First Steps

I have been on the planning committee for an Advent Tea at our church.  Last year I attended one of these events in Saline, MI and I had a transformative experience.  I attended the event feeling some what empty and came out full and satisfied with the all the Holy Spirit's mysterious goodness.  I told members at my church about the gratitude I felt at hearing about the TRUE message and meaning of Christmas.  As it turns out, others had similar experiences at different churches and before long we were planning to have a tea at St. Stephen's. 

As it was our first year, and taking our first steps through an event of this kind, I has the added responsibility of cooking soup, setting and preparing desserts for three tables.  Anyway, I had been conceptualizing a cake all week long  a Cranberry Almond Orange Cake. 

There is fresh cranberries in the orange almond cake, orange buttercream frosting, and a decoration of dried cranberries and sliced almonds.  I baked the over sized cake in a springform pan.  I liked the size of it.  I also made an Orange cake with orange curd and chocolate ganache, and a gingerbread trifle.

The night was aglow with love; the Word there among us.   Every action was an act of prayer.

Sometimes prayers are awkward and and lack eloquence - yet they are still beautiful, like a baby's first steps.