What is PUZZLING You?

Fun photo of my Larry and Staci working hard on a jigsaw puzzle together. Not! Not the puzzle because it was lying there waiting for attention, but asking these two, who were very busy working at their computers, to pretend they had the time on this day to find a few pieces and connect them. They helped me stage my inspiration for today's blog.

It isn’t out-of-the-ordinary for this family to have a jigsaw puzzle going at the end of their kitchen island. And I have been known to add to the continuation of the fun by gifting another one to them. I’m catering to my own enjoyment of finding a few pieces to add to the project when I stop by. But, this recent puzzle has been sitting on their island since I gifted it to them for Valentine’s. The border is done (that’s the easy part) with some added pieces, but progress has been slow with this one. Why?

This jigsaw puzzle is lenticular which means the image has an illusion of depth and changes when viewed from different angles. In other words, what I saw as a fun opportunity to expand our horizons, has become an “eye-sore” – literally. The way the light hits the variegated shiny pieces, you have to move your head back and forth to not only see the angles of the pieces to match a partner piece, but the colors are so skewed, your eyes get sore just looking at it. I offered to take the puzzle back, but, as in anything they do, they are up for the challenge! In the meantime, we are all puzzled by this puzzle!

Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday starts the season of Lent when we have the opportunity to work on the skewed, difficult-to-reason-out pieces of our lives – those “eye-sore” pieces and welcome this time of seeking God for a clean slate and being transformed to who He desires us to be. We will receive ashes on our foreheads, in the form of the cross. We will be thinking, “I welcome transformation. I welcome You, Lord, to cleanse and purify me as I approach Good Friday when your Son paid the ultimate price for me. I welcome Resurrection Sunday when I rose with Him into the abundant life He promised to give me as I walk faithfully with Him."

Yes, as with the jigsaw puzzle, life can present "puzzling" challenges and "puzzling" situations, but when we submit to His desires for us to be renewed and transformed, our Master Creator steps in and gives us His wisdom for handling the challenges and He'll be sure to help us finish OUR "life" puzzle with all pieces intact -- and it will be JUST as He planned it to be!

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Be the Chocolate Chip!

I'll admit it. Of the many foods I hold near and dear to my heart, one of my favorites is a chocolate chip cookie. In fact, I'm a connoisseur of chocolate chip cookies. I've tasted many -- store-bought and homemade. Still the winner for me, is Hilton's Doubletree Hotel ones. If you go to the Doubletree Hotel to stay for a night, you'll be indulged with their scrumptuous, fresh, warm cookies. Since you can only buy them at their hotel, or order them online, someone came up with a cloned version, that I can barely tell the difference. So you know what I mean, I've included the cloned recipe here. You're welcome!

But this post is more than just about chocolate chip cookies. In a chocolate chip cookie recipe, the first ingredients are flour, salt, brown sugar, butter, baking soda. Once you beat those ingredients all up, you can't tell which ingredient is which. They've all blended together. But, chocolate chips added into those ingredients -- you can always tell it apart from the rest. That's why I pick the chocolate chip cookie that has the most yummy chocolate chips in it!!

Jan Brewer and Amy Stucky wrote a book called "Be the Chocolate Chip". Here's a paragraph from their book: "You can be the chocolate chip. You can choose to be 'in the cookie, but not of the cookie'. Just as the chocolate chip made the cookie better by retaining its true nature, you can make the world better by retaining your true nature as a follower of Christ. You don't have to be something or someone else. You don't have to melt into the crowd; you can be the chocolate chip! You will get noticed for being different. You will stand out. That is what makes all the difference, and is what makes a chocolate chip cookie so great. What good would it be without the chocolate chip? Be you. Be different. Be better. Be the chocolate chip!"

I love that! I don't think I can add to those words except for God's Word that says in Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Isn't it time we are the chocolate chip cookie that draws others to our taste, our look, our smile, our light, our warmth and our aroma! Sure we'll be different than ALL the OTHER COOKIES in the store (world), but standing out as different than all the rest, sure brings God's favor and blessings to us!

Here's that yummy, cloned version recipe that I promised! It's a cloned version. DoubleTree seems to hold a tight rein on their version, but this one is as close as can be expected!

DOUBLE TREE COOKIES (cloned version)
Be sure to get the cookies out of the oven when they are turning light brown. This way they'll stay soft in the middle when cool. For even better results, you can chill the dough overnight before you commence with the ceremonial baking.
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grind oats in a food processor or blender until fine. Combine the ground oats with the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and lemon juice in another medium bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix until smooth.
4. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend well. Add the chocolate chips and nuts to the dough and mix by hand until ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Spoon rounded 1/4-cup portions onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the scoops about 2 inches apart. You don't need to press the dough flat. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until cookies are light brown and soft in the middle. Store in a sealed container when cool to keep soft. For the best results, chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator before baking the cookies.