Why I Made Two Desserts
Our launch event was such a beautiful success. The first sermon in our series is up on YouTube now — please watch, like, comment, and share. I'm also working on a behind-the-scenes video for those of you who like to see how the sausage gets made. And, well — hosting a full harvest spread for a big group requires making a lot of sausage (or, in our case slow braised pulled pork).
Which brings me to what I actually want to write about today.
Several people, when they saw our menu, kindly told me to drop a few things. And when they saw the finished spread, more than a few said some version of the same thing: That's too much work. You've been at this all week. You don't have to do so much.
And you know what? They're right. It is a lot of work.
I planned for weeks. I cleaned, shopped, and sorted. Then I cooked and prepped for three days straight. You want to know what I did with my Fourth of July holiday? I took my daughter to her swim meet. And I cleaned, and I cooked. And then I cooked, and I cleaned some more. My original menu called for pudding cups with gummies, just for the kids to go with out “good soil” theme. But that wouldn’t do. Instead, I made chocolate cake and buttercream frosting, from scratch of course. And I made a brown butter “bourbon” peach cobbler, double batch. It was delicious, and wouldn’t you know it: that double batch cobbler was gone, not one sliver of leftovers.
No, I didn't have to. And no one would have been upset if I'd ordered in. I could have made scrambled eggs and Costco sausage (no shade to Costco — my son loves their sausages). I could have said, let's all just meet at IHOP, breakfast's on me. Any of those would have been genuinely fun, especially with our church crowd.
So why didn't I do it that way?
Because you're worth the effort
This is ministry. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Now, hear me out: there is nothing wrong with making things easier. If ordering in is what lets you show up with an open heart, order in. If IHOP is your jam, I will meet you at IHOP. Ease is not the enemy, and exhaustion is not the point.
But here's what I think people need to understand about those of us who love to host: we enjoy the process, and the process itself is how we show people we care. Read any good book on hospitality — I recommend Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara if you want a place to start — and you'll find that people who do ministry through hospitality see the world a little differently. The effort isn't the cost of the gift. The effort is the gift.
For me, the time it takes to put something special together isn't wasted time. It isn't busy work. So what am I actually doing while I'm kneading the dough, choosing the serving ware, or braising the meat for six low-and-slow hours?
I'm thinking of you.
I'm thinking of everyone who might be blessed by these efforts. I'm praying for you. I'm asking God to bless you — that you would feel loved, and that you would find Him here, in this place, at this table.
That's not a lot of work. That's a lot of love, and it happens to look like work from the outside.
So yes, I made two desserts. And I'd do it all again.
O taste and see that the Lord is good. — Psalm 34:8
Join us at Brunch Church. Our next gathering is a Fellowship Sunday on August 2. RSVP here.