Monday Morning Memo: A Heavenly Delight :-)

I thought at first it was a SPAM email since it told me I had been chosen as one of the anniversary cookbook giveaway recipients.  It then said that I just needed to provide them with my address, and they would send my free cookbook right out to me.  I didn’t remember entering this giveaway per se…but I usually do things like this when the entry doesn’t require me to do anything but give my first name and email.

So, I did a little investigating and found out that the person sending the email did actually work for the person whose recipes were in this book…so I decided it was legit.  I sent back my address and within 24 hours the beautiful, hardcover cookbook was at my door!

Anyone who knows me well, knows this made me happy.  I love to cook and enjoy finding new recipes.  Of course, most recipes are found on the internet anymore and I like the ones that have already received rave reviews from other cooks.  I take the time to read their thoughts on whether the recipe should be made just as written, or whether they thought it was better with their own personal “tweaking”. 

It never ceases to surprise me though, when I make one of these tried and true concoctions, and we hate it.  Sometimes hundreds of other cooks say that this combination of ingredients is the best thing since sliced bread, and we can hardly swallow it.  I have to chuckle when my husband always says the same line when he doesn’t like my new dish: “You don’t ever have to make this again.”  That’s my cue that this particular recipe needs to be destroyed!

Does this failure stop me from trying new recipes?  Absolutely not.   Do I give up and tell myself that I guess I wasn’t meant to be a cook and should resort to eating and serving TV dinners?  Of course not!  Just because this new dish wasn’t a success, doesn’t mean my next attempt won’t be a heavenly delight 

Just like I wouldn’t give up cooking because of a failed attempt, I shouldn’t give up easily in other areas of my life when I fall short.  Unfortunately, I see it happening too often in the lives of those with whom I come in contact.  They try for a new job and don’t get it, and they feel like a failure and give up.  They discipline their child and the end result is not what they were expecting, so they throw their hands up and let their son or daughter do whatever he or she wants.  They step out of their comfort zone to attempt something new for Christ and their actions are not met with rave reviews, so they resort to just being a “pew warmer”. 

None of us like to fail at anything.  But our failures shouldn’t define us as a person.  We need to remember that it isn’t the failure that will destroy us but our attitude towards the failure.  I like this quote from Chuck Swindoll, “We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.”

There is so much truth in his words.  Our attitude is key when we come up against a failure or life throws us a curveball.  Will we beat ourselves up or will we stand back up, dust ourselves off and resolve to try again?  Remember that Matthew 19:26 tells us, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Do you believe that today?  If so…make sure your focus stays on Him as you endeavor new and challenging opportunities that will help you grow to look more like Christ.  You just never know when one of these ventures will turn out to be a heavenly delight!

Oh, and you might want to say a prayer for my husband…because with a new cookbook in the house…he’s bound to be served lots of new concoctions!