Swinging with the Hodgepodge

Our son, Josh, golfing at St. Michaels golf club in Scotland before we visited St. Andrews. Our dear DIL, Laura is the photographer.

Since Joyce informed us that August is National Golf month, I’m adding some photos of some favorite golf shots involving our family.

It is Wednesday and time to post answers to Joyce’s weekly Hodgepodge questions.

1. August is National Golf month…do you play? Do you enjoy following golf? Have you ever been to a professional tournament?

When our kids were in high school and I was part of the PTA, we raised money by serving at snack bars for a professional tournament in our town at the Inglewood Golf Club.

In 2024 while travelling in Scotland with Josh and Laura we toured one of the most famous Golf courses in the world, St. Andrews.

I don’t follow golf except for enjoying photos of our sons or nephew from the golf courses they enjoy a round of golf at. Just this past week our son, Josh, enjoyed a course in Otsego, New York. Josh and Laura traveled for a Baseball tournament that Laura’s brother and nephew were participants in at Cooperstown Dream Park.

Otsego Golf Club was established in 1894 and is one of America’s oldest courses. it is located on the shores of Otsego Lake and just nine miles from Cooperstown, NY.

In 1904 the club was taken over by Arthur Ryerson who as history tells traveled to St. Andrews golf course in his lifetime. Ryerson, traveling back from Great Britain, died heroically in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

2. Astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame passed away this past Thursday. Are you interested in outer space and what’s happening today in terms of space exploration? If space travel became common in your lifetime would you go? How do you personally relate to the idea of exploring something vast and mysterious…does the idea excite you, intimidate you, or something else?

I’m not leaving the earth until the Rapture occurs or until God calls me home. I do admire space travelers. I’ll stick to exploring less vast and mysterious places like abbeys and cathedrals and ancient towns.

3. Describe your communication style in three words.

I might need 4 words. Better written than spoken.

My spoken words can get jumbled and aren’t as clear to my intentions as my written words can be. I’m not a great verbal communicator.

Our present culture is so divided that I’m passive in my communication amongst those with certain ‘strong feelings’ about things that do not pertain to eternity. I’m amending what I said before here with the fact that although it is not politics that set the standard for salvation, there are moral issues in policies and laws that go against the Bible and will be a hindrance to peace with God. I do speak up about these issues that do matter and applaud others with a strong voice. It does matter who you are spiritually.

I’ll still be bold in communicating things that matter eternally regardless of ‘feelings’. Every person in the human race has only two destinations eternally. The Bible is clear about these two destinations, heaven and hell.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Jesus Christ will return to this world in judgement. The only way to be saved from the eternal consequences of your sin is to enter through the narrow gate, repenting (turning from your sin) and calling on the Son of God who gave his life for you, taking the penalty for our sins.

There was one door into the ark that saved Noah and his family from the flood. Similarly, there is only one door that can save us from eternal judgement. Jesus Christ is that door. The Bible states that now is the day of salvation. If you have not already done so, will you turn from your sins and call on the risen Lord Jesus to save you?

By faith, enter the only door that leads to eternal life today. Here’s a link that gives life saving information.

4. Do you have a favorite cookbook?

I’ll have to toot my own horn and say that the cookbooks that I’m part of with the Mennonite girls are my favorites, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, Celebrations by Mennonite Girls Can Cook and Bread for the Journey.

A favorite celebrity chef?

Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten are two celebrity favorites and I’m happy to say I’ve met both of them in person. We met Jamie Oliver at one of his restaurants in London and I met Ina Garten at a book signing in Kirkland, Washington at Sur La Table.

Do you watch any cooking shows on TV?

I do enjoy the Great British Baking Show but we do not have Netflix so I haven’t been able to watch it recently.

5. As a child did you have any back to school traditions? If so, did you carry on those same traditions with your own children? Do you have any back to school traditions you’ve started on your own?

Growing up our back to school traditions involved new outfits and a new pair of shoes to wear for school. Our children were given the option to wear something new for back to school.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

More golfing favorites.

Our son, Dan, golfing with our dear friend, David Dickinson (1950-2016), who shared his love of golf with his sons and our sons. This was the day before Dan and Jamie’s wedding, June of 2015. Dave died a year later.

Our boys golfing with Jamie Dickinson, Dave’s youngest son and a best friend to our boys. This was just a couple weeks ago.

I can take great joy in vicariously enjoying golf through our loved ones experiences.

“Hit em long and straight, boys!”

I went to play golf and tried to shoot my age, but I shot my weight instead. – Bob Hope

Tea ~ MGCC Cookbook

Welcome to Tea Time 2025. These posts will be about Tea Rooms we’ve been to, Teas we’ve given for friends and family, Church Tea events, and High Tea in restaurants from 2008 to the present. Tea in the U.S.A., Tea in England and Tea in Canada. Many of the Tea Rooms are no longer in business, which is sad.

Seventeen years ago today the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog was launched by Lovella.

The Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog began on June 7, 2008. I’m adding links to the beginning of the blog and to some of the anniversary blog posts from Lovella.

Here is Lovella’s post from our 1 year anniversary.

This was our third year anniversary.

Ten Year Anniversary Post.

The ten year anniversary post announced that we would not be publishing a recipe a day anymore on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. Since 2018 recipes from the past have been refreshed and published.

This next Tea Time post was for our MGCC Celebrations book photos. It happened in July of 2012. There wasn’t a post about this tea because it would soon be featured in our 2nd Cookbook, Celebrations.

We gathered in Bev’s garden and set a tea table. We had all prepared several of the dishes that would be featured in our new cookbook to enjoy together.

It was a photo-op for the cookbook and for the promotion of the cookbook.

All the recipes for these tea delights can be found in our cookbook.

This time in our lives was a continuation of a whirlwind of activities stemming from the launch of our first cookbook and then our 2nd cookbook. We had book signing events from Abbotsford to Chilliwack and Manitoba and more events that stemmed from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Play in Indiana and Ohio.

Our last major publication was our devotional, Bread for the Journey, which was published in 2016.

My posts about this new journey publication are here and here.

Our day to day new recipe postings have ceased but our friendship our ‘Tenship’ continues. We have experiences and ties that will continue to connect us for the rest of our lives. Thanks be to God for His Providence in bringing us together seventeen years ago.

M is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Tuesday April 15th, Tax day in the USA. It’s time for the letter M.

M is for Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

Lovella wrote this post that I am sharing here on my blog. She wrote this for our 10 year anniversary back in 2018 and published it on the MGCC Blog.

Mennonite Girls Can Cook ~ Ten Years

Ten years ago, this blog began on a whim that blossomed into an extraordinary compilation of our Mennonite recipes. Ten women volunteered to make, photograph and post on this blog so that our families and future generations will have this integral part of our heritage preserved.

The first idea for MGCC began during a sleepless night on June 5th, 2008. By 9 AM the next morning I had sent out a casual invitation on my personal blog. It was Vee who commented on that post saying “Sounds like great fun! I know you Mennonite gals know how to cook!!”

That is how the name Mennonite Girls Can Cook came to be. There was no business plan or goal as to how many recipes we would post. It is because of how it all fell into place that we have known in our hearts that God provided an opportunity for us to use the gifts He gave us, to bless others, and to give Him glory.

I love telling the story of how we were so thrilled to realize that our blog was being read. Within the first week, we were tracking several hundred visitors per day. Later we admitted it was only the ten of us coming back over and over to see if we had any comments on our recipes.

It wasn’t long though and you really did come to visit our blog and you kept coming back and your encouragement took us from the beginning idea of posting our Mennonite heritage recipes to also include our family favorite recipes and experiments from our own kitchens.

It is now not unusual for us to welcome over ten thousand page views on any given day. We are so delighted that this has become a place where recipes are searched, and where we have been able to freely share our faith.

We also recognize that God led us to make some decisions back when it all began. We decided that if there was ever a way for us to raise money from anything connected to the blog, we would feed hungry children. We decided we would keep our blog beautiful without automated advertisements. Our sponsors on our sidebar quietly have donated to our charities and we have appreciated them for their generosity.

We also decided that we wouldn’t pursue a publisher but if one approached us we would welcome an invitation to do a cookbook. In the spring of 2010, we were approached by Amy Gingerich the Editor of Herald Press, to see if we wanted to do a cookbook with them.

Our original Mennonite Girls Can Cookbook featuring Mennonite Recipes and our family favorites became a Canadian bestseller within a few months thanks to all of you who bought up books everywhere they were available.

Early in 2012, we started to work on our Celebrations book which was a delight to create as we reflected all the seasons that we have experienced in life. During that summer, we met together once more to take photos and have a very special tea time that we shared with you in the pages of the book.

Our Bread for the Journey book was published to coincide with the opening of the play Mennonite Girls Can Cook. This book has been a place where we have shared our Mennonite family history stories and have shared what our faith means to us in daily living. We used that opportunity to put into print some of the recipes that have been most searched on the blog.

We have been reflecting in our daily chats with one another how we had never ever imagined the opportunities to share. Television interviews across Canada, newspaper and magazine interviews, traveling for book signings, cooking demonstrations, speaking opportunities, and the play called Mennonite Girls Can Cook have all had an impact on increasing our visibility.

We are so thankful for all those that donated to projects on our behalf.

We realize that God gave us this journey of ten women for a purpose. God gave each of us a gift and we have sought to be faithful in sharing that gift with you through our recipes, our books and through our devotionals.

So I ask you to make full use of the gift God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well.

2 Timothy 1:6

There is still a lot for us to accomplish on our blog. While we will not be posting new recipes, we will continue to tweak our past recipes, redo some old photos and rework our recipe index to make it easier to find your favorites. Our best recipes will be highlighted during the different seasons of the year. You can be sure that the new year will begin with Portzelky, Paska will be front and center at Easter, Rollkuchen in summer, harvest recipes in fall and Oma’s cookies at Christmas. We feel certain that there are many recipes that you haven’t tried and we hope that by making the recipe index easier to navigate, you will feel inspired to search and try something new to you.

There are many things that we will miss, most of all, our connections with you through your faithful comments. Thank you for your encouragement that kept us motivated to do our work to the best of our ability. Thank you also, for all the cookbooks and devotional books that you have purchased in the past and will continue to purchase. Every dollar that we earn through those cookbooks will continue to provide clean water for the thirsty, and food for the hungry. Because of your support, we have been richly blessed to give where God has led us.

Before I press the publish button for the last time, I want to tell you about the beautiful women that have worked alongside me. They have all had such a vital impact on my life. They have encouraged me in my walk with God. They have encouraged me to strive for excellence. They have opened their hearts to friendship and unity. They have allowed me to glean the wisdom they have and they are faithful to pray for needs within our group and are quick to bring praise to God.

None of them signed up to take turns posting recipes every day for ten years and yet as this project grew, their hearts were open to using their gifts knowing that it could help others. I pray that wherever God leads them in the years to follow that they will continue to inspire others with the beautiful gifts they have.

When I tell you how each is unique, you will understand how we have needed each other and how our group was brought together by God.

We have become faithful friends because we have been thankful for each other.

Anneliese opens her home with joy to host and to serve. Anneliese has the gift of creative writing. She has used her gift to edit our books and to write poetry and stories that warm our hearts with truths. She has often helped me in thinking through how to communicate something in writing.

When you have reached out to us on our contact page, it has been Anneliese who answered your questions.

In Anneliese, I value her sincere heart, her example of hospitality, and her attention to detail.

Betty delights in serving. She is well known for treats she brings to appointments, workplaces, and is a source of take-out meals for those she loves. Every Saturday morning, Betty has sent out an email to all of us, reminding us of our scheduled recipes. She never missed a Saturday and she never forgot to post her own recipe.

In Betty, I value her cheerfulness, her patience, and her humility.

Charlotte has the gift of caring deeply about people with compassion and empathy. She is gentle and kind and looks for ways to bless others. Her large friendship circle is a testimony to the way she treats those she knows.

Charlotte has forwarded the comments and questions that you have made on our posts to us.

In Charlotte, I value her capacity to love unconditionally, her listening ear and her empathy.

Bev somehow manages to juggle many things in a day and still host neighbors, family, friends and those that stop by, without exhibiting any bother or fuss. She truly loves to host and does it with flare. Bev also is generous and willing to help wherever help is needed.

Bev has diligently indexed all the recipes making it easy when you are wondering what to make.

In Bev, I value her willingness, her honesty and her heart of reconciliation.

Ellen has the gift of hospitality that she shares with family and friends and their church group.

Ellen has been our voice on Facebook, always introducing each mornings recipe in a way that will pique your interest.

In Ellen, I value the twinkle in her eye, the way she listens before speaking and her discernment.

Judy is our calm and steady peacemaker who encourages and sees the best in everyone.

She has a keen eye for detail and has often quietly tweaked our spelling and grammar in the morning when necessary.

Judy has been faithful in posting our daily recipes to Pinterest.

In Judy, I value her sense of diplomacy, her logical thinking, and her kindness.

Julie is a prayer warrior. If you have ever requested prayer on our blog, it has most often been Julie that has led us in prayer with her tender compassion and empathy. Julie is always cheerful and gives the best hugs. Julie is faithful to teach the gospel wherever God gives her opportunities.

In Julie, I value her joyfulness, her love to understand scripture and her imaginative mind.

Kathy is encouraging and has a joyful spontaneity that is enjoyed by all who know her. Her gift of hospitality spills out of her home and into wherever life takes her. She is a skillful communicator and efficient in managing her time.

In Kathy, I value her inclusivity, her words that encourage and her sense of responsibility.

Kathy and Marg have been our sponsor liaisons.

Marg has a delightful adventurous spirit. She has shown us what courage and faith look like when tragedy strikes. Behind the scenes, Marg has organized our schedule for our Bread for the Journey Sunday devotionals.

In Marg, I value her joy in nurturing, her generosity and her authenticity.

We are so very thankful for you our readers that have given us a platform to share our joy of hospitality!

We want to leave you with a blessing from the Bible.

“The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn His face towards you

and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26 NIV

A Call to Persevere

This was one of my posts on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog for our Bread for the Journey from November of 2017. It still rings true. I’m reposting it here on my blog. It is a good reminder for me.

More and more it seems the world around me is choosing to come against the truth of God’s Word. Some of these voices, strong and bold, can confuse and mislead. Should I be silent. What should I do?

I need to go back each day to the one who is the Truth. I need to open the Word of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit read it and hide it in my heart. I need to test the very words that are coming from pulpits and be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures to make sure they were being taught what was true. I need to listen to teaching that is Biblically sound. I need to know that there are popular false teachers in my circles.

I need to be a disciple of Jesus, following him closely.

I need to meditate on passages like Psalm 19: 7-14,

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
⁸The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
⁹The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
¹⁰They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
¹²Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
¹³Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

I’ll leave you with these verses from the book of Jude.
A Call to Persevere
¹⁷But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸Theysaid to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²²And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garmentstained by the flesh.
Doxology²⁴Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all timeand now and forever. Amen.

Ten Glorious Years

The Mennonite Girls Can Cook have some announcements. We started our journey together when I was still covering my grey roots and now I’m letting my grey shine. On 6/8/2018, Lovella posted one of the first recipes that appeared on our blog in June of 2008. Here’s that post with our first announcement, Zwieback. Judy posted our last Bread for the Journey on Sunday. On Monday June 11, 2018, Lovella posted Ten Years of Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

I’m putting this post together to help me remember much of what went on with the “girls” the last 10 years with links to some memorable posts from the other “girls”. This will be an ongoing post as I search and find posts to add links to.

When I first met the girls in person in April of 2010. (Lovella)

The Book Arrives (Judy)

Our First Cookbook. (Lovella)

Book Launch (Judy)

A Tribute (Anneliese)

Cooking Classes(Judy)

West Coast Women’s show kitchen stage.

Marg and Judy’s epic birthday celebration at Harrison Hot Springs.

Mennonite West Coast event in Fresno, California, where plans begin for our next cookbook.

To Fresno and Back (Judy)

Mini book tour in Bellingham and Vancouver.

Celebrations Book Launch in Chilliwack and Abbotsford.

Winnipeg book signings.

West Coast Women’s Show

Some of the girls traveled by train to spend the day in the Seattle area ending at my home.

Visiting Ellen (Anneliese)

Lepp Farm Market Paska Cooking Class

Lepp Farm Market Christmas Cookie Class

Bread for the Journey Book launch

Indiana and Ohio for the openings of the play using our name.

Post by Anneliese

Christmas gatherings over the years.

At Our House seen through Anneliese’s Eyes.

Some of us were able to gather on Monday June 11th in British Columbia to celebrate the end of this chapter in the Mennonite Girls Can Cook’s lives. Thank you to Lovella and her beloved for a wonderful evening reminiscing and doing what we do best, sharing the food we have cooked.

It’s been a great 10 years and I thank my God always when I think of these girls and all I’ve been privileged to experience because of our growing friendship filled with encouragement, laughter, conversation and prayer. This Tenship will continue with my everyday friends.

Anneliese’s Thoughts

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

The Mennonite Girls Can Cook have some announcements. We started our journey together when I was still covering my grey roots and had a “Bob”. Now I’m letting my grey shine with a shorter more layered cut. I also started this journey 30 pounds lighter. Last Friday, Lovella posted one of the first recipes that appeared on our blog in June of 2008. Here’s that post with our first announcement, Zwieback. Judy posted our last Bread for the Journey on Sunday. On Monday June 11, 2018, Lovella posted Ten Years of Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

I’m working on my own 10 year post which will be full of photos of our memorable events. This is mostly for my benefit so I have everything in chronological order. Last night we had a casual impromptu dinner at Lovella’s home in British Columbia. Seven of the 10 could be there with our husbands. So much to be thankful for. Dear and I stayed the night at an Oxford Suites hotel in Bellingham just across the border from Lovella’s home. We are really pleased with this chain. We’ll head home today with a couple stops along the way.

2016 in Review July-December

Fourth of July with family, friends and neighbors.

Book launch for Bread for the Journey at Marg’s home in Chilliwack, B.C.

July 30th we received an announcement from Dan and Jamie that they were expecting our first grandchild!

August Book launch celebration at the Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C.

Travels to Dan and Jamie’s to help with projects in August.

Memorial service for our dear friend Dave Dickinson late in August with all of our family.

August/September visits to Eastern Washington and visits here from cousins.

October Western Conference clinched and another trip to Eastern Washington where I was able to hear Baby Bayles’ heartbeat, attend a sign making class and see that beautiful rainbow above.

We found out we are having a little granddaughter!

November day trips and wonderful Thanksgiving gatherings with friends and family.

Early December trip to Canada for our annual MGCC Christmas dinner.

Our 42nd wedding anniversary meal in La Conner at the Oyster and Thistle a day late but just as good .

December 11th our Sounders beat Toronto to win their first ever MLS Cup!

Downtown Seattle for the MLS Championship parade and celebration with Josh and Laura. (December 14th)

Dan and Jamie moved into their new home in weather that ranged from 8 degrees to 22 degrees. Josh flew over to help them move the weekend before Christmas!

Christmas day with all of our kids and then a trip to La Conner with Katie and Andrew to celebrate Katie’s birthday.

We ended the year with a nice chilly walk and then a Raclette dinner at this old house with dear old friends. Sad to say I forgot to take a photo! Here’s the table set in Husky gold and purple even though our dear Huskies lost to the Crimson Tide after a great run in 2016!

Today on New Year’s day we managed to put away Christmas decorations and drag the tree out to the yard waste bin. Woohoo! Tomorrow I will enjoy sitting and watching the Rose Bowl Parade and maybe the Rose Bowl game.

Hope that 2017 is having a good start at your house!

Numbers 6: 24-26

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Summer Olympics Hodgepodge

I’m joining Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond for Hodgepodge Wednesday. Joyce comes up with the questions and we come up with some answers. Thanks Joyce! I’m early this week…

1. Are you watching the Olympics? Your favorite summer Olympic event? I read recently a list of the most iconic Olympic moments in history…what stands out in your mind as a great moment from some past summer Olympic games?

We are catching some of the Olympics. Swimming, Gymnastics and Soccer are my favorite events.

The moment that will always stand out in my mind is watching Dear as a Torch Bearer in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Because he won the honor to run with the torch it brought the Olympics into our home in a special way.

2. Have you ever been to Rio? How about the place that started it all-Greece? Have you ever been to any of the Olympic Games in person? Is that something you’d like to do? Have you ever met an Olympian in person?

Never been to Rio or to Greece but I have been to an Olympic event at the 1984 Summer games in California. Our family and some of our extended family were able to attend a rowing event at Lake Casitas in Ventura County.

3. The ball’s in their court (tennis), cross the finish line (track and field), on target (archery), make a splash (diving), on a roll (gymnastics), out of one’s depth (swimming)…which Olympic-related idiom best applies to your life right now? Explain.

I’m going to go with out of one’s depth as Dear and I are thinking about the fact that he might be retiring earlier than we expected. He’s been unemployed for a couple of months and if nothing happens employment wise by his birthday we’re considering retirement and who knows what all that means! Yikes. We know who holds our future so we aren’t going down the anxious road but we are going down the unknown road.

4. What have you earned a ‘gold medal’ in recently?

My Gold Medal comes to me through blogging and the fact that God plopped me into the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog through my personal blog and my Russian heritage and family recipes. I’m one of 10 gals who post on that blog and we have authored two cookbooks, a just released devotional book and unbelievably a play about us will be released the end of September. What? Our author royalties have all gone to help feed widows and orphans and to help provide clean water to families in Kenya.

5. What is it (or who is it) that motivates you to eat right, exercise, and do what you can to be healthy?

The mirror motivates me when I don’t let the mirror completely discourage me. It does help to have a partner in the endeavor to eat right and exercise.

6. Are you young at heart or an old soul? Explain.

I think I’m young at heart because I still want to try new things and learn new things.

7. It’s National S’mores Day (August 10th)…are you a fan? Will you celebrate with a s’more today?

Not a fan but I can provide the ingredients for anyone who wants them!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

This post made me start singing that song from Sunday School that comes from Acts 3:6, a verse in the Bible.

Silver and Gold have I none/ but such as I have give I thee, /in the name of Jesus Christ/ of Nazereth rise up and walk./ Walking and leaping and praising God./ Walking and leaping and praising God./ In the name of Jesus Christ/ of Nazereth rise up and walk!

The Journey…

Dear and I packed up early on Wednesday morning and headed across the line to Canada.

We found our way to Central Heights Mennonite Church to attend the Celebration of Life for Kathy’s (one of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook) dear father. After the service Dear and I headed to Bakerview MB church and found the other Mennonite Girls and their spouses for the reception. One of the things we learned about Kathy’s father Helmut during the many tributes expressed about him was that he had the “gift of encouragement” along with other “gifts”. We think our Kathy has received this “gift” and learned a lot about how to share this gift because of her dad. Here’s an email from Kathy’s dad to his kids after he learned to use email in 2015.

“Let’s remember that , ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain.’ We are totally dependent on the Lord for life and breath and the service we are to render to our family members and other folk. One of my challenging verses that JESUS gave us is recorded in Mark 10:45. ‘For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give HIS life as a ransom for many.’ Let us be faithful servants, managing our time, talents and resources well. God help us to be good witnesses for HIS glory. Love you all lots and pray for you daily. Dad/Helmut”

What a treasure to have a legacy of a faithful father to pass on. We know you will miss your dear dad, Kathy, but that you also rejoice because he is home with his savior.

After the reception Dear and I found our way to Anneliese’s home where she and her dear H treated us to a nice dinner before we headed to our next big event.

We followed H and Anneliese to the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. where our newly released book, Bread for the Journey, was to be dedicated and launched.

We were met by two bouquets of flowers lovingly and thoughtfully sent by friends of the MGCC girls. Thank you so much Richard, Dorothy, and Rosella.

Under watchful eyes Anneliese prepared for the Zwieback demonstration.

Judy and Lovella’s hubbies maned the parking lot helping our guests find a place to park.

A wonderful crowd appeared and watched carefully as Anneliese showed her method of making Zwieback. Lovella helped with the narration.

Each of the seven of us who could be at the museum had our part to play. Some of us read from our family stories and some of us read one of our devotionals.

I made my confessions and read a brief story about my family’s “Movement” from Russia, to Iran and finally to the U.S.A. I’m not going to lie, I was happy when my “spotlight” moment was done.

After we were done with our stories and devotionals we had a special treat of music. We were blessed with Father’s Daughter singing “Little is much when God is in it”. Wonderfully musically talented family.

Here’s what Lovella had to say about these moments caught in the collage above. “I wanted to read the dedication at the end before Gerry prayed but just couldn’t even get it out. My heart was so full. Gerry couldn’t read it because he didn’t have his glasses so he borrowed mine to read.” Lovella was hoping someone captured these moments and Bev’s husband Harv did so I borrowed his photos.

The dedication reads: “We dedicate this book and our royalties to orphans and widows who face each day in need. Our prayer is that they would see the love of Jesus extended through caring hands, one home and one heart at a time.

After reading the dedication with Lovella’s glasses, Gerry prayed a prayer for God’s blessings on our book.

We signed books for anyone who wanted us to while the great crowd that attended enjoyed coffee and Zwieback.

We were surprised at the number of people who showed up and also surprised that the museum store was soon sold out of our book.

At the end of the evening we took some group photos. We always wish the 10 of us could all be together for these special events but miles and life events have a way of keeping some of us away.

All of our hearts were full from the beautiful blessings we enjoyed on this day in Abbotsford.

Some of the photos in this post were taken by Bev’s husband. Thanks for sharing Bev. Some were taken by my Dear and myself.

Dear and I crossed the border into the USA at 9 pm and were home in bed before midnight. We are generally early to bed people. Today is a day of recuperating for me and I have another confession to make and that is that I am still in my robe and it is the afternoon already! Oops! I running upstairs now to get ready for the rest of the day!

A New Journey…

On Monday the 18th of July nine of the Mennonite Girls and their husbands gathered at Marg and John’s home for dinner because Charlotte and her husband Tony were in British Columbia for a family reunion. It was providential that the author copies of our soon to be released book arrived on Lovella’s doorstep a few days before our scheduled dinner. The only couple missing from our dinner party was Betty and John from Steinbach.

Marg and Judy got together ahead of our dinner and planned what we would be eating. They decided to ask us to bring dishes that are featured in our new book. The table setting was focused on the theme of our new book with small loaves of bread and jam that Judy made for each of us, stalks of wheat and kernels of wheat on the table.

Marg and Judy got together ahead of our dinner and planned what we would be eating. They decided to ask us to bring dishes that are featured in our new book. Marg’s John barbecued a beautiful cut of beef for all of us.

When we were done with dinner we opened the box of books together so we could all see it for the first time.

Bread for the Journey is a book of devotionals and stories of how our families journeyed (escaped) out of Russia. There are several recipes included, too. The above photo is not my photo and I’m not sure which of the girls took it. Thanks to whoever did (Anneliese?)

It was fun to get our hands on it and peek inside.

We strolled out to the wheat field to take some more photos. We thought the wheat was a good photo op for our book called Bread for the Journey.

We gathered around the fire to enjoy our desserts.

Our new book is set to be released August 2nd. On August 3rd we are having a book signing at the new Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford.

You feed your loved ones. But how do you nourish your soul?

Strengthen your relationship with God. Savor everyday moments. Deepen your faith. In this heartfelt book of meditations for women, the bestselling authors of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook series serve as friends and companions on your spiritual journey. The 90 daily devotionals provide morsels for inspiration and reflection, all drawn from God’s unending promises in Scripture. Interspersed throughout the devotional are favorite recipes, inviting us to extend our tables and share God’s blessing with others.

My Five thankfuls for Five on Friday with Amy and Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne are…

A wonderful gathering of friend’s brought together because of similar life journeys, a delicious meal to share together, a new book to be released with our author royalties again going to help widows and orphans, that Charlotte and Tony could be at our celebration all the way from Manitoba, that our book arrived just in time for the dinner that was planned in honor of Charlotte and Tony being in British Columbia so that we could all see it for the first time together. Lovella sent a book to Betty in Steinbach to open the same time we opened up the box. God is good.

Click over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to see some more details on our book launch in Abbotsford.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Bread for the Journey