Who Is God?

The following was written by an 8 year old boy from Chula Vista, California, named Danny Dutton. He wrote this as a Grade 3 Homework assignment to "explain God". I'm not sure how true this is . . . I got it in an e-mail. But I know that I really enjoyed reading it and thought you might too. I don't think I could have said it any better myself . . .

Who Is God

"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.

Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.

His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.

You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.

You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy,and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.

But . . . you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.

And . . . that's why I believe in God."

Well, little Danny Dutton, I believe in God too, and for many of the same reasons as you do.

I've had this recipe for a Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake kicking around my recipe file for years. It's really really really good . . . but yesterday I thought why not make it a Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake and then top it with chopped macadamia nuts and milk chocolate chips. The result was heavenly, to say the least!

*Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake*

Serves 16

Indulgent, impressive and delicious. What more could you or anyone else want!

2 ¼ cups plain flour
¾ cup caster sugar
¾ cup butter
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sour cream
½ tsp almond essence
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
TOPPING:
1 (250g) package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
¼ cup caster sugar
1 large egg
1 cup morello cherry preserves
½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
½ cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan and set aside.

Combine the flour, ¾ cup sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove 1 cup and set aside. To the remainder add the sour cream, vanilla essence, almond essence and the egg. Blend in well, then spread the batter over the bottom and 2 inches up the side of the prepared pan. (I dampen my fingers to do this and then finish it off with the bowl of a dampened spoon) Your batter should be about ¼ inch thick on sides.

Beat together the cheese, ¼ cup caster sugar and the egg for the topping until well mixed. Pour over the batter lined pan. Spoon preserves carefully over the top of the cheese mixture as evenly as you can.

Stir together the reserved crumb mixture and the macadamia nuts. Sprinkle over top of the preserves and then bake in the oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the milk chocolate chips over the top. Set aside for 15 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.

Serve warm, cut into wedges. A dollop of softly whipped sweet cream would go great on this . . . yummy . . .