Countdown to Christmas 2013

When I was a little girl all of our families’ Christians friends celebrated Christmas. It was appropriate and a welcome saying to say, “Have a Merry Christmas!” Now days it is different. I’m almost hesitant to invite friends to my home after the first weekend of December, or share pictures of activities of my home on Facebook. Afraid that my friends see the Christmas tree and lights, or learn that we make Christmas crackers, a Gingerbread house and share presents on Christmas day and get offended. 

The truth is, our family are committed Bible believing Christians who joyfully celebrate Christmas with a Christmas tree and lights, a ginger bread house and delicious meals; the nativity scene and presents, with the sole purpose of celebrating the entering of our Saviour into this world -  be it  the right date or not.

In our home celebrating birthdays are big! We celebrate birthdays for at least two days - the day of the birthday and another day of celebration over the weekend. It is thus just normal practise for us to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, our Saviour.  The children seldom refer to Christmas, rather Jesus’ birthday.  

Over the past few years I learned about Ann Voskamp’s Jesse Tree on her blog, A Holy Experience, but in all the buzz of December never came to make a Jesse Tree.  This year I got The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp and the Lord powerfully spoke into my life.  

“In the Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp invites you to celebrate the lineage and majesty of God’s greatest gift to us - His Son, Jesus Christ - through the timeless Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree.Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, The Greatest Gift retraces the epic pageantry of humankind from Adam to the Messiah, with each devotional reading, prayer and reflection leading you one glorious day at a time toward the magnificent promise of Christ.Beautifully designed and exquisitely written, The Greatest Gift is a treasured reminder that it is Christ and Christ alone who endows Christmas with meaning.”

The past year was a difficult year. Quite a few changes in my daily life responsibilities, becoming more involved in my husband’s business, my older children (and helpers) becoming more involved in their talents, gifts and interests, taking them out of the home more often. As a result I experienced major tests of faith, holding on to the promises and truths of Christ, my only life-line. 

So this year I planned well in advance to do the Jesse Tree with my Children! I want them to experience day by day the fulfilling of promises in the birth of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. I don’t want my children to only see the Baby in the Manger on Christmas day.  

I want them to see the whole picture of the Baby, growing up to be the One who sacrifice His life on the Cross for sinners like us, reconciling us with God our Father.  That is exactly what is accomplished with the Jesse tree. 

While I was preparing, downloading ornaments and being in praying anticipation for what the Lord is going to do in my families’ lives, I learned one of my friends got permission from Ann Voskamp, to translate the Jesse Tree in Afrikaans! Wow, what a blessing!  How often I feel we miss out, being an Afrikaans speaking family, with everything available in English. Now the Jesse Tree was translated and available as the “Boom van Isai”. 

By the end of November my Jesse Tree ornaments were printed, laminated and ready. There are two sets of Jesse Tree ornaments available . One from the Jesse Tree devotional - colourful aimed for children, and the Greatest Gift ornaments - classic and timeless. 

Since I was a little girl we had a colourful Christmas tree, and the children have the privilege to decorate it. I got our Christmas tree when CJ was 3years old and Heidi-Mari a baby girl. Each year I allow them to decorate it to their heart’s desire. This year I wanted a real festive atmosphere in the home, with more colour and lights. I saw the opportunity to decorate our Jetmaster fireplace with holly, and Heidi-Mari and I decided to decorate it in a more classic way with red and gold decorations and white lights. We had quite a laugh when the sales person at the Christmas decorating shop’s eyes widened with concern that I want to wrap our fireplace with Christmas decorations. We took the time to remind him it is high summer in South Africa, we do not lite the fireplace during December/January and he relaxed!  

"The Jesse Tree may take on a number of wondrous forms: a silhouette of a tree may be sewn or painted, cut out of felt, quilted, hung from the fridge, a wall, a door, a window. Or it can be a small evergreen tree, a cluster of red dogwood branches, a pot of hemlock, pine, spruce, sticks or holly.  The  27 ornaments may be printed out onto card stock, cut and laminated and strung up, or the ornaments taped , fastened or buttoned  onto your tree."

After we set up the Christmas tree and decorated the Jetmater, I just knew our Jesse tree ornaments, laminated and stringed, need to hang on the holly of the Jetmaster. For this reason we chose the more classic Greatest gift ornaments, to fit the red, gold and white decorations. 

Then despite all my preparations and anticipation, we almost missed the Jesse Tree again.   We should have started on Friday the 29th of November, but it was weekend, filled with activities, packing Above Rubies and restless little children who missed their afternoon naps. On Monday evening I was ready and the little ones who saw all the preparation for the Jesse tree were filled with excitement and anticipation.  That evening after a delicious dinner, while we were still sitting around the table, we started the first day of Advent. 

What a blessing to share the Word of God around the Family Meal Table. 

"The table is more than a place to eat a hurried meal on the run. The table is a feeding place. A place to minister to our loved one’s physical needs and yes, this means preparing and cooking a meal, which means work! Feeding and nourishing our family is a huge part of mothering. But the table is more than a place to feed hungry tummies, it is a place to feed the soul and mind, synonymous with intimate communion and fellowship. It is the heart and soul of family life; it is a sanctuary, a secret place from the daily world of strife, where our husbands and grown children may spend their days. When they arrive home to a waiting table - a table that welcomes them with good food, love and fellowship, the filth of the day washes away. In preparing the food and eating of the meal together, we pave the way for the culmination of the meal - to feed the spirit. Did you know that every time Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples after His resurrection, it was when they were reclining at the table?  God loves to present Himself at the table of the family that fears the Lord. He loves to reveal His truth to us, as we open our hearts to Him and talk of his wondrous ways." 

And this is for our family the blessing of doing the Jesse tree. Each evening, after dinner, we take out the next ornament that reminds us of a story in the Old Testament, from the very first blink of the first star over Eden to the blinding light over Bethlehem - pointing us to the coming promise of the Messiah.  After reading of another promise fulfilled, we’ll hang the ornament of each story on the branches of our tree and we rejoice in the coming of Jesus, redeeming us from a dooming future!  Each child has a change to hang an ornament, while we ask one or two children to pray out loud with us. 

My absolute favourite devotion is the one of Abraham who had to offer his only beloved son, Isaac. How Abraham let his son carry the fire wood and he, himself carried the fire and knife. And then after binding Isaac on the fire wood, hand lifted high to offer his son, God provided a ram in the thistles. God always sees, He will always provide. 

The power of the Jesse tree, is how it talks into my life at first. The Lord ministers into my life in a way beyond what I can imagine. What a joy to share this with my children. 

Years ago, we received a teaching from Bruce Wilkinson on the Three Chairs. Often first generation Christians are sold out, Bible believing Christians, who experience the Lord in every day miracles. They share their testimonies with their children (the second generation), giving them the opportunity to choose to follow Christ. If the second generation do except the Lord Jesus Christ, but do not put Jesus in the centre of their lives and start to experience their own miracles and share their own testimonies. Instead still drawing memories from the first generation, their children, the third generation would most likely deny the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. The bottom line of the teaching, we must live a transparent Christ-like life for our children, or they will deny our faith, and seek answers elsewhere than from God. 

This past 25 days we could share with our children the miracle stories of the old Testament, but even more powerful, we could link it to stories in our own personal life, many of them current tests and struggles; seeking God for answers and experiencing victory, while they are witnessing and/or are partakers. I could never have imagined the holy moments where a little one get an ‘aaa-haa’ moment understanding a little more about Jesus and their purpose in Him, or an older child nod in absolute agreement.

This Christmas I come to understand more, that getting ready for Christmas has nothing to do with having all the presents and meals ready ahead of time. No! It is all about getting my heart ready to receive this Biggest Gift ever, Jesus Christ, my Saviour!

May you all have a blessed CHRISTlike feast.

Much love

Linnie

Christmas for the Glory of God

It was December 2000. We were a family of 5, Daddy, Mommy, boy 6 years, girl 3 years and Baby boy, 4 months. 

It was the year we started our health shop, after our Men’s Toy Shop (selling telescopes, knives, etc) went under. We lost almost everything - our home, as well as our vehicles. They say it takes 1,000 days for a new business to prosper, and we had just started our Health Shop a 100 days ago. We experienced what is was to live in total trust, that God would provide for our every need.

That Christmas we didn’t want to put up the Christmas tree. We had to move to a smaller house the end of that December, so we were in the process of packing up our home, but the main reason was there was no money, for even the smallest present.  We didn’t even know where we would get the next month’s rental and there was the bare minimum in our food cupboards. We didn’t want to give the children an expectation, followed by disappointment and explain to our little son and daughter the situation. They were so brave and submitted to our decision without any complaining. 

Then about 2 weeks before Christmas, little CJ came to me. With tears running down his cheeks, he asked me if we could please put up the Christmas tree. They knew there would be no presents, and that is okay, but they were longing for the excitement and festive atmosphere created by the tree and sparkling lights. 

I couldn’t say no, and immediately put up our 2m Christmas tree. We decorated it with joy and the children sat in delight watching the lights.  

Since it was holidays, our small health shop, still very unknown to the public, was very quiet. We had to save up every sent we got to pay our rental deposit on the 1st of January and there was almost no food in our home. This was a time of great dependence and trust in the Lord. As a result, early on the Wednesday morning before Christmas, I sat down and made a groceries list. After I wrote down everything we need for the next two weeks, I put it before the Lord and ask Him to please provide. This was setting the scene for a miracle, there was absolutely no money.

By 12 O’ clock I got a phone call from our pastor’s wife. She just came back from her ladies’ Bible study group. It was laid on the hearts of the ladies in her group to put money in an envelope for the Lues family and she was asked to bring the envelope to our home., directly after Bible study ended.  I still remember how I slowly got on my knees after putting down the phone and praised our mighty Lord. That same afternoon I put my children in the little car we borrowed from Christo’s niece, went to the grocery store and witnessed a miracle. I could buy every single item on the grocery list I made earlier that morning, and the money was  the correct amount, to the cent!

With joy and gratefulness my little children and I unpacked our groceries, me explaining all the way how this was only possible because our God in heaven know us and care about us.

Then the next morning our pastor called. He was calling on account of a member of our church, who wished to stay anonymous, and till today he is still unknown to us. This Brother in Christ made out a check to be paid in our bank account. We could use the money for whatever our needs might be, BUT it is his wish that we first buy Christmas present for our children! As I sit here writing this, I’m crying again, remembering that moment in time. The amount he gave us was quite a lot of money. It was enough to pay our rental deposit, the rental for January and buy our children presents that exceeded our expectation! 

That Christmas was the most amazing Christmas. We experienced Immanuel, God with Us, and our children were in awe of what God had done.  They knew the evening we dropped them at their grandparents, that we were on our way to go buy them Christmas presents with money provided directly from our Heavenly Father and they had a first encounter with the grace of God. Undeserved grace.

The day after Christmas we earnestly started to pack up our home and move from our spacious rental house with a swimming pool and jungle gym, to a small 2 bedroom granny flat.  Our rent was paid, but still there was no extra money and we would have to move our home without a moving company and we didn’t anticipate any help since all our friends were enjoying their festive season. 

Again the Lord surprised us beyond our highest expectation. A few days before we had to move, another family in Christ called us, informing us that a group of families had put together money and hired a moving company to move our things on the 31st of December to our new home.  

God was demonstrating to us His blessings as we had never experienced before.  Up to then, Christmas was all about ourselves, but that Christmas we were at the receiving end and we were blown away with the way God used people to take care of our needs, the basics and beyond!

Since that very special Christmas we as a family came to understand it is more blessed to give than receive and started to walk in it.

Over the following Christmases we reminded our older children of that special Christmas and shared with our younger children the miracle of that Christmas. 

This Christmas we experienced a similar miracle.

As many of you know, Heidi-Mari finds great joy in her gifting of working with chocolate. 

Over the past 18 months we attended numerous Lindt chocolate courses and she loves to make chocolate truffles, moulded chocolate with fillings and chocolate candies.  Unfortunately it is not possible to work with chocolate in summer months without an air conditioner to cool down the room, to the low 20degrees. We tried to earn some extra money for buying an air conditioner, by selling her homemade cards, but that didn’t succeed. 

So we decided to just wait on the Lord till there was enough funds to buy an air conditioner for our kitchen.  And God provided, but from a total different source.  

Two weeks ago a friend’s husband, who saw and tasted her moulded chocolate, asked her how she was doing with her chocolate. In their conversation she mentioned that she is currently limited in what she can do, due to not having an air conditioner in the kitchen.  

Last week this friend’s husband gave Heidi-Mari an air conditioner! 

Years ago a Pastor with 7 children was asked how he provides for his family. He comment, “God is providing for my children, and my wife and I are joining in the blessing.”  We can testify for that. The Lord provided for Heidi-Mari to be able to work with chocolate in the hot summer months, and the rest of the family is enjoying the blessing of a cooler home!

Four weeks ago Danika (9) fell off the steps at our back door, and seriously broke her right arm.  It was quite a challenging 48 hours, being in a hospital the first time in 15 years, the scary experience of my little girl receiving anesthetics (not one of my children ever had anesthetics up to now) and being operated on. 

It was a heart breaking incident, seeing my little girl in so much pain, while waiting for hours for her turn on the emergency theatre list. In this all God was unmistakably present! I experienced Him going before us, not being cought by surprise at the series of events and gave thanks in every moment. But little Danika was tested big time in practicing a thankful heart, giving her every fear to the Lord, since she has a very sensitive personality, always taking care of every one else around her, but in herself can get stressed and worried very easily.

The Saturday after she broke her arm the Thursday, Brother CJ encouraged her to enter a Lindt Chocolate Colour-in competition with her left hand. With great excitement we drove to the Lindt Chocolate Studio the next Saturday, bought a 100 g Lindt Chocolate Bear which has to accompany the entry and submitted her entry.  We almost forgot about the entry, when we got a phone call on Friday morning. 

Danika was one of the 10 children who had won the colour-in competition. 

She, as well as this mother was overjoyed!  The Lord was taking care of my little girl in her distress and met her in her trial!  He blessed her with being praised for her effort of coloring with her left hand, while she was feeling worthless, not able to do anything for herself or any one else, due to an arm in a sling.  Again we experienced the Lord’s overflowing blessing. Danika’s prize was 100 mini Lindt Bears and the whole family is enjoying the blessing! It is giving her the biggest pleasure to surprisingly give away her Lindt Bears to whomever she wants to!

A week ago our family visit friends at the other side of the mountain, for the first time. The children had a ball. The older children went to play tennis with the dads and the little ones played on the jungle gym and in the swimming pool, under the moms supervision.  Now when we moved from our spacious rental home, December 2000, we sold the children’s jungle gym too. For years to come, I mourned the loss of my children’s jungle gym. 

As my friend and I watched the children climbing up and down the gym, I started telling her how we are currently saving up money to build the children a jungle gym, on which she said, “You know, this gym is on my ‘get-rid-off-list’ for the new year, you can have this jungle gym.  Our children has outgrown it now.”  You could push me over with a feather! I was looking at the gym and it had everything we wanted on our gym. We just had to dismantle it ourselves and arrange transport to our place. How blessed can one be? Was this really happening? My children soooo wanted a jungle gym, but we have not been able to afford it yet, and here the Lord was organizing one for them, for FREE!

This past Saturday the men went fetching the gym.

Since then the little ones are playing non-stop on their jungle gym! 

The time of Christmas is such an amazing time of showing good will and blessing people. It is a time that people are more vulnerable and open to giving, as well as receiving. I love this time and rejoice in the wonder of being able to bless friends, neighbours and strangers - showing them more of Jesus. 

But I’m also thankful for Immanuel, God with us; Mighty God, who rule not only the Universe, but in each of those who love Him; Jesus, the Saving One and my Savior, who show Himself to be a sure Presence in our lives.

May each of you have a blessed Christlike feast!

“5 One person esteems one day above another; 

another esteems every day alike. 

Let each be fully convinced in his own mind… 

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, 

but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”

Rom. 14: 5-13

With much love

Linnie

Happy Birthday King Jesus!

Birthdays are big with us.  Currently we have 10 birthdays a year in our home, and some months up to three birthdays, which make it very exciting celebrating months!

Thus the days preceding Christmas day, the birthday of the King of kings, I was desperately seeking the Lord for fresh ways to share with our family the true meaning of Christmas.  A way to celebrate the Birthday of all birthdays and familiarize it to our children. I longed to separate Christmas from everything common and commercial and make it a special God honoring event!

God is faithful!  A few days before Christmas Ann Voskamp shared 10 Ways To Celebrate Christmas Morning.  As I opened the posting, I could feel the anticipation, the knowing something special was going to happen. Rightly so - the first way just naturally fit into our birthday tradition.  A Birthday cake for the King - with a twist - for breakfast!  

Christmas day in our home is very, very relaxed. 

We visit with family on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas day, we are just together as a family, enjoying each others company, getting little ones back in their familiar routine, after sugar spikes and a few very busy days. But I often felt we are so relaxed and relieved after all the Christmas celebration, we missed out on sharing the true meaning of Christmas.  A birthday breakfast feast would be the perfect way to create a special atmosphere, honoring the King of kings and spark conversations with the children around the true meaning of Christmas!

Heidi-Mari and I immediately started to plan our special Birthday Breakfast Feast for the King of Kings.  The whole festive season we wanted to bake a Panettone, an Italian Christmas cake and a favourite of Christo. We already had the ingredients, but just couldn’t find the time to bake it.  So we decided on a Panettone for the birthday cake.  

The breakfast feast, with the birthday cake would be completed with a very special Mango and Pineapple smoothy, 

wheat free muesli, with organic Bulgarian yoghurt, flavoured with fresh fruit and honey, french toast, espresso and forest berry tea.

Heidi-Mari made a new overlay for our table cloth, and I had the most beautiful flowers, Christo treated me with at the Cape Flower Market a few days before Christmas.  

The cake, colourful decorated with cream cheese frosting and fresh berries, and our self painted nativity scene would be the center piece on the table.

We laid the table with our best cutlery, after our guests left on Christmas Eve and went to bed exhausted, but with great anticipation!

On Christmas morning little children woke us up in great excitement, it was time to open the presents. They enjoyed every moment of it and while they played with their new cars, Heidi-Mari, CJ and I did the final preparations for our breakfast feast!

  

What a blessed morning we had around the breakfast birthday feast! The birthday cake and nativity scene wasn’t only the center piece of the table, it was the center of conversation.  Never before did we experience a Christmas morning so filled with the grace and love of God, sharing the true meaning of Christmas on a level each one of our family could relate to and understood.

The rest of the day was filled with peace and relaxed conversations.  

This is only the beginning of a tradition of a breakfast birthday feast on Christmas Morning!  I can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to add to this, over the following years, as we seek to bring Him honor on Christmas Day!

I would like to share with you our special birthday cake recipe and enter it in Heidi-Mari’s Fortnightly Baking Fun Challenge.  

The theme for this fortnight was Colour and our special birthday cake not only looked colourful, but also filled our day with special God honoring colour!

Panettone is a traditional Italian bread usually served at Christmas time.  It gets much of its flavor from butter.  It also get flavor from the candied fruits it contains.

Makes 1 Panettone

Ingredients:

2 ⅓ cups all purpose flour or 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons spelt flour

¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons milk, barely warmed

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 egg

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter, sliced

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

¼ cup diced dried apricots, steeped in just enough water to cover

¼ cup dark raisins, steeped in just enough water to cover

¼ cup golden raisins, steeped in just enough water to cover

¼ cup diced candied orange peel (see recipe below)

Candying Orange Peel

Lightly candied orange peel makes a delightful and intense flavoring for dessert soufflés, biscotti, panettone, and cakes. 

To make 1 cup: 

• Peel 3 oranges in rough strips.  You’re not zesting the oranges, but taking off the whole peel, including the pith, all the way down to the flesh of the orange.  
• Put the peels in a saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil.  
• Boil for 10 minutes, drain off the water, add fresh water to cover and boil for 10 minutes more.  Drain off the water. 
• Add 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups water to the saucepan.  
• Bring to a slow simmer over low heat and simmer very gently for 40 minutes.  
• If the syrup evaporates too much and you notice that the liquid is very thick and syrupy, add ¼ cup water and continue simmering over very low heat.  
• The peel is done when the white pith is translucent and waxy looking.  If you’re unsure, bite into a piece - it should be sweet and not bitter.
• Let the peel cool in the syrup.  
• Pour peel and syrup into a clean jar, making sure all the peel is covered with syrup.  
• You can use immediately or store for months on a kitchen shelf. (We candied ours last year and stored it in the fridge.)

Method for Panettone:

• Combine the flour, warm milk and sugar in a bowl.  
• Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and let soften for 3 minutes.
• Add the egg and mix for another 3 minutes.
• Add the salt, mix and cover with an upturned bowl or plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Add the butter and the orange zest.  
• Knead the dough by hand for about 7 minutes or with a standup mixer fitted with the dough hook on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until all the butter has been absorbed and the dough is smooth and shiny and you can pull it up into a translucent sheet or ‘window’ (the windowpane test).

• Turn the mixer to high speed if needed to get the dough to slap against the sides of the bowl.
• Drain the dried fruits (very important) and mix them and the orange rind into the dough.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap pressed against the surface fo the dough.  
• Let rise at room temperature for about 3 hours, or for about 1 hour and then overnight in the refrigerator (what I did) until it increases in volume about 50 percent.
• Press down the dough, shape it into a ball, and push in any protruding fruit to prevent it from burning.  
• Place the dough in a paper ring so it will hold its shape. You can buy traditional paper holders or improvise one with some brown paper and scotch tape - like I did.

• Cover the dough with plastic wrap touching the surface and let rise for about 2 hours at room temperature, or until doubled in volume.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C.
• Bake for about 1 hour, or until golden brown on top and 185 degrees F or 85 degrees C in the center.  
• If the top starts to brown to much before the panettone is done, cover it with aluminum foil. 
• Let cool on racks.

Frosting:

250g cream cheese (plain and smooth)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 10 minutes or until smooth.

Spread the panettone with the frosting.

Decorate with fresh berries.

I would love to hear your fresh, new ways of celebrating the Birthday of Christ the King! Please feel free to share in the comments below.


With much love

Linnie

Then the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings

of great joy which will be to all people.

For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior,

Who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the sign to you:

You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths,

lying in a manger."

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, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:10-14