Its 6:00 on Wednesday and they begin coming through the front door.  They are my Millard West High School gals.  They are coming for “baking with Terri”.  It has become a weekly ritual.  I am never sure which girls will show up, but whoever does joins in the baking fun.  We bake cookies or brownies or fun fetti cupcakes or some other sweet treat to be shared later that evening with out Calvary Chapel youth group.  The kitchen becomes filled with chatter, laughter and batter!!  We bake, chat about their day and just enjoy being together. 

It has taken me a while to realize and fully embrace that this is my ministry.  My kitchen has become the vehicle for touching the lives of young women in a fun relaxed setting.  It should have been obvious to me, but I resisted that something that would be so natural, life giving and actually delightful would be how I would be able to invest in the lives of these precious girls.  I love to cook.  I love to bake.  I love anything that has to do with food, eating and feeding people.  I have been a “foodie” for as long as I can remember.  I have never met a food that I didn’t like.  I mark occasions by the food that was served and what I ate.  I salivate just thinking about food.  When I pick up a magazine I end up reading the recipes instead of the articles.  Many of my childhood memories revolve around meals.  Food has always been a huge part of my life.

But, for years I have admired the gifts of other women who I respected and saw as spiritual super stars.  My friend Linda is one of those women.  She is so gifted in ministry and has had a significant impact on the lives of countless young women.  She is a seasoned prayer warrior and has even organized a prayer movement in our city.  In addition she and her husband have counseled scores of young folks, helping them find their way to freedom and wholeness.  Many times I have wished I was more like Linda.  Why couldn’t I pray and council as well as Linda.  She had a spiritual depth and maturity I lacked, or so I thought.  I mean really, I cook and bake while Linda prays and councils. 

As I have matured and learned to embrace who God made me to be, I have accepted my gifts and talents and now realize that what I love to do most is the vehicle through which I can love and nurture young women in a “unconventional” way. The warmth and olfactory sensations that emit from my kitchen are the perfect setting for sharing my love for food and my love for God simultaneously. It should have been obvious but for me it was too easy, too natural, too effortless to allow myself to see it as valid ministry. So.. I am doing what I love to do and believing that is how God can best use me to touch to lives of others, so... on Wednesdays we bake.