, Jethro, and Job.  But their names are in the book of life, and they will be found with Christ on the day of his appearing.  It is well to remember this.  We must not look round the earth and say hastily, 'All is barren'.  The grace of God is not tied to places and families.  The Holy Spirit can lead souls to Christ without the help of any outward means.  Men may be born in dark places of the earth, like these wise men, and yet like them be made 'wise for salvation'.  There are some traveling to heaven at this moment, of whom the church and the world know nothing.  They flourish in secret places like the 'lily among thorns', and seem to 'waste their sweetness on desert air'.  But Christ loves them, and they love Christ."

 

--J.C. Ryle

 

Ryle, J.C. "The Lessons of the Wise Men." Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.

Comp. Nancy Guthrie. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. 110. Print.

Wednesday Words

 

An artist’s failure to work is rarely mechanical—fingers that fail to curl around a pen or a brush—but spiritual: a fear that has rendered them artistically blind or deaf. The solution to them all is to draw closer to God, the source of all order, rest, and freedom, and of every image, sound, and word.

Wallace, Carey. "On Discipline." Web log post. Cardus. N.p., 13 May 2011.
Source: Ivester, Lanier. "Creativity: Spiritual Battle and Spiritual Discipline, Part One." Web log post. The Rabbit Room. N.p., 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. <www.rabbitroom.com>.

Handwritten Recipes for Christmas

I'm always up for hearing Christmas gift ideas early, and get a head start every year--so I thought I would share what I did for my HUGE family last year, when we were on a tight budget.  It turned out so special, and there wasn't a dry eye in the Christmas gathering.

My Mom loved to cook for her family.  She wasn't the kind of cook that, if she would have had a blog, all her recipes would be re-pinned 500,000 times.  But to her family, her food was the kind that we could eat 500,000 times and it would never get old.  Her food tasted like growing up in our home; like the sanctuary of loved ones after a long workday; like the kitchen radio playing softly in the background, and laughing together around the table, long after the plates had been licked clean.

Last year, I tearfully went through hers and Grandma's cookbooks and found so many of our treasured dishes written in their own hand.  Handwritten recipes are so precious.  Especially the ones dating as far back as the late 1800s, like my Grandma's (Dad's Mom) pie crust and Mom's homemade tortillas (her Mom's recipe)--all in their familiar penmanship.  Some of them had humorous cooking notes, which makes me make such notes on MY recipes when I fill out my cards.

Last year, I was at a loss for my huge family's Christmas gifts (especially on a slim-to-no budget).  So I decided to photocopy all of Mom and Grandma's handwritten recipes and give those as gifts.  I simply photocopied them, printed them on multi-colored cardstock, and tied them with ribbon into bunches.  Even including a bit for the printer ink, I spent approximately $30-40 for this project, and it covered 22+ people for Christmas.

I'm so happy that my Mom and Grandma did this, and that I can pass these down to my girls. You could even go so far as to interview family members about their favorite family recipes, and include those on the backs of the cards.  If you have a Dad who is the family cook, encourage him to write his favorites down, too!  Things like this will be treasured for generations, and make extra special Christmas gifts.

Wednesday Words

 

Peterson, Andrew. All You'll Ever Need. Resurrection Letters Vol. II. Ben Shive, 2008. CD. Centricity Music

Adoption

Over at MOHL, the ladies there have been discussing the different names that Scripture gives the Church.  Since I'm in love with the theology of adoption, I'm sharing about how we have been adopted as "sons of the living God" (Romans 9:25-26).