Ives Run COE #19, Tioga, Pennsylvania
So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father. ~ Genesis 50:12-14 This transitions us to the final words of Genesis. The three patriarchs of the Jewish faith, and in fact the patriarchs of the Christian faith as well, have all passed into the waiting arms of Heaven. It is now up to the fragile sons of Jacob to carry on the faith. To hold it near and dear to their hearts. We’re about to learn that they still have a few hills to climb over, but which of us doesn’t? We all have our flawed selves to deal with. But God uses the very things that we think are unusable. He “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (I Cor 1:27) As revered as the patriarchs are, they each had some serious flaws. As revered as David is, he too had some serious flaws, and yet, God Himself calls him, “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22). The men and women of Scripture are all flawed people, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, and yet, God has used each flawed person to further His Kingdom. Just as He continues to use us. He uses us in some pretty astonishing ways, too. I’m not talking about the Billy Graham’s of this world, I’m talking about all the small, seemingly insignificant ways He uses us to touch the lives of others – be they believers or no. Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!
It was an interesting day today.
First, there was laundry in town, where I met a local woman who talked about how their small town school was in lockdown because there was a domestic shooting three doors down – a fight over a two-year-old child. It’s everywhere. What is wrong with people? Oh. I know. People need the Lord.
Then there was grocery shopping in said town. I don’t remember anything noteworthy about that.
Once we got home and put everything away, Blaine decided to try his hand at real baking. Like with yeast and everything. But the odds were stacked against him. Weeks ago, I picked up a Pillsbury Hot Rolls box. I was with Blaine. We were in a hurry (as usual). I didn’t read the directions. I just figured, “It’s a Pillsbury box! Should be easy!” It was not.
The first tip off, once we read the box, was that it contained a yeast packet and the dough had to rise, be kneaded, and left to rise again. Just like real bread. Only he was making cinnamon rolls.
He did everything like he was supposed to, but the dough was waaaaay too moist to knead and we had to keep adding additional flour (at least a ¼ cup!). It was still moist when it came time to roll them up, and I had to scrape the dough off the counter as he rolled, but we managed to get them into the pans (we had to use two small ones because we don’t carry a 9×13). I told him to set the extra pan of rolls in the microwave where it would wait better than on the counter because it’s a bit warmer in there.
Only he forgot they were in there. He went to set the microwave timer for the baking ones, and just started the microwave instead! For seven minutes!
Have you ever tried microwaving homemade cinnamon rolls? They were actually trying to cook by the time he discovered his faux pas. I told him to go ahead and put them in the oven for a while, and see what happens. They weren’t terrible, just a little rubbery.
But the first batch, although not pretty to look at (you’d probably never pick them up in a store 😊), actually turned out really well. I had some leftover homemade lightly orange-flavored cream cheese icing in the freezer and we used that on top. Yummy!!!!
Great job, Baker Blaine!
