Cookies and Christ
Stories of Faith And Recipes
Peace and Hard
A few months ago our granddaughter came to visit our four-story town-home a few miles away from where she and her parents live. It was a season of life where we were blessed with regular visits and every day we saw her was a better day than any we didn’t. She has us wrapped around every finger and toe. She’s brilliant, beautiful and delightful in every way.
A typical visit includes a three-story climb to Grampa’s office.
When he’s not on a call, I let her go alone and linger until he brings her back down.
I was down in the kitchen visiting with my son and daughter-in-law, grateful they often share this perfect little human with us.
My granddaughter returned downstairs with YIYA (the name she gave Grandpa) carrying a treasure.
“What do you have?” I asked as I bent down to see what she was clutching so intently.
YIYA let us know he had traded her something that belonged to him that he wanted less than his calculator which she confidently claimed as her own while she visited him in his office.
We all laughed at her ability to use her resources to enter Grampa’s office with nothing and yet trade him and exit with a valuable pocket calendar that she was proud to show me and let me know without hesitation -that it now belonged to her.
I marveled at her strength and ability to use her resources. Today, it landed her a small useless treasure but in the coming years, it will be necessary for her to gain and use resources to understand God and her Savior, Jesus Christ and how Their power and purpose will be available to guide her life.
I’ve been pondering the message my middle child shared with his congregation a few Sundays ago. It was a message with a recipe for the peace promised in the Bible, as recorded in the book of John.
I was grateful my son shared some specifics of his journey and clarified that peace is not the result of a life void of trials or struggles. Instead, it is a blessing available to any of us who are willing to pray and follow God, working to have His Spirit with us.
Several months ago, I often felt an overwhelming feeling of “hard”. I chastised myself knowing I had done a lot of spiritual work to create sustaining peace.
So if things felt hard, I thoroughly searched my attitude, resolve, and faith to figure out what I was doing wrong that was causing this season of my life to feel hard.
One sunny day, I humbly walked a familiar gravel path up a gradual hill in an attempt to ask God to tell me “how to do this right”. I wanted the hard to be replaced by greater faith and obedience. And I wanted to know how to do it by the time I hit the view at the top. 😉
In my teens, as a fearless, (and foolish adrenaline junky) I often met friends at “The Rock”.
The hike to get there was across private property marked with “No Trespassing” signs that I felt didn’t apply to me. The activity of jumping off this rock into the reservoir came with a rush and a hefty dose of risk that failed to cause me to pause. This stage of life felt hard for me.
As I reflect on it- hard times often follow hard choices.
What I’m learning decades later is that hard times and hard choices are not always cause and effect. Sometimes- a season, a path, or a means to a purpose in life is hard- because it’s hard.
And it’s OK!!
Hard doesn’t always need to be fixed. Hard sometimes is just an invitation to more fully trust God that He will guide our unsteady steps through the thick of it, and magnify our strength.
Peace and hard can absolutely co-exist.
I’m learning to battle in the trenches with greater faith and desire to follow my Savior’s example of discipleship.
I’m learning to talk over my questions with God about my belief in Him, my relationship with Him and His will for me.
And I’m learning to gather resources (just like my granddaughter) from many different places-
Today it’s from the words of a modern-day prophet of God-
“Of course it’s hard.
Everything to do with becoming more like the Savior is difficult. “
President Russell M. Nelson
Thanks for being here!
I know you will find what you’re looking for.
Enjoy the recipes and messages of faith encompassed in Cookies and Christ 2023!
-JC
Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies
¾ cup soft butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips (I mix, mini, semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips)
Beat sugars and butter until creamy. Stir in eggs and vanilla; don’t over-mix. Add dry ingredients all at once and stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Form dough into 16 balls of dough. Flatten slightly. Refrigerate for 2+ hours or freeze until ready to bake. Just before baking, sprinkle dough discs with sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 12+minutes.
Let set.
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Cookies and Christ 
It was wonderful to talk about hard things last night with you. When I think of hard things, I think of how nature can teach us about the strength achieved through overcoming. Butterflies and birds must do for themselves in order to fly. As humans, just learning to sit up or walk is just the start of our journey through hard things that lead us back to our heavenly home.
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