Yum Yum Coffee Cake--A Titus 2 Story

Many years ago, almost twenty, God placed me on a parallel path with a wonderful woman. While our lives intersected she taught me so much, even now I will do something and realize that the seed, the idea or the method came from her example. God sent her into my life when I was a harried and frantic young mother with four children. Four children under the age of seven. We went to her house often.

I often watched her quiet, calm and determined ways and attempted to implement them in my life. She was a strong personality—a steel hand in a cashmere glove. I look at my life now and realize much of what I know about a servant’s demeanor and a prayer warriors’ heart and an open door of hospitality was molded by her example and character.

Peggy and Howard (her sweet husband)

All the time I knew her she battled cancer. There were seasons of remission, and through prayer and faith in our God she held cancer back. She prayed audaciously during that time. She went boldly before his throne, not out of arrogance, but because she believed in the faithfulness of God. She had several reasons to pray persistently. She wanted to see her children grown, wanted to see them into maturity (They became beautiful people, both her daughter and son). I know she asked the Lord for time, time to accomplish these things, and he gave it to her.

Her name was Peggy. A nickname for Margaret. My girls called her Ms. Peggy. Peggy was a Titus 2 woman in my life. She mentored me without ever calling it such. She instructed me without ever lecturing. She taught me without ever being didactic. She led me by example. She was the seed God used to begin the growth of intercessory prayer in my own life.

One of the most vivid memories I have of Peggy connects to how she put feet to her faith and prayers. If she said she would pray for you she did, but often those prayers would be accompanied with a meal. But what I remember most is her Yum Yum Coffee Cake.

Peggy baked these breakfast treats in large batches and kept them frozen—ready to pull out and take to someone in need. She baked them in round, disposable aluminum pans (so no one needed to worry about returning them). She covered them with cellophane and then wrapped them in foil for protection. She delivered them with a handwritten card, a real smile and gentle pat. I remember her hands, her handwriting (I still have her cards), and the sound of her voice.

Peggy with her daughter Elizabeth on her wedding day. God answers prayers!

At Christmas this year I found Peggy’s coffee cake recipe and made it for the first time in many, many years. I made it mostly for my husband who loves sweets with coffee on lazy Saturday mornings. As I made the recipe I thought about Peggy. While that coffee cake baked and the scent wafted through the kitchen he reminded me of lessons learned in her kitchen long ago.

Peggy taught me to do more than just tell someone you would pray for them. She taught me to pray immediately. If not you would might get sidetracked and forget she explained. Peggy also taught me to give. Give time and effort and thought—whether it be a meal, a gift or a coffee cake.

Peggy taught me that putting feet on your faith is not nearly as complicated as we often make it. Sometimes it’s just as simple as making a breakfast cake and delivering it for no reason other than to make someone’s day. 

I bless and thank God for Peggy’s enduring example and her lasting legacy.

Here’s Peggy’s recipe. Enjoy it with your own family on a lazy Saturday morning. Make an extra one and deliver it with prayer to someone else.

That's what Peggy would want you to do.

 

Peggy’s Yum Yum Coffee Cake—in memory of her own mother Genevieve von Allmen.

(Use 1 stick of butter to replace oleo.)

 



Peggy's recipe--found in the Big Hill Avenue Christian Church Cookbook.