(Gluten Free) EASTER COOKIES!

A repost...

Last Easter, we started a family tradition.  (Gluten Free) Easter cookies!  With all the excitement of egg decorating, pretty dresses, and chocolate bunnies, this activity really helps to keep us grounded.  It brings us together to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ while we read the Bible as a family...

Ingredients:

1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

1)  Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important to do before you start the mixing)

2)  Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Romans soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

3)  Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

4)  Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

5)  Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

6)  So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

7)  Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

8)  Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.

9)  Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.

10)  GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

11)  On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9.

Happy Easter from My Candy Heart to Yours!

I made a new friend yesterday.

(photo credit)

She's new to the neighborhood....just moved in a few days ago.

She doesn't know the area at all, because she hasn't been out to explore much.

I stumbled upon her when I walked by the truck she was sitting in and heard someone crying. Remembering what it was like to live in a new neighborhood and not know a soul around you, I decided I'd better check to see if she needed anything.

There were two women in the truck.  One of them was crying and talking on the phone, so I walked around and introduced myself to the other.

The scene that followed can only be described as tragic...emotional...heartbreaking.  As it turned out, they had been sitting in the truck for several hours, because they didn't want to go inside.  There were 3 small children on the other side of that door (with a grandmother), and they didn't know how to tell them their fathers had been killed in a car accident the night before.  So they stayed in this truck, holding each other, while coping with the reality of suddenly becoming widowed.

One woman was my new neighbor, and the other was a friend who had traveled from out of state to assist with the move.

And then there was me.

I called another neighbor who is married to a Pastor.

They came.

We prayed.

We all stayed there for about 3 hours...praying, holding them, crying with them.  The women were trying to make phone calls, and additional support was at least 6 - 8 hours away.

It was getting very hot, and they were getting very weak.  Dehydration, exhaustion, and emotionally depleted, everyone knew why they weren't going inside...but we had to move out of the heat before one or both of them fell to heat exhaustion.

Still unsure of how to proceed, the grandmother ushered the children upstairs so they could move into a downstairs bedroom.  After a short time, they wanted to hold their children -- and the children were upstairs calling for them...

It was time.

The children came, and huddled on the bed.  Composed, strong, and unwavering, each mother took her child into their arms and told them the truth.  Two 5 year old girls and a 2 year old boy.

"Daddy isn't ever coming home."

I simply cannot find words to describe those moments.

We left them curled together in that bed, holding their children, and weeping without answers to their questions.  

Tons of people were on the way, including both sets of grieving parents.

Most of the furniture remained in storage, limited food filled the pantry, dishes and such were still packed.  After evaluating the big picture, my neighbor and I enlisted the help of other neighbors.

If there is any light that could possibly come out of this darkness, it's what happened next:

An outpouring of groceries began showing up.  Plastic plates, napkins, and the like.  Freezer ready meals.  Air mattresses.  Toys for the children.  Offers for guest bedrooms, and bathrooms for showers.

God met us there...in the pit of sorrow while strangers held fragile, broken hearts, and a painful reality unveiled itself.  He showed up.

This is a story about my new friend.

And I realize it has nothing to do with diabetes or celiac.

But it has everything to do with friendship and humanity.

In the end, that is what unites us all.

1 Timothy 5:3 (New Living Translation) ³ Take care of any widow who has no one else to care for her.