Handmade Pasta!-------In Very Little Things

Confession. This is not a recipe. Rather, I'm encouraging you...try making handmade pasta! It is truly not that difficult but it is so fun and delicious. 

For Christmas I was given a few beautiful kitchen tools, like a pasta roller and drying rack, that make the process even simpler. But, you can make pasta from scratch without the machine too!

Making pasta doesn't take long, and it doesn't take much! A few eggs, a little flour, a bit of tap water, and a couple of hands....that's everything required to make enough pasta for five servings. 

Aliza Green's Making Artisan Pasta was very helpful to me, along with this link:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-fresh-pasta-from-scratch-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-73435.

Take the time to read and research a little, the pasta is worth it!

Thoughts on Being Faithful in Very Little Things

The classic:

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10

Followed by:

" 'I have the right to do anything,' you say--but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything'--but not everything is constructive." -1 Corinthians 10:23

Tied to:

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."-1 Cor 10:31

And from these verses we have (or at least I have!) a compelling reminder that some things we commonly treat casually ought to be carefully considered in light of the Lord.

A few years ago, around the time that I came to know the Lord, I had developed quite the potty mouth. As long as I was around people that I didn't think would be offended, I used all sorts of curse words. And in my opinion, that was fine as long as I never specifically cursed another person. It was so fine to me, in fact, that I extensively argued with a friend because I was defending the use of swear words. I even led a "Bible study" discussion group all about swearing and how it can be okay and even good for us when necessary.

Then, the Lord stopped me using the last verse I cited, 1 Corinthians 10:31. This guy I later married asked me, pointedly, how I thought swearing glorified God. Not how it made me feel better, not how particular words seemed apt in certain situations, not even how it might be a minor, easily forgive-able sin, but how it glorified God.

He graciously never pressed for an answer. And I'm grateful the Lord prepared my heart for the question and then quickly, largely worked those words out of my vocabulary. 

Swearing always seemed like a little thing. And something I had a right to do. But it doesn't glorify God.

How many other little things there are that I feel I have a right to. Yet they do not glorify God.

So many things are just snares at our feet. A few examples...

-Things like catchy, fun songs that are actually about hooking up or getting drunk. 

-TV moments that are a little too intimate.

-Gossip that isn't mean but is gossip nonetheless. 

-Lies that are so unimportant and small no one will ever realize they were told.

 -Exaggerations that make stories more fun but not exactly true.

-Silence when lies are honored and it's easier not to stir the pot.

-Lazy hours turned into days and weeks of excusing ourselves.

-Complaining and keeping lists of negatives because we've just been through so much.

-More. More, more, more.

Such things may not be the sorts of stumbling blocks we tend to think about. They aren't (often) huge walls we have to work around or deep trenches to wade through. But they cause us to stumble, just a little bit...to take our eyes off the Lord, just a little bit...to glorify things other than God, just a little bit.

And then we come to points in which we wonder how we got so far away from Him. Or can't understand why we feel so ashamed when we haven't "done anything wrong." That point where we look up and think to ourselves that it's awfully hard to please the Lord, but can't just excuse ourselves. 

Praise the Lord that just as He commands us to faithfulness, He is faithful to us.

 "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." -1 Cor 10:12-13.