Thanksgiving: The Feast

Everyone knows the three elements of a good Thanksgiving: the Feast, watching Football, and hangout with the Family. Mandy, Lydia, and I were at my parent's house this year. We arrived at my parents house a little after five on Wednesday. We were both surprised at how light traffic was during the busiest travel day of the year. This early arrival was very important as my mom made her famous homemade spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage and meatballs. I love spaghetti and my mom's is the best. We can call this our pre-meal to the feast like preparing for a road race the next day.

Our Thursday, with the Macy's Day Parade in the background, every in the household had a job to do. For hours, there were potatoes peeled, casseroles mixed together, tables and chairs arranged, and of course, the turkey with stuffing in the oven. The family didn't go hungry during these hours of cooking. My dad, the day before, had cajun-seasoned/smoked a turkey for us. OH MY! It was delicious! Juicy. Flavorful. Mouthwatering good! Also, my mom, in her normal motherly-good fashion, had orderves of shrimp and cheese-in-crackers. I want to highlight one kind of cheese we had for a moment. I don't know the brand of this cheese, but it was a pepper jack cheese. Why does one pick a pepper jack over, lets say, a medium cheddar? Spicy. You want the cheese to have a little punch. Sometimes, may I say, most of the time, you don't get that spicy you were looking for in the pepper jack. Well, this cheese which my mother put out was perfectly spicy. It brought the punch I was looking for in a piece of pepper jack cheese.

Getting Ready to Feast:

(my brother and my dad having a little laugh; my sister and her friend enjoying the day)

(Mandy sitting down to give thanks)

I turn to the Feast itself. The Feast at our house was especially delicious this year. I don't think I can remember of having a tastier Thanksgiving. Here is the 2010 Stock Thanksgiving Meal Menu:

1 Juicy Brine Turkey

1 Out-of-This world Cajun Smoked Turkey

1 Spiral Ham

Stuffing

Oyster Stuffing (a family recipe)

Home-grown vegetables from my Uncle's garden in Maine:

Potatoes (mashed)

Acorn Squash

Brussels Sprouts

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Delight (with the big mash mellows)

Biscuits (my Dad made them)

Pickle/Black Olive/Banana Pepper Tray

Two Cranberry dishes

Pineapple

(just finished!)

5 Gospel Essentials: Application to Us

This past Sunday our church, as many others around the world, celebrated the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means "coming". During this season, the Church remembers the first coming of the Lord Jesus and anticipates His second coming in the future. One common passage read during the Advent season is Luke 2 and the account of the shepherds in the fields. On that cobalt starry night, a heavenly host announced God's breaking into this sin-filled world to save it from itself. In Luke 2:10-12, Luke records the eye-witness testimony of what the angel announced that evening, "And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." When I read this passage I can't help but think of Linus reciting it from memory to Charlie Brown in explanation of what Christmas is all about. Glorious!

Anyway, in this passage, it is filled with the essential truths of the Gospel which we have looked: 1) It is historical: "this day", "City of David", and "you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger"; 2) It achieved and accomplished salvation: "a Savior, who is Christ the Lord"; and 3)It is by faith alone: The very fact that God had to come into this world screams that we can't, at any point, save ourselves or do anything which could help us along the way.

But, all these essential truths of the Gospel are only "good news of great joy" if they reach us. The Gospel must come to us and change us positionally and practically. That is, there is an application to the Gospel. If somebody makes a delicious homemade apple pie with crumb topping like Mandy did for Thanksgiving and it doesn't reach the taste buds of somebody, the apple pie and all the hard work is not good news. Apart of the "good" in the good news is receiving, tasting and delighting in the apple pie. Here are some application or change which the Gospel brings:

- New Identity: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-3).

- A Child of God: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Galatians 4:4-7)

- Peace through Justification by Faith: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ” (Romans 5:1).

- Forgiveness of Sins: “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).

- Eternal Life: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The great news is that as the angels continued to proclaim, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14). The application of the Gospel is to all with whom God's pleasure rests according His good pleasure.

Sick Day!!!

On Monday, the Stock family was under the weather. Daddy had sinuses and mommy had sore throat. Our little girl, Lydia, has a top, front tooth coming in. She won in the category of "Ouch!" We all stayed in our pj, drank tea and water, and enjoyed playing together and napping . It was a fun day as well as a sick day could go. As of today, Thursday, we are all feeling much better though not 100%.

Here are a few snapshots that we took during the day:

Lydia in the Laundry -

Mommy and Lydia reading and learning the alphabet Dr. Seuss style... "Big A, little a, what begins with a?"

Daddy and Lydia hanging out on the couch while daddy was talking to his friend, Dusty.

Thank You, Veterans!

To all those who are or have served in the military, thank you! By the way, I love the commercials done by the Marines. I think they are the best commercials done by anybody. After every one of them, they really get you to think about joining their team. This is the latest one that I have seen. It is pretty cool.

The Effects of Being A Pumpkin

The Cutest Pumpkin Ever

Lydia was a pumpkin for Halloween. She, in our opinion is cute in anything, but here she is a little orange gourd. She didn't like getting dressed up much...if you look closely you can see a tear. But all in all trick-or-treating went well. Daddy carried her from door to door in our friends' subdivision (we went with a big group of toddlers, babies and parents). Lydia graciously donated all her candy to Mommy and Daddy. We, in return, gave her green beans and yogurt. Apparently she found this fair.

MORE PICTURES: Family Photo, Trick or Treat, Pumpkin Photo Shoot #'s 7, 2, 5, 6