Jehovah means eternal in the original Hebrew. Jesus is eternal and makes it possible for us to trust Him and not be afraid because He is our strength when life gets difficult. Difficulties happen to everyone! I love the word picture that He helps us not be afraid because He is our song.
Music has always been a big influence in my life, especially classic and Christian music. One of the things I looked forward to when I was thinking about "retiring" was sitting down at the piano with my praise and worship music and playing as long as I wanted to play.
Music and Jesus - what a great combination! When I am awake in the middle of the night, He is my song. When I am struggling with illness, He is my song. When someone in my family is having a difficult time, He is my song. When circumstances overwhelm, He is my song. Jehovah is the forever song that brings me peace.
Note: I used to say that I am retired until my husband pointed out that no one was paying me retirement. The private schools where I taught didn't have retirement programs... Now I just say that I am blissfully unemployed and somehow I am always laughing when I say it!
Christmas Wrapping
As our family grows, we have begun incorporating other Christmas traditions for our sons-in-law. One of those traditions we use is table gifts. The centerpiece for the Christmas dinner table is an arrangement of gifts, one for each person. They are anything from inexpensive puzzles, games, toys to practical items or craft kits and they are opened after dinner is eaten. It is a fun tradition since we no longer all buy gifts for everyone, but use that money to go to a donation for a favorite charity or someone in need. After Christmas, I will tell you what we decided to do this year with our donation money. I am so excited!!
As I've said before, I don't enjoy wrapping gifts. So, when do I find something easy and pretty, I get excited. Here are this year's table gifts, simply wrapped in shipping paper or placed in brown paper boxes and brown paper gift bags with sparkly red do dads from Walmart and tied with simple white ribbon (which can be reused next year). Instead of making gift tags, I used some of my scrapbook letter stickers and put each person's first initial on each package.
Today's Recipes - Hot Fruit Salad and Egg Casserole
Serve these two with your favorite muffins or sweet bread for an easy but tasty Christmas breakfast.
This Hot Fruit Salad recipe come from my mom and serves a bunch. If you open all the cans, drain them and put all the fruit in a large covered container or baggie, it is simple to pour the fruit and mix with the other ingredients in your crockpot on Christmas morning before anyone else gets up. It will be ready to eat after stockings and/or gifts are opened.
1 big can of each (drained): mandarin oranges, sliced peaches, apricots, pineapple tidbits, sweet cherries
1 jar chunky applesauce
Thicken with:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar (you can substitute 1/4 cup pure maple syrup)
1 tsp cinnamon
Mix together and cook in crockpot for 3-4 hours on low.
I serve this versatile Egg Casserole for lots of occasions. This is another of my mom's recipes. This is great because you prepare it the night before and put it in the oven before opening stockings or gifts on Christmas morning.
6 eggs
2 cups milk
6 slices bread, crumbled
1 pound sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
7 oz can diced green chiles (opt)
Beat milk, eggs, salt and mustard together. Blend in bread crumbs, sausage, cheese and chiles. Pour into sprayed 9x13 glass baking dish. Place in refrigerator and let soak overnight. Put cold dish in oven and then turn oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes until edges pull away from pan.
Note: You can also add corn, roasted peppers or sun-dried tomatoes to this casserole to put your own spin on it for your family's taste.
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