Wards have always been persnickety about people messing with their favorite food and drink. Keith, especially, does not want his coffee messed with, and usually not his sweet tea. But there is hope. A friend recently gave us a brand of peach tea he has fallen in love with, so I cannot call him his father yet—but it's a close contest.
And have you noticed that finding the original formula, flavor, or variety is nearly impossible? You certainly cannot just run into the store, grab it, and run out in two minutes. You will spend 10 minutes just reading the boxes. Did you know that there are 21 flavors of Cheezits!?
I first encountered this when my boys were young and thought the best macaroni and cheese was—no, not their Mama's, but Kraft's. They have outgrown that and I am certainly glad. Have you looked at the varieties lately? Besides Original Macaroni and Cheese, we have Whole Grain Mac and Cheese, Cauliflower Pasta Mac and Cheese, Thick and Creamy, Creamy Alfredo, Southern Homestyle (which isn't), Sharp Cheddar, White Cheddar and Shells, White Cheddar and Garlic, White Cheddar and Cracked Black Peppercorn (I kid you not), 3 Cheese Mini-Shells, 4 Cheese, Gluten-Free, Microwavable, Spirals, Paw Patrol Shapes, and Unicorn Shapes. And what do they place on the eye-level shelves? All the weird ones. I can remember crawling around on my hands and knees in the supermarket floor trying to find a box of Original Mac and Cheese which was always on the bottom shelf.
We have simply become too wealthy. We have forgotten what eating is all about. Not entertainment ("snap, crackle, pop!"), not excitement, not textural variety, or any other culinary term. No longer do we eat to avoid starvation and gain proper nutrition. And because we have that luxury, we think that we can simply not eat what we don't like. Poor people don't think that way. They are grateful for anything they find on their plates.
Perhaps that explains the plethora of denominations on the streets you travel every Sunday. People always want something new and different, something that appeals to our likes and dislikes. Something easy, convenient, and entertaining. We certainly don't want "the same old thing." Does that sound anything at all like this? Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand… (Ps 95:6-7). We have forgotten that in spiritual terms we are not only poor, but completely destitute. We cannot save ourselves. We should be grateful to even be able to approach God at all, so maybe we should be eager to search out how HE wants us to do that.
When that first church started, the same things were taught in each one. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church (1Cor 4:17). See also 1 Cor 7:17; 11:16; 14:33; 16:1. Paul also said, The things which you both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you (Phil 4:9). There most definitely was a pattern that every church followed, one that the inspired apostles gave them from the beginning. Do you suppose that might mean that the original is the one we should be looking for?
And if it takes getting down on your knees with the Word of God to find it, then do it, because nothing tastes quite like the original.
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus
(2Tim 1:13
Dene Ward
And have you noticed that finding the original formula, flavor, or variety is nearly impossible? You certainly cannot just run into the store, grab it, and run out in two minutes. You will spend 10 minutes just reading the boxes. Did you know that there are 21 flavors of Cheezits!?
I first encountered this when my boys were young and thought the best macaroni and cheese was—no, not their Mama's, but Kraft's. They have outgrown that and I am certainly glad. Have you looked at the varieties lately? Besides Original Macaroni and Cheese, we have Whole Grain Mac and Cheese, Cauliflower Pasta Mac and Cheese, Thick and Creamy, Creamy Alfredo, Southern Homestyle (which isn't), Sharp Cheddar, White Cheddar and Shells, White Cheddar and Garlic, White Cheddar and Cracked Black Peppercorn (I kid you not), 3 Cheese Mini-Shells, 4 Cheese, Gluten-Free, Microwavable, Spirals, Paw Patrol Shapes, and Unicorn Shapes. And what do they place on the eye-level shelves? All the weird ones. I can remember crawling around on my hands and knees in the supermarket floor trying to find a box of Original Mac and Cheese which was always on the bottom shelf.
We have simply become too wealthy. We have forgotten what eating is all about. Not entertainment ("snap, crackle, pop!"), not excitement, not textural variety, or any other culinary term. No longer do we eat to avoid starvation and gain proper nutrition. And because we have that luxury, we think that we can simply not eat what we don't like. Poor people don't think that way. They are grateful for anything they find on their plates.
Perhaps that explains the plethora of denominations on the streets you travel every Sunday. People always want something new and different, something that appeals to our likes and dislikes. Something easy, convenient, and entertaining. We certainly don't want "the same old thing." Does that sound anything at all like this? Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand… (Ps 95:6-7). We have forgotten that in spiritual terms we are not only poor, but completely destitute. We cannot save ourselves. We should be grateful to even be able to approach God at all, so maybe we should be eager to search out how HE wants us to do that.
When that first church started, the same things were taught in each one. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church (1Cor 4:17). See also 1 Cor 7:17; 11:16; 14:33; 16:1. Paul also said, The things which you both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you (Phil 4:9). There most definitely was a pattern that every church followed, one that the inspired apostles gave them from the beginning. Do you suppose that might mean that the original is the one we should be looking for?
And if it takes getting down on your knees with the Word of God to find it, then do it, because nothing tastes quite like the original.
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus
(2Tim 1:13
Dene Ward
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