I finally rented the DVD “Julie & Julia” this week, I’ve been wanting to see it since it came out. It contrasts the lives of Julia Childs as she began her culinary career with Julie Powell, a NYC blogger, who decides to cook her way through all 524 recipes in Julia’s cookbook. Though I’m sure it wasn’t the producer’s intent, I discovered that the movie has a great spiritual application.
I have been an avid fan of Julia Childs, my entire adult life, and she’s not my only chef crush. Martha Stewart, Emeril, Rachel Ray, Christopher Kimball…I can watch them for hours (much to Bill’s dismay). And cooking magazines – PULEEZ – I’ve probably thrown away 50-60 of them this week alone in my annual year end purge. This might not seem that unusual to anyone except my family. You see, they would be quick to tell you that they have yet to see any application of all my years of learning in the field of culinary arts. I understand & appreciate both the science and art of cooking. I know why cookies turn out differently depending on the temperature of the butter you use, however, I haven’t baked a cookie that didn’t come out of a Nestle Tollhouse refrigerated tub in more years than I can remember. All of my knowledge stays filed away in my mind, it serves no purpose. That’s where Julie has me beat. She read Julia Childs’ cookbook and committed to actually making every single recipe. Other people could see, smell, touch, hear and taste the results of what she was reading.
You can probably see the direction I’m going. Our church is beginning a challenge for 2010 – to read through the entire Bible this year. I can’t wait. I love to read and my favorite thing in all of life is to learn something new, especially God’s eternal truth. But it won’t be enough to to file it away in my mind. That’s not the purpose. The point this year, in this journey through The Bible, is to apply what we read. For other people to see, hear, smell, taste and feel the results of our reading.
In the movie, Julie’s character didn’t begin the story as a great cook, but in doing what she was reading about she became the great cook that she wanted to be. The same will be true for us. In doing; in living out, the truths that we are reading (hearing) in God’s Word we will be the disciples that we yearn to be.
That’s the point of this blog. To make sure I’m staying focused on the results of the reading. I want to be a better disciple than I am a cook.
Rhonda Reese Purtee 