The Cattle and the Food Shortage

Again, I know that it’s several days after Christmas, but I wanted to share a few more thoughts about the Christmas story and how it relates to us.  Today, I wanted to focus on the cattle in the Christmas story.

“Then they wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.”

 

The cattle are a very overlooked character in the Christmas story. Luke 2 says that after Jesus was born, that they laid him in a manger to sleep since there was no room for them to sleep anywhere. Although you’re probably all aware, a manger is where an animal’s owner would place its food. Most people probably assume that this manger was already full of hay for the animals to eat so it made a decently soft bed for Jesus to sleep on.  

I want to focus on the cattle this week because, although this might be going a little far, they had to give up their food in order to give Jesus a place to sleep. If Jesus is sleeping on their hay and in their “food bowl,” then they can’t eat it. They sacrificed their own physical needs in order to provide a physical need for someone else.

Just like the homelessness I talked about last time, hunger is a huge problem in the United States. According to Feeding America, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating hunger and poverty in America, over 37 million Americans are currently considered “food insecure.” * Of those 37 million, over 11 million were children (feedingamerica.org).  

You may think that these statistics only apply to big cities with big city problems.  However, the food insecurity rate in Medina County, according to The Akron Canton Regional Foodbank, sits at 9.7%. That means that here in Medina County, one out of every 10 persons has limited or uncertain access to enough nutritional food to support a healthy lifestyle. That percentage, when translated to a hard number, is 17,060 individuals who are food insecure here in our own community. 6,560 of those individuals are children who do not have the means to support themselves at all (akroncantonfoodbank.org).

It’s hard to imagine being food insecure if you’ve never been food insecure before. If 9.7% of Medina County is food insecure, it means that 90.3% is not. So the vast majority of us don’t know what it feels like to be unsure of where our next meal is coming from or if it is coming at all.  

So this Christmas, as we focus on the cattle in the story of the birth of Christ, try to put yourselves into the shoes of someone who struggles with hunger. So much around the holidays is focused on food. And don’t hear this wrong. Food is good. God gave us food to enjoy as well as provide nourishment. However, I would ask that as you try to empathize with being hungry, that you would consider a non-profit or food bank that helps alleviate it. There is so much good that you can do.

 

* Being food insecure is defined as a household that has limited or uncertain access to enough food to support a healthy life.

“Facts About Hunger and Poverty in America.” Feeding America, Feeding America, https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/facts.

“Hunger in Medina County.” Akron Canton Foodbank, Akron Canton Foodbank, 3 May 2018, https://www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/hunger-medina-county.

 

 

Article originally posted on Northside Christian Church’s website.  For the full article and to find out more about how Northside helps to alleviate its community’s hunger problem, head to http://www.northsideweb.org/assistance or just click here

Journey To Bethlehem – Homelessness

So, I know that today is actually December 26th, but I wanted to post a couple thoughts I had on the Christmas story and how it relates to life for us today.  So, here’s my first thought based on Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and the struggles they encountered there.

“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7 English Standard Version

 

Imagine being Joseph in this scenario. You’ve just left your home in Nazareth with your very pregnant wife and journeyed at a minimum 4 days and 70ish miles to get to Bethlehem. As the man of the family during that time, your role is as the protector and provider for your family.  However, upon arrival in Bethlehem, you find that you are unable to provide for your wife and unborn child and may have a very hard time protecting them as well if you are forced to stay on the street. Imagine the panic and anxiety there, the feeling of utter helplessness in having no place to stay.

 

Or imagine being Mary. You’ve spent the past nine months praying over your child. You’ve been worrying about and making preparations for his birth. You want everything to be perfect. You feel an overwhelming feeling of need to protect and care for your child. All that to find that you have no place to stay upon arriving in Bethlehem, the likely place that you will give birth to your child.  The clean home that you prepared for your child to spend the first days of his life is sitting useless and unused 70 miles away. You have no idea where or how your child is going to be born or cared for. Again, imagine the feeling of utter helplessness in having no place to stay.  

 

Homelessness is one of the saddest and most despairing states of life to be in. There is no certainty, no stability, and no feeling of safety and security that can be found within a place of refuge called home. It is disheartening and, to be completely honest, even dehumanizing. And, although the United States ranks second worldwide in wealth per capita, according to data obtained in January 2018, there are over 550,000 homeless persons in our country. Of those, almost 200,000 were unsheltered, meaning that they literally lived with no roof over their head at night…in January. Specifically in Ohio, in the year 2018, there were over 10,000 persons who experienced chronic homelessness and over 29,000 public school students who were homeless at some point.  (Data from United States Interagency Council on Homelessness). These are just a few of the startling statistics that show one very alarming thing. Homelessness is a big problem even here in the United States.  

 

It’s an easy thing to sit back and pass judgement on someone who is homeless. Some people make comments saying things like if someone is homeless in the United States it’s his or her own fault, that there are plenty of fast food jobs or other jobs available, that there’s no such thing as real poverty in the United States if you compare it to other countries. However, as Christians, our job is not to analyze how or why someone is in the position of need that he or she is in. Our job is not to compare one person’s poverty in one country to another person’s poverty in another.  Our job is to see a person in need and care for that person in need. When the Bible commands us to give to those in need or care for those in need, there is never any addendum or addition to the command. We are simply to care for those in need.

 

This holiday season, as we reflect on the Christmas story and the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, we focus on Joseph and Mary’s homelessness. The fact is that someone took them in and gave them at least some place to stay. We are called to do the same. We encourage you to prayerfully consider researching ways to give from your own blessings to care for the homeless in our communities.

 

Article was originally posted in full on Northside Christian Church’s Webstie http://www.northsideweb.org/blog.  Head  here to read it in its entirety.  Merry Christmas.

 

Creamy Leftover Mashed Potato Soup

So December 26th rolls around and you find yourself with 8 pounds of leftover mashed potatoes and half a ham.  What do you do?  Make soup!  I tried this recipe today and it turned out really good.  First, here’s what you will need for it.  It’s a pretty simple and straight forward recipe.  It’s not nearly as healthy as what I usually like to make up in a recipe but hey, it’s the holidays right?

Ingredients

6 cups leftover mashed potatoes

6 cups whole milk

1/2 cup sour cream

4 tbsp butter

1/2 cup chopped green onions

3 cups chopped leftover ham

2 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

Step One

In a large crock pot, combine all the ingredients and set on high.  Gently stir it together.  If you have more than 6 cups of leftover mashed potatoes, just add an equal extra amount of milk.  You should always have equal amounts of milk and potato.  Then adjust the flavoring ingredients according to taste.

Step Two

After about an hour, come stir the soup again as the butter and sour cream should be melted by now.  Change the crock pot setting to low and stir the soup occasionally until ready to serve.

Step Three

Garnish the soup with your favorite cheese (sharp cheddar would probably be best) and serve hot with bread.

 

Like I said, this recipe is pretty easy and straight forward and a good way to use those Christmas or Thanksgiving leftovers.  Feel free to try it and leave a comment in the comment section on how you liked it or changed it.  As always, if you enjoy the blog and want to receive an email notification when I post something new, please click on the “follow” link in the lower right hand corner of your screen.  Thank you for reading and happy holidays.

Crafting with Kids – Pinecone Christmas Ornaments

Last week, all the pine cones fell off of the trees in our backyard.  Instead of finding a way to get rid of them without burning them (apparently a huge EPA violation), I decided to use them to make homemade Christmas ornaments with the kids.  I realize that it is only November so all you fall purists out there are going to hate this, but I made Christmas ornaments this week for two reasons.  First, I wanted to use the pine cones before they went bad sitting out in the rain and snow (which will inevitably fall in about two weeks)  Second, I wanted to have a fun crafting project to do with my family.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of mess at the same time.  However, I think that the craft turned out pretty well and we are actually going to use them on our tree!  I like them a lot because they are all obviously similar but also not exactly the same like most Christmas ornaments.  These will give the tree a natural and unique type of look while still looking unified and cohesive. So, if you are going to try this at home, here is what you will need.

Pine cones (Use whichever you can find.  I have no knowledge of types of trees or anything)

Glue (We used regular Elmer’s but it was runny.  I think tacky glue would work best)

White Spray Paint

Glitter (Your choice on color or texture)

Plastic Sheet

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Twine/Yarn/etc.

Two disposable containers big enough to lay the cones in

Step One – Spray Pain the Cones

Set the pine cones out on top of the plastic sheet and spray paint them white.  Spray one side and then turn them over to get the other side.  I sprayed from the top to the bottom as if the paint was snow falling onto the cones.  Note, I did not let my children help with this part.  If you are a teacher doing this in class, I would have the cones already spray painted as well.

Step Two – Roll the Cones in Glue

Pour about 1/4-1/2 inch of glue into the bottom of one of the containers.  Take one of the pinecones (ensuring that the paint is dry) and roll it around in the glue so all parts are coated in glue.

 

Step Three – Add Glitter

Move the pinecone to the other container and sprinkle glitter onto it so that it sticks to the glue on the cone.  It should come out looking as if the glitter, like the paint, fell like snow and stuck mostly to the outside of the cone.

Step Four – Make it an Ornament

Now cut about 3 inches of twine/yarn and make a loop.  Using hot glue, attach both ends of the twine/yarn to the pinecone making a loop to hang on a branch of your tree.  Now simply wait for the glue to dry and you’re all set!

Like I said, if I were to do this again, I would definitely make some changes like the type of glue I used.  Other than that, I think that they definitely turned out pretty well.  I hope you enjoy doing them as much as my family did.

 

As always, thank you for reading.  I hope you enjoyed the blog.  If you did and would like to receive an email update any time something new is posted, please follow the blog by clicking on the link in the lower right corner of the screen.  Happy crafting!