In The Mood For Baking

In the Mood for Baking 10/14/2009

Today we (& by “we”, Christ & me) spent the day relaxing. We relax often. Within relaxation, Christ decided to bake. I asked my kiddos before they hopped on the bus this morning if they’d like some treats when they came home & what kind of treats they would want. 3 out of 3 agreed; snicker doodles it was! Christ as us had a couple of cups of coffee (2 sugars & a cream) and we sat out the ingredients onto the freshly washed counter-tops…glass bowl, mixer, cookie sheet, spatula…flour, sugar, cream of tartar, butter…vanilla, baking soda, eggs, cinnamon. Into the bowl I tossed the ingredients stirring with a wire whisk….scraping the sides of bowl with the spatula. As I spun the whisk around I began thinking about how much I like to bake. Perhaps, I will make that banana bread while I am at it...the bananas are probably ready by now. I remember that I had seen some bananas in the fruit bowl & looked over to the counter to see if they were still there. Someone must have decided they were too bruised and battered to do anything with. I remember when God showed me something about bananas. Bananas last for a while. Think of their journey to our tables! (I love to hear of people’s journeys!!) Picked in foreign lands or climates much different than Portage County OH, they are picked well before their prime-green…so they will last the duration of their journey. Some people don’t like bananas that get beat up or dented. You will catch people discriminating against bananas in the fruit aisle because of the way they look & those that aren’t perfect will be passed over. If you wait too long to eat them, they begin to gather black spots and blemishes. Some bananas never are eaten & are tossed in the can. As bananas ripen, they become sweeter. They need to be sweet …and spotted in order to make great banana bread. Have you ever been the banana that had been tossed aside because you didn’t quite look like the others? Have you ever been a bit beat up by the journey you traveled? What about the spots? Do you have scars and imperfections according to this world? Christ doesn’t care a lick about surface…He loves it when we get squishy & sweet & full of His sugar….He pulls off those peels and smashes us up…adds a bunch of things we never knew we had…allows us to go through the fire…and Shazam!!! Banana bread. Delicious. If life gives you bananas, allow God to turn it into a sweet blessing to others.

Recurring Thought 9/30/09

I had a few thoughts that kept flooding into my mind yesterday...and through today. After my kids got on the bus I went upstairs and began going through my morning routine. Autumn has officially begun in Northeast Ohio and it is my favorite time of year. I heard last year that Northeast Ohio (I believe the report was talking specifically about the Cleveland area but, we're close enough) runs second to Seattle for having the most overcast days in a calendar year. Pediatricians here are beginning to recommend Vitamin D drops to infants because of the lack of sunshine we have. I was standing there in my room at roughly 11:00 a.m. and became suddenly aware of the darkness in the room. Our home is surrounded by tall oaks that choke out the sunlight causing moss to grow in places people usually have grass. I am thankful for the shade in the summer, we are without air conditioning. I am thankful for the leaves to fall in the autumn, for it allows the sun to sparkle off of the snow and gives our house a chance to heat up when I turn the thermostat down to 60 to conserve fuel oil. In the pale gray of my room, nearly black and white, I was blinded temporarily when God chose to part the clouds. His light is glorious. It may bring those tears that drain to the side of the eye lid...perhaps, those tears may puddle and overflow. When all you are exposed to is darkness and dismal gray, the Sonshine is beyond magnificent. So it is with God's grace. When you have finally sat long enough within the shackles of religion, freedom can be bit overwhelming and enormously enticing. I am at a loss for words to describe the excitement, joy, peace and love that Christ has poured into me. The warmth of the Son, the light that chokes out the darkness.

Another thought I had was in reference to trucking. When my kids and I are on road trips or out and about running errands, if we are observant long enough, we usually see something out of the ordinary being hauled across this great land of ours. I remember many moons ago we saw an entire semi truck loaded with fire hydrants. Wow. You always see them on the side of the road or sidewalk but, you don't often think about their journey. One time recently we saw a huge back up behind an extra long, extra wide load carrying what looked to be a huge blade for one of those wind turbines. You see the wind turbine commercials on television but, don't often think about how they got there. There is always a journey. How about those big open trucks with the pigs, cows, chicken or sheep being carted to the slaughterhouse or a new home? That is where a thought came up. Instead of animals being corralled, change that to people. Fellow saints, being corralled into the pen of religion...taken on a journey at the mercy of the driver. Who is the driver? Are you being driven to death in religion? Or has Christ broken you out of the corral & set you free? Free to experience all of Him. Oh, the journey...Oh, the freedom.