More Than Words

 Deuteronomy 27:26 reads, "Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them." It's one thing to say you are following God --- but how do you show that? What is the outward sign of this inward heart change? Our actions. How can we say we obey the "Word of God" when we won't observe those words? We can't. We must "put our money where our mouth is" and actually obey the instructions of the God we claim to serve.

It's Not a Competition! Knowing Your Place in Ministry

When we ask the Father to grow us into what He wants us to be, we must be willing to go through His steps, in order, and in His timing. I'm learning that His processes and His timing are good for me.

Fresh Whole Wheat Bread Recipe from Ground Wheat Berries

A couple years ago, I started grinding my own wheat berries for flour and boy are we loving it! I'm so glad I invested in a grain mill. The freshly milled taste is like nothing else and the health benefits are enormous! If you haven't already, check out this video from Sue Becker that explains all the benefits of consuming freshly ground grains.

Several friends have asked me for my bread recipe lately, so today I took the time to photograph the process so I could write it up. 

I think one of the most important things to know about baking fantastic bread is to get the dough ball right. Is it too wet? Too dry? The best way I can tell that my dough ball is just right is when it doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl and it feels like chewed bubblegum. It should feel kind of tacky but not sticky.

Another way to tell is if you can form it into a log that will hold its shape. 

So, if your dough is too dry and crumbly to do this, add a little warm water. If it's too wet, knead in some more flour. If you take the time to get your dough ball right, the rest should be a breeze!

Fresh Whole Wheat Bread (2 loaves)

2 1/4 c. warm water

1 1/2 TB yeast

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. honey

1 TB salt

9 1/2 - 10 c. freshly ground whole wheat flour

Begin by grinding your wheat berries. When you're about 10 minutes from finishing, mix the yeast and warm water together and let it sit the rest of the grinding time. I use a stand mixer with a dough hook. If you will be kneading by hand, just put this in your mixing bowl. Remember that if your bowl is cold, you'll need to warm it up under warm water. The water and yeast mixture needs to stay warm.

Once your berries are finished, add the oil, honey, and salt to your mixing bowl. Then add a few cups of flour and begin mixing. Add the rest, a cup at a time, making sure everything is incorporated well by scraping the sides of the bowl from time to time. I usually stop at about 9 cups and really mix/knead it well, then I check the dough ball. If it is tacky like gum but not sticky, it is ready. I usually need 9 1/2 cups of flour to get it perfect.

Continue kneading with a dough hook or by hand for about 5 minutes. Then let the dough ball rest in the bowl for 30 minutes. After that, oil your bread pans and then form the dough into two logs the length of your bread pans minus about an inch. Place the logs in the bread pans with the seam side down and let them rise in a warm place for awhile---usually an hour or two. You can cover them if you'd like but I never do---I use shallow pans and I don't want to mess up the tops!

Lastly, bake them at 325º for about 30 minutes. You'll need to watch them to see when they're at the stage of browning you prefer as every oven is a little different. Make sure they're at least a light golden brown so you can ensure the middle is cooked through. Then slide a knife around to remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a rack. If you leave them to cool in the pans, they'll sweat and your bread will become soggy. I've found this to be true, even for stoneware pans.

I hope you enjoy this delicious fresh whole wheat bread! Let me know if you try it out!

The Necessary Thing is Just Enough | He is Our Portion

"Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Yeshua's feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Messiah, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Yeshua answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

Recently during a Bible study, a friend shared some good thoughts on this section of scripture and it got me thinking about the idea of the portion.

What did Yeshua say was the necessary thing, the good part? It was the time Mary was spending at His feet, hearing His word.

There are lots of good things to do. But are they the best things? I like to say, "just because it's good to do, doesn't mean it's good for YOU to do."

Martha was busy with preparations and trying to make everything nice for everyone---I can definitely relate to that! While there are lots of other preparations we could be making for whatever is coming our way, the main preparation is to be equipped by what we find in His word.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

When we choose to be in His word over doing the other things, we are offering our bodies as living sacrifices. We can't renew our minds without something new to put in them. We put in the word of God. 

It should make us think in new ways. 

See life in new ways. See ourselves in new ways…. 

especially see people, even difficult people, in new ways.

When we choose time with Him, we are choosing the necessary thing, the good part, the good portion.

But what is this word, "portion"? I used to think of it as one of those "bible-y" words that sort of weirded me out when I first started attending church and Bible studies in my late teens. I would think of Oliver Twist holding out his soup bowl for his portion of the meal for the day. "How does this relate?" I would wonder.

Numbers 18 tells us all about the duties of the priest and the Levites, and in reference to the fact that the other tribes were receiving land and they were not, He says:

"Then the Lord said to Aaron: 'You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.'" Numbers 18:20

Their portion was YHWH! They inherited Him---communion and closeness to Him that the others couldn't have. The other tribes weren't given these rights to the holy places and honored duties.

Our portion is the inheritance of God --- all that He wants us to be --- all the callings and blessings and responsibilities He wants to trust us with.

When we think of a "portion", we think of an amount that is less than the whole --- but when YHWH is our portion, we are inheriting everything there is!

That's an amazing concept … but it does have its limits.

Imagine that it's you and God, alone in a room, and He hands you a beautifully wrapped gift. You open it and it's so incredible. You are in awe that He would give you something so amazing. Your heart is overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness at all that He has given you. You hang out with God in that room for awhile and just enjoy all that this gift entails.

Then one day, you pick up your gift and decide to leave the room. You walk out the door with your precious gift and start to look around at everyone else outside that room. You start to notice their gift that seems shinier and newer and more unique and in so many ways different than your own.

Suddenly your gift doesn't seem as special anymore. You even begin to resent your gift because it's not what someone else has.

Our portion is only limited when we are looking around at the portions of others. When we are comparing and resenting and coveting the life, gifts, and portions of another, we are degrading the fulness of what the Father has given us uniquely.

We must learn to be content and even awestruck at the portion He has given to us.

We see lots of examples of the Father giving just enough for what is needed at the time. Think of the Israelites in the desert. They had just enough for the day and what was left over got wormy and smelly. He gave them their daily portion and there was nothing they could do to make it bigger or smaller.

I also think of Yeshua's prayer in Matthew 6 where He references this daily manna when He says, "give us this day our daily bread". He's teaching us to be content with the portion we are given.

Our portion might not look as big and wonderful and important and public as someone else's, but we ALL receive ALL of Him as our portion!

What He can do with the portion He gives us is incalculable. Do you see? We each receive it all!

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

    “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

Thou Shalt Not Overspiritualize

Overspiritualize.

That's a "caution" word I remember being tossed around in the church a lot: "Don't overspiritualize things". It usually meant, "You don't have to take that part so literally," and it usually had to do with some kind of supposedly rigid and outdated command the Father gave like only eating certain things or keeping Saturday as a holy day.

The more I seek to take the Father at His word, and find that His commands aren't actually rigid and outdated, the more I realize that the more we try to make the Bible abstract and figurative, the more we overspiritualize it. 

When I was a little girl, I had a gold bracelet with charms hanging off it in the shape of Charlton Heston's 10 Commandment stones. Each one had a commandment written on it. The fourth charm said, "Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy." If you ask most Sunday Christians, "What is the Sabbath day commandment?" That's what they'll say: "Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy."

But, if you ask most Sunday Christians, "What does the Sabbath command mean?" They'll have all kinds of overspiritualized answers:

"The Sabbath is all the time. Jesus is my rest."

"Jesus changed the Sabbath by resurrecting on a Sunday."

"This is the church's tradition. It trumps God's word."

"Besides, that's just for the Jews."

None of that is true and none of it can be found in the Bible. Try and find it. I dare you. I triple dog dare you with a hundred million dollars to back me up. 

Here's what can be found in the Bible, on multiple occasions even, but I'll quote it from the Big 10 just so we're all in agreement that this matters:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates." Exodus 20:8-11

In Leviticus 23:3, the Father gives a little more clarification on the point of keeping the Sabbath:

"Six days shall work be done but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings."

Rest. Do no work. Don't require others to serve you, either directly or indirectly. Read the word. Fellowship. Practice holiness.

These are simple, easy, straightforward, and literal commands. 

Anything that would change these words to make them "more modern", "more applicable", "more Christian", would be overspiritualization. Do you see? It's not the literal and exact keeping of the simple commands that are overspiritualizing things---it's the making them out to be figurative, outdated, and Jew-centric. (You do know that "the Jews" are just one tiny part of Israel, right? But that's another post…)

Don't be guilty of adding or taking away from the Father's instructions. Do you truly believe He is unchanging? If you do, then don't overspiritualize things. Just take Him at His word. Yeshua said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. No need to make things bigger than they are. Just do the things in the simple way He clearly laid out, word for word.

Consumed

"Incline my heart to Your testimonies,

And not to covetousness.

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,

And revive me in Your way."  Psalm 119:36-37

I have really big ideas. I get a plan or a project in my head and it consumes most my thoughts until it's either completed or replaced by a new grand idea. Sometimes it can be really hard to focus on following the Father's leading---going where He says, saying what He prompts, waiting when He's clear I should wait---especially when I'm distracted by less important things. 

But most times, I find it hard to focus on anything BUT the things of the Father. I'm consumed by His wonders and warnings, tracking His prophetic timeline, pulling new things out of Scripture every time I sit down to read. I could spend hours of my day reading and writing about His word, the world going on around me while I wile away in my study. I often think I'm better suited to a dark robe and a measly diet, sequestered away somewhere in a remote monastery, with no one but my pen for company. 

Which brings up the obvious---why has the Father given someone like me an outgoing husband, nine children, a new grandson, real friendships, and an increasingly public ministry? These things do tend to get in the way of the life of a devoted monk.

I believe He's calling me to balance. Left to my own devices, I really would hole up in remote hibernation, avoiding everything that irritates me---and thereby avoiding everything He's called me to. Because everything irritates me.

In the Psalm above, the word "covetousness" can also be translated as profit and the word "testimonies" means God's law. Thus, the basic gist of the passage speaks to the desire to focus on God's ways and not be distracted by what lesser gains can be made. While I don't covet actual things, I definitely covet times of quiet solitude.

And that's just what He wants them to be for me---times. Not days or months, but moments, even a few hours on the occasional day I can have my husband or adult child fill in for me. Coveting is essentially wanting what we do not have and it can be applied even to the things of God. While it's a noble idea to close myself up in a turret with just a candle and a scroll, would I really want to be cloistered away from all the life, laughter, and loud of the people around me who bring me such joy? Well, maybe the loud…

I think the Father intentionally puts us in situations that we wouldn't naturally choose for ourselves for our growth. The closer I get to Him, the more I want to excavate His word and see what treasures I can pull up. It's becoming my natural inclination and if I really want to do this, I will find the time---regardless of what else is going on around me. In His great mercy and grace, He's surrounded me with so much life so I don't become that hermitting monk; but instead, that I would grab hold of just enough life around me to balance me out.

After all, what is the point of knowledge, wisdom, understanding if there's no one around to share it with?

 

Persecution

 

Persecution

I like to think I have a pretty thick skin---or at least that I'm pretty good at faking it and letting hard things slide off my back. Truth is, depending on the day, sometimes I let people really get to me. 

It's different now that I've left the socially acceptable way of following God and have gone rogue with a bunch of other zealots. In the church, there was mutual acceptance. I accepted what was taught for that particular denomination, they accepted me as a member and let me minister there. Now that I've taken ministry into my own hands, it's not unbelievers who come against me---it's churchies.

I'm thinking of Paul. He wasn't imprisoned for bringing the nourishment of Scriptural truth to a society that was starving for it; no, he was imprisoned for stirring the pot, for shining the light of truth on a society that wanted to continue living in darkness. Paul tried to open the eyes of the willfully blind and the purposefully ignorant---he was a thorn in the side of every person who fleetingly felt convicted by his words.

I've been mocked for comparing myself to Paul (like he's some kind of higher saint, rather than just a regular dude serving God) but he's our biggest example of faithfulness in the New Testament, besides Yeshua. He was literally put there as an example to follow. When I think about how much it stinks to question whether I should share truth today and risk having to fight bad feelings toward former friends, I think about Paul in Philippians chapter 1.

"But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel…and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

I know the persecution I'm facing as a minister of the gospel on social media is laughable in the face of what Paul went through---but the emotions are similar. Reading that portion of Scripture this morning, the Father showed me a couple reasons why He's got me in the stocks, 21st century style:

Through Paul's example of faithfulness in the face of persecution, others were made bold to share the truth, too. If I will keep my temper, stick to Scripture, and pick my battles, the Father will use my example to embolden others as witnesses, also. 

Additionally, we need to realize that this is just the beginning of persecutions. The narrow path is unpalatable to anyone not on it, but especially to those who think they are but are shown they're not. In short: compromisers don't like to have their reasons debunked. The persecution is gonna get a lot hotter and a lot heavier---and it's going to come mainly from those who've "Got Jesus" but don't understand what it means to surrender to Him.

To those of us who are truly walking out this narrow path and trying to reach those around us, let's be so careful to keep our temper, stick to Scripture, and pick our battles. There are arguments out there that just. don't. matter. and we clutter up our ministry by focusing on the noneternal. If you spend more time on flat earth or calendar arguments than you do on ministering about Yeshua and His ways, (Matt. 28:19-20) you're wasting your time. Stop picking apart the little things the enemy is distracting you with and train yourself to go after the really big spiritual warfare stuff. You were shown the narrow path of Revelation 12:17 for a reason.

There. There's my pep talk for the day. For me and maybe for you. Shalom.

Friendships and Mentors and Cans of Worms

 

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-2

My Bible titles this passage, "The Value of a Friend."

A few years ago, I attended a women's event where the theme was mentoring. It reawakened some things in me that had been dormant for too long. I made some commitments to Yahweh regarding using more of my time on other people and I came away feeling energized in my calling to women's ministry. 

Shortly after, the Father tested me in those commitments---as is often His way! I was in a room with many women chatting and laughing and getting to know one another. I had visited with a few friends and was wandering around looking at decorations. (These kinds of events always make me feel awkward. I struggle with small talk---always want to get to the nitty-gritty!) I was just hanging out when the Father told me to start looking at the people more closely. 

I noticed a woman standing off to the side a bit, not talking with anyone. I'd only chatted with her briefly in the past and didn't know her well, so I went up to say hello again and see if I could bumble my way awkwardly through my normal kind of 50/50 introvert/extrovert conversation. 

I took her hand and said, "Hey (Friend), how's it goin' tonight?" 

She smiled and said, "Oh fine!" 

I could have stopped right there. I mean, right? That's the ultimate Sunday morning Christianese phrase: "I'm fine!" 

Sometimes it means, "I've got a lot of stuff going on but don't have the time/desire/interest/strength to discuss it with you." 

More often it means, "I'm struggling and I really do actually want to tell you but you're just making small talk and I don't sense I can trust you with my heart."

For a split second I thought about giving her the pat Christian response, "Oh great! I'm glad. Well, have a good night!" But, praise Yah, He spoke stronger to me than He had in a long time. So, I pulled out my can opener, looked her straight in the eye, and opened up that can of worms. 

"No really, Friend, how are you?"

*****************************************************************

When I read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, I think about all the lonely people out there. There's a lot of them, you know. I read, "For if they fall, one will lift up his companion," and think, "Who will lift up the one without a friend?"

I've had a saying for a long time that I once thought was clever---maybe it was, for its time. I used to say, "I've only got enough emotional energy to spend on a couple of friends."  

Wifing/mothering/homeschooling 10 people is tough, y'all, and there was a brief time there when it was absolutely all I could handle. The Father allowed my outside-the-home ministry to go dormant for awhile so I could put my focus in the right place. I think I allowed it to go on a little longer than He would have liked, though. I got comfortable in my solitude. I also got selfish.

However, now I think of that phrase and I know that time is over. I feel so driven to speak the Father's truth and encouragement to all those lonely women---cans of worms popping open all over the place! (Gummy worms, please. No pork gelatin.)

I want to be that friend that sticks close enough to lift someone up when they fall and point them to help and healing in Yeshua. I'm praying the Father will help me become more and more usable in this way, and that he will bring just the right relationships along. Who has time for small talk? Not this girl. But I've got lots of time---all the time He's given me---for cans of worms. 

Journaling 101: How and Why I Use Journals Every Day

 

 I have several journals that serve different purposes: personal life, Bible study, and more. Watch this viewer-requested video to learn about the benefits of keeping a written record of your daily life and activities.

A Sweet Treat for Pink Saturday

Hi friends! I have been so excited to join in Beverly's Pink Saturday for the first time on my new blog! You may remember me as Sarah from Classical Homemaking.com. That's where I blogged for over 12 years, but this is a new season of life and I wanted a fresh start. (Though I am moving some of my best content over here.) I'm excited to see my old Pink Saturday friends and meet some new ones. Thanks for stopping by!

Earlier this week, my daughter bought me the pretty box of tea pictured above. So thoughtful! Then, my son, who works at Crumbl Cookies, brought me home this gorgeous Pink Velvet cookie. I knew I had to save it for Pink Saturday!

I’ve been dealing with some major anxiety the last few months or so—trying to hide it and not make a big deal but it’s getting out of control. Ha! Lots of things—really horrible things and really amazingly great things—have happened since the days before I lost my Dad in January and my emotions are just maxed out. A couple weeks ago I sliced my finger really really bad with a super sharp knife. It was horrible. The other night, I was lying here reading and I looked over at my finger and realized the scar is the shape of a smiley face. Bahahahaha! These are the kinds of funny things Yahweh does to cheer us up. I will forever have a smiley on my finger—how can somebody be stressed out when they LITERALLY have a smiley face finger???!!!!!

I accidentally took this photo today when I was putting away my camera. It pretty much sums up my life for the next five months. Canning...dehydrating...lots of harvesting... But weeding? Well...there's a reason I have nine children. bwahahaha!

Hope everyone is having a great Pink Saturday! Enjoy your day of rest---it's a gift from our Heavenly Father!

Linking with:

Beverly's Pink Saturday

 

The Freedom to Choose

 

I came across this quote early this morning from one of my favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau: "The true price of anything you do is the amount of time you exchange for it."

I woke up about 3:00 am and have struggled getting back to sleep as every current "life issue", big and small, has decided to rush in and take over my thoughts. 

The issue I can't get out of my head, at the moment, concerns a local writing critique group I visited yesterday. While I appreciated most of the feedback and genuinely enjoyed getting to know most of the members, there was one personality, in particular, that I clashed with right from the beginning.

It quickly became apparent that she and I have very different life philosophies. The trouble is that she had trouble keeping her opinions of mine to herself. Yes, I turned down a scholarship to get married. Yes, I have nine children. Yes, I've laid down a writing career three times now in order to raise them. (I have other interesting personality elements, too, by the way. Could we talk about those instead?) No, this does not automatically make me a martyr to her Feminist cause. It actually shows my strength as a woman who had choices laid out before her and exercised her freedom to choose. As much as I desire to be a part of a group of writers, I'm not sure I'm willing to tolerate this obnoxious person in order to have a mediocre version of the experience I crave.

So my dilemma has been that I've been feeling bad about this. I don't want to seem rude to the person who invited me. I don't want to seem intolerant to an intolerable person. I don't want to give up the idea of a writing group, since I've been looking for one for so long. 

I was praying for answers and faithful Yahweh didn't disappoint. "The true price of anything you do is the amount of time you exchange for it."

Is this particular experience with this particular group irreplaceable? Of course not. Am I willing to deal with the stress of ignorant people in order to have this experience? Definitely not.

Looking at this situation, it appears the true price of sticking with this group is more than I'm willing to pay. I've got just a handful of emotional energy and spare minutes to spend on personal hobbies, especially those that take me outside the home. Writing has always been therapy to me, but it will never be my number one calling---no matter how much I want to throw myself into it, ignoring all else around me.

More than the Thoreau quote, I think this is what the Father wanted me to take from this experience. It has been several years since I've felt inspired to write anything more than the occasional devotional social media post. Then one day last week, in a matter of minutes, I had an entire storyline downloaded into my mind and I am compelled to write it all out as quickly as I can. I think the Father wants me to put writing in its proper place. A hobby that must be used in His way and in His timing.

There are so many instances in my life where this quote is relevant, but this morning the Father used it to help me solve something so silly but so pressing that it was causing me to lose sleep. Thank you, Father. I think I'll write a break up email and go back to bed!