Lesson from A Crock Pot Chicken

Happy Wednesday everyone!  (I’m guessing it will be Wednesday by the time this hits your inbox.)  I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend, complete with great BBQ, great company, great fun, and great prayers of thanksgiving for those who’ve sacrificed their lives for the freedom we all enjoy.

So let me tell you about my Memorial Day….

My sister and brother-in-law were scheduled to return home from their Seattle vacation on Memorial Day.  I decided I wanted to cook dinner for them and have it waiting when they arrived.  I tell you; there’s nothing like returning home from a long trip and having the smell of something savory meet you at the door.  Mmmm Mmmm….

Anyway, Sunday I took a whole chicken from the freezer and left it out to thaw.  Believe me, I had no idea what to do with this bird.  All I knew was that a Crock Pot would somehow be involved!

In my search for a tasty recipe to try on the family roaster, I first solicited the assistance of the world wide web.  Of course you know the internet has an endless string of websites and recipes that only served to overwhelm me, so I decided to take a shortcut.  I called my big sister!    I have two “big sisters”, and they are certainly worth their weight in gold.  Since my sister and her husband were visiting the 2nd oldest (there are 4 girls in all), I skipped all the way to the top, for this search, and called the oldest.  She’s married with four children, a phenomenal cook and the owner of the biggest crock pot I’ve ever seen.  I just knew she could pull a recipe from the palm of her hand.  (Insert LOUD BUZZER NOISE here!!)  Wrong answer!  Big sis sent me back to the web!  Thanks a lot sis!!!

Ok, so now I’m panicking.  It’s the day before the family returns.  I’ve taken this HUGE chicken out of the freezer.  It’s completely thawed and ready to be cooked, but I have NO IDEA what to do with it.  And I’m not the kind of cook who can just wing it (no pun intended), soooooo Houston we have one heck of a problem!!

I still had a little time, so I decided to sleep on it and try again the next morning.  Monday morning I awakened bright and early and started my time of devotion.  As I commenced to pray, I literally asked the Holy Spirit to lead me to a recipe for this BIG OL’ BIRD so that my surprise dinner for 2, undoubtedly, weary travelers would be a success.  Amen!

So I finished praying (of course the chicken recipe wasn’t all I prayed for, lol…), jumped online and braved the Google search engine one…..more……time.  And there it was…. at the top of the list…. a “Whole Chicken Crock Pot Recipe”….  I peruse the ingredients.  Looks simple!  Sounds tasty!  Uh oh!  I think we have a winner!  Just like that my prayer was answered.  Then guess what I did.  I ALMOST started looking for ANOTHER recipe!!  Can you believe that?  I asked.  He gave.  I responded with, “Let me see if I can find something better.”  When I caught myself and realized what I was doing, I was stunned!!!  Then I simply had to laugh at myself.  I thought, “Wow, Lord!  How many other times have I responded that way to your perfect gift?”

So here’s my big question:  When you ask the Lord for something, and He answers your prayer and presents you with your request, how often do you go back looking for something better?

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ~ James 1:17 NKJV

P.S.  The chicken was GREAT!  We all enjoyed it, and we had one more family member stop by for a plate on her way in from out of town, as well.  So THREE weary travelers were fed with the perfect “Whole Chicken Crock Pot Recipe”.  Click here if you’d like to try out the recipe for your family.  Let me know what you think!

P.S.S.  Of course big sis later asked me for the recipe!!  My younger sister told me I should have sent her to the web.  LOL!!!