Yeast

Proverbs 23:19-21, Proverbs 23:29-24:2
Psalm 31
1 Timothy 5:17-25
Matthew 13:31-35

Matthew 13:31-35

I make most of our bread. The recipe I use is

3.5 cups of flour (my current favorite mix is 2 wholewheat, 1 rye, 1/2 white)
1 teaspoon (5ml) dried yeast
1 1/3cups tepid water (this is approximate as different flours absorb differing amounts of water)
3 tbs (15ml) or 1/4 cup oil ( I use safflower, I do not like this genetically engineered canola oil)

I place the flours in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top, stir a few times until the flours are blended (this implies that the yeast is also mixed in). I a wooden spoon for the mixing.
Make a well in the flour, add about half the water and all the oil, stir until the water has been absorbed, add more water as necessary until the dough forms a ball. If it gets sticky add a bit more flour. Leave until you want to bake it which is at least 45 minutes before you want to eat it.
Just before you want to bake the bread turn the oven on to 425 deg F, grease a 2 lb loaf tin or baking sheet, flour a board or countertop. Turn out the dough and roll it around, make a jelly roll, turn the edges in, generally pretend you are bake in preschool with play dough. When it seems quite bouncy put it in the pan or on the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.
I have been making bread this way for 33 years. Soon after we got married the bread bakers in Britain went on strike. Does it take long? No about 5 minutes to mix and another 5 to knead, far quicker than going to the store to buy a loaf.

However the point of Jesus story, which this recipe illustrates is that there is a lot more flour than yeast in a loaf of bread. There are approximately 420 ml in 3.5 cups of flour. The amount of yeast is one eighty-fourth of this yet that tiny proportion of yeast can get the whole loaf bouncing, light and a pleasure to eat. There has been the odd occasion when I forgot to add the yeast so we know about the effect of yeast. The same recipe without yeast is heavy and tough on the teeth. The whole loaf is transformed by those few mls of yeast, they infiltrate the whole mound of flour. A little yeast goes a long way, just like a little of God's love spread to those whom you meet in the grocery store.

Weeds

Proverbs 21:30-22:6
Psalm 37:1-18
1 Timothy 4:1-16
Matthew 13:24-30

Matthew 13:24-30

I have plenty of weeds. Some, like the evening primrose are quite pretty. Golden Rod is a much prized plant in Britain, in my current yard it is certainly a weed. But it has its attractions. It grows tall and eye catching towering majestically over rose bushes and gladioli, flanked by baby's breath. It fills in a space. The philosophy that I have adopted with Golden Rod is to let it grow and flower then before its goes to seed pull it out. Digging it up is not that easy since the plant has been allowed to develop for almost a season.
Sins can certainly be attractive and giving them up difficult. Spotting them can be a problem too. One attitude may be ok for me but not for you- it depends where God wants you planted and what fruit he wants from you.

Family

Proverbs 17:1-20
Psalm 38
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Matthew 12:43-50

Matthew 12:43-50

I have talked before (March 29) about our move from Yorkshire to Hertfordshire (that is almost as extreme a cultural shock as coming to the US from Britain). How God placed us in church in front of Mary who became Auntie Mary.
On Monday I mentioned Auntie Clem, who really was not an aunt at all. She is married to Uncle Steve who I think is the person who provided the most father-like figure in my life, my own father having died when I was 2 years old. Uncle Steve took me on vacation with his own children and of course helped me with my physics homework- it helped that he was a physics teacher and his own daughters were not really at all inclined towards physics and math. Uncle Steve came into my life because he was a friend of my grandfather and Grandpa thought that our families would get on well together so sent my mother and I on a lame message to their house. Now I realize that probably it was God prompting Grandpa to do that though I am sure my mother would not have agreed to the idea of God nudging her father to anything.
Here, around the time Naomi was born Julia took us under her wing. She would look after the older children to give me time out. There was the occasion when she took Becky to MacDonalds. Becky being almost two always gave her own order. She announced that she would have "Chicken Maggots". We have called them that ever since. Julia treated our children as dearly as her own- including relaying their cute sayings to us.
These are just some of the instances that God has shown himself to us through his people. They have been uncles and aunts and mothers and grannies.

Herald

Proverbs 15:16-33
Psalms 26, 28
1 Timothy 1:18-28
Matthew 12: 33-42

1 Timothy 1:18-28

A guy in tights blasting on a horn announcing news. Email from a previous century. This train of thought reminded me of the many civic parades which I took part in as a Girl Scout, or rather a Girl Guide. The Town Crier who was the successor of the medieval herald was in the parades too.

http://www.thedaftwayround.com/graphics/crier.jpg
is taken from
http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/readerblogs/thedaftwayround/


The link below is an even better picture of a Town Crier. Tenby is about 20 miles from Haverfordwest. We had relatives by marriage who lived there but that would certainly be a digression today.
Tenby Town Crier

Near Haverfordwest was a Fleet Air Base, I used to try to emulate the immaculate marching of the sailors. The parades were twice a year. In May there was one to 'herald' the new mayor. The parade went to the Mayor's church where his year of office was blessed. The other was for Remembrance Sunday (Veterans Day) in November. Pomp and circumstance displays news either joyful as in May or with an air of solemnity in November.
Paul's news was
5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men.
... and it is still true after all these centuries.

Flapjack?

Crooked Paths

Proverbs 10:1-12
Psalm 25
1 Timothy 1:1-17
Matthew 12:22-32

Proverbs 10:1-12

If we were carrying something particularly delectable from the kitchen to the tea table Auntie Clem would always remind us that her mother used to make them whistle all the way. Do not get tempted by a piece of flapjack* on the way. Auntie Clem had been a domestic science teacher though she did not really like teaching and did not teach for long. However she was and still is a good cook even though she is over 90 years old and she was and still is a very wise person- in the same way as the guy who wrote Proverbs.
I would often walk between my grandparents house and Auntie Clem's. The most direct way was "up the chimney"- a steep narrow cobbled footpath that ran between two high garden walls. Ivy overhung the walls. It would brush against your face as you rushed. There was little lighting on the back lanes which were joined by the chimney. I was told to be quick and not stop- the same sentiments really as not walking on crooked paths (verse 9). Go straight from A to B and do not wander off the beaten track.
Set your sights on eternal life and keep going in that direction.

* Auntie Clem's Flapjack Recipe
6 ozs margering (1and a half sticks)
6 ozs sugar (1 cup will do)
6 ozs rolled oats (1 and a half cups I think- I will make some this afternoon and check it out)
2 tablespoons of flour
half teaspoon baking soda (Iprobably would not use this or the flour)
2 tbs golden syrup (light corn syrup will do but you can buy golden syrup in the British section of HEB)

Melt the marg, sugar and syrup in a large pan, add the other ingredients and stir well.

Put in a well greased baking pan and bake for 30 mins at 325 degrees.

My other recipe
1 stick marg or butter
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs golden syrup (see note above)
8 ozs rolled oats (about 2 cups, I am going to check this sometime)

Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease 8x10 baking pan
Melt marg, sugar syrup in a large pan, add oats. Mix well
Pour into pan
Bake until brown
When firm cut into pieces, leave in tin until cold.

Tambourine and Harp

Proverbs 9:1-12
Psalm 148,149,150
Acts 8:14-25
Luke 10:25-28, 38-41

Psalm 148,149,150

Tambourines can be noisy. Shake all those sets of little cymbals, tap the drum and you can get quite a party going.
My first experience of listening to a harp was hearing Osian Ellis play at a symphony concert in Haverfordwest. I cannot remember what he played but I can remember being mesmerized by the strains of the harp wafting over the orchestra. I am fairly sure it was the first time that I had heard a harp and Osian Ellis was very good at harps.
http://www.google.com/search?q=osian+ellis&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS256US256
I was probably eight or nine years old at the time.
The harp has a gently sound, it soothes the mind. In fact King Saul used to get the young David to play the harp in order to soothe his agitated mind.
We are called to praise God on tambourine/ timbrel as well as on the harp. One could say loud and raucous as well as quiet and reflective. What a wonderful God we have.

Smoldering Wick

Proverbs 8:22-46
Psalm 20, 21
3 John 1:1-15
Matthew 12:15-21

Matthew 12:15-21

A small flicker of red maybe glowing at the end of black of a blackened thread. What more is a smoldering wick? Maybe a wisp of smoke. Yet this is potential life to Jesus.

There is always hope for smoldering wicks. Hope that they will reignite and produce a useful light. Light that can be used to lead others to his love and life.

I looked at these verse briefly last night on the computer hoping that during the night I might know what to write. This was the phrase that came to life. When I looked at the passages in my Bible this morning I saw that I had underlined this line a few years ago. Now I write the date when I highlight a passage and if there is some special significance I note of it in my special book.

Mercy not sacrifice

Proverbs 8:1-21
Psalm 16, 17
2 John 1-13
Matthew 12:1-14

Matthew 12:1-14

This is one of my favorite Jesus stories along with his busy day when the lady touched the hem of his cloak.
I dislike intensely blogs that are punctuated by "I" and preaching. What I feel I want to say today scores on both points.
I am green which being interpreted means that I like to think that I put maintaining a healthy environment before my own convenience. I recycle everything that I can. I use a minimum of packaging. In a land where trash cans line driveways we have one small one which incidentally I brought from our house in England fifteen years ago. Our trash can gets put out for collection about once every two weeks and then often because of the odor rather than the volume of its contents. In the green theme we have a large flowerbed in our front yard. It is filled with perennials, they neither need mowing like grass or replacing like annuals. This theme did not fit in with our neighborhood who sued us mainly because the guy who was president did not like the underlying concept behind our yard. I am not a conformist. I like to think that I do what is the most noble in a situation rather than what etiquette dictates.
I like to not shop on Sundays in order to give those who work in shops the freedom to choose what to do on a Sunday. I suppose by this I am taking away their choice of working on a Sunday.
I like to sing Christmas Carols in Advent. Why do Episcopalians not do this?
I wear white shoes when convenient whatever the date.
I hope that if I land on your doorstep unannounced that you understand that my motives are punctuated by a desire to do what I perceive are the promptings of my heart.

Yokes

Proverbs 7:1-27
Psalm 18:1-20
1 John 5:13-21
Matthew 11:25-30

Matthew 11:25-30

I used to like water duty when we were at Girl Scout camp. Some days I would carry 20 buckets of water. I can remember thinking that a yoke might make life easier. Most girls hated the water patrol, perhaps I liked it because I got to go further afield than usual- one had to walk to the farmyard. Of course farmyards were often smelly places and one had to watch one's step. Yes I did sleep well, even on the hard ground.
With Jesus at one's side even the most unpleasant tasks can seem not too bad.

Eating and Drinking

Proverbs 6:1-19
Psalm 119:1-24
1 John 5:1-12
Matthew 11:16-24

Matthew 11:16-24

As far as the intake of his physical sustenance was concern John was very circumspect. He ate locusts and wild honey, no feasting with wealthy tax -collecting gourmands or even gourmets. John left that lifestyle to his cousin Jesus.
Both Jesus and John had an intimate relationship with God the Father. He obviously did not lay down rules about the lifestyle of the people he would or would not associate with. Presumably what is good enough for God is good enough for me.

Student and Teacher

Ezekiel 39:21-29
Psalms 140, 142
1John 3:1-10
Matthew 10:24-33

Matthew 10:24-33

My math teacher was Janet Morris. She came when I was in the equivalent of seventh grade, but it might have been eighth grade. She married a farmer and became Janet Llewellyn. She left when I finished tenth grade to have babies. I remember her teaching us about positive and negative numbers, she drew a thermometer on the blackboard and used the concept of negative temperature. I remember learning my geometry theorems. I remember keeping my equal signs neatly underneath each other when I was solving equations. I still keep my equal signs neatly underneath each other when I solve equations and encourage my students to do the same. I do not remember how Miss Morris taught, I remember learning from her even though it was over forty years ago. She revealed the mysteries of mathematics to me. I do not remember learning from the teachers who succeeded Mrs Llewellyn though presumably I did otherwise I would not be doing what I do today. My love of imbuing my students with the delights of mathematics comes from the enthusiasm which I caught from Mrs Llewellyn.
My teacher for the mysteries of life- Jesus.

Weaned Child

Ezekiel 37:21-28
Psalms 131, 132, 133
1 John 2:18-29
Matthew 10:16-23

Psalms 131

Tiny babies are so precious, the way they curl their whole hand around one of your fingers, and their toothless grins. Then there is the way they look up at you whilst they guzzle, sometimes taking a rest to give a smile of contentment. But the weaned child is totally different. They do not need to stay close to eat, they can pick up food and feed themselves. They come and rest with Mamma because they want to, because they want to feel close and experience the love that they know is there.
I am going to draw close to God and experience his love.

Dust

Ezekiel 34:1-16
Psalm 119:145-176
1 John 2:12-17
Matthew 10:5-15

Matthew 10:5-15


Dust

Dust is a topic very close to my heart at present. On 28th March our linoleum was taken up from the kitchen floor. Since then we have lived in a sea of dust, though now it is rather shallow in most places. There however some areas which the vacuum cleaner has not yet attacked. Yesterday we had to have another tile cut and so that was another cloud of dust settling everywhere- especially where I had already cleaned. Since 28th March the kitchen cabinets have been sanded, re-sanded and smoothed again. From my cell at the kitchen table which had been relocated to the entrance hall it seemed as if the dust making carried on all month.
The thing about dust is that it gets everywhere and once there it wants to stay. You have to make a great big effort to shift it form its desired location, it seems to shout back to you " I landed here and this is where I am going to stay." The more you try to shake it off the harder it clings on.
You have to make a determined effort to get rid of the stuff. Just so with those irritating attitudes. What is keeping me from God? What attitudes do I have to make an effort to shake off?

Ruins

Ezekiel 33:21-33
Psalms 120, 121, 122, 123,
1 John 2:1-11
Matthew 9:35-10:4

Ezekiel 33:21-33

We lived on the edge of the town. One way to the center was along the main road, the other along some lanes. That was a creepy way. The lanes had tall hedgerows, twisted and turned and went past ruins. Ruins were scary places, they might be full of ghosts.

Map of Clay Lane way from Merlins Bridge to Haverfordwest.

It is strange how terrified I was to walk passed the ruins if we were going from home to town but if we were going there for a picnic they just held excitement. Now as far as picnics go Haroldston ruins were not much. Most of it was not there. There was the odd wall, in fact probably the most exciting part was going over the stone stile from the lane into the grassy house area. However they were a good place for hide and seek but you had to be careful to keep away from the stinging nettles and brambles which skirted the base of the few remaining walls affording them a different kind of fortification than they were familiar with five centuries ago. Of course in bramble season we went with the express intent of picking- and eating our fill in the process.

It struck me that not only were the remnant left in Israel living in ruins but their spiritual life was also in ruins. They were doing all the right things, going to Bible Study, Sunday School as well as church, singing songs to glorify God, even singing in the choir. They even listened intently to the sermon! And then they went home. See you next week God!

Be with me, keep me in good repair, solid down to the foundations of my faith that I may show your glory on a daily basis.

Seeing in the light

Ezekiel 33:1-11
Psalm 106:1-18
1 John 1:1-10
Matthew 9:27-34

1 John 1:1-10

I really wanted to write about trumpets today. I hope I will have another opportunity. Instead what seems most real to me today is
" 1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life."
What have I seen with my own eyes? You and other people like you. Friends who send encouraging emails, who meet me from the airport at 5pm traveling two ways in the Houston afternoon traffic, who cook meals for the sick, pray, work with the homeless and helpless. Neighbors who go to the shelter with me, the ladies who work at the shelter and those who live there and still smile.
The pair of cardinals who I watch discreetly from the backside of the azaleas through the dinning room window, the mint that grows in the backyard grass, memories of the ocean and mountains. White clouds floating over the blue sky, bluebonnets on the bayou bank. I have seen them and know that they were created, life did not just happen.
How well do I see in the dark? No clouds and cardinals. In fact I do not see very well. I grope around the bedroom on my midnight wanderings, vaguely navigating dogs and boxes, often avoiding something because I know it is there rather than because it is seen. So it is with my sin. I guess it's there but I would rather avoid is presence. I need to see my sin in the daylight too.

Too Busy

Ezekiel 36:22-27
Psalms 107:33-43, 108:1-6
Ephesians 5:1-20
Matthew 9: 18-26

Matthew 9: 18-26

This is one of my favorite stories and one that is worth revisiting.
I always thought of Jesus being a well organized sort of guy. He had an agenda and did it unlike me who starts to put the milk in the refrigerator and on the way stops to fill the dishwasher which requires emptying, feed the dog and mop the floor.
In this story Jesus has a my sort of day. He's off to heal a little girl when somebody, without asking helps themselves to his power. He could have gone on and left the lady healed and hurried to the girl but being Jesus he had to complete the healing properly. The lady had an embarrassing sickness and probably wanted to go unnoticed but Jesus wanted to show her that he cared and that her healing was complete. He took time out of his schedule to give her the confidence that she needed. The consequence of this delay was that the girl died. The agenda changed again. Jesus reacts to the situations as they arise. He does not seem at all frustrated that the first thing he tried to do was pushed back and changed, or that the situation grew more serious. He just carried on taking the time that was necessary to make everybody feel special and loved.
People are important. Time and to do lists, maybe not so.

The Branch of the Lord

Isaiah 4: 2-6
Psalms 101, 109 : 1-4, 20-30
Ephesians 4:1-16
Matthew 8: 28-38

Isaiah 4: 2-6


The Branch of the Lord

I rest underneath the canopy of fluttering leaves, shielded from the burning heat. The sun would scorch the soul if it were not for the protection afforded by the heavenly canopy. The bombardment of rays, those fiery darts of evil worm their way into the heart leaving an emaciated spirit. How can I resist the temptations of pride, greed- of food and materialism, unkind thoughts and words? Where is the skin between enough and desire, between need and want? When should I save and when should I give away?
The spreading branch, those many leaves of instances of God's love cover my head, shield my body and protect my spirit. They keep me safe, all I need to do is stay under the canopy of grace.

Hearing God

1 Samuel 16:1-13a
Psalms 97, 99
Ephesians 3: 14-21
Matthew 8: 18-27

1 Samuel 16:1-13a

God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem to anoint the person who God had already picked out to be king.
How did Samuel know that God was sending him to Bethlehem? How did he know to reject the first seven sons? Samuel seemed to be in conversation with God.
Sometimes I have decided that it seemed right to go to a certain store and there I have struck up a conversation with somebody who has since become significant in my life and sometimes I have made similar decisions and nothing special that I know of has happened. Of course God could have been taking me away from other situations.
I have conversations in my head but how do I know that they are not all me providing both parts of the dialog?
I could say "Well you have to go with your gut feelings and step out in faith." However that does not seem to be the way that Samuel operated. He wanted to anoint each of the seven older sons as they seemed to be just the guy to be king. But God said "No".
So where does this leave me with the choices that I need to make? Which route to take?
I know that God is.

Mystery

Joshua 1:1-9
Psalm 89:1-18
Ephesians 3:1-13
Matthew 8:5-17

Ephesians 3:1-13


Mystery

I love a good mystery, a good whodunnit, a good story where all is explained in the last few pages.It is not so easy with Jesus. There is not explanation for creation, the virgin birth, the man born blind who is made to see, the dead who live, or even how God can love a Gentile as much as he loves a Jew. Its all a mystery. Actually it is a mystery how God can love us at all, any of us, Jew, Greek. Roman, American or Brit. Maybe when we get to the last page all will be made clear. Until then I will endeavor to follow his leads

Aliens

Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29
Psalms 87, 90
Ephesians 2:11-22
Matthew 7:28-8:4

Ephesians 2:11-22

We are aliens, foreigners. There is growing excitement about the presidential elections. Locally I feel left out that I cannot vote in the school board elections- I know one of the candidates. We pay our taxes, federal and local. But representation, vote, an integral part of the decision making democratic system? No, were are aliens.
But we are part of God's kingdom, working together with our church family members to show God's love in an alien world. We want God to live among us and work through us so that we can be his hands and eyes and heart.

1 Samuel 2:1-10
Psalms 85, 86
Ephesians 2:1-10
Matthew 7:22-27

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah had been a desperate woman. She had watched Elkanah's other wife Peninnah produce babies whilst she the favored wife had none. Now Hannah is as elated as she had been desperate. The Lord had heard her prayer, just as Eli had said He would and she had babies, plenty of them. Not miraculous virgin births or anything special about them except that they happened. It seems almost inconceivable that what one does in order to conceive a baby actually produces a tiny human being. This in itself to some of us is a miracle.
Tom was born in January. I discovered that this fit in very well with my schedule. At the time I was doing a Math degree by long distance. During the year I would attend lectures at a distant city, work at assignments and then mail off some sums. The exams were in the late fall and the new course started in March. Hence January births meant that the baby was safely in its place for the coursework and exams and sleepless nights were almost over by the time the coursework started in the Spring. We therefore attempted to have the other two babies at the same time of year. The year Stephen was born we also had to fit in moving house, including living in rented accommodation whilst waiting to close on the house we were buying. Matthew was born on 31 December, how can you forget that date? As you can see we had got this timing down to a fine art.
Matthew died at the beginning of March, actually on the first day that I was supposed to go to a lecture. I spent the evening in ICU instead of being introduced to the intricacies of Mathematical Modeling. Our plan had been three children. Now there were only two. Never mind the problem was easily solved. But it was not. Which is why I can sympathize with Hannah. Years went by. Friends had their third and fourth babies, some by design, and some not. I was a little peeved with God. We really wanted three children. We were all set up for three. Why should other people have them and not me? Three years later, including one miscarriage Becky was born. Yes she was born in November but I had finished my degree the previous year. We had learned to live without our plans. God also had Naomi planned for us and how happy we are to have had her.
Yes I can sing with Hannah "My heart rejoices in the Lord".

Ascension Day

Daniel 7:9-14
Psalms 8, 47
Hebrews 2:5-18

Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:16-20

Today is Ascension Day. The day that we remember Jesus ascending to his father in heaven. I am glad that we remember this occasion because if the event did not then our faith would be futile.

When my father died my mother was a non-churchgoer. Our next door neighbors were Congregationalists so my mother had his funeral in their chapel and I was sent to Sunday School. Every Ascension Day those who went to 'church', as opposed to chapel (Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians) had the day off school and went on a bus to St David's for a special service. I longed to be do that. To me St David's Cathedral was a place where you took relative and friends who had journeyed the hundred or two hundred miles from their homes in England to visit us in far West Wales. It was a tourist attraction.

When I was about eight a mission church was opened on our housing estate. Some other neighbors went to it. One Sunday we were having lunch at their house and their girls took me to the Sunday School. I liked it. For a start it was in walking distance and I did not have to be have a ride with the neighbors who had sons, not daughters. Like most babies in Britain I had been baptised as an infant. My father was from a strong Church of England family and my mother had converted to C of E from Primitive Methodist when she was in her early twenties, before she had met my father, something to do with maybe a previous boyfriend and tennis.

I announced that since I was a member of the Church then I would join that Sunday School. We also had another neighbor who had a big influence in my life who went to that church, Mrs Buckland but she is a story for another occasion. I became an Anglican, a member of the Church in Wales.

I learned about Ascension Day and the trip to St David's. I was not allowed to go. The year I was eleven was different. Ascension Day fell after the Eleven Plus exam and so it was safe me not to be in school. The Eleven Plus was the big exam which decided which secondary school we would go to.

What happened at the service? I cannot remember. I think we went to Whitesands Bay afterwards. Who else went? I cannot remember. What is important is that the cathedral was filled with youth from all parts of the diocese. We gathered in a house of prayer. We gathered together to celebrate the fact that Jesus is with us until the very end of the age.


(Photograph From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chris Rivers)