Feasting on Cookies

Today at work, several office mates and I participated in the age old tradition: the holiday cookie exchange.

We each baked a few dozen and brought them to the offices. After decorating our conference room with candles to bring out the holiday spirit, we feasted on some of each kind of cookie together, and then filled our tins with a variety of goodies to take home. A great feast for the holidays!

I made my favorite cookies, which only come out during the holidays: Double-Chocolate Snowquakes. These simple, chocolatey treats are tiny, but irresistible. The best kind, in my opinion.

Double Chocolate Snowquakes
1.5 cups flour
.75 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
.75 teaspoon salt
.5 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
.75 cup dark brown sugar
.25 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.75 cups chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar

* Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside
* Cream butter until smooth; add brown and granulated sugars and beat until smooth
* Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture
* Gradually mix dry ingredients into butter mixture; mix until a soft dough forms
* Stir in chocolate chips
* Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

* Heat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper
* Roll chilled dough into tablespoon-sized balls; coat liberally with powdered sugar
* DON'T shake off excess powdered sugar, and place on lined baking sheets 1-2 inches apart
* Bake until cookies are puffed and cracked, and slightly firm to the touch (10-12 minutes)
* Cool completely (will become more solid as they cool), and ENJOY!
* These store well at room temperature for about a week. Dough can be chilled/frozen longer; if frozen, thaw in refrigerator until soft enough to work with.

** Thanks to Sarah for the great pictures she took of our feast!

Some More Advent Thoughts

truly he taught us
to love one another
his law is love
and his gospel is peace
chains shall he break
for the slave is our brother
and in his name
all oppression shall cease

I sincerely wish that I had something profound to say about these words.
But what can I say that is more profound than the Gospel truth?
I cannot think of a single thing...

his power and glory
evermore proclaim!

Beginnings and Endings

Beginnings and endings have been on my mind a great deal as of late:

• Ending a job; beginning a new one
• Ending a semester; beginning a new phase in my seminary education
• The birth and passing of a friend's baby
• The impending birth of my sister's first child; the graduation of my youngest brother from high school
  
• The terminal diagnosis of a family member
• The end of 2007; the beginning of 2008
  

The thing inherent to beginnings and endings is the period of transition. I knew I was changing jobs 3 weeks before it actually took place. I know the academic calendar for nearly the rest of my education; the semesters are not surprises. People are born, people grow up, and people die. The years continue to flow into each other.

But within these predictable situations there is great unpredictability; periods between knowing what is to happen and having it come to fruition -- or to change paths along the way and produce a completely different outcome. And it is this time of transition that makes me too anxious to sleep, to eat, or to feel like I can function normally. I have come to expect great turmoil in transition, and it is a job for me to see the joy in changes.

I cannot escape the dilemma presented here. Paul's famous reminder that faith is being sure of what is hoped for, and convicted of things unseen is quick to pop into my head. If I claim to live by faith, why do these times of transition - of living between what is hoped for and what is to be seen - weigh so heavily?

It occurs to me to read the rest of Hebrews 11 -- the very last verse is Paul's reminder of God's promise to perfect His creation in the great community of Christ's followers. "God has provided something better for us," Paul says, "that apart from us they should not be made perfect" (verse 40). Coming at the end of a story of the great warriors of the faith - of Abraham and Isaac, Moses, Sarah, Noah, the Israelites leaving Egypt, and too many more to name - it is a powerful reminder that even those who live lives consecrated to the Lord cannot themselves obtain the perfection of faith. It is given through a much deeper love and sacrifice than what we will be asked for -- the loving sacrifice of God's own Son. How much Christ agonized in his years of transition - his years of knowing why He had become flesh and what His ultimate choice would be! We can see how heavily this weighed on him in the scriptures -- but He lived love through even the worst of times.

God continually provides a better way for us in the person of his Son come to earth. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," John tells us. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1, 4). In just over a week our world sets aside a day to celebrate the birth of our Christ; I cannot do it without looking forward a season to the culmination of that life and light for men. It is because of Christ's earthly ending that we can have faith at all. Let this be a lesson to me, even as things move and shake around me: it is through Him that my faith need not be perfect in its own right. He is my author and perfecter.

---
O rose of Bethlehem
How lovely, pure, and sweet
Born to glorify the Father
Born to wear the thorns for me

First Sunday of Advent

Today the Church begins its preparation for the coming of the Christ-child. Advent is from the Latin advenio, meaning "to come"; we wait expectantly, and prepare for the joyous celebration of the Word made flesh, and also for the Second Advent of the Kingdom yet to come. [Here, I could wax philosophical with some eschatological theories about the coming, when it is to happen, whether it has already begun... but I will spare you the New Testament I lecture.]

Instead, on this day of celebrating this time of waiting, I feel like I have no time to wait. At our Advent Service this evening our congregation took the time to sit quietly in prayer and reflection, knowing that this can be a rare occasion in this month. How true! As a Church we wait - but it is the busiest waiting possible. Places to go, plans to make, people to see, money to be spent. In the case of my fellow students and I, papers and reading and assignments and group projects to be completed. Bad Chicago weather to navigate. The time slips away, and only at 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Sundays (or whatever your designated church times) do we "wait" for the Christ-child.

Not that I expect many to read this and start a revolution, but I wonder: what would it take to convince our world to practice the WAIT?

Could we prepare our hearts instead of our holiday (not even CHRISTmas) decorations?

Could we celebrate the Word instead of the sales at Target?

--- --- --- --- --- ---

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, 
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly-minded, 
for with blessing in his hand, 
Christ our God to earth descendeth, 
our full homage to demand.

---  ---  ---  ---  ---  ---

In other happy news, this First Sunday of Advent
began with a fabulous breakfast at Tre Kroner
with Melanie, Emily, and Ben (the photographer).
Yay for visitors from the northlands!

Holiday Thoughts

This season always brings out a big of nostalgia, a bit of disgust, and a bit of dreaming in me. This year is my first really out on my own. While in college I always traveled home for Christmas break; last year I was coming back from my Alaska adventure, and had nothing else to rush off to. I guess now I am finally an adult.

Amanda (my roommate) and I have been given a wreath for the season, and it is our only decoration thus far. I find it a little humorous... it hangs in the middle of a giant blank wall in our living room, sort of in a spotlight from the inset lighting above. Amanda loves it, so I am happy to leave it there.

This past weekend I was in Kenosha with my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and they are completely decorated for the season. They also have a wonderful family tradition of a progressive reading of the Advent story for the month leading up to Christmas, aided by a beautifully illustrated book. This is the first year that all three of the boys (12, 6, and 5 years old) have taken part in reading the story itself. As I sat with them reading it Sunday night, I wished a little bit that I had a family with whom to share that every night, as well.

Growing up is weird. In so many ways. Why is it that "the holidays" always remind me of that more than any other time of year?

The disgust mentioned earlier is closely tied to something my mother blogged about recently. You should check it out: Keeping the Cliche Out of Christmas.

Another aspect, though, more than the cliche of the over-done church musical and the narrow Christian mindset of evangelizing the heck out of the Advent season, is the oft-fought struggle to not be taken over by the crazy consumerism by which Christmas has be defamed. I know I am not alone in this struggle; I think all conscious Christians (and just good people in general) try to maintain perspective as to what is truly important about this time of celebration. But I still question how I can really be focused on what is important (sorry for the North Park line), and share that with others. It's hard to box up sentiment and truth and put it under a tree. Good social graces tell me that I can't write a "I'm not giving presents because I hate that Jesus takes a backseat to Wal-Mart" letter and expect people to take it well. (But I'd like to give it a try.)

So to everyone else out there who finds inner-conflict this time of year, I promise you are not alone. Personally, I vow to take a step back, read Luke 2 often, and just breathe in the joy and truth that is the story of God's world. I invite you to join me.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord...." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

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Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. ..."

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

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And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ...

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

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No matter what version you read, it's the best news I've ever heard.