Chocolate cake roll Christmas

I was pretty excited for Christmas Eve for one specific reason --- I had tried some new recipes and I was really excited to see if they had worked.

Thankfully, the cinnamon rolls that morning were great. Now, I had one left to try. I was terrified to see if my cake roll really had worked out.

I used a serrated knife to cut it just like I had seen done in all those videos I watched to see how to make it beautiful, and the first piece flipped away. The filling and the chocolate cake made that perfect spiral, just like I wanted.

Yay!

Plus, I received the BEST compliment a cook can ever get. I know she's biased, but she's also not known to give compliments she doesn't mean, so when my mom said, "This is the best dessert I've ever had," I believed her. And it made my day.

So, here is the Kraft recipe I used. It is tucked away in my recipe book for all future Christmases. I think I started a new tradition.

Chocolate Cake Roll

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

6 Tbsp. butter

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2/3 cup water

4 ounces cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 cups whipped topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 15x10x1-inch pan with parchment paper.

Microwave 3 ounces of chocolate and butter until melted. Add sugar and mix well. Beat in eggs. Add 1/4 cup flour and baking soda and beat until just blended. Add remaining flour alternately with water, beating well after each addition. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 15 min. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (which was supposed to help it not stick to the towel you roll it in, but it still stuck for me). Flip onto a towel and roll up; let rest for 10 minutes, until just warm.

Make filling by beating together cream cheese, rest of the powdered sugar and 1.5 cups of whipped topping.

Unroll the cake and fill with cream cheese filling. Roll up.

Melt together the rest of the whipped topping and chocolate. Frost top of cake roll with this mixture. Can add walnuts to the top as well.

Worth the memories

Tis the season for spending money.

Although we finished our Christmas shopping quite a while ago, I still feel like we've done nothing but drain our savings lately as we plan a few trips. It's never easy for me to let go of our hard-earned cash, so I've had to look at it a little bit differently.

I decided that as we spend money on trip planning that I shouldn't look at it as spending money on tickets or hotel rooms, instead I am looking at it as spending money on memories.

The past few years we have gone to Sandals for vacation, and when I look back, I don't think about the payments we submitted for the trips. Instead I remember the time spent together reading on the beach, trying exotic cuisine at dinner, dancing in the cabaret and sailing. I remember laughing at the peacocks walking by, soaking in the sun in the pool and watching the sun set from our balcony.

I know that the short trip we took this weekend to see the lead singer of one of our favorite bands play a solo show wasn't about spending even more money before Christmas. Instead, we will remember that it was the first time I saw live the first song I ever listened to by the group. I will remember laughing with the woman seated next to me as she oggled over the singer. I will remember the odd bathrooms that had a shared hand-washing station between the men's and women's rooms.

Life is about creating memories. Yes, we could save all our money for "someday," and we could stay home. But instead we save for today and enjoy the blessings that God has given us and use them to create memories and enjoy this life. We thank God that we do have the ability to plan trips and to enjoy this points in our marriage. These times will be special ones that we will always look back on, and that's worth the money to me.

Storing up treasured memories

I logged on today and noticed it's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. I guess life has been busy; I don't really have an excuse for it.

At this time of year, we think more about Mary, the mother of Jesus, than any other. And one of my favorite verses talks about Mary storing memories and precious thoughts up in her heart. I've talked about in past years that I like to do that too. When a special moment, even a small one, happens, I try to store it in my heart so I won't forget when times are not quite so good.

Here are a few moments that I stored up in my heart this week:

-My great big bulldog crawled onto my lap and tried to fit as much of her body as possible there, and she promptly fell asleep. She could be anywhere but she just wanted to be cuddled up next to me.

-Nate ended up taking his dinner to the office and he called, saying he was "showing off" my jambalaya. That always makes me feel good when my cooking is appreciated.

-A volunteer at work left me some goodies, and who it was made me so happy. This person unexpectedly has become quite special to me.

-A dance student that I have taught for a few years stepped up onto pointe in her brand new shoes. She hadn't necessarily been at the top of the class, but at that moment I saw such talent and potential that it made me smile.

- As our little family laid on the couch, Nate had my hand and moved his thumb against my wrist. It's a precious little thing that filled my heart up.

What are some moments you have treasured lately?

I got the chicken cordon bleu

On our way home from Thanksgiving with family, Nate drove, like always. About halfway we pulled into an Arby's to grab some dinner.

"Chicken bacon swiss, no sauce," I said, and he repeated it into the speaker.

He ordered the chicken cordon bleu, and the woman inside repeated back the order. It came out as a crispy chicken sandwich and the chicken cordon bleu, so Nate corrected that I wanted the Chicken Bacon Swiss.

We waited about 15 minutes at the drive-through window for our order, and I asked if the worker had gotten my request correct. We checked the receipt when the credit card was scanned, and it said chicken bacon swiss but with no special notes.

"What does it have on it?" Nate asked.

"Mustard."

I hate mustard.

"I'll trade you if it has mustard on it," he suggested.

We got the bag from the restaurant and pulled forward as I unwrapped my sandwich and tasted the yellow stuff. Honey mustard. Yuck.

"Do you mind?"

"Nope," and he took my sandwich as I unwrapped his.

"Yum," he smiled.

I munched on his sandwich as he ate my order, and I told him "Thank you." I thought just how blessed I am that my husband tends to order a back-up for me that he knows I will like instead of what I get. He doesn't just trade me when I don't like something, he honestly prepares for me to not like something and orders accordingly.

It doesn't happen that often anymore that I don't like what I get, because my pickiness with food has decreased, but he still is willing to take on whatever I don't like and to give me what he wanted.

And he gave more later when I fell asleep on the drive home (I try not to do that often so I can keep him company), and he drove us safely back without someone to chat with or to share a smile with about what was discussed on the radio.

And then he unpacked the vehicle in the middle of the night.

That is a true man --- a selfless man who not only gives and doesn't get in return but who gives and doesn't get without malice or judgement. He never holds it against me. He never makes me feel bad about it. He just gives.

Jesus as Levitical offering

It's Christmas time, so our pastor has turned to Leviticus...

OK...

But as it started it makes sense leading up to the birth of Jesus. It's a book full of ways that the Israelites could be close to God, from thanks offerings to sin offerings. And then Jesus came and he fulfilled all those offerings at once and forever.

A grain offering was of flour, with oil and frankincense, and was an offering of thanks and submission to him as a ruler. It was a thanks for providing "our daily bread."

That's why we give offerings in church today. It's a way to worship, to thank him for providing for our daily needs, giving back some of what he has so generously given us.

The burnt offering makes sense when it comes to Jesus. Those offerings covered sin, just like Jesus' death was the offering that covered all our sins. But how does the grain offering point to Jesus?

Jesus is the bread of life. "This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me." This was unleavened bread, with no honey, so that it didn't decay. It was salted bread so it was flavorful and preserved. Jesus is everlasting and will fulfill our needs. He is our daily bread, and we are to feed on him and his word every day.

Lessons from volunteer time

So many places and so many things could not be successful without volunteers, and everyone should see where their passions lie and get involved in those causes. It's so important to give of their time.

I work with volunteers in a lot of areas of my life, and I am a volunteer, and I've learned some lessons from those experiences.

-People want to feel wanted. It's that simple.

-It's OK if things are done differently than you expect as long as they are done. People go about jobs in different ways, and I shouldn't make people do something the way that I would do them if they get to the same result.

-We give 100 percent when we're paid. But does that mean we're not supposed to give 100 percent in paid positions? I see it with myself, that when someone is paying me I will put forth my best foot but that doesn't mean I shouldn't give 100 percent when I volunteer to do something too.

-People become blunt as they get older. I see this often, in a variety of ways, and I think it's OK. People learn how they truly feel, and they become unafraid to express their opinions and emotions. It's up to other people to take or leave those comments.

-Everyone is different. Even if interests overlap, all people are different, have different experiences, have different emotions and should be accepted for who we are.

-Sometimes the gruffest people need the most love, and if they see that they are loved, they can become your strongest supporters.

-Listen, don't always talk. Sometimes people just need to be heard and don't need your opinion.

-Accept mistakes and move on with kind reminders. We all need reminders sometimes.

Abram didn't want the problems in Canaan

Abram was given the land of Canaan.

If God gave me a house, I would be thankful and overjoyed.

But what if someone was already living in the house? What if there was a famine where the house was and there wasn't any food? Well, we might start looking for solutions to those problems, and we probably wouldn't just move right into the house.

That's what happened with Abram. Instead of immediately settling in Canaan, he kept traveling and headed to Egypt to find food. Maybe God had an amazing plan to provide for Abram had he stayed, but he missed it because he tried to solve those problems himself.

In Egypt, Abram also let his fear of the future lead him into sin. He lied about his wife being his sister because she is pretty and he thinks someone might kill him to get to her. He let Pharoah have his wife, and then he didn't have any way of getting out of this trouble.

God knew Abram had a mess on his hands. So he plagued Pharaoh's household. It says "God touched Pharoah so he couldn't touch Sarai." He gave Pharoah a disease so he didn't want to get intimate with her. He gave her back to her husband.

So Abram went back to where God had originally told him to go. He had too much stuff and have away part of his land to his nephew. And think about what he had to deal with from his wife after he gave her away to another man. Plus, Sarai eventually have her Egyptian maidservant --- who wouldn't have even been there had they not gone to Egypt --- to her husband so she could have a baby. There were a lot of issues that came about because Abram didn't immediately obey as he should have.

Sometimes we don't immediately obey. We question the gift of the house because it doesn't seem perfect. But if we just listen, God will work it out. And if we do make a mistake, we go back, go home and trust him to deal with the problems. He is so much bigger than we think.