Serve by Design

In a recent article, I mentioned buying a bread cutting guide for my daughter. It was inexpensive, but much appreciated. She immediately texted back her gratitude with this exclamation, “Best gift ever!” That may seem to be a little over the top until you try your hand in processing several loaves of crusty sourdough bread with just a cutting board and bread knife! If you desire uniformity and you want the slices to be even, you need a guide to accomplish the task! A guide for perfect bread slicing! I confess to being a perfectionist and so does my bread-making daughter. She cares enough about what her loaves look like to put a heart at the top of the loaf as a sign of pride and affection. Since her married name, Hartman, has the sound of “heart” in it, this final decorative touch becomes the perfect seal of approval! As human beings, we can speak of perfection only in relative terms. Only God is perfect in every way! That’s why He gives us His Word, the Bible, to be our guidebook. W...

We recently joined other tourists for a weekday visit to one of France's most important historical sites - l 'Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel. This awe-inspiring treasure of architectural, religious and cultural inspiration sits on a tidal island just off the coast of Avranches in La Manche department of the  northwestern area of Normandy. Last year over 3 million ascended the Abbey's heights and climbed the 365 steep steeps to enjoy the summit view, tour the monastery (the Merveille, meaning "marvel or wonder") with grassy cloister, and eat as well as shop in its quaint village at the base of the mount. This is now the most visited tourist destination in Normandy! Our English-speaking tour guide reveled in the rich history and related intriguing stories of folklore mixing in anecdotal examples of heroism, devotion, sacrifice and even superstitions to us. During the 10th century, a Benedictine Monastery was established on the mount and the monks became revered fo...