Happy December 1st, friends! Here’s a FREE Copy of the first devotion from my book, Christmas Open House!: Advent Stories and Devotions for Families, Small Groups, and Personal Reflection
December 1
A Song in the Air
Picture this:
It’s the wee hours of a chill December morning, still long before sunrise, and you are a child asleep in your safe, warm bed. You have a pile of blankets pulled up to your chin with your hands and one foot securely tucked beneath (the other foot is peeking out like some kind of plump, pink sentinel because otherwise you’ll get too warm).
In a matching twin bed not six feet away sleeps your little sister, clutching her stuffed koala, Mr. Monkey (don’t ask), in one hand and her baseball mitt in the other. She, too, is sound asleep, and would be snoring softly if it weren’t for the canvas-skinned goose down pillow into which she has smashed her face.
The room is warm, the dreams are sweet, and all is right with the world.
Suddenly, like the heralding angels’ trumpets of old, a joyous but overwhelming cacophony crashes in on your repose, shattering your dreams into shimmering threads which dissipate as they float away from your grasp. In the back of your mind, you recognize the blaring notes as “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” a once enjoyable carol, now an intruder you wish you could banish forever.
You look around, trying to make sense of what has happened and you find that, despite having no memory of movement, you are standing upright at the foot of your own bed. Your sister has not been so lucky. She is crumpled in a heap nearby on the chilly hardwood floor, invisible and trying to escape the blankets that have ensnared her. You bend to remove the covers from her face, and the bleary, betrayed eyes that emerge are a near-exact reflection of your own.
Lovely scene, isn’t it? This fun little tradition is how my sister Mandy and I awoke on Cookie-Baking Day every single year. That’s because my mom’s final step of preparation before assembling the day’s first batch of cookie dough was to put on her all-time favorite holiday record and crank it up to where she could satisfactorily rock out to it (not many people can rock out to Bing Crosby Christmas music, but my mom can and she doesn’t care what you or anybody else thinks about it).
Upon hearing the thumps of our waking, my mom would immediately summon us to come downstairs so we could eat and be out of her way as soon as possible. We’d stumble along in our matching footie pajamas and begrudgingly comply, downing the traditional Cookie-Baking Day breakfast of Christmas Crunch cereal and milk. Thus fueled with sugar, we would exit animatedly, changing into our Saturday clothes and then enjoying whatever diversions we could find until Mom inevitably called us back down to fetch and help.
My mom did not deliberately set out to frighten us, and I’m not sure she even knew we could hear the music from that far away, but in the big picture that didn’t matter. Cookie-Baking Day was the foundation of our gift to the world, our way of telling everyone we knew that we loved them and wanted to give them something special. It took a lot of work, a lot of energy, and a lot of love to make it happen. If all that work, love, and energy happened to generate a fair bit of noise too? That was just a bonus.
Questions for Discussion/Reflection:
- What’s your favorite Christmas song? Your least favorite? Do you wish that I hadn’t asked about your least favorite one because now it’s stuck in your head?
- Read Luke 2:8-14. What do you think would have been your reaction if you had been among the shepherds when the angels came to announce and celebrate Jesus’s birth?
- Ephesians 5:19 encourages each of us to “make music from your heart to the Lord” (NLT). What does this phrase mean to you? How can you practice it as a part of your Christmas celebrations outside of church services?
Pray For: Ministry Teams Preparing and Perfecting the Details of Advent Services
Recipe of the Day: Mexican Wedding Cakes
This recipe was the first batch Mom mixed on Cookie-Baking Day to allow for refrigeration before baking. It also happens to be her favorite cookie recipe of all time, but I’m sure that had nothing to do with it.
½ cup powdered sugar
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
¾ cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 325°F. Cream ½ cup powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and pecans. Scoop or shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake 12-15 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately place into a bowl of ¾ cup powdered sugar and roll until coated (it helps to use a fork so as not to singe your fingertips!). Place on a rack to cool completely. If desired, roll or sprinkle with powdered sugar again before serving.
Like what you read? Order your copy of Christmas Open House! by clicking HERE!
Lucinda S. Sutton 
I am enjoying my December journey with you!
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