Christmas anticipation and recipe

**Written December 19th and published today....

Our advent season involves a book that my husband got 3 or 4 years ago titled "God with us: Rediscovering the meaning of Christmas". I really enjoy it and look forward to it every year. It's harder now as the readings are a bit long for a 2 & 4 yr old to sit through, but they are learning, and we know that this is a tradition we will continue for many years to come and someday they will listen, absorb and by God's grace, believe.

From Monday's reading "Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. but if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over" John 12:24 MSG
Written by Luci Shaw (one of the authors): Buried in a woman's body. Birthed in a cold cave. Buried in a lifetime of ignominy (dishonour/public contempt). Buried again in the tomb. Buried in human hearts to be birthed and rooted and risen again - in us. God's buckets of water will do it - drench and nourish the seed in us that makes more seeds - a hundredfold.

This created such a picture image in my mind that made it more tangible and so I wanted to share :) I am really excited for Christmas and being with family and celebrating Christ's birth. I'm getting antsy!!! And I think the anticipation is good, it is what the advent season is about, the waiting, the wondering, the awe that is the birth of Christ through young Mary. May you experience the season with anticipation as well!


While on the topic of wheat, I thought i'd share my favorite pizza dough recipe. Pizza crusts/frozen pizzas were one of the last processed food items that I would still buy because making dough just seemed like too much work! But now that I have this recipe and it only has to rise for an hour, it makes it much more doable and of course is much better for me and my family!! Enjoy :)
1 TB Active Dry Yeast
1c Warm water
2 1/2c Unbleached flour, or your favorite combination (we always do 1/2 wheat, 1/2 Unbleached)
2 TB Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp honey (more or less)

Dissolve yeast and honey in water. Let stand 5min. Mix dry ingredients together, add yeast mixture and combine well. Knead in mixer or on floured surface until smooth. Place in greased bowl and cover, allow to rise 1-1.5 hours. Dough will perfectly fit in a rectangle stoneware bar pan, or divide in half to make 2 rounds. Top with fave toppings and bake at 425 15-20 min (2 rounds will need a bit less time) 

Some of our fave topping combos:
- spinach, black beans and avocado
 - ham, pineapple, peppers and mushrooms
- BBQ sauce, chicken , onions, spinach, peppers
 Enjoy! This is what we're having tonight!