looking along

A vista from "Applewood Inn" a B&B we stayed at in the Shenandoah Valley, VA one summer

I stepped outside this morning to take a peep at our garden - to see what new plants have poked their green leaves up from ground, and to admire the ones that have already been established for awhile. Every time I see our spearmint, I'm shocked at how big it has grown! It's so lovely and bushy now, and seems to grow a few inches a day. I like plants that "take care of themselves" so to speak, and don't require too much fussing over to keep them strong.

The dew was still sparkling on the grass, the sun warming up the fresh morning air, and all the birds in the avian kingdom blithely chirping away. It's a splendid New Day! God is so amazing to give us all this beauty that surrounds us, and I just wish that I had the eyes to see it more often and give the glory to God. Often I tend to,

"Look only at

The created thing,

Admire its beauty missing the conclusion it brings" -

The conclusion that creation

"... is but a finger pointing to the Creator and the cross."

John Piper has written a whole chapter in his book, When I Don't Desire God, in the same strain; that the earthly pleasures we delight in - like food, nature, a poem, the fragrance of a rose - can all be a means of glorifying God if experienced in a right way.

" Not all joy exalts Christ. Joy exalts what we rejoice in. If we rejoice in revenge, than we exalt the value of revenge... that is clearly sinful. But what about the innocent pleasures? If we rejoice in a beautiful sunrise, what do we exalt? The sunrise? Or the Creator of the sunrise? Or both? And what makes the difference in our hearts and minds?... C.S. Lewis, whose greatest gift was his power to see what few see, described an experience that demonstrated how the physical world helps us see the glory of God.

'I was standing today in the dark toolshed. The sun was shining outside and through the crack at the top of the door came a sunbeam. From where I stood that beam of light, with the specks of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black. I was seeing the beam not seeing things by it. Then I moved so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd million miles away, the sun. Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences.'

So we can say that when we 'look along' the heavens and not just 'at' the heavens, they succeed in their aim of 'declaring the glory of God.' That is, we see the glory of God , not just the glory of the heavens. We don't just stand outside and analyze the natural world as a beam, but at the beauty - the original Beauty, God himself.

This is the essential key to unlocking the proper use of the physical world of sensation for spiritual purposes. All of God's creations becomes a beam to be 'looked along' or a sound to be 'heard along' or a fragrance to be 'smelled along' or a flavor to be 'tasted along' or a touch to be 'felt along.' All our senses become partners with the eyes of the heart in perceiving the glory of God through the physical world. - John Piper, When I Don't Desire God (pgs. 175-176 & 184 -185)

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And now coming down from these lofty thoughts to the humbler realm of cooking, simply because poetry and prose are mixed together so humorously in our real lives; here is a biscotti recipe that I believe I've finally perfected after a few failed attempts :)

- 2 c. all-purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp. baking powder

- 3/4 c. sugar

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 Tblsp. vegetable oil

- 1 Tblsp. Anise extract

- 3 large eggs

- 1/4 raw almonds, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, oil and anise in a bowl, and mix in the eggs, one at a time. Once the ingredients are incorporated into a dough, add the chopped almonds.

Divide the dough into two pieces. Grease or place parchment paper down on a cookie sheet, and pat out each ball of of dough on in in a rectangular shape, 12 inches long and about 3/4 inch thick. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown.

Remove the "logs" from the cookie sheet and cool on a cutting board for 10 to 15 minutes. When cool, slice them into diagonal pieces, about the thickness of two fingers.

Reduce the oven heat to 300°F and raise the oven rack to the top slot. Place the individual biscotti back on the cookie sheet, cut side down.

Bake until the tops become a golden color 8 to 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake an additional 8-10 minutes, until the biscotti are golden brown. Let cool.

As they cool they'll become crispier, so don't loose heart if they're still slightly soft when the come out of the oven.

Adapted from: Clara's Kitchen by Clara Cannucciari


Have a lovely weekend, folks!