It’s definitely one of my fondest childhood memories. It’s a moment that always feels and smells like home to me.  If Mamaw (my grandmother) is making biscuits, for that stretch of minutes, nothing else matters.  The sifting, mixing, kneading, and patting all culminate into a light brown mound of perfection.  The smell and taste are like a little piece of heaven on earth.  Cooking biscuits is Mamaw’s job at every event-and I’ve sat and watched her do it hundreds of times.  When I went to pick her up for a recent family gathering I asked if she minded coaching and allowing me to do it in her place this year.  She seemed surprised by the request but gladly agreed to do so.  This was going to be easy (or so I thought).  There were quite a few people at our gathering so a lot of biscuits were needed.  The first batch turned out, well, a little tough while slightly resembling the side of a mountain.  The second and third batch were a little more edible.  While honing this delicate skill for myself she shared the story how her own father paid her fifty cent to make him biscuits when she was a child.  She admitted her first batch (and a few that followed) was under-whelming, though her father (my great-grandfather) never said a negative word.  With each experience she got better until she had mastered her own personal recipe and technique.

Have you ever had someone like that in your life? You know the type.  They make things look so easy.  They always have the right answers to every question, can quote just the right scripture at the right time, feed the hungry, bandage the wounded, and preach a sermon in a single bound.  They are a Super-Christian!  We think to ourselves, “That looks easy!   I can do that!”  We attempt the same and always come up lacking.  We see the positive results of their actions.  What we don’t see are the wars fought on their knees and the scars left from wounds of yesteryear.  We weren’t there when they fell flat on their face.  We missed the major mistake that could have destroyed their name and ministry.  But here’s the real problem.  We have a bad habit of comparing ourselves to others and assume we too should have the ability to function at the same level.  WRONG!!!  Each experience, success or failure, is shaping us all.  We all have been uniquely made with a specific purpose in mind.  Mimicking or attempting to be something God has not created us to be is a huge injustice to the kingdom.  Recently I read 1 Peter 4.  The following scriptures, specifically verses 10 and 11 stuck out to me.  They state, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” All that to say—be yourself!  You are valuable to God just the way you are.  Set about mastering what God has gifted YOU to do.  Our value doesn’t come from who we are– but whose we are.  Go be a biscuit!  🙂  It’s amazing the lessons that can be learned during biscuit making.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  It’s a new year.  In 2016 be purposeful in everything you do.  Find your niche and get to work for the kingdom!  God hasn’t called you to be a replica of your neighbor.  Find your spot and let the kneading begin.