From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

1 John 1:1-4

Today’s post is intended to keep the momentum – and hopefully a little interest – going vis-a-vis our road-trip/vacation (Ohio, Midland MI, Detroit, Pittsburg, West Virginia).

We are back in Wake Forest, but I am just now looking at the balance of the photos on the Nikon z50. It’s a little like opening a new roomful of presents a couple of days after Christmas!

One of the more interesting exhibits at the Ford Museum of American Innovation was the Julia Child story. The extensive collection, sprawling over several rooms, is titled “Julia Child: A Recipe for Life.”

I loved everything about it.

More than anything, it is Julia’s unabated – and unabashed – enthusiasm for life that comes across.

If you are unfamiliar with her story, and how she moved from grateful food consumer to chef and teacher and television personality, it is enough to know that Julia Child went to France with her husband – in diplomatic service – became captivated by the French culinary world, and then decided to learn all that she could, and share all that she could, so that average Americans might be able to appreciate and to prepare French cuisine.

This is where her quote, “Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it…”, comes into play.

When people connect with their passion, that is where the mundane is transformed into the extraordinary, the imaginative and the spiritual, where the impossible becomes the possible, and where the most unlikely becomes the expected.

I heard this, out loud, Sunday afternoon, when Rebekah was on a ZOOM call consulting with a team of folk from a Raleigh area church.

Her passion for Jesus, and for ministry that helps others to engage the Good News, was the lead element of the conversation. Enthusiasm like that – especially when it is 100% authentic – is a game-changer when it comes to Church.

Passion is not only powerful and compelling, it is necessary if we are to be effective at all in terms of communication. And if you can’t be passionate about Jesus, then why on earth (or in heaven) would you be in ministry to begin with?

So, back to Julia Child: She was rebuffed when she wanted to learn because “chef” was a man’s job. Then later, when she started to share her passion with the public at large, her approach ran counter to the emerging culture of “pre-packaged”, “ready made”, “TV dinners”, “convenience”, “easy”, and “time-saving”.

But it was the beauty, the quality, the satisfaction, the healthiness, the resonance with what is good, the yearning for something of substance – all this and more – of real, authentic, cooking that made Childs such an overwhelming success.

Let’s face it, friends, if something is worth doing at all then it is worth doing right, and with enthusiasm, and with passion. This is true across the board – and especially poignant in Julia Child’s approach to her whole life.

It goes without saying that this must be true when it comes to living out our witness to the Good News of Jesus. Both as church members and especially – a thousand times over – for those called to leadership.

Because love is beyond the mundane, and Jesus calls us to excellence in all we do – DEREK