The Prayer Jesus Taught Us

At church, I've been hearing a sweet little voice behind me recite the words to The Lord's Prayer. The higher-pitched voice joins the chorus of adult voices and, for me, has added a whole new dimension to the unison recitation of "the prayer Jesus taught us."

We recite it together every week during our worship service at Stafford United Methodist Church.  It's one of those things that - if we're honest - we may even say by rote, not even thinking about the words and what they mean.

Byers United Methodist Church, Pratt County, my childhood church

I've been going to church since my parents carried me through the doors of the Byers United Methodist Church more years ago than I like to admit.  I don't remember intentionally learning the words to The Lord's Prayer. Perhaps I did, but it's also possible that I learned them vicariously while sitting in a pew marked with my ancestors' names, and hearing them repeated, week after week.

Byers United Methodist Church

For that young worshiper, learning something new forces her to concentrate, to think about the words that are so familiar to the rest of us.  My friend, Debora, helped me to look at The Lord's Prayer in a new way, too. At church, Debora's mom handed me a 14-day devotional, "Praying The Lord's Prayer at Noon" (Prayer Point Press, 2015) and told me that Deborah thought I might like to read it. (Deborah is from Stafford, but now lives out of state. We keep in touch on Facebook and when she comes to visit her mom.)

The devotional is written by Dr. Terry Teykl, a United Methodist pastor in Texas who also works with a Christian radio station, KSBJ. He proposed praying The Lord's Prayer at noon daily, calling it "Pray Down at High Noon."

Stained glass in the Via Christi, St. Francis, chapel. Taken when we visited a friend in the hospital in April.

In the devotional, Teykl says:

"It's a challenging time to be the Church of Jesus Christ. There are a lot of things that we, as Christians, don't agree on. But one thing we can do is offer the prayer Jesus taught us to pray back to God in humility and unity. The brief passage, roughly 21 seconds when spoke, is simple enough to be prayed by children, yet rich enough to have fueled volumes of literature. It was Jesus' instruction to His disciples, and, as a result, it holds a sacred place across many denominations. Maybe it can be a gathering point where we can lay down our own personal or political agendas and simply ask God to come."

The Lord's Prayer covers it all, Teykl asserts, "large things, small things, material things, spiritual things, inward things and outward things."

Stained glass at the Via Christi, St. Francis, Chapel of the Sorrowful Mother

In the devotional, Tekyl breaks down The Lord's Prayer's phrases and creates a two-page reflection for each of the 14 days. He also includes a different Biblical translation of the familiar prayer each day.

It is believed that the early Christians regularly spoke The Lord’s Prayer at morning, noon, and night.

Would the world change if we committed to this simple plan ... praying The Lord's Prayer each day at noon? Maybe. Maybe not. But maybe the thing it would change is me. It might be worth planting the seed and seeing what happens.

Via Chrsti, St. Francis, Chapel of the Sorrowful Mother

"Imagine the Body of Christ praying The Lord’s Prayer all around the world. As it becomes noon in each time zone, our sisters and brothers will be praying for God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven." 

Larry Bauman,

Ardmore UMC District superintendent

Maybe I need to approach it with child-like wonder, like that little voice behind me in the church pew.

Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse, Concordia, Kansas

 

Same Recipe: More Options

I would rather brown 3 pounds of hamburger than a pound ... no matter if I only need a pound for the recipe. I have a skillet just the right size for the job, and I know there will be less mess and less time invested in the next meal or two if I do a little extra initially.

I have long utilized the same principle when making drop cookies. I triple a basic cookie dough recipe. I divide the dough, stir in some add-ins, and it looks like I've made three or four different kinds of cookies. (Randy is not the only one who does amateur magic around here!) It's a great trick for cookie platters. I still make a few other kinds, but having four to six "different" cookies as a base speeds the process!

But it's been only recently that I've used the same principle when making banana bread. We like plain banana bread. But I've also been mixing in various add-ins for some variety to my tried-and-true Byers Banana Bread recipe.

Depending on how many bananas I have, I can double or triple the recipe. Then, just like with the cookies, I divide the batter and add different stir-ins to each portion. These could include dates and nuts, peanut butter chips, cinnamon chips, mini (or regular) chocolate chips, Craisins and white chocolate chips, brickle chips ... the possibilities are endless. I pour the batters into mini loaf pans. To make sure I know which "extra" is inside, I sprinkle the tops of the loaves with more of the add-ins.

The banana bread freezes well, so it's easy to pull out when we have visitors, during a busy time on the farm or on a day when you just "need" a little banana bread!

I've tried a lot of different banana recipes, but I inevitably circle back around to one found in my well-used Byers United Methodist Church cookbook. 
It  probably wins the prize for the most battered and stained in my whole cookbook collection (and I have an impressive collection).

It takes a rubber band to hold it together these days. On the inside cover, it reads:

A Book of Favorite Recipes
Women's Society of Christian Service of
The United Methodist Church
Byers, Kansas
1972

My mom inscribed: To Kim from Mother, April 1972

The Byers UMC was my childhood church, so I love seeing the names of all the women I remember who shared pews and potluck suppers.

Banana Bread

3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)

Cream together oil and sugar. Add mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition. Add nuts, stirring well.

Bake in large loaf pan or two or three small loaf pans at 325 degrees. The large pan takes about an hour to bake, the smaller ones, around 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

This freezes well.

Recipe Notes:

• The bananas in the photo aren't ripe enough for this recipe. They are just for decoration!
• You can leave out the nuts. I always had to leave nuts out of part of it for Jill.
• If you don't have buttermilk, you can use 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then fill the measuring cup to 1/2 cup. Let sit while you are preparing other ingredients.

***

Today, I'm linked to Weekend Potluck. Visit the hostesses and see tested recipes from across the U.S.

• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary
• Served Up With Love ~ Melissa
• Mommy’s Kitchen~ Tina

Lessons from Halloween

(Photo taken June 26, 2011, at the closing of Byers UMC)

At first glance, it may seem sacrilegious to mention Halloween and church in the same breath. I know some people believe Halloween is devil worship, but at the little country church of my childhood, Halloween meant a time to trick or treat for UNICEF.

We ghosts and goblins at Byers United Methodist Church had small milk cartons decorated with the UNICEF logo. As we collected our sweet treats, people would drop coins for UNICEF through the crudely-cut slots at the top of the milk carton.

Some of us would stay in Byers and go door-to-door. I always wanted to go on the northwesterly country route by car so I could have one of my Grandma Neelly's homemade popcorn balls in my goodie sack.

I learned a lot about myself at Halloween. As a chubby princess, I declared I would never wear high heels again. My Dad proclaimed that he wanted a recording of that bold statement. But as it has turned out, I do prefer flats.

Another year, I learned that a computer made from a large box is tough to cram into the back seat of a car, especially when you're wearing it. I was apparently ahead of my time. I didn't really work on a computer until journalism classes at K-State. But they were evidently in the news, since I decided to craft my own from a cardboard box that year. In hindsight, it would have been a better costume for walking the streets of Byers. But then I wouldn't have had the tale to tell, I suppose.

While trick-or-treating at country homes was a tradition in my childhood community, I soon learned that it's not the norm in the Stafford area. The first year we were married, I had my basket of goodies ready and the porch light on. Not a single trick-or-treater rang the doorbell. It was definitely a "trick" and not a treat for this Halloween-loving farm girl.

So when my own goblins got old enough, we always started our Halloween trek in the country at neighbor's houses and at Grandma and Grandpa Fritzemeier's, where Jill and Brent were tricked along with being treated.

We spent last weekend in Manhattan. Brent flew in from South Carolina for the game. Jill and Eric came over on Sunday to celebrate Randy's birthday.

During the weekend, we saw plenty of little ones who were getting a jump on the holiday by wearing their costumes early. And since we'll have a little trick-or-treater in our family next year, it made me remember Jill and Brent's early costumes.

Jill, at 13 1/2 months, was an angel for her first trick or treating experience in 1986.

It's a little hard to tell from the photos, but I think Brent, at 5 1/2 months, was supposed to be a kitty for his first Halloween in 1988. He was much less excited than his sister about the whole affair.

But, as the years went by, Brent definitely relished the chance to dress up and pose for the requisite photo before going to collect treats.

This year, Jill is ready for trick-or-treat guests in their Topeka neighborhood, and Brent wanted to know if people would knock on the door in his South Carolina apartment complex. They'll be ready and waiting. I will be, too, but I've learned not to get my hopes up.

Byers Banana Bread

My Community Kitchens Cookbook from the Byers United Methodist Church probably wins the prize for the most battered and stained in my whole cookbook collection (and I have an impressive collection).

It takes a rubber band to hold it together these days. On the inside cover, it reads:

A Book of Favorite Recipes
Women's Society of Christian Service of
The United Methodist Church
Byers, Kansas
1972

My mom inscribed: To Kim from Mother, April 1972

The Byers UMC was my childhood church. When I was a sophomore in high school, we began going to the Pratt UMC.

But it was my church home for the first 15 years of my life. On Sunday, my parents, Randy & I went to the last service for the church in the town 3.5 miles from where I grew up. As is customary for United Methodist churches which are closing, there was a special service to say goodbye. (More on that later.)

It's where my parents were married and where I first remember gathering in the basement for song time and Sunday School, usually taught by my Grandma Neelly or my mom.

The Byers UMC has been an anchor for the little town of Byers for a long, long time. And the cookbook has been a sort of touchpoint for me throughout the years, too. Looking through it, I see the names of the ladies from my childhood, our neighbors and friends.

One of the most used recipes in the cookbook is for Banana Bread. In fact, instead of leaving the cover at the front, I have page 33, the one that features the Banana Bread recipe, just underneath the rubber band. I've converted it for a double or triple recipe more times than I can count. (I like being able to put extras in the freezer. It's great to mess up the kitchen once and get a bunch of production!)

Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Banana Bread

3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Cream together oil and sugar. Add mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition. Add nuts, stirring well.

Bake in large loaf pan or two small loaf pans at 325 degrees. The large pan takes about an hour to bake, the smaller ones, around 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

This freezes well.

Recipe Notes:

• The bananas in the photo aren't ripe enough for this recipe. They are just for decoration!
• You can leave out the nuts. I always had to leave nuts out of part of it for Jill.
  
• If you don't have buttermilk, you can use 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then fill the measuring cup to 1/2 cup. Let sit while you are preparing other ingredients.

***

This weekend was jam-packed with activities. I went to the Festival of Breads in Wichita on Saturday. I'll have more from it later, including an interview with the winner and other contestants, as well as prize-winning recipes.

Winner Gale Collier, Redmond, Oregon, as she was taking her Quick Raisin Granola Breakfast Rolls into the judging room.

After the special Byers church closing service, we went to my folks' house for dinner. It was like a blast from the past, since my Mom fixed roast beef with potatoes and carrots. That was our customary Sunday dinner when I was growing up. She also made Strawberry Cake for my birthday, plus homemade ice cream (chocolate ice cream with Heath brickle chips). Yum! With a birthday that customarily falls during wheat harvest, it was the first time in a long time I'd been treated to homemade cake and ice cream that someone else had made. Thanks Mom!