The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Posted originally on the CTH on December 21, 2024 | Menagerie
Time to pull out the faded and stained old handwritten recipes or notes, favorite cookbooks, and share with friends who really want to offer our best dishes to family and friends for Christmas. This time of year I especially try to remember the two women who taught me to cook, and to love cooking. My husband’s paternal grandmother, and his mother taught me with encouragement, kindness, joy and pride in the making of simple meals for big families. They taught me how to make good, nourishing meals from simple, cheap ingredients. They taught me to cook with love. I was a really slow student, but fortunately God gave me such good teachers that even I learned to cook well. Eventually.
Please share old family favorites, new discoveries, and memories, of course. I especially love it when we get recipes from different parts of the country, and our international readers. Zurich Mike, where are you? Being, as we say here in the South, of a certain age, I am steeped in old Southern recipes and cooking methods, but I have loved getting new ideas and recipes from our readers in Texas and Louisiana who do meals with boldness and heat, our coastal friends who share the best seafood recipes, our Northern friends who give us so many good stew and roast and vegetables recipes. Midwesterners just seem to do such a great job with family meals and especially winter vegetables, and no telling what you might get from out west and the West Coast, but the ideas and recipes are always wonderful.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
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