Friday, April 5, 2013

April 5 - Goodness

And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?" And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." Matthew 19:16-17

Here we can read between the lines that Jesus is admitting that He is the One who is good. It is worthwhile to mention scripture that says…Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8. Jesus NEVER changes…God NEVER changes. He IS good—the ultimate goodness. He is what we are striving to be like. We change—hopefully for the better—to be more like Jesus. It may take a conscience effort, an inward determination to change—and the best place to start a desired change is with prayer. Ask God to help you—if it is change towards more goodness in your character that you desire. Jesus direction to keep the commandments may also take prayer and a commitment on your part. Just remember…I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13  

Training Tip – Make a chart and have your family rate themselves and each other on different character traits. Between one and five, with one being the lowest and five being the highest, how does each person rate on goodness, gratitude, servant hood, humility, forgiveness, honesty, perseverance, contentment, kindness, compassion, joy, obedience and love? You may only want to choose five traits to make this an easier task. What traits do you model best for your children? Consider which traits you want to encourage more in each family member. 

Lord Jesus, we want to be more like You—overflowing with goodness. Help us to keep Your commandments and share Your goodness and love in everything we do.   

Friday’s Feast at the Lord’s Table
The goodness of food—oh it is hard to choose one to represent “goodness.” This surprisingly fun little cookie has a lot of goodness. I served these to friends with fresh strawberries after a chicken curry salad recently. Tasty. I hope you’ll try it and enjoy it. It will be a good recipe to take out again when the summer squash is bountiful. 

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies
Adapted from Everyday Foods, September 2009
Ingredients
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp coconut oil, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest from 1 lemon ~about 1 teaspoon packed, finely grated using a microplane
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1 medium zucchini, grated using a microplane (about ¾-1 cup)

Directions
1.      Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly. Put on a disposable glove and mix in zucchini until a thick dough forms.
2.        Drop dough by rounded balls—about the size of small walnuts, 2 inches apart, onto a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until cookies are light golden brown at edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks. Makes 24 cookies.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
© 2013 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

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