Is it heretical to promote eating oatmeal for breakfast on Monday and write about buttermilk pancakes on Friday?

Perhaps.

In defense however, I have maintained a healthier eating style this week, and I’ve fed my spirit (most mornings). I’ve been drinking Living Water. But my story of buttermilk pancakes just might give someone the hope they need today. So, it’s with grace extended and grace requested that I proceed with my story of pancakes.

Have you tried to succeed at something and failed time and time again?

Did you finally throw in the towel with the disappointing yet relieving thought, “I guess I’m just not meant to do this. I will never be able to do it, so I’ll give up.”

This is the way I felt about pancakes.

When my kids were young I would try my hardest to make those circular breakfast delights. But mine were always less than perfect spheres, sometimes burnt on the outside and runny on the inside, and they NEVER tasted like IHOP’s. I knew I needed a griddle to cook them properly, but I didn’t want to spend the money, and I didn’t have space for another gadget in my kitchen.

We had been given a Belgian waffle maker as a wedding gift. I was a pro at making waffles. No flipping required. So, I completely quit trying to make pancakes and only made waffles on special days.

Years later I bought a griddle that could go on the stove, but my Bisquick pancakes, though rounder, still didn’t taste like I desired. So, I quit again.

But God.

I don’t know if He knew even more than I that succeeding in pancake making was a desire of my heart, or if He just wanted to show me that nothing is impossible with God to encourage me with my other dreams.

Maybe it’s His great sense of humor.

Who cares about the art of making pancakes? It seems pretty trivial in the eternal scheme of things.

But God.

Last summer I made my mom’s brownies which call for buttermilk–not much, so I had a lot left over. I’m a thrifty person; I hate to waste anything, so I looked up buttermilk pancake recipes. I found one that looked good. It had butter and sugar. Yum. So, I tried making them.

{Cue angel choir.}

They were heavenly. The closest thing to IHOP pancakes I’ve tasted at home.

And they were (for the most part) beautiful.

What was once a fail in my life turned into a victory. I could make good pancakes! I just needed the right pan and a great recipe. But the story doesn’t stop there.

My son is involved with his high school Young Life, and I was asked if YL could host their pancake breakfast Bible studies at my house this year. Yep. Ironic. Over 20 teenagers and YL leaders came every other week for Bible study and pancakes. And they liked them! My living room was filled with high school kids talking about the Bible, laughing and praying together.

Not only had God restored this small, irrelevant disappointment, He turned it into something eternal.

[tweetability]Is there something in your life that you’ve given up on? What desire or dream have you decided will never happen?[/tweetability]

Surrender it.

Think pancakes.

Trust God’s timing and His amazing love for us.

Live right where you are doing the things you can do.

(Like making waffles.)

 

[tweetability]At the right time, God will supply you with the right tools and recipe to do the thing you’ve always wanted to do, but this time for His better purpose.[/tweetability]

 

He’s a good Papa.

Much grace,

 

 

Blueberry Buttermilk Heavenly Pancakes

1 stick of melted butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

3 cups of buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

3 tbls white sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 pint of blueberries

 

Whisk butter, eggs, milks, salt, soda, and powder together. Add sugar and flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Don’t over-mix. Add blueberries. I place a 1/4 cup of batter per pancake on hot griddle.

Top with raspberries and your favorite syrup. Enjoy and keep on dreaming.