The Chocolate Christmas Story

This is for all those people out there who love chocolate.  I had lots of fun finding all the different pictures of the chocolate.  I hope you enjoy reading this one.

Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem along a

They became tired on the journey and needed a...

So Joseph decided it was time to stop for a

When they arrived at Bethlehme the only place to stay was a stable full of

Where the Baby Jesus was born

That night in a field near Bethlehem some shepherds where minding their sheep.  It was so cold that the grass was..

As they were watching their sheep they were...

By some angels who told them to go to Bethlehem and see this new born King.

Meanwhile, in the east there were three... 

 .. or wise men who were studying the stars of the

 

...when they saw a huge star.  They first thought it might have been the planet...

.. but it wasn't.  They followed the star.

When they arrived at Bethlehem they entered and presented their...

.. of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

That night the three wise men had a ...

 

... in which God warned them that King Herod was up to his old..

..so they returned home with out telling him about Jesus.

You see, Christmas is more than Santa, Reindeer and Snow...

It is more than having lots of and lots of food to...

.. on.

We can get into so much of a...

... trying to organise Christmas we forget what is is really about!

This Christmas we need to take some...

 .. and remember that the best thing about Christmas is JESUS.

Yes he is the ONE 4 ME!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day with family or your friends.

History of Christmas Foods Around the World...

I googled the topic of Christmas Foods just out of curiosity and came up with some really interesting sites to visit.  Which when you read lead you to more and more sites.  This is what I have found so far from just a couple of sites.

The history behind the creation of those little white and red Candy Canes can be found in the Article Raising Cane by Christianity Today.

If you want a back ground on anything to do with Christmas food try http://www.foodtimeline.org/christmasfood.html  They'll even research a question for you.

The fruit Cake another old favourite for some people.  (I don't really love this, also the fact I'm unable to eat it due to all the spices and fruits that are in it.)  Good question how long can you keep a Fruitcake.  Check it out at the http://www.foodtimeline.org/christmasfood.html

What a about all those scrumptious gingerbread biscuits and houses that are around these days. 

A way to enjoy Christmas is cooking all those lovely flavoursome foods.  Those lovely smells that waft out of the kitchen will always bring people together and make memories for years to come when you smell those scents again.  They say that people remember the occasions that go with smells more then any other sense, so set the scene this Christmas with the aroma's to whet every guests palate.

Have a good Christmas and holiday as well.

Perhaps the World Ends Here

from The Woman Who Fell From The Sky
© Joy Harjo, 1994

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teeth at the corners. They scrape their knees under it.  It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women.

At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.  Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.

This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.  Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.  We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here.

At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks.  Perhaps the world will end here at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.

Buy Milk

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had spoken about "listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice."

The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray,"God, if you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply, so he started on toward home. But again, the thought came to him... buy a gallon of milk.

The young man thought about Samuel, and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. So, he stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started toward home.

As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street." This is crazy, he thought, and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".

He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark, like people were already in bed.

Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."

Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door and said, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but, if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."

He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep.

The man asked, "What is it?"

The young man thrust out the gallon of milk and said, "Here, I brought this to you," he said. The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk." His wife in the kitchen yelled out,"I ask him to send an angel with some. Are you an Angel?"

The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the man's hand. Then he turned and walked back toward his car and tears were streaming down his face. He knew then that God does still speak to people... and answer prayers.

http://www.inspire21.com/stories/faithstories/buythemilk

Where's the Fudge.

This website is full of daily devotionals for someone who is a chocoholic.
http://www.peggiesplace.com/booster340.htm 
She has links to various chocolate items etc on the net.
With this blog I felt there were too many links to this and that, so I have linked you to one page that has a short devotional on it.

There is one more thing I found really annoying but maybe you won't and that is it plays music.

The Chocolate Touch

I found this one some time ago and wanted to share it with you.  Its a bit of fun with a good thought at the finish.  So sit back and read especially all those chocolate lovers.  If only life was like this!

Remember the story of King Midas, whose greed caused him to wish that everything he touched would turn to gold? At first his new life seemed glorious. All the wealth he could ever want was at his fingertips! But then he touched a rose, and when the newly golden flower lost its scent, he was struck with a twinge of sadness. His melancholy deepened when the bird he touched could no longer sing through its gold beak. But what finally broke the king’s heart was when he reached out to touch his precious daughter, and she turned into a statue of gold before his eyes. The moral of the story? There are many things in life more important than money.

I'd like to propose a different sort of story for us here. Instead of The Midas Touch, our story is called "The Chocolate Touch". In this tale we meet sweet Candace (called "Candy" by those who loved her), who desired chocolate as she desired breath. Now, this was a woman who knew her chocolate. She could discourse for hours about the presentation, snap, and mouth-feel of the various chocolate brands. She could explain at length the myth of white chocolate and expound extensively on the emotional fluctuations caused by chocolate’s theobromine content. Candy could even tell what kind of filling was in each bonbon or truffle without secretly poking a hole in the bottom or nibbling off a tiny edge. She instinctively knew how to avoid the dreaded nougat and choose the raspberry cream instead. perhaps inspired by her Great-Uncle Midas, Candy wished that all she touched would turn to chocolate. To her delight, her wish was granted by the fairy of Chocolate land, Queen Godiva.

Candy quickly reached out to a nearby honeysuckle bush, and the leaves turned to chocolate / a delicious garnish for her chocolate cheesecake later that evening, she thought. Next she let her hand fall upon a pecan tree, and immediately she had unlimited access to wonderfully nutty chocolate bark. When a little rabbit crossed her path, she reached out and watched it turn into a solid chunk of chocolaty sweetness. (Didn’t you ever wonder how the idea for chocolate Easter bunnies was conceived?)

As the day progressed, Candy touched item after item around her house and neighborhood.  Just think of all the money I’ll save on Valentine’s Day presents this year! she gloated as she turned rose after rose into rich chocolate delicacies. Soon her entire home was transformed. Even her car was racing on chocolate syrup fuel in its cocoa-dust-covered engine. Life had never seemed better.

But finally, as with King Midas, Candy’s day took a turn for the worse. Her beloved son, Hershey, came home from school and reached up to kiss her. (He wasn’t old enough yet to be embarrassed by displays of affection.) At that instant he was forever frozen in time.  The world’s first Hershey’s Kiss. (Well, it might have happened that way!)

The moral of this bittersweet story. No, it’s not that I have a corny sense of humor (and an obvious love for chocolate). Rather, it's that we need to be aware of the vast number of touches we make each and every day. Of course, it would be impossible to list every surface our hand touches over a twenty-four-hour period.  Every doorknob, every handle, every tabletop, every cup or dish; we simply have our fingers on too many things and in too many places.

Yet most of us could track the number of people we touch in a day. Think about it. Each encounter, no matter how brief, would count. Your spouse and children, the crossing guard you wave to as you leave for work, the attendant at the petrol station, your coworkers, the clerk at the post office, the kid who sells you burgers and fries for dinner, the friend you chat with on the phone or via e-mail the list might be long, but not impossible to make.

Now think: What is your touch on these lives? Some people you touch consistently like those in your family or at work. Others You touch here and there. Perhaps casual friends or people you volunteer with in your community. And some you touch just once in a while in a random way.  Of course, no one turns to gold or chocolate when your hand, your voice, or your influence touches them. But you can still leave a lasting impression that changes the course of their hours, their days, even their lives.

When Jesus walked the earth, people everywhere wanted to touch him and be touched by him. Through his touch, the blind could see and the lame could walk. The sick were healed. And people caught in the snare of sin were set free. No wonder the crowds clamored for the touch of the Savior!

Do people long for your touch or do you sense that they draw back? Is your touch as valuable as gold to your loved ones, as sweet as chocolate? Or is it as hard as nails? Does your touch bring blessing and healing to the people around you.or pain and heartache?

As we continue to explore the impact of a woman’s touch, evaluate your own touches each step of the way. Start keeping a mental list of those people you touch on a regular basis, as well as those you touch less frequently. And start thinking about different ways your touch can bring joy, comfort, restoration, and blessing to their lives.

Lord, your touch is more precious than gold and sweeter than chocolate. Thank you for touching my life. Now open my eyes to see all those I touch, and help me to make my touch a blessing in their lives.

[God’s ordinances] are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. (Psalm 19:10)

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a chocolate bar in the cupboard that’s calling my name.

Mistake or Message?

This message was written by a Women's Ministry leader and published in the newsletter sent to the churches in 2003.

I discovered a mistake in my Bible! When reading through that wonderful passage in Romans 12:9-21 from a Bible I keep at my desk at work, I was intrigued when I read verse 13 - "Share with God's people who are in need.  Practice hospitality. Practice hospitality."  No, you are not seeing double.  There it was in Scripture - repeating something I needed to understand, something I struggled with.  Having people over to our place means I have to have everything perfectly in place!

People will not remember what you looked like or what you served them, BUT  they will remember how you made them feel in your presence (Arlene Taylor).

I am trying to exercise the true art of hospitality and not expect so much of myself.  To keep things more simple and enjoy people's company.  About 5 years ago I took this seriously and wrote a small article entitled 'Dinner Party Panic'.  As the Christmas season approaches and guests arrive, take it easy on your self and keep life simple.


Be careful, they're listening...
My wife invited some people to dinner.  At the table she turned to our 5 year old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing/?"  I wouldn't know what to say, she replied.  Just say what you hear Mummy say, my wife said.  Our daughter bowed her head and said "Dear Lord why on earth did I invite all these people for dinner."

Prayers with Candy/ Lollies...

By Mike and Amy Nappa  @ CBN.com
I found this thought while looking for another devotional on M&Ms.  I hope you enjoy this one and take some time to think about what the authors are really trying to convey in their thought about how to pray and make it more meaningful

You can use M & M's to help focus your family's prayers of intercession for others.
Next time you pray together,
Pass around a bag or bowl of M & M's the next time your family is gathered for prayer.
Let each person take a handful, but don't let anyone eat the candies yet.
Explain that the color of the candies will indicate the direction of the families' prayers.
Lead your family in prayer using this guide and stopping for prayer after explaining each color.

• For every green M & M you chose, pray for your spouse (present or future) or some other significant person in your life. This is a great way to get kids thinking about what qualities they want to find in a future mate. Encourage them to pray for this person’s safety, spiritual and physical growth, and so on).
• For every red M & M you chose, pray for a member of your family by name (a parent, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandchild, niece, nephew, cousin, aunt, uncle, and so on).
• For every orange M & M you chose, pray for a teacher in your life (a co-worker, a professor, a pastor, a Bible study leader, a child’s school teacher, a mentor, or another teacher).
• For every yellow M & M you chose, pray for one of your neighbors (a neighbor near your home, an office-mate, a person whose desk is near yours at school, or a neighbor close to your church).
• For every dark brown M & M you chose, pray for a leader in your life (a politician, a local businessperson, a celebrity, a member of your church’s staff, the "Prime Minister" or President , or another leader).
• For every light brown M & M you chose, pray for Christians in other countries.

This might be best used as an after dinner prayer time. Repeat this process as often as you family's kilojoule intake allows!

Bible Verse...

Therefore,I tell you, don't be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you of much more value than they? Mattthew 6:25,26 WEB

Burnt Biscuits

I was cleaning out one of my email accounts when I came upon this message sent by a friend earlier this year.  She reguarly sends out messages which are inspirational and thought provoking.  This is one of them and also ties in with the thoughts for this blog.  I hope you will enjoy this message from the heart...

When I was a kid, my mum liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed, yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mum and ask me how my day was at school.

I do not remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite.

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits and I will never forget what he said.

He smiled at her and said, "Honey, I love burned biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss my dad good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.

He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides, a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone."

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I am not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else, but what I have learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults, and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing and lasting relationship.

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship.

Do not put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket; keep it in your own.

God bless you today and always.

So, pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.

Moreover, pass this along to someone who has enriched your life . . . I just did.

More than 2 cups of Coffee.

One of my most favourite devotional thoughts is about 2 cups of Coffee.  I have actually presented this with the container and all the bits and pieces that go with it. It is something we may at times follow and yet do so poorly at.  I hope you enjoy reading this again.

A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.


When the class began wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.  The Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.  The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course the sand filled up everything else.  He then asked once more if the jar was full.  The students  responded with an unanimous "Yes".  The Professor then produced 2 cups of coffee from under the desk and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty spaces between the sand.  The students laughed.

"Now" said the Professor, as the laughter subsided "I want you to recognize that this represents your life.  The golf balls are the important things - your God, family, your children, your health, your friends and favourite passions.. things that if everything else was lost and only they remained your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house and car.
The sand is everything else - the small stuff.

"If you put the sand in first" he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same goes for life.  If you spend all of your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Play with your children.  Take time to get medical checkups.  Take your partner out to dinner.  Play another 18 holes of golf.  There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.  "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter set your priorities.  The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.  The Professor smiled "I'm glad you asked.  It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

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1.03.01

Food for Thought

I found this poem in the Australian Table Magazine from 1999 when I was helping my Home Economic students  find some pictures and information for posters they were researching for, and I thought it would be nice to share it.  I shared it with them and they thought it was special and should be shared too.  I have used in another blog site but thought it was too good just to have on one site.



Do you have time to cook a meal?
Do you have time to supp?
Do you know how your children feel when dinner times is up?
Does your kitchen smell of chopped up fruit?
Of pies and mince and bread?
Is your table strewn with drink to suit?
Do the smells fill your head?

Fill your head with memories?
And the stuff to make some more.
Are meal times like a gentle breeze that can open doors?
Does eating give you nourishment
For your body and your soul?
Does your table do just what it’s meant or has it a greater role?

Is it a place of talk and jest?
Of philosophy and mirth?
Is it a place where you can rest and come back down to earth?
Is your palate served a King’s delight
Or are your meals but simple fare?
Are they fatty or labeled “light”? Or do you really care?

Do you cook your meals in the coals
(as would a drover or a camper)?
They catch from favourite fishing holes with billy tea and damper.
No matter where your supper’s laid, No matter with who you dine
No matter if it’s ready-made or a chef’s design
Here’s a little food for thought when next you carve the roast
Share the time as we ought with those that mean the most


Kim Russell (Australian Tables, November 1999)

Hospitality for God 101

Why would someone write something about this most common practiced social activity? Everyone does it don’t they? We have the social committee s at work and church to do that, so that we can all have fun. We invite our friends and family members over for a meal or BBQ to spend time together.

 Do we really know what the term hospitality really means? Meredith Fawcett and Leonie Lee in their book  Food tech issues (1995) states "Food or drink is offered to a guest for a number of reasons:

• to make the guest feel welcome;
• for companionship - sharing food can make the guest feel relaxed and happy in the presence of others;
• familiarity - when the guest is from a different cultural background it may be of value to offer them food and drink that is familar to them so they will feel comfortable and welcome." (pp.14,15)

Hospitality is a very important part of the gospel and Middle Eastern culture. In the mind of the Israelite or Middle Eastern person the presence of a guest under one’s room was considered literally a God-given opportunity to do a good deed. Why would they think like this?

Well let’s look at scripture. In Leviticus God asks or directs the people when they go into the Promised Land to look after the widowed, fatherless and strangers/ aliens by providing food, water and shelter.

How serious is God about this type of Hospitality well have a look at Matthew 25: 34 - 46.  Yes it comes down to how we treat people and the reason for our actions.

If God places so much importance on this can we find any examples of God providing Hospitality? Yes we can.

In the Old Testament there are quite a few.

1. Exodus experience of the Jews in the wilderness. God provided water and manna everyday for 40 years for over a million people.

2. He provided food for Elijah at the beginning of the drought by ravens and the end of it after his flight from Jezebel.

3. He provided the Widow of Nahan and Elijah with oil and flour for 3 long drought ridden years.

4. He cares about our food and health by un poisoning the cucumber soup of the prophets through Elisha.

In the New Testament there are examples as well.

1. Jesus’ first miracle was to turn Water into Wine.

2. Jesus Feed five thousand men (counted also women and children ) from 2 loaves and five fish. There was so much food left over that there were 12 baskets of it.

3. Another time there were 10 baskets of bread and fish left over after feeding 3 thousand men.

4. He provided breakfast for the disciples on the shore after they had been fishing all night for the last time.

5. God also provided food for Jesus after his temptation.

Jesus told many parables of what the kingdom of God is like and what God is really like. My favourite Christian author tells how he held a birthday party for a prostitute in Honolulu at 3 am. The café owner wanted to know which church he went to, to be able to do that. Is God like that?

Yes Jesus tells of prodigical son and the father response to finding his lost son. He also tells stories about the King who held a party and was rejected by his acquaintances and so he invited everyone in and had them dress up.

There is one more party to come and I know I want to be there. (To quote the heritage singers.) There is one big party in the earth made new and we will make new friends and reacquaint ourselves with old ones and family who have passed away. Yes that is a party worth accepting the invitations too.

In accepting that invitation we have then a response to make when we consider Matthew 25. We have to choose first to be covered by Jesus’ white garment. We cannot do things on our own. We then have to follow the directions set down by God and it is our attitude in doing them that God will be noticing.

Practically we have examples of hedeseed given in the Old Testament in the book of Ruth and that is how Boaz was blessed. So what can we do?

How many of us spend time at thanks giving or Christmas time down at a kitchen that provides meals for people without homes and also family to share this time with for whatever reason.

How many of us have invited home from church the visitors that have come that day. The people who live by themselves (male or female) or do we leave it for the social committee or the person who is rostered on to do it? That’s their job is it not?

We can invite our non-church friends to dinner or a games night at our place and slowly introduce them over time to Christ through friend ship evangelism. We can invite those difficult children to our child’s birthday party and let them enjoy friendship and learn social skills. There are many little things (like provide a drink of water for the person walking door to door on a hot day) that we do each day if we have this mindset that God will see and no one else, but they will be recorded in heaven for all eternity. Also in doing this many have entertained Angels.

So after all this discussion what do you think the answer is to the question is God serious about hospitality? I think the only question really is what are you going to do about?