Proving that they are the very best in their field, four
of America’s top chefs take a bold stance in the opposition to outshine,
out-cook and out-dazzle their worthy competitors. The long running program to present such a race to the plate is appropriately called “Chopped.”
Each challenger is more than ready to go to war for their
favorite charity, by battling with their opponents at their own game as Master
Chefs. With three cook-off rounds, they are provided with a “mystery” basket of
ingredients that must be used for each course.
Time waits for no one! With the 30 minute clock ticking
away, the tension builds as the individuals design and present a culinary
delight that will wow the judges.
The menu will be critiqued by other famous chefs. If the contestant
chef’s dish doesn’t tickle the taste buds with their creativity, they will be “chopped”
from the competition leaving only one winner and one $10,000 prize.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Nairobi,
Kenya; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Benalmadena,
Andalucia & Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain; Broadstairs, Wales & Berkhansted,
England, United Kingdom; Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Rossland, BC & Orillia,
ON, Canada; Phnom Penh, Cambodia;
Nakambala, Southern Province, Zambia; Kranj, Upper Carniola Statistical Region,
Slovenia; Glasgow, Scotland, United
Kingdom, New Plymouth, Taranaki & Auckland, New Zealand; Amsterdam,
Noord-Holland & Dordrecht, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands; Hyderabad, Telangana,
India; Barge, Piedmont, Italy; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam & Da Nang,
Vietnam; Bogota, Colombia; Manila & Capas, Central Luzon, Philippines;
Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq; Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; Ajejunle, Lagos State,
Nigeria; Guatemala; South Korea.
USA – Ballston Spa, Scotia & Utica, NY; Omaha,
NE; Manchaca, TX; Orlando, FL; Holliday, PA, San Francisco & Lomita, CA;
Fayetteville, AR; Smyrna, GA; Highlands Ranch, CO; Enfield, CT; Woodbury, MN;
Hope, ME.
Thank you for your continued support and sharing Believing
Our Belief on Daily Favor. (DFB -
Daily Favor Blog) Living
my life before God and man, by sharing experiences as I walk out my faith.
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the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
To Each His Own
Cooking championships are interesting to watch, but thankfully
spending time in the kitchen hasn’t been a main ingredient in my marriage. My husband loves to cook and I’m a good wife
who lets him. Why squash his ego, right? (Food pun intended.)
There are other things that peak my interests when it
comes to creativity in the house, such as items that pertain to design. If hubby had his way, he’d be happy in a big
old barn somewhere in the wilderness, with lots of animals surrounding him. So I am grateful that he doesn’t mind the way
I decorate the house and yard. He does
his thing and I do mine … to each his own, and we’re both winners.
However, when it comes to being competitive, the spirit of
winning takes on an entirely different meaning.
In it to win it …
Ever since I was a young girl I’ve been of a competitive
nature, which sometimes makes it difficult with a husband of the opposite
personality. In some ways it’s good to
keep me grounded, but in other ways his “it
doesn’t matter who wins” attitude isn’t what I need when I’m in the middle
of a competition.
Some of my favorite memories of my family is gathering on
holidays and playing games with my siblings. It didn’t really matter what game
it was, we always have fun and laughed.
There was one underlying element that we all shared though, and that
was we were in it to win.
Wanting to be a winner is something mankind shares, but
wanting to win isn’t always the same thing.
That’s where another life lesson led me this week.
Up Against Me
Besides December I think the June/July months are always
the busiest for me. Of course this is
self-inflicted busyness based on competitions.
I prepare for the county fair all year, but become a bit intense when it
comes down to the last weeks before the entries have to be submitted.
One of the ways I compete is in challenging myself to
enter a new category each year. Sounds strange, but it’s true. Even though I am competing with hundreds of
people in different divisions, my main competitor is me in doing better than
last year.
Unfortunately in wanting to improve my record by entering
more articles, my husband always gets sucked into my cycle of events. The final item count ended up being a total
of thirty-nine entries in three divisions.
Although it was half the amount as previous years (due to bad weather
for crops), the types of things I made took twice as long to prepare.
It was during a thunder storm that I took a good look
at why I felt I needed to win. What
prize was I really after? Was I being
honest with my motives for entering each contest?
… and the winner is…
Like any earthly competition, there can be only one first
place winner. The cook-off program awarded
one prize for the best in the show, and so did the judges in the divisions I
entered in the fair.
Walking around the grounds my husband and I checked to
see if any of my first day’s entries had won that cherished “best in
competition” ribbon. To say I wasn’t
disappointed when the winner wasn’t me would be a falsehood.
I entered to win, and wanted to be the winner. I didn’t
want to win though so that the others would lose. However, there would be more losers,
because that’s the way the competition was designed. Anyone entering the race to win understands
those are the rules.
In a perfect world everyone could earn that top prize
based on their individual achievements like the Apostle Paul talked about in the
scriptures.
Press toward the Heavenly Goal
Wanting to be a winner is perfectly normal, after all God
put it in our spirit to be overcomers and high achievers in life. What we must not forget in competing is
that we are to remain focused on the real goal Christ has laid before us.
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these
things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess
that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. (When He died on the
cross for my sins.)
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,
but I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past (my sins where I failed the
Lord) and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of
the race and receive the Heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is
calling us.” (Philippians 3:12-14 NLT)
Paul used running a race as a metaphor the people of his
time could understand. Being a Roman
citizen, he was very much informed with the sports competitions of his nation and the Greeks and
related the discipline it took to compete.
The lesson the Apostle was teaching is that each believer
has a plan that God has set before them.
That plan is like a race that has a finish line of completion, with a huge
difference. In an earthly race the
challengers are looking at a prize only one can win. As a child of God, we all can win.
Expect to Win the Race of One
When the Lord created you and me, He made us individually
goal oriented. Each of us are to run our
course of life expecting to win the race that we are called to finish. If we follow what others are doing we will
habitually fail at what we were meant to do and become in life.
When I enter a competition to improve on my own skills, I’m
not looking at my competitors. Where
they finish isn’t my main focus, but whether or not I achieved what I set out to
do for that particular course of activity.
God has not called us to run a race of thousands or
millions, but to run a race of one. We
are to run our own race, not someone else’s.
He also expects us to win and achieve, becoming more like Christ as we
stay on course toward our goal.
Stop trying to please others or be what they are. You are the blessing God wanted in His life,
and He is the only one who can help you become all you are meant to be.
Favor to Win My Race
I may not have won the big prize at the fair on that day,
but that doesn’t mean God’s hand wasn’t on what I was doing. I did win, but not in the way I thought I
would.
The Lord has placed a gift for designing things in my
spirit and that helps me walk out my calling for Him. He allowed me to win in several areas using
my talents. Those gifts are His favor on
my life to achieve my life plan that He created for me for His glory.
When I have a desire to do something that involves my
gifts or talents, I ask the Lord according to His will to let favor shine on
this project giving me wisdom and understanding on my part. In doing this I am
drawing closer to the real prize of knowing Christ.
Moses made this request of the Lord so that others would
know he walked in the favor of God continually.
He was bold in his prayer because he knew God in a more personal way
from spending time with Him.
“If it is true that You (GOD) look favorably on me, let
me know
Your ways so that I may understand You more fully and
continue to enjoy your favor… (Exodus 33:13a NLT)
You can see that God was not offended by what Moses asked
of Him and was pleased to grant the request of favor based on their personal
relationship.
“The LORD replied to Moses, I will indeed do what You have
asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by
name.”
(Exodus 33:17 NLT)
When I finished signing in on the entries, the
co-chairwoman thanked me for entering. The
competition helps the community, which in turn encourages families to do more
with their children. Having more people
participate allows the programs to continue.
Using a gift of God put me in position to receive His
favor throughout the entire process. The
coveted blue ribbon wasn’t the real prize. With each thing that I needed for the
competition God made it possible for us to bless others. I shared many of those times with you over
the years in my writing or in person.
As each event comes to an end, I put those things behind
me and look forward to what the Lord will open up for me in my journey the coming
year. Like Paul, I press on to the high
calling of how God will draw me closer to Him along my path.
One thing I know is that His plan for me will always be
accompanied with favor when I run to win, for Him.
This Week’s Challenge:
Run to Win
We only get one chance to live our life, and run our
race. What things are distracting you
from doing what you are called to do for Christ?
Don’t get confused thinking just because you like doing
something doesn’t mean it’s not of God.
The Lord won’t have you in a race that you couldn’t win. Those gifts and
talents are His favor on your life; they will lead you on a course into His
winner’s circle.
Whatever our race, it must be one that has God standing
at the finish line. Will He say, “Well done my child?”
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to
the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially
the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God
has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)
Even though we suffer trials and tribulation along the
way, God wants us to enjoy the journey. We
are in it to win. Doing things we love are
part of the race as long as we keep our eye on Him as the prize.
So run with perseverance … run to win!
Bible Theater: 1 Corinthians - Running to Win the Prize
Until next
time, your talents are God’s favor on you!
“I look favorably on you.”
Jesus Christ
Note:
The words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
What’s New This
Week: Click on book or link
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know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more
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Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway.Image credit: Google Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Chopped In It to Win It Winner Is Zig Ziglar Quote God's Gift
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
