vertical view

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!"

I've spent the last few days disgusted with the world. Disgusted at how people, believers and non-believers alike, can be consumed with idols of the heart. Materialism. Pleasure. Entertainment. Food. Fame. Self. More and more lately, I am realizing how corrupted this world really is. Even the true message of the gospel is skewed. Oh, I could go on and on... and that's precisely my problem. Can you call me judgmental? Probably. But God's Word calls this worldly corruption "sin".

I looked through the book of Ecclesiastes. The side-notes say that "all of life is meaningless, useless, hollow, futile and vain if it is not rightly related to God. Only when based on God and his word is life worthwhile." Humanistic wisdom is meaningless. Pleasures are meaningless. Work apart from God is meaningless. Achievement without God's blessing is meaningless. Advancement is meaningless. Money is meaningless. All this is true, BUT the interesting thing about these passages is that the author wasn't looking only at everybody else. He was evaluating his own heart.

Second Corinthians 13:5 reminds me: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified." Yes, discernment is good, BUT have I been examining others instead of myself? I need to stop looking horizontally. Instead, I need to assess my heart only, looking vertically, so that I may live a purposeful, meaningful life centered on God.

tromping on my sister's ground

On a beautiful spring day, letting 10 kids loose on a farm is a recipe for fun...

...or perhaps disaster!

I am addicted to photographing this beautiful boy!

It is such a blessing to hang out with sisters and kids. The day was filled with good conversation, occasional concerns, and random phrases from the kids like "You're all a bunch of wimps!" and "Help! Help!" Good times.

big. fat. goodness.

Take a bite of this.

I am not always a recipe-tweaker. But today, I needed a BIG, FAT cookie. This means thick, soft, chewy goodness with chunks. I picked oatmeal for hearty thickness, pecans and Hershey's Mini Kisses for chunks, and peanut butter for extra assurance that this new recipe would taste good. Here is what it came down to:

1 c. butter, slightly softened

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. creamy peanut butter

2 eggs

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1/4 c. chocolate syrup

1/4 c. Irish Creme or whipping cream

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 c. flour

2 1/2 c. oatmeal

1 c. pecans

1 (10 oz.) bag Hershey's Mini Kisses

3/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Beat butters and sugar very well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, syrup, and creme, beating well. Beat in salt and soda. Beat in flour, mixing well. Stir in remaining ingredients by hand. Drop by tablespoonfuls and form and flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Disclaimers:

• Every oven is different. 10 minutes in my oven made soft cookies. If you bake them until the edges are brown, there's a good chance they'll be crunchy.
• Beating cookie dough well is usually a good thing.
• Adding extra baking soda won't make your cookies thicker. I spent years talking to my cookies, telling them to "GROW, already!" or "STAY FAT!" but soda didn't do it. The key is thickness. Dough shouldn't cake to your fingers when you touch it. If it does, add more flour.

Try your own cookie recipe with your favorite ingredients! It's fun fun!