Bee Sweet! or Be Sweet?

Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:24

Meditate. Consider sweetness.

 

I grew up with honeybee hives…several supers…on our farm, so we always had lots of honey. The bees were a necessary pollinator for our alfalfa crop and fruit trees. My Dad had the bee keeper’s outfit with a netted wide brimmed helmet type hat and thick leather gloves that he wore with long pants and long-sleeved shirt or coveralls. He had a smoker that he used to pump smoke into the hives to stun the bees before he opened the hives up to check on them…or to collect the honey. Yum! Nothing better than chewing a chunk of fresh honey comb filled with sweet honey. Dad would cut the comb off the racks and put in new combs for the bees to fill up. It was much neater than the bees making their own comb. You’d think that they would be organized about that, but in reality, they were messy builders. We slowly heated the honey comb in a big canning pot to melt the honey out of the comb and poured into large glass jars to store all year long. It keeps forever. Later in life I had friends who spun their honey out of the comb. Things change. Farmers now use leaf cutter bees which are even better pollinators for alfalfa, but there is no bonus of the sweet honey. 

God’s words are as sweet as honey to me. They last all year—actually like the honey, forever. I savior their flavor…and love to share them with my family and friends…and readers of this blog.

Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments. I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word. I haven't turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well. How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life. Psalm 119:97-104

Kind words…the kind that you want to hear and speak to others. If we apply God’s word to guide our lives in obedience to Him then we will be blessed with wisdom and understanding. Are you seeking and using God’s words to influence your choices in life? Choose His sweet words—they are even sweeter than honey.

 

Prayer ~ LORD, accept my offering of praise, and teach me your regulations. My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your instructions. ... Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart's delight. I am determined to keep your decrees to the very end. Psalm 119:108-109, 111-112 Thank You, Lord. I rejoice in discovering new truths about You.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5

 

Friday’s Feast at the King’s Table

My favorite cookie of all time is my Grandma Caroline’s Buttermilk Cookies. My cousin found a recipe that we think was Grandma—and I’ve changed it a bit…because I think that Grandma used honey instead of sugar as often as not in her cookies…because we used to take her jars of honey from Dad’s bee hives. She used some of that honey in her cookies.  I’ve also updated it using coconut oil and added more spices. I remember Grandma’s cookies as being flavorful. She always stored them, while they lasted, in a cookie jar with a slice of fresh apple to keep them soft.

 

Grandma’s Buttermilk Cookies 

1¼ c. honey (2¼ c. sugar)

2 c. coconut oil, butter or lard

4 eggs

1¾ c. buttermilk

1 t. vanilla

2 t. lemon juice

1¼ t. baking soda

3 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

2 t. ground ginger

6 to 6½ c. flour

 

Whip or melt coconut oil. Mix with eggs, honey, and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients together. Stir dry ingredients together with the egg mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and lemon juice. Roll out dough and cut--usually heart-shaped. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes.

 

© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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