News

By Lorie Ham

It’s that time of year again! A brand new year has come and many of us look at this time as a chance to hit the reset button-myself included. We want to do better. Diet, exercise, go to church more, spend more time with those we love, be more positive. All of those are great, but what if we aimed for something more radical? Something that Jesus would have done when He was here on earth. Help those in need.

It’s far too easy to go to church, tithe, and leave the rest to the church. But that’s not how Jesus lived. And He didn’t just help those who were easy to help; He helped those no one else wanted to help. But you may think you don’t have time, or don’t have the money to give to another charity, or to help your neighbor who is out of work. And yet, there’s still so much we can do. First off, would Jesus ever say He didn’t have time? Of course not. And if we were honest, there are things we can do a little less of and free up at least a little time each month to make a difference in the world.

Volunteer: If you give up at least one hour a month of TV, or game playing, or whatever your hobby is, and spend that time volunteering, that could make a big difference to someone in need. Local shelters, thrift stores that raise money for the poor, an animal rescue that needs someone to just give those poor animals some love, a senior citizen who is housebound and needs a ride to the doctor or just someone to play a game with them or talk to them. That neighbor out of work–maybe you can’t give them money but you could take them a casserole or help them fix up their resume. Or watch their kids for free while they go to a job interview.

Donate Money: Maybe you can’t give a lot, but how about giving up one Starbucks coffee a week and sending that money to help those in need around the world—every little bit makes a difference. One such place where you can donate was mentioned in last month’s newsletter-MCC.

So this year make a resolution you can keep. One that in its own way will change the world, not just change you. Get out there and help someone in need. If you would like some other simple but positive things you can do to make your own life better, check out this fun little article about simple positive changes you can make in your life in the new year!

Let’s change the world in 2020!

By Lorie Ham

Many people find the beginning of a new year to be the perfect time to start a read through the Bible. There are several ways of approaching this, and many feel that doing so chronologically is the way to go!

There are websites, apps, podcasts, and even Bibles printed in chronological order to help you on your journey. “I have the Audible App and I downloaded the Chronological Bible, one of many versions available on there, and it was very affordable,” shares Mennonite Insurance Agent Michelle Heinrichs.

She chooses to listen to the Bible app because, like many, she is busy, and this is something she can do while doing other things like driving, cooking, or folding laundry. “The app has set amounts per day if you wanted to accomplish reading the Bible through in one year as well.”

As to why read chronologically, Michelle feels that while learning the Bible is interesting on its own, the idea of learning the events in chronological order sounds even more interesting and inspiring. “Many know that Noah and the Ark occurred before many of the other important events in history, but what about some of the others? How do they impact events that happen later? Learning them in order can help in studying the Bible the traditional way.”

Mennonite Insurance Service Rep Stephanie Heier is nearly finished with the chronological read that she was doing with her husband in 2019. She decided to check it our after seeing one of her friends post on Facebook about how much she had enjoyed it, and how she understood more by reading the events in the order they actually happened.

They used the You Version Bible app. “It lays out daily 1 to 5 chapters to read”, says Stephanie. “As you read (or listen) to each chapter, it checks the box, and moves you to the next chapter. When you’ve completed the daily chapters, it gives you a spot to write down reflections. It has been really neat to see the Bible as written like a book with a specific order of events instead of reading it piece by piece. I loved that as I was reading some event in the New Testament that was foreshadowed in the Old Testament; I remembered more about the entire event because of reading it and understanding it more holistically.”

If you are interested in trying this out for yourself, there are multiple ways to go about it and you should be able to find one that best suits your needs.

By Lorie Ham

During the holidays, many of us think of sending that extra donation to various charities to help others in need at this time of year. The list of charities one can donate to is extensive, making it difficult to choose.

If you are looking for just the right charity, you might want to consider donating this holiday season (or any time of year) to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

In 2020, MCC will be celebrating their centennial year. They are a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches who share God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice. MCC envisions communities worldwide in right relationship with God, one another and creation. “We work in the areas of relief, development and peace,” shares Krystal Klaassen, Communications and HR Coordinator for MCC who has been with them for 5 years.

Mennonite Insurance has fully funded one of MCC’s current projects. This project is to make needed improvements to 15 homes in the coastal town of Caibarien, Cuba. Caibarien was one of the municipalities in Cuba most impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017. With an estimated average cost of $650 per house, the teams will make repairs and improvements that will help the houses better withstand future tropical storms and hurricanes.

One of the special needs that MCC has during this time of year is for school kits. People can also donate to help specific projects for people in need through their Christmas giving options: mcc.org/christmas#!

There are a multitude of great charities out there who can always use more help, whether financially or from volunteers. If you would like to learn more about what MCC does, you can check out the video below and go to their website at mcc.org.

By Lorie Ham

The Christmas season is a time for traditions. We all have our favorites, and some of us have made up traditions of our own. Here are a few of our staff’s favorite traditions:

“We have a couple favorite Holiday Traditions,” shares Claudia Fletes. “My immediate family (kids and I) love to bake Christmas cookies for family and friends. We usually bake about 5-8 different kinds of cookies/goodies, over a couple days. We have Christmas movies playing on TV or Christmas music on the radio. Dad gets to be our taste tester! We arrange them on a pretty Christmas platter and deliver on December 23 or 24. We set aside one large platter for all our family to enjoy and snack on as we gather for our traditional Christmas Eve tamale making day!

Dalia Jimenez’ family also enjoys getting together with family to eat tamales, and a lot of other great food. “We enjoy all our time together even if we see each other all the time, Christmas is a special time.”
When Stephanie Heier was a child, her father owned a Christmas Tree Farm. “My brother and I spent many hours wandering around and playing hide and seek through the trees…this instilled in me from a young age that cutting down a live tree was the best option.”

On the Saturday following Thanksgiving, Stephanie’s family always goes to pick out a tree, usually at the Christmas Tree Farm near Reedley. “We wander around, picking trees that we think look the best; that means that they are full, have few (or no) empty spots, are the right height, and have a good shape to them (not tall and skinny or fat and squatty). At promising trees, we have a person stand by it, so we can come back to it to see how it holds up to any others that we have liked. Then we cut it down with a chainsaw. Many others who we see there always comment on how smart we are to bring our chainsaw! We are pros at this by now! We usually ride the train, have some hot chocolate, and then go out for breakfast. It is one of my favorite traditions, and we are passing it on to our daughter, it is one of her favorite traditions as well!”

“Our family makes peppernuts (pfeffernusse) each Christmas,” shares Jerry Linscheid. “There isn’t any pepper or nuts in our recipe. Hundreds of versions of this cookie exist. We use the recipe from my wife’s mom. The cookies end up being pretty small, about the diameter of a dime. After mixing the dough, we roll it out in pencil-thin ropes and put them in the freezer. When it’s time to bake, we pull out a few ropes at a time, because as they thaw, they become harder to work with. We cut the ropes into ¼” slices and place them on a cookie sheet close enough to get as many as possible, but not so close that they touch during baking. It is a pretty labor-intensive process, which is why it works well with a family. The peppernuts come out crisp and keep a long time (if you make enough). We measure the output in gallons.”

Peppernuts Recipe:

• 1 cup butter or margarine

• 4 cups brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• ¼ cup warm water

• 1 tsp. anise oil

• 6 cups flour

• 1 tbs. baking soda

• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1 tsp. mace

• 1 tsp. cloves

• 1 tsp. nutmeg

Family Christmas traditions make the holidays magical. What is your favorite tradition?