These are not in order of importance, but the first one has pictures ;) This is what the inside of my oven looked like at 11:45 pm yesterday
Divine Wheat Bread
1 envelope or 2-1/4 teaspoons yeast
2 cups warm water (about 100 degrees)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Place yeast in a small bowl and pour warm water over it, allow it to dissolve until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine butter, molasses, honey and salt and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add yeast and water, and then stir in the flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth (this dough is stickier than a lot of bread dough, but it's okay). Taste a little of the raw dough and think oh yeah, this is gonna be goooood. Place in large greased bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1.5 hours. Punch down and let rest for a few minutes, then divide into two loaves. Place loaves in greased pans (I only had one loaf pan, so I made the other in a bowl) and let rise about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. The outside of the loaf looks rather dark, so don't take it out too soon - mine had about 15 minutes left to bake after that picture above. Oh, and you can brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter... I couldn't find my pastry brush (I have some guesses, and they don't bode well for my ever using it in the kitchen again) so I just waited until the loaves were hot and a crust had formed (right after that picture was taken) and ran the stick of butter across the top of the loaf, and the butter melted across it.
I'm usually the type of person whose spirits can be lifted pretty easily - a phone call from a friend, a smile from a stranger, a comment on my blog, a kind word from my husband are all enough to make my day. But last week it seemed like those small mood-lifters were hard to come by.
Saturday night I got to chat with my amazing new friend, Lynnette. I was telling her that lately it's been easy for me to slip into a place where my faith seems a little shaky - where I tell myself God has it all figured out, but then hear that little voice asking me whether I'm really sure. When I get to really feeling down and sorry for myself, I start wanting some BIG answers... I'm asking God why things have to turn out the way they do, what the purpose of it all is, where I'm supposed to be headed. And of course, although I know He has the answers, I also know He is under no obligation to send me a memo outlining them for me. What Lynnette suggested, was that I pray for a token - just a small sign from God that He's really listening.
It was so brilliant, and I'm not sure why it's never occurred to me before, but of course that's all it took to get me out of my slump, to re-affix my eyes where they belong. I didn't really need God to answer those big questions, I didn't need to see a miracle performed before my eyes, I just needed a small token (I got several!!) and I was once again lifted on the wings of my faith.
When you're feeling depressed, does a small kind gesture do amazing things to restore your happiness? Well, if you're feeling a low on faith, just ask God for a small token... watch Him respond and restore you!
So today, in honor of small tokens...
-I am taking some time to reflect on in gratitude those friends who make my day with a phone call or an email, those blog readers who comment or Tweet, those kind strangers who hold the door or smile, those little things that make such a big, big difference
-I am remembering that my smile can lift someone else's spirit, that my reaching out to a friend can make their day, and that I have an unlimited store of small tokens to dole out myself
-I am thanking God for His constant faithfulness, his patience with me and willingness to over and over and over again show Himself to me
6 comments:
I am going to do exactly that, ask God for a token. I'm torn between two churches right now, my old church, near where I used to live (10 miles away) and my new church, close to my new house. I know a lot of people at the old church and just haven't been able to make many friends at the new church. I'll ask for a sign to which church he wants me to go to. Thanks!
You have such a sweet spirit, dear Vera. I love the bread recipe, never tried it before with molasses. Did you receive the small token from God? Thats such a good idea to ask God for. A small miracle, a jentle hand of God, sometimes its hard for us to see it but when we do see it, its amazing.
Hi Vera. What an encouragement to my heart - to know my little tidbit helped you. I was given the same advice one time years ago and now I'm sharing it with you.
I enjoyed our chat too. You are such a fun lady with a genuinely kind heart. I hope we'll be able to chat again soon. :)
Praising God for crossing our paths.
Love,
Lynnette
I am LOVING you for posting a WHEAT recipe w/o sugar!! I'm going to try that tomorrow.
Hello there,
I came across your blog while 'blog hopping' one day - and just wanted to say that it's a lovely read and thank you for sharing. Sometimes it's hard to even remember to look for those 'small tokens' from God when we feel low - friends who can encourage us are such a blessing arent they! I will have to try your bread recipe as my breadmaker had a tantrum the otehr day and filled our house with burnt bread smoke, so i'm nervous to use it again! A bread recipe for the oven is just what I need! Best wishes, Lottie :)
That bread does look divine! One of these days I will actually try to make bread from scratch. It tastes so good fresh from the oven. :)
I've been a bit down this week, too. I'm afraid that getting some good test results are going to be the only thing to lift my mood right now. My never ending cold isn't really helping matters either.
I generally just approach life with a "what will be, will be" attitude, though. It helps a little. I know I can't control all those big picture things, and just trust that God will help me through it.
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