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The words for this week are:
secession
coriander
err
sang
sociability

Word Beads Fiction # 1

She hums to herself as she pages through the new church cookbook. Why do these things always have the same recipes in them? She hasn't joined this new church yet and she is looking for a final sign that she belongs. What exactly would that be? A creative use of those pods of vanilla she brought back from Tahiti? A recipe with herbs she owns but rarely uses? Turmeric? Coriander? Cardamom? When did she buy those? Why? Well, the cardamom was purchased with the idea that she would make those cookies that her Mother used to make every Christmas. But she never did.

Page 12 of the church cookbook displays her recipe for an appetizer terrine featuring cream and goat cheese, olive tapanade, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto. Her attempt at sociability prompted her to submit a recipe. (This same reason was why she frequently sang with the choir - as often as her business travel would allow.) She can see now that her terrine does not fit in among the macaroni-n-cheese and swedish meatballs any better than she fits in with the congregation. Wanting to belong does not make it so and she mentally concludes that a total secession will be called for. Anything less final will cause various members to continue to reach out for months. No, it will be a final decision and she will start looking at other churches.

Now that she has made the decision, she feels herself relax just a little. She closes the cookbook and stands up. A bookmark falls from her lap to the floor. Was that in the cookbook? She reaches down and picks it up. Proverbs 14:22 "Do they not err that devise evil? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness." Hmmm - shouldn't a cookbook from a church contain a bookmark that talks about loaves and fishes or eating bread in remembrance of Jesus? Oh well. She sticks it back in the cookbook and leaves it on the kitchen counter.