Bible Study and Sourdough Y'all!!

good friday morning!!!          I woke up to a brrrrr, cold, chili, 20 degrees!!!!!!         yes, I did!!!!!        mr winter, get on outta here!!!         I'm sick and and tired of you !!!!!          go on, git on outta here, shoo, scat, get away!!!!        ok, now I got that outta my system.          hahahahaha          I'm ready to do some gardening though.        if you can get your hands in your soil, please leave them in the soil just a second or two longer just for me.           well, you guessed it, we're still shredding, but we've slowed down some.    I don't know when of if we'll get it all done, but we'll keep at it.         wednesday night I got sourdough bread starter going and I shared my process below.         at least as much of as I remembered to take pics of.        if you like sourdough, this may be for you.        I need to get in the kitchen today and get some real cooking done.         having been down in my back for almost 2 weeks and then shredding, it has put a hold on the good stuff coming from my kitchen.        hahahaha    well, I guess we'll get on with the rest of the post.

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giggle for the day:

Q - Why did the frog take the bus to work? 

A - His car got toad.

ribbit, ribbit 😂😂😂😂😂😂

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so, thurs morning I got up and made a quick batch of sourdough.        on wed night, I took out about a half cup of starter from my big jar.        I didn't want to feed the whole big batch of starter, so I took what I needed.         I put the starter in a the bowl that I always mix my bread in.         I fed it and covered it with a bowl cover and let that ferment over night.        when I got the starter fed, I got out a bowl and put all my dry ingredients in it and a measuring cup with my wet ingredients.          I covered it all with a floursack towel for the night.         when I got up thurs morning and took out a half cup of the freshly fed starter and put the rest back in the big starter container in the fridge.          I dumped in all my wet ingredients with the fed and fermented starter and then all my dry ingredients.         in less than 5 minutes I had that dough mixed and ready to let double in size.          that was at 7:05 thurs morning, then by 9:30 it had tripled in size and I worked it down and weighed the dough ball, divided that weight by 3 and  made my 3 mini loaves of sourdough bread.         I set those aside until they had doubled in size again.          for these little bread tins, I just let the bread reach the top of the pan and then I bake it and that's what I done this time.           by the time it rises to the top of the pan, it's doubled in size.        so, I popped them in the oven about 11:30 and baked them and Boom, just like that, sourdough bread.

making sourdough doesn't have to be complicated.          I get so sick of people with their rules and you have to do this and you have to do that.         NO, you don't have to.        don't over complicate anything, it takes the joy out of whatever you're doing.        figure out a way that works for you and just do it.       I had  someone  tell me that there's no way my haphazard way of slapping together a sourdough will ever work.           well, it does work and I'm not a slave to my sourdough.         it works when I need it, or it's outta my house.         and I'll assure you that anything I make is just as delicious as what everyone else makes that follows all the "rules".         stick to those rules and 3 or 4 days to making a batch of bread.    I'll make mine and be eating in way less than 24 hours.          I'm good with that.       

I wish I had gotten a pic of the amt of starter I left in this bowl.           I didn't measure it at all, I just eyeballed what a half cup would be and put the rest back in my big jar of starter.        then I mixed all the ingredients together and got the dough ball made and let it double in size, that's what in the pic.       

then I punched it down and weighed it and divided it equally among the loaf tins and made the 3 loaves.

it has risen for a little over two and half hours and it ready to go in the oven.

they are freshly baked and out of the oven and smelling mighty fine.

they are now out of the pans and sitting to cool off before I put them in a zip lock bag and on in the fridge.          oh yeah, and that's another pet peeve of mine.          people saying you can't store  bread in the fridge.        well, I'm not cutting anyone any slack or giving grace on this one because I've been storing my bread in the fridge when I decided I no longer wanted throw away my homemade bread because it got stale.        "they" say you can't store bread in the fridge.        that's a LIE!!!!!         I've been doing it for about 40 years now and guess how much bread I've thrown away.         go ahead and guess.    zilch, nada, none, not one single slice!!!!         so the next idiot that tells you, you can't store your bread in the fridge, tell them to tell it to someone who wants to hear them yap their traps.       this is where I said I'm not cutting anyone any slack or giving anyone grace on this one.        stupid is as stupid does.     this is one woman that ain't stupid when it comes to the bread she makes, and most other things she does in the kitchen!!!           so, you do what you want to do, but you have been told by someone who has been doing it this way for 40 years and then some!!!         try it for yourself sometime.

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picking up with Isaiah 54,           do you want a powerful message of Gods unwavering love for His people and His church, well, this is it.         trust in God even in the hard times.          it's easy to trust God when everything is going well, but during the hardships is when the rubber meets the road.      trust God  for His peace and protection.         has God ever abandoned you?         no He hasn't and He's not about to.         what about this, no weapon formed against you will prosper!!!!        whether it's the weapon of someone speaking against you or someone using a physical weapon on you.        we can rely on God's promises  and trust His protection.

Isaiah 55,          how much does the mercy, grace and forgiveness of God cost?          absolutely nothing!!!!!!!          it's been paid for graciously by the shed blood of the Suffering Servant!!!        we have to repent.        God promises us eternal prosperity!!!!!         we may not have 2 pennies to rub together in this life, but we have eternal prosperity and security.       this life is fleeting, eternity is forever.         repentance and obedience is the key to eternal prosperity.        God's word is powerful, because God is powerful. 

Isaiah 56,             we can see the rewards for being obedient to God.         if you feel like an outcast, you're in good company.          because a lot of God's people feel like outcasts.        if you don't support all the perverted ideas of today, you're an outcast.         most churches today have a perverted ideology of who God is.        if you are any kind of leader in your church and you're spreading filth and not clinging to the true word of God, you are in grave danger.        anyone who perverts the word of God, risks the wrath of God.

Isaiah 57,             at some point in time, idolatry and evil and wicked leaders that push the filth will be rebuked!!!          it can't happen soon enough.         when did foul language become the norm in every day conversation.        men and women dropping curse bombs just in normal conversation.        that's just evil and wicked and what's worse, the more we hear it, the easier it gets to take part in some of that stuff!!!           that's where we have to keep searching after the heart of God in all things.        it's not just foul language, but adultery and every form of sexual sin and all things that goes against the moral compass of God.          there is no peace for the wicked.        those are God's words.

Isaiah 58,            God is calling for true worship from His people.         do you know what true worship is?         I can tell you that it's not singing some of the songs that's sung in churches today for the soul purpose of  looking  like a rock concert with songs that are not meaningful in any way to a real christian.           too many churches have shut their doors to Christ and He's not even welcome.         they either don't know or don't care.         and if you're a true christian, in one of these churches, it's up to you to leave that church as fast as your feet can carry.      how can you be seeking after the heart of God if you have no idea what He's about in the first place.       I hope that as you're going thru these scriptures that you're learning just how incredible our God is and He deserves to be worshiped  and held in high esteem and praised with our words and actions and thoughts.      what are some of the things that God wants from us as true followers?      break the yoke of slavery to sin, share food with the hungry, clothe the naked,  not neglecting the needs of others.        these are just some of the things that seeking after the heart of God will look like.

next time we'll pick up with Chapter 59.

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I pray that what ever we do today, we keep seeking after the heart of God.          that has turned into my theme for the year and I think its a pretty good one.        at one point yesterday, I got upset about something, really upset, physical pain can help one reach their breaking point and I realize that's not an excuse.        so when I got upset and got over it, I realized that there was no seeking after the heart of God in that moment.         it broke my heart.        so, that's just how easy it is to take our focus off the right and holy, and go quickly to unholy and blasphemous behavior.         I've said this a time or two in a fun  manner  about other  stuff, "do  as I say, not as I do".        for  this, I'll just say, "do better than I did."        I never want to not be seeking after the heart of God, even in my own home.        blessings of  eternal prosperity and eternal security be ours.

hugs and love, patty

Bible Study and baked sourdough bread

good frigid bitter cold morning y'all!!!!!   it was a mild and meek 3 degrees this morning when I got up, yup it was.         it's just now up to the hot temp of 8 degrees.        this is the temps we'll be having for a few days.         am I happy?         not hardly!!        hahahaha          but I will trust God thru this and keep looking forward to spring.          that's my plan.        I hope and pray that where ever y'all are that you're staying warm and snug and that you have plenty of warming foods to eat.         soups are especially good for times like this.         anything that will warm you from the inside out is good.        lots of hot tea and coffee and hot chocolate, stuff like that.         just stay warm and stay inside if possible.       check on your neighbors, especially if you have any elderly neighbors.        enjoy the sunshine today.        it may be cold, but sunshine is just plain good for the soul.       I hope we all have a great day today and that we remember to thank God for it.       you know what, if you garden, then you know that cold weather is a necessity for a garden to do well.         one of the things it does, is kill some of last years critters that is hibernating in the soil.        so there won't be as many garden eating insects.        there will still be plenty, just not as much as  there would  have been had  we not had  some extreme freezing weather for a while.      so that's a benefit.        I just hope it doesn't kill my garlic and onions that are growing.        that won't be a benefit.       at this point, it's in God's hands, so we'll see what happens.     

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well, let's do it, another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me".             it's getting familiar isn't it, but that's ok.       I'm trying to remember to take pics too, so it's all good.

this was my risen, proofed dough from the other day, when I shared that I had fed my starter and was going to make some bread.          I wish I had remembered to get a pic of the dough ball when I first got it made and have to compare to the risen dough in the bowl.         I let it sit out all night on the counter to proof and ferment.        it was probably a 12 hour rise or more.

when I got the dough punched down and worked up real good, I weighed the dough ball and divided that by 3 and got my my mini loaves made and into the mini pans lined with parchment.

I forgot to take a pic just before they went into the oven, but this is them fresh from the oven and cooling off before I put them in the fridge. 

this is a sampling of what I love to do with these mini loaves of bread.          I can get 6 good slices and make 3 sandwiches on my Cuisinart griddler grill.        it's a nice griddle/grill and it makes these sandwiches so perfectly and we love these sandwiches. 

I brush the outside of the bread with mayo and put the chicken or turkey lunchmeat inside with a piece of real cheese and put the top slice of bread on.        the little dab of mayo brushed on the outside of the bread really helps it to get a fantastic color and you do not taste mayo at all.      

these mini loaves of bread are perfect.        if you love sourdough, I encourage you to try making it yourself.          it's easier than you think, if you've never made it before.         let this year be the year you stopped buying bread at the store and make your own.        you can do it!!!

one thing I can say is that a lot of people make more out of making sourdough than it should be.         it blows my mind.         yes, it takes time to get a good strong starter, yes it takes time for it to rise, but that's really not an issue.       if you start it at the right time, you won't be inconvenienced.       I feed mine early of the morning after I've taken if from the fridge and let it come to room temp.         I make my dough at night to let it ferment all night.        then I make my loaves early in the morning and let those rise till they are almost double in size and then I bake them and most of the time have them out of the oven before lunch.       I guess it's all in how you look at it.   
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today we're picking up at Numbers Chapter 26.        after the latest plague, they are commanded to take a census of the men able to go to war.        the land was to be divided up by the size of the families.       with the census came new laws of inheritance that included the women with no brothers.       they would also be included in the inheritance.        for me, this is where I see that women are included in the fact that Christ died on the cross all, not just men.       Christ didn't treat women like second class citizens.        with Christ, there has never been a good old boy system.       Praise God!!!!!        the foot of the cross is equal, level ground for all of us.        right here at the end of chapter 27 is when Joshua is to take the place of Moses.        Moses won't be going into the promised land, so Joshua will be the new leader.       

chapter 28 is more laws about offerings.         the Lord also reminds them to remember the Lord's Passover and also the Feast of First Fruits.      they are to keep and remember the appointed times set apart by the Lord Himself.   

one thing I can is that God takes obedience from His followers seriously.        so should we.        He takes it so seriously, that He sent His people out to war against the people that had caused the Israelites to sin against God.        they were willing enough to sin, just like we are willing enough to sin today.      in all honesty, it doesn't take much to get us to sin.        but it's a whole lot easier when we are running with the wrong crowd.          and God had told His people to stay away from the people that was worshiping foreign gods.        now, God was exacting revenge on the people who worshiped foreign gods.

the Lord had told the Israelites to drive out the inhabitants of the land that God was giving them, and if they don't drive the inhabitants out of the land, then they will become as thorns in their eyes.       I think all these thousands of years later, we're still seeing some of those thorns in the eyes of people.       people have chosen to not get along.   they have chosen to hate and kill and destroy.        they have chosen to worship the foreign gods.        and we're still doing the same things today.

we see how God told them to divvy up the land of Canaan.        what I think about, this side of the cross of Christ, is how we are all equal at the foot of the cross.        we see cities of refuge talked about.    those cities were for people who done something bad, but not on purpose.        they were to have some place of safety to go and live out the remainder of their lives.        today, in this country, there are cities of refuge for the criminals and illegals swarming across the border to become wards of the state.      God surely never meant for that to happen.       as a matter of fact, if we look closely, in what we've already read so far, we would see that the death penalty was called for in most of these cases.       and  I just have to interject  right here, that it might be a good idea to bring back the hangings on the court house square.        no, that probably doesn't sound very christian like, but it would stop a lot of the wicked, evil, heinous things that we see on a regular basis that has desensitized us to sin.      when we finished chapter 36, we see this is the commandments and ordinances that God commanded His people to keep.

next we start in Deuteronomy Chapter 1.

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well, this is about it for today.        I pray that if your in the arctic tundra like I am, that you can stay warm.         I pray that we can figure out how to worship of Lord and God in a way that's pleasing to Him.         if we're ever in doubt, Numbers would be a good Book to go back to.        I pray that we can trust God in all things, small and large.         He is ever faithful.       just know that He always has our best interests at heart and He'll always do the right thing.       

blessings of peace, warmth and mercy be yours today.         hugs and love, patty