Cookies and the Kingdom

Lately I have been looking for something “big” to do for the Kingdom of Heaven; but the task that keeps falling into my lap is making cookies.

God has a sense of humor. All you have to do is say “I will go anywhere but here,” or “I will do anything but this,” and often that is the very place or the very task God will send you or give you. The wonderful thing about God is, though, that His plans are always best. I once said I did not want to go to UNM, because I didn't want to live in Albuquerque. I diligently searched for other schools and fervently hoped I'd get to go to one of them; but in the end, God sent me to UNM, and I had an amazing undergrad experience. I have no regrets about going there, and I even learned there are some very likeable things about Albuquerque. :-)

But lately I have had to smile over something else that happened-- smile because once again God moved in a way I didn't expect, but at the same time He taught me something very valuable. Back in college a friend's mother sent him back to school after a weekend at home with some amazing tasting cookies. I asked if he could get a copy of the recipe for me. I made a few modifications myself, and ended up by accident with a wonderful chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Shortly after I started looking for my “big” thing all these opportunities to make cookies started coming up. My husband asked me if I could make some to share at work, and then there was a request to send cookies on the youth group retreat, and then I brought them another week for snack at youth group, and then my husband had another work event; I even had the opportunity to bring some to my work.

When all the requests for cookies started coming in, I actually kind of resented it, because I felt it was taking my already precious time away from doing my as-yet-undiscovered “big” thing. But the opportunities kept coming, and slowly God changed my perspective. My husband's co-workers loved the cookies. The youth group was overjoyed to have them on their long drive to their retreat. And the day I brought them into work happened to be a day one of the cooks was having a particularly bad time... the cookies made his day a little better. I brought enough for the swing shift to sample and also the graveyard shift. I have received requests to bring them again.

It doesn't feel like much. But maybe it's more than I realize. If God can use cookies to bless the people around me, isn't that worth it? In the end, what really matters is being faithful to what God has called me to do. I asked him for something big to do for His kingdom. He said bake cookies. And more cookies. :-) What I have learned is to rejoice that I have something I can do, instead of repining because it isn't bigger or more important. God has been teaching me a lesson through all this-- a lesson in being faithful toward the little things as well as the big, and having a willing heart to do whatever God asks, even if it isn't always what I had planned.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” -Ecclesiastes 9:10

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” -Colossians 3:17

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men... it is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” -Colossians 3:23-24

"I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

The above words were spoken by an iconic hero of the American Revolution, Nathan Hale, just before his death. He was hanged as a spy after he was caught by the British troops behind enemy lines on a reconnaissance mission for General Washington. He was just twenty-one years old.

Recently I have been doing some research on this riveting figure of the American Revolution, and I found out some things I didn't know before.

I found out that to his contemporaries, Nathan Hale was known for his deep faith. He was known as a man of prayer, and he was not ashamed of his beliefs; rather, he often spoke of them and prayed with his men.
I found out some other interesting things. Hale attended Yale at the age of 14, graduating four years later with honors.  He spent the next two years teaching school, and probably at some point meant to become a minister. He had some rather advanced ideas about women's education, and for awhile he offered classes to young ladies between five and seven in the morning, offering to teach them the same things their brothers were coming to learn later in the day.  Hale was an ardent patriot and he joined the army shortly after the outbreak of the war, being given a lieutenant's commission.  People who knew him later remembered him as a very kind, compassionate person, who divided his extra pay with his men during lean times and visited and prayed with soldiers who were sick.  
Before he actually saw any action in the war, however, George Washington sent out his inquiry asking for volunteers to go on an intelligence gathering mission behind enemy lines. I was surprised to find out that the view of Hale's mission back then was very different from how we view it today. Today, we view Hale's mission with the sort of glamor we attach to modern-day spies, and praise him for his brave death. But back then, spying was not looked upon with favor-- it could cost a person their reputation as well as being immediately punishable by death.
When Washington inquired (through one of his officers, Captain Knowlton) for volunteers to go behind enemy lines and gather information on enemy troop movements, it appeared at first Knowlton would have to report his failure to Washington. As one man stated, "I am willing to be shot, but not to be hung." But then the youngest officer of the group, Nathan Hale, agreed to undertake it. According to one of the articles I read, he “saw an opportunity to serve, and he did the duty which came next at hand.”
For over a week Hale gathered his information, and then on his way back to safety he was caught and brought to General Howe, who sentenced him to death without the formality of a trial.
Hale spent the night locked in a greenhouse on the estate, and the next day was hung from an apple tree. The soldiers who witnessed Hale's execution later noted with surprise how calm he was. I believe this was because of Hale's deep faith-- he knew in Whom he believed.
And so it was that a promising young life was cut short. Nathan Hale was only twenty-one years old when he died. I had several emotions when I read his story; the first was sorrow that it unfolded that way; sorrow that so promising a life should be cut short, instead of continuing on for long years of usefulness.
But then I had some other thoughts. The Revolutionary War continued for eight long years after Nathan Hale's death-- it is altogether likely he could have died in one of the battles and his name sunk into oblivion like so many other soldiers who fought in that war. Instead he was given a platform, and he used it well. The other thing that struck me was how Nathan Hale lived his life. He graduated among the top of his class from Yale. He was a hard worker and he made the most of his opportunities. He reached out to an often marginalized group-- women-- by offering them education. This required extra work and effort on his part. He was known for his deep faith and his kindness toward the people around him. He had a strong sense of duty which he lived out by volunteering for a mission that was distasteful to others, and which put himself at great personal risk. Even knowing this, he went, and unfortunately, he ended up paying the ultimate price. He died a courageous death, and he left behind a legacy of faith and kindness, a legacy of duty and obedience, and of course, a legacy of bravery in the face of great odds. And so, despite the tragedy, his story also has factors of redemption.  

Letter from a Cubs' Fan to Tom Ricketts Regarding the Proposed Changes to Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs

Tom Ricketts, Chairman of the Chicago Cubs

Dear Sir,

I am writing this letter regarding your proposed changes to Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs in general. I wish with all my heart you would reconsider.

Firstly, part of the charm of Wrigley Field consists in it's age and the sense of history attached to it. It has been slow to change with the changing years and that is one thing I love about it. (And not just myself, but Cubs' fans world over.) I remember well the first year I had the privilege of watching a Cubs game at Wrigley Field: it was in July 2007, and they were playing the St. Louis Cardinals. I immediately fell in love with the look and feel of the ballpark; the towering columns, the outfield ivy, the breeze off Lake Michigan, the wide open feel of the place. All of the other ballparks I have been to have been very modernized, with advertising everywhere and jumbo TV's flashing distractions constantly. I hated it. Wrigley Field does not have these things and implementing them would ruin the look and feel of the place, and hurt me very much.

Secondly, you claim the team needs the revenue that these advertisements etc. would generate. You claim we have to catch up to our large-market competitors in revenue. According to USAToday, CBS sports, and several other sources, the Cubs current payroll is $104,150,726. This is twice Tampa Bay's, who have sent a team to the World Series twice in recent years. The Cubs have bought several high-profile players recently and had plenty of money to do it (most notably, the highly toted free agent Alfonso Soriano). Wrigley Field is sold out almost every single game-- with tens of thousands flocking to the ballpark even on weekday afternoon games. What exactly does the team need more revenue for?

And lastly, you claim you want to modernize the club even more by adding more evening games into the schedule. Yet there is no shortage of fans even on afternoon games, and the tradition of afternoon games is deeply rooted in the Cubs history; it is an endearing part of a club that clings to old-school traditions. I am proud that Wrigley Field was the last ballpark to get lights, and that they play more afternoon games than any other team. I love that about them, I do not want that to change. I don't want the Cubs to become more “modern”! What I love so much about them is that they are one of the last ball teams who have refused all of the changes and the rush to become “modern.”

I beg that you would reconsider. I do not believe these changes are in the best interests of the Cubs or their fans. I think the things you wish to change are some of the very things that endear this team and ballpark to their fans, and you would do wrong to take those away.

Sincerely,

A Cubs' Fan