Hello my friends! Like Pinky Ann says, our Sundays just fly by fast!! Especially if you get a nap in. I tried to, but Deil called, so talked to her instead. Cranberry/Apple wine is started now since this afternoon. Hoping it turns out great and good enough to serve to others. First Sunday of Advent today - leading up to Christmas - this time of the year always seem to fly by so fast! Father Mark gave a wonderful homily on Advent and at the end of our threads I will post a daily Advent reflection that I'm getting on email from Father Barron - great speaker and has CD's out giving great inspirational talks. You might like reading it. It was a very cold day today, but Lori was here when we got home from Mass, and started our dinner/lunch - she wanted to go Christmas tree shopping but it just was too cold and windy too yet, and tomorrow should be even worse. But she helped a great deal in making the second batch of wine, and that was a blessing. Then she took me to town where she bought some more material to sew some more table runners for Christmas gifts for friends. Here we come home and on the table is a beautiful table runner she made yesterday!! Every little thing is a blessing from God! Thanks for all our blessings we receive daily hour by hour. Praying for you all.
Stay close to God because He is the solution to all problems. Lord, I will
live in Your presence, protected by You and Your peace will be mine.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and
I will give you rest." ~Matthew 11:28
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and
I will give you rest." For rest from the cares of life, we can turn to
God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity come
from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God's
everlasting arms are underneath all and can support us. We can commune
with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that
comes from our relying on God's will and God's purposes for our lives.
We can be sure of God's strength available to us, and conscious of God's
support. We can wait quietly until that true rest from God fills our
being.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today. I pray that I
may rest safe and sure therein.
This dense, fruity cake calls for ingredients by way of scriptural
references. Ingredients are grouped for ease of method explanation.
SCRIPTURE CAKE
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Part 1
3/4 cup (180 ml) Psalms 55:21
1 cup (250 ml) Jeremiah 6:20
3 Jeremiah 17:11
1/4 cup (60 ml) Judges 4:19
1 tbsp (15 ml) I Samuel 14:25
Part 2
2 1/4 cups (560 ml.) Leviticus 6:15
1/4 tsp (1 ml) Leviticus 2:13
1 tbsp (15 ml) Amos 4:5
1 tsp (5 ml) II Chronicles 9:9
Part 3
1 cup (250 ml) I Samuel 30:12
1 cup (250 ml) Numbers 13:23
1/2 cup (125 ml) Numbers 17:8
Heat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Lightly coat 4 mini loaf pans with baking
spray (a blend of oil and flour).
PART 1:
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the first ingredient until
light and creamy. Add the second ingredient and beat until fluffy, about 2
minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl after the first minute.
One at a time, add the third ingredient, beating well after each addition.
Mix in the fourth and fifth ingredients. Set aside.
PART 2:
In a large mesh strainer or flour sifter, combine the ingredients listed in
Part 2. Sift the ingredients together onto a sheet of parchment paper or
into a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the mixture.
With the mixer on low, add half of the remaining Part 2 mixture to Part 1.
Mix only until thoroughly blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the remaining Part 2 mixture and mix until blended to create the batter.
PART 3:
In a medium bowl, combine the Part 3 ingredients. Add the reserved Part 2
mixture and toss to lightly coat. Add this mixture to the batter and use a
silicone spatula to gently fold it in.
Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pans, filling them three - quarters
full.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes
out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove the cakes from the
pans and cool completely before serving. If desired, dust with powdered
sugar.
Too Often
Too often we don't realize
what we have until it is gone
Too often we wait too late to say
"I'm sorry - I was wrong."
Sometimes it seems we hurt the ones
we hold dearest to our hearts
And we allow foolish things
to tear our lives apart.
Far too many times we let
unimportant things into our minds
And then it's usually too late
to see what made us blind.
So be sure that you let people know
how much they mean to you.
Take that time to say the words
before your time is through.
Be sure that you appreciate
everything you've got
And be thankful for the little things
in Life that mean a lot.
Growing old surrounded by those we love
is a privilege denied to many
Never leave behind regrets.
Remind Me God!
When I am lonely and Perhaps I feel despair,
Let not my ailing heart forget That YOU hear every prayer...
Remind me that no matter what I do or fail to do,
There still is hope for as long as I have FAITH in YOU...
Let not my eyes be blinded by Some folly I commit,
But help me to regret my wrong And make amends for it.
Inspire me to put my fears Upon a hidden shelf,
And in the future try not to Feel sorry for myself.
Give me the restful sleep I need Before another dawn,
And bless me in the morning with THE COURAGE TO GO ON
Prayer for Perseverance in Faith
Father, keep us from vain strife of words. Grant to us constant profession
of the Truth! Preserve us in a true and undefiled Faith so that we may hold
fast to that which we professed when we were baptized in the Name of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that we may have Thee for our Father, that we
may abide in Thy Son and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus
Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor
Advent Day 1 - Our Tainted Offering by Father Robert Barron
We all know that Lent is a penitential season, a time when Christians get in
touch with their sins. But Advent has a penitential dimension, too. It is
the season in which we prepare for the coming of the Savior, and we don't
need a Savior unless we're deeply convinced there is something to be saved
from.
Our first reading at Mass today, from the end of the book of the prophet
Isaiah, affirms this with a whole series of images describing our sinful
condition.
For example, we hear this wonderful and terrible line: "All our good deeds
are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt
carries us away like the wind."
When we have become deeply aware of our sin, we know that we can cling to
nothing in ourselves, that everything we offer is, to some degree, tainted
and impure. We can't show our cultural, professional, and personal
accomplishments to God as though they are enough to save us.
But the moment we realize that fact, we move into the Advent spirit,
desperately craving a Savior. We become ready for the last image from
today's reading: "Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you
are the potter: we are all the work of your hands."
Today, let us prepare ourselves for the potter to come.
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