Slow Cooker

I am so pleased to announce that the cooking expedition is still coming along great. I've been able to plan my menu's a week in advance. Gathering all of the groceries days before has really taken away my kitchen anxiety. Each day presents me with a new opportunity to create.

Although, I have noticed a little speed bump this week. The cookbook I am working with presently, is full of recipes that call for a slow cooker, or "crock-pot" if you will. Today is only Tuesday, and both yesterday and today I've failed to plan ahead enough so that the food can actually cook "slow". The recipe I tried yesterday was a tasty Italian chicken mix. Luckily I was able to get it going early enough, due to the fact that most of the family wasn't going to be home until after 7:30. Phew, that was a close one.

But today, I cracked open my cookbook to find that the chicken should have been marinating for at least three hours, and then on top of that it needed to cook for an additional two or three. Now I'm not expecting my family to mosey in at around ten or eleven tonight, so I don't think I will be able to pull that one off.

Could this be a blond thing? Just a thought.

So what will be plan B? As I drove Matthew to karate a few minutes ago, I thumbed through another cookbook. (No, I wasn't reading and driving - I thumbed at the stop lights.) I found a delightful recipe that only involves about five minutes of prep and ten or so of cooking. Now this is more like it.

I mention this today, because I want to help any aspiring chefs out there. Recipes require dimension . . . a certain amount of prep time, allotted quantities of ingredients. I sometimes wrestle over this. Why be so picky? But when I try and skim over the details and choose shortcuts, I discover no smiles around the dinner table. The chicken comes out tough, and gravy gets too salty . . . you get the picture.

I think my relationship with God can sometimes operate the same way. I am looking forward to a gourmet meal as I sit to spend time in his Word. But with only ten minutes here, and five there, I find that I am not able to really dig into God's mouthwatering precept. My lazy and inconsistent shortcuts always rob me of a banquet fit for a queen.

Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." ~ John 6:35

Has Bible reading become a fast-food ritual for you? I know I have been guilty of that.

Lord, show us what it means to marinade in Your truth. Simmer us to the perfection of Jesus.