Noah...

When You Are Low on Hope by Max Lucado
Water. All Noah can see is water. The evening sun sinks into it. The clouds are reflected in it. His boat is surrounded by it. Water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the west. Water.
He sent a raven on a scouting mission; it never returned. He sent a dove. It came back shivering and spent, having found no place to roost. Then, just this morning, he tried again. With a prayer he let it go and watched until the bird was no bigger than a speck on a window.
All day he looked for the dove's return.Now the sun is setting, and the sky is darkening, and he has come to look one final time, but all he sees is water. Water to the north. Water to the south. Water to the east. Water to the ...
You know the feeling. You have stood where Noah stood. You've known your share of floods. Flooded by sorrow at the cemetery, stress at the office, anger at the disability in your body or the inability of your spouse. You've seen the floodwater rise, and you've likely seen the sun set on your hopes as well. You've been on Noah's boat.And you've needed what Noah needed; you've needed some hope. You're not asking for a helicopter rescue, but the sound of one would be nice.
Hope doesn't promise an instant solution but rather the possibility of an eventual one. Sometimes all we need is a little hope.That's all Noah needed. And that's all Noah received.
Here is how the Bible describes the moment: "When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf!" (Gen. 8:11 NIV).
An olive leaf. Noah would have been happy to have the bird but to have the leaf! This leaf was more than foliage; this was promise. The bird brought more than a piece of a tree; it brought hope. For isn't that what hope is? Hope is an olive leaf—evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk.
Don't we love the olive leaves of life? "It appears the cancer may be in remission." "I can help you with those finances." "We'll get through this together." What's more, don't we love the doves that bring them? Perhaps that's the reason so many loved Jesus.
To all the Noahs of the world, to all who search the horizon for a fleck of hope, he proclaims, "Yes!" And he comes. He comes as a dove. He comes bearing fruit from a distant land, from our future home. He comes with a leaf of hope.Have you received yours? Don't think your ark is too isolated. Don't think your flood is too wide. Receive his hope, won't you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it.
Love always hopes. "Love ... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

FRIENDS:

Father, you created us for a purpose beyond our understanding. We cannot discern this purpose by our own powers, but you revealed it to the world by the death and resurrection of your Son. He revealed to us that we are your children, and that you created us to dwell with you in love for all eternity. He overcame sin and death to reconcile us with you. Free us from every form of bondage that separates us from you and purify us by the fire of your love. Guide us by the light of your truth, and lead us to the eternal life you have prepared for us. In Jesus' name. Amen.


DAILY BIBLE CHALLENGE
14. JOHN 11:1-16; 1 JOHN 3:1-10; JOB 13; EZEKIEL 35-37
15. JOHN 11:17-37; 1 JOHN 3:11-18; JOB 14; EZEKIEL 38-39
16. JOHN 11:38-44; 1 JOHN 3:19-24; JOB 15:1-16; EZEKIEL 40-41
17. JOHN 11:45-57; 1 JOHN 4:1-6; JOB 15:17-35; EZEKIEL 42-44

FOOD:
3-in-1 Eye-Opener Mix
from The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook
8 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl with a wire whisk. Cut the butter into small chunks and add them to the dry mixture. Toss the butter to coat. Then, use a pastry cutter or slash two knives across each other to cut the butter chunks into smaller pieces. Keep cutting until the mixture is sandy in its consistency. You can also use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for this step. Store in freezer bags or an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Use the 3-in-1 Eye-Opener Mix in the following recipes or the same way you would use Bisquick. Yield: 9 cups dry mix.

Biscuits
2 cups Eye-Opener Mix
1 cup milk or buttermilk
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix the milk and Eye-Opener Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Then, beat the dough briskly with the wooden spoon for 30 seconds. Using 2 tablespoons, drop 1/4 cup dough into each muffin cup. Bake for 23 minutes. Remove biscuits from the oven and serve warm, slathered with butter and drizzled with honey or molasses. Yield: 12 biscuits.

Pancakes
2 cups Eye-Opener Mix
1 1/2 cups milk
Butter for cooking and garnishing
Maple syrup
Mix the milk and the Eye-Opener Mix until the batter is blended, but still lumpy. Don't over mix.
Preheat a griddle or large nonstick frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Butter the griddle. It will be ready when the butter foams on it.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and pour a scant 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. When bubbles on the pancakes start to pop and the edges are set, flip the pancakes and cook another half-minute or so. Serve hot with butter and syrup. Yield: 16 4-inch pancakes.

Waffles
4 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups Eye-Opener Mix
Preheat the waffle iron. Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in a bowl large enough to accommodate the final batter. Whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks, and set aside. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks with the oil, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk in the Eye-Opener Mix, and lightly whisk half of the egg whites into the mixture. Fold the remaining egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula.
Spray the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray right before adding the batter. Use 1 cup batter for each waffle, cooking for about 4 minutes, or until the waffle iron stops steaming. Yield: 6 7-inch waffles.
from The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook

FUN:
Returning from a trip to visit my grandmother in Canada, I was stopped by a state trooper in New York for exceeding the speed limit.
Grateful to have received a warning instead of a ticket, I gave him a small bag of my grandmother's delicious chocolate-chip cookies and proceeded on my way.
A short time later, I was stopped by another trooper.
"What have I done?" I asked.
"Nothing," the trooper said, smiling."I heard you were passing out great chocolate-chip cookies."