The Rebel Jesus

I first heard of Bebo Norman when I was at camp in High School.  I fell in love with his music and the emotion/ meaning behind it.  I recently purchased his Christmas album:  Christmas- From the Realms of Glory.  It is quite good and there is one song, 'The Rebel Jesus' that is particularly good.  The Lyrics are below.


The Rebel Jesus
All the streets are filled with laughter and light
and the music of the season
and the merchant's windows are all bright
with the faces of the children
and the families hurry into their homes
as the sky darkens and freezes
We'll be gathering around our hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
and the birth of the rebel Jesus


Well they call him by the Prince of Peace
and they call him by the Savior
and they pray to Him upon the seats
and in every bold endeavor
and they fill His churches with their pride and gold 
as their faith in Him increases
but they've turned the nature that I worship in 
from a temple to a robber's den
in the words of the rebel Jesus 


We guard our world with locks and guns
and we guard our fine possessions
and once a year when christmas comes 
we give to our relations
and perhaps we give a little to the poor
if the generosity should seize us 
but if anyone of us should interfere 
in the business of why there are poor
we'll get the same as the rebel Jesus


But pardon me if I have seemed
to take the tone of judgment
for I've no wish to come between
this day and your enjoyment
in a life of hardship
and of earthly toil
there's a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure and I bid you cheer
from a heathen and a pagan
on the side of the rebel Jesus

Quick, Simple, and Fun Paper Ornaments!

I was looking for some easy ornaments for my students to make today, as it was the last day of school before a two week Christmas/ New Year break.  I came across these a while ago and remembered them just in the nick of time... last night at bed time, of course...

Follow the link below:

Family Fun

*Note: On the heart ornament, the order of the paper strips, when assembling should actually be 12, 9-1/2, 9-1/2, 12.  Trial by error on my part.

Have fun!  I'll post photos of my quick sample ornaments later.  I think I'll make some to hang in my place.

*  For the heart ornaments, I would reduce the length of the strips, perhaps by a few inches, otherwise they flop and look funky.*

Christmas Baking

I decided to get a lot of my Christmas baking done today.  I put on NSYNC Christmas and got started, just to discover after making each dough, that they all need to chill over night. I might just allow them to chill for the day.  Below you will find two of the recipes that I made today.




Snickerdoodles:  
I got this recipe in the 8th grade.  I had a great Home Ec class!  I make these almost every year, so you would think I would remember that the dough needs to be chilled.  Ha ha.  One of the better Snickerdoodle recipes I have come across.


1             cup margarine, softened  (I use butter)


1- 1/2      cup sugar


2-3/4       cup flour


1             teaspoon baking soda


1/2          teaspoon salt


2             eggs


4             teaspoons cinnamon


1/4          cup sugar


Cream margarine or butter.  Slowly add 1-1/2 cup sugar, then eggs.


Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.


Chill dough overnight.


Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon.


Shape dough into balls about the size of walnuts and roll in the cinnamon & sugar mixture.


Place 2 inches apart on an un-greased baking sheet.


Bake until golden, about 10 minutes at 350ºF.




Old- Fashioned Pepprakakor:
This is my Great Grandma Adcock's recipe.  I hear she was a great baker.  She taught my mom.  I am thankful for that, because baking has always been a huge part of my life and I think I am quite good at it myself. (Not meaning to be tooting my own horn here.) So, it must be a family thing.  My great grandma was in utero when her parents came to the states from Sweden.  I never got to meet my great grandma, but I feel like through the recipes she left behind, I can see a bit of who she was.  Enjoy this recipe!  I made it for the first time today and the dough is delicious!

Makes 7-8 dozen


3-1/2            cups sifted flour


1                  teaspoon baking soda


1-1/2            teaspoons ginger


1-1/2            teaspoons cinnamon


1                  teaspoon cloves, ground


1/4               teaspoon cardamom, ground


1/2               cup butter, softened


3/4               cup sugar


1                  egg, unbeaten


3/4               cup light molasses


2                  teaspoons grated orange rind


Sift together flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.


Cream butter and sugar together well.  Add egg and molasses, and orange rind; mix well.


Stir in the dry ingredients gradually, mixing until well blended.


Cover and chill over night.


Roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time, on a well floured surface to 1/8-in thickness.


Cut out with cookie cutters.


Place on greased cookie sheets.  


If desired, place a blanched almond half in the center of each cookie.


Bake at 375ºF for 8 to 10 minutes.




Eat them up!  Please let me know if you try either of these recipes.  Merry Christmas!!


(I'll post photos once the cookies are baked!)

The Christmas Tree

My school was supposed to do a Christmas program, planned 100% by the drama club, but it has been moved to after the new year, as more of a winter solstice program.  I was asked to read a poem.  I found this one about a Christmas tree.  I had never heard of this poem before, but I am glad that I found it.

The Christmas Tree by Robert William Service

In the dark and damp of the alley cold,
Lay the Christmas tree that hadn't been sold;
By a shopman dourly thrown outside;
With the ruck and rubble of Christmas-tide;
Trodden deep in the muck and mire,
Unworthy even to feed a fire...
So I stopped and salvaged that tarnished tree,
And thus is the story it told to me:

"My Mother was Queen of the forest glade,
And proudly I prospered in her shade;
For she said to me: 'When I am dead,
You will be monarch in my stead,
And reign, as I, for a hundred years,
A tower of triumph amid your peers,
When I crash in storm I will yield you space;
Son, you will worthily take my place.'

"So I grew in grace like a happy child,
In the heart of the forest free and wild;
And the moss and the ferns were all about,
And the craintive mice crept in and out;
And a wood-dove swung on my highest twig,
And a chipmunk chattered: 'So big! So big!'
And a shy fawn nibbled a tender shoot,
And a rabbit nibbled under my root...
Oh, I was happy in rain and shine
As I thought of the destiny that was mine!
Then a man with an axe came cruising by
And I knew that my fate was to fall and die.

"With a hundred others he packed me tight,
And we drove to a magic city of light,
To an avenue lined with Christmas trees,
And I thought: may be I'll be one of these,
Tinselled with silver and tricked with gold,
A lovely sight for a child to behold;
A-glitter with lights of every hue,
Ruby and emerald, orange and blue,
And kiddies dancing, with shrieks of glee -
One might fare worse than a Christmas tree.

"So they stood me up with a hundred more
In the blaze of a big department store;
But I thought of the forest dark and still,
And the dew and the snow and the heat and the chill,
And the soft chinook and the summer breeze,
And the dappled deer and the birds and the bees...
I was so homesick I wanted to cry,
But patient I waited for someone to buy.
And some said 'Too big,' and some 'Too small,'
And some passed on saying nothing at all.
Then a little boy cried: Ma, buy that one,'
But she shook her head: 'Too dear, my son."
So the evening came, when they closed the store,
And I was left on the littered floor,
A tree unwanted, despised, unsold,
Thrown out at last in the alley cold."

Then I said: "Don't sorrow; at least you'll be
A bright and beautiful New Year's tree,
All shimmer and glimmer and glow and gleam,
A radiant sight like a fairy dream.
For there is a little child I know,
Who lives in poverty, want and woe;
Who lies abed from morn to night,
And never has known an hour's delight..."

So I stood the tree at the foot of her bed:
"Santa's a little late," I said.
"Poor old chap! Snowbound on the way,
But he's here at last, so let's be gay."
Then she woke from sleep and she saw you there,
And her eyes were love and her lips were prayer.
And her thin little arms were stretched to you
With a yearning joy that they never knew.
She woke from the darkest dark to see
Like a heavenly vision, that Christmas Tree.

Her mother despaired and feared the end,
But from that day she began to mend,
To play, to sing, to laugh with glee...
Bless you, O little Christmas Tree!
You died, but your life was not in vain:
You helped a child to forget her pain,
And let hope live in our hearts again.

Famous Cincinnati Chili, Chili Recipe

I received a postcard the other day with the recipe for Famous Cincinnati Chili, so I thought I would share it with you!


Chili:

1- 1/2  pound lean ground beef

1  (29 oz. can) tomato sauce

1  (14-1/2 oz. can) peeled whole tomatoes

Small onion, chopped

1/2  tsp. cinnamon

1/2  tsp. allspice

1  tsp. salt

1/2  tsp. pepper

1-1/2  Tbsp. chili powder

1  Tbsp. white vinegar

1  toe garlic

3  bay leaves


Directions:

Brown meat- cook onions with meat- drain grease.

Place meat and onions in large pan or crock pot.  Add rest of the ingredients.

Cook slowly 4-5 hours covered.

Remove bay leaves and garlic before serving.

Serve on a bed of spaghetti and top with grated cheddar cheese.

Serves 6- 8