Pfeffernusse, Anyone?

 A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas...

Here's a plate of my homemade Christmas cookies

with two snowy white pfeffernusse in front.

A NEW RECIPE

 

I flip through a cookbook

and select, as I sometimes do

a recipe I’ve never tried before—

a cookie, full of aromatic spices

cinnamon, nutmeg, clove

even a pinch of pepper

 

I stir some dark, robust molasses

and the spices into flour

butter and sugar

then roll teaspoonsful

of the thick brown batter into balls

line them neatly in rows

on cookie sheets

and slip them in the oven

 

Gradually the kitchen

fills with an old, familiar fragrance

I can’t immediately identify

In a few minutes I remove a pan

from the oven, wait for the cookies to cool

then roll each one in powdered sugar

as the recipe indicates

 

One taste

transports me to childhood—

This is pfeffernusse!

that classic Christmas cookie

that spicy little gem I hated

the cookies that turned to rocks

clunkers at the bottom of the cookie jar

 

These were the cookies Mom offered

when there was no other sweet in the house

the ones that bobbed in her coffee cup

dripping as she ate them with a spoon

 

Today, all those mingled spices

the dash of black pepper

are pleasingly hot upon my tongue

the sweet sugar coating

the pungent aroma

are positive proof

 

the taste buds of my youth

have definitely

grown-up

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Here's a Christmas Gift idea...

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

Website: www.maudecarolanpych.net

Email: maudecpych@gmail.com

 

Littleness

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas...

LITTLENESS

Matthew 19:14

 

In a little manger, in a little town,

was born a little boy,

to a little family of little means.

He brought the world great joy!

 

If the Lord of All could come so small,

with the biggest, highest aim,

then why oh why must we buy and buy

for the day that bears His Name?

 

We shop, we trim, we bake, we cook,

we visit, we send, we party,

we run up the tally on credit cards,

the bills we pay are tardy.

 

While the hustle and bustle can be great fun,

sometimes it steals our peace,

sometimes the true Christmas spirit gets lost

when our busyness won’t cease.

 

From the little manger, the little town,

the crib of the little boy,

comes a little Christmas thought to muse,

which may heighten Christmas joy…

 

Let us celebrate with littleness,

become as the little Child,

with simplicity, wonder, innocence,

pure Love that’s undefiled…

 

and the Savior, Our Lord, who was that Child,

shall smile at us, well pleased,

“For the kingdom,” He said, “of Heaven belongs

to people such as these!”

 

Maude Carolan

Video of Maude reading "Littleness."

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

Website: www.maudecarolanpych.net

Email: maudecpych@gmail.com

 

   

Some Celebrate Both!

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas...

Happy Hanukkah

to all my Jewish & Messianic friends.

Image credit: qvgop.org

DECEMBER LIGHTS

 

It’s the Season of Lights…We delight in the glow

of Christmas and Hanukkah; the stories we know

of God’s awesome miracles, deliverance, and Birth

to show His great Love for all people on Earth.

 

Alongside our manger there stands a menorah;

we sing Joy to the World and then dance the Hora,

ignite the nine lamps and hang a wreath on the door,

tell of brave Maccabees, the virgin birth, and more.

 

We worship with believers, Gentiles and Jews,

we recite the Shema and share the Good News,

read Old Covenant prophesies from A to Z

like the Gospel revealed in Isaiah Fifty-three!

 

Our Messiah is Jesus; Yeshua, some say—

He’s the Light of the World; our great hope for today!

We praise Him, adore Him, we’re blessed to impart:

His fire burns brightly in our circumcised hearts!

 

We believe He was born to save us from sin,

that He died and was buried then rose up again.

By Blood He has saved us, our Atonement, He Is!

By His Resurrection, we’ll live for He Lives!

 

We are Olive Tree branches, Gentile and Jew—

united in Messiah…and all Born Anew!

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Image credit: worldartsme.com

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

Website: www.maudecarolanpych.net

Email: maudecpych@gmail.com

 

 

I'm Grafted In...

 A-Poem-a-Day

Until Resurrection Day...

The following poem was inspired by a Hanukkah menorah glowing brightly next to a Christmas manger on the lawn of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey in the 1990s, during the holiday season.

GRAFTED IN

 

I love to see a Star of David on a Christmas tree,

reminder of my Jewish roots in Christianity.

Happy there is a Hanukiah on a churchyard lawn

adjacent to a manger, dimly flickering at dawn.

I give praise to the Paschal Lamb, crucified at Calvary

Who rose victorious from death to set all sinners free!

 

I hear the Rosh Hashanah trump forewarning with its cry,

reminding me the Day of God is surely drawing nigh;

then marvel every Yom Kippur at graciousness of God,

lavish with his mercy; He spares the chastening rod.

I read Old Testament prophecy’s fulfillment in the New,

with the Messiah’s story interwoven through and through.

 

In Shabbat tapers, I behold Yeshua, Light of World—

Before my eyes, clearly see, God’s glorious plan unfurled!

I’ve been blessed to pray at Israel’s Wall and Empty Tomb

of my Savior, Yeshua, born of Virgin Mary’s womb.

At Gethsemane, I’ve beheld an ancient olive tree

and known within my spirit that one grafted branch is me.

 

I’m born again and spiritually circumcised of heart;

I’m blessed to be a Gentile, who has become a part

of all the covenant promises sealed by the Blood of God—

I’ll always praise His Holy Name as I walk this earthly sod.

 

Maude Carolan

Here's a holiday gift idea...

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

Website: www.maudecarolanpych.net

Email: maudecpych@gmail.com

 

A Poem for Black Friday

 A-Poem-a-Day

Until Christmas...

  

CHRISTMAS AT THE MALL

 

Day after Thanksgiving, at the mall, what is this I see…

Santas sledding in the air and a tinseled Christmas tree,

a roly-poly Frosty, red-nosed Rudolph with some elves,

glittery garlands, balls, and bows, bedazzling on the shelves?

The shops are alive with music, “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells;”

there are “ho, ho, hos,” “let it snows” and cinnamony smells.

 

It certainly all seems festive, so cheery and so bright,

but what oh what does it have to do with that holy night?

I cannot find a manger scene, an angel or a star,

I do not see the wisemen…wonder where the shepherds are.

I do not hear a carol or the story of the birth

of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, Who dwelled right here on Earth.

 

Some, it seems, have cast aside the things that matter most—

By replacing Truth with fairytales, Treasure has been lost.

My heart fills up with sorrow and causes me to prod

the fading faith of dear ones, who used to walk with God.

Lord, help us all remember the virgin and the Child…

Revive in us once strong faith that’s been waning a while.

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Here's a gift suggestion

for people who love the Lord

and enjoy poetry...

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

Website: www.maudecarolanpych.net

Email: maudecpych@gmail.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Today begins "A-Poem-a-Day

Until Christmas."

 

DAYENU IN AUTUMN

It Would’ve Been Enough!

 

It’s late autumn—

The High Holy Days are over

It is several months until Passover

so this is not the season of the year

when we sing “Dayenu” at Beth Israel

with grateful hearts, because

the apple of God’s eye survived the Exodus

and made it to the Promised Land

 

Still, I’m feeling thankful today

and feel like singing “Dayenu”

Thanksgiving Day is approaching

and I’m meditating upon God’s goodness

 

If God had merely given me life

but didn’t make me capable, strong and vibrant

it would’ve been enough!

 

If He had placed me in a family

but not an environment of acceptance, security, love

it would’ve been enough!

 

If God had provided me with daily bread and water

but not fruit and vegetables, meat and cake

it would’ve been enough!

 

If He had simply given me shelter

and not a pleasant home cozy, warm, and safe

it would’ve been enough!

 

If God had drawn me to Himself

but didn’t fill my heart with jubilation

it would’ve been enough!

 

And if He led me to the Cross

but didn’t reveal the countless splendors

the Cross secured for me in eternity

it certainly would’ve been enough!

 

but God’s generosity knows no bounds

and my cup is spilling over into its saucer

with His bounty of wondrous blessings

so I shall thank Him with praise and hallelujahs

singing with all my might—

 

Day dayenu, day dayenu

day dayenu dayenu dayenu!

 

Maude Carolan Pych

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Thanksgiving Day Homecoming

 Are you busy shopping and cooking

in preparation for your Thanksgiving feast?

Photo credit: hipnewjersey.com

THANKSGIVING DAY HOMECOMING

 

She smiled as she dusted

the framed family photographs

on the old oak credenza

sang as she swept the kitchen floor

even Lysoled the bathroom bowl

with effervescence

 

Humming a favorite hymn, the woman

skillfully rolled pastry into a twelve-inch circle

adjacent to a bowl of peeled apple wedges

tossed with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves

 

Spontaneous praise proceeded from her lips

as she stuffed the twenty-pound turkey

trussed it tidily

rubbed it with butter and sage

and lifted it into the moderate oven

 

On the antique table linen

that had been stored away

in her mother’s cedar chest

she placed her best china, crystal, and silver

then set a wicker cornucopia

abounding with russet Indian corn

and assorted nubby gourds, right in the center

 

Her feet ached, but her eyes sparkled—

This was among life’s highest joys

Her children and grandchildren

would soon be at the door

carrying homemade casseroles

and bringing hugs and tales and laughter

and she would get to serve

Thanksgiving dinner

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Here I am with a copy of my book,

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

It's a book of poems

about the Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus,

and is a meaningful gift for Christmas.

It's available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

For information, visit my website at:

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Sometimes We Desperately Need a Miracle...

 The following poem was written

during the height of the pandemic,

in April of 2020...

"Jairus' Daughter" by Jeremy Winborg

truthbook.com

NEEDING A MIRACLE, LIKE JAIRUS

 

Another one—

 

My brother called a few minutes ago

to tell me his friend died

of the Coronavirus

 

This pandemic is unrelenting

Thousands have died here in New Jersey

as many as in a small country—

Too many deaths

even for the funeral homes

to handle

 

My prayer list is long

and keeps getting longer

I cross off names

and add some

 

I’ve been reading about Jairus

the synagogue official

who fell at Jesus’ feet

begging Him to come

heal his dying daughter

 

so Jesus went

and as they walked

crowds pressed against them

 

In the midst of the commotion

a woman touched the fringe

of Jesus’ cloak

and He felt power

go out from Him

At that moment she knew

she was healed

The woman told Him

she’d been hemorrhaging

for twelve years

 

They continued on their way

and someone stopped Jairus

to say his daughter had died

 

Jesus told him not to fear

but believe

so on they went

 

When they arrived

there was mournful weeping

and bitter wailing

but Jesus told them

the girl was sleeping

 

They responded

by laughing in His face

 

Jesus went inside the house

took the little girl’s hand

in His, and said

 

 Arise!

 

At His word

her eyes opened

breath returned to her

and she got up and walked

 

Now I pause to imagine

if Jesus were here today

in the midst of this virus

how multitudes would

seek Him, how they would

flock around Him

and press against Him

wrenching His cloak

tugging at His arms

pulling Him

this way, that way

beseeching and imploring

 

Come with me, Jesus…

Oh! come with me, Jesus…

Come with me!…me!…

me!…me!…me!

 

Oh! Sometimes we desperately

need a miracle

…like Jairus

 

and always, we definitely need

…Jesus

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Here I am with a copy of my book,

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

It's available online at Amazon & Barnes and Noble.

For more information visit my website at

www.maudecarolanpych.net

or send me an email at: maudecpych@gmail.com