See that picture below? Do you now what it is? It's "OH MY GOODNESS" wonderful stuff that's not necessarily good for us! A sweet tooth's dream vacation - the candy aisle in your local grocery store!
I have a sweet tooth as big as the Grand Canyon. I love candy, anything chocolate, everything sweet and yummy! I would imagine that quite a few of you do as well. I am SO BAD, that I recently hit pay-dirt browsing the seasonal candy aisle at my local grocery store. EVERYTHING LEFT FROM CHRISTMAS WAS 75% OFF! OMG!!!!!!!! Jellies, caramels, cotton candy in the little buckets, soft peppermints. Oh my stars, I just about had to ask for some smelling salts to revive me from my sugary stupor! I did buy some wonderful minty things and a couple of buckets of cotton candy. (The buckets were cute, they looked like snowmen and the cotton candy was white. Had to be healthy, no artificial coloring! Right!). Oh, whatever! Who am I kidding, anyway. What's really funny, my blood sugar is normal and so is my cholesterol! All that extra candy in my house AFTER Christmas - I must be out of my mind. January is for fresh starts, losing weight, making resolutions that get broken and learning to cutback on those tasty treats that we consumed so much of over the holidays.
Sometimes, it seems virtually impossible to not over-imbibe from Thanksgiving through New Years! My candy dishes are all full, plumb to the top of each one. I have candy canes happily sharing a snowman mug, and, my snowman themed cotton candy is down to one container. And then, it happened! I went to visit a friend and she shared a little piece of heaven on earth with a special candy concoction made by another friend of hers. If you have texture issues, skip over this next part. Actually, if you don't like jello or anything similar, definitely skip over this next part. These scrumptious little 1" cubes were a blend of cranberry jelly, raspberry jello, chopped walnuts and plain old sugar. As I sit here writing this, I've consumed 4 of the 8 that she sent home with me. They are DIVINE! Sweet and tart all at the same time and I MUST HAVE MORE!
Within reason, I'm sure that just one of them is enough to send me into a diabetic tailspin, and here I've had four. OH MY, OH MY, OH MY! Very glad that my annual physical is not tomorrow, they'd probably set me up for a glucose tolerance test! Regardless, thank you for those wonderful sugary cubes. They are divine and absolutely the best thing that I've had in a long, long time, well maybe today, anyway, because, yesterday, I finished off my stash of gluten free whoppie pies that my mother made for me. My cookie jar is so, so sad. It's empty! Insert frowning emoticon right here!
Have you ever heard the term "land of milk and honey"? Any idea where it came from? Believe it or not, it actually has Biblical origins, like so many of our everyday sayings. It's how God described Canaan. You can read about it in the book of Exodus 3:8, God talks to Moses and tells him that he wants him to lead His people out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan, a spacious land, rich and fertile. So, what did Moses do...HE ARGUED! He thought himself to be a nobody. However, here he is, standing barefoot, as God directed him to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. AND, God's voice was coming out of a bush that was burning but not being destroyed in the process. Now, if given that same circumstance, I think I would not have had any second thoughts at all. I think I might have answered differently. I definitely don't think I would have argued. If anything, I think I probably would have been dumbstruck and unable to speak at the sight and sound of this Holy miracle before me. How about you?
God knew that His people would be a hard sell when Moses came down from the mountain and shared the story. So, He gave him some pretty miraculous powers in order to help them believe. It all started with a walking stick and when thrown to the ground, it became a snake, but when Moses picked it up by the tail, it turned back into a walking stick. Pretty amazing stuff. God also had Moses put his very healthy hand inside his robes and pull it back out again. When he did, it was diseased and covered with sores, but when he put it back inside his robes and removed it again, it was healthy. After all of this, Moses still argued with God. He fussed and carried on about not being a good speaker, slow and boring. God still persisted and He reminded Moses that it was He, God, that gave him his mouth, his sight, his hearing, and it was HE, God that would give him the ability to speak. And, ready for it....Moses still argued! So, God sent in Aaron, his brother, to be the voice and speak to the people as Moses told him what to say. He had Moses keep that fancy walking stick, too, because Moses would use it to perform miracles. I love the book of Exodus. I don't get tired of it, because to me, it's about every single one of us, every day, actually, every moment of our lives. It is about listening to God, and as I've said so many times before, not with our ears, but our hearts. It's about trusting God. It's about obeying God.
You know, one of the things that speaks volumes to me, is God's response to Moses when he asks Him what he should tell the Israelites when they ask what His (God's) name is. God's response "I am who I am". "The one Who is called I Am, has sent me to you". Two words, two simple little words carry the power, the glory, the majesty of everything that we are, that we have, that surrounds us. I AM.
With that in mind, I'm going to jump back to my candy nirvana and let you see where this is all going. Think of it like this - imagine those tempting, tasty sugary hunks of yumminess as a symbol of good and bad. In moderation, these things make us smile, they make us happy, they satisfy a need for that little bit of sweetness that we crave from time to time. In excess, they can be really devastating to our bodies, our health in general, but yet, knowing that it is not good for us, we persist and we over-indulge and we deal with the consequences - cavities, diabetic issues, weight gain (good ole spare tire or "done-lops" disease [your belly done loped over your waistband]). A little may be okay, but over consumption can be disastrous - with anything, not just candy and sweets!
God's plan was for His chosen people to be led into a land that they would have to fight for, but ultimately, would provide for them in every way. There was enough space for everyone and rich, fertile soil that would provide for them, if they would only listen, and obey. Those instructions don't seem to tough, but almost all of us have a hard time doing it, even today. Remember, God is Good, Very Very Good! All of the time! Don't doubt, just trust, have faith, and obey......
Time for a sentimental journey for us baby-boomers. Remember the original version of ''Willy Wonka"? Remember the scene in the beginning with all of the kids pressed up to the candy counter and the store owner begins to spin a tale for them about "The Candy Man"? Of course you do. I don't know too many people that haven't seen that movie. It's unforgettable! And, if you think about the words, Willy Wonka may just be a fictional character, but God isn't. He's as real as sunrises sprinkled with dew, and rainbows and wishes and dreams..... He's as real as you and me. He's the first breath I take every morning and the miracle of life and death. He's bigger than the Universe and could hold everything in it in the palms of His hands, and small enough to offer you His lap and His shoulder to lay your weary head on when you just need that quiet time and to know that everything really will be okay.
The lyrics to the song, The Candy Man Can, really say a lot about us. And just for a moment, a brief moment, isn't God our Candy Man? So, read them, think about the analogy and then tell Him thanks! Enjoy the song too. I want to send you out into your day with this song, these lyrics stuck in your head. I want you to smile when you see the dew on the grass and a sparkling sunrise. I want you to think of Him when you hear this and just say "Thanks" to I AM.
The Candy Man Can
Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew
Cover it with choc'late and a miracle or two
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
Who can take a rainbow, wrap it in a sigh
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and delicious
Now you talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes
Oh, who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, oh the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and delicious
Talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
Yes, the Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good
a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Candy Man, a-Candy Man, a-Candy Man
Love y'all. I hope I gave you one more little BIG thing to ponder and make you smile.
And as always, In Him!
Kaye
as promised, here's the link!
