Unshackled Moments ~ April 17~Pineapple Up Down Cake Recipe

My wife is an artist in the kitchen. Leah is very creative period, and the things she has done with paint, a camera, a camera and Photoshop and other areas have inspired and amazed me. But since she cooked for me for the first time nearly six years ago, I have never failed to be amazed. She never uses recipes either. If she does read a recipe, she edits it as she reads, then never looks at it again, it is a starting reference point only She sees what the finished product should be like, how she would like it instead and then creates that.,,without instructions or precise measurements or any such limitations or restrictions.

I am nothing like that. I make a pretty good cake though, and part of the reason for my success is that I follow recipes. I know, I just praised Leah for not doing so. But if I could somehow find written instructions for what she did to make a dish, I could duplicate it. I simply couldn't create it. If I find a good recipe, I can make a good cake, because I can follow a recipe step by step, but it better be well written. Don't assume I know anything about cooking at all. I love baking because it is all about precision and following the directions.

This past weekend I told Leah I wanted to make her a cake for her birthday and asked her what kind she would like. She gave me six different cake ideas late Saturday night and told me to pick the one I wanted to make for her. I'll include the recipe with this writing, but the recipe I made is not what I chose. Sunday morning, she said she  wanted a Pineapple Upside Down  Cake but not the recipe she sent me the night before. "OK," I said. "I'll look for another recipe." That's when she told me not to worry about finding a recipe. She'd walk me through it, tell me how to make it. Okaaaaaay, try not to panic Dalyn.

Well, she took my base recipe and made it almost unrecognizable by the time we changed and tweaked this and that, but it came out good! Because she is amazing and I followed directions, even when they didn't sound right to me. A few times I took things to her and said, "Does this look right to you?"  Once she actually said, "no," and I nearly started to give up all hope that I would be able to make a good cake for her without starting over. But she quickly told me what to do to fix the issue. That change is reflected in the recipe I wrote down so that I can duplicate the cake again at a future date.

So many times I thought I'm not sure this will work, or I'm not sure I can do this, or I am not comfortable cooking like this at all and don't have the skill to cook like this, so in a way she is making her own cake by voice command. Then, I thought her ways are not my ways, and it hit me that this is a lot like God working through us to make something amazing. He doesn't do it like we would. We couldn't do it like Him if we tried, not on our own. His written instructions are just starting points that give us a base, but we won't be able to produce what we're trying  to without His personal input, His explanations and adjusting where and when we don't get it quite like He meant, and His filling in the gaps. If we simply follow the recipe on our strength and understanding, we will have a much different cake than the one we make by reading the recipe while listening to His voice.

Leah's cake is yummy, and the life God creates as we listen and follow His instructions is deliciously worth living. Today let us be quick to abandon our safety net, our recipes that tell us how we've always done things and are comfortable doing things, and let us listen to the instructions of the Master Artist and Creator telling us how to tweak and change and make something beautiful and amazing with our day and life.

Here is the link to the cake, for those who want it: 

Leah's Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.

If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.