Baking In Faith: A New Creation in Christ

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

2 Corinthians 5:17

I love the image of a butterfly in comparison to my life in Christ! It's a great way to see an example of the change that has happened in my own life and is one of my favorite ways to explain to children how Jesus can change their lives. Before we put our faith in Christ and admit to our sinful nature, we are just like the catepillar; not so pretty and sometimes awfully ugly and as one child pointed out to me, some are poisonous. Catepillars are more famous for eating the life out of a plant and can therefore be very destructive to their environments. But then something amazing happens! This annoying little creature wraps itself up in fibers and is transformed into a completely new being! It breaks free of its cocune to reveal gorgeous wings that remove it from slinking around on the ground like a snake (ooo, another great analogy as we recognize the curse of the serpant after the fall of Adam and Eve! See Genesis 3:14) to flying around the air creating a beautiful sight that leaves us mesmorized.

My life before Christ was nothing but destructive and ugly. My sin was fully exposed before God and there was no hope of earning my way to righteousness or home with my maker. I was doomed to spend eternity in Hell. But then something amazing happend! God loved me so much even though I was a sinner and He could see how rotten I really was, He had already paid for all those sins when Jesus hung on the cross (see John 3:16). He gave me the choice to choose faith in Christ or a life seperated from Him for eternity and I am unbelievably greatful He did. I know my sinnful past and choose to live a life in Christ. I emerged from a time in my life that the Holy Spirit began transforming my heart and walked away covered in the redemptive blood of Christ! I am new, I am free and I am an adoptive daughter of my heavenly Father!

The same can be true for you as well! Jesus already paid for every one of your sins and it's only by him that we enter into our forever home in Heaven. You too can be made new.

Making a Simple Gumpaste Butterfly

Start by collecting all your supplies. You will need:

1. Colored gumpaste
2. Butterfly cookie cutter
3. Piping bag with royal icing with a round tip (I used a #3 Wilton tip)
4. Small rolling pin
5. Powdered sugar to dust surface
6. Sheet of paper
7. Dragees or other decorative balls
8. Tweezers for ease of adding decorations

Start by folding your paper in half longways. Then fold each side to create a tray to set butterfly's in.

Next, roll out your gumpaste. I used my pasta machine keeping it on #1 for a thicker sheet. If rolling by hand, you'll want to roll your paste no thinner than 1/8". Use your cookie cutter to cut out your butterfly's. Repeat for as many butterfly's as needed.

Center butterfly's into the paper tray you created to harden. You'll be able to add the decorations now, but leave to dry at least 24 hours before adding to your cake or cupcakes.

Using a piping bag with royal icing, pipe any design you wish onto your butterfly. I added a bit of pearl dust into my icing to give it a little more shimmer. Icing can also be colored to match the gumpaste. I chose a more elegant look by making scrolls.

Mirror your design on the opposite wing and add dots or a line down the center for the butterlfy's body.

Add dragees or other decorative accents to your butterfly at this time. Royal icing needs to still be wet when adding decorations, so if you're making lots of butterfly's in an assembly line, don't get too far ahead before adding the decorations. Once the royal icing starts to harden, it will crack when touched.