Day 77- A Baking First

Tonight is the night that I meet with some guys to pray together and talk about how to be the men that God intends for us to be.  One of us usually picks up snacks for our time together. This is a men's group.  We pick up snacks.  It is not a baking contest. We typically pick up cookies from Subway or a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts from Wal-Mart.  The closest Krispy Kreme is probably 80 or so miles away or this option would be more popular; in fact we would probably just have our meeting at the Krispy Kreme place.

Sorry, just the thought of Krispy Kreme threw me off track. So Laura suggested that I could make a dessert for tonight.  Not the most exciting suggestion ever, but it was pretty good.  So, I made cookies for our men's group tonight for my "first."

The thing is, I don't bake.  I don't cook. I just don't do the culinary thing. I never have.  I like to eat and I like to eat a lot. People have asked me what would I do if something happened to Laura.  As long as Pizza Hut, Subway, Chen's Garden, Larry's Bar-b-q, Church's Fried Chicken, and places like that don't go out of business, I'll find something to eat.  So, making cookies for a few men is certainly not something I would just decide to do. Laura found a very easy recipe and helped me with it.  Hannah Grace was the photographer.  Joel worked on a poster about soil for school.

Chef BoyarBarry (get it?)

My photographer has a hard time not taking pictures of herself- I'm glad

Homework; oblivious to the culinary art going on a few feet away

I was not happy with how this was going at this point

The Guys (minus one who had to work)

So, the guys said the cookies were good.  They ate a good many; actually more than I thought they would. When I got home I found out that Hannah Grace also liked them.  The men acted like they enjoyed them even though the cookies were very simple and not a big deal.  The big deal is that we have each other to get together with and try to help each other connect in a deeper way with Jesus and our families.  I appreciate that these men want to grow in their relationship with Christ.  I am grateful for how they love their wives and children. They encourage me to see how they want to grow.  We all need a few people that we are able to open up with and be real about where we are with Jesus and the important people in our lives.  We all need encouragement. If you don't have someone that you are talking about how to connect with Jesus and family with in a meaningful way, I would encourage  you to pray hard for God to show you someone you can do that with.  God never designed us to live life by ourselves.  Satan's plan is to separate us from each other.  God's plan is for us to grow closer together. Find the best people you can to help you do that.

People sometimes talk about saving time.  Nobody saves time. We are all spending it.  The key question to ask is are we spending our time in a God honoring and eternity impacting way.  Here's a few statements that stood out to us in our study tonight:

• Anything we give our children (or wives) is a poor substitute for ourselves.
• Your children will not remember what you did for them as much as what you did with them.
• We should not keep sacrificing our lives and families for people who won't cry at our funerals.

Growing with others toward the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. These men in the above picture (and the one that had to work)
2. The blood of Christ
3. Cardinals