Day 17- A Peanut First

A guy at our church gave us a bag of peanuts.  He's a peanut farmer and a very nice man. 

I love peanuts.  So, as I looked at this bag of peanuts I thought maybe there is a first here.  What do I do with these peanuts? Well, there is a recipe for peanut brittle on the back of the bag.  I love peanut brittle. I have never made peanut brittle. I have never cooked anything besides maybe toast. I can make a decent bowl of cereal, especially if you like a lot of milk.  So, making peanut brittle is my first for today.

 I read the directions and they were helpful. I would have no idea where to start without the directions. They could have been more helpful.  For instance, it says to mix things together and cook them.  Well, that leaves a lot of questions.  How hot do I want the stove?  Give me an approximate amount of time that I'm supposed to cook them.  Those kinds of things would have been really helpful.  Fortunately, I have a very loving wife who talked me through a good bit of this.  She was helpful.  I did catch her trying to stir a time or two and she almost got a hand swatted with the spoon (just kidding).

With Laura's help and encouragement, I made peanut brittle.  Yay!  It was not bad.  Notice I did not say it was really good.  For a first timer, it was pretty good.  If it was your grandmother, she would probably think it was not so great.  It would fall somewhere between throwing it in the garbage and winning a blue ribbon at the county fair.  I have eaten more than one piece and less than 10 if that tells you anything.

If I make peanut brittle again, I think I will not cook it as long.  It seems a bit over cooked.  Here's the thing.  Anything you do for the first time, you may not be great at it. That's true in our life with Jesus.  The first time you try to share your faith with someone, you may feel uncomfortable and wish you had said things differently.  That's OK- that's called growth. The first time a person prays out loud, they may feel self conscious. They may stumble a bit over the words.  That's OK.  People grow by doing.  I think too many people in church feel like they grow by going to church.  It's helpful. But you actually grow by doing what Jesus says.  Sure, some things feel a little awkward and uncomfortable at first.  That's no reason to stop. that's all the more reason to keep going.  Your grandmother probably doesn't even need a recipe to make peanut brittle.  She probably needed help the first time, though.

Now, where are those chocolate chip cookies Laura made?

Hungry for the abundant life

Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Peanuts
2. Peanut farmers
3. Salvation by faith