I love the traditions of the holidays, especially those surrounding our family meals.  One, in particular, is Mom’s Pumpkin Apple pie.  It matters not whether it’s Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas (and although Mom has pretty much handed off the responsibility of creating it to one of the daughters or daughter-in-laws), it is still a “must have” at our family holiday dessert table.

Mom’s Pumpkin Apple Pie

Ingredients:
1 – 1 lb. can apple pie filling
1 unbaked 10” pie shell
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon powdered cloves or pumpkin spice
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup of sugar
1 – 1 lb. can of pumpkin
2 tablespoons molasses
1-1/2 tablespoons melted butter
1-1/2 cup milk
2 eggs – slightly beaten

Directions:
Place pie shell in a 10” pie pan. Pour apple pie filling into shell.  In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, spices, salt and sugar. Add pumpkin, molasses, and melted butter. Blend well. In another bowl, combine milk and eggs. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Pour over apple pie filling. Cover crust edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 45 – 60 minutes.  (Insert a knife in the center and if it comes out clean, it’s done.) Cool. Top with whipped cream.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
This particular dessert has always seemed to be such an appropriate creation for my Mom because my Dad’s pet name for my mother was “punkin”. I remember Dad using that term of endearment for Mom many times during my childhood, and whenever he used it, it was delivered with a gentle, loving fondness for her.

Did you know that God also has many terms of endearment for each one of us? He not only calls us by name, “I have called you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1), but just as we use affectionate terms of endearment to assure our children and spouses of our love, so does Our Father.  When we become Christians and are adopted into the family of God, here are some of the names He calls us:

Child (John 1:12-13)
Friend  (John 15:14)
Heir (Romans 8:17)
Saint (Ephesians 1:1)
Chosen (Deuteronomy 7:6 & Colossians 3:12)
Dearly Loved (Colossians 3:12)
Beloved (Song of Songs 2:16)
Priest (1 Peter 2:9)
Son / Daughter (2 Corinthians 6:18)
His (John 17:24; Isaiah 43:1)

In the same way Mom would smile and lovingly respond to Dad whenever he called her “punkin”, our hearts are filled with joy when we “hear” our heavenly Father’s terms of endearment for us. With tears of love, we respond back to Him “Abba, Father”! (Romans 8:15)

— Cheri Henderson