Sunflower Faith

Self reliance.

That’s what we are hoping to achieve, starting with the garden and in addition to that, I’ve been studying how to can (if we are blessed with a good harvest,I pray that there will be enough for saving for use during the winter as well), in addition, I’ve looked into making our own bread as well.

I was really surprised how easy it is to do.

Yes, there is some time and effort involve, but like cooking from scratch, there is something that is gained that can’t be captured processed or pre-made and delivered. In a lot of ways, the same goes with having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

There is a difference between going to church sitting down and hearing what the pastor is saying, versus actually opening the bible and discovering for yourself, not only what it was that the pastor had said, but rather what our Heavenly Father, Himself has to say.

There is nothing like getting it straight from the source itself versus going through a middle man.

As we look for ways that we can cut dependence on the grocery store at home, we’ve begun to look at other ways that we can find what we need by relying through God, on ourselves and discovering a richer life that is free from the chemicals, preservatives, the hidden dangers and just the processed taste that we get from buying “pop in the oven” or “throw in the microwave”.

As my husband said to the kids, “You’ll be surprised how richer and sweeter the food will be when we eat it straight from our garden versus from buying from the store,” and as we really look into not only gardening, but canning and making our own bread, I listen to how people feel like they gain more appreciation for life and a better taste for life.

A friend I know who gave me some tips about canning, told me how she like the fact when she opens up a can of vegetables, she doesn’t have to worry about salt content or preservatives, because she controls how much or how little salt is placed with them and how much more delicious the food taste.

My mouth just water at the thought.

Shouldn’t our soul feel the same about reading God’s word and having that richer relationship with Him.

Turn off the t.v. or radio and bring the bible to church and don’t rely on the flyers that they give out to go with the pastor’s sermon;Instead open the bible yourself and read God’s word yourself and discover how much deeper and meaningful God’s word becomes.

The trouble when we rely on Youtube, or t.v. sermons or radios, or Ipods, or any of the latest fads,is that we began to rely to much on other people to bring God’s word to us and the message loses it’s flavor and becomes to….canned.

Instead…turn off the outside source and like making bread with your own hands, pick up the bible and read God’s word for yourself.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that making bread by scratch isn’t as complex as I thought it was.

Actually…it’s very simple and the only hard part is developing the will and motivation of doing it myself versus just going to the store and buying the bread.

Difference…when made with my own hands, there is a deeper appreciation for the final result and it can be done when I make it a priority in my life, and the same as with reading God’s word.

It’s easy to just turn on the radio or the t.v. or even pull up a Youtube, but it’s harder when it’s dusting off the dust off of my bible and opening up God’s word for myself and reading.

Curious what it takes to make bread?

Simple.

• 1 small handful (1/4 to 1/3 cup) white flour
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons of water

(For rest of yeast bread starter recipe go here)

That’s just to make the starter from scratch. Yes…you gotcha…scratch.

Or if you want a little bit more involved:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 5 teaspoons sugar (or 1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 5 teaspoons butter (or 1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 1 package active dry yeast (you can get yeast near the flour at your local grocery store)
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups flour (get unbleached white for your first attempt)
• Corn starch or nonstick cooking spray (just to prevent the bread from sticking to the bowl or pan)

(For the full recipe, you can go here)

Either way, creating bread, is like taking time developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. Man can not just expect to live by bread alone.

There is more to living and more involvement than just bread.

Even bread itself, has a starting point and for those who make bread from scratch, it becomes a deeper understand as well, that we can live a life of convenience, or we can take the plunge into having a rich, true and more honest relationship with Jesus Christ that involves being more honest with ourselves, with our lives and more important with our Heavenly Father.

I thank God for the conviction to live a more simpler life and convicting me of living a life that we live by learning to be more self reliant on Him by learning through being more self reliant through our lives and less dependent on having to go to the grocery store or having everything processed.

It’s made me more thankful as a wife and mom to, as every night we sit for dinner eating food that we make from scratch and learning more patience, humility and appreciation to our Heavenly Father who created us all.

I look forward to the nights when we start serving food at our table that we grew ourselves and bake in the oven from scratch on our counters.

We even have a morter and pestle (hint of next week’s post…lol) that we hand grind our own spices and mixes that we use to flavor our meals with.

There’s been an added joy and appreciation to all things Our Heavenly Father has blessed us with, as we learn to live a simplier life that is a praise and blessing to Him and it’s been fun for the kids as an added homeschool bonus to not only learn how to cook but see the fruits of their labor as they help us make dinner and see what was a tomato, blossom into tomate sauce for pasta.

I look forward with excitement when they see what is grown in the garden transformed into that days lunch or dinner and there is a sense of peace knowing the biggest thing, they will learn is, patience, appreciation for what our Heavenly Father has blessed us with and a sense of learning, like it takes effort to make dinner…it takes time and effort

to produce a meaningful and rich relationship with Jesus Christ that doesn’t just happen instantly.