Cooking

Day 11 of 30:

I'm so thankful for the ability to cook/bake. I really enjoy it- more so in recent years. Otherwise Howie and I would have really boring meals all the time. Instead, I like experimenting with recipes (I thank my dad for that because he would do that when I was little sometimes) and trying new things. I'll try things just for the sake of trying a new recipe, especially foods that normally come already prepared (bagels, granola bars, tortillas). But I'm thankful for the people over the years who have taught me how to cook/bake, and who have shown me how much fun it can be. I love that I can use the ability I have to cook/bake to show my husband that I care for him. I enjoy using those skills to make fun, random things to take into work (we cook for lunches during staff meetings sometimes).

Following a recipe is much like following God. He gives us direction and guidance through His Word, but we do have the ability to stray away- free will. In a book I was reading this morning* the author was talking with his brother about prayer and God, and says (about his brother), "A life without prayer is something I couldn't imagine. In no small way, I'd been depending on prayer for as long as he'd been avoiding it." When cooking/baking, there are certain things we cannot avoid- like not using yeast to make bread raise. Prayer should be like that- ABSOLUTELY necessary. Not using certain elements of a recipe will completely change the outcome, sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. But with God, we need to completely rely on Him through prayers, reading His Word and not straying from the life He's given us.


*Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks (a memoir of a three week around the world adventure the two brothers took together)