A Grandmother’s Bible, A Farm Kitchen, and Sugar Cookies

As part of our 2026 Synod Assembly under the theme Rooted in God’s Story, we are creating a community recipe book — Rooted at the Table. Submit your recipe by Friday, May 1, 2026, and learn more here.

Submitted by Rev. David Pavesic (Director for Evangelical Mission, Tucson)

For Rev. David Pavesic, these sugar cookies are inseparable from memories of his grandmother’s farm kitchen and the faith that shaped his life.

As a young child, David would wake early with his grandmother, heading downstairs before anyone else was awake to make “breakfast”—often cake, pie, or cookies. Those mornings became lasting memories of warmth, welcome, and unconditional love.

Years later, David inherited his grandmother’s heavily marked-up Bible, filled with notes, questions, and traces of her faith. Inside were typewritten stories titled “David is Two,” preserving moments of childhood exploration and joy. Her faith, hospitality, and belief in him continue to shape his life and ministry.

In Lutheran communities, recipes are often more than recipes. They become vessels for memory, storytelling, and faith passed from one generation to the next.

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c. butter

• 1 c. sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 c. flour

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1 tsp. rum

Instructions

Mix the butter, sugar, and egg together in a bowl.

Then add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, vanilla, and rum.

For best results, mix it ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.

Use a lightly greased cookie sheet and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

You may add more sugar, sprinkles, etc. if desired.

Story

My maternal grandmother was a farmer's wife who had but one child, my mom. When I was born, I was adored (spoiled?) as the only grandchild. When we would visit the farm, after she woke the rooster, she would sneak into the room I was staying in with my parents and get me up. We would go down to the kitchen to cook "breakfast." Breakfast usually consisted of cake, pie, or cookies, which I would happily sample and be enjoying when my parents got up! I enjoyed my time on the farm and still have vivid memories of it, and my grandparents, which is amazing as they both died before I was 5.

One thing I have with me to this day is her Bible. It is all marked up with her notes and questions. It also contained a series of typewritten cards entitled "David is Two," with simple stories of a two-year old learning and exploring. That Bible was so important to her that when she died, the Pastor asked to use it to prepare her funeral sermon as it "wouldn't be right not to run it by her first."

Later on, my mom informed me that it was my grandma who first said that I was going to be a pastor.

What did she see in that little boy in her kitchen, chasing the farm cats, and exploring the farm? I wish I had more time with her, but as I still have her Bible, I still have her. Her story continues in mine.