It’s National Let’s Laugh Day! Who needs to celebrate? I have a story for you that will make you laugh – most likely at me. But I’m okay with that!
A few months ago I told y’all (here) about going on vacation with my best friend and her family. The trip, though not without glitches, was glorious as was the amish friendship bread she made from the starters she brought with her. I didn’t want a starter. When you add my age to my goals, it does not equal cinnamon and sugar carbs. I still don’t know the “new math”, but I know that doesn’t add up. Alas, my husband and daughter batted their pretty eyes at me and I took one home. I fed it and mushed it all week as the instructions stated, and then came baking day.
Finding four unsuspecting chumps, I mean friends, to take bread starters did not tickle my fancy. So my husband and daughter convinced me to bake ALL the dough to freeze or give away in lieu of trashing the remaining 4 cups of dough. It was a simpler, more innocent time. I calculated that the 10 loaves of bread – yes you read that right – required me to quintuple the recipe and practically turn my kitchen into a commercial bakery.
As I started mixing ingredients, I ended up with a concoction demanding 15 eggs, 10 cups of flour, 5 boxes of pudding mix, etc., etc. The monstrous mass demanded an upgrade to a bigger mixing bowl not once, but twice. The one you see here in the picture is actually a cake topper. I sent my husband to the grocery store not once, but twice. It took all the strength in my biceps, as well as my husband’s to get it all mixed up. I almost gave up once, but my husband exclaimed, “We’re over $20 deep into this bread now!” So I persevered.
Tired and fully expecting a flop at this point, I squeezed the batter into 8 loaves instead of 10 and cooked them 4 at a time. The first four loaves all stuck to the bottom. The last four looked better. Although a little heavy, they still tasted good. So my crew demolished and froze the ugly ones and I gave the pretty(er) ones away. And then I cleaned up the disaster that was my kitchen. It took two days to get all the glue – I mean dough – off my countertops.
I read the recipe thoroughly. But because I chose not to do “exactly” what it said, my product was not “exactly” what it should be. This reminded me of how things usually turn out when I choose to try my own thing instead of following God’s holy instruction book.
The Bible, gets a bad rap when it is described as a list of do’s and don’ts . 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is [a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [b]training in righteousness;” NASB God’s commands are not meant to restrict us, but to protect us. They don’t deny us, they give us fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Because God loves and us wants what’s best for us, he gives us guidance on how to live. When we don’t follow it, or only adhere to the parts that sound good to us, we face much bigger disasters than my bread.
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22 NASB
Now keep celebrating this made up, but worthwhile holiday. Read a funny book, watch a comedy, play a game of Balderdash or Awkward Family Photos, or plan a date (even if it’s on FaceTime) with that friend who makes your drink come out of your nose.
And now it’s time for this week’s featured post!
I had such a hard time picking just one post to feature highlight this week. I hope you will revisit last week’s link up and read several posts if you haven’t already. But Karen of karengirlfriday.com acted as a balm for my soul. The anti-biblical rhetoric I hear spewed on repeat of late makes me want to dive under my covers and never come out. But Blessings in the Shadows of the Almighty’s Wings comforted me with reminders of his protection and shelter for me and mine.
Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.
Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement every week. If you’re a blogger, we hope you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader, we hope that you’ll encounter new bloggers that love Jesus as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.
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Heather Hart & Valerie Riese
Maree Dee
Lauren Sparks
Lisa Burgess
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Back in May I had a text conversation with my bonus son (I have his permission to print it here). When sharing ideas on spiritual matters, it struck me that our exchange spoke to a key question many have regarding Christianity. Namely, the grace versus works debate. I decided to present our discourse here and let it speak for itself.
