Climbing Everest by Cake

The Watchtower study on Sunday was about how husbands can honour their wives. And one way is by being appreciative.  

"Praise your wife for the good things she does. (Proverbs 31:28,29: Her children rise up and declare her happy; Her husband rises up and praises her. There are many capable women, But you—you surpass them all.")"

And I am happy to report that Captain Butterfly scores very high on the Being Appreciative scale - while, being a truthful chap, not claiming that I surpass them all.

Though he might say that my apple crumble does.  And so I had better be humble and admit that it is based on a Jamie Oliver rhubarb crumble recipe - and works well with either fruit.

It means a lot to be appreciated.  For example, on Saturday, finding I had just used the last piece of cake from the freezer, I managed to make a fruit cake.  I had enough of the basic ingredients in to cook something approximate to the Boil and Bake fruitcake in my Crank's recipe book.  I am in such a sad state that it felt like climbing Everest - without Sherpa support and oxygen. 

I had to keep pausing, and resting. But in the end it was done. And there is a natural pause with this cake anyway. You have to simmer half the ingredients in butter and orange juice, then let it cool down before adding the dry.  So I could go and lie on the bed during the waiting stage.

To illustrate my mountain climbing metaphor, I managed to find a picture of a mountain in Col's photo gallery. Its not Everest - as you have probably noticed.  It's in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

Anyway, the point of this sizzling anecdote is that the cake turned out nicely - perhaps even better than usual! - and Col was very grateful. He really appreciated the effort, which made the effort well worthwhile.

I know you can buy excellent cake, but there is something about homemade. And anyway, they are what Himself likes.  My cakes are sturdy, not in the least fancy. But as a sister once said, in the days when we had a meal after our main meeting on a sort of potluck basis: "Your cakes don't look much, but they do taste nice".

Ideally of course they should look a million dollars AND taste nice. But, if I can only have one...

And anyway, they have to be sturdy to stand up to the rigours of The Field (it used to be "the rigours of the dive boat, or the desert" in what are now the olden days).

How quickly the years rush us along to that edge... but how wonderful to know that there can be an awakening from the dreamless sleep of death and the hope of seeing this lovely world again.  It is a hope we want to share with everyone.

Which is why we are inviting all we can to the Memorial of Jesus' death on the 12th April.  It is through his perfect life, given as a ransom for the life Adam so tragically threw away, that we have this hope.