U
&In all thy
ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&
From The Desk Of: Mickey G. Quinn
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2 sticks butter
1/4 C. Crisco
3 C. sugar
5 eggs
3 C. self-rising flour
1 C. sweet milk
1 T. vanilla
Preheat oven 350 deg. Cream sugar, butter and Crisco. Add remaining ingredients. Cook 1 hour @ 350 deg. in tube pan.
For those who don't know me or haven't read any of my articles wherein I have mentioned my knee injury, I injured my knee at work back in November of last year and have been in therapy for that reason. As I was driving home from my therapy today and while my knee was hurting more than usual, I began to think, "How in the world could something that causes so much pain possibly be good for me?". Well, in the process of this kind of thinking, I soon found myself beginning quite a pity party. Now, you may be wondering what in the world this has got to do with the title of this little article and the cake recipe at the beginning of it. Well, this is what the Lord helped me to see so that I could get my thoughts up out of the gutter and get off my pity trip.
After only a few moments of this pity party, the Lord helped me to see where it was heading and it really was only making my situation worse. The exit from this type of thinking is always found in one place and that place is God's Word. Well, I didn't have my Bible with me as I drove down the road, but the Lord brought to mind a verse of scripture that fit perfectly with what I was experiencing.
That verse of scripture is found in Romans 8:18 where Paul states, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." It was quite thoughtful of the Lord to not only show me in His Word that I should get out of my pity party, but to also use a southerner to do it. Yes, I believe that Paul had to be a southerner, because he said I reckon. That's a southern word. Northerners don't use that word. Now, if anyone on this earth ever had a reason to have a pity party it was Paul. So if he could see where to keep his focus, how much more should I bring my thinking above my circumstances. That same chapter also contains the verse of scripture that so many depend upon for comfort in particularly bad circumstances, which is Romans 8:28 which says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
Well, after Paul's words got my mind out of the gutter, the rest of the trip home was much better and the Lord used another verse to show me the association of baking a cake to suffering. It is with this thought that I hope to be of a help and a blessing to others who may be suffering or who will definately suffer in the future. By the way, that verse of scripture is found in 1 Peter 1:7 which says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" By the way, 1 Peter is pretty much dedicated to suffering and the Christian.
Now the cake part. Bet you thought I would never get to it. As I said before, I was wondering how in the world therapy which seemed to cause so much pain could ever be good for me or how it could pay off in the end. Well, notice the ingredients of the cake recipe I have written out for you. By the way, that's a real cake recipe and you are welcome to use it if you like. The first ingredient is two sticks of butter. Not very appealing to the palate, right. No one would want to eat two sticks of butter. No one that I know anyway. Then we have 1/4 cup of Crisco. If you've ever tried to consume Crisco, you will know that it isn't a very pleasant diet. Then there is three cups of sugar. Now, sugar is definitely sweet, but to consume three cups of sugar by itself would be a chore that no one would desire. Look at the next one. Five eggs. Keep in mind now that these are raw eggs. Do you know anyone who would actually enjoy eating five raw eggs? I doubt it. Then there is three cups of self rising flour. I don't believe that a person could drink enough water to enable them to choke down three cups of flour whether it was self rising or not. And then there is one cup of sweet milk. Well, it can't all be bad. And lastly there is one tablespoon of vanilla. You might get it down, but it wouldn't be very pleasant.
As you can see, all these ingredients alone with the exception of the sweet milk would definitely seem unreasonable to consume. Then when we mix all this stuff together it is still pretty un-appealing. In fact, things really start looking a mess with all this stuff together. Then what do we do with it? We must try it by fire as we cook it in the oven which we've pre-heated to 350 degrees. Then it has to stay in that oven for an hour.
Praise the Lord, when it comes out, that mess is a cake. It looks so much better. It even smells better. And guess what, you can actually eat it.
Do you see the comparison? Each one of those ingredients, just like our sufferings, are not very pleasant. Even when they are put together, like all our sufferings, take on the appearance of a real bonified mess. But when the trial is over and the finished product comes out, it's truly a miracle to behold.
I hope and pray that this little article will serve as a very real and lasting blessing to your heart when (not if) you are overcome with suffering and that you too will be able to not focus on the present circumstances, but look forward to the finished product. God bless you!