We have lots of church family traditions here at Keizer and this annual event this past Sunday night truly takes the cake.    The men of the church don their aprons and slave away in the kitchen to prepare a cake that will be evaluated by the ladies of the congregation.   In the wake of this years contest, I offer the following reflections.  First, the cake contest is a humbling experience.   In addition to gaining a new appreciation for all the work and energy that goes into baking, we learn how to be gracious in victory and humble in defeat.  After all, there can only be one “best overall” (James Hutches), one “best from scratch” (who else? Rex Earnhart), one “best tasting” (Mike Broberg), and one “stick to the ice cream” (Todd Merklin).  But after the final award is given out the rest of us are left standing behind our
cakes with our hopes dashed and fighting the urge to attribute our loss to something other than our cake’s deficiencies.   That’s where humility comes in.  Even when we put in a strong effort we still sometimes come up short.
Another thing that crossed my mind as I was thinking about the contest is the diligence of the ladies who do the judging.   They conscientiously engage in the delicate art of standing in judgment on the labors of others.  As they make their way through the line, ooing and awing at this cake while recoiling in disgust at that one (can anyone say “kitty litter”), they are called to pass sentence without bias or prejudice.   This attempt at objectivity can be difficult, especially when a husband, son, or father is one of the participants, and I’ve been impressed over the years with the way in which the Keizer ladies show that objectivity.  “Yours was good daddy, but the kit cat one was better” is something I heard this year from a member of my own family.  This comment was bitter sweet because on the one hand no one likes to be “lesser”, but on the other hand it means that another standard more important than family ties was at work.  That standard is “truth”, or at least as it relates to taste of cakes, which may be debatable.  But I digress.  My point is, that I saw in our cake contest judges, the ladies of Keizer church,  a love of truth.

Finally, it was an awesome thing to see the young boys participating this year.  There were some pretty amazing entries from the 12 and under crowd – tigermasks, slugterra, treasure chests, octopuses, and other cool entries- that really impressed me.  These young guys really got into it and got to spend some quality time with their dads or other adults.  They also learned to put themselves out there and enter the ring of friendly competition.   Good job boys!

We also should say thanks to Todd Merklin, our Deacon of body life, for putting on a great event.  For those of you that weren’t able to make it, I encourage you to be at the next Keizer church family event, whatever it might be.  It’s these little events that help bond us together and encourage us in our life together.    DTW

PS – Beware guys.  I’m already stalking pinterest to get ideas for next year!

Other winners include:  Best All Around (12 yrs & Under): Donovan Walker and  Most Creative: Solomon Lewis.