A Month of Thanksgiving~Afternoon Tea, Read Alouds, and Glazed Cinnamon Scones

It's a perfect respite in the latter part of the day. It's a way to take a breath, slow down, savor the season and the children God has given you. Make a pot of tea, bake some scones, and read together.

We don't do tea time with our read aloud every day, but it's one of my goals this year to make it a regular part of our week. There is something about enjoying tea with others and stories, too, that knit hearts together and make strong memories to last for years to come.

Edith Schaeffer said this about reading aloud to our children:

"Reading together is one of the most important factors in a growing family relationship. Reading aloud is a kind of 'core' for the unity of a family."

And George Grant reminds us:

"Silent reading is a fairly modern innovation. As late as the eighteenth century, it was thought that the best way to truly appreciate the classics was to read them aloud--all the better to relish the beauty of the words, the music of the composition, and the architecture of the ideas."

Now, please don't imagine a scene where the children are quietly lined up on the couch after having QUIETLY sipped their tea and enjoyed their scones. There is a season in life for that, perhaps when all of your children are over a certain age, but in our house, tea time and read aloud are usually an adventure. And you don't have to always connect these two. Have tea. Read aloud. Just do it.

Just don't assume that it will always go smoothly. No, no, no. I don't do this because it's easy or because all of our children cooperate. I do it because it is good, and it's a way to bless our family and serve our children and celebrate His goodness. In fact, most of the things I do in a day that are worthwhile, that have lasting benefits, are challenging, accompanied by many interruptions.

Right now we're reading through The Chronicles of Narnia, and yesterday we enjoyed these scones.

Glazed Cinnamon Scones

2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 egg, separated
3 T. honey
1/3 c. buttermilk

Topping:
2 T. turbinado or regular sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1-3 tsp. half and half (or milk)--enough to make glaze
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Separate the egg white and yolk, saving the egg white for brushing on unbaked scones.

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, honey, and buttermilk. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Form dough into a ball on a floured surface and roll or pat out to half an inch in thickness. Cut into triangles or simply use biscuit cutters. Transfer to buttered baking sheet (stoneware is great!). Whisk egg white until frothy and then brush over tops of scones. Mix 2 T. of turbinado or regular sugar with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over egg-white-topped scones. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle over baked scones.

Praise God for the joy of hearing "May I have another cup of tea and another scone?" and "Please! Read another chapter!" May you know this joy, too!

With love,
Trisha


***recipe from Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom, with minor changes
***for our family, I double the recipe

How to be the Perfect Hostess and House Guest

In her book, The Shaping of a Christian Family, Elisabeth Elliot fondly recalls visiting a family and watching the couple put their children to bed. Everyone of them went cheerfully--no murmuring, no getting up again for a glass of water. It was beautiful.

If she were to visit my home, she would see little ones fight over getting to use the bathroom first or coming back out from their bedrooms to look for something they must have on their person in order to go to sleep. No doubt Mrs. Elliot would think there was work to be done, though I'm sure she would be gracious about it.

I've read many helpful hints about being a hospitable hostess or a thoughtful house guest.

Find out if there are food allergies.
Have a welcome kit.
Clean up after yourself.
Don't overstay your welcome.

But in all of my reading, I don't recall the two qualities that make the most ideal house guest and hostess.

1) Remembering life happens here and there: A house guest might expect perfection and an uptight hostess might seek perfection. Both need to remember that life happens wherever we are, and sometimes it's messy.

Often the hostess wants perfection in her table settings, her linens, her decor, and eventually, in her family. Without even realizing it, she'll try to hide that life happens in her home. This phrase came from my pastor. He reminds me of it when I'm struggling with the fact that our Littles aren't behaving in church, or one of them just climbed on a luncheon table, or is screaming in the middle of prayer or preaching. "Life happens here," he says, and it's helped me keep things in perspective not just when at church, but especially when at home.

This is a truth we have to remember when showing hospitality and when receiving it. I don't mean neglecting to clean the bathroom or teach your children manners. I do mean embracing the fact that our children will misbehave, food will get burned, little boys might forget to put the toilet lid down, and there might be stacks of papers or books and other things that reveal that this is a home and not a showroom.

2) Remembering sanctification happens daily, moment by moment, for the rest of our lives: Praise God there's not a moment when He's not making us more like Jesus. We are all a work in progress, all of the time. This means that you might have to get up in the middle of a meal and discipline a child, or your child might have to apologize for being unkind or inconsiderate. Or you might have to hold your tongue when a guest is rude or thoughtless. And on extended stays, even more sin will be exposed when Mom gets annoyed or children disobey or we get upset over the little things.

Being like Jesus to one another is at the heart of hospitality. This means extending grace to one another as we enjoy the fellowship God has set before us. What are we communicating when we expect to be or to visit the "perfect" family in a "perfect" home?

My favorite house guests are those who graciously bear with my infirmities, remembering I'm a sinner with feet of clay. And when I visit a friend and hear her yell at her child, or I watch her children fighting, or I spy a pile of laundry still not folded, I don't think, "She really needs to get it together." Instead, I thank God for another home where "life happens" and where everyone is being made more like Jesus every day.

With love,
Trisha