By Joe Hayes
I’m a woman who likes tea and scones.
In fact, “love” would be a more accurate modifier.
This also applies to my master’s thesis on this topic. Specifically, his 20,000 words on “Afternoon Tea Etiquette.”
Beautiful table settings, delicate fine bone china tea cups, and freshly baked sweet treats are my joy.
As friends will attest, you’ll need a well-set tea table to drop into Joe’s house.
My late mother was the queen of afternoon tea.
In particular, her scones have become widely known.
Her secret is a commonly overlooked talent that separates the women from the girls on the scone-making scoreboard.
“Please don’t touch it too much.”
When I was learning the ropes of cooking in my mom’s kitchen, she kept repeating this small but important phrase to me.
And many times I would take the dishes I made out of the oven and wonder, “Why don’t they look like their mother?”
Apparently I touched them too much.
My mother’s approach felt counterintuitive.
Indeed, the more the better. The more you knead the better the scones, right? mistaken.
The more effort you put into it, the more you lose a valuable ingredient needed for perfectly risen scones: air.
The secret is that by being gentle with the ingredients and barely touching them as you mix and cut the dough, you’ll achieve the golden standard of perfection: light, airy, and perfectly risen scones.
Once I finally got the hang of it, all I had to do was have all my systems go for Pamela’s replica deliciousness and a really hot oven.
Over the years, the Lord has been speaking to me about the parallels between this method of making scones and a Spirit-led, Spirit-empowered, victorious Christian life.
The more peacefully we make our pilgrimage on this earth, the less we touch and cling to our lives, the more air will remain.
The Biblical Hebrew word for “Holy Spirit” is “ruach.” Literally means air, breath, or wind.
This word appears over 365 times in the Hebrew Bible (varies slightly depending on the translation).
If we want maximum air, the Holy Spirit, in our lives, if we want to experience the bright, free, resurrected life that Jesus died for us, we need to touch our lives less. , we must learn to let the Holy Spirit fill our lives. more.
Since the fall of Adam, humans have faced a continuous battle with their carnal nature for control of their lives.
Our fallen selves clung to our own personal plans, purposes, and possessions rather than surrendering control to the One who has the power to bring rich and vibrant life into our lives. It will be.
This attachment is what St. Ignatius of Loyola called disordered attachment.
His spiritual practice is essentially a practical walk from the Gospel, teaching us what it means to live with holy detachment towards earthly things.
Jesus clearly told us in the Gospels: But if you lose your life because of me, you will find it. (Luke 17:33).
When we grip our lives too tightly, when we overthink, over-plan, over-analyze, and over-act, instead of surrendering to the gentle, unenforced “rhythms of grace” of a holy God; when exerting physical effort. Spirit – We squeeze the precious breath out of life.
I know from lived experience that the more you stop clinging to your own life, people, plans, and possessions and instead cling to Almighty God and live your life filled with the Holy Spirit, the better the results will be. I learned that. My life is filled with His peace, joy, and freedom.
It is truly a rich and victorious resurrection life.
The scriptures clearly tell us: “If you live according to the flesh, you will reap death and destruction from the flesh. Think of a scone, flat and hard as a rock.”
But if you live according to the Holy Spirit, you will reap eternal life in the Spirit and the abundant life of God on this earth. ” (Galatians 6:8)
May these eight days of Pentecost fill our lives anew with the life-giving air of Ruach, the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.
Life expressed in a perfectly risen scone. It’s best eaten with jam or cream.
