Christmas with Karen Wingate and Family

I'm off, again. Finishing the final three weeks of the fall term at school as I pursue my nursing license. It's amazing how God has poured out His blessing this year. In the course of a week, I passed my nursing school entrance exam and 3 of my stories showed up with incredible writers in this very beautiful, very diverse Christmas Anthology, Christmas Treasures. 

Since I'm away from my desk, my friend, and co-author, Karen Wingate has agreed to be a guest and share her favorite Christmas tradition.

And when you've finished reading, you are invited to purchase your copy of Christmas Treasures: A Christmas Anthology at our Amazon bookstore. 

Enjoy!

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Our Family Traditions: Meet Karen Wingate

For one reason or another, whether it’s ministry, the military, global workers, or jobs, many families live far enough away from each other that “home for the holidays” is out of the question. Since my husband is in the ministry and we are called by local churches rather than being assigned by a national board, we’ve spent only a handful of holidays with extended family. 

That means we’ve had to make up our own traditions instead of borrowing or depending on what our families always used to do.  From the first year we were married, we decided we were going come up with our own unique celebrations.  And create new traditions we did!

Now don’t gag, but for years, our tradition was to have Swordfish for Christmas dinner.  We accompanied it with Grand’s biscuits, strawberry walnut Jell-O salad, twice baked potatoes, and green beans amandine.  Dessert was either nibbling on leftover Christmas cookies or, as our two girls grew older, spending Christmas afternoon making a dessert we had never made before.  

Why Swordfish?  It was something different, expensive and quite tasty.  Since we were usually exhausted by that point by all the church Christmas programs, it was a simple meal that for the most part, went together in about half an hour. Swordfish is now beyond what our debit cards can afford so we’re looking for a new Christmas dinner menu.

We never regretted the exhaustion however.  Christmas Eve services have always been a highlight of our Christmas.  The entire family got involved in the program, whether it was preparing candles for the candlelight portion of the service, singing “Mary Did You Know” as part of a quartet, or playing in the bell choir.  My husband, two girls and I would stand at the exit door, greeting each person with “Merry Christmas.”  After the service, we would go eat at a Chinese restaurant (only restaurant open at eight at night on Christmas Eve) and open the many cards church members had pressed into our hands. Our local Chinese restaurant closed last year –so yet again, we’re going to have to find another tradition.

The best tradition of all though, is reading the Christmas story right before breakfast.  The story never grows old. It always has some new meaning we find to discuss over Christmas breakfast, and unlike swordfish or Chinese restaurants, God’s Word is always available.

My story, “The Christmas Gift” that will be in the anthology, Christmas Treasures: A Collection of Short Stories, is based on one Christmas during our ministry in Colorado.  That was one year I really did miss my family!  It was a year when things didn’t go according to plan or tradition but it ended up being one of our best Christmases ever. –  or at least most memorable!

Karen Wingate, has worked beside her minister-husband, Jack, for the last thirty years and has developed and directed children’s and women’s ministries at each church where they have served.  For years, Karen wrote curriculum for Standard Publishing, the Salvation Army, and Rainbow Publishers’ 5 Minute Sunday School Activities series.  Now, Karen focuses her writing efforts on fiction and is waiting to publish her series of historical fiction sent in east-central Ohio where she and Jack had a small ministry.

Thank you for stopping. Remember to order your copy today, at Amazon.com and visit again next Monday, when Ann Evans joins us for a visit.

Weaving words for the heart and soul,

Karlene A. Jacobsen
Freelance Writer
southpawscribbler@gmail.com