PRAYERS – Jon Cook; Nancy Atwater, Millie Mutka; Dawn Gonitzke; Myria Strong; Kathy Mayo; Barb Zima’s friends Mick, Steven and Marilyn Hummel; Nancy Ehlinger, Gregory Bowens; Laurie Nelson; Amber Ross’s daughter Linda; Jerrie Van Haverbeke’s niece Jolane Gervasi; Sandy Bishop’s friend Kelly Newman and brother Larry; Randy & Diane Niemczyk’s daughter Julia VanAvery, niece Sarah Joda, Denise Runde and Denise Hazel; Dick Volland; Valeria Hesselberg; Chris Markussen; Anne Verona’s sister/brother-in-law Pat & Woody Woodworth and friends Dennis Peterson, Natalie Madine, Eli Peters and Randy Ballard; Strong’s friend Erin Molle, niece Holly Rysewyk and cousin Debbie; Debbie Cyrtmus’ mother, Rose Wicker and sister, Corrie Trittin; the Ebert’s friend Patricia Kulzick; Patricia Rasmussen’s sister Christine; Joyce Leander’s cousin Laurie Nelson and Joyce’s son Kevin Church; Ashley Clark’s friends Keith & Becky Hernandez and Kristie Dehart; the Waggoner’s sister-in-law Cheryl Busse, and friends Karla Zyhowski, Melissa Branta ; Karen Engels niece Lisa and friend Bob; Ann Carlson’s people Christian, Chuck, Brian, and Darren; peace for all nations and comfort for those in distress.
PRAISE THE LORD FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS! Casey Hohs, after years of medical problems, is on the road to a full recovery and Kathy Hohs has recovered from her surgery.
PRAYER LIST PROCEDURE – Submit your prayer requests to the office in writing, by phone, by email or in person. If requesting prayers for someone other than yourself or an immediate family member, please obtain permission – unless the circumstances are public in nature.
GUESTS – if you are visiting us today, please sign our book at the entrance to the sanctuary.
LIBRARY UPDATE – we are still putting our library/hang out room together. Pastor Grant has lent – not given – some of his personal books to the library. Please use this as a lending library – not as a ‘take and keep’ library. This project was initiated due to requests from several members of the congregation – if you have an idea and/or input please share!
SHROVE SUNDAY IS COMING – Feb 15 is Shrove Sunday. We will have a pancake and sausage breakfast after worship. Come hungry! For God’s word and pancakes.
ENVELOPE PICK UP – if you requested offering envelopes – they are in the Narthex.
STAYED TUNED – the Mountain of Love is coming during Lent!
“CAN’T BAKE, CAN’T SERVE – WHAT DO YOU DO?” [Shout out to Adam Ant] If you can’t do those two things – you can help clean up! The sign-up sheet for Fellowship Hour is in the Fellowship Hall. We are still looking for volunteers to bring food items and if baking isn’t in your skill we always need help with the clean-up process at the end of the event. Our regular ‘do-ers” really could use an assist.
LWR QUILTERS ARE ON A HIATUS! Knot even kidding. Next quilters meeting will be Feb 18, 2026. Same time, same place, same bat(ting) channel. Sew exciting! They are almost back(ing)!
DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY IS MAR 21 – if you would like to purchase “official: mismatched socks – here is the web address. https://lotsofsocks.worlddowns…
FUN FACT We all know hot chocolate as the warm, rich drink we enjoy on a cold night by the fire, or after engaging in winter activities such as ice skating and skiing. Hot chocolate’s history goes quite a way back, and the drink has changed over the years, evolving from cold and spicy to warm and sweet.
Hot chocolate has its roots in Mexico. As early as 500 BC, the Mayans were drinking chocolate made from ground-up cocoa seeds mixed with water, cornmeal, and chili peppers (as well as other ingredients). They would mix the drink by pouring it back and forth from a cup to a pot until a thick foam developed, and then enjoy the beverage cold. Although the chocolate drink was available to all classes of people, the wealthy would drink it from large vessels with spouts, which later would be buried along with them.
In the early 1500s, the explorer Cortez brought cocoa beans and the chocolate drink-making tools to Europe. Although the drink still remained cold and bitter-tasting, it gained popularity and was adopted by the court of King Charles V as well as the Spanish upper class. After its introduction in Spain, the drink began to be served hot, sweetened, and without the chili peppers.
Then it hit London in the 1700s, chocolate houses became popular and very trendy, even though chocolate was very expensive. In the late 1700s, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, Hans Sloane, brought from Jamaica a recipe for mixing chocolate with milk, which made the drink more palatable in his opinion.
Up until the 19th century, hot chocolate was used as a treatment for stomach and liver diseases as well as a special drink. Today, however, we simply treat this warm concoction as a beverage to sip and savor. Spain’s thick chocolate a la taza, spiced chocolate para mesa from Latin America, and Italy’s cioccolata calda, which is very thick.
The US’ version of hot chocolate is considered thin because it is often mixed with water. (The Carlson/Johnson household prefers using milk). Of course, living in the Northwoods lends itself to a boozy addition of butterscotch schnapps, Bailey’s or any other libation that works with hot chocolate.
Most of this information was taken from “The Spruce Eats” website.
Make your own:
This creamy homemade Hot Cocoa recipe is the ultimate cold weather treat, made with milk, cocoa powder, and just the right amount of sweetness. Skip the mix, this from-scratch hot chocolate is quick to make and incredibly comforting. Below recipe makes four servings. A suggestion is to add a lesser amount of sugar and add sugar back in to your preferred level of sweetness.
Ingredients
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
dash of salt
4 cups whole milk , divided
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the cocoa and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add a dash of salt and the boiling water. 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder,1/3 cup granulated sugar,dash of salt,1/3 cup boiling water
Bring to a slow boil, stirring continuously. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and stir continually for 2 minutes.
Stir in 3 1/2 cups milk and heat until very hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. 4 cups whole milk,3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Serve: Add another splash of milk to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature, if desired. Top with whipped cream.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Rewarm on the stove over low heat, stirring frequently.
Note from Ann: The picture at the top and bottom of the page is from a slo-mo video we did of the “boil water in a pan and go outside in the sub-zero, Antarctica weather and toss it over your head to see what happens” experiment. Such a simple thing to do that brought us a whole lot of ‘wow’. The picture at the bottom shows when it started to “rain” (It’s hard to see even though I circled it. The strands that look like moss hanging down is the ‘rain’). Science is fun. We didn’t do the bubble experiment – yet – probably will tomorrow because it is supposed to be the last day (for the time being) of the really cold days. Saturday is supposed to be in the 20s! Break out your flip flops!
Last Sunday was the annual meeting. After the annual meeting I take the sign in sheet and record everyone who was present for posterity. (And church reporting number purposes). You would think it would be tedious, but it isn’t. While notating each person’s presence, I was able to do so with a smile. As each person’s name brought your face to mind and a thought about all that you do for the church and others in general. It was a great way to start my week.
Here’s to a week of people bringing a smile to your face.
