By Jessalyn Hutto

I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’ve finely tuned over my short adult life. It makes huge, puffy, chewy, chocolaty cookies with just the right amount of saltiness to balance out the four different kinds of sugar they contain. My family adores them. I promise you, there is probably not a person in my mother’s acquaintance who hasn’t heard about “the best cookies in the world.” I love to make them for special occasions or wrap them up as Christmas presents, but lately I just haven’t had the energy or time needed to bake these babies to perfection. Doing so takes a great deal of effort as they need to be hand mixed (with your hands, not an electric mixer or spoon) because the dough is so incredibly thick. Also, somehow the exact measurements vary each time I make them depending on which oven I’m using or the size of the eggs I buy or how much time I have to chill the dough before baking it, so I inevitably end up throwing out the first batch (or eating them) and then adjusting the amount of flour accordingly. It is quite the ordeal. So much so that these days, with three little boys underfoot I don’t find myself making cookies all that often.

From time to time I’ve pushed my shopping cart down the baking isle of the grocery store and contemplated buying a packaged cookie mix, but thought, “Oh, that would just be admitting defeat. If I am going to make cookies, I am going to make cookies.” Then I go home with the intention of one day making my chocolate chip cookies, but never actually get around to it. I call this “baker’s pride” as well as a serious case of cookie depravation.

When I finally realized that my baker’s pride was severely limiting the way I was able to bless my family through the occasional sweet treat, I broke down and threw a Betty Crocker cookie mix pouch into my shopping cart (looking both ways to ensure nobody saw of course). Later that day the boys and I enjoyed mixing in the egg and butter, spooning the dough onto cookie sheets, and watching them puff up in the oven. I was thoroughly impressed by the delicious end product this scandalous pouch of cookie mix created (apparently Betty Crocker is popular for a reason) and we all enjoyed the fruit of our 15 minutes of labor. Since that day I have bought many more of those lovely red pouches. And my family has once again been blessed by an abundance of baked goods.

This is a silly story, I know, but it gets at a deep and real problem many of us face in our quest to show hospitality–the problem of pride. It manifests itself in an unwillingness to do what we can because we can’t do what we want to do. When we think about a prideful woman we usually think about someone who loves to show off her gorgeous home and perfect cuisine. Rarely do we think about the woman who shies away from hospitality all-together because she doesn’t want to let others see her “not-so-perfect” life. In reality, when we refuse to serve others because we are afraid of what they will think of us or how they will judge us, we are succumbing to the same temptation that the woman who can’t wait to show off her new, catalogue-perfect-furniture succumbs to–thinking too highly of ourselves.

If hospitality is about more than filling someone’s belly or providing them with a night of entertainment or offering a warm bed for a weary traveller, if there is a spiritual dimension to our efforts, then this spiritual enemy–the sin of pride–must be dealt with in order for us to minister effectively. We are not aiming to imitate Martha Stewart in our service, but our Master Jesus Christ. While Martha Stewart may make the best pies and create the most marvelous tablescapes, the benefit of such accomplishments is fleeting, whereas the fruit of Christ’s sacrificial work is eternal. It is our desire, as those who have been brought into the family of God, to be ministers of his grace to those around us. We are not simply seeking to provide food or lodging, we are hoping to share the sweet joy, peace, and hope we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ with those we host in our homes and at our tables.

It can be easy to get so caught up in all the physical aspects of hospitality such as planning the menu and making sure the house is spotless that we lose sight of the purpose of it all–to build up the body of Christ. If a guest leaves your home thinking, “Wow, that was the best lasagna I have EVER eaten,” but hasn’t felt the love of the Savior radiating through your efforts, then they were all for naught. Conversely, God can take the sacrificial offering of a simple chicken and rice casserole and transform it into a blessing beyond measure to those who needed encouragement in the faith more than a stellar meal. This is after all the same God who took a few loaves of bread and a couple fish and fed thousands. Christ can do incredible things through our meager offerings, he simply asks that we be willing to get over ourselves and give what we have for his purposes.

Does this mean that we sit on the sofa all day long watching soap operas as the children destroy the house and then 15 minutes before company arrives pop a frozen pizza into the oven? Does this mean we make no effort to give our best for those we are seeking to serve? Of course not. We are to do all things to the glory of God, to work diligently, and to lay down our lives for others, not to be lazy! Sometimes, however, the best we can give at the moment might just be a frozen pizza (or a batch of cookies made from a store-bought mix!) and that’s ok. God can take that offering and use it to bless his church because we are seeking to satisfy souls, not bellies.

Hospitality is serving others, sacrificing for others, and opening up your life to others so that they feel welcomed, loved, and cared for. Hospitality is giving to others from what the Lord has given you, in order that they might sense his grace through your efforts. Who are we to hold back? Who are we, to allow the sin of pride to get in the way of what the Lord wants to do through us?–This Lord who was willing to lay down his life so that we could walk in newness of life, free from the power of sin!

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to put to death what keeps us from effectively ministering to others. Let’s offer him what we have and see what he does with it. He has promised to do great things.

I’ve asked each of this month’s guest contributors to share her tried and true recipe–the one she knows she can count on–so today I am going to share one of mine! This bread recipe is super simple and really delicious. The hardest part is all of the waiting as the dough rises, but trust me, it will be worth it. I love to make this bread for company or bring it over to others’ homes when they let me contribute to the meal.

Jessalyn’s Favorite Italian Bread Recipe

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Ingredients

• 3 Cups Warm Water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 Teaspoon White Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 7 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Italian Herbs
• Olive Oil (For greasing the bowl)
• Corn Meal (For sprinkling on baking sheet)

Directions

Step 1

In a bowl, add sugar to warm water and mix.

Step 2

Once sugar has been dissolved, sprinkle yeast over surface of water. Allow to "proof." In other words, wait 5-10 minutes for the yeast to grow and get frothy. If this does not occur, begin the process over making sure your water is not too hot or too cool.

Step 3

Stir in 4 cups of flour, mix dough until smooth. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 4

Mix in salt and herbs.

Step 5

Add enough of the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a stiff dough forms. If using a stand mixer, dough should be pulling off of the sides of the bowl and slightly sticking to the bottom of the bowl.

Step 6

Knead (either by hand or with a kneading hook attachment) until texture is very smooth.

Step 7

Grease a bowl with olive oil and place kneaded dough into bowl. Turn dough over so that it is covered in olive oil.

Step 8

Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.

Step 9

Once doubled in size, punch down dough and form into either three evenly sized balls (for smaller loafs) or two evenly sized balls (for larger loafs). Once divided, place back into bowl, cover and allow to double in size once again.

Step 10

Now that the dough has doubled in size twice, grease and sprinkle two baking sheets with corn meal, shape dough into football shapes and place on top of corn meal. If you are making two loafs-one to a sheet, if you are making three loafs-two on one sheet and a third on the second. Using a sharp knife, cut several lines (diagonally) across loafs (about 1/2 inch deep). Cover with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise one more time.

Step 11

After rising for a third time, uncover, mist with water (this will make the crust extra crispy) and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven.

Step 12

Every 10 minutes or so, mist with water and turn for even baking. The loaves will be done when they are a deep golden brown and sound hallow when you knock on them.

Note

Serve with butter and/or seasoned Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dipping. You can freeze any loaves you don't intend to eat and then simply defrost and warm them in the oven for another occasion. This recipe comes from Mama D.

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