Sharing a recipe for chex trail mix I got at a Christian womens conference that came along with a small flip book with what each ingredient represents and insight and encouragement.
Basic Chex Mix recipe: Melt 6 tbsp butter in a large roasting pan, stir in 2 tsp Worchestershire Sauce, 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt, 1/2 tsp each garlic and onion powder add to the following ingredients,
9 cups Chex cereal (a combo or all, wheat, rice, corn) equals 1 12.8oz box 2 cups mini pretzels 1/2 jar of dry roasted peanuts 1 cup of raisins 1 cup raw or roasted sunflower seeds 1 bag of Goldfish crackers 8oz bag of M & M candies Spread on two large baking pans (I use pizza pans) and bake in a 250 degree oven for 1hr, stirring at 15 minute intervals
1. Pretzels - represent the life experiences we must endure and cannot change, loss of a loved one, divorce, debilitating illness, etc.
Pretzels are dry, salty, hard and unbending after baking. They're hard to swallow, need liquid to help wash them down, and the salt requires drinking liquid in order to continue eating.
2. Peanuts - represent the experience in life we just can't get enough of, hugs/kisses from loved ones, personal goals achieved, compliments received, dreams realized, time to watch the sunset.
Peanuts come in many kinds, salted or not, in the shell, preshelled, roasted, boiled, honey glazed, spicy hot, chocolate covered, etc. Eating just one is never enough, always wanting more.
3. Raisins - represent the routing tasks of everyday life, going to work, cooking dinner, ironing, housework, helping with homework, being a caregiver to elders.
Raisins are wrinkled and dried up, rather puny when compared to their original form, having staying power with a long shelf life, but in the center of all those wrinkles is just a hint of sweetness.
4. Sunflower seeds - are those life experiences that after much labor comes a sweet reward, graduating college, getting a promotion, having a baby, buying a new home.
Sunflower seeds are hard to open, the outside shell is bitter and must be pried open with something to reach the sweet reward inside.
5. Chex - are those experiences of life that we worry and worry over for nothing, Am I going to be accepted by others? Will I get hired? Can I pass the test? Can I care for my family?
Chex are loosely woven into a lacy pattern of two pieces joined together, hollow on the inside, bland and tasteless, a little sugar is needed for taste, and when milk is added, unless immediately eaten, the cereal loses its crispness.
6. Goldfish - are the acts that witness to our Christian faith, attending and taking our family to church, being faithful in prayer and Bible study, seeing to people's needs, sharing the Gospel with others.
Goldfish are shaped like nothing else in the mix, crispy, light and cheesy, these crackers leave a tell-tale sign on our mouth and fingers. In our mix, the goldfish not only stand out as something unique, but challenge us to 'swim upstream' against the current and do the unpopular or unexpected, right thing.
7. M & M candies - help us rise above the daily temptations of sin in our life, greed, envy, idolatry, gossip, indifference, gluttony, etc.
M&M's brightly colored outer shell protects the sweet creamy chocolate on the inside, each is distinctly stamped.
So what's in your Bag?
Do you have more raisins than sunflower seeds? More peanuts than pretzels? Each of us has a different portion of the ingredients that make up our life's Trail Mix, for each of us has a different purpose in God's plan of salvation for the world. But whatever the Mix, we know and trust that God will not give us more than we can handle and He will not abandon us in our needs. Our daily experiences are a growing field for our faith that allows us to more fully experience the goodness of the Lord....Enjoy!
_________________ "...with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
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