December Snapshots

On Friday evening our church had a Gingerbread House construction competition. 32 families which amounted to 142 people showed up for dinner and the contest. Our church provided the graham crackers and royal frosting and families chose their own edible decorations.

Our Colville kids participated. Jamie was also part of the committee that organized the event and she was in charge of the food. The committee did an amazing job of planning and pulling off the very successful event!

I was impressed with their creation!

They even included a carport!

On Saturday we finally got some sunshine which was a welcomed sight because of all the rain and flooding in our state. Our community did not have any overflowing rivers or threats of flooding like the western side of our state and places in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and British Columbia.

Our son, Josh, made a stop at Snoqualmie Falls to see the incredible amount of water flowing. These falls are on the western side of the Cascade Mountain range in our state.

falls-w-vera-003

Here’s a photo of the same falls in January of 2017.

Snoqualmie 015

March of 2014 with the runoff from snow. Our daughter, Katie, and I made a special visit to the Falls.

The same falls frozen in 2009.

Back to the present…

Our ‘Grands’ embraced the sunshine on Saturday out of doors enjoying pineapple.

On Sunday in our service we enjoyed the Children’s Sunday School choir performing a special song for Christmas.

I zeroed in on our favorite one in the choir.

Some of you might notice that our Addy now has bangs!

The older set, aka Baba and Gramps, had a relaxing weekend and I’m astonished to report that all our Christmas gifts are wrapped and under the tree! Now I can concentrate on plans for meals and treats for Christmas and beyond while we are all together.

How was your weekend?

Once He Came in Blessing ~ Hymn

Once He Came in Blessing

Once He came in blessing,
All our ills redressing,
Came in likeness lowly,
Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us,
Hope and freedom gave us.

Still He comes within us,
Still His voice would win us
From the sins that hurt us;
Would to truth convert us
From our foolish errors,
Ere He comes in terrors.

Thus if Thou hast known Him,
Not ashamed to own Him,
Nor dost love Him coldly,
But will trust Him boldly,
He will now receive thee,
Heal thee, and forgive thee.

He who well endureth,
Bright reward secureth;
Come, then, O Lord Jesus,
From our sins release us;
Let us here confess Thee,
Till in Heav’n we bless Thee.

Words: Johann Roh, 1544.

Applesauce Cake Roll

My mom used to made this Applesauce Cake Roll years ago and I had tried it once in the past and decided to try it again. It makes a nice dessert that isn’t too sweet and is festive. I made a couple mistakes and will improve on my cake rolling the next time around. My company did not mind it’s imperfection!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Powdered sugar (icing sugar) for dusting

Filling:
12 oz. of cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Beat eggs till thick.
Gradually add sugar beating well.
Add 1/2 cup applesauce.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt & cloves.
Fold into egg mixture along with the walnuts.
Spread in greased and floured 15 x 10 x 1 jelly roll pan. I updated this step and used parchment paper that I lightly greased.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
Immediately loosen sides and invert onto a kitchen towel.
Pull parchment paper off and cover with powdered sugar.
Roll the cake in the towel and let it cool completely. It will be a nicer roll if you roll it on the short side.
Prepare the filling by beating the cream cheese, sugar and milk together till smooth.
When the cake has cooled unfold it and spread the filling evenly on the cake.
Roll the cake again carefully, discarding the towel.
Wrap the whole cake with foil (I sprayed the foil with cooking spray) and freeze. This will make it easy to cut when ready to serve.
When ready to serve, unwrap the cake, dust with powdered sugar (icing sugar) cut slices and serve with ice cream or whip cream.

I’ve got room for improvement but my beginner attempt was well received and devoured.

Truth for Today #173

Friday December 12th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

From Vera:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Jan:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

From Maristella:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

Isaiah 42:1.

From Dianna:

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Galatians 4:4-5

From Karen:

Mark 12: 30 KJV

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Christmas Dinner 2025

On Tuesday night the 9th of December we enjoyed our Staff/Deacon Christmas dinner at our Pastor’s home. The food, the fellowship and the games were all fun and it was a great evening for all twenty one of us!

Greg and I each won our Marshmallow Pick-up challenge!

Oye, I forgot to take a photo of the cheesecakes I made for dessert.

Thank you to everyone who thought of me and said a prayer for my wee little surgery yesterday. Everything went well and I’ll be sporting a nice black eye for several days. I appreciated your kind thoughts and prayers.

A Hodgepodge Focus

Wednesday Hodgepodge is here again. Time to answer some questions From This Side of the Pond. Thank you, Joyce.

1. Do you struggle with the commercialization of the holiday season? What helps you keep your focus when the season’s busyness and commercialism start to take over? 

I’ve had several years of Christmases to learn to focus on what is important. I can ignore commercialization. I need to focus on my own heart and mind and where I need to concentrate on the truth of what Christmas is. Look again with fresh eyes on the Biblical accounts and the wonder of the first Christmas.

Quoting from one of my favorite pastors who died this year: “Christmas is not about the Savior’s infancy: It is about His Deity.” John MacArthur

I’ll ask for help to focus my mind on my King and Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.

2. What’s one small thing you want to savor before the year ends? 

All the things like twinkly lights and seasonal treats and stockings filled with little gifts.

3. December 9th is National Christmas Card Day. Do you still send Christmas cards? If so does yours include a photo or is it a more traditional card, or maybe homemade? How do you feel about the tradition of exchanging cards at the holidays? If Hanukkah is the holiday you celebrate in December do you send cards to mark the occasion? 

I do still send Christmas cards, a traditional card with a photo and letter enclosed. I’m happy to say I was able to send them away on Monday the 8th.

4. What’s your least favorite holiday related task? What’s your favorite? 

Least favorite is probably wrapping the presents. Favorite is buying the presents.

5. Let’s do a little holiday this or that? 

  • shopping or wrapping:                                           shopping
  • baking or decorating:                                             decorating
  • eggnog or wassail:                                                    eggnog
  • real tree or artificial:                                               real, although we’ve had to switch to fake
  • turkey or ham:                                                           prime rib
  • white lights or colored lights:                              white 
  • ugly sweaters or matching pjs:                           ugly sweaters
  • peppermint or cinnamon:                                    peppermint
  • presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day:  Christmas day

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m having a little surgery today to remove a cyst close to my eye. It is small and it shouldn’t be a problem but we have to drive to Spokane Valley for the procedure. I do not know when I’ll be able to come around to visit but I will eventually, Lord willing. Thank you.

Embracing the Days…

Catching up with some events from the last week. The super moon lit up the sky and our acres. So bright, it was almost as if we had street lights.

Addy’s last basketball game of the short season was on Saturday morning, the 6th of December.

As usual she played hard and well.

After the game all the ladies and JJ took in the Lady Lion’s craft fair in Kettle Falls. When we saw all we wanted to see we met up for lunch at TJ’s in Kettle Falls. Addy and JJ sat across the table from me and I took this shot of them.

Before the rains came and while the snow was still good enough for sledding, our Colville kids searched out their Christmas tree for 2025.

On Sunday while on greeting duty, I took this photo of the entry at our church. The Joy is real.

Our son planned a very special weekend in Nashville to celebrate Laura’s birthday. When they arrived an unexpected surprise for Laura was that cousins David and Kristin joined them for the celebration. It was an epic weekend for the four of them.

This is Nashville, not Iceland. Ice at Gaylord Opryland Resort.

All four of them described this weekend as unforgettable.

Monday was cheesecake baking day here at our country bungalow. I made two for our annual Staff/Deacon Christmas dinner which will be on Tuesday the 9th. While I mixed and baked our Christmas CDs were playing. While I was finishing up we got these two photos of our grands helping their Great Grandmother decorate her little corner tree.

This was our comp dessert at our anniversary getaway last week that I wanted to remember. It is a cotton candy sundae and it was delicious and unique.

In other news, I’m happy to report that our Christmas cards were mailed on Monday. This always comes with a sigh of relief and a smile of satisfaction.

Hopefully, I’ll remember to take photos at our dinner party tonight along with the finished cheesecakes.

Brie in Puffed Pastry

Time to gather up some ideas for the season.

Brie in Puffed Pastry
This is a very simple dish to serve as an appetizer or dessert.

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole Brie ( I used a 19.6 oz. round)
  • 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry thawed
  • 1/2- 1 cup chopped toasted nuts (pecans or walnuts)
  • 1/2- 1 cup jam/preserves of your choice (I used a chipotle raspberry)
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water.
  • 1 sheet of parchment paper
  • Bread or crackers to serve with the Brie

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Roll thawed sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to approximately 12-14 inches square. Spread chopped nuts in circle in center of pastry.
  3. Top the nuts with the jam/preserves.
  4. Place brie circle centered on the jam.
  5. At this stage you can use some of the pastry to cut out a decoration for the top.
  6. Fold up the edges of the pastry to cover the brie completely.
  7. Flip the Brie wrapped in pastry over.
  8. Add decoration if you like.
  9. Place the Brie on parchment lined baking sheet.
  10. Brush the pastry with beaten egg mixture.
  11. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Note: I prefer to scrape off some of the rind especially from the top where the jam and nuts will rest. I like the idea of the jam permeating the brie easier in the baking process. Although I didn’t have red grapes when I prepared my Brie but it would be a very nice accompaniment.

Hear the Advent Song ~ Hymn

 

Hear the Advent Song

Hear the ad­vent song
Of the an­gel throng
As they ho­vered ov­er earth;
As the night shone bright with ce­les­ti­al light,
As they told of Je­sus’ birth.

Refrain

Glory be to God, in the high­est, praise!
Peace on earth, good will to men.
Roll the an­gel song all the earth along,
Till the Lord shall come again!

Glory be to God!
All His works we laud!
But of all His gifts, the best
Is the Son he gave, sin­ful men to save;
Be His name for­ev­er blest.

Refrain

We will seek His face,
We will know His grace,
We will wor­ship at His shrine;
All our trea­sure lay at His feet to­day,
As we hail Him king di­vine!

Refrain

At His cra­dle bend,
For in Him des­cend
All the bless­ings God can give;
At His shame­ful cross, count your gain as loss,
By His death we sin­ners live.

Refrain

Peace on earth shall reign
When He comes again,
Lord of lords, and King of kings;
Even now God’s rest fills the trou­bled breast,
When the Lord His pre­sence brings.

Refrain

Let the sons of light,
Through the world’s dark night,
As the watch­ers wait the dawn,
Look with eag­er eyes for the new sun­rise
Which shall bring the end­less morn!

Refrain

Words: Arthur T. Pierson, 1897.

Fifty One Years

A few words from Susannah Spurgeon on this day, Greg and my 51st Wedding Anniversary.

I can see two pilgrims treading this highway of life together, hand in hand—heart linked to heart. True, they have had rivers to ford, and mountains to cross, and fierce enemies to fight, and many dangers to go through; but their Guide was watchful, their Deliverer unfailing, and of them it might truly be said, “In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.”

Mostly, they went on their way singing…

Susannah Spurgeon

Update: Thank you, everyone for all your kind wishes. I appreciated reading each comment and your thoughts!