Wait....isn't this a cooking blog?

Have you ever read Job?  I have a confession to make.  I once resented the book of Job.  I thought it was utterly unfair that poor, righteous Job had to go through all his troubles, just to make a point.  

Well, that was because I didn't read the whole book.  I just knew the story.  I promise you, if you want to get a higher view of our God, just read Job.  Then, when you get near the end, and Job says, "Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes," you will get it.  You will want to crawl under a rock, and still feel like you're making too much of yourself.  God is Big.  So much bigger than our songs, or our prayers, or our imaginations can fathom. 

One line in particular struck me as I was reading through the book.  Job 26:14 says, "Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him!"  And that is after describing little "fringe" items, like how His breath clears the heavens, and His power quieted the seas.  

In other words, there is SO MUCH MORE that we don't even see.  

But how much DO we see?  

Do we consider the power of God in His creation?  Do we stop when we see the beauty all around us?  Are we too consumed by the craziness of life to examine a flower, and think about how God continues, from the beginning of time, to allow it to reproduce according to its kind?

What about during our daily lives?  Are we so busy that convenience is our top priority in the food we serve our families, or the way that we keep our homes?  Are we striving to entertain with newer, bigger, better?  Or is it possible that, if we quiet down and search a little, we will find that the most beautiful, the most delicious, the most comforting, was there all along, just waiting to be noticed? 

Everyone who knows God is struck more by one aspect of Him than any other.  For me, it has always been His creation.  He is so good to us.  He could have created us to speak in monotone.  Instead, He created all the amazing tones that make up all of the music ever composed.  And He created musical geniuses like Beethoven and Rachmaninoff to put those notes together to create a piece of music so beautiful that it is capable of bringing you to tears, if not your knees.  He could have created all food to taste like Wonder Bread.  Instead, He gave us so many different flavors and textures that the combinations are endless.  He could have created everything in greyscale.  Instead, He gave us endless colors, some of which we have yet to discover.  

So what do we do with His creation?  Do we settle for "good enough" and go on with our lives?  Too often, I think that the answer is a resounding "YES!"  

This is not a blog that will teach you, with any degree of authority, anything.  I'm too busy searching.  I am happy, though, to share the things that I try, learn, and hopefully even achieve, in this wonderful job that God has called me to.  I do especially like cooking, so there will be plenty of that.  But I also have a treasure trove of material in this house that we call home.  It is an 1890 two-story in desperate need of rescuing from its latest (c. 1962) renovation.  It's a painfully slow process, but worth it.  As for that other piece of the puzzle that is homemaking, organization, well, I'm hoping that I will get lots of comments on those posts (if I can stop crying long enough to post on this subject), because I need help.  Desperately.

I am committed to searching out the best, and using the creativity that my Maker so graciously gave us. To explore the riches of His creation, the good gifts that are present, even in this sin-crushed world.  To bring them into my family's lives to enjoy.  And to take time to ponder the Fringes of His Ways.