What do you think of when you hear the word hospitality? What are the first images that pop in your head? I hope to dispell some of the false notions of hospitality; as well as, redefine and encourage those of you who think you either have the “gift” of hospitality or don’t. I thinkContinue reading “Hospitality not Entertaining”
Category Archives: Jesus’ love
Bursting with Delight Cookies
Not only are these cookies bursting with delight, but I have been reflecting upon this notion as I await what the Christian world calls “Holy Week” or “Passion Week.” As my girls took their nap today, I was folding laundry listening to the song, ‘O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.’ One of the lines says, “How he loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore…how for them he intercedeth.” I was struck by how great his love is for me. When I was a little girl I would stand up on mall benches and sing “Jesus Loves Me.” When people would ask me why I believed in Jesus, I would respond with, “why wouldn’t I (this at a very young age).”
I think it’s because I was drawn to Jesus’ incredible love. I knew he was good, but not just good as in the superhero fighting the villain, it was much deeper than that. And as my oldest is three understanding more concepts, listening to all the stories we tell her, taking initiative in conversations & thoughtfulness, I’m seeing how at such a young age–Jesus makes sense. I was reading to her some Bible stories, very simplistic in nature, and it came to the part where Jesus was being crucified (like I said, it was simplistic, not the Passion in full swing) where she had a sadness in her eye. I could identify with that sadness and conjure it up from when I was her age, because I like her, could see why it was so sad. It was sad & lonely, because this person who was so incredibly good & just was being robbed of life.
But the part in which I burst forth, as did she, was when we soon realized that wasn’t the end of the story, but Jesus overcame death, bursting forth from the tomb–leaving it empty. I could see the shadow of sadness quickly being replaced with joy & hope in my three year old’s eyes. And as I saw in this child illustrated Bible, feet on a cross, my eyes got misty connecting with the same mourning my daughter was feeling. But, unlike watching a fake romance movie Hollywood has portrayed giving us hope deferred & hope renewed–this is such a better love story. This is a love story even a three year old understands to be true & wholeheartedly genuine.
And even though we rarely think about feasting upon cookies during this season of Lent (most people giving them up), I do offer you a burst of delight upon your senses (not that I think these compare to the Easter story at all). I made these cookies for my mom getaway a couple weeks back and I find they have a wonderful marriage with sour, freshness of the lime, the creamy depth of the cream cheese, the buttery, saltiness of the caramel and the crunch & melding of it all with the macadamia nuts. I like how the flavors blend, some pack more of a punch, while others leave a nice undertone on in your mouth.
I think that’s why I find these cookies applicable with this post–it’s about awakening the senses. So as you might read the Passion story for the first time or the 70th time, notice how much of the story deals with smell, touch, taste, sight, & sound. How Jesus reached us with our senses. How the Lenten season is typically about denying the senses, yet as Jesus burst forth from the tomb on Easter morning–we burst forth in celebration with him to feast in a hope no longer deferred.
Burst Delights (printable recipe)
I used my Orange Cardamom Cookies as the base for these Lime-Cream Cheese-Macadamia Nut-Caramel Cookies.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, measure out 1/4 cup and finely chop it up
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 lime for juice
Cream Cheese-Caramel Icing
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
- 1/4 cup homemade caramel sauce (or store bought)
- splash of lime oil essence (or extract)
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
Make dough:
Whisk together flour, zest, 3 Tb. finely ground macadamia nuts, and salt.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Put the dough on parchment paper.
Mound the dough together and roll into a log. Once you get a basic log shape, position the dough in the middle of the parchment. Then, take the parchment that’s north of the dough and cover it over the dough. Take a bench scraper and push the edge of it at the base of the parchment covered dough, trying to make a concentric log. Roll the log so the parchment covers the whole thing and twist the edges. Refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight (if you want to speed the process, then place in freezer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour).
Cut and bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Remove firm dough. Unroll the parchment so the dough is still sitting on top of the paper. Place on a cutting board. Cut the dough into 1/8 inch. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.
Bake until edges are golden-brown, 12-15 minutes. While the cookies are still warm, slice the zested lime in half and squeeze the juice over the cookies. The cookies will absorb the juice and give the cookies that great lime kick. Cool on baking sheet and arrange with below directions.
Make Icing:
Put the whipped cream cheese in a small bowl and add 1 Tb of caramel sauce at a time. Mixing to get a balance of caramel & cream cheese. Then add some lime essence, just a splash. You want to have a balance of the flavors. Not too much of the lime, but enough to have it stand out.
Putting them together:
With a spoon, put about 1/2 teaspoon icing on each cookie & swirl around. Drizzle caramel over the cookies with a fork or spoon. Sprinkle with remaining chopped macadamia nut & lime zest.
Promise & Spicy Pumpkin Soup
I’m sitting in my living/dining room looking outside to the glorious picture of sunshine pouring down on the golden leaves left on the tree with the faint hue of blue in the sky. The wind is beginning to breathe big breaths upon the leaves and awaken the gray clouds to another stormy afternoon. But in the meantime, I will enjoy what this brief window of sunshine has to offer. With my oldest being sick the past couple days, we’ve been relegated to “operation indoors” (a.k.a. cabin fever). And as I haven’t had much alone time with her being sick and random sleeping times as a result, then you mix in my youngest who is sleeping during the oldest awake hours…well, that equals one exhausted mama.
So yes, I will enjoy this calm before the storm.
I think it’s fitting that I live in the Pacific Northwest in comparison to the way life is and how they correlate with the seasons here. As the wind and the rains pour down, so is our life at many moments. It’s hard to look past the knee high puddles, shivering bodies, and wind blown hair to remember the rainbow after the storms. And as any person living in the PacNW, they would say, “but it storms so much that the sun rarely gives light for a rainbow.” Too true, leaving us feeling a bit hollow inside.
I like what David Bazan from Pedro the Lion says in his song, ‘Promise.’ (this was Ben and my wedding recessional)
for what i’ve seen so far, i can’t believe my eyes
and what a nice surprise
if i look up and the sky’s not there,
is there any reason i should be scared
when a promise, is a promise, i know
if i look up and the sky’s not there,
is there any reason i should be scared
when a promise, is a promise, i know
I like the certainty which comes from Jesus even when we’re walking (or trying to get up) through life’s stormy weather. I have many things to be thankful for in this day…roof over my head, husband with a job, two daughters without major health problems, picturesque view out my window and I am my beloved’s.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup (printable recipe)
This recipe is from my friend Laura and it’s very forgiving as I have changed things here and there, but two things are for sure..1. it’s easy and 2. people will LOVE it. Plus, for vegans & vegetarians, simply substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tb oil
- 1 Tb each, minced garlic and chili powder
- 1-2 tsp ground cumin (I love cumin)
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans or 2 cans (15 oz) chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed & drained
- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin
- 2 cups corn kernels, or 2 cans corn kernels, drained
- 3/4 cup salsa
- salt to taste
In a soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander & garlic and cook for 1 minute, while constantly stirring. Add broth, increase heat to medium-high, throw everything else in, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.
Your soup will eventually start to thicken and resemble the texture of thin gravy, which is what you want. You can easily have this on the table within 30 minutes. Serve it with cornbread and sour cream. You could even use black beans or some other bean of your choice. I prefer the chickpea, but do what you like–it’s truly forgiving. This has a bit of Indian flavor to it and I typically keep adding in more cumin till it hits the right spot.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Marshmallow Cream Filling
As I was perusing the internet I came across this quote:
Churches that have not nurtured a common life among members will find hospitality to strangers difficult. The table is central to the practice of hospitality in home and church. The nourishment we gain there is physical, spiritual, and social. Whether we gather around the table for the Lord’s Supper or for a church potluck dinner, we are strengthened as a community. Meals shared together in church provide opportunities to sustain relationships and build new ones. They establish a space that is personal without being private, an excellent setting in which to begin friendships with strangers.
I don’t remember where I got this or who wrote this, but I find the statement appealing. One it makes me wonder how my church family is doing in this area of life (and how I am doing within the church body). For me, it’s fairly easy to invite people into my home, or my life, to share a meal or drink coffee, in order to know one another. I have the ability to make friends wherever I find myself and (not boasting) if you were to ask Ben, he would tell you, “Kamille has an inquisitive nature to draw people out by asking questions and putting them at ease.” This type of hospitality and welcoming doesn’t scare me, but I know it scares other people (and that’s okay if it does).
However, what’s hard for me in my idealist/dreamer ways is seeing a need for hospitality & community meals in the larger church gathering; yet, it stays fairly idle. I get discouraged, because I read quotes like the one above and say, “YES, we need that to survive, to breathe, to truly know one another.” I get discouraged, because I see people on the fringes not knowing how to make their way in and I’m only one person (who just happens to have two little ones and by default it makes me less available). Does anyone else feel like this? Whether, it be the outsider trying to make your way in or the insider trying to find an opening?
But, in trying to live in the “glass half full” mindset, I see how amazing a meal can bring people together. It’s not HUGE; yet it is! I know I felt incredibly loved & cared for in my postpartum stage with my two girls through people bringing meals. For one, I was simply famished like any mother nursing a schizophrenic sleeper. And two, it’s something I didn’t have to think about. Blessing. We are community friends with four Japanese students who are studying at Western for about six months. We can alleviate some of the language barriers and anxiety by feeding our bellies, and ultimately our souls. Blessing. There’s a young adults gathering called ‘Soup & Story’ through our church body. People who don’t know one another are able to find friendship & be friendship through something simple as soup and bread. Blessing. And I got to make some wonderful pumpkin whoopie pie cookies last week for the new group of freshman at Western. A time when they’re possibly feeling insecure or fearful about being away from home, I can put my baking skills to good use. Blessing.
As I share this recipe with you, I hope you will see the many blessings in your life and ways to shower down blessings on someone else.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple-Marshmallow Cream Filling (printable version)
Adapted from this recipe by Two Fat Cats Bakery, Portland, Maine My changes were adding ground ginger and using rapadura sugar in place of the granulated sugar. I found this from Bon Appetite.
Ingredients
FILLING
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
- 2 teaspoons maple extract
CAKE
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
- 3/4 cup rapadura sugar (you can use granulated)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 15 oz pumpkin puree or 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
- 1/2 cup milk (I used whole)
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
FILLING
-
Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and maple extract; beat until blended and smooth. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
CAKE
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Sift first 8 ingredients into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in another large bowl until blended. Gradually beat in oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in pumpkin. Add dry ingredients in 2 additions alternately with milk in 1 addition, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Cover and chill batter 1 hour.
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Arrange 1 rack in bottom third of oven and 1 rack in top third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment; spray lightly with nonstick spray. Spoon batter onto baking sheet to form cakes (about 3 level tablespoons each; about 12 per baking sheet), spacing apart. Let stand 10 minutes.
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Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool cakes completely on baking sheets on rack. Using metal spatula, remove cakes from parchment.
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Line cooled baking sheets with clean parchment; spray with nonstick spray, and repeat baking with remaining batter.
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Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling on flat side of 1 cake. Top with another cake, flat side down. Repeat with remaining cakes and filling. DO AHEAD Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature.
Juxtaposition
My mom is a woman who’s been through a lot of trials in her 53 years of life. We’ve bumped heads as we are similar in many ways, but we have also laughed, cried & encouraged one another through some pretty hard patches. And through our similarities there are of course the differences we hold. I (as you know) love love love to bake and love love to cook (bake is higher on the list), but my mom not so much. My mom love love loves to talk on the phone, and actually I’m not the biggest fan. I know she would say how I raise my girls, love my husband and tend to household duties is completely opposite to how she did those things when she was my age.
And although she didn’t necessarily teach me how to organize like Martha Stewart would have to her daughter (thank God), I would say my mom gave me gifts through her actions (those that surpass magazine covers or tangible sensibilities in Better Home & Garden magazines). Instead, she taught me what hospitality looked like (even though I didn’t know it was called that). Because my mom wasn’t the (and isn’t) type to say, “see, what I’m doing is called this…(fill in the blank).” She was simplistic in her love and grace to others (she’d probably disagree being hard on herself and call herself judgmental, but she always asked us kids for forgiveness when she was in the wrong).
I can recall my mom being the only parent who welcomed in kids to our home who were unwelcome in other “church” families’ homes. She had/has the knack of befriending just about anyone and “the least of these” are drawn to my mother. She loves without pretense and gives the benefit of the doubt. It’s the people who most of society, if they were honest with themselves, wouldn’t really want to hang out with or associate with. It’s what some might call ‘white trash, Walmart shopping, trailer park residing, welfare living, food stamp eating’ sort of people. I’m thankful for her goodness as she loves like Jesus, while providing me an example of how to love. She is so good about this and I find it to be a virtuous trait.
Christine Pohl, author of Making Room wrote:
Followers of Christ should offer a generous welcome to “the least of these,” without concern for advantage or benefit to the host. Because hospitality is a way of life, it must be cultivated over a lifetime. We do not become good at hospitality in an instant; we learn it in small increments of daily faithfulness. Hospitality is difficult because it involves hard work. People wear out and struggle with limits. Our society places a high value on control, planning, and efficiency, but hospitality is unpredictable and often inefficient. We insist on measurable results and completed tasks, but the results of hospitality are impossible to quantify and the work of hospitality is rarely finished.
One thing I think Pohl left out was, “Hospitality is messy.” It’s untamable, much like Aslan being described in the Chronicles of Narnia (who is the Christ figure in the series). We cannot guarantee that we will love every minute. We cannot control who it is that we are being called to show hospitality to in reality. And this is why hospitality is not entertainment. It’s not about having matching silverware and placemats, a fancy meal, or the best home to showcase it all in. That’s what Fine Living would tell you, but it’s the picture Jesus painted in his parable of having a fine feast inviting all the finest people in the land. However, none of them came. So the host went out & invited the ‘least of these’ from the streets to wine & dine at his feast (juxtaposition). He took any focus off himself to lavish it upon his guests. Making them the star.
So I ask myself (and my family), ‘how do we live in juxtaposition?’ I choose messy & unfinished, much like parenting right:) What do you do to live in juxtaposition? live in the messy & unfinished (‘rarely finished’)?
Pull out the recipe box
As I mentioned a couple posts back about my cooking class and all the wonderful food I enjoyed, but didn’t have the recipes quite yet. Well, I do now and I would love to share some of them with you. But before I do that…I have to tell you a rather sweet & lovely morning I woke up to.
First off, I had a date with Ben last night and dominated the conversation (thanks for listening). I dumped on him about how I’ve been feeling as a stay at home mom (ie trying to feed the kids in a fashionable time frame, wanting to enjoy a hot cup of coffee for once, trying really hard to run the inner workings of our house while spending quality time with my girls, etc etc etc). As he was listening, he asked, “what would your ideal day look like with the girls?” I think I repeated about three times, “well it would look like, no but that would be unrealistic,” while he would continue to say, “I didn’t ask what’s realistic, but idealistic” (here my realistic hubby telling his idealistic wife to stop being realistic–gotta love it).
So one of my answers was being able to enjoy a hot cup of coffee, sit down for breakfast all together and come home from Thursday playgroup with lunch already made to serve when we walk in the door (and a little bit more I’m leaving out, maybe it was a massage?). Well, listen he did. He took care of the oldest breakfast, had an americano for me and when I thought it couldn’t get any better…”here,” he said diverting my attention to a clear rubbermaid container, “a grilled cheese sandwich that just needs to be heated up and apple slices for the girl’s lunch.”
This is what hospitality looks like to a mother with two young children, who just the day before wanted to drive far, far away by herself. I’m blessed to have such a guy and I try really hard to not take it for granted. And as you read this and maybe make one of the recipes, I hope you will find someone you can bless through the simple act of hospitality, in the form of a meal.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
adapted from Thomas Keller, Ad Hoc
I personally am not a big fan of fried chicken, but I do believe some of you are…specifically Liz S.
Ingredients:
1 gallon cold water
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
12 bay leaves
1 head of garlic, smashed but not peeled
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
3 large rosemary sprigs
1 small bunch of thyme
1 small bunch of parsley
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
Two 3-pound chickens
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 cups buttermilk
Vegetable oil, for frying
Rosemary and thyme sprigs, for garnish
In a very large pot, combine 1 quart of the water with 1 cup of the salt and the honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Add the lemon zest and juice and the lemon halves and bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Let cool completely, then stir in the remaining 3 quarts of cold water. Add the chickens, being sure they’re completely submerged, and refrigerate overnight.
Drain the chickens and pat dry. Scrape off any herbs or peppercorns stuck to the skin and cut each bird into 8 pieces, keeping the breast meat on the bone.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Put the buttermilk in a large, shallow bowl. Working with a few pieces at a time, dip the chicken in the buttermilk, then dredge in the flour mixture, pressing so it adheres all over. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
In a very large, deep skillet, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 330°. Fry the chicken in 2 or 3 batches over moderate heat, turning once, until golden and crunchy and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of each piece registers 160°, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to paper towels to drain, and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the remaining chicken pieces. Transfer the fried chicken to a platter, garnish with the herb sprigs and serve hot or at room temperature.
Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits
adapted Cooks Illustrated
Ingredients:
2 C flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 C buttermilk
Additional flour
2 Tbsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 500ºF. Spray a 9 in springform or cake pan with some nonstick spray.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt to a bowl and mix the ingredients together evenly. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than a small pea. Fold in the buttermilk until everything is just blended, and there are no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix, the mixture should still be lumpy.
Line a plate or tray with some flour and using a 1/4 C measuring cup or 1/4 C ice cream/cookie scoop or eyeball it & use your hands, scoop out balls of the dough onto the tray of flour. Flour your hands and roll each ball around in the flour to evenly coat them in a layer of flour. The dough is very wet and very sticky. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan. Place 9 balls around in a ring and 3 balls in the center of the pan. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.
Bake for 5 minutes at 500ºF (middle rack) and then lower the temperature to 450ºF and bake for another 15 minutes.
Apple Tarte Tatin
Pate Brisee
12 oz flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
8 oz unsalted butter, diced
1/4 C club soda (more or less)
Put flour, salt, and butter in food processor. Mix until it looks like grated parmesan. Add club soda a little at a time until pastry forms a ball and does not stick to sides. Dump dough onto a flat surface and push it away from you using the ball of your hand. Do this two or three times. Combine into a disc using your hands (don’t worry it will look pretty crumbly, which is normal). Put dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Let it rest on countertop for 10-15 minutes, till a bit pliable. Then roll for your pie pan.
Ingredients for Apple Tarte Tatin
8 tart (granny smith) apples
3/4 C sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
creme fraiche to serve
You need an oven proof frying pan – cast-iron ovenproof frying pan is fine.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Peel, halve, and core apples. Melt butter in pan on stove. Add sugar (just sprinkle it on top of the butter) and place the apples decoratively on top (cut side down). Cook slowly until caramelized. This can take up to one hour. Do not stir! (Clearly, low heat here.)
When cooked (check by lifting an apple and seeing what’s going on), remove from heat.
Roll the pastry, put it on top of the apples. Tuck the sides in. Cook in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove, take a flat dish and turn the tarte upsidedown. Serve warm with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream. You can also scrape a vanilla bean into the apples at the beginning of the caramelization and let the pod sit in there with them, too, but it’s not totally necessary.
Poached Pears
Ingredients
2 cups Orange Muscat
1 medium red beet (1/4 pound), peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
7-8 small firm-ripe pears (3/4 to 1 pound total), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored
Bring wine, beet, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and bay leaves to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quarts saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Add pears and cover with a round of parchment paper. Simmer, turning occasionally, until pears are tender and liquid is syrupy, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a bowl. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves and pour syrup over pears. Cool completely in syrup, about 30 minutes.
Poached pears can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.
My Soul Finds Rest
Have you ever walked through a trial wondering if you could make it through to the other side? It feels as though you’re swimming in the ocean sea and you’re barely able to keep your head a float. It’s the feeling of pure hopelessness. Your heart is wretched right from you. You can barely breath. When you finally muster some words up, all that comes out are tears. Or when there aren’t tears, there is anguish, anger & pain.
Recently my family has gone through this sort of wretched pain. The kind that makes you wallow with those deep guteral sobs of relentless agony type of pain. And then the things in which normally give me solace, like cooking, talking, coffee, reading, or writing, barely scratch the surface of healing the wound.
Then, I think about hospitality and I think of all the four letter curse words I want to yell out at people who complain about how their technology isn’t serving them well, or how they’re uncomfortable in the heat, or some other half-assed reason to moan about how their lives aren’t exactly perfect. I don’t want to serve these people. I don’t even want to serve my own family, because my soul feels as though it has been ripped from me and then smashed down with a sledgehammer. Even trying to make dinner last night was impossible, as I stared aimlessly into the fridge then sat on the floor and started to sob.
And without going into details about the nightmare my family is going through (specifically my brother & sister-in-law), I began to realize a lot as I sat there crying with my fridge door wide open. I was carrying this burden of disaster upon myself and it was way too huge. I was listening to my mother grieve, listening to my sister-in-law grieve, and trying to help my mom make sense of it as well. The reality of this nightmare finally hit me a couple days later as I sat with the cool air rushing out of the fridge hitting against me. I couldn’t listen to another ounce of troubles, or I would explode. I needed to let it out, and the best seat in the house was my kitchen floor.
I realized that hospitality is about giving a voice to people, through listening to them when no one else will, but there are times when it’s good to stop listening. I found myself hearing this song, “My soul finds rest in God alone, My Rock & My Salvation.” What I realized is I kept trying to listen and help, while bearing the brunt of the burden on my shoulders. Finally, my shoulders gave way and the floodgate of tears began to pour, along with my heart. I kept singing this one line from the song (because that’s really all I knew) and understood that God was calling me to rest in Him. Well, what does that look like–right?
It dawned on me that I needed to take a Sabbath from listening and dealing with the pain. I could take a day to rest in God alone and not deal with being a hospitable daughter, sister, and friend. I can take a day, in order to be a host who guides my guest to the cross. So today as I rest in God alone and in my Sabbath of rest, I can walk confidently in knowing that there is hope for the future. I can sit and cry on my kitchen floor, but it won’t always be a puddle of tears, but a puddle of spilled milk will come in the future. I don’t think it will necessarily be tomorrow, or maybe it will be a mixture of spilled tears and milk (because I do have a 2 1/2 year old running around) for a while. But for the current moment I have to rest in knowing that my soul finds rest in God alone, in order to stay a float.
Daydreamer & Ginger Cookies
In first grade I remember having to stay in from recess to finish my spelling words. The funny thing is I have always been really good at spelling, but what got in my way as a six year old was my ‘head in the clouds’ syndrome. I’ve always been that kid who daydreamed and it was (and still is) very easy to play through scenerios in my head, or relive a moment, or dream of what could be. This dreaming defines me as an idealist.
It can be a wonderful gift, but it can also be debilitating at times when a dream you have isn’t played out the way you envisioned and you feel let down. As I look at my oldest daughter I see this gift in her as well. She has quite the imagination, dreaming of what could be with her head in the clouds. I wonder, how can I encourage this, fan this flame inside of her?
At small group last night we were talking about our dreams, or for some of us, lack thereof. There were some who asked, “what if you don’t really have any dreams?” While others were asking, “What if you have too many dreams?” It was a good conversation that didn’t fit nicely into a package with a three point synopsis, a bit of irresolution is nice (more time to dream).
One of my reoccurring dreams is to see how we can open our home to people, either through spending the night or making them a home cooked meal. And as I expand upon this dream it hit me. Well, an easy way to accomplish this is through my baking (I love to bake more than cook). Two doors down are a group of young adults who at times can be a bit loud in the wee hours of the night, but they need Jesus’ love just as much as my children do, so I think some cupcakes or cookies are in order. Plus, what young person refuses fresh baked goods? Here’s our family’s favorite ginger cookies (and I’ve been known to bake them if asked).
Giant Ginger Cookies (printable recipe)
I had these cookies at a B&B and was thinking that I wouldn’t enjoy them, because I remember not liking Ginger cookies. I fell in love. So much so that I called them up 7 months later to get the recipe if they wouldn’t mind. I also told them I was pregnant and had been craving them for 7 months (I was willing to play any card for my advantage). I think you’ll agree with me that they are terrific.
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shortening (I know I’m not a big fan of using shortening–but these cookies are worth the sacrifice–use butter flavored)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup coarse sugar or granulated (I’ve tried both and I personally prefer the granulated, b/c there’s less crunch from the sugar. If you like that crunch that comes from raw sugar or turbinado sugar–use it instead of the granulated)
1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together dry ingredients (flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt) and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to soften. Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture.
3. Shape dough into 2-in balls using 1/4 cup dough (you can use a small ice cream scoop designated for cookies). Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar. Place about 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (invest in parchment paper).
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes (if frozen 14 minutes is fine–just check for doneness) or until cookies are light brown and puffed. (Do not overbake or cookies will not be chewy.) Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Makes 25- 4-in cookies.
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