Matthew 2:11

When getting over loaded with all the gifts to buy for your Kids this Christmas ...try adopting this...only buying three gifts...Just like Jesus got..

Matthew 2:11
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Tomato Basil Soup

With the cooler weather comes yummy soups...here is one of our family favorites!

Tomato Basil Soup

All of these measurements are approximate. I never do the same thing twice with this recipe. Add all ingredients, (except cream and cooked and drained bow tie pasta), in large soup pot and bring to boil. Add cream  and pasta at the very end and heat thoroughly before serving.

3 - 15oz cans tomato sauce

2 - 15oz cans chicken broth

1 prepared (plain or seasoned, just don't use bbq or lemon) rotisserie chicken, skinned and torn into bite size pieces

1 tiny can tomato paste

1 tbsp dried basil

bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1 pint whipping cream

sliced fresh basil for garnish

fresh grated Parmesan for garnish

I love to serve this with a warm loaf of Sourdough bread or a French Loaf...simply delicious!


~ Tori Miller

Christmas Traditions from Linda Paulk

Dear Sky Ranch Family,

Let’s together, celebrate the reason for each season!  My prayer for your family is that every Christmas be filled with His presence and joy as you share the love of our Savior.  Enjoy a special time with your family that is full of tradition.  If you do not share many traditions, that’s okay because it is never too late to start a tradition.  It becomes a tradition when you start it! 

Our family has enjoyed many traditions over the years. Christmas is by far when we share many of our favorite traditions. I’d like to share a tradition with you.

“Happy Birthday Jesus”

Since the first child was born in the family, the Happy Birthday Jesus Cake has been a tradition in our home for Christmas helping to reinforce the TRUE REASON FOR THE SEASON.

Up until the youngest child at our annual family gathering no longer believed in Santa Claus, Santa himself would deliver the Happy Birthday Jesus Birthday Cake on the Eve of Christmas.  Santa would come into the house with the cake and everyone would sing happy birthday to Jesus, blow out the candles and listen intently with wide eyes as Santa Claus would share all of the symbolism of the cake. 

Today, the tradition remains, but Santa Claus no longer joins us for the Christmas Eve gatherings.  One family is designated each year to make the cake and lead the tradition.

The cake is a Chocolate Cake made with cherry filling inside. It is frosted with butter cream frosting, decorated as noted below:

Chocolate Cake – This chocolate cake symbolizes our sin nature through and through.
(Romans 3:23 and Isaiah 53:6)

Cherry Pie Filling – The red symbolizes the blood of Christ shed for us. (Ephesians 1:7 and Hebrews 9:22)

White Cream Icing – Symbolizes the righteousness of Christ without blemish which covers up our sin.  When we put it on, God sees our sin no more.  It still does not change our basic nature though.  The cake is still chocolate. (Romans 4:24 andIsaiah 61:10)

Decorations On The Top Of the Cake –

1. Place a star for Bethlehem, Christ’s birthplace.  (Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:1-6)
2. Place an angel to symbolize the herald of Christ’s birth. (Luke 1:26-38, 2:8-20)
3. Place 3 red candles on the cake.  The number 3 symbolizes the trinity.  (John 14,  John 1:15, 10-14, 18, Genesis 1:26,3:22, 11:7, Isaiah 6:8)
4. Place evergreens around the cake or cake plate to symbolize the eternal life we have through Christ.  (John 3:16, 1 John 5:11-12) 

~Linda Paulk

MORE ideas for making Christmas Traditions with your family....

Like promised.....Here are a few more ideas for Traditions...

Special breakfast (monkey bread, coffee cake, egg casserole...)

Christmas Eve Service as a family

Happy Birthday Jesus Cake

Read the Christmas Story before opening presents

Serve as a family...soup kitchen, nursing home, children's hospital...

The Christmas Jar-fill a jar all year with change, pray about who will recieve it & give it way on Christmas

Christmas Gift -empty box wrapped in white paper, decorated with red bow & greenery to tell the gospel story, set it in front of your tree, as the most important gift of all...the gift of Jesus!

Host a party for your child's friends-each guest brings $ for an angel tree, or a coat to donate. Use this opportunity to share with them all the TRUE meaning of Christmas. Let the Friends share & discuss their own traditions. Then set a time to deliver the donations to a local shelter together.

Thankful Ornament-each family member writes 25 things they are thankful for, fold them up & put inside an ornament-fun to read them from year to year when you're decorating.

Christmas Books-wrap 25 books (picture books, or small children's books) & unwrap one each night in December to read-use the same books each year & the kids look forward to trying to guess & unwrap their favorite!

Bake goodies together & deliver them to neighbors!

Only have 3 gifts for each family member on christmas morning to symbolize the wise men's gifts to Jesus.

Keep all the Christmas cards you get and place in a basket and throughout the year pull a card out of the basket and pray for that family.

Take family photos each year with Santa and keep - Hang the photo on a "Photo Tree".

Keep all your Cards with Pictures and place in an album, and keep on coffee table during the holidays- everyone loves to go back and see how much the families have grown and changed over the year.

Write letters to grandparents and have grandparents write to grandkids...this will become a cherished handwritten legacy!

Merry Christmas!

Sky Ranch SkyMoms Christmas Traditions - Keeping Christ in Christmas

Here is a recap from this mornings Sky Ranch SkyMoms Christmas Traditions - Keeping Christ in Christmas:

The Christmas Gift - see previous blog

3 gifts Christmas morning - just like Jesus got!

Christmas Eve Service as a family, then come home for Happy Birthday Jesus birthday cake and song.  Before we open gifts Christmas Eve, dad reads Christmas story.

Project Service - we picked a nursing home/assisted living to visit on Christmas Eve several years ago.  So many residents receive no visitors during this time.  Little did we know (but God knew!) that my father in law would be living in that very home a year later.  

The Christmas Jars - a great little story about giving back - you can get the book at all bookstores or online.  It keeps Christmas alive all year long.  We can't wait to give ours away this year on Christmas Eve - praying about who to give it to.  So excited!

Christmas Letters - ask grandparents and great grandparents to handwrite letters to your kids about their life - when they were born, where they grew up, what church they attended, when they accepted Christ, what they did in high school, how they met their spouse, etc.  I tied all the letters with red ribbon and put them in their stockings about 6 Christmas' ago.  They are a treasure since 3 of those grandparents have passed away.  

lots more ideas shared today will be posted soon...

The Christmas Gift

The Christmas Gift

Last year I was brainstorming for a new and creative way to celebrate Christ in Christmas.  Gifts seem to be a major component in the Christmas celebration, don’t they?  Who’s getting what?  Who wants what?  How much to spend? Even though my girls only get 3 gifts Christmas morning (just like Jesus got), we still put a lot into the gift giving.  I’m not that creative, so let’s just get that out there from the start.   But I pictured in my finite brain a gift at the front of the tree that we would put out every year that signified the true meaning of Christmas.  An empty box, covered in bright, white paper, with red ribbon and some greenery.  As I started to “create” such a box, I began to tell the story of Jesus. 

         “Jesus came into the world one night because of God’s plan for salvation.  Sacrifices and commandments had fallen short.  God needed to provide a Savior and the only one who could save us was His Son Jesus.  We celebrate His birth every year on December 25^th.  It’s His party, yet many times we forget to invite Him, don’t we?  This box that sits at the front of our tree symbolizes the gift He gave us.  His life.  He lived a perfect life on earth and died for our sins, so that we might live forever with Him.  The white paper surrounding this box symbolizes His perfect, blameless life.  He was the precious lamb of God who died for the sins of the world.  He had no sin.  The red ribbon symbolizes the blood that was shed as he died on the cross.  Without the blood there is no remission of sins.  The empty box is a picture of the empty tomb after His burial.  God’s word tells us that 3 days after his burial He arose from the dead and the tomb was empty.  The greenery symbolizes our new life in Christ.  God’s word tells us we are “new creatures” after our rebirth in Christ.”

Each and every time we look at our tree, we see The Christmas Gift at the front of all the other gifts.  A beautiful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

~LisaClark

Luke 2:14