The Amish Cook: Celebrating Fathers with Ice Cream Pie

THE AMISH COOK - ICE CREAM PIE

BY GLORIA YODER
Hello Friends! Father’s Day is just around the corner once more. In our home, Father’s Day certainly is an excellent reason for celebration. Why shouldn’t it be with the world’s best Daddy in the house? Oops, did I say that?  To the rest of you fathers, don’t take that personally. It’s just that Julia and Austin both absolutely adore their daddy and so do I!

We love doing little things to show him how much he means to us. recently Julia and I traced hearts onto pretty pieces of paper, cut them out, and wrote little messages on the back of each one. We worked on it every now and then while my husband Daniel was at work and kept it a secret. Finally we were ready to fasten them side by side onto a string. We then hung our chain of hearts onto a wall in the living room. The side with the little notes was turned back so he couldn’t see what was written on them. That afternoon we were extra eager to have Daniel return home from work. Upon his arrival Julia excitedly showed him the surprise we made for him. "Each day you may flip around one heart and read what it says on the back,"we instructed.

The notes said things like “We love you” or “cinnamon rolls for breakfast” or “pick out one of your favorite dishes” for supper.  Several notes from Julia that I helped her write were “Thank you for working in the shop and bringing money home for my Mom, Austin and I. " and  “Thank you for reading stories to me and for playing with me.”
Julia probably enjoyed having Daniel flip his hearts around just as much as he did. It’s amazing how love and happiness works. Give it away and it will return to you.

A year ago Julia overheard us talking about Father's Day.  She piped up "Someday I am going to have `Fadder's Day'too."   You never what cute things will come out of a 2-year-old.

I will never fully be able to know what my Dad has done for me throughout my childhood and teen years. When I was with him I felt a deep sense of security. I knew that no matter what he’s always out for my good even though his ideas weren't always the same as mine. I can just hear him say that he has also  made many mistakes. Yes, I don’t expect perfection from any Dad, or anyone else, for that matter.

Dad’s godly example of love, consistency and unselfishness stands out to me. When I needed someone to talk to, both him and Mom were always there for me.

Us as parents all long to see our little ones growing up to be respectful, godly young people. Isn’t one of the greatest gifts we can give to them is to personally abide in love, a true love that is deeply rooted in God’s love and thereby extended to each other as a couple and passed on to the precious young souls whom God has entrusted into our hands? We all face times when we're weary and love is a challenge.  It has been an inspiration for me to take a look at the life of Jesus.  He also faced times when he felt weary was ridiculed and simply ready for a break.  In spite of it all He faithfully kept serving others one step at a time

This week I’d enjoy sharing Dad’s favorite dessert with you. It’s definitely a delicious and refreshing treat on a hot summer day.  I’d like to make it for him on Father's Day. He fondly recalls having it at Mom’s house before they were married. It was the first time he had been at their house for a Sunday evening supper and singing.