A New Taste

by lead pastor John Tanner

We come to the end of another holiday season. I’ve really enjoyed the festivities, but “all good things must come to an end”, as they say, including this season of overindulgence. It seems like all I’ve done over the past few weeks is eat. Consequently, I stepped on the scales at the doctor’s office the other day and let’s just say I’ve set a personal record. Hey, I’m making up for lost time. I was painfully thin as a child.

I mentioned during one of my recent messages that I didn’t care for the sausage balls my dad cooked every Christmas morning. That was just one example of overall pattern. I was a very picky eater. I had a long list of foods I didn’t care for and a strong psychological aversion to trying anything new. I remember one time when my sister tried to trick me into trying macaroni and cheese (what kid doesn’t like that?). She asked me to close my eyes and open my mouth because she had a “surprise” for me. When I refused, she told me it was ice cream and I reluctantly acquiesced. Within a couple of seconds she had a face full of macaroni and cheese. I don’t think she ever tried that trick again.

Let’s just say I’m over that now. I realize in hindsight how much I missed out on (not just food, by the way) because of my combination of fear and stubbornness. As we move into a new year, it’s a great time to try some new things. During this season when many of us will be restricting our food intake, I encourage you to expand your spiritual diet. A balanced spiritual diet includes basics such as daily prayer, scripture reading and meditation, public and private worship, smaller group fellowship, consistent giving and service. For those who have already established the basics, consider trying some new disciplines such as journaling or fasting.

Unlike our holiday feasting, I doubt any of us will have a feeling of regret after indulging in some new spiritual foods.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. – Psalm 34:8

Bon appétit!

The Good Stuff (or not!)

Today’s video is just for fun. We hope you enjoy watching these kids’ reactions to gourmet dishes.



We only have one more day for this blog and for the 5 Senses series. Thank you for taking this journey with us and with your Cove Church family in Huntsville and around the world. We pray that God’s presence will be very real for you in 2015. Whatever this year holds for you and your family, remember this:

Great is [God’s] love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. - Psalm 117:2

Many Blessings,
Cove Church Worship Ministry

Does It Taste Like Christmas?

by Louie Cannaday

A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.  Proverbs 13:19a

The other day I heard a chef talking about a recipe that “tastes like Christmas.”  That was enough for me.  I gathered the ingredients, put on some Nat King Cole and slow roasted a pineapple in various yummy liquids and spices.  The smell was unbelievable…but that’s another blog post.  When I pulled it out of the oven and served it, it didn’t disappoint. It was tart, rich, bright and velvety – spicy, sweet, heady and decadent.  It tasted like…Christmas.

A quick web search convinced me that Christmas doesn’t taste the same to everyone, though. One international food blogger offered this answer to the question of what Christmas tastes like: “It seems to be quite a simple question, at least for Estonians.  Almost everyone would reply at once: sauerkraut, roast pork, and blood sausage.” Hmmm – I hope no one will take offense if I avoid Estonia during the Christmas season.  Twitter user, Natalie McDonald, has a different answer:

Tastes like Christmas. Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino #starbucks http://t.co/dYscsGor6Q

Chestnut Praline Lattes as the definitive Christmas flavor have a big following in the Twitterverse too, as do various kinds of cookies and, of course, eggnog.

I’m not surprised at the differences of opinion, because what tastes like Christmas to each of us has a lot to do with the foods of our holidays past. In one of my favorite books, a character visits the kitchen of his childhood and wants to stop and eat, “Not for hunger’s sake but just to taste again the flavors of home.” That yearning is not so much for the familiar spices and textures, but for the connection, joy and love that we remember or longed for, even then.  C.S. Lewis reminds us that that longing itself is a gift from God, only to find its complete fulfillment in Him. I’m going to try to savor the things that taste like Christmas this season and let them remind me that they are just a shadowy foretaste of my real home with my Father in heaven.

Oh, and here’s the pineapple recipe – you didn’t think I’d forget to share, did you?


Louie and her family have attended Cove Church for three years.  Wife to John and mother to four fabulous children, she volunteers as a storyteller in Kids Cove.

A Taste of Christmas

 by Dick Stanley

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.           -Psalm 119: 103

Christmas was less than three weeks away and I was on a temporary deployment in Iran. The Shah was still on his throne, so there were certainly no signs of the Christmas season anywhere I traveled throughout the country. I mentioned this to my assigned driver, who had escaped as an infant from Turkey during the Armenian genocide following World War I. This Armenian refugee was the only Christian I had encountered during my entire time in Iran, and it was comforting to know I could freely discuss religious issues with him without being turned in to the Shiite ayatollahs for proselytizing.

We returned to Tehran in time for the Iranian Thursday/Friday weekend. I was waiting for orders to depart Iran, hoping to return to Huntsville before Christmas so I could celebrate with my wife and children. No such orders awaited me and I prepared for another blasé weekend in Tehran. My driver noticed my despondency and invited me to his Armenian church for a Friday evening Christmas concert. Having no excuse to decline, I accepted his offer as a diversion from sitting in my hotel. Imagine my delight when the concert turned out to be Handel’s Messiah, in English, no less. 

Afterwards, I was invited to participate in what we in the South would call “supper on the grounds.” Each congregant approached the priest to receive a blessing and then a plate containing a mound of rice covered with steaming lamb topped with a raw egg. This was chelo kebab, an entree I had encountered frequently throughout Iran, and I looked forward to enjoying it again. But then the priest placed a small cross on the lamb and motioned me to sit at one of the tables in the church hall. As I sat down, I noticed some red and green glitter that was sprinkled on the meal; I subsequently learned that this was a special seasoning used only at Christmas to differentiate the taste from all other such meals served during the year. The taste was so unique, unlike anything I had ever tasted before in my forays on four continents. Being an inquisitive engineer, I asked my driver to explain the meaning of the cross and seasoning. He explained that the mound of rice represented the world, that God sent His son here to be the sacrificial Lamb for the salvation of the world, and the raw egg meant that the barriers between God and man had been broken forever. The special seasoning, used only at Christmas, was to insure that the eater would not mistake the special taste and meaning of the meal.

Every Christmas since the Iranian revolution, I have wondered what happened to my driver. Did he escape with his Christian brothers and sisters, maybe even reaching the then Soviet republic of Armenia in the Caucasus Mountains named for his ancestors and now a free country? If he did, I pray that he enjoyed many plates of that special meal I remember so well with its unique meaning as a truly real taste of Christmas.              

Dick Stanley and his wife Martha have been a part of the Cove Church family since 2002. He currently is a member of the First Impressions team and serves as leader of the Ends of the Earth missions team. He also is involved in Cove's creation of a water source for the Pokot tribe, Mt. Paka, Kenya.

Around The Table

by Darin Miller, Family Ministries Pastor

Throughout the history of the Hebrew people, different festivals have continued to mark special occasions. Jesus regularly celebrated these feasts during his ministry. In fact, his first miracle happened at a wedding celebration in Cana. At that wedding Jesus turned water into wine and people commented that the wine tasted “choice” (John 2:1-12). The host was commended for not giving the guests the “cheap stuff.” It sounds like Jesus really knew how to make some good wine! Later in his ministry, Jesus took seven loaves and a few small fish and multiplied them to feed a multitude that had come to hear his teaching. Mark tells us that “The people ate and were satisfied” (8:8). I can only imagine how those fish sandwiches tasted.

I’m glad that Jesus knew how to celebrate with food and drink, because I’m a big fan of eating. I’m not a “picky” eater, though I do have favorites. The one that is like no other is my mom’s shrimp gumbo. It’s homemade from a roux with okra and poured over rice. The recipe has been passed down through several generations. (And never written down, I might add.) My mouth is watering just thinking about it. But as good as that gumbo is, I think there is more to the deliciousness than meets the taste bud.

Jesus shared meals with many people while he walked the Earth. But the most significant meals recorded in the Bible were those shared with his closest friends and family. There is something special about a meal shared with loved ones; it just makes things taste…better. In the case of my mom’s gumbo, we are always eating it around a table with my mom and dad, Leah and my kids, my brother and his children, my grandmother, and others. The taste of the food in my mouth is half the story. The rest is the love in my heart for the people around the table. The two just go together.

There is something truly special about a shared meal with loved ones and time to sit, talk, and laugh, celebrating with people created in God’s image. It can be around a Christmas meal of any flavor. For some families, it’s ham; for others it’s turkey and dressing, or something else special to their family. Whatever the flavor, the best part of the meal is always what happens within our hearts. Of course, I’ll take mine with a big bowl of shrimp gumbo.

Darin Miller has been a part of the Cove Church staff since 2003.  He served for many years as the Director of Student Ministry and is currently the Family Ministries Pastor, providing guidance for areas including missions and student ministry. He and his wife Leah have three sons, and Darin is making sure they grow up loving gumbo.

The Goodness of Christ

by Andrea Fields.  Andrea is one of the newest additions to the Cove Church staff family. She is the administrative assistant to Stephen Hampton at the Chase campus. She is enjoying learning about the heart and the people of Cove Church.

Baking cookies is probably one of my favorite things to do at Christmas. The cookies are presents to close friends, family, and neighbors. What is so endearing to me about passing out cookies to everyone is they never forget the taste. I wholeheartedly agree with the saying “Food is for the soul.”

Have you ever eaten a cookie and thought “That was the best?” You never forgot it, right? You know Grandma’s famous cookies that everyone talks about and bonds over? Yes, those very cookies. They leave a lasting impression. I make some pretty tasty oatmeal cinnamon, spritz, and peanut butter blossom cookies. I get calls, messages, and questions about the cookies all year round. Yes, just that one plate of cookies. It’s not just the taste. I believe it’s the taste, the presentation, and most of all the fact that they are made from a heart of love.

Christmas time brings out a giving, kind, loving, and caring feeling in most people. It is the one time some may visit church all year. Through that one special service, God is able to give a taste of his goodness through his word and love from church members. This Christmas I want not only my cookies but also my actions to leave a lasting impression on others that they may know the goodness of Christ. I have trusted and believed that one small action can start a chain reaction leading to something we can’t imagine. God has been faithful in nurturing those planted seeds to grow into fruitful works. I challenge everyone reading to do one small good act and let that seed of love and Christ be planted in someone.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.” Psalms 34:8

Here is a link to my ultimate favorite cookie at Christmas! 

Taste and See

by Sally Savas.  Sally has been married to her husband Keith for 26 years. They are thankful for three terrific daughters, Rebecca, Melanie and Carolyn. The family joined Cove Church after moving from North Carolina in 2005 and have served as c-group leaders and in Kids Cove and Student Ministry.

I have a cookbook from my newlywed days when my husband and I lived in Marietta, GA. It reminds me of the friends we made and of the young marrieds Sunday School class we joined that was instrumental in our development as a young adults, as a married couple and later as new parents. In the book are recipes that are now our family favorites, contributed by people we knew and their mothers and grandmothers. I love that these recipes were created and shared and enjoyed by so many. They have been part of family celebrations and taken to families who needed love and support in difficult times.

The title of this cookbook is “Taste and See… Psalm 34:8.” The complete verse is “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Of all the senses, taste is the most private and personal. You can hear sounds from far away. You can hear a voice on the other side of the planet by phone or from outer space by radio. You can even hear voices from long ago on video recordings.  You can see things from far away, even worlds away with a powerful telescope and other technologies. A great smell can carry across the house or lure you into a good restaurant. A real stink, on the other hand can carry for miles. You smell a town with a paper mill long before you see it. Touch must be close but it is still outside of you. Taste is the most intimate of the senses. To taste, you internalize it. It becomes a part of you. Your body is either nourished by it or rejects it.

This Christmas season, taste and see that the Lord is good. Ponder the message of the season in your heart – the savior of the world gave up heaven temporarily to live in humility. He came so humans could see him, hear him, touch him and, I suppose, to smell him. The baby Jesus came on a mission. His birth set into motion a plan to conquer sin and death. Don’t just observe. Take the wonder of it in, live the Christian life out.  Jesus said, “…anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…” (John 14:12 NIV).  Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Sally's recipe for Ham Squares

2 sticks butter or margarine
¼ cup poppy seed
1 Tbs prepared mustard
1 medium onion, minced (optional)
1 lb shaved ham
1 pkg Swiss cheese, sliced
3 (24 count) pkgs Pepperidge Farm Party Rolls

Melt margarine. Stir in poppy seed, mustard and onion. Refrigerate covered overnight. Take out one hour before baking sandwiches. Slice rolls lengthwise. Spread margarine mixture over top and bottom of rolls. Layer ham and cheese. Slice into individual rolls before baking. Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sandwiches can be made ahead of time and frozen.