Archive for the ‘autumn/fall’ Category

A Prayer for Solstice, A Prayer for Advent

December 21st, 2010

Today is the shortest day of the year. Today is the longest night of the year. Just typing the words makes my bones hurt and my heart heavy.

Today I feel like I have a number of people in my life who are experiencing a stripping down, a confussion, a “dark night of the soul”. Light feels missing, guidance feels lacking, and darkness feels eminent. The darkening reality of the physical world seems to fit well with the confusion and darkness of the soul.

We need light to break through.

And so today I celebrate Winter Solstice by remembering that light is coming back into the world. From this day forth light will slowly, but steadily, grow. Each day will bring more of its warmth; each day will bring more of its clarity. Today marks the turning of the tides.

And so today I pray this for my friends and for myself…

Lord, hold the darkness at bay.
Say unto the night, “This far shall thou come and NO farther.”
Speak life, and light unto our hearts.
Father, light the path before us, we don’t need to know the whole way,
but give us light to see the next step.
Spirit, break through the cold, the dark, the heavy, and lighten the load.
We moan for light. We moan for grace. We moan for You, Lord, Jesus.
Come, light of the world. Come.
Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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How I’d Like to Celebrate Halloween in the Future

November 2nd, 2010

I’ve written about it before, but I have to say again…I love Halloween. I have always loved the autumn and any autumn themed experience. I’ve always loved dressing up. And of course I have a massive sweet tooth, so I was always a big fan of any holiday that included lots of candy. But, there was something more too. Something about Halloween felt mysterious and magical and I loved that. I think most of us long for something of the “other”, something mystical and un-understandable. Sure Halloween has become basically just another hallmark holiday filled with mass produced, sugar filled junk, but every once in a while something of the mystical has broken through all that and whispered to me around Halloween time, when the leaves change and the air chills.

This Halloween we had an opportunity to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve a little differently and I loved it. It felt more real, not at all commercialized and more in-tune with the familiar familial magic of fall. So, what did we do? Well, our friends who own some property in Zelivka, right in the middle of a national park in Prague, invited us to hang out there with them for a little outdoor cook out. We each brought some fresh veggies that we threw in a big pot over an open fire. I made some homemade bread and pumpkin pie to share. My husband brought a bottle of homemade nettle champagne (which he made with nettles he picked out on the property). Our friends brought sausage to roast and pumpkins for the kids to carve. We laid out some blankets and talked, took walks around the property, ate our yummy fall inspired food, and carved pumpkins. The kids played hid-and-go-seek and ghost in the graveyard. The weather was clear and crisp, with just enough sunshine peaking through the clouds to leave long shadows through the trees.

Carving Pumpkins with kids

Something about just being out in nature and hanging out with friends around a fire felt so right. It got me thinking about the type of Halloween traditions I want my kid to grow up with. I want my child to grow up celebrating Halloween because personally I love it, but I want them to grow up celebrating something more real that the commercialized holiday the candy industry has put together. I also want them to grow up celebrating it in a deeper way than the church “fall festivals” that are so common in the states – something about those fall festivals always felt somehow fake and contrived to me.

Here’s what I’d like future Stedman Halloweens to be about:

  • Spending Time Outside in nature – somewhere where the trees are changing color
  • Spending time with family and friends and any other wandering souls that happen to be needing a friendly welcome
  • Making our own autumn feast together and cooking it outside over an open fire
  • Drinking homemade beverages such as nettle beer or homemade apple cider
  • Having a bonfire and roasting homemade marshmallows
  • Carving pumpkins and lighting Jack O’ Lanterns
  • Telling stories about saints and martyrs from the past (picking one Bible character, apostle, saint, or historical church figure and telling their story and talking about them with the kids…?? Maybe??)
  • Doing some autumn inspired activities – like bobbing for apples, hay rides, nature walks in the woods, etc.
  • Having a short time of prayer – praying a liturgy like this one or just praying together informally and thanking God for the people who have gone before us and the example they have set

Dressing up and going “trick or treating” could be included if we wanted it to be on any given year, but wouldn’t have to be. With all the other activities I don’t think any of us would miss it. And I can get my dress-up longings filled all year long now that I have kids to play with me {smile}.

Did you have a good Halloween this year? What would your ideal Halloween look like?

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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All Saints Day

November 1st, 2010

Today is All Saints Day, a day when we are called to remember all the saints, known and unknown, who have gone before us. Honestly All Saints Day has never meant much to me in the past. It was just the day after Halloween and I didn’t think much about it. But, this morning as I drank my tea and watched my son play, I started to meditate a bit on All Saints Day.

There is something very encouraging about remembering all of the many people who have followed God before me. They were in some ways normal people just like me, many of them had the same struggles that I have, and I imagine that some of them even had the same doubts that plague me. But, they pressed on and by faith obeyed and followed God. That is very encouraging to me. So, today I celebrate All Saints Day and thank God for the Saints who have walked before me to show me the way.

Prayer for All Saints Day:

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
you have called many by faith and they have followed.
May we lean into their example and follow you into the unknown.

God of Moses and all the Isrealites,
in your strength many have chosen to shun the pleasures of sin and the treasures of the world.
May their example encourage us to seek first your kingdom, the only kingdom that truly lasts.

God of the judges,
through your wisdom many have sought after and fought for justice.
May we fearlessly follow their example and do the same.

God of prophets and prostitutes,
you come to the powerful and the broken alike, once touched each speaks your truth bravely.
May we remember from their example that your presence levels the playing field and brings truth to all areas of darkness.

God of the disciples,
you stirred hearts and men left everything they had ever known before to be near you.
May we see their example and chase hard after you.

God of all the saints, both known and unknown,
in faith many have given up all they had, to gain what could never be taken away.
in faith many have left their homes, to seek their true home with you.
in faith many have praised you through trials, tribulations and heartache, because they know your love.
In faith many have loved when they could have hated, fought for justice when they could have walked away, and spoken up when they could have remained silent.
in faith many have accepted persecution, mistreatment, and even death.
May their example be for us a light in all our dark places causing us to cling to you in all things just as they have done before us.

God of All,
You have surrounded us by a great cloud of witnesses,
we are not alone and many have walked the paths we now walk.
We thank you for each of them and pray that you would be near to us just as you have been near to them.

Amen.

If you are interested in another prayer for All Saints Day here is a truly wonderful prayer for All Saints Day written by the wonderful Christine Sine.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Autumn Beer Risotto

October 9th, 2010

This isn’t your typical risotto. This fall risotto is made with beer instead of wine, and uses Edem cheese instead of parmesan. It could be called an Autumn Inspired Czech Risotto.

IMG_7126This risotto was inspired by a trip to a local farm where they grow LOTS of pumpkins and squashes. We had a great time exploring the different types of pumpkins, checking out their chickens and petting their rabbits. It was a perfect fall outing and I came home wanting to make an equally perfect warm and hearty fall meal. As soon as I saw the package of risotto which had been sitting in my cupboard for who knows how long, I knew it was just the thing to satisfy my autumn craving. And so Autumn Beer Risotto was born.

IMG_7175 IMG_7219

Autumn Beer Risotto (or Czech Risotto)

  • 1 package (500g) Risotto
  • 1 Butternut squash
  • 3-4 Carrots (depending on the size)
  • 2-5 small (to medium) Onion (how many will depend on how big they are and your taste preferences)
  • 1 small parsnip
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 inch piece Ginger
  • Butter (for sautéing)
  • 1 cup Beer (I used Czech Kozel, which is a sweeter dark beer)
  • 3 cups homemade Chicken stock
  • ½ cup Edem cheese (or any other run of the mill white cheese – Jack would work I think)
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper to taste

First, peel the butternut squash and carrot and cut them into bit size pieces. Place both in a roasting dish and roast in the oven at about 350 degrees F until they are soft.

While the squash and carrots are roasting, chop the onion, parsnip, garlic and ginger. Place all of those things in a pot with a bit of butter and sauté until soft and slightly caramelized. Add the risotto to the pan.

Stirring constantly add the beer about ¼ a cup at a time. Next add the chicken stock about a ¼ cup at a time. Continue stirring the risotto all along. Then add the squash and carrot, still stirring all the time. Next add the Edem cheese, still stirring all the time. Are you catching a theme here? The theme is STIRRING. Risotto should be an arm work out.

Add a pinch of nutmeg and plenty of salt and pepper to taste, and continue stirring until the risotto is softened but still al dente. You don’t want your risotto to be mushy, but you do want it to be cooked.

That’s it. We personally really liked how this turned out. It was a great autumn risotto that was definitely warm and filling.

NOTE: We tried something different with the leftovers this time that I also wanted to recommend. I shaped the cold risotto into patties and fried it in a frying pan with a little butter. We then served it on a bed of kale with a squeeze of lemon – yummy.

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Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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