God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!
—Lamentations 3:22-23 MSG
Sweet scents of vanilla and almond from freshly-baked biscotti sought to win me over as soon as I walked into Moretti’s, the bakery in my Staten Island, New York neighborhood.
And my favorite chocolate-dipped butter cookies from their dishes on the top tier of the display case invited me to buy them and take them home, just like old times.
But my mind and mouth were set on having a cannoli, the noontime reward I’d promised myself for having written as planned that morning.
I had planned to bring one of those beauties home, brew a fresh cup of coffee, and enjoy them together curled up on the bench at my kitchen window.
So, when Cinzia Moretti said she couldn’t sell me any cannoli because the cannoli cream hadn’t turned out right that day, I felt disappointed.
And, maybe I audibly signed, before ordering a small bag of Italian butter cookies to enjoy with my afternoon coffee instead.
But the very next day, after another morning of work, I was back at Moretti’s and bought a cannoli.
It tasted fantastic, just like the Moretti cannoli I’d eaten before them and the many I’ve eaten since.
Just like Moretti’s Bakery on that cannoli-less day, you’re not always going to hit a home run.
Sooner or later, one of your cakes (or other projects) will fall flat, or fail to rise at all.
Something you post may get zero shares.
One of your products will launch, and no one will buy.
Your cannoli cream will flop.
So when that happens, take a pause.
Then try again.
Oh, yes, you may try it using different words, materials, colors, or tweak it for a different audience, but you will try again.
For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. (Proverbs 24:16 NIV)
It’s what you’ll do because of who you are.
And, please don’t stress about your people who may feel disappointed for the moment. Trust that they know your heart—that you want to give them your best—and that they’ll be back.
Either the very next day, at breaktime, or soon thereafter.
LIVING DEEPER DAY BY DAY
🖊️QUOTES FOR CREATIVES BY CREATIVES
These quotes from three towering Italian creatives remind us of the power and value of continually learning, reflecting, and growing day by day.
And that curiosity and creativity are lifelong companions.
“Learning never exhausts the mind.”
Painter and Inventor Leonardo da Vinci
“Ancora imparo.”
Sculptor, Painter, and Architect Michelangelo Buonarroti
“A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.”
Novelist Italo Calvino
🍽️THE FLAVOR TRAIL
RICOTTA (CANNOLI) CREAM
Cannoli and bodacious butter cookies were not the only favorite sweets I regularly brought home from my local Italian bakery.
I also ❤️ed the cannoli cake, a cake made with cannoli cream.
All that is to say that whether we’re talking about yummy cannolis or cannoli cakes, the “yum” is in the cream.
So, consider trying a super-simple ricotta cream recipe for yourself, one I’ve sourced from a favorite Italian chef and recipe maker, Sonia Peronaci.
Her luscious recipe, in English, is available here.
🎨🇮🇹🖊️ARTISTS’ CORNER
THE SHELLS ARE IN THE OVEN
And now, an update on the immersive course I’ve been promising you.
The course content, some of which I shared with you in the last edition, is now ready.
However, I’m having trouble figuring out the technical details to deliver it properly.
To use the parlance of today’s devotional, my cannoli cream hasn’t flopped. It’s ready to be served.
However, the cannoli shell it’s to be served in is still baking.
So please continue to stand by.
Expect it any day now, looking out for a special email with an exclusive✨ subscriber invitation, making it easy for you to experience it.😉
In the meantime, I pray that you will enjoy this week’s 249th anniversary celebration of the U.S. of A.🇺🇸, the country that—with every new morning— affords the greatest freedoms and opportunities for us to try and try again.
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