NO SUBSTITUTES

All good cooks will tell you the secret to the dish is ALWAYS in the seasoning!  The seasoning can turn good into great--delicious into mouth watering decadence!  Recently while working on a new dish, I discovered I was missing one of the seasonings--thyme


Not to worry--Chef Goggle--gave me a list of thyme substitutes-

basil, marjoram, oregano, or savory

The culinary day was saved.  The dish was wonderful--BUT
the new dish while delectable was not the same as it would have been with thyme.  The substitutes created a delicious meal-- since they are not the same the dish is not as planned, but they do compliment the main ingredients in a similar manner and the result is still good.




Substitutes come in many different forms--sugar substitutes, salt substitutes, why even sports substitutes.  A substitute is meant to fill in for a missing ingredient- by closely resembling the original.  

Substitutes work well in the culinary world and even in the wide world of sports.  Occasionally a star is discovered when a sub takes the field.  Until we give something different a chance, we have no idea if it will work or not--and different is not always bad.

 Special moments in time can not be relived and there are no substitutes for precious moments.  There can be other good, perhaps even better moments in time, but there is no replaying the past.  With our relationships--there are no substitutes.  We can not recreate a relationship by substituting another personality in the vain hope of recreating the past.    We might realize though that different is not necessarily bad--it is just---DIFFERENT and difference often allows us to broaden our repertoire.  

God desires for us to savor the past and embrace the present with the assurance He is always present---and the plans He has for us--always give us a hope and a future.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11




6 comments

  1. I find that one way of having all my seasonings to hand is by putting all my dried my herbs jars in alphabetical order. People ask me where I find the time to do this. I say: It’s there next to the sage.

    Substitutes don't always work. At work once we ran out of milk. So I put Snopake in my coffee instead. Bad mistake.

    Many people tried to substitute the love of God with other beliefs, or with materialism. See where that got them.

    God bless you, Lulu.

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    1. Laughing, Victor-next to safe! I also alphabetize my seasonings.
      No there is no substitute for God!
      Blessings, My Friend!

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  2. Totally agree with Victor...there is no substitution for the good Lord. Have a beautiful day friend.

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  3. Great analogy, Lulu. Sometimes there's simply no substitutes.

    I was feeling some hunger pangs before I arrived here. Now I MUST head to the kitchen. I'm feeling a little bit snacky ...

    Hope you have a super week, friend.

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    1. It doesn't take much for a snack attack to hit me ! As Victor so poignantly reminded us there is certainly no substitute for God!
      Happy Snacking, My Friend!

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!