BY DAWN REED
Searching the internet for the just right recipe for beef tips, I landed on a “Best Slow Cooker Beef Tips and Gravy” version on Pinterest. When I cook, I do want it to be the best, so I took a chance. It looked easy.
I mixed together the ingredients – some I had never combined before: onion soup mix and ketchup. The smell at 5 a.m. was not one that would be drawing my beloved to the table. Though unsure of the end result, I continued to follow the recipe. I added thyme, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Locking the Crock-Pot, I headed to work praying the best slow cooker beef tips and gravy would be a blessing to my beloved.
On the road, I pondered the mixture that would be slowly cooking all day. I didn’t have a good feeling. My beloved mixes all kinds of odd ingredients together, but not me. What if this ended up having to be thrown in the creek? “It won’t be the end of the world,” I reminded myself.
The more I thought of it, the more I wondered what I had been thinking. The recipe was posted by someone I don’t even know: a guy named Ryan. And I don’t even know where he is from, or what kind of person he is.
Delicious dishes are often passed down from generation to generation. Biscuits and gravy, spaghetti, killed lettuce and onions, and other cherished meals are shared for decades with love. By Aunt Armilda, Aunt Sadie, and Aunt Deloris on my beloved’s side. My mom and my Granny were good cooks, too. Then there were my Aunt Pat and Uncle Red. They all made memorable, tasty morsels we still talk about. But this “Ryan” guy. Has he even had biscuits and gravy? How had I succumbed to his influence? Ryan was a stranger, yet here I was taking a gamble on his instruction with my beef tips.
These days, we get much advice from social media, the internet and television. Influencers on TikTok are telling us 24/7 what is best to eat, wear, buy and build. Their short videos keep us scrolling for hours. While the internet gives us access to the world, it is crucial to listen to the right voices.
Eve is a classic and tragic example of listening to the wrong voice. Genesis 3 tells of her disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The serpent did not tempt Eve to kill or steal; he influenced her to doubt God and His goodness.
King Darius was easily swayed by the satraps and administrators in his kingdom (Daniel 6).
They persuaded him to make a decree that anyone who prayed to any god or human being but him for 30 days would be thrown in the lion’s den. It was a foolish decision he later regretted.
The Bible gives constant, good instruction/influence for daily life. Jeremiah 33:3 reminds us that if we call to the Lord, He will answer us. John 10:27 tells us if we are His sheep, we will hear His voice. Proverbs 3:5-6 are my verses for 2026: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
The best ever beef tips were just OK. I’ll keep looking for the right recipe.