The kids and I recently baked and decorated sugar cookies. They were not bakery quality but they were absolutely beautiful to me because of the little hands that enjoyed being artistic with icing sugar and sprinkles!

I was instantly taken back to my own childhood memories again. Isn’t that interesting how deep buried memories can be resurrected through seeing your own kids grow up? My mom’s lovely Bible study leader, Donna Kurtz, not only cared and nurtured for the ladies within her Bible study group but also for their families. She brought meals when a mom was unwell and always remembered birthdays.

Donna also hosted some Christmas baking parties for the kids of her Bible study moms. Oh my goodness! My best friend Britt and I loved going to Donna’s house! We would bake with her, decorate our lovely sugar cookies, have good conversations and Donna would even let us drink tea from her fancy tea cups. I can still envision her house with the kitchen to the left as we came in the door and the lovely aroma of butter and sugar filling the air. Donna also hosted some lovely, summer afternoon lunches with us kids enjoying her refreshing swimming pool. Britt and I would pretend that the waterfall in her kidney-shaped pool was mermaid’s lagoon.

Having kids of my own now, I know how much work and effort it is to do baking with little ones. The patience one must have is incredible! And also a sense of letting go of perfection. Letting mess happen and it being okay can really be hard for me! But Donna certainly never let on if we did stress her out! Love and kindness were at the forefront of her warm invitations to bake in her home. I think without even linking it until now, Donna is one of the reasons I love baking and sharing it with my kids.

God’s love comes in many shapes and sizes. For Donna, it was expressed toward us kids through her famous chocolate chip cookies and her baking parties! It’s just one of those reminders to me to never underestimate the power of God’s love and His ability to use us in small and big ways, to show His love to those around us. Thank you Donna for your sugar cookie kindness.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24