Cookies and Christ
Stories of Faith And Recipes
Adrenaline mixed with incredible anger surged…
“Be still and know that I am God…” Psalms 46:10
A year ago I sat amongst boxes of my possessions having just moved into a new zip code. I was searching for my heart to feel at home…
Since then, my journey has been unexpected… Or should I finally admit that I expect things to be unexpected…
A few months later…
I poorly chose some harsh words, threw my car in reverse, and felt trapped as the gate closed onto my rear window. Adrenaline mixed with incredible anger surged as I found myself on the right side of the railroad tracks but the wrong side of the railroad gate.
I was running some errands before catching my flight to spend the next few months out of town working on a project that I was super excited about. I neared a stop at a railroad crossing as red lights flashed. The driver behind me was later cited as he failed to pay attention and slammed on his brakes too late sending me into the railroad intersection just a few feet away from the train track.
Moments later with blaring train horns warning (me) of my encroachment (as if I didn’t know) I was zapped with the most terrifying feeling.
I was safe, crazy mad, and had immediate pain in my back and neck.
Just a month before this, the news agencies ran constant reports of a deadly coronavirus. Our world lay seemingly paralyzed – some in fear, some jobless, some literally fighting for breath of life….
Life during a pandemic brought me a huge blessing: quarantining with my adult children. We ate, played cards, ate, went on walks, ate, played pickleball, ate, and watched the Masked Singer together. It was literally a glimpse of Heaven…
Then… it was my turn to experience my world in chaos.
Some days, my brain still feels like scrambled eggs. Headaches are still daily and my concussion seems to have only mildly improved.
I have trouble with math, am constantly searching for common words, and my left eye is lazy with its efforts to focus.
I’m left trying to seek therapies and understanding of what God wants from me…
Perhaps it’s a miracle my car stopped where it did- if permission is granted, I’d like to watch the replay of the incident one day in the next life.
Nevertheless, in the here and now I’m working to try and let God prevail in my life and in so doing, align my will with His. 2020’s pandemic, resulting fallout nor my car accident caught God by surprise.
Neither resulted in His abandonment either.
And the resolutions I go into 2021 with are ever deliberate.
I need only to go where he needs me to go and work to be what He needs me to be. Lately, that’s caused me a bit of reflection…
Like Christ, I want to walk in His ways and do the will of the Father who has preserved me this far…
-JC
Chocolate Cream Topped Chocolate Sugar Cookies (Chilled)
1 cup soft butter
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Cream butter, oil and sugars with an electric mixer on medium-high for 1 minute or until fluffy. Hand stir in eggs and vanilla extract; don’t over-mix. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Add 2-3 Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Scoop out approximately 24+ 2” balls of dough. Gently roll and flatten slightly.
(For a richer flavor and smoother texture refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake.)
Place on parchment paper lined aluminum cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10+ minutes.
Let cool completely. Pipe chilled Chocolate Cream straight from a Ziploc bag with a 1 inch corner trimmed off. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish as desired.
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Chocolate Cream
20 oz thawed Cool Whip
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons Hershey’s chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dash of salt
Melt the chocolate chips and 6 oz Cool Whip in the microwave. Stir until smooth and shiny. Stir in Hershey’s syrup, vanilla extract and salt. Fold chocolate mixture into remaining thawed Cool Whip. Transfer into two (this will make it easier to handle) freezer strength Ziploc bags and refrigerate until ready to use.
Cookies and Christ 
Wow, Jackie! I am so sorry you got rear ended. It is such a good thing you didn’t get pushed into the path of the train! I can only imagine the terror you felt as the train passed. Also, the impact must have been very high to give you a concussion! Your poor neck and back, as well as head. Oh my goodness! I am praying for your recovery, which takes a while. I know from experience. Hugs!
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