Christmas Preparations

Where has the time gone? I haven't updated this blog for almost three weeks! I was doing so well and then the busyness of the holidays hit full force. I wish I could say I am one of those women who have my shopping done by Thanksgiving and the baking done by the 15th of December. Sadly, this does not describe me.


Our family has a couple of traditions which I can not omit no matter how far behind I may be in Christmas preparations. Years ago my mother-in-law saw a recipe in the local newspaper for coffee cakes. So, for over 40 years now, the Daubenmire girls make various numbers of these goey, cinnamony creations. My sister-in-law makes about 60 (seriously!) of them every year and hands them out to friends, mailmen, teachers, etc. I keep my numbers in the low 30's and still my kids complain that I "give them all away!"


Each recipe makes four cakes and I do two batches at a time. By now you may be thinking, I wonder if she gives out this great recipe or is it closely guarded? Anyone may have it at anytime but I assure you, you will in all likelihood choose to NOT make it after you read the directions.


These cakes are ridiculously step intensive. Kind of like living the Christian life! Just when I feel good about my prayer life, then I realize I am not reading the Word as often as I should. Or, I may be meeting with a young believer to get them grounded in the fundamentals but my own kids are choosing MTV over attending bible study. It seems like there is always something calling me upward and stretching me further. 


The step intensive Christian life provides far greater rewards  than our delicious coffee cakes. For one thing, they are eternal. Any investment I make pursuing God or people will last forever.


I don't care how many steps or how high the incline my walk with God leads me, He is a King worth serving and seeking forever.

Merry Christmas, Carol  (get it?...Christmas Carol)

I love the women in my neighborhood book club. We have been together over 15 years and have quite a catalog of read-books between us. Every one of us leads a busy life but for one night a month we drop the mundane and come together to chat about a book we may or may not have had time to read. 

While we are mostly made up of serious readers, we are a pretty laid back group. We typically do not spend tons of time discussing the book, often giving it a cursory "yay" or "nay" and then moving on to discuss what is going on in our lives. While I consider myself one of the more dedicated readers, it is the life stories that I love hearing the most. 

For some reason, women in the context of a neighbor’s home will share some pretty intimate things. Ok, wine is usually served and it may or may not play a part in the confessions. But even those who don’t imbibe tend to share their hearts to these other women.

image from freefoto.com

I am currently reading a book called Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson. Her intro begins with, “In May 2008, I asked a question on my blog, FlowerDust.net What is the one thing you feel you can’t say in the church?” She apparently received hundreds of responses, both inside and outside the Christian faith. Her book seems (I am just getting started) to ask the question “why don’t we feel “safe” in church.

I will report some of her answers in upcoming blogs. For now I ask myself what I cannot say in church. How about you, reader, do feel permission to speak freely in all settings?