Fresh Bread

I ask you dear reader, when someone coins the expression - "fresh bread" what comes quickly to your mind?

This term has much meaning for me and as I began thinking of the twists and turns this expression has made in the seasons of my life I wondered what it might mean to my friends and family.  I posted the question on my Facebook page and sent a request to several of my friends via email.

The responses were as varied and similar as those who replied.  Many had memories of homecooking in years gone by.

"That jar of starter my Mom kept in the fridge...it was alive, and you had to feed it."
"Homemade (which I used to make years ago) - yummy, the smell and then spread some butter on a slice of warm, fresh bread."
"My dad letting it rise in a large orange and white plastic bowl (that had a bubble on the side from being on the bottom rack in the dishwasher) on top of the refrigerator"
"Mom used to make the best fresh bread when I was young"
"mother made fresh bread all the time..the fragrance comes first to mind and reminds me of the love and joy that went into her baking for her family.."
"My daughter's yeast rolls are so light and fluffy and so delicious..and they smell so good, too"
"Homemade yeast rolls my friend Sally used to make when we lived in Ft. Campbell"
" I think of my father's insistence that mother always purchase whole wheat bread (As a child, I longed for white bread, thinking it something special, something that rich kids ate. How wrong I was and how right my father was!)"
another friend shared that her husband
"is addicted to it..he will even eat it stale"
and a young friend who has a passion for volunteering shared that -
"Fresh Bread makes me think of Metropolitan Ministries Market, Naomi's Daughters bread give-aways on Tuesdays, or a bakery."

I have special memories of assembling, kneading and baking fresh bread as well.

About 35 years ago when I was a stay at home mom, I had a friend who was known for her cooking and baking skills.  A "scratch cook", she made the most delicious breads.  One of her specialties was French Bread.

One day she conducted a "cooking class" for this novice.  Patiently she taught me how to make a golden loaf that looked similar to the photo at the left; as beautiful as it was tasty.

It was fun baking together but on my own difficult and boring, and I soon gave it up. Her recipe has been lost somewhere over the years but I found one that sounds very similar if you want to try it yourself - allrecipes.com/recipe/french-bread/ .

In addition to baking, "Fresh Bread" brings thoughts of Jesus and His Word to mind -

"Manna from Heaven"

" I thought of Christ as the Bread of Life" and the sweet fragrance of His life"

For the past several years this term that stirs many memories in us has described God's Word to me.


I first heard it coined by Rich Miller of Freedom in Christ Ministries during a Freedom weekend I attended. He stepped on the platform, bible in hand, and proclaimed that He was now going to share with us God's Fresh Bread.
To me it describes what I need every day to live victoriously as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

This FRESH BREAD is the ultimate nourishment.  There is nothing else like it and without it there would be a "boatload" of "wimpy men and women" unable to be what a Sovereign God has planned for each of us to be.  His Word speaks for itself; take a peek -

"How can a young man (woman) keep his(her) way pure?  By keeping your Word." Ps 119:9

"I have treasured Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." Ps 119:11

"Remember Your Word to Your servant; You have given me hope through it." Ps 119:49

"Lord Your Word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven." Ps 119:89

"All scripture is inspired (breathed) by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man (woman) of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Thank you Lord for Carla, Lucy, Karen, Ben, Paige, Pat, Cynthia, Iraida, Susan, Danielle, Mary Ann and Bev who shared their memories.  Thank you that you nourish our bodies with bread fresh from the oven and you nourish our souls with your Word, the written Word and Jesus, the Living Word, who is the Bread of Life.  It's my prayer that we ,who know Christ will remember   (as Mary Ann shared) to scatter His fragrance of love and joy wherever we go. In His name and for His sake, Amen.

Looking at Time

It's Saturday; the last day of a week that has whizzed by.

With every day on the calendar time seems to pass more quickly than years gone by.

So many paths yet to walk and the hourglass is sifting much too quickly.

Lately the Lord has been talking to me about time - His versus mine.

I've been looking through my study bible at favorite passages; marked verses when the Lord spoke to me through His Word.

In 2001 as I embarked on a new avenue of ministry, I was reading in Acts 1 when Jesus had commanded the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised as He had told them; the promise of the Holy Spirit.  When they gathered together they kept questioning Him, particularly in regard to restoring the kingdom to Israel.
He said to them,
 "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:7-8)

In the right hand margin I had written -
"wait";
timing is the Father's business;
the power belongs to God...the mission is God's;
Proclaim Jesus through word and deed;
He changes hearts.
On the preceeding page's margin I had written 1:8 and circled it, followed by this note:
Jesus says - "Start where you are".
Then I said - yes, Lord! In 2010 I affirm that response: yes, yes, Lord!

His timing is key in everything.
I have to remember to rest in Him as I go.  His grace is sufficient for me.
He will never take me where He won't be with me.
He goes before me preparing the way and comes alongside as I go.
I must remember not to run ahead but rather follow Him.

He has given me ALL the time He needs.

What time is it where you are in your journey?

Til next time, Judy

His Firmament

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork ." Psalm 19:1

Whether the sky is -
at first light as the sun appears, rising in the east, proclaiming the start of a new day;
awash with puffy white clouds and a myriad of blue shades;
ominous with shades of gray and black announcing a storm to come;
gorgeous with yellows, oranges and pinks as the sun sinks in the west or transformed as if lit with twinkle lights as night falls upon the earth.

God's masterpiece.

"In the beginning God (prepared, formed, and) created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep.  ..and God said let there be light.  And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness.  And God called the light day and the darkness He called Night.  And there was evening and there was morning one day.  And God said let there be a firmament (the expanse of the sky)...and God made the firmament (the expanse) and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse.  And it was so.  And God called the firmament Heavens.  And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. (Gen. 1: 1-8)

Amazing Love!  How can it be?  This partial lyric from Billy James Foote's worship song  comes to mind to describe Creation's mind boggling effect on this ordinary woman.  Mind boggling and comforting and affirming all in one!
This God, Elohim, El Elyon, is majestic in power and unsurpassed in creativity!

Picking up at the close of day three ...

"And God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs and tokens (of God's provident care), and (to mark) seasons, days, and years.  And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth.  And it was so.  And God made the two great lights - the greater light (the sun) to rule the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night.  He also made the stars.  And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.  To rule over the day and over the night and to separate the light from the darkness.  And God saw that it was good (fitting,pleasant) and He approved it.  And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. (Gen. 1:14-19)

Purposefully, thoughtfully, lovingly, and perfectly He spoke these things into being.

The wonderous part is He  had you and me in mind before He spoke this masterpiece into space.

Tonight I will have a fresh appreciation for the night sky.

Black and White in our Family

My last post began this series of learning in a cross cultural family.

It began in 1987 and it will continue long after I'm living in my heavenly home.  It began with my daughter's marriage, idylically at first, and in time they became the parents of our first grandchild. He lit up our family's world from the moment he drew his first breath. His mom and dad struggled to overcome cultural differences and finally it just came crashing down around them.  By that time our second grandson had been born.  From then until today (almost 17 years) our lives have been intertwined with T and our boys. 

When they were little the reactions of others were sometimes surprising, and sometimes hilarious.  There was the woman in the grocery who commented as she approached the cart that held grand #1 in his baby carrier - "my, he has a good tan." (I'll say..a permanent one). There were curious (or rude) folks who just turned around and stared when we were together and there were those well meaning folks who thought there was something special about grandparents who loved these grandchildren.  Not so - the grandchildren were and are the special ones. The love they brought to our family cannot be measured.  Football games, and basketball games on weekends and during the middle of the week were the norm for nearly 10 years.  There were treasured moments riding in the car singing songs, praying together attending church together, kneeling at the altar for communion and most recently 2 high school graduations.  There have been moments that they had to deal with being "not black and not white".  Children called them names...they wondered why?   They've also thrived in situations that the statistics said they'd fail.  In addition to their family these boys had wonderful mentors and teachers through the years.  Wonderful people who have loved them and encouraged them to be all that God intended them to be. 

Through every moment the greatest strength and comfort for our entire family has been and continues to be the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  And isn't that the way it's supposed to be?  Whether we're white, brown, black, red, yellow or polka dotted (sorry about that It just came out) we have a Creator who designed us as we are.  We are His people...not defined or limited by race or background.  He created us for relationship - first with Him and then with each other.  His Word tells me that His ways are not my ways nor are His thoughts like my thoughts.  Thank goodness!

Because of this great love of our God we have learned that our identity is not to be determined by the world's opinion of us or the color of our skin but rather our identity is in Christ.  We are joints heirs with Jesus...sons and daughters of God!
Leaning on His promises today!
Judy

Outrage and Heartbreak Looking at Our History

Oh friends, I'm watching the movie "The Express" It is a movie about Ernie Davis, the outstanding running back from Elmira NY who played at  Syracuse University  and was the first black american to be awarded  the Heisman Trophy.  The year was 1961.  The movie recounts the difficulties this oustanding young man and outstanding football player faced during the late 1950's through 1962.

Ernie Davis was given an athletic ability that made him stand out in the crowd.  He received the attention of many american colleges because of his abilities and was shunned by others because the color of his skin also made him stand out in the crowd and during those years in our history fear and ignorance kept many folks at arms length to young men and women like Ernie Davis.

I was in high school during those years.   A white girl living in the south during segregation and ashamed today to admit pretty much oblivious to the heartwrenching injustices experienced by those whose skin was brown or black. 

In 1987 my life took a turn that changed my view of "color" forever.  Much happened in our country between 1960 and 1987.  Battles for freedom for all americans had been waged in Washington, main street America, schools, businesses and homes and finally in individual hearts.  Segregation was offically a thing of the past.  All races were to have the freedom to obtain an education and a good job.  In other words the incidents that Ernie Davis faced were in the past.  Or so it seemed.

In 1987 my daughter fell in love and married a young man she had met while working in high school.  This handsome, gregarious, young black american man was 6 years older than she and swept her off her feet.
Everything we professed to believe and held deep in our hearts was brought in the light.  I really believed at the time, as they did, that God could overcome any cultural or historical differences.  They received premarital counseling from our pastor and were married in a small wedding at our church.  She never looked more beautiful and my hopes for her future were never higher than on that day.  I wanted with all my heart for the naysayers to be wrong.  My deepest desire was that somehow the Lord would use this couple without a real clue at what they faced, to be examples of love overcoming years of prejudice.

As I watched Ernie Davis's story last night (I've written this over the course of two days)...every time someone booed him; every time a football player tryed to maim him (just because his skin was not white); every time someone shouted "spook" at him and his 2 fellow players, my heart nearly broke.  There was and still is a lump in my throat as I was bombarded again at how humanity can go so wrong that they would rather cripple or even kill someone because they don't look like they do..don't talk like they do...don't eat what they eat....don't dress like they dress..and the list goes on.

My life has been blessed beyond measure and my mind expanded outside my "own little world" since that day in 1987.  That was the day we became black and white in our family.

Don't miss my next post for more lessons learned in our cross cultural family.