Living in the Extreme

As if Father’s Day itself doesn’t bring about a myriad of emotion for so many of us, we’re all still digesting recent, unimaginable tragedies and heartbreak among God’s people. It just seems our entire country is experiencing everything these days to the extreme.

We’ve got extreme heat and out-of-control wild fires blazing here in California while much of our east coast is sweltering in heat, humidity, rain and thunderstorms. Sorry for that brief weather update, but I think we could all use a little sweetness in our lives in one form or another. A pure and simple, refreshing peace that centers us and reminds us that God knows. God sees it all, shares in our suffering and offers His presence during every single drop-to-your-knees-and-pray moment.

He brings the rainbows, but not until the storm passes.

He brings the cool, quiet evenings, but we have to endure the scorching heat of day.

He brings reassurance and relief, but only after the flames die down.

Everything has its season. In fact, it seems everything has a beginning and an end…except one thing: God’s extreme love for His children. His love knows no season. It’s unconditional and from the purest of hearts.

Normally, I would head out to the garden when I want to collect my thoughts and find some sort of balance, but yesterday (the heat kept me inside) I found solace in my kitchen. I came home from grocery shopping and as I put everything away, I cleaned pantry shelves, consolidated food items, cooked up last little bits of things to get them out of the way and had a great time just being busy at home (Titus 2:5). And all day I found myself praising God; praising Him for His provision, His peace and His love for me.

Oh, and then these happened. I can’t take credit for this recipe, though. This is from Ree Drummond (the Pioneer Woman). These are so delicious and easy to make. This recipe sort of takes the extreme out of the day, as it requires you to press the crust evenly across the pan reaching all four corners. I think any recipe that calls for the use of our hands to fashion or mold has a natural way of resetting the soul. It just helps to sort of shut out the craziness, the chaos and uncertainty of life. And for that, I am extremely grateful.

" to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, 

and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will 

malign the word of God." (Titus 2:5 NIV)