Pathways Press.com

Written by Vickie Stone, from the Village Church.

The old recipe card is dog-eared, stained, and worn. I know the ingredients and the steps well.  As a little girl in Ohio, with my brother and two sisters we would gather around the kitchen table carefully rolling out the dough my mom had made the night before. Sprinkling flour on the tabletop and rubbing it on the rolling pin so that the dough would not stick, we rolled the dough flat and would carefully select our cutters: trees, deer, angels, stars, and bells.  We diligently cut out the cookies and carefully lined the soft shapes onto the cookie sheets. Into the oven they went. Oh, how the house smelled!  The sweet scent of vanilla wafting from the oven. After they had baked and cooled the next delight was using the colorful powdered sugar icing and sprinkles to decorate them. I remember our shaggy dog Molly, beneath the kitchen table, hopeful for any possible bits that might end up on her level. 

Even though I don’t have children, this tradition continues with my mom and me. Each Christmas season, we make sure to make our traditional cut-out cookies.

The sweet aroma of baking cookies is not left behind from decades ago… It is with us once more. After a bit of sampling of naked cookies (we call it quality control), Mom and I carefully ice them, but with much more attention to detail than when I was a little girl!  We giggle and show each other our works of art.

Baking cookies can remind us of the ingredients needed to nurture our faith.  Three Must-have Ingredients:  1) Bible reading.  Always a basic and necessary ingredient in our lives. 2) Christian fellowship.  As Jesus is our firm foundation, our brothers and sisters-in-Christ help us stay strong and find joy. Being together is an ingredient very much missed during the pandemic several years ago. 3) Prayer:  Prayer is needed daily beyond measure; praying regularly is essential. Giving thanks to the Lord for this season, a season of the promise fulfilled with the birth of our Savior.