Wednesday, March 28, 2012

On the way to Sunday . . . Extravagant Dessert

I'm fairly positive that Pumpkin Pie will not go down in the history of desserts as an extravagant dessert, but it is at the top of my list!

In the interest of full disclosure, Pumpkin Pie is my favorite dessert of all time. I could eat it all year and often due to thanks to a wonderful wife who bakes them for me!

But what could possibly makes Pumpkin Pie an extravagant dessert?


Every year my family would travel to Urbana, Indiana for Thanksgiving with my Dad's family. Grandma and Grandpa would lay out a feast like no other. When dinner was over, there was always dessert in many forms. As was tradition, Grandma always made a couple pumpkin pies.

Grandma knew I loved it. I was always polite and would have my one piece. I would then wait 'til everyone else had their choice of desserts and then whatever was leftover was mine to eat! Often this meant as much as half of an entire pie just for me!

One particular Thanksgiving, as I returned to the kitchen there was no pie leftover. I was disappointed, but I said nothing. As everyone finished and the dishes were being put away, my grandmother came over to me and whispered, "Go down to the basement and look in the refrigerator. There is something in there just for you."

Imagine my surprise. There on the shelf was an entire pumpkin pie with my name on it. From that year on, every time I visited my Grandparents, Grandma would bake a pie and hide it in the basement just for me!

I didn't need an entire pie. It was a bit extravagant, but it was a way for my grandmother to show how much she loved me.

Her pumpkin pies always tasted the best, perhaps it was the extra ingredient of love that made them better. One time she shared with me her secret recipe. I guess it really was that love that made them so special.

Now my wife bakes pumpkin pies with the same recipe as Grandma. A Dessert made extravagant by the love that goes into it's preparation. That will always make these pumpkin pies the best and most extravagant dessert for me!

Thanks Grandma and thank you Dink!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What does abundance look like?

I have to be honest. Since returning to ministry, I have not ever thought of myself as living with abundance. Especially, when I am paying the monthly bills.

Yesterday I had an experience that brought to light the abundance of my life that I take for granted. A gentleman stopped by my church office and asked for a ride to nearby town where a ride home would be waiting for him. It was a simple request and I was obliged to help him out. He was traveling home to Kentucky from Michigan. He had a duffel bag with him that weighed every bit of a 150#.

As we made our way out of town, I asked him if he had eaten anything. He replied, "I've had some snacks."

I said, "Let me buy you lunch."

He replied, "You know ... God's grace is amazing."

As we approached the McDonald's Drive-thru, I reached down to move my sunglasses from one of the drink holders in my car. I slipped it behind the CD Visor above my head. At that moment, I realized how much I had - sunglasses, CDs, money for lunch, a car, the list could go on.

As my new friend inhaled his lunch, I was filled with thoughts of gratitude - not for what I had, but for what I had been reminded of ...

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 NIV

In that moment, I was reminded how much I had. I gave a small part of it to someone who needed it - even if they didn't ask for it and the result was an overwhelming blessing of gratitude.

We will never realize how much we have until the moments that we willingly give waht we have away.

When is the last time you experienced abundance in your life?