Blessings – Woodsmoke and Cardamom

Phlox and Asters

It’s November now. The phlox and asters have long since ended their blooming season, and the time is fast approaching when the house will once again be filled with the heady scent of cardamom as Christmas bread rises and bakes. How the seasons swirl by, with one set of pleasure-to-the-senses melding into the next! One of my nieces asked me recently if I would be baking Christmas bread this year. “IF”?!?! It could hardly be Christmas if not!!! So, yes – of course!! And I can hardly wait to get started!

If you are among the fortunate souls who take great pleasure in the baking of homemade bread, you need no explanation for the joy it brings. If not, I will try to describe it as best I can.

It often begins with merely the delightful anticipation of the process itself! The gathering of the tools and ingredients, greasing of pans, seasoned to black from many years of use. Though my lovely black bread-tins are used only for our toast and sandwich bread, they are a precious treasure to me, handed down with love from my mama after her many years of baking for our family.

My bread-board, too, is a treasure I have used for many years, built by my dad, well-used by my mom.

My “canister” for flour is immense: 11″ tall, 9+” in diameter, holds the 10lbs of flour I buy at a time throughout the year. 25lbs at Christmas time won’t fit all at once, but it doesn’t take long to get through it!! And my lovely bread bowl that only comes out for Christmas bread (I use my bread-mixer the rest of the year)

flour “canister,” bread bowl and wooden spoon

I have always loved the scent of yeast, that conjures memories of my childhood home and Mama, baking bread in our cozy kitchen. From the moment the yeast hits the lukewarm water, I am transported to that kitchen and all the wonderful memories of the best childhood, filled with love and laughter.

Here is a link to the recipe for Christmas Bread, aka Swedish Coffee Bread:

https://wp.me/p2i29U-1D

And to circle back to the title of this post: another simple joy of my childhood, and the beginning of my lifelong love of these wildflowers, was the tiny not-quite-meadow of tall grasses, phlox and asters that grew between our yard and the next-door neighbor’s.

Be With Them, Lord

by Lucy M. Young

Father, be with all who need Your help today.
I do not know their names and all their special needs
But You, in Your great wisdom, know each one.
You know their needs, their secret loads of care.
You know which hearts are aching
And need the comfort of Your loving arms.
You know the ones whose pain is great
And need Your healing hands to ease their suffering.
You know who is discouraged,
Bowed down beneath their yokes of ceaseless toil,
And need Your helping hands upon their shoulder.

I would that I could help these needing people.
But, Lord, I know You can:
So hear my heartfelt prayer this Sunday morning
And bless, sustain, uplift and comfort them
That they may know the sunshine of Your love;
May feel secure knowing that You care
And will be ever with them in their need.

Counting My Blessings

by Lucy M. Young

Counting my blessings, one by one,
Thanking my Lord for every one.
There are so many I fall asleep,
Relaxed and resting in slumber deep.

I'm blessed with a family, loving and caring,
Friends and neighbors willingly sharing
Their love and their time with me any day,
Whenever I need them come what may.

I thank you, God, for clean fresh air,
For the beauties of nature everywhere;
For food and clothing, shelter and then
I thank you and praise you all over again.

So what if my car is dented and rusty?
It starts when I need it, my faithful old "trusty;"
And what if my coat is four years old?
It's warm and it shields me from winter's cold.

And what if my steps are faltering and slow
And I need a crutch wherever I go?
I can walk, and that's the important thing.
So I'm thanking you, God, with the praises I sing.

Maybe my ears aren't as sharp as they were?
I can hear a bird's song and a kitten's soft purr.
If my eyes tend to blur when I use them too long,
I can see your fair world, glorious sunsets and dawn.

So I count my blessings and fall asleep,
Knowing my Saviour a vigil will keep
'Til I wake to a bright, new, rosy dawn
With a soul at peace and a heart full of song.



photo by Mohammed Nohassi on Unsplash