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1 Timothy 6:6 – Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (NKJV)
As I looked through some of my favourite recipes online, I came across a recipe that I loved. The name of it is "Cranberry Hootycreeks", a gift-in-a-jar cookie recipe. I love the name — just try saying "Hootycreek" a few times — it makes me happy just letting it roll off my tongue! The recipe is wonderful also. It's a cookie packed with dried cranberries, macadamia nuts, and to top it off, white chocolate chips! It seems since I have been trying to eat healthy foods, my eyes are always wandering off to some delicious recipe or other forbidden foods. How could I be happy with lettuce, carrots, and lean turkey when my heart pleads for Hootycreeks?
I am not the first person to desire what I do not have, and the Bible is a great place to find a good many of them. If we think of David, he had everything he needed or wanted, but he looked on what he didn't have: another man's wife! Maybe one of the most well-known was Eve. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had everything they needed; God had placed them in a paradise with beauty all around them. They could even talk with God in the evening, but they wanted more. Eve looked upon what she couldn't have, and the devil lied to her, saying, "You need just one more thing!" She took and ate the forbidden fruit, and we know how that turned out!
How about those Israelites? They never fail to crack me up! If we read through Exodus, we find that God parted the Red Sea, and let them walk through on dry land. He provided water from a rock. They wore the same shoes for forty years, and no one had to make a trip to Payless Shoes to get new ones. So, you would think that after all He had provided so miraculously, they would trust God to provide food for them, but they grumbled and did not trust Him. How patient God had to be toward these bellyachers! So, God provided each family an omer of manna (about two quarts) every day. This was really a "gift in a jar", but they wanted meat like they'd had in Egypt. They even longed to be back in Egypt where they'd suffered great oppression, saying, "At least, we had all we wanted to eat!" So, God provided quail in the evening. What unfailing love He has for us!
Like me, they had all they needed, but they craved Hootycreek cookies! How much God must love us to listen to our grumblings and see our lack of trust, yet He sees fit to provide us with what we need and even throws in a Hootycreek cookie once in a while!
Prayer: Lord, help us to be content with what You have given us! Amen.
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Monday, March 24, 2025 – In the Middle East — We recently received a message telling us that one of our dear local friends has passed away. This was so hard, as we are on home assignment which makes it even harder. Please pray with us that the Lord will comfort his family and children and that Christ's name will be glorified. Help them to stay strong in their faith in the face of opposition..
friend: "Update March 21, 2025; Please continue to pray for Hilde who has had dizziness for many months..." 
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Great devotional!
Thank-you Jeanie!
PERFECT DEVOTIONAL, Jeanie…Thank you.
What a difficult task contentment is. Thanks, Jeanie.
Today’s devotion is one of the best yet! I needed both depth and humor.
Thanks Jeanie, blessings to you and your family, may you have a good day.
Good one. Now I want a cookie!
(Manitoba)
Such a fun read this morning!
Thank you for reminding me to be thankful for having all I need and the occasional extra “hootycreek cookie” blessing from my loving Father.
Thanks for sharing ah sometimes that sweet food ah sometimes those cookies those home-made ones, especially chocolate chip.
(Ontario)
What a delightful devotional! You said it all, Jeannie, and with humour that will stay with me all day, as I try to walk along the Way! Blessings.
Stay safe.
Jeanie,
Truly, God love for us is unfailing and we must learn contentment and gratefulness.
Blessings,
(Nigeria)
Thank you for writing this devotional.
Please pass me a cookie.
I am never satisfied with what I have.
Poor me.
Thank you.
Blessings.
Good morning, Jeanie,
How true is this! Shame on us if we grumble. I can hear that little voice telling me I need this or that also but there is a stronger voice that reminds me I have all I need. Happy to say the second voice wins the majority of the time.
The cooking sounds interesting!
God bless.
Hello Jeanie,
Thank you for your delightful message today. Hootycreek cookies? I must confess that I have never tried these cookies before, but I will definitely try to find some soon. You are so right about always wanting more or not being satisfied with what God gives us. I am so grateful to our loving Father for His patience with us.
Blessings!
Soft chewy sweet rolls or peach jam on my morning toast to compliment my eggs, that’s what I crave. But I’m almost out of the peach jam, so I know another trip to my Amish farm friends will soon be on my schedule. Thank God for the Amish who still raise laying chickens and make preserves from cherished family recipes. In this era of eggs being sold for 50¢ per egg in supermarkets, gratitude overflows for God’s tender provision. Thank God for bringing me back to this rural area when I retired. And thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us today! Blessings.
What a very “sweet” devotional you have shared with us today, Jeanie.
Those cookies sound very yummy and as I have a “sweet tooth.” I was drooling reading about them. Yes, our Lord provides us with so many good things in our lives and sure is ever deserving of our praise and thankfulness.
In our daily lives He provides us with what is really necessary and yet there are always other things that we think we need to have and press on for them. Truly we must be so thankful that His provisions are always sufficient. Blessings for your writings.
Good morning, Jeanie,
I have never heard of Hootycreek cookies. I do know about wanting something I cannot have. I do know when I focus on gratitude for what God has provided, I am more content. Good examples of these feelings from the Bible, help to show that it is common feeling. I have begun to feel that it is Satan working to cause this discontent. I used to wonder why God made us to think negative so quickly. I was not brought up to focus on Satan, instead to focus on the love of Jesus. This is a new idea for me. Thanks for sharing. Blessings.
Hi:
I just broke up chuckling when it said Hooty Creek cookies. I love those. I discovered I can even make them with gluten free flour. Not very often as it is hard to just eat one.
We had a store at one time and made up the jars and they were the biggest sell.
I live in a tourist town. So many Americans with cottage. At the end of the season, they would ask for a dozen for Christmas presents.
Miss the store and miss all the summer visitors. Still run into them in the grocery store and catch up.
Your devotional was excellent.
Thank you.
Thank you, Jeanie, for another devotional full of joy and fun while giving us a great message. I, too, would rather have cookies than carrots!