The Son takes shape in those who abandon themselves to Him. Christ forms Himself in the lives of those who will let go of all the forms of life in which they have shaped on their own. Christ takes shape in a life that is willing to become putty in God’s hands. Christ presses the shape of His own face into the clay of our soul when we cease to be hard and resistant, and when we take our own amateur hands off and admit that we are not such good artists as He is.

John Piper

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy		Appetizers	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4	c	Whole natural almonds
8	oz	Cream cheese
1/2	c	Mayonnaise
5	sl	Bacon; cooked and crumbled
1	tb	Green onion; chopped
1/2	tb	Dill weed
1/8	tb	Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Spread almonds in a single layer in shallow pan. Bake at 300F, 15 minutes,
stirring often, until almonds just begin to turn color. Combine cream
cheese (let soften first) and mayonnaise; mix well. Add bacon, onion, dill
and pepper; mix well. Cover and chill overnight. To serve, Form cheese
mixture into shapes of 2 pinecones on serving platter. Beginning at narrow
end, press almonds at slight angle into cheese mixture in rows. Continue
overlapping rows until all cheese is covered. Garnish with artificial pine
sprigs. Serve with crackers. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Posted to recipelu-digest by "Diane Geary" <diane@keyway.net> on Mar 8,
1998

A Message from our Provider:

“Never give the devil a ride — he will always want to drive.”

Displaying a Christmas nativity scene is a long-standing tradition, but it can also present a bit of a skewed view of the actual events of Jesus’ birth. While each person depicted in a traditional nativity scene is a part of the Christmas story, not all the characters were present in one place on the night Jesus was born. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were in a stable that night due to the overcrowding in Bethlehem’s inn (Luke 2:7), but the Bible never mentions whether or not animals were present—in fact, it never even mentions a stable. The shepherds, once told of Jesus’ arrival, left their flocks to worship the newborn King (Luke 2:16). However, the angels, which are often part of nativity scenes, bore the good news to the shepherds in the fields (Luke 2:8–14). As far as we know, there were no angels flying visibly over the place where Jesus was when the shepherds arrived. In addition, the wise men (the Bible never says how many there were) were also probably not present that first night. The magi visited Jesus some time later, when He was in a house (Matthew 2:1–11).

Unknown Author