I still remember the mugginess of the house during simmering summer months, the small electric organ in the living room I desperately desired to play, the cool checkered linoleum basement floor hosting heavy red velvet upholstered furniture and bookshelves full of Nancy Drew mysteries.

But our favorite place as kids was the kitchen. There were renegade pots with missing lids, plastic bowls and wooden spoons in a chippy white cabinet just for us. We’d drape a tea towel over a small table in the corner and play for hours, me and my best elementary school friend. As the oven and the kitchen preheated our petite grandmotherly baby sitter hustled around prepping pies and cakes and cookies- always cookies.

Baking was one of her special blessings- a sugary spiritual gift. Every Christmas for years, recycled tins of homemade goodness made their way out of that same home destined to delight neighbors and friends. As the weather finally turned from sweltering to sweaters, fudge, sugar cookies and peanut butter balls were among the annual treats. And it’s been satisfying to see how our family’s friendship has folded and blended into something even sweeter over the years as we care for each other in fresh ways.

{image via The Graphics Fairy}

In honor of all the inspiration of the past, I find myself whipping up the desserts now. Stirring and shaping. Planning and preparing holiday treats. Pecan pies and banana bread. Bunny cakes and bird nest cookies. Give me a recipe to recreate from scratch and I’m set.

But give me a box of jello (seriously who can ruin jello…?) or a banana bread mix (just add water! but what about the b.a.n.a.n.a?)  and I fall flat almost every time. Thinking it would be cute and not wasteful for the husband’s Birthday last spring, I attempted the “perfect size” pre-packaged cake kit by one of those famous fail-proof baking brands… only to come out with cake that was too buttery and icing that never quite came together from it’s powedered pakage (again I seemed to be tripped up by this adding of water?!)

For some strange reason, pre-made mixes and me, well, don’t mix.

Sometimes it’s so easy to spoil the simple.

All my kitchen feasts and fails of late bring me back to manna. The desert dwelling Israelites were provided with easy to follow instructions to pick up only a certain amount of what God provided for that day. True to His word, it wouldn’t keep for the next- no matter how they cooked, cured or stored it. Guess there’s a reason it’s called daily bread…

Each day God calls us into his word- with just the right ingredients to satisfy our souls for the journey. Though books and devotions are a good appetizer, there’s no substitute for starting from scratch in the scriptures.

A recipe I stumbled on last week for digging into your own daily taste of the word:

{The creator of this 5 “P” recipe is Miss Priscilla Shirer and you can find a more in depth explanation here on pg. 3-4 and 15-16…}

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. ~Psalm 34:10

John Eldredge states in regard to prayer, “There is a way things work”. With any recipe, you have to follow the steps to get the proper results and according to Oswald Chambers, ” God always instructs us down to the last details.” I can’t help but see the truth in that as I finished reading about the offerings and the tabernacle in Leviticus last month- God was laying out the details down to the last decoration.

So here’s to honing our techniques in cooking and keeping, paying attention to the directions and being satisfied by the perfect provisions only God can supply.

Are you ready to dig in? I’ll be sure to bring the cookies.

♥