Thanksgiving was wonderful! Our friends made two kinds of sweet potatoes, dressing, applesauce, and eggnog, on top of everything else I already mentioned, and we stayed late enjoying the food and company. Unfortunately, all of the cooking seems to have pushed my health over the edge and a skin problem I've been battling erupted, so I spent most of the weekend, and even the beginning of this week and term, resting and trying to heal (thus the lateness of this post). I went to the doctor Monday and I'm on some more medication and have a steroid cream, which are helping, but I am still in excruciating pain, and could do with some prayers.

Our Advent fast is not as stringent as our Eastern brethren, and I only post about it because I hope it will help others who are trying to use this wise discipline from the Church, but either are new to it and easing in or have other challenges that require them to take it a little more lightly. Between our home of young children and my more recent health issues, we are only fasting from meat for four days of the week, and we are still including dairy, eggs, and oil. I am having to do some more diet shifts for this and next week to rule out some causes for my skin issues, so we won't be able to do some of our traditional dishes for Saint Barbara's feast on Friday, and I'll be enlisting Rich's help on Saturday to make the Saint Nicholas Cookies for the stockings.

Below, I include our daily Bible readings which we use to read through the entire Bible each year. We read through all of the Old Testament and New Testament, reading the Psalms and Proverbs twice. Remember that the Psalms are according to eastern numbering in our daily Bible reading, also I Kings is the original designation, it is I Samuel in western Bibles (II Kings is II Samuel in the west, III Kings is I Kings, and IV Kings is II Kings, I Ezra is also called I Esdras in other translations, II Ezra is often translated as Ezra or II Esdras, though this is complicated by it sometimes being I Esdras being Ezra in modern language and II Esdras being Nehemiah, and in that case, there is a III Esdras, it really depends on which translation you read).

• Sunday Isaiah 1-4, Psalms 101:16–29, Proverbs 21:21–25, II Timothy 2
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Cherries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Leftovers
• Monday Isaiah 5-9, Psalms 102:1–12, Proverbs 20:16–20, II Timothy 3
  Breakfast: Yogurt, Bananas, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Potato, Onion, Pepper Frittata with Feta Cheese
• Tuesday Isaiah 10-14, Psalms 102:13–22, Proverbs 22:1–5, II Timothy 4
  Breakfast: Toast and Jam, Bananas, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Ham, Turkey and Bean Soup with Cabbage, Carrots, and Onions
• Wednesday Isaiah 15-21, Psalms 103:1–18, Proverbs 22:6–10, Titus 1
  Breakfast: Beet, Potato, and Onion Hash with Poached Eggs, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Black Bean and Poblano Tortilla Casserole, Salsa Rice
• Thursday Isaiah 22-26, Psalms 103:19–35, Proverbs 22:11–15, Titus 2
  Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Fruit, Toast, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Chicago Style Hot Dogs over Baked Potatoes, Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pecans
• Friday - Feast of Saint Barbara Isaiah 27-30, Psalms 104:1–15, Proverbs 22:16–20, Titus 3
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Apples and Dried Cherries, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Fried Rice, Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
• Saturday Isaiah 31-36, Psalms 104:16–27, Proverbs 22:21–26, Philemon
  Breakfast: Creamed Eggs, Toast Fingers, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pasta with Tomato & Onion Butter Sauce, Salad

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up.

Labels: Advent, Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, St. Barbara, St. Nicholas, Tales from the Kitchen