Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:4-7

On Wednesday nights I have the amazing opportunity to hang out with some of the coolest kids in the neighborhood. I've been helping with Kids Zone which goes on at Zion BIC and have been entirely entertained by the kids there. This month we've been focusing on joy and our memory verse has been Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! It has been so great to hear those little voices scream this verse out. We've talked about being joyful no matter what situation we are in and although I'm not entirely certain they understand this concept it has been quite timely for me. Tonight as I look back to that verse I am amazed at how much I really need to focus on that entire section of truth. 

I mentioned that after next week I will no longer be working in the bakery lab at KSU. Although this was definitely a difficult decision I knew that it was one I had to make. As much as I enjoy hanging out with college students, eating lots of great baked goods, and generally having a no-stress job, it is simply not something I wanted to do long term. I kinda needed the push out the door to make me move on to bigger and better things. Obviously, I have not figured out exactly what those things are yet, but as Paul speaks to the Philippians, I must be patient. With prayer and petition, I am trusting that God will show me the next move.

Some of you may have noticed my new third tab on the blog. This is my new attempt to continue doing what I love, baking, in a manner which may generate some income. A little less risky than opening a bakery retail store, I hope to start generating some customers that will be willing to purchase my baked goods. Actually, I'm not limiting this to baked goods, I love all food and am thinking about incorporating catering/party hosting events. I'm not sold on the name "Quality Tastes" either, so if you have a suggestion for this new venture, please let me know. When I was younger and dreamed of my own bakery I used to always think I'd name it Panda's Pastries. However, that does not include all the greatness of artisan bread, local vegetables, and such that I love. So seriously thoughts, comments, ideas?