Everyone can do something–with what they already have–to show kindness and the love of Jesus to somebody else.
Becky Juhl has been baking just about her entire life. It is something she does with passion, curiosity and love. She uses heirloom family recipes and tries out new ideas from recipes she finds online. Each individual part contributes to the health and flavor of the joint whole, so Mrs. Juhl selects each ingredient with care, finding them through local farmers, at organic food sources, and even in their own kitchen as the family grinds wheat berries to produce fresh, homemade flour.
During the 2017 Christmas season, Mrs. Juhl, her husband, Pastor Dave Juhl, and their children participated in a holiday wishes program through a Kankakee not-for-profit which actively works against domestic violence. This is when Becky’s Blessings Bakery began. Through the not-for-profit, the Juhl family partnered with a mother to purchase Christmas gifts for her and her four children. The Juhls work as a team, and together, they baked, decorated, and sold 77 dozen cookies, which were available for pick up at their home, the parsonage at Our Savior, Momence. Just a few weeks from the day they announced the cookie sales, the Juhls had collected $450 to shop for Christmas wish list items, clothes, and gift cards for the mom and her children.
Throughout the process of baking and selling these cookies, the Juhls printed up Becky’s Blessings Bakery business cards, set up a Facebook page, and began planning for many more days of baking for good causes. Mrs. Juhl bakes for the love of it and for the love of others. Family always comes first, but if she is available and has time to do some baking, something which allows her to both bring joy to someone else while donating to a good cause, she does so gladly–and her family is always right there alongside her.
Baking and celebration often go hand in hand. Just a few weeks after Christmas 2017, Mrs. Juhl celebrated her birthday with “Operation Chocolate Chip Cookies.” The idea came from a summer camp tradition she had in her high school and college years when she worked as an assistant cook at a Wisconsin summer camp. A few times each summer, late at night after campers had gone to bed, the cooks would bake chocolate chip cookies, then carry them around to each cabin, sneak in to wake up the counselors (without waking any campers) and surprise them with freshly baked cookies under the starry Wisconsin sky. In this same spirit, the Juhls baked a total of 40 dozen fresh chocolate chip cookie to be given away. In order to share the joy far and wide, people could claim up to three boxes at no cost–they simply were asked to then give the box away to brighten someone else’s day.
One month and nearly 1,500 cookies later, Becky’s Blessings Bakery was still just beginning. Throughout the past year, the Juhl’s have continued to show great love to their neighbors in many ways. Through the bakery, that love has often looked like Norwegian lefse, Danish puff, German “Beinenstich” or bee-sting cake, sugar cookies, muffins with locally grown fruit, and a number of other pastries baked with love. Whether they’re giving to Lutheran Church Charities’ Comfort Dog ministry, supporting young people’s bake sales, or contributing donated items and dollars to their local food pantry, 100% of Becky’s Blessings Bakery profits are given to charitable causes.
Just as their February 2018 “Love Your Neighbor” baking event encouraged, the Juhls are intentionally walking in the light of Love to love and care for their neighbors. They have used things they already have to do so–in their case, a passion for baking, a tight-knit family, and unwavering belief in something greater than themselves. From their two and a half year old’s sprinkles on sugar cookies to Pastor and Mrs. Juhl’s baking, organizing, and donating, everyone in the family plays a role on the Becky’s Blessings Bakery team. The Juhls love their neighbors. The Juhls are in this together.