True confession: I worked on this post yesterday and got confused on my dates. I thought today would be December 14 and so the invitation should read: “Preserve Peace.” My partner in creativity made two beautiful images, only recognizing my mistake after she had them ready.
Thing is, I think Jesus does that sometimes. He directs us to what we need even if it’s “out of order” from our expectations. I needed to dwell on peace this weekend, and so that’s what God gave me.
May God always give you what you need, and may you have ears and eyes to receive His truth! Side note: we put our devotional cards in biblical order, but please feel free to shuffle the deck to get what you need from Jesus (to get your own set of cards, click for your FREE download).
Cranberries are one of my favorite holiday season tastes. They’re in everything: cheese, salads, pastries, savories and sweets. I typically make cranberry sauce the Monday before Thanksgiving and Christmas, always making sure we have more than enough to go around the table for a few days. My recipe includes lots of ginger, orange juice, and orange marmalade to finish. The results taste sweet and tart-bitter and never fail to please the pucker.
I’d never thought to wonder why jam can be called “preserves.” It seems obvious that the fruit has been “preserved” in a different form, right? Yes, and because early cultures used sugar as a preservative to keep fruit from spoiling.
I did a quick google search on preservatives when I saw the Advent invitation to “Preserve Peace.” Jesus made peace between God and humanity and, as we follow Him, we are called to be peacemakers, to make peace where conflict reigns and to keep peace when it is fragile.
We are the sugar preserving the fruit, the marmalade in the cranberry sauce. In other words, Jesus invites us to be delicious and make life tastier for everyone.
