Thankful Thursday - December 16

I just have to share this gluten-free sugar cookie experience with you. I mixed the dough while my daughter rolled and cut out the cookies. I baked them and made up a few bowls of frosting, which Amanda then generously colored with food colors.

She frosted them herself....can you tell? Anyway, the cookies are scrumptious. I've wanted a good gluten-free cookie recipe for some time and was SO relieved to find this one. It calls for amaranth flour, which I don't have. I substituted corn flour. I also doubled the sugar. I am here to tell you that these cookies are delicious - even with the weird shapes and colors.

This week I am thankful for sugar cookies! It sounds like such a trivial thing, but when you've gone without gluten for almost a year and have been forced to eat a lot of stuff that tastes like cardboard, you rejoice when you finally get to indulge in something good - good tasting that is.

We've received some special blessings this week from friends. One showed up yesterday with $100 in grocery gift certificates. This was totally unexpected but totally needed. The Lord spoke to his heart, no doubt, and he listened and acted.

Another friend has donated her time and energy to make my oldest son a quilt from his old t-shirts. She has listened to the Lord speak as well.We didn't have a Christmas present for this boy and God must want him to have one - a very special one. When he opens it, I'll post a picture or two.

We are surrounded by people who are tender to the Spirit's leading. I feel that I owe a debt to "pay it forward" when I am able. A chorus we sang in church for years (and one that I learned to play on the guitar when I was younger) sums it up completely:

"That's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it. You spread His love, to everyone. You want to pass it on." (Kurt Kaiser)

You can find more Thankful Thursday posts here.