Cookie Baking Night 01/27/14

 Tonight was Cookie Baking Night, and it was a full house. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, Alli, Emily and Julia (Julia is Emily's friend from school, and she has visited us a few times). In light of the subzero temperatures outside (-13 degrees F on my drive home this evening), we made one of my old standby cookie recipes:  Cinnamon Polar Bears (a recipe cut from a little Pillsbury pamphlet cookbook years ago). I love this recipe because every child can participate no matter the skill level, and the end product is always a cute little cookie (no cookie cutters involved, just rolling dough into ball shapes of varying sizes and placing a few small pieces of candy in the right spots, we used cinnamon candies for the nose and mini M&Ms for the eyes). 

Our evening also involved reading from Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt, subtitled "Seeing Jesus in Psalm 23". Before we started the lesson, Julia read Psalm 23 from the Bible for us. Tonight, we read chapter 7 titled "Your Rod and Your Staff, They Comfort Me". When answering one of the discussion questions at the end, one of the children mentioned The 10 Commandments, so we used that time to review them (they're hanging on the wall in our living room). I make it a practice to always share the gospel message with the children whenever we review The 10 Commandments. We talk about how Jesus fulfilled the whole law (commandments) while He lived here on earth because He did not sin (one of the children marveled at this realization). And because He did not sin, He was able to take the punishment for our sins on the cross in our place. This was followed by a lively discussion about repentance (confessing and turning from sin) and trust in Christ for forgiveness of sins and hope of eternal life. 

Having our nieces and nephews (and sometimes friends) in our home on a regular basis and establishing relationships with them as they grow is a joy and a privilege BUT no greater privilege exists than sharing the gospel with them, and I'm grateful God allows those opportunities. May He provide many more.

As usual, a fun time was had by all. 

Cookie Baking Night 01/13/14

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. After a 4-week winter break, tonight we returned to our regularly scheduled Cookie Baking Nights. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. We started the new year off with Ethan's birthday choice (Ethan turns 11 years old in just a few days). For supper, Ethan chose cheese pizza, french fries, and peaches. For his cookie he went with a classic, the chocolate chip cookie.

When we sat in the living room together, Carissa asked Alli, "Do you want a chair to put your feet up?" (I found that amusing). 

Tonight we continued reading from Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt. Emily read chapter six for us titled "Even Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will Fear No Evil For You Are With Me." The discussion questions at the end allowed us some thoughtful conversation about what we think about when we first wake up in the morning and what we think about when we fall asleep at night. Hearts are often revealed during these discussion times at the end of our lessons. I'm grateful that God makes available to us material that provides us with those opportunities. 

We ended our evening with a lively game of Pit (card game) per the request of the birthday boy. It was an interesting venture with a 3-year-old in our midst, but with she and I working together as a team, we managed to come up with a version of the game that was enjoyable to all of us. 

As, usual a fun time was had by all.