My daughter's piano teacher has a wonderful philosophy. She wants her students to use their musical abilities to bless and serve others. So she doesn't have formal recital once a year. She has two recitals, one at Christmas and one in the spring, and she has them at nursing homes.

Nursing homes usually have nice baby grand pianos. The residents love attention and they love young people. They are generous with their applause and very forgiving of forgotten notes.

Today was the Christmas recital. As I was listening to the students play, my eyes wandered around the room and rested on a board where the menu for the day was posted. Lunch was a choice of ham and cheese quiche or chicken pasta Alfredo. There is no blood type that would benefit from either dish. Ham is avoid for all, and only Bs and ABs could eat the cheese in the quiche. In the Alfredo dish, the chicken would be avoid for Bs and ABs, wheat an avoid for Os and ABs parmesan cheese an avoid for everyone except Bs.

The dinner menu was no better: country fried steak and a chicken pasta salad. There were hardly any vegetables and no greens on the menu. My mind wandered. Here are elderly people in poor health living in a nicely decorated nursing home, being cared for by an unusually cheerful and friendly staff. It is a well-run facility, and probably has a degreed dietitian on staff. But they are not getting the food their bodies need to maintain (much less improve) their health.

It made me sad. The piano students can bring a little youth and music into their lives. The staff brings food to tempt their aging taste buds. But who will bring food that is right for health?

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I notice that my comments at the beginning of the Christmas story have rotated into the archives. If you are joining these December blogs in midstream, we are reading the Christmas story together 1 or 2 verses at a time. I hope they will add to your joy!

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:24