I decided to make a poundcake for a cookout we were having for our summer interns who were returning back to school for the fall. I took some butter out. I took some cream cheese out and let them come to room temperature. While that was happening, I started dinner, which consisted of air-fried salmon and cilantro rice, which was divine. I had an idea on how to replicate some cilantro rice I had earlier in the week and wanted to try it. It turned out good. While the food was cooking, I pulled out my laptop to complete some work from earlier that day and then remembered I had a cake to make.
 
I put the cream cheese and the butter in the mixer. I turned it on to let it start getting fluffy. I retrieved some cake flour and sugar from the pantry. As I went to get the eggs out of the refrigerator, I had this bad feeling that I didn’t have enough eggs! To my dismay, when I opened the refrigerator, there were only four eggs, and I needed six. Bummer! I needed to go to the store but didn’t feel like going there.  So, I did the next best thing; I called my youngest son, and I told him that because he’s the one who eats up all the eggs, I needed him to go to the store.

He pleaded with this sad look, “Mama, I am packing (he was moving back into his dorm room the next day).”

I didn’t want to ask my oldest son to go because he was cleaning the kitchen. My husband was at work. My neighbor was out to dinner for her birthday. I couldn’t just change my mind and not make the cake. I already had the mixer going with butter and sugar. Plus, I told my co-workers I would bring a cake. I am not a fan of too many store-bought cakes…

So, guess who had to go to the store?

Yep, yours truly. I left the butter and cream cheese on so that it could get creamy and fluffy while I was gone. I made it to the store and back in 10 minutes! I said to myself, “That wasn’t so bad.” When I looked at my butter and cream cheese mixture, I beamed with pride. It was so light and fluffy!!!

Then I realized I didn’t put the sugar in with the butter and cream cheese, so I had to add my sugar and wait for it to get light and fluffy!! Oh, the horror! I finished mixing all the ingredients and thought, “You have too much grease in your bundt pan,” so I wiped some off!!! Should have not done that!!

I poured the cake batter into the pan and put it in the oven. I cleaned up my mess and was trying to figure out what the lesson would be. I left the house to take some clothes to the cleaners still thinking about what the lesson might be and forgot my glasses. Too lazy to turn back around, I just try to stay on the well-lit streets! LOL! I was on my way back home before I remembered I had an extra pair of glasses in my son’s car.
 
While trying to figure out what to write, I thought to myself, “Dang Crystal, you are batting 1000 today with all these little missteps!” Because, of course, I started recounting my day and began focusing on all the things I didn’t get done that I wanted to and how I had to bring some work home to finish. I began thinking, I am not going to get into the bed until around 11:00 because the cake didn’t get in the oven until around 8:45 pm! 15 minutes before my wind-down time to bed! Why did I even volunteer to make a cake? Why didn’t the men in my house cook since they were all home today? Why can’t I get out of this peri-menopausal state? Who half-cleaned the pot?  
 
Fast forward an hour and a half later, I have a beautiful honey-brown colored, cream cheese five-flavored pound cake. I took it out of the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes. When I turned it out of the pan, it didn’t slide out…I gave it a couple of bangs, and then the top of the cake came off! Oh no! I turned it back over and loosened the sides a bit. I flipped the cake back over and only ¾ of the cake came out!! I just shook my head and said over and over again, Lord Have mercy…Unh! Unh! Unh!! Lord Have Mercy, Unh! Unh! Unh!!

I called my sons to look at the cake, and they were like, “Ahhh man!!! Well mama, is the cake fair game now? You can’t take it to work like that.” All the while,  I am still saying, “Unh! Unh! Unh!! Lord Have Mercy!” I thought to myself, “What a way to end this day. It ended in crumbles!

Then I just burst out laughing. My son went and got ice cream out of the freezer. I finally said sure, its fair game. I guess I will have to make a Sam’s run! My son was eating warm cake and ice cream at 11:00 pm touting, “Mama this is the best one yet!”
 
Lord, there must be a lesson in this…My husband said, the lesson is don’t make cakes during the week after 8pm. LOL.

What do you do when a situation crumbles right before your eyes? What do you do when it seems like your life is crumbling and tearing apart and it finally does?

Donnie McClurkin asked the question through singing “What do you give when you’ve given your all and it seems like you can’t make it through?” He answers by singing , “Well you just stand, when there’s nothing left to do. You just stand, watch the Lord see you through. Yes after you’ve done all you can, you just stand.”

Yes, we should stand. Oxford Languages defines stand as having or maintaining an upright position!!! You don’t move! You don’t advance forward or backward. The word “stand” is translated from the Greek histemi, and in this context it means “to continue, endure, or persist.” In my mind when you put the two together, you continue standing on God’s promise (your upright position) that He will work this out for your good!!

Don’t look at the situation, stand on the promise! The cake does not look good but that doesn’t negate the fact that it STILL tastes good!!! Whew!! I shouted right there!!! We get so caught up on how the situation looks instead of the fact that it will still work out FOR GOOD!! Stand on the promise not the look. And then remain UNSHAKABLE!!

I often listen to Robert Madu; He and his wife are the founders of Social Dallas, a church in Dallas, Texas. For the past couple of years he has given a word and a verse for his church. His word for this year is UNSHAKABLE and the verse that goes with it is Hebrews 12:28-29 and when I tell you, it is powerful, honey, it is powerful!!!

Hebrews 12: 28-29 MSG says, “Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!”

Know the word of God (what are His promises) so you can stand on the word of God and be UNSHAKABLE when the vicissitudes of life come!! When they come, not if (because we are told they will come), be thankful because though your situation looks like it may be crumbling, you are part of an unshakable kingdom. It did not catch God by surprise and He is not thwarted by the enemies attacks! Our God knows how to turn the enemies attacks against him. So I just stand and watch the good show happening before me! Heck I grab the popcorn because I know God is going to show out!!!

It’s like watching your favorite movie, knowing the bad parts will happen, but you know victory is assured in the end. So you watch the movie with anticipation and excitement knowing they win. So it is with us! We win! You know the story. Satan will try to attack and defeat you. He will deceive you! BUT YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE KING! So we can be thankful and full of worship!! Because we know the end!!! GOD IS ACTIVELY CLEANING HOUSE!! TORCHING ALL THAT NEEDS TO BURN AND HE WONT QUIT UNTIL IT IS ALL CLEANSED!! GOD HIMSELF IS FIRE!!!

So Stand and be unshakable!! Looks can be deceiving, but that is not our focus!!! Nor is that the purpose of the cake!!! That is another devotional!! 😉

Spicing Up Your Soul