Stars - Advent Waiting Through Baking - Fourth Week of Advent

We all remember those childhood verses, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star..." or "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...."  And of course, we remember the famous Star of Bethlehem, the star guiding the Magi from the east.

This week we will make and bake star cookies as we finish our last week of Advent. Star cookies are perfect for Christmas. The star of Bethlehem, the star guiding the Magi is the penultimate star, but the Old Testament is full of references to stars, too.  So while we wait and bake this last week of Advent, we will look at a reference to a star that the Chosen People of God were waiting for.

I mentioned there are many references to stars in the Old Testament. There are references right from the very beginning of Genesis 1:16. "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also." Psalm 148:3, "Praise Him sun and moon. Praise Him all stars of light." The Chosen People of God knew that God made the stars and that the stars and all creation are meant to praise their Creator. There are many references in the Old Testament to pagans worshiping the sun, moon, and stars. The prophets foretold their doom if they continued to worship creatures instead of the Creator who made the stars.

Stars have many lessons to teach us, but the Advent waiting lesson of the star is the Morning Star found in the book of Numbers. It is in this prophetical scriptural verse that the Morning Star becomes our waiting star of the fourth week of Advent. Listen to these verses and share them with your bakers. "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; and crush through the head of Moab...." Numbers 24:17  

To develop our understanding of the Morning Star a bit more. (This may be of interest to adults but a bit too specific for younger bakers. It is your judgment call.) We can look at the definition of scepter. A scepter is a decorative staff used by a king or ruler. It signifies royalty, power, and authority.  Observant Jews were waiting for the Morning Star who would come from the line of Jacob (King David's line), who would be royal (divine), and have power and authority, and would crush the head of the serpent as foretold in Genesis 3:15. Jesus fulfilled that prophecy. He was of the line of King David who was of the line of Jacob. Jesus is Divine; He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity who became man. He is the King. He has power, authority, and through the Cross crushed Satan and defeated death. The birth of Jesus represents many truths. For all of us, young, middle-age, and old, it speaks of the total love of our Creator for each one of us, His creatures, in a deeply loving and very personal way. May the Morning Star dawn in your heart and the hearts of your children as we wait together this last week of Advent for the birth of Christ.

Here are some two of my granddaughters baking Star Cookies the last week of Advent. 

The recipe for this week's sugar cookie is Moravian Sugar Cookies.  It is from Mimi Sheraton's Vision of Sugarplums Cookbook. I have used some of her recipes before and enjoyed them. I was somewhat disappointed with this one. I prefer other sugar cookie recipes. Recipe 3 of the 4 I have offered these past weeks is still my favorite!

 

All done and out of the oven!  

 

Psalm 8:3

Our Prayer for the Fourth Week of Advent

 When I ^aconsider thy ^bheavens, the ^cwork of thy fingers, the ^dmoon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is ^aman, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou ^bvisitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little ^alower than the ^bangels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

This week is a bit busy for me as I am sure it is for you. I have not had an a chance to look for children's books on the Morning Star. I will have to save that research for another day. If any of you know of a good children's book or want to write one about the Morning Star the Jewish children were waiting for before the birth of Jesus, please contact me. Thank you!

Happy Fourth Week of Advent

A few decorated cookies from the Rooney/Findlay Family Christmas in July, 2021

                  

Candlelight - Advent Waiting Through Baking - Third Week of Advent

This is a mini Advent Wreath lit with 
birthday candles, 3 for Week 3 of Advent.

Light is one of the most powerful images in Scripture. It can be found multiple times in the Old Testament and throughout the New. We refer to it every Sunday in the Nicene Creed when we profess: "...God from God, Light from Light..." During Advent we light candles beginning with one and adding another each week until all four are ablaze. Our Christmas trees are decorated from head to foot in strings of lights. And homes, stores,  churches, and cities abound in lights throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons. Light is meant to lift up our spirits as we wait for the birth of Christ.

Children can appreciate the image of the growing light during Advent. Physical light speaks to all of us through out senses. We appreciate the candles on a birthday cake. With little ones we have to be careful with the light of candles, but it is a powerful image. Our candle cookies are a way to share the knowledge that Christ is the Light of the World and we are celebrating His birth on Christmas Day.

So here is our little baker and decorator, just barely age two, frosting her candle cookie! 

You will find the recipe for this Sugar Cookie in the Blog Archive, 2009/12/04 under the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. To locate the blog archive look on the right hand side of this post midway down.

The frosting can be found here, Buttercream frosting

Below is a picture of Meredith, Piper's Mom's candle cookies right after they came out of the oven. Don't they look yummy?  Piper thought so. We have a few more photos of Miss Piper frosting the cookie or should I say eating the frosting!!!!

Books

The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas Light by Claudia Cangilla McAdam

24 Christmas Stories for Little Ones by Magnificat

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

Lucia Child of Light by Florence Ekstrand

Lucia Saint of Light by Katherine Bolger Hyde

Prayers

Isaiah 9:2 A people waiting in darkness have seen a great light.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom should I fear?

Dear God, awaken us, that we may be ready when your dear Son comes, that we may receive him with joy and serve you with pure hearts.

Happy Baking as we wait for Christmas!

What can I give Him, 

   Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring him a lamb,

If I were a wise man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him,

    Give my heart

by Christina Georgina Rossetti

This is Gaudete Sunday. Let us be glad and rejoice!

Shepherds - Advent Waiting Through Baking - Second Week of Advent

Just as the Old Testament is full of angels who are God's messengers to the human family, so is the Old Testament full of shepherds: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, to name a few.

One very famous shepherd was King David. David was the youngest of eight brothers. When he was a young boy he tended the family's sheep and killed a very threatening warrior named Goliath by using a slingshot. David had mastered the use of the slingshot by protecting the sheep from the wolves which terrorized them. David trusted that God would give him the courage to use this skill to defeat Goliath, an enemy of the Chosen People of God, and God did!

David had a heart that was like the heart of God. God loved David very much for this and chose David to become the king of the Israelites. David was now to shepherd a kingdom not simply a flock of sheep. He was not a perfect man, but he was a very good ruler, and God rewarded him with a very special promise. 

God promised King David that the Savior that the Chosen People of Israel were waiting for would be born from his family line. (2 Samuel 7:12 & 13) The young shepherd boy and now the triumphant king of Israel would be the favored ancestor of the Savior. Between the Shepherd/King's death, 970 B.C. and the birth of the Savior many shepherds waited for the fulfillment of God's promise. 

Just as the many shepherds waited for God's promise to be fulfilled, so we are waiting now for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. This is the second week of Advent. We have only two more weeks after this one before Christmas.

Shepherds use staffs to guide sheep when they are driving them from one location to another. The staff is a symbol of guidance and for a king or a bishop the staff also represents divine protection. This week we are going to make, bake, and decorate some staff cookies. We will retell the story of David the brave shepherd, born in Bethlehem, who slew Goliath, became king, and received God's promise that from his family line the long-awaited Savior would be born. At the end of this post, there will be a few books that you can share with  children. Most focus on the David/Goliath story and do not include God's great promise to David. You will have to tell them about it yourself.

Sugar Cookie Recipe for the Second Week of Advent

This recipe is taken from the sprinklebakes blog which I am linking here. https://www.sprinklebakes.com/2018/12/flowers-of-scotland-sugar-cookies.html The recipe has the measurements in the metric system, also, for those who use that system. The oven temperature would be 177 degrees celsius for the 350 degrees F. used in the U.S.  I have used this recipe many times and it makes an excellent sugar cookie. These cookies are frosted with ready-made frosting but I am linking a frosting that I often use when making my own.  https://www.hersheyland.com/recipes/perfectly-chocolate-chocolate-frosting.html All but one staff have sprinkles of one kind or another. Use a large candy cane cookie cutter for the staff. You can cut the shape out from the rolled dough if you don't have the candy cane cutter. Make it big for small children; otherwise the staff breaks in two quite easily while decorating. Even for Grandmother!

Shepherds' Staff Cookies w/out icing

Shepherds' Staff Cookies frosted and decorated

The Shepherd's Prayer composed by King David. I am sure you will recognize it.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd;*

there is nothing I lack.a

2In green pastures he makes me lie down;

to still waters he leads me;

3bhe restores my soul.

He guides me along right paths*

for the sake of his name.

4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,c

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff comfort me.

II

5*You set a table before me

in front of my enemies;*

You anoint my head with oil;*d

my cup overflows.e

6Indeed, goodness and mercy* will pursue me

all the days of my life;

I will dwell in the house of the LORDf

for endless days.

From the USCCB.org

Or a very short prayer from one of King David's Psalms:

139  Search me God and know my heart. Amen

Books 

For younger children:

David and Goliath by Tomie dePaola - Leaflet Missal, Magnificat, Amazon, etc.

David and Goliath Little Golden Books - Amazon.com

David and Goliath Board Book, Amazon.com

For ages 8 and up - There are a number of books for this age, but I am only familiar with the following author whom I recommend. She does mention the promise God made to David in her retelling.

King David and His Songs: A Story of the Psalms by Mary Fabyan Windeatt