Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Then He said to His disciples, "The Harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Matthew 9:36-38

I'm posting today for Eli, because things have been so crazy busy for him! Today he starts his journey to Pemba Mozambique, Africa for 7 months. It's bittersweet but mostly exciting. The Lord has provided in unimaginable ways these past months. So, even as a bystander I feel like my anticipation has been building for this fateful day! Eli is going to have the opportunity to do many amazing things, learn from others, give to the poor, love the poor and father some boys.. but what is super exciting and why I am writing this post is that he is going to carry flour & oil to Pemba! 

Even though we're apart, this blog will continue, our treats will keep giving, now to even more people. There are limited supplies/ ingredients where he will be, but that has not squashed our spirit. The other day I made a little book with many different recipes for Eli using the ingredients that would be available to him. How I wish I could see each person's face as they are blessed with a little something sweet to brighten their day. It's an honor and a privilege and I'm so excited to see future blog posts from Eli. More than ever I can testify to the faithfulness and thoughtfulness of God. He is so good. 

A Reason to Celebrate!

 This past week was jam-packed and incredibly fun. Why? We got to celebrate Elijah! 

Eli's birthday was on Tuesday, so on the Sunday before, we threw him a surprise party with some of his favorite foods - wings, mac & cheese, cheesecake, cheeto puffs, gummi bears, watermelon and cheerwine. He was surprised and it was wonderful. The weather was a scorcher! Then late Monday night I assembled and decorated a cake for him!! The pressure was on because everyone knows Eli has perfect cake skills. Either way, he loved it. I've always loved birthdays, I think it's because my family always made each person's birthday so special. Since being at school, I am always genuinely excited for others to celebrate their day of birth. It is an important day..and who doesn't need a reason to celebrate? This week of celebrations was especially dear to me. Eli has been my best friend throughout college, so it was the best to see him happy, surprised and enjoying the festivities. At the end of the week he got to see one of his favorite friends, but I will let him post about that! After all of the fun it's nice to sit back and acknowledge all of the good things we have in life. We have found some of the greatest friendships here in Charlotte, that in itself is a reason to throw a party :) 

Busy-Bees

It has been ages since we posted.  We have both been busy with work and exciting plans, but thankfully all of the busy has not gotten in the way of sharing treats with people we love! For the sake of time, I've created collages about what has happened since our first blog post and now. In these past few months we have made incredible friends through our church, enjoyed parties with both family and friends and had the opportunity to share treats with people just because! 

 I was able to help Eli with a wedding cake he was making. I learned so much. It was crazy in my little apartment, but we managed to get it done. The bride was pleased and it was a success! I think the different layers were: crème brûlée, almond with raspberry, chocolate fudge and strawberry.

If you're single, you loathe Valentine's Day...but I don't know why! Last year I talked to Eli about how I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy Valentine's Day like we used to when we were kids. His solution? Throw a party of course! This year, even with the spontaneous, 8-inch snow storm in Charlotte, we we were able to throw our second Valentine's Day Party! Guests were instructed to bring a treat to share, their own valentines to pass out and a bag to collect. We played silly games like "who can eat the donut off the string the fastest" and other group games. It was a blast, everyone had fun. See, Valentine's Day should be fun for everyone..so next year, don't pout, celebrate!

 The cake you see is from my lovely parent's 30th Anniversary. Eli and I drove up to Ohio for spring break and surprised them with a cake! My nanny housed it until the party so our surprise wouldn't be spoiled. I baked off the most delicious, dense and fudgey cake I have ever had. Maybe we'll post the recipe soon. I made the whoopie pies just because. We gave them to some of our new friends and Pastors at church because we feel so blessed to have found such a welcoming community. This past weekend we made cream puffs and springerle cookies. They turned out delicious and beautiful. Eli gave me springerle molds for Valentine's day, my favorite is the tiny cookie - it's lily of the valley. How perfect for Easter.  It's a neat cookies because it dries out for 2-24 hours so that it doesn't lose its design in the baking process. I sent recipe cards out to my aunts, for them to send back to me with their favorites. Our old neighbor and close friend (an honorary aunt) makes the best cream puffs you have ever had. Lucky for us, they tasted just like hers.

 "He's the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, the Fairest of ten-thousand to my soul"

...and we're off!

Well, after an endless struggle I have semi-successfully completed our blog. Never would I have thought that technology would be so difficult to understand! 

The purpose of this blog is to show friends, family and the world all of the treats we have been creating and sharing with those around us. 

The aim of flour & oil is to bless others' lives. 

Sounds simple, yes? We both love to throw parties, give gifts, bake and brighten people's days. Our hope is that through regular orders, we might take any left over money to create beautiful things, that would bless others' lives, just because! 

Flour & oil seemed like the perfect name. It took maybe a half hour to come up with it. Eli jumped up and shouted, "FLOUR AND OIL! Look it up! Where is that in the Bible?" And so I looked it up and read. It's a story of a woman who had nothing. Elijah came to her and asked her for some food. She admitted that she only had but a tiny amount of flour and oil. Elijah told her that if she went and used it, the Lord would see it and add to it. The woman obeyed and in her poverty, still gave to Elijah, and her flour and oil did not run dry. It did not run dry.

It was because of her obedience, humility and selflessness to give that the Lord blessed her. Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least of these, we do unto Him. We hope to take on the same role, to give in belief that the Lord might bless it, so that we might bless everyone around us. We want to give to those who are both spiritually and physically hungry. 

So, read. And enjoy! Contact us at the email to the right. We would love to bake you something for your next party, wedding, gathering, etc. If you're reading this and thinking, "I would love to order something but don't have the money" ... you've come to the perfect place. 

We appreciate your prayers and are thankful for each one of you.