Anyone who knows me, knows I’m all about the baking. It’s my “jam”, my favourite, my happy place, one of the things I’m known for. (Hopefully not the most scintillating thing I’m known for.) With hospitality on my mind, I want to dig into the why’s and what’s. Your “jam” might be the art of conversation, making others feel comfortable, rustling up a roast dinner for 20, being a hugger, a listener, or something completely different. For me, the simple act of baking is more than showing a glimmer of hospitality toward others. It’s also for my own soul care…
Before you go thinking I’ve gone cuckoo-in-the-kitchen, hear me out. Perhaps you share my love for baking or perhaps the mere thought of a baking tray brings you out in hives. If you’re in the camp of the latter, go with something you do on the daily which is life-giving for you and a blessing of sorts to others. You may not even know it’s a thing yet. Bear with me.
“Baking may be regarded as a science, but it’s the chemistry between the ingredients and the cook that gives desserts life. Baking is done out of love, to share with family and friends, to see them smile.” Anna Olson
I was not raised in the kitchen. (I hear my family chortling from here.) Far from it. In fact, when I landed in Canada at the age of 26, I had never attempted to bake so much as a cookie in my life. This was soon rectified when a new Canadian friend discovered my incompetence and swiftly went about giving me weekly sessions in the kitchen. Yes, an angel in an apron. And to my delight, I discovered baking was not only easy if you followed the recipe, but it was something I could do with my 3-year-old daughter. And so it began.
“A party without cake is just a meeting.” Julia Child
In time, baking cookies with all 3 of my kids became the norm. Messy, yes. But I have the fondest memories of pudgy flour-smeared hands and a merry band of willing “taste-testers.” Quite honestly, back in the bedlam days, baking with the kids was the only time when I actually enjoyed the kitchen. Rushed dinners and hectic schedules never afforded me time to fully appreciate the act of providing nourishment for my people. I guess that comes with maturity and a lack of kids hanging off your legs. Shauna puts it beautifully:
“I think preparing food and feeding people brings nourishment not only to our bodies but to our spirits. Feeding people is a way of loving them, in the same way that feeding ourselves is a way of honoring our own createdness and fragility.” Shauna Niequist
If “feeding people is a way of loving them” then why are we so afraid to open our homes? In my mind, baking is a beautiful way to love people. Inviting someone over for tea and cake does not have to be a full-blown production. Just tea. And cake. (That easy-peasy recipe that never goes wrong.)
(Follow me on INSTAGRAM for sporadic yumminess.)
Now I look back and see that baking has been my go-to when I’m stressed, sad, happy, excited, or need to just do something practical. It’s been beneficial to family, friends, neighbours, church, and strangers—but it’s also been beneficial to me. It helps me exhale and put life in perspective on crazy days. It’s my little bit of soul care:
- COMFORT: In the kitchen, I am literally “at home”, in my comfort zone, there are no surprises.
- ACHIEVEMENT: When I’m taking one step forward and two steps back in other areas of my life, I resort to baking one of my tried-and-trusted recipes, knowing that “ingredients + recipe = result!”
- INDECISION: When I need to make a decision and don’t know what on earth to do first— I bake a new recipe that will require my concentration and stop the fretting and the dithering.
- OFFERING: If I see someone with a need and don’t know how else to fill it, I bake for them!
- DOABLE: “Know your limit, stay within it” rings true in the kitchen for me. If I’m short on time or energy or inspiration, but I want to serve food in some capacity, baking a cake is fancy enough to present confidently and easy enough to not cause me stress.
- THERAPY: Seriously, for some, going through the simple, therapeutic motions of measuring and adding and stirring and icing— it slows us in the very best way.
- JOY: Yeah, I bake for the joy of it. I love to see the delight on recipients’ faces, and frankly, I love to partake of the results, too! (Hello chocolate.)
BAKERS/ WANNA-BE BAKERS: I have to share my favourite baking website and book with you! (It’s my Amazon affiliate link to the book, which means I get a very tiny commission while you pay the regular price. Full disclosure here.)
SPRINKLES BAKING BOOK by Candace Nelson is gorgeous and the cupcakes turn out perfectly!
SALLY’S BAKING ADDICTION is a website full of all sorts of delicious recipes— I’ve used lots of them, and every single one has been a success. Check it out!
Maybe baking is your “grace gift” to serve others and maybe it’s not. But rest assured, you have your “jam” and God can use it to not only bless others but breathe life into your own weary bones. Let me know what your jam is in the comments below? I’d love to know!
P.S. I usually include a YUMMY RECIPE in my monthly newsletter— feel free to sign up HERE and you’ll also receive my FREE e-book, Diamond Devos 31!
Linking up with some fabulous encouragers! Check them out:
I guess I’m still trying to figure out what my “jam” is, but I do love to bake my tried and true recipe of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I’ve been playing with the recipe a little bit with some success. I’m actually really glad I came upon your post today. I wanted to bake my cookies to take to my new neighbor down the street and invite her to church for Easter, but then started coming up with excuses not to (wanting to watch Netflix after a long day with kids instead of bake, haha!). I think this post was just the encouragement I needed to push me through! Thanks so much for this!
Sarah— thank you so much! I love that you are thinking of taking home-made cookies to your neighbour with an invitation to church for Easter! I do the same with Christmas baking for my neighbors, and a few actually come to our church Nativity— amazing what a little love and sugar can do! Plus, you can’t go wrong with chocolate chip oatmeal 😉 Thanks for stopping by and encouraging MY heart today. Blessings, and happy baking!
Laura, this post rings true to me. I feel the same way about food and hospitality. Bravo!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Denise. Glad to hear we are on the same page 😉 Blessings to you!
Hi Laura, It’s so true that feeding people is a way of loving them. And oh how I love to feed my loved ones! Most of my family photos are of us gathered around the table for Friday night dinners ,forks in hand. Such wonderful memories. Thanks for a beautiful post today. God bless you!
Hi there Connie— I just love your special family memories around the dinner table! Feeding people— so simple yet so meaningful. Thanks very much for stopping by with your encouragement:) Blessings to you!
well lets face it baking (although I have a go every now and then) is not my personal jam!!But I have many happy memories of your cookies on my visits to Canada over the years and of course the muffins!!But I’m not one to be defeated and in a few months time Im hoping that our new vicarage will indeed be the place where people come for food and comfort and probably entertainment!!love you!xx
Oh Heidi, you have so many “jams”! I hope I can come visit your English vicarage one day soon… hey, I could bake and you could do all the talking/ hugging/ listening/ counseling/ making people laugh… you know, your jam stuff! Yes, lots of fond memories of you coming to Canada— you know the door is ALWAYS open for you and yours 😉 Thanks, little sis— love you, too! xx
I’ve always felt that my not cooking for others was my way of showing hospitality *wink* (my grandmother would roll over in her grave if she read that!) She was a master baker — winning awards that took her to Hawaii and such, but that gene wasn’t passed down to me, unfortunately. I’m 55 and still learning to get past the so-called “perfects” in life — the perfectly cleaned and decorated house, perfect food, etc — in order to offer biblical hospitality. Your words are inspiring, Laura and I’ll return here often. (I now follow you on IG as well. 🙂 Happy to be a fellow Hope Writer. Blessings!
Haha Cathy that’s awesome! Your grandmother sounds amazing! I hope you at least got to partake of her talents 😉 I totally hear you when it comes to fighting perfectionism. In fact, I think it almost becomes worse the older we get! When my kids were little, I had an excuse for things not to be perfect. But now??? We need to give ourselves and others grace in this area, for sure! Thanks so much for your encouragement and for following me. Blessings to you 🙂
I think my jam is listening and encouraging. I’m not a decorator or an entertainer. I do pretty good in the kitchen but nothing fancy. But I find energy and give energy sitting with legs folded on the couch turned toward the speaker, listening intently. May God bless others with my jam and breathe life into these weary bones.
Hi friend— that’s so great! I love that your jam is listening and encouraging. That’s a huge part of showing hospitality, putting others first and opening your heart. I’m sure God will bless others in this— and that you, too, will be encouraged and find soul rest in doing what brings you to life. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂 Blessings to you!
Hi Laura,
Great post! Writing is my jam! Journaling, authoring books, blog posts, letters, emails…
I just love to write…
You are most welcome to drop by with your favorite cuppa & tasty baked treat for a reflective & inspirational time together…
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer— thanks so much! And thanks for the invite, I hopped over to your site and enjoyed reading a couple of posts. Writing definitely is your jam 🙂 Isn’t it great when we get to do what we love and let it be a blessing to others? Happy writing, and blessings to you!
Hi Laura,
how lovely of you to drop by! It definitely is such a joy to be in our jam & have others enjoy our creativity too!
Absolutely agree, Jennifer! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Thanks Laura, great! Food/hospitality able to break down barriers and reach in where words fail. Dad xx (PS Do you mail cookies to U.K.?)
Haha! Thanks, Dad! So true… food is a universal language 😉 You know you’re always welcome to come and be on the receiving end ANYTIME! xxx
I love baking too! Only wish those calories were invisible. Baking is therapeutic and creative for me. Your photos look amazing!
Oh Sarah, I hear you with the calories! Thankfully, there are always plenty of willing recipients of the yumminess 😉 I agree, it’s that sweet combination of creativity and comfortable therapy. Thanks so much for stopping by— blessings to you!