Heritage around the table...

An abundance of food has passed through the house in the last few days along with a large company of extended relatives.

Daddy's father, Charles Lenz, passed away before any of us six Lenz children were born, so we relish any opportunity to hear about him.

His brother, Uncle John, along with around fifty cousins and aunts and uncles, came here for a family reunion on Saturday.  

The food gathered together for the day was plentiful and, of course, as varied as it was delicious.  The company was even better and stories were told and memories recalled in like abundance.  

I love the way one picture evokes a thousand memories.  Uncle John was asked to identify everyone in this photograph and as soon as he saw it, although he didn't speak all the words, you could see the day come back to him with almost more strength and vividness than yesterday's hours.  Our Grandpa Charlie was the youngest in the family...that little guy with his dog Pal in the middle.  The day the picture was taken, their mother rounded them up for hair cuts out on the drive (three of these were cousins, so no-one missed out on the fun).  As soon as Uncle John started describing, I was smelling the warm dusty summer air and hearing the laughter and the snip of the scissors...seeing the reflections of loved faces in his eyes.  There was a general burst of delighted laughter as he recalled how the dog Pal taught our Grandpa Charlie how to walk by pulling him around the house by the arm.  The gift of these memories stored up is a precious treasure of history.  For us they are a heritage of rare glimpses of the hand of God reaching into our mundane, human moments to touch them with the divine gift of meaning and continuity.  It was a privilege to read the pages of remembrance and enjoy the fellowship of family camaraderie.

Last Tuesday's meal came again out of the wonderful abundance from our garden.  Stuffed peppers with cole slaw and, yes, more beans!

In the busy rush of preparation for the family gathering, an easy and speedy recipe like this is ideal.

And yes, everything but the cheese on this plate was produced on our farm!

Journaling...Miss Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan (later Mrs. Sarah Dawson) was 19 years of age when The War Between the States broke out.  Her war-time journaling lucidly portrays the thoughts and experiences of an well-educated, middle-class lady with a Christian heritage caught up in the whirlwind of social, political, familial and moral dilemmas of her times.  With sharp wit and noble (though sometimes confused) ideals she summarily lays to rest some of the Scarlet O'Hara libels stamped upon southern women and frequently unconsciously demonstrates the sturdiness of character with which so many of her peers were blessed through courageous endurance of the most terrible privations.
Journaling is maligned by modern-day stereotypes.  The lugubrious whining and trite tittle-tattle so often associated with that familiar "Dear Diary" has cheapened the real value of recording daily life.  Faux metallic locks and keys on pink, be-dazzled volumes teach us the acceptable perspective on "my diary": a preoccupation with me-ism, self-service and a good excuse to "privately" exude the trash of others and the malicious and spiteful contents of one's own heart on a page and sell it to ourselves as a literary work.  Online social circles facilitate the condensing of real incidents into one-phrase nothings and the draining of the life-blood of true self-examination and coherent thought from the facts. A general carelessness for meaningful perspective on the every-day work of living yields a wide-spread lack of confidence in commenting intelligently on any topic.
Whether we don't know how to begin communicating, don't wish to associate with the stereotype, are afraid to keep a record of our failings along with our triumphs, or simply don't take the time, most of us have lost the art of journaling.
No diarist can be perfect, so excuses of imperfection simply won't suffice.  (Take Bach's word for it!)  Were we to regain heretofore cultivated habits of reflection and communication, they would, in and of themselves, serve little purpose.  However, commingled with a powerful conviction of the sovereign nature of God's hand in history, they comprise the skills necessary to recognize and record His handiwork in our personal and social lives. 
Miss Morgan was gifted with the courage and foresight to pass down a record of the work of God in her times along with her fears and human frailty. The weaknesses that likely inspired caricatures like Scarlet O'Hara are undisguised, and the lack of real personal and Christian conviction in some areas renders her perspective less noble and her tongue unbecomingly sharp.  In spite of this, her diary stands as a testament to what remained of Christian womanhood in her times, a warning to society and a challenge to the individual.  The invaluable heritage we receive from her generation is our own to give to the coming generations, if we are her daughters in this respect and do likewise.

"I feel like we are a Bakery!"...

...One of the Lenz ladies sometime in the week before Christmas

The Lenz Family Bakery and Restaurant has been busy the last few weeks. Although they are not all pictured, this is a list of the goods we made on the bakery end.

Candy Cane Cookies

 

Spritz Cookies

 

Russian Tea Cakes

Old-Fashioned Date Cookies (Great-Grandma's Recipe and Mama's favorite)

Star Cookies (Daddy's favorite)

Gingerbread Cookies

"Face" Cookies

Butterscotch Bars

Traditional Swedish Saffron Rolls (Great-Grandma's Recipe and Everyone's favorite!)

Click here to read more about making these!

Swedish Cardamom Braid

Truffles

Fudge