Showers Of Blessing

Hi, I’m Sue Murphy & you’ve found a place to belong in the Circle of Friends.

My current bible reading has me in 1 Kings 18 where, at God’s command, the prophet Elijah has challenged the prophets of Baal to prove that their god was mightier than Jehovah God.  You might remember that this incident came after a 3 year drought in the land.

Elijah told those other prophets to build an altar & prepare a sacrifice.  Each group would appeal to their deity & the One who consumed the sacrifice with fire would be declared THE ONE TRUE GOD.

The bible tells us that Elijah was the only prophet of God vs 450 of those who were prophets of Baal.  So imagine this scenario-2 altars prepared, two bullocks on the altars, & one group of 450 crying out to their god that their altar be consumed with fire.  Hours upon hours of beseeching yielded no results.

The lone prophet Elijah stands watching this relentless & futile action.  He goes even further in preparing his altar.  It is a foundation of 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel, then the wood, the bullock & finally a huge trench around it. Twelve barrels of precious water from this drought stricken land were then poured over the altar saturating everything & even filling the trench.

Now, stand back & watch the fireworks. Verse 38 of 1 Kings 18 says this….
³⁸ Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

The Lord God saw fit to end the drought at this point.  Elijah said to King Ahab, “Get thee up, eat & drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.”

As soon as I read this passage, I was reminded of the song “Showers of Blessing,” & that sent my thought process to wedding showers & baby showers.

I agree this may seem a little strange to start with a consuming fire & end up at a baby shower, but that is way my mind works.  We DO shower blessings on young brides & mothers in the form of gifts & wisdom from older women who have “been there, done that, & gotten the Tee shirt.”  I am older….not so sure about the wiser part!!

However, I do have a recipe I’d love to share if you have a shower to plan.  It is a cold slushy punch that can be made ahead & frozen.  I freeze the mixture in ice cube trays, then store them into zip-lock bags.  My kids enjoyed filling a glass with the cubes & pouring over ginger ale to make an individual glass of slushy goodness.

I’m Sue Murphy, hoping you see Showers of Blessings today!!….& I am Confectionately Yours.

JELLO PUNCH

1 6 serving size pkg. gelatin (any flavor) 

1 (46-oz.) can pineapple juice

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

2 qts ginger ale

Make gelatin according to package directions. Add sugar, extract, and pineapple juice.

Pour into ice cube trays or small freezer containers. Freeze until firm. Place cubes in

punch bowl about 30 minutes before serving.

If using larger blocks of frozen punch,

allow 45 minutes. Pour in ginger ale and break up frozen punch with a potato masher.

Serve immediately. Makes about 15 cups punch.

Note: This punch can be made low calorie by using sugar free gelatin, sugar substitute

and diet lemon-lime cola or ginger ale.