If I can get the Food Network interested, I want to do a cooking show. I will call it Kids, Don’t Try This at Home. For the first half of the show, I will regale viewers with stories of my attempts at creative cooking. The second half of the show will be turned over to my co-host, Martha Stewart, who will berate me and tell me I’m the one who should be in prison for my abusive treatment of taste buds.
At my house, I’m only allowed to microwave leftovers under adult supervision.
There’s a way to cook and a way not to cook. And we can thank Fannie Farmer for her contribution to the art of good cooking. She gave us measurements.
We celebrate Fannie Farmer this week who, on August 23, 1902, opened Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston. Her school was successful because she had already established a name for herself. She had earlier published a cookbook which revolutionized the way we approach cooking. She simply introduced precise measurements.
Before the days of clever measuring cups from Pampered Chef, people learned to cook more by watching others. Through experience, they developed good judgment on how much of an ingredient to add. But Miss Framer pushed for strict, level measurements. She put science in the art of cooking. Thanks to her, buffoons like me can actually whip up a decent meal if we stick to the measurements and instructions.
Most people approach life like I approach meal preparation. They put in what they think will work and hope for the best. It doesn’t work with cooking—and it doesn’t work with life.
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Prov. 16:25)
God expects us to use exact measurements with our life, and He has given us a standard to follow. It’s clearly written out for us in the Bible. No guesswork, hoping I get it right.
“So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess” (Deut. 5:32-33).
Even though I know that’s the only path to success or a fruitful life, I still falter and return to putting in a pinch of this or that, whatever looks good to me. But God in His grace steps in. He rescues me from my own failures. And I choose to get right back in line with His standards. Thankfully, by His Spirit, He leads me and helps me get it right.
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him” (Ps. 37:23).
Life tastes better when I follow Christ and His instructions.
Encourage someone else by passing along this blog post.
The allure of travel and adventure has always carried some appeal in planning a mission trip. I’ll confess that in my student ministry days, that was a part of my reason for choosing some of our locales.
Let’s come at this from another angle. The best way to do missions is to begin at home. The world has come to your doorstep. Don’t go to the ones “out there” until you have reached out to the ones who have come to you.
post supports the study “Right Here, Right Now” in 
I don’t like Christian movies.
The Case of Christ
For all my disdain of the genre, they do serve a purpose. Although the intent of so many of these movies is to be evangelistic, they serve well to encourage believers. They give many believers Christ-centered entertainment.
We all have those red-letter days: milestone dates we recognize—even as they are happening—as days that define us. We don’t just remember the event; we remember the date on the calendar. Life-shaping dates on my calendar include:
Nixon had a long career in politics that reached its pinnacle on August 8, 1968 when he was nominated to run for president by the Republican National Convention. In a period of civil unrest, growing opposition to war, and a quickly changing moral landscape, Nixon stood for law and order—and he was popular.
Nixon did much for the environment. He tackled issues like growing pollution and initiated the Environmental Protection Agency.
You probably don’t know the name Vincenzo “Vinnie” Ricardo—but few other people did either. That explains why, when he died, no one knew it for over a year.
Let me ask you to do something—just one thing. This week—today—build a relationship with someone you don’t know. Maybe you only know a first name because she sometimes comes to church or your Bible study group. Go to lunch after church. Don’t know what to say? Try this:
Immediately, thousands of lives were extended. And because about three million people suffer from Type i diabetes just in the US, these scientists could’ve made a killing, Instead they settled for receiving the Nobel Price for their work.
I am a beneficiary of the life-saving work done by Drs. Frederick Banting and Charles Best. I am also a beneficiary of another life-saving treatment. Sin, rebellion, and death controlled my life—and with them the symptoms of no peace, no joy, and no contentment. I needed blood. The innocent blood of Jesus Christ was shed to take the place of my sin-tainted blood. I was washed clean and purified by the blood of Christ.