I read a delightful fact about Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne. Apparently, he keeps nuts in his pockets to feed the red squirrels that live on his Balmoral estate. He so loves these little rodents that he even lets them into his house!

Prince Charles writes about the squirrels in the November 14, 2018 edition of “Country Life” magazine, which he guest-edited:

“They come into the house at Birkhall and we get them chasing each other round and round inside. If I sit there quietly, they will do so around me. Sometimes, when I leave my jackets on a chair with nuts in the pockets, I see them with their tails sticking out, as they hunt for nuts—they are incredibly special creatures.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Prince Charles trained the squirrels to eat from his hand; it wouldn’t be hard to do if they’re already comfortable around him. If he did, I wonder if those lucky squirrels would realize they were being fed by the future King of England?

Probably not. When they saw his outstretched hand, they would no doubt only be interested in the tasty treat he was about to give them. I’m sure they wouldn’t stop to think about the royal personage that hand was attached to. Their only thought would probably be, “Where are my peanuts?”

Silly squirrels!

But aren’t we a lot like those squirrels sometimes? Too often, our interest is on what God gives us and does for us, instead of being in awe that a soon-coming King even cares about us. We sometimes only focus on what’s in His outstretched hand: His provision, His protection, His guidance. Our only thought is, “Where are my peanuts?”

We don’t look up and realize that the outstretched hand is attached to the King of Kings. We lose sight of the awesome fact that the Lord of the Universe considers us to be His special creatures.

And He even lets us into His heavenly house!

As it happens, I spy some peanut butter cookies in The Faith Cafe’s dessert showcase. Just the thing with all this talk of peanuts! Here’s our recipe, courtesy of my mother.

Mom made these so often when I was growing up that we simply called them, “Favourite Cookies.” I believe the original recipe was from a calendar put out by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, with the idea being that they’re a perfect cookie to have along with a glass of milk. My mother traditionally made these cookies with raisins, but you could use chocolate chips instead.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup raisins or 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Prepare a lightly greased cookie sheet.

In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Combine the two mixtures together.

Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just golden.

© 2019 Lori J. Cartmell