Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

From Luke 2:10-17, ESV:
"And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child."

We are thankful for the birth of our Savior! We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Last night we had dinner with our community group and then on our way home, stopped by a house in West Seattle that is known for their phenomenal light display. We were mesmerized. The lights are synchronized with music, so we sat in our car and enjoyed the show.

We're definitely adding this to the list of holiday traditions!

Check it out!

Wizards In Winter - TSO from Jim Winder on Vimeo.

Coffee Toffee

I made this toffee as a holiday gift for friends at work. It was my first attempt at toffee and it turned out great! I'll definitely make this again. Enjoy!

1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted, skinned and cooled) or another nut of your choice

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a heavy saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, melt butter, brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, salt and espresso powder together over together. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk until the temperature approaches 250 degrees, at which point you should stir constantly until it reaches 300 degrees.

Pour immediately into the prepared baking sheet — you can spread it more evenly with a offset or silicon spatula. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and let them sit for a minute until soft, then spread the chocolate evenly over the candy base. Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped nuts and then, if you’re as impatient as we are, you can slide the sheet onto a cooling rack in the freezer until the toffee is set.

Break into pieces and store in an airtight container. If you’re kitchen runs warm, you might prefer to keep it in the fridge so the chocolate doesn’t get soft.

Testimony

One of the web wizards at the Ballard campus, Haden Sutton, recently updated the pastors and staff page on the Ballard campus website. In preparation for the update, Haden asked us to videotape the abridged version of our testimonies.

Trying to narrow down all that God has done in my life to a few minutes is a difficult task. I'm continually reminded of his mercy and grace each day. But the video below captures some of the highlights for those who are interested (or who just want to see me be nervous on camera).

In the Tank

Well over seven hundred people have been baptized at Mars Hill this past year. It's been amazing to see God change so many lives and an honor to get to help perform some of those baptisms the past few weeks. Standing next to someone in the tank and holding their hand as they profess that Jesus is their Lord and Savior never gets old.

The video below is from last week. Pastor Bubba starts off by recapping the day and then you get a front row seat as eighteen people are baptized. (See if you can find the one where I almost slipped and fell on my butt.)