Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Hiding Place

At tonight's meeting we discussed the book, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.  The main feeling from our readers was that this is a life changing book.  We were amazed by Corrie and Betsy and indeed the whole Ten Boon family.  We discussed favorite parts of the book, or things that stood out to us as we read.  It was astounding to all of us to think of the way Betsy and Corrie planned to help those who suffered from the concentration camps both those who were imprisoned and their jailers after their experiences.  We loved their devotion to Jesus Christ and their ability to truly live what they read, studied, and "preached." 

We talked about how it was hard to understand how anyone could treat human beings the way that Corrie and Betsy were treated.  We talked about how the point of Hitler's regime was to dehumanize the Jews and those who helped them.  We were able to see parallels in forms of discrimination that exist today, here and now.

As we discussed characters who helped or showed compassion for Corrie and Betsy (notably Lieutenant Rahms) and discussed how they tried to do what they could to help in small ways and how it must have been painful for them to be able to forgive themselves for their part in the tragic events surrounding the Holocaust.  The ability to forgive that both Betsy and Corrie displayed was truly remarkable.  It was touching for us to see the way they trusted in the love of Jesus Christ to help them to forgive and bless others.

We were all moved by Betsy's gratitude in all things even when she did not understand why she should be thankful for them (ie. the fleas).  Our admiration for Betsy and Corrie's embracing of their ministry to teach of Jesus Christ and bring hope to those around them was inspiring.

All in all - we loved this book!!!


You'll find recipes for the delicious treats we enjoyed below:

Lemony Cooler (Drink)

6 cups white grape juice
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice
1 liter club soda, chilled

In a pitcher, combine grape juice, sugar and lemon juice; stir until sugar is dissolved.  Refrigerate until chilled.  Just before serving, stir in club soda.


Lemon Delight Cake

1 package lemon cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
3 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 T poppy seeds

Filling:
1 package (8 oz) reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 can (15 3/4 oz) lemon pie filling

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 T flour
4 1/2 tsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients, beat on low speed for 30 seconds.  Beat on medium for 2 minutes.  Coat a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.  Spread half of batter into pan.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Stir in lemon pie filling.  Drop by teaspoonfuls and gently spread over batter.  Top with remaining batter. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  Combine glaze ingredients; and drizzle over cake.


Fruit Dip

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
1 container of marshmallow creme
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together and serve with fruit.



Our next book:  The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull  see sidebar for more info. :)


Post may be edited with other significant observations I have missed.

4 comments:

  1. Les you are amazing! I will make it to one of these, I promise. In the meantime, I'm going to get the books and read them so I can at least be part of this vicariously! Thanks for creating this blog - it's really nice for those of us who can't be there!

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  2. Thank you again for letting me join your book club! I really enjoyed everyone's company and the discussion was very interesting, I look forward to next month. Also, it was fun reading about your book from last month and having all the delicious treat's recipes...I am excited to make them!

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  3. It was such a fun night! Thanks for the great recap of our discussion. Looking forward to next month!

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  4. This is by far one of my most favorite books. What amazing people they were. I wish I could be half as good as them. I look forward to our next discussion. Thanks Leslie!

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