I like my muesli Swiss-style. That means no milk, just fresh orange juice instead. “What? No milk?” you cry, “That must be really strange!” Well, I thought so too, until I tried it. So now I make my own muesli every week and it knocks spots off anything in a packet.
Bowl of ORDINARY packet cereal
Except one morning there was no muesli (apparently this had something to do with me not making any the night before) so I had to open a packet of ORDINARY cereal. Now, I wouldn’t try fresh orange juice on packet cereal if I were you – it has to be milk I’m afraid.
I open the fridge.
There isn’t enough milk. I pick up the carton and squint through the opaque plastic – nope, definitely not enough.
Rather conveniently, our house is now just five minutes walk away from the shops. Not that the house actually moved you understand, we did – but before we moved here we weren’t so close…. Oh, you know what I mean.
Off to the Shops
As I stepped out into the fresh morning air it was as if someone had pulled a switch, transforming the world into a bright new place. The sun was up and I began to appreciate the excuse to get out so early.
I noticed for the first time that the local shop is called the “Happy Tippler” – the shopkeeper certainly seemed happy as we chatted for a while about the weather – this is England, after all. On the walk back I felt even more alive; blue sky, warm sun and streets just waking up to the new day.
Back inside the house I emptied the remaining milk onto my cereal.
Exactly the right amount! Incredible.
There had been enough all along. But I put an extra dribble on anyway, just to prove I didn’t go out for nothing.
Then I got to thinking: how often do I think there isn’t enough, when I have been provided with everything I need? I peer through the opaque plastic and don’t see clearly enough to make out all I have been given. So many times it feels like what I have is insufficient – training, experience, time, skills – you name it. (Go on then, name it…)
Israel had been collecting for a building project; gold, silver, jewels, materials and riches of all kinds. This was an important enterprise – building the very place they could meet with God and worship Him, setting them apart from all the other nations around. Only the best was good enough. They were getting into the swing of this giving, and the more they gave, the more they wanted to give. So it just kept coming, piling up and up until Moses said,
Enough!
“The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
Exodus 36:5-7 (NIV)
We think there isn’t going to be enough
“I know I’m a fully trained coach, but if I just take this brilliant new course on ‘Dealing with Cognitive Dissonance in Trans-Mutational Coaching’ – then I’ll be ready to go for it!”
“Ok, so I may have clocked up almost 100 coaching hours, but I was just learning really. When I have enough experience…”
“I was on a Christian Coaches Network member call last week. There was this great coach demonstrating a technique for helping clients get real value from following up on their action steps – it was amazing! I need to learn how to follow up like that before I am skilled enough to coach properly.”
So we keep on gathering more, and more…
More learning, more practice, more study, more capital, more equipment, another PC, maybe a Mac for You Tube videos, another desk, more filing space, more e-books to read, more books on coaching, more exercise, more accountability, more leads, more friends on Facebook, more time…
You get the picture.
Pretty soon we begin to enjoy this pattern of gathering as much as a walk to the shop on a sunny morning.
STOP! – switch to Output mode!
It was time for the Israelites to stop gathering and start building; they had enough to work with. I haven’t tried this myself, but I reckon if you kept inhaling for more than say, five minutes you would probably burst.
Or suffocate.
Are you suffocating in Sufficiency? It’s time. It really is. There is enough.
Peace like a river
Have you ever considered why a river is such a compelling metaphor for peace? Why not a lake or a pond, or a statue – they keep perfectly still. Not like a river.
Water flows in, water flows out.
A deep river may look calm and serene, but it constantly flows out, replenished by fresh supplies from upstream.
How about you?
Where are you taking in without giving out?
What other areas of your life could benefit from a fresh supply?
How clearly can you see the sufficiency God provides?
How interested are you in my recipe for muesli?
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Photograph © Geoff Cheeseman
Thanks for this Geoff. This speaks volumes to me this morning! I’m spinning my wheels as I try to focus on this Monday morning, after being offline all weekend. There are multitudes of options. BUT…What does GOD want me to accomplish today? I do have more than enough to accomplish HIS plan for my day. But I’m suffocating with all “my” plans. You have caused me to ask: What will He and I “build” today? Will I stick to my course, or be distracted with all the shiney objects begging for my attention? THAT is the question! WHO rules my life? Hmmmmmm….”Food” for thought, ‘eh?
As I was thinking about my reply Pam, I was reminded that we can reflect God’s glory:
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor 3:18). I guess that makes you one of His shiny objects. Think how much more shiny we can be when we turn our whole lives to point in His direction…
BTW, Geoff…how does one make homemade muesli ???
Muesli recipe, please!! 🙂
Anyone else waiting for the muesli recipe?
So, to make the muesli you need:
200g/7oz rolled oats
150g/5.5oz mixed dried fruit – I use raisins, sultanas, dried apricots, mango, dates & prunes (this often grows to 200g/7oz or more)
100g/3.5oz nuts – I use pistachios and cashews
2 tablespoons of seeds – I use pumpkin and sunflower seeds
Chop the nuts and dried fruit and just mix everything together. This seems to take days if I do it by hand, so I chop the nuts first in a food processor and put them to one side. Add about 50g/2oz of the oats to the larger dried fruit to stop the bits sticking together, and process them before adding all the other ingredients. Switch the processor on for 10 seconds to mix everything. Using the food processor this takes 10 minutes, and a batch lasts about a week stored in an airtight container.
To serve, dish out 4 tablespoons of muesli into a bowl an add just enough orange juice to soak into the muesli. Leave this to soak in while you grate half an apple over the top, mix in then add a generous wodge of plain set yoghurt on top.
Unlike packet cereal, this keeps me going until lunchtime without feeling the need for a mid-morning snack. Although I do occasionally snack out of habit…