Last minute make, bake, buy, and heal
Unlocking gates, celiac Christmas, last minute gifts, grief, familial healing
Since Advent is a week shorter than usual this year, some of us are scrambling to catch up. My own preparations have been disrupted and stripped down by a little chaos and unanticipated hotel stay. I have had the thought more than once recently that wouldn’t it be funny if we came down with a stomach bug right now? No, no it wouldn’t be funny, but mental preparation is an important tactical advantage in big family life.
With these hills and valleys of the late season in mind, I’ve got some last minute items to share that might help some of you. And if you’ve got no bustling left to do and have time to sit and read or listen, I’ve got some links for you as well.
QUICK HANDMADE DECOR
In the daylight, this lantern looks disappointingly like a bowl made of toilet paper (because it is). It is in the dark that it really shines.
We made this a couple years ago from a tutorial on Pinterest. We were skeptical—and I lost the directions—but we trusted intuition and just gave it a go with a balloon, toilet paper, school glue, water, leftover bits of funeral flowers, and mini lights leftover from a wedding.
You can also use kleenex (shown in this video) or craft tissue paper but there’s something poetic about the TP transformation, don’t you think?
If your kids are making them for gifts, consider adding this Scripture on a card:
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. —John 1:4
QUICK BATCH OF PIZZELLES FOR EATING OR GIFTING
If you have a pizzelle iron, you can make delicious and pretty pizzelles. Since all of our baking must be gluten free, we use a GF recipe that never disappoints. They are festive on a table, perfect when packaged for gifting, and safe for celiacs.
Another creative last minute gift idea could be giving a recipe along with a pizzelle maker.
A note about celiac disease and the holidays:
The holidays can be an especially difficult time for people with celiac disease. A cookie may be gluten free but how about the sprinkles? What about the chocolate? Is there a roux in the soup? Bread crumbs on the potatoes? Every restaurant. Almost every party dish. It’s in many spices, “natural flavorings,” and ingredients.
Many people mistakenly think that celiac disease is an allergy or a sensitivity. It’s actually an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the small intestines. The trigger is gluten, which is a protein found in wheat flour, barley, rye, and triticale, as well as ingredients made from these sources. For celiacs, it’s a discussion of molecules not servings.
Exposure can result in unpleasant physical symptoms but also causes the body to be starved of nutrients since the villi responsible for nutrient absorption are damaged and can’t do their job.
Beautiful desserts made with alternative flours is not a cure for disease, but it can contribute to an improved quality of life. I’m grateful for options for my kids, especially during times of celebration. These cookies are delicious and we are all able to eat them. Thanks be to God. ❤️
WHAT SHOULD WE GET FATHER?
What priest or Bible-reading Catholic wouldn’t like to have an exhaustive scriptural concordance for study, prayer, and homily prep? This one is published by Scott Hahn’s St. Paul Center for Biblical Studies and it’s still shipping in time for Christmas HERE. Here’s what Dr. Hahn has to say about it:
"This book is an invaluable tool for Christians in all walks of life. It will speed the research of scholars in fields as diverse as biblical studies, theology, literary criticism, and the history of ideas. It will be a grace to lay people as they pray and ponder the Scriptures. It will empower preachers--priests and deacons--as they prepare their homilies."
I’m especially partial to this volume because it has my husband’s name on it. :) Your purchase will bless the recipient and also my family!
More details:
Foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn
An exhaustive reference tool--over 15,000 words and 300,000 entries
An alphabetical listing of every word in the RSV-CE, first and second editions
Swiftly locate passages on any topic
As easy to use as a dictionary
Entries show context for easy comparison verses
Key words and passages make Scripture accessible to people in all walks of life
Biblical literacy with a faithfully Catholic perspective
In its thoroughness, The Catholic Bible Concordance is the best study tool for the RSV-CE, the English Bible translation preferred by the Church in her magisterial documents and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
ADVENT HEALING
A beloved friend of mine died this week after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She spent her career on night shift with the Cleveland PD in the most dangerous district in the city. In spite of being surrounded by ugliness and anger, she remained one of the kindest, most faithful, most selfless people I’ve ever met. So my cockeyed tear-stained Advent has become a pondering on how she did it and why it matters. I’m learning.
As stories pour in about the impact her life had on others, I realize that the difference between Vicki and so many of us is that she didn’t overthink the cost of virtue. She just did it. Radical trust in Christ and in the purpose for which she was ordained. She saw a need and moved her body and mind toward the action which would meet that need.
She made the phone call. Took the trip. Wrote the note. Organized the effort. Said the prayer. And when there was an obstacle in the way, she pivoted and kept going.
I always wondered how she was able to do the things she did even while going through chemo and suffering through cancer. I don’t presume to know what made Vicki tick (other than her clear love of Christ), but what I saw was that she just cut through the bull and served until she couldn’t do it anymore. This seems to be at least a little inkling into what made her a great cop and a great mother of bodies and souls. I truly have never met anyone like her.
Rest in peace, dear sister in Christ. Thank you for loving us so well. Deo Gratias.
Vicki’s passing makes me feel like a lightweight this season. I know she would give me straight talk about blessing and not being a brat about little things. I’m hearing it, Vicki! And I’m working on it.
Yet Advent still sometimes hits hard. It can feel… I don’t know… like waking up from a lovely dream and finding that the toilet has backed up into the shower, and that a dear friend has died, and a family (and world) of people who deserve more love than you are equipped to give. Like learning that most earthly Christmas delights are the ones that you are too tired to prepare.
This is Christmas? we ask. Yes, it seems so. And maybe we’re shaken in trust just a little, forced to reexamine what it means to believe and what it means to even be alive.
So I’m remembering all over again (or learning in some ways for the first time) what Christmas is really about even though every Christian knows that “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
We think we know...
Because we can afford to purchase our endorphin rush with all the smells and bells and giving…
But when the consolations of our own glittery preparations are gone, we can fall hard and learn fast that we don’t really possess the peace of Christmas at all, and maybe our attachment to the emotion of our celebration is stronger than our attachment to Christ. We have prepared the meal but have neglected the relationship. And this is often the source of our Advent and Christmas blues.
If Christmas movies were real, I’d write a letter to Santa and say the following…
I want a Christmas that doesn’t include digging up my home to fix busted pipes.
I want injuries healed, families at peace, debts paid, grief consoled, and hearts mended.
I want cancer to die forever and leave my loved ones alone.
I want Vicki back.
And the ubiquitous theologically-incorrect-but-still-comforting angel with nice hair would help me learn the lessons I have forgotten about reality of incarnational love. I keep coming back to the words of Father Delp, because he sat in the darkness of a shackled Christmas, and I sometimes erroneously think I do…
Our hearts must become strong, to make the divine heartbeat into the law of life again. God’s readiness is established, but our gates are locked.
Unlock the gates, Lord. I don’t have the courage to do it myself, but I know this is what Advent is for.
LINKS: LISTEN & READ
Expectations and struggles in marital intimacy. I recently enjoyed a discussion on the topic of marital intimacy with Brooke Taylor on Relevant Radio. It’s not a subject I typically write about but I wanted to address the challenges facing young married couples when it comes to differences in expectations of intimacy. We only had time for 20 minutes but if you listen, please send me your questions or comments and I will work toward responding to them in a substack or recording. Marital Intimacy
Christmas grief. My sweet friend, Heather Labano, writes about faith and grief on her blog. I haven’t experienced loss the same way she has, but I always find her writing to be clarifying and consoling. Those who are grieving this Christmas might find some peace in her writing as well. House of Love and Laughter
Healing the family at Christmas. One of my favorite podcasts is Restore the Glory with Dr. Bob Schuchts and Jake Kyhm. No matter where I jump in, I am always edified. I thought this discussion with Sr. Miriam James on Healing and the Holy Family was especially appropriate for so many as we head into our family gatherings.
Spotify tells me that my most played song of 2023 was Lion|Lamb by Joshua Leventhal. I was surprised until I remembered that I love the the BPM (140) for cardio and tend to put it on repeat when I’m tired and don’t want to move. (That’s a lot of playing time.) It’s a song of hope and so helpful for lifting my mind and body to things of God. If you’d like to know the BPM of your favorite songs—just for fun or to help set running pace—this website is helpful.
May God richly bless you and your family during these remaining days of Advent, friends! I’ll see you in the Christmas season.
Melody
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Love every word!