Yesterday, I ran...both cardiovascularly and in the errand sense.
But today, I baked cupcakes. From scratch. With a stick and a half of butter.
And I licked the batter off of anything and everything that even had a drip of batter on it. And I don't even feel remotely guilty about it. Thank you, Martha, for this divine cupcake recipe. It's so simple, but seriously, it's the best cupcake batter I've ever tasted. The cupcakes aren't even done yet and I don't care; I'm completely satisfied with the batter alone.
Lately I've had lists galore. A to-do list for the week, a to-do list for the day, a store list, a job list, a workout list, a meal-planning list, a coupon-searching list. The only thing lacking is a list of my lists. No joke. Sometimes lists can be counterproductive and totally suck the life out of me, robbing me of my joy. So today, I badly needed a break from all that my lists had to offer. Alas, in true Type-A form, I couldn't completely steer clear of the list, so I added to it: bake cupcakes. On Friday, I will take said cupcakes to my nanny job and turn them into delightful spider leg cupcakes with the little Miss I watch. I'm sure it will be fun.
I promise this isn't really a post dedicated solely to baking cupcakes. But it is about what baking cupcakes--and the smell of the cupcakes drifting through my apartment currently--does for my soul. Sometimes it really is the little things that make a big difference.
In the last few weeks, I've gotten back into more of a regular quiet time routine. Several months ago, I started journeying through the Gospels, and yesterday I started John. A new devotional book that a friend gave me has had me rummaging around all throughout the OT and NT, which I've really loved. There's something about digging in and getting my hands dirty in the soil of the Word that really does restore energy and life and hope.
Today I read about hope. My devotional took me back through the stories of Ruth and Abraham, then ended with a passage in Romans 5. This is what hit me so hard. Check it:
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
Romans 5:1-5
What struck me most today was the last verse: "Now hope does not disappoint..."
As humans, we're so privy to using phrases like, "I've got my fingers crossed," or "I don't want to get my hopes up." But why are we so leery of hope? Of really letting go and believing in confidence? In reality, the reason we have hope is because of God's love. And His love for us has already been settled and proved, once and for all. Therefore, there's no way that hope can disappoint, not if hope is found in Him. There's really no reason to not get our hopes up, since He is the source of hope. And so this renewal of hope in my heart brought with it a renewed joy. Finding joy in the little things makes life so much richer and fuller and it makes me so much more effective as a minister, girlfriend, sister, daughter, friend, etc.
Okay, so I keep trying to draw some deeply spiritual parallel between baking cupcakes and living in hope, but I'm not really coming up with anything. The bottom line for this post, my thesis, if you will is this: I love baking and the Lord is so good to give me a hope and a joy that allows me to enjoy even the little things in life.
I hope you'll be encouraged and find hope today.
If I could bring you freshly baked cupcakes, I would. Just so you know. ;)
