Recipes

Soldier Flambe
Daniel 3:1-4:37

"Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own. So I now give this command: Anyone from any nation or language who says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn apart and have his house turned into a pile of stones. No other god can save his people like this." (Daniel 3:28-29)

This is one of my favorite stories! (I know, I know, not again... I'm always saying that.) But, it's true! First of all, these guys refused to obey the command, knowing that it was dangerous. Then, when threatened to be thrown into the blazing furnace, they said, "If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. He will save us from your power, O king. But even if God does not save us, we want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up." (3:17-18)

Pretty gutsy... I hope that I would be so strong in that situation. Their faith and complete trust in God saved them from being cooked to a crisp... but there was no hope for the unfortunate soldiers who threw them in there. So, we have ingredients for Cool Rack, Shack & Benny Salad: complete faith and trust in God. Ingredients for Soldier Flambe: worshipping idols.

Earthy Galette
Psalm 136:1-9

"With his wisdom he made the skies. His love continues forever. He spread out the earth on the seas. His love continues forever. He made the sun and the moon. His love continues forever. He made the sun to rule the day. His love continues forever. He made the moon and stars to rule the night. His love continues forever." (Psalm 136:5-9)

It is amazing! Everywhere I go I can see God, not only in the people I meet... but also in the land that God so lovingly created. The way the light hits the Catalina mountains some days, I really think God has come for a visit, saying, "Hi, Katie. Just wanted to give you a special gift in your day... to let you know I made this creation out of love for you." Wow! It's like my very own bouquet of flowers! And it's for all of us... the beach, the sun, the ocean, the fall leaves, the fresh fallen snow, etc.... it's the great equalizer, a gift from God that we can all enjoy freely.

Ingredients for this gift: God's amazing power, wisdom, and love. For those scientists out there: time. (It's a slow simmer, not a quick boil.) Lord, Your majesty is too much for me to comprehend... what a wonderful gift... thank You for the blessing of Your creation that You give to all of us, Lord.

Everyday Use Stew
2 Peter 1:1-21

"Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindess for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you to be useful and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Wow, that seems like a tall order, but definitely one I'm interested in filling. Just look at the final dish- knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (8). I so desire to know You more, oh God! So let's see... I'll need to gather faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, patience, service, kindness, love. Whew... that's a lot. But, it says... "do your best to add," so I can work on adding a little more with each ingredient that I gather... that I learn from people around me.

After all, the best stews actually stew... a nice slow simmer and all of those wonderful ingredients, the flavors combining and mixing with one another. Lord, please help me to add and grow each one of these ingredients, so that I may know You more.