Recently I was in a beautiful old Louisville home on Cherokee Road. The owners had completely "done over" the old kitchen and installed an "all white" modern one with everything one could possibly want for cooking and entertaining. My thoughts were "This is truly the most heavenly kitchen I have ever experienced."
However, when I think of a "truly heavenly kitchen" it is always the one my grandmother had. For it created such heavenly food. It was a very large room with two stoves--the big old black wood-burning stove and a more modern gas stove standing side by side
The magic that was created in this big old kitchen will forever remain in my memory. Loaves of bread were baked twice a week, big sugar cookies, fresh coconut layer cakes and my favorite jam cake with Grandmother's own "tuttie-fruity" icing. Grandmother never needed a cook book it seemed, and her recipes never failed.
Christmas cooking began two weeks ahead of the big day. First the pull candy and the children could each have a small bit to pull . The stuffed dates rolled in sugar, divinity cream candy and chocolate fudge. The country ham was baked ahead of time to free the oven for baking the turkey Christmas Day. When that day arrived there were at least 20 mouths to feed--sometimes more--the men and children ate at the first table and grandmother and her five daughters made up the "second feeding."
Truly this gathering with all the love we experienced was "heaven on earth" as we celebrated the birth of the Christ Child.
Thank you God for Grandmother's heavenly kitchen. Amen.
Make some Christmas Goodies
Remember: Miriam Nunez (Peru--SBC)
Even as the word "cancer" struck a horrifying blow to our household in the fall of 1996, Bob and I decided to put up the big flocked Christmas tree and do it early in December. The tree would be there all aglow when Bob returned home from the hospital. He was scheduled for colon cancer surgery on December 1, but two hours into the procedure the exploratory turned up quite a malignant mass in the liver.
After eight days recuperation, Bob returned to face a "shadow of death" type Christmas season. But we were given hope that chemotherapy would probably contain the cancer for a while.
So there were many highs and lows during that Christmas month, but on the 29th of December, I invited friends in for ice cream cake to celebrate Bob's 79th birthday. It was a good evening in the beauty of the Christmas decoration and the gladness of friends to see the sparkle in our eyes even though a tear was hard to hold back.
You know the rest of the story—months of chemotherapy, times of remission, three hospitalizations, three and a half final weeks languishing in a nursing home, and then on October 5, the end. But I have some special memories of last Christmas which I will cherish.
So I plan to put up the big tree again this year even though I will be out of town with my daughter's family for 5 days. And on the 29th I may decide to have a party to celebrate Bob's 80th birthday in his heavenly home.
Dear Lord, we thank you for dear and blessed memories of those who have departed from us. Let us call it a temporary separation, and give us peace as we move into the season of hope, peace, joy and love. Amen.
Write an Advent meditation for next year's book
Remember: Frances J. Crane (Dominican Republic--ABC)
What would the Virgin Mary have thought if she had not only felt the babe leap in her womb but seen the joyful Jesus on a computer screen? Of course, her miraculous pregnancy would probably have been classified "an act of God" by the insurance provider who would thus refuse to pay for an ultrasound. Mary had received the promise of God that she would deliver a healthy baby boy and that may have been sufficient cause for peace and reassurance. I rather suspect, though, that Mary sat on pins and needles like most first-time mothers, wondering what to expect and hoping for the best.
Recently, my wife, Michelle, and I had our first glimpse of the twenty-week old fetus that is our first child. Amazingly, through the ripples and waves, we began to distinguish a tiny human being whom we have already begun to cherish. It is a powerful and moving experience to observe the beating heart, the fragile limbs, the graceful spine, and the impressions of a doll-like face, and it brings a sense of reality to the pregnancy—evidence that the promise of new life is true. One almost feels privileged for a few moments to share the vision of God, from whom "my frame was not hidden...when I was being made in secret.." (Psalm 139:15)
In those times when all seems well and in those times when the world seems to crumble, the glimpses we have had of God's love are to be treasured.
Thank you, O God, for the glimpses you give us that build our faith in your promise. Amen.
Gift yourself with an hour nap
Remember: Debbie S. Steele (Slovenia--SBC)
In the everyday living of life, probably most things are routine...routine in the sense of the necessary chores that keep our lives running smoothly. Then suddenly, or so it seems, the smoothness develops into a rat race. A non-stop hustle bustle of events: grocery shopping, Christmas shopping and baking, extra school activities, illness and/or grieving a loved one who has died. The list could go on and on.
In my work as a nurse in a psychiatric unit, I've met a lot of people who are seeking peace out of chaos. "Josh" was one such person. He came to us very disturbed by internal struggles. He was in and out of the hospital, worked with several doctors, and was offered a variety of medications and spiritual/emotional counseling. Some staff felt there was no hope for him. But about a year after his last admission, he returned to our unit to visit another patient. Josh was a completely different person--full of smiles and thanking everybody for their support in helping him find freedom from his struggles—inner peace.
As the world around us becomes chaotic, so can the thoughts and feelings inside us become confused and afraid--leaving us, like Josh, quite vulnerable and easy prey for both the known and unknown.
But in the midst of madness, let us stop and remember the most important one--the One who came to help us find inner peace--The Prince of Peace.
Our Father, we pray for peace. Your peace in the hearts and minds of men, women, and children everywhere. In your name, the Prince of Peace. Amen
Make a contribution to a Salvation Army bell ringer
Remember: Ann Sharpe (Yemen--SBC)
Advent can get me into a real dither. It's not the penitential season of Advent itself, mind you. It's just that it happens to come right before Christmas. Each year, as I sit in my living room, gazing dazed at my tree a few days after Christmas, I have all the good intentions imaginable about how I'll do it differently next year. Next year, I'll start Christmas shopping in October so that I won't feel so stressed out the four weeks before Christmas. Next year, I'll start making holiday treats much earlier. Next year, I'll make sure to have some time for reflection. Next year, I'll have an Advent wreath made by the first Sunday of Advent, not the third. Next year, the family will gather quietly together and take turns reading the Advent mediations aloud. In my dreams!
I view my life as border-line chaotic. Though I constantly endeavor to keep life manageable, I accept the fact that organization is not one of my strong points, especially at this time in life, when each member of my family is involved in different activities, including the dog (scratching) and the cat (swatting ornaments off the tree).
How can one achieve peace in such an atmosphere? In my dazed state I realize that I do, from time to time, in the middle of my chaos, find peace inside myself, even in the last weeks before Christmas, by being there. What I mean is, as I'm frantically hurrying to get some chocolates finished within a ridiculously small amount of time, I can just enjoy working with the chocolate. I can enjoy the warmth of it, the texture of it, the smell of it. By focusing on what I'm doing rather than all that I have to do, there is peace. By being fully present with tasks or with people, there is peace. And who was more fully present that the Prince of Peace?
Fully present God, help me to be mindful and focused today, fully present to my tasks, my fun, my distractions, and to others. Amen.
Look for God's Messengers
Remember: Steve Musen (Philippines--SBC)
It was the third year we were buying our Christmas tree here. Two years ago I met the owner and last year we had invited him to dinner in our home. He was an old man from the mountains of North Carolina who came to Charlotte each December to sell Christmas trees. We became friends and I looked forward to seeing him again.
Last year as I was driving him back to his trailer after dinner with us, he quietly said that he was getting too old to do this and that he was ready to meet his Maker. I remember how simply and peacefully he spoke it, untroubled, unafraid. Then we were back at his trailer. Spurgeon Green was a farmer with huge weathered hands, always dressed in his green work pants and shirt, wearing a red cap. There was an unpolished kindness about him and for some reason we connected as human beings.
As I got out of my car now, a surge of anticipation and excitement pulsed through me. Walking toward the row of trees, a lady greeted me and I asked to see Mr. Green. She paused, lowered her head, and softly said, "Uncle Spurgeon died in February." Stunned, I mumbled a belated sympathy to her and wandered back toward my car. As I drove away I recalled his words of last Christmas. And in my heart of hearts I knew he had died into his wish to meet his Maker. Then the peace of his words of last Christmas became my peace now, knowing he was with the Prince of peace. And each Christmas since 1981, I think of Spurgeon Green and celebrate in a more informed way the coming of the Prince of peace. Thanks be to God.
Thank you, O God, for coming to us in the Prince of Peace and that one day we may come home to you, our Prince of peace, untroubled and unafraid. Amen.
Invite someone to help decorate your tree
Remember: Leslie S. Williams (Nigeria, retired--SBC)
I have been rushing, it seems, forever. Rushing to school, to work, to the grocery, to children's practices and games, to kids' parties, to adult's parties (sometimes), to meetings and, even, to church. And then I rush home. But at Christmas I think of the Holy Family. I have always had the impression that Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus never rushed. They hurried, of course. Jesus, like many babies, had his time of arrival planned, but didn't clue in Mom and Dad. And even the flight into Egypt was, well, a serene sounding flight—not a scramble, dash or charge.
I guess that is why God has inspired so many composers to write lullabies for Christmas carols. Even in older, simpler times, quieting songs were needed by people consumed by the "rush" of completing the harvest and preparing for winter.
The beautiful melodies of Christmas lullabies quiet even my rushing. God quiets all our hearts to prepare us for the celebration of His promised arrival. Listen with me to these beautiful, peaceful words: "all is calm, all is bright" "Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie...deep and dreamless sleep...silent stars go by" "What child is this...on Mary's lap is sleeping" "The little lord Jesus asleep on the hay" "Let all mortal flesh keep silence".
Lord, help us this Advent to sing your inspired lullabies and slow down the rush of our lives. Prepare our hearts for the joyous anthems of Your promise fulfilled on Christmas Day. Amen.
Take a walk and enjoy the Christmas lights
Remember: Tom Cleary (Poland--CBF)
Return to Fulfilling the Promise--Advent intro page.
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Crescent Hill Baptist Church
2800 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, Kentucky 40206
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Last updated November 27, 1997