Let’s Eat In!

By Robin J. Steinweg –

As a bride, my entire culinary repertoire was a trio: Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, pancakes, and “Let’s eat out.” The latter sang the lead.

I had once been proud of not being domestic. But as a Christian, I developed a desire to honor God by providing good meals for my family. I could write an anti-cookbook about failed attempts. Did I mention we were all in the lower 5^th percentile on the doctor’s weight charts?

I attended a marriage seminar about speaking in faith. The principle taught that our words have the power of life and death (Pr. 18:21). And since we have a God who created everything with His Word alone, we can affect change with our words too.

I made a list to practice reading aloud: “I am a good cook.” I snorted. “I plan creative meals.” Right. “Baking is a passion of mine.” I looked in the mirror. “You are a miserable fraud, and these are bald-faced lies!”

For lack of a better idea, I kept up the farce. In weeks I quit laughing. In months, I’d had a few small successes and sported a more positive attitude. My repertoire expanded. A new friend came alongside, taught me professional cooking techniques and gave me new recipes. I think she prayed, too. In a few years, I could truthfully look in the mirror and say, “You are a good cook. You can plan creative meals. Cooking is at times a passion of yours.”

There is a difference between speaking in faith and speaking lies. Lies deceive, steal and harm. Speaking in faith flies in the face of Satan’s lies, and brings life and abundance.

Let’s eat in!

AUTHOR QUOTE: In what other areas might this principle work? Psalm 37:4 says if I delight in the Lord, He’ll give me the desires of my heart. Once I desire what He wants me to desire, I should speak in faith. As I cooperate with Him, He’ll make it happen.

“I am the Lord…who carries out the words of His servants and fulfills the predictions of His messengers…” (Isaiah 44: 24b, 26a NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Revolutions of Resolutions

By Robin J. Steinweg –

January First circles around like a shark figure on a planet-sized carousel. The brass ring eludes me. Twenty-seven New Year’s Day journal entries reveal my redundant resolution: this is the year I conquer my arch-enemy, Paper Clutter. Twenty-seven years I have reached for but missed this particular brass ring.

You might call me an expert on organizing. After all, experts say it takes 10,000 hours of studying/working at something to become an expert (and they should know). This translates to about three hours a day for ten years. I have more than paid my dues. I’ve read a score of articles and dozens of books on the subject—some of them three and four times. Nearly twenty of these hibernate on my shelves. I even took notes. They are clearly labeled and stored in folders among random Tower-of-Pisa stacks. I could quote statistics and name the most effective methods, if I could find them.

Getting organized is not only my lifelong quest. It appears on most of the lists of Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions. One source had the nerve to say it “can be a very reasonable goal,” but gave no advice for reaching the goal. It was obviously written by someone who doesn’t suffer from C.H.A.O.S. (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome).

My journal entries often include practical Bible verses to encourage me that this is a godly pursuit. God is not the author of confusion, but of order; I can do this through Christ, who strengthens me; I should forget what is behind and press on to what is ahead, to win the prize. With scripture to back me up, and the strong resolve of so many years, what is keeping that brass ring out of reach? Pogo’s words pop up: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

If I hear and don’t act, James says it’s as though I glanced in a mirror and then walked off, forgetting what I look like. What a concept. Do what it says. Maybe I should get off the carousel and make a decision about one cluttering piece of paper at a time. And remember that with God, fresh starts and new hearts never have to wait until January First.  Maybe that brass ring is within reach after all.

QUOTE: “Resolve to renew all your old resolves and add a few that are new. Resolve to keep them as long as you can. What more can a poor man do?” (Early 1900’s postcard)

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22 and 23a NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Christmas Comfort

By Robin J. Steinweg –

“Okay, Mom, when do we get to open our Christmas Eve pajamas?”

“What do you mean, ‘Christmas Eve pajamas’? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Our tall sons nudge each other and eyeball the presents under the tree. It’s tradition: Go to church, open one gift, sing carols together; drink cocoa, gobble cookies, pray together, then hit the sack.

“You know. What we get every Christmas Eve. What color are they this year?”

“I am clueless. Enlighten me.”

Son number two rolls his eyes. “We’re on to you, Mom.”

I am all innocence. “I can’t imagine why you think you’re getting pajamas.”

“It might have something to do with the fact that we’ve gotten them every Christmas Eve for eighteen years.”

“That was pure coincidence. I’m sure you’ll be surprised this year.”

Son number one pats my head. “Right, Mom. It’ll be a surprise to find out if they match or not.”

I hand them and their father packages marked “Christmas Eve.” I make them open them simultaneously. They each pull out dark green lounge pants printed with bright-colored strings of lights, and T-shirts, each a different color. “Surprise!” I holler. They laugh and go to put them on.

Traditions and rituals are not only fun, but comforting. Like knowing that Girl Scouts will appear at the door in the fall selling cookies; Mr. Rogers will don a sweater and canvas shoes on every rerun; It’s A Wonderful Life will be on TV several times each Christmas season; and bell-ringers for the Salvation Army kettles have been out in force.

The first Christmas did not offer any traditions. Conquering Romans forced the Hebrews to travel to the towns of their birth for a census, regardless of the hardship it placed on them. A woman in labor, turned away from crowded inns, found small comfort in giving birth to her firstborn in a stable. Angels appeared and terrified some shepherds. A star, never seen before, lit the way for magi to travel from the east to find a Child, the prophesied King of the Jews.

Even so, God’s Word rings true: “Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that…her sin has been paid for.” (Isaiah 40:1-2). Now there’s comfort to last from Christmas to eternity!

QUOTE: “…remember, Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray. O, tidings of comfort and joy; comfort and joy! O, tidings of comfort and joy!” (Traditional English carol)

“I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13c NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Bursting With Thanks

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I decided one year that Mom needed a break from cooking the whole Thanksgiving dinner. She and Dad determined still to have it at their house. They would provide the big pull-out table and some side dishes, while traveling relatives could bring fresh fruit and relishes. It was my graduation from Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Niblets. I would roast (heavenly choir sings) The Turkey.

In preparation, I watched PBS cooking shows and checked out cookbooks from the library. I even found a video for my husband on how to carve a turkey. Thus equipped, I felt confident. After all, I come from good Scandinavian cooking stock.

We ordered a turkey big enough to feed nearly twenty people. He barely fit in my oven. I took no chances. He came with a pop-out thermostat and gravy pouch, and I stuck him in one of those convenient cooking bags. I glanced over the directions, noting how much time he’d need to cook. After a newlywed fiasco in which I served my husband’s bosses nearly-raw chicken, I thought I’d err on the side of well done. I’d cook it a bit longer, but with a cover over the pan so no moisture would escape. The fragrance soon promised a mouth-watering meal.

Pressed for time at the end, I whisked the food from the oven to a towel-lined box along with some pumpkin pies and Potatoes Supreme. I thought I would burst with pleasure at supplying the main dish for the first time! Mom stood by to help lift it out. My husband stood by ready to carve. My older sister stood by, curious. The guests, seated, seemed to suspend their breathing as I raised the cover to reveal a perfect wreck of a bare carcass. It looked like a bomb had landed in its middle. My husband would not need his carving lessons, with the turkey in bite-sized bits. I’d forgotten to cut venting holes in the cooking bag.

Let’s see; humility? That’s an important lesson. Plan ahead more? Be better prepared? Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds? They say that at such times one’s life passes before one’s eyes. But I took comfort as instead, a verse from 1 Peter in The Message flashed to mind: “Love makes up for practically anything.” Then I obeyed the next verse: “Be quick to give a meal to the hungry…”

AUTHOR QUOTE: Thank God if you belong to a family who loves you whether you succeed or fail (even if they never let you live it down).

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Deadly, Dawdling Dial-up vs. Instant Eternal Access

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Click. Hear the bloops and bleeps as the telephone dials for Internet service. Feel the impending tedium as you prepare to wait. Pretend with me exactly as I did—when I still had deadly dial-up:

Click—wait for Home page: Pretend to walk upstairs, put on coat, grab keys, go out to the garage, get in the car, put keys in the ignition, buckle seat belt, adjust mirrors, turn on Life 102.5 Christian radio…

Home Page at last! I want the library’s online catalogue. Click—wait: Put car in reverse, back out, wait for neighbor to cross the street for the mail, head for fifteenth street, turn onto Grande, pass high school at 15mph, stop at crosswalk for sleepy-looking teens…

Library page! Click—wait for Search page: Drive 4 blocks to stop sign at 5^th, wait for crossing guard to maneuver a 3-foot tall boy with a 4-foot tall backpack across the street, wait for bus in front of me to turn, make silly faces at waving children in back window, pass grade school, continue 4 blocks to stop sign at Water Street, wait for five cars, turn right…

Finally! Type in full title of book, Click—and wait: Proceed south on Water for 2.2 miles, turn in at library parking lot, park, turn off car, remove seatbelt, get out, lock doors, walk up sidewalk, in the door, wipe feet…

Ah Ha! Click to check out book—and wait: Walk past check-out, greet friendly librarian, admire her antique pin, head for the stacks, look for desired book, back to check-out for expert help, follow librarian to the stacks, find book plus three more, back to check-out, lay books on counter, dig for library card, hand it to smiling librarian (who swipes it, swipes books and hands back my card in 4 seconds flat because she has High-Speed Internet), take books to car…

What? The book I want is not available; I need to execute a search for another? Ack!

Before High-Speed Internet, before Dial-up, before computers, before electricity, there was instant communication with the Source of all knowledge and wisdom. The Maker of all makes Himself available to all at all times. Unhindered by time, He has all eternity to consider each word we pray. Before a word is on a person’s tongue, He knows it completely.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Prayer. Faster than High-Speed Internet / More powerful than the IBM Roadrunner /Able to leap cyberspace or the entire universe in less than an attosecond.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

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