Remembering

Hello all!

I hope this eve of Christmas Eve finds you all well and not too stressed out over the busyness that inevitably comes with this time of year.  Oh how easy it is to let it all cloud out the true meaning of the season, isn't it?  Boy, am I battling that today...  I have gifts to get, make, and wrap... things to pack... a house to clean...  and Christmas get togethers on the next 3 days.  Goodness!

I have an idea.  Will you join me in a prayer?  A prayer to keep these next few days holy and intentional instead of rushed and chaotic?  Let's pray together:

Lord, slow me down today.  Remind me of the wonderful mystery of this season and the glory of the unbelievable sacrifice You made in coming to this earth... to live, suffer, and die for me.  Wow.  Sometimes I forget, Lord.  I forget how You gave soo much.  I forget how your journey to adopt me involved more pain than I can fathom.  Remind me, Lord.  Remind me today and help me to continue to remember in the midst of all that life may bring.  I thank You.  I praise You.  And, oh how I love You!

Amen."

On that note.  We're going to be skipping Tasty Thursday Treats today.  This is due to 1) my attempt at slowing down (refer to previous 2 paragraphs) and 2) apparently that flu bug that's flying around landed on my computer, so it's visiting the laptop doctor, hopefully to return sometime this evening. 

One more thought.  As we all strive to make this season count, can I just remind you again of a great opportunity to give.  We've been promoting our Gifts of Purpose catalog a lot this year, and I know some of you have given... and given big.  Thank you!  But I also know that as the Christmas season comes to an end, sometimes our giving ends with it.  Let's not let that happen this year.  And I don't care if you chose to give towards a Gift of Purpose in the new year, or somewhere else completely... that's between you and your Father.  But please... let's continue to live purposefully starting from this Christmas until the next.

Next Thursday will be another TTT as usual, and we just might have some sort of wonderfully taste bud tantalizing treat to help bring in the new year... so stay tuned!

Tasty Thursday Treats # 2: Office Party

Today was our office Christmas party.  We sang a couple Christmas songs, gave a few toasts, had some grand conversations, and ate lot's of yummy foods, 3 of which were recipes straight out of the Taste of Heaven cookbook... hence today's

 

Our 3 treats are

1) Stuffed Mushrooms and 2) Turtle Pretzel Bites made by yours truly.

and  3) Party Cocktail Meatballs made by Christi.

Unfortunately I have no documentation of Christi making the meatballs, but did get the blessed task of eating some... tasty!

As for my two creations, I was in a bit of a rush, but was able to complete both recipes in just under an hour and leave my mother's house (it's closer to work than mine, and like I said, I was in a rush... plus, she has wax paper and I sadly do not) to get to the Christmas party in the nick of time.  phew!

The mushrooms and bites were a success, along with all the other wonderful treats that everyone brought (including crab rangoon dip and cheesecake).  Mmmmm... Nothing spells Christmas quite like tables full of deliciousness!

See for yourself:

Lifesong Christmas Party from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

And now that that's over, I'm contemplating a post-Christmas-party-food-eatin' nap!  (after I get my work done, of course)

 

Family Christmas looks Different than it Used to

Last week we had our big family Christmas (where my sister, her husband and I had the great privilege of giving Grandma and Grandpa a gift of purpose towards the Lifesong School in Zambia.  They LOVED it!)  

As we do every year, we gathered in a large circle to sing Christmas carols and open gifts.  Let me emphasize, right now, that I don't use the word "large" lightly.  This year's circle was made up of:

2 grandparents,

their 6 children including spouses,

18 grandchildren including their spouses,

39 great-grandchildren (plus one on the way),

and 2 great aunts (sisters of my grandpa).  

So yes, when I say large, I mean LARGE.

And here's the cool part.  As I looked around at those 39 little kiddos I saw 3 Guatamalans, 1 Chinese with Cerebral Palsy, and 3 bi-racial foster kids.  

I thought about how all 7 of these beautiful children could have gone through their lives not knowing real love... being labeled the foster kid, the girl with special needs, the orphan.

Instead their labels include Suhny-love and Laylee-lou.  Instead they are a part of a family Christmas where they can sing and laugh (and sometimes even get a good scolding or two), knowing full well that they are loved... a LOT.

I am so thankful to my grandparents for passing down a legacy of love towards our Heavenly Father, towards our family, and towards others.  I am so thankful that their son, my dad, decided 8 years ago to transfer his title from "business man" to "orphan advocate."  I am so thankful that Lifesong for Orphans has become what it has to not only my family, but other families too.  I am so thankful that my great God, my Daddy set the ultimate example of adoption when He adopted me!

I am so thankful that my family Christmas looks different than it used to.

How about our adoptive families out there... How has your Christmas changed since adoption became a part of your story?

 

Christmas is a Coming!

10-11 Gifts of Purpose from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Hey all!

There's still time to purchase a gift of purpose before Christmas! (click here to go to the online catalog)

And as I think about this year's gift catalog, I'm reminded of the Taste of Heaven Cookbook.  As I'm reminded

of the cookbook, I can't help but get excited for this weeks...

And the most exciting thing about Thursday is that we're having our office Christmas party... which means, you'll get to find out about not 1... not 2... 

but 3 recipes!

And in the spirit of Christmas I think we might just leave these as a surprise (i love Christmas surprises).

What kinds of goodies do you enjoy making for the yearly Christmas events you attend?

coffee, desserts, and gifts oh my!

IMPORTANT NOTE: at the bottom of this post I'll be introducing a new feature and need your input!  Don't miss it!)

Happy Friday, all!  Can you believe it's December already!?  Oh goodness! (just between you and me, I have 12 gifts I'm MAKING this year and now that we're in December I'm beginning to feel the pressure... hmmm, if I can average at 1 gift every 1.83 days i SHOULD be okay... oh dear)

But gifts aside, let's talk about one of my OTHER favorite holiday past-times... entertaining!  And what does every American host need for a successful Christmas party?  

That's right... COFFEE!

We've highlighted Gobena Coffee before, but do you know just where the money used to purchase this coffee goes?  

Straight to Ziway, Ethiopia where Gobena and Lifesong have partnered to...

 

1. Implement a Feeding Program (breakfast and lunch for over 300 students)

2. Develop a Christian School, adding two addition classes per year (after 5 years, that 1,050 students!)

3. Complete construction on a local church

4. Build and operate a group Home (providing a Christian home environment for 12 double orphans withEthiopian "houseparents")

5. Create a sustainable business for vocational/entrepreneurship training, to help break the cycle ofextreme poverty for these children. 

 These are the goals.  Every bag of coffee(or t-shirt, or tote bag, or mug) helps!

Now you can't have a good cup of coffee without a yummy piece of dessert, right?  So here's what we're going to do...

(this is where i tell you about the exciting new feature)

Remember that cool little cookbook we introduced last week?

Well, starting next Thursday we're going to highlight one of its recipes every week... make it, taste it, review it... and there may even be some video and picture documentation of all the fun!  We're calling it:

And for our first recipe we'll be doing a dessert!  But I need to hear from you?  

What recipe would you like us to feature?

Here are your options:

1. Oreo cheesecake (I have never made a cheesecake in my life so this could be interesting)

2. Honey cookies (My favorite Christmas cookie... a German tradition)

3. Apple Scrumptious (this makes the song "Truly Scrumptious" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang play in my head... which makes me "truly" happy)

or...

4. Baked Custard (no commentary here... other than I LOVE me some custard)

Let me know your vote... and the dessert that gets the most comments will be our very first Tasty Thursday Treats feature!

Have a beautiful (and maybe snowy?) weekend!