Knee Deep in the Snow

Winters in Southwest Iowa were very harsh. Snow was often measured in feet not inches. Oft times, I was the daughter selected to go out and help my dad shovel the sidewalks in front of our home.  The winter sky darkened in the late afternoon. By the time Dad returned home from work, the streetlamp reflected on the snow giving a strange illumination to our task. The rhythmic sounds of the shovel scraping the sidewalk and Dad’s breath as he worked hard and quick became sounds of comfort to me.

I remember a particular evening that Dad had assigned me to help shovel the walks. I was eight years old,  short and scrawny. There had been at least a foot and a half of new snow that day. As I tried to walk down the steps of the porch to the sidewalk in an attempt to catch up to Dad, I could barely move. Every time I put my foot down in the fresh snow, it sank up past my knee. My dad kept turning around and calling for me to catch up. I was trying to be tough, certainly a trait I was known for, and quickly move towards Dad, but I was truly having a hard time moving at all. I began to get frustrated and tears fell down my cheeks. Dad turned around again to call to me and saw me crying. He came back to where I was struggling and pointed to his footsteps in the snow. He told me that if I walked in his footsteps, I wouldn’t get stuck. He had paved the way with his larger boot. We were both headed to the same place and all I needed to do was follow him. And I did. Not just in the snow that night, but in learning to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and learning to enjoy the happiness that it brings to my life.

By this time in my short life, I had heard many stories of Jesus Christ. I had also been encouraged to live as He had in service to others out of His love for God. I had been invited to follow Christ’s example and be baptized, committing to do my best to obey the commandments and remember Him. At times it seemed difficult to choose the right, but it’s in those moments I needed only to remember that the footsteps were there- truly they were everywhere. I needed only to stop struggling on my own and follow Christ.

-JC

As I reflect on thi experience today, I ask myself:
Do I choose to have faith in following Jesus Christ?
Do I have the courage to stand and be converted as a follower of Christ?
When I struggle, do I reach up to Christ in faith?

Coconut Lime Cookies

1 cup soft butter
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups sugar
2 XL eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high for 1 minute or until fluffy.

Hand stir in eggs, vanilla, and coconut extract; don’t overmix.

Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Add 2-3 Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Chill dough for 2 hours. Scoop out approximately 36+ 1 ½ ” balls of dough.

 Gently roll. Place on greased or parchment paper on an aluminum cookie sheet. Flatten to ½” tall.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min. Glaze hot cookie with Lime Icing.

Let cool.  Frost cookie with Coconut Cream Frosting.

Garnish with shredded coconut and lime zest.

Let set. Share!

Lime Icing
4 Tablespoons lime juice
2 cups powdered sugar
Mix in food processor until smooth.

Spoon into freezer-strength Ziploc until ready to use. 

Coconut Cream Frosting
8 oz. softened cream cheese
¼ cup soft butter
¼ cup cream of coconut (Coco Re’al brand works great)
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon coconut extract
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese, butter and cream of coconut until smooth. Add vanilla, coconut extract, and powdered sugar. Mix until fluffy.

Spoon into quart size freezer strength Ziploc until ready to use.