Spritz Cookies, my grandma and Communion.......

I had another really busy day today.  My weekend has been spent going from one task to the next.  But in the midst of that, it has been very "Christmas-y"!  Today in addition to the usual weekend stuff that needs doing (you know, things like groceries, laundry, cleaning), I managed to make some candy, one batch of my favorite Christmas cookies (more on these later), and I wrapped about 2/3 of my Christmas presents.  Not bad!  I've had a couple things on my mind today.  First of all, these Christmas Butter Cookies.  They are made with a cookie press and just melt in your mouth.  The recipe that I use was my Grandma Johnson's (my dad's mother).  It's very simple.  1 cup of butter (and it has to be REAL butter), 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp of vanilla, and 1 tsp of almond extract.  The interesting thing about these cookies is that I don't really have many memories of these cookies when I was growing up.  My mom told me (when I was in high school) that her original cookie press had stopped working at some point, and she just never replaced it.  Then, my dad brought home a new cookie press.  Suddenly these cookies were made every Christmas! 

The problem that I have with these cookies is that I can eat them non-stop!  I just can't eat one and it doesn't end up with just two or three.  I love these cookies!!!!!  You only get about 50 small cookies and they have 1/2 pound of butter in them, so you know that they are rich.  Just let me say, you need to try out these cookies. 

 This is my Grandma Betty Johnson.  I'm not sure when this picture was taken but I am guessing sometime in the early 1950's.  My only real memory of her is visiting her at her house (which is near to Lake Maud).  She had a candy jar and always gave me a piece of candy.  And I remember that she had a kitten and she let me hold the kitten.  She died when I was 4 years old.  Today I was thinking about these cookies and wishing that I had known her when she was making these cookies.  I am so thankful that I have this recipe and that it has not been lost.  I have passed this recipe on to my daughter and my daughter-in-law so that our future generations can  continue to enjoy these amazing "Spritz Cookies" from Sweden.  So today my thoughts are on my own grandchildren.  I am more convinced of the importance of the little things that we can give to our family.  It is interesting that food is often a trigger to our memories. 

I can understand why Jesus decided to use food and a family meal to help us remember him.  I love that Communion is about remembering all that Jesus did for us.  I love that Jesus knew and understood how important gathering together around a meal is.  And I love that this amazing tradition of the Bible is something that I can pass on to my children and my grandchildren.  What an amazing blessing the Lord's Supper is to us. 

Jesus, thank you for food, fellowship and memories.  Thank you for the blessing of Communion.  Holy Spirit, thank you for using food to bring memories to our mind.   Thank you for Spritz Cookies, for Christmas and special treats. And Jesus, thank you for rest and time to enter into all of the fun of the season.   Amen