Category Archives: Lessons in the Kitchen

Prove ~Five Minute Friday

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“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life!” John 6:47-48 (NLT)

The Perfect Loaf

I love homemade bread! And when I say I love it, I mean I’d choose another slice as my dessert rather than, well, dessert. Marrying into a farming family it seemed only natural to me that I would learn to make my own fragrant, tender, warm bread and so, I went to an expert, my new grandmother-in-love.

I was nervous and as the lesson began I realized I had reason to be.  Grandmother didn’t use a written recipe, she created her delectable loaves by memory and feel. As I tried to take notes she encouraged me to lay down the pencil and put my hands into the dough. Side by side we worked and with her guided help my first loaf of homemade bread baked up beautifully and tasted even better!

Fast forward to my own kitchen counter, flour covered and in disarray. As I stared at the glob in the bottom of the bread pan, my heart and hopes dropped.  I’d done my best to remember each step, to “feel” as Grandmother had taught me, and was sure to place the pan in a warm place to prove the dough like I was supposed to. But instead of rising many times it’s original size, there it was, just as flat and shapeless as when I’d put it in. Something or things had gone wrong that kept the yeast from helping the dough to rise to its full potential as a perfect loaf. I love homemade bread but…. not the kind I make on my own.

You know, sometimes I can feel like that lump of unrisen dough, not reaching my potential either.  Maybe you’ve felt that way too. At 66 years old it just seems to me that I should be further along in my spiritual life: trusting more, worrying less, giving more, slipping up less, studying the Word more, and fearing less. Instead I often feel like salt that’s lost its saltiness, a vine that doesn’t produce, and yes, dough that doesn’t prove. As I ponder this it occurs to me that like the failed loaf, maybe the problem is trying to do it on my own.

How often do I (or you) say, “I just need to try harder.” “If only I would….” “I can handle this.” “All I need to do is change….” I, I, I,I. It seems the more “I” work at rising to be who God wants me to become, the more I fall flat.

Isn’t it funny that I knew I couldn’t learn to make homemade bread without help, yet I attempt to “do what pleases him” on my own? Grandmother welcomed me to her kitchen and lead me step by step as she shared her recipe. She guided my hands and helped me experience the process of separate ingredients coming together to form something beautiful. God does the same thing for us, too.

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power
 to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

 I needed this reminder that we have Someone who works side by side and from the inside out to help us become more pleasing. The finished product may take being mixed up, kneaded vigorously, and stuck in the heat to prove. I don’t know about you, but it’s still a recipe that gives this 66 year old hope to keep going until finally one day I’ve become the “perfect loaf!” 

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you,
will continue his work until it is finally finished
on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

 

Joining with others at http://www.fiveminutefriday.com to write to the prompt, “Prove.” Click over to read more offerings.

Recipe for Life

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to cook.  There’s just something about taking a variety of individual items, following specific steps to combine them together, and Ta-Da….create one delicious creation! Here’s the thing though, as much as I like to cook, I don’t always want to follow a recipe that’s too complicated or use ingredients I’m not familiar with. Sometimes (dare I say it) I even think I know better than the recipe-writer and change things to suit my own tastes! As you might guess, doing it my way hasn’t always made it to the table.

I’m afraid I carry my cooking style into everyday life, too.  Most of the time I’m able to take all that the day to day throws in the mix and it will turn out just as I imagined.  But then, there are those moments or seasons when I find the next moves I need to make complex and uncomfortable. I want nothing more than to revise the “recipe” so that the results are to my liking.  Any other “creative life cooks” out there?

At times, deviating from a recipe in the kitchen has had gratifying results.  Veering from God’s plan for my life?  Not so much. Adding this. Eliminating that. Leaving out a step or (dare I say it again) ignoring the “Recipe-Writer” simply leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And guess what? If we remain on a diet of too much “me” we’ll never be satisfied!

“For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.  You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does  The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.  The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.  The Lord is close to all who call on him yes, to all who call on him in truth. ” Psalm 145:13-18 (NLT)

When we take our eyes off ourselves and look to God, He provides everything we need.  After all, He is the one who took all the different “ingredients” and wove them together to make Ta-Da….the unique creation that each of us is!

I’m learning that the recipe for life requires no revisions and it’s not complicated: When we “grasp how wide” (for everyone) and long (throughout our life and into eternity) and high (there is no limit) and deep (He won’t let us sink) is the love of Christ”; we become “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” And friends, there’s nothing more satisfying than that!

Have Thine Own Way ~ Five Minute Friday

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No WAY! Yes WAY! It’s Five Minute Friday already again!!! And, by the WAY, the prompt today is…. WAY! So aWAY we go and if you get carried aWAY you can make your WAY over to
http://www.fiveminutefriday.com to read WAY more!

Have Thine Own Way

“Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8 (NIV) / Pixabay

Many years ago, when my daughter was young, she and her friend were in the kitchen cooking with a recipe they’d found to make play-doh.  I could hear their giggles from the other room and decided to peek in. Rounding the corner, what I saw made me squeal!  There stood one girl holding my best Tupperware bowl over a hot stove element while the other was mixing vigorously.  It was quite a sight because the tallest one was holding the bowl and the tiny one, standing on her tip-toes, was attempting to stir the mixture.  When I was able to finally get my words out, I asked what in the world they were doing?  Dismayed, they couldn’t understand why I’d be upset as they were just following the instructions which read: “stir OVER heat”! “Stir over heat” has since become a standing joke in our family.

There’s just something about play-doh and clay that children love. Adults too! (At least this adult does) I think it’s that you can work and work to make something just the way you want it.  It may take a few tries with a squeeze here to close a gap, or a pinch there to cover a mistake until ultimately you create the masterpiece you’d visualized.

There’s an old hymn that says: “Have Thine own way, Lord! You are the Potter; I am the clay” and the book of Isaiah shares with us, the same message.  God sees the masterpiece each of US can be.  His artistry created  through our good times and bad, the people we come in contact with, the gifts we have, and everything in-between as we journey through life. With a squeeze here or a pinch there, we are skillfully being molded into the Potter’s vision. I have to admit, it’s easier to say “Have Your own way” when things are smooth and coming together.  Not so much, when we’re being stirred over heat and there are mistakes to cover! But, just as play-doh in a child’s hand lovingly becomes a treasured creation; so are we, in the loving hands of our Creator who continues to mold each of us until one day, He will look upon His perfect design and say, “Well done”.