All things work together for good to those who love
God and are called according to His purpose. That verse is so over quoted and misquoted as it is used to comfort,
encourage and strengthen. Does it really mean that sickness, death,
destruction, depression, discouragement, rejection and similar discouraging
events are “caused” by God? Does it mean that He will make good come out of
bad? We can only hope—and trust Him that He will never leave us or forsake
us…and that He will help us in our time of trials and tribulations. HOPE. Hope
is the key. Hope and trust. If we have no hope in our future, then we are not
trusting God to provide that hope and encouragement. In this verse we have to
look again…”according to His purpose” and
consider what God’s purpose is for our lives.
We may wish that our purpose in life to party-party-party—but God has a
higher goal for us and in eternal heavenly home we will one day party and feast
with Him.
Training Tip – Think about what personally gives you hope. Is it a
beautiful sunrise, good music, a favorite scripture verse, hearing your children
laugh, a phone call from a friend, an answer to prayer, fresh flowers, comfort
food, or just silence. Talk with your family. What does hope mean to them? What
gives them hope? Does this provide a purpose for their lives…and your?
Lord God, provide assurance to us that we can have
hope for a future, a future with You and a purpose for our lives.
Friday’s Feast at the Lord’s Table
We recently
traveled through part of Germany—and I was excited to see kuchen in some of the
bakeries. We had some onion kuchen and a slice of apricot kuchen in Wertheim,
a small German village along the Rhine River. It was good—but not as tasty as
my grandmother’s. Hers always had a nice soft sweet crust with a sprinkle of
cinnamon and even though she was not a hugger—it felt like a hug. Here’s a
recipe that was shared by cousins in their family cookbook. My favorites were
cream kaese (with homemade cottage cheese) and apple kuchens. Both were
sprinkled with cinnamon and the kitchen smell delicious as I came into Gandma’s
house after school.
Grandma’s Kuchen
Dough
¾ cup warm water
2 pkg active dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
½ cup butter, melted
Dissolve yeast
in water. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, mixing until smooth. Cover and
let rise in a warm place until double, 1-1 ½ hours. Divide into four sections. Roll
dough and place into round cake pans, extending the dough up the sides of the
pans. Pour custard over the dough.
Custard
6 eggs
1 cup cream
1 cup sugar
Dash of salt
Sprinkle of
cinnamon
Beat together
everything but the cinnamon. Pour into the dough lined cake pans, sprinkle with cinnamon and
bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until custard is firm.
For variety:
Cheese: Kaese
cheese – add 1 quart dry cottage cheese to the custard mixture.
Fruit - place thinly sliced fruit (apples,
plums, pears, or cherries) on the dough before pouring on the custard.
Of course,
sprinkle any variation with cinnamon and bake as above. Enjoy warm from the oven with a glass of
milk, tea or coffee at any time of the day. Not just a coffee cake.
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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