Faith-Filled Friday: Just a little late, but full of love and cake

Hello Crushers!

Sorry that this is actually Monday and not Friday for the weekly devotional post. I stayed up late on Thursday to finish reading the chapters I needed to for our small group Bible study. One section of the book inspired this post.

We hosted it at our house this time around and it was my turn to make dessert. I made Sandra Lee's Strawberry Margarita Bars, and I even took a picture! However, something happened and it got deleted and we ate the whole pan. So, you'll just have to go to the link and check it out. I also made sour cream pound cake with a twist. That recipe is below.

Anyway, back to the Bible class...

Our wedding ceremony was very "lovey". We had hymns and Bible passages that all had to do with love. There's nothing wrong with this. I just look back and think, "Huh, I do love an event with a theme, don't I?" Geesh. 

One of our selected Bible readings was the classic 1 Cor 13 - the Love chapter. (verses 4-8a, 13 below)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

You hear this over and over at weddings, and sometimes it gets old. I'm so glad we read this Bible commentary book about marriage and family now because it gave me a new way to look at this verse. Quite frankly, it also made me laugh. The author said how this isn't just love as a feeling, but this is love in action.

Steve and I are action people if nothing else. Time how long we sit still...

Love does things. This is love in motion. Love in action! I think that marriages or any close relationships work because you don't just feel love; you put love in the little things you do for each other. It's in the notes and pictures I stick in Steve's lunch box. It's in the way he vacuums for me. It's in the way that he stayed home with Ellie so I could run 10 miles. It's in the way I make sure there are bagels in the house for him. It's all these little things that show each other that we care.

How great would it be if we could treat each other, not just in our close relationships, but in all encounters with love? I'm not saying we should accept bad behavior or anything like that. We can control how we act and respond toward others, though. We can show love. We can do love.

Join me?

Another thing we can do is make pound cake -

Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
Berries or chocolate sauce for topping

Directions:
 Preheat the oven to 325 F. Allow butter, eggs and yogurt to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (unless it's a really hot day, then use your best judgement). Grease and lightly flour a loaf pan.

In your mixing bowl, beat butter until smooth and then add the sugar until it's light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and almond extracts (you could skip the vanilla and do lemon or other citrus too). Add in the eggs one at a time so they don't go splat everywhere. Add in the yogurt. You'll probably need to scrape the bowl. Add all the dry ingredients. Pour the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. The crust will be a golden brown. Cool on a rack for for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Then let it completely cool. Serve with chocolate sauce, berries, ice cream or all three!