Imperfect People ~ God's Perfect Plan

Ah, December. What a wonderful time of year.

I’m one of those people that likes to celebrate Thanksgiving. And then move on to Christmas. I know a lot of people who put up their tree before Thanksgiving. But, just so you know, I am not one of them. You will never see my Christmas decorations up until the smell of that fabulous turkey no longer lingers in my home. Not that either is right or wrong, it’s just my tradition.

Once that turkey smell is gone, however, I kick into high gear for the next week. For me, the week following Thanksgiving is always busy with getting the church decorated, which is a great way to work off all of those yummy garlic mashed potatoes from the week before. Between all the moving of heavy buckets containing tree parts, moving huge wreaths out of storage and hoisting them to the top of a 12 foot ladder to hang them above doorways, not to mention all the walking involved, etc. etc., I feel that I have succeeded in working off the extra Thanksgiving calories I consumed.

Once all of that is done, I then move to decorating my home. Yesterday the tree went up and today I will hang garlands and put out all the other miscellaneous decor I have collected over 29 plus years of marriage.

But before I get back to the busyness, I pause. I just need to sit and spend a few moments with Jesus, reflecting on the amazing story of how and why he came to earth. Each December I am drawn to reread the gospels as they tell the story of the life of Jesus and the humbling story of His birth.

If you’ve read the gospels you know that Matthew’s account starts with the genealogy of Christ. I used to just skim over this part quickly without really absorbing the importance of it all. Now I realize that it is there as evidence for us to know that God uses imperfect people to produce even the most amazing of miracles. A few stood out to me this morning as I read.

First there was Abraham, who we know as a man of faith. But he also lied. He sent his wife into Pharoah’s arms, putting the promise of his future into jeopardy.

And then we have David, whom scripture tells us, was a man after God’s own heart. But he definitely got sidetracked when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. Not only that, he committed murder so he could take her as his own.

Rahab was a harlot.

Ruth was a foreigner who was grafted into the family tree, even though foreign marriages were forbidden by Jewish law.

Bathsheba, the adultress who married David, was Solomon’s mother.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that God used so many imperfect people to bring forth His perfect plan ~ the birth of His own Son. But, this shows us that God’s purposes are not stopped by our humanity, no matter how weak and imperfect we are; no matter how far we have strayed. He is continually at work in us and through us, and a good deal of the time he works in spite of us. It is evidence of His Grace.

Thank you, God, for the grace you have poured down through the generations, reaching me. Your grace is so amazing that it leads me to turn from my own sinful, selfish ways and look to you and our will for my life. Help me go through this Christmas season with my heart focused on the true meaning of it all, Jesus.

My prayer is that each one of you would find the grace of God evident in your life as we spend this month celebrating the birth of His Son, Jesus.

Matthew 1:16 ~ Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. (NLT)

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to take a minute before my day gets all crazy and wish you all a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING from all of us at Mom2Mom Cafe. We are thankful for each one of you that God has brought into our lives. We pray that your day is blessed and you find yourselves with much to be thankful for.

My husband just posted a really great post titled 'What Are You Thankful For?' over on his personal blog. If you'd like to check it out just click here.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Thanksgiving Turkey

I am very traditional when it comes to my Thanksgiving menu. Apparently I've trained my children to be also, because if I even mention the thought of changing up the menu, I get a reaction. So, we are all happy to have it stay very basic every year, with an extra side dish or dessert thrown in here and there. What is the menu? Well, since you asked...

DINNER:

Turkey (recipe follows)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Stuffing

Sweet Potatoes

Corn

Green Beans

Cranberry Sauce

Rolls & Butter

(I no longer bother making the Green Salad since nobody seems to want it on Thanksgiving)

DESSERT:

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream

Homemade Fudge

Mmmmmm. That made my mouth water, just writing out the menu. This is definitely one of my favorite meals of the year. Comfort food at it's finest.

If you've never made a turkey before, here's how I do it. It's really easy and I always get rave reviews.

First I gather the following ingredients:

• A bunch of celery
• A whole yellow onion (I like the sweet ones)
• A head of garlic
• Several sprigs of rosemary
• Several stems of thyme
• Several stems of sage leaves
• 2 cubes of butter
• Salt and Pepper (I use kosher salt)

Next, I chop up the celery and onion, peel the garlic cloves, cut 1 1/2 sticks of the butter into pieces, and break herbs into smaller pieces and toss it all into a mixing bowl with salt and pepper.

When that's all ready, I set it aside while I rinse the turkey in cold water and pat it dry. I put some of the mixture into the neck cavity of the turkey and secure the flap of neck skin with toothpicks.

I flip the bird over and use the rest of the mixture to stuff the inside. (Note: I usually roast a turkey that's somewhere around 25 pounds so it all fits. If you prepare a smaller turkey, just place any extra mixture around it in the pan.) Then I take the remaining 1/2 stick of butter, cut it into slices and tuck it under the skin. Next, I rub the turkey down with olive oil (you can also use vegetable oil), sprinkle with salt and pepper. This is what it looks like right before I put it into the oven:

I cover it with aluminum foil before putting in oven and remove the foil for about the last hour or so of cooking to brown the turkey.

Side Note: After preparing poultry, I spray down my counters, and sink with a bleach cleaner to make sure and kill any bacteria before I prepare any other food.

After roasting for about 5 1/4 hours at 325 degrees, and the turkey has reached 165 degrees internally, it comes out looking like this:

For more tips on thawing and roasting a turkey you can check out the USDA website by clicking here.

What are the traditions and recipes that are your family favorites? If you'd like to share, please leave us a comment.

He Is Risen!!!!

Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. Matthew 28:5-6

We here at Mom2Mom Cafe pray that you all have an amazing day, rejoicing in our Risen Savior!! We pray that your day is blessed beyond measure.

HAPPY EASTER!!

Confessions Of A Valentine Rebel

I have a confession to make....I don't know about you all, but I'm one of those people that rebels against the commercial version of  Valentines day. It just irks me that flowers double in price and it's almost impossible to even get into your favorite restaurant unless you plan a month in advance. So I rebel. Some of you will think this weird, but, years ago I let my husband know that I do not want flowers or gifts on Valentines day.  I would much rather get them some other day at half the cost. Nor do I want to go out and fight crowds to eat at a restaurant. Instead, we enjoy celebrating at home. Usually we will hang out with the grandkids so that their parents can go out on a date. This year we are going with the whole family to watch the Monster Jam at the Rose Garden.

Last year we had such a fun little Italian Restaurant Dinner Party (at home) that I thought I'd share it with you. 

First I had the boys help me plan a menu:

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Green Salad

Garlic Cheese Bread

Sparkling Cider 

Tiramisu and Cheesecake

To create the atmosphere my grandson and I went on to itunes and found Italian Restaurant music and downloaded it to my ipod, then we set a fancy table complete with multiple dishes at each place setting and candles. We invited a friend and her two daughters to join us for our celebration. This was a very inexpensive celebration and we didn't have to fight any crowds. Great fun was had by all.

I'd love to hear from you. How do you celebrate Valentines day? Do you have any fun ideas you have done in the past or that you're planning to do this year, that you would like to share? If so, just leave a comment.