Halloween Disguises

This is the day for dressing up and disguising ourselves. Are you a super hero or a creature of the sky?

                                                       Or did you forget your costume entirely?

While I Was Reading Sunday- Matthew 14 and John 6

If you had told me 10 years ago that I would have 16 grandchildren I would have said, "I might as well be able to walk on water".

And I do.

                                 "You Might As Well Ask Me To Walk On Water"

  This phrase is a quote from Michael Wilcox from his book "Walking On Water". It is an introduction to the story of Peter attempting to do just that. I have been reading and thinking about that incident.

  John 6: 17 "And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew."

   It had been an exhausting day for Jesus. He found out the news that John the Baptist was dead, his cousin and friend, beheaded by Herod, the Roman ruler. The scriptures say he had intended to take some time for himself but the crowds followed him and he could see their needs. The crowd was bigger it being the Passover week. As people gathered around him he questioned whether there was enough food available to feed the multitude. It would be customary to share a meal and celebrate the Passover in the evening. At this time he performed his miracle of enlarging the seven loaves of bread and two fishes to feed 5000 people. As the night came Jesus finally found some time to commune and recharge. But his apostles were on a ship in the middle of the Sea of Gallilee. A storm arose and they were anxious to have him with them safe and secure.

  Matthew 14:24 "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear."

  The reaction of Peter is surprising to me. In wanting to know if this phantom was truly the Lord he asked if he could walk out on the water to him. Peter seems to have an " I can do all things" attitude.

  Matthew14:27 "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, "Come". And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus."

   Can we really do all things in Jesus? I remember well being asked to teach religion to teenagers during 0 hour every week day. You might as well ask me to walk on water, I thought to myself. I teach 30 piano students, two music and movement classes once a week, all I do is prepare for the next class. I told them I would team teach but never accept the assignment alone. I started the first two years with another teacher and managed to survive. Then the request came to go it alone. By now I had learned to love these teenagers and I prayed to have faith and strength to do it. Six years later I am here every morning and it sometimes feels like walking on water. I testify that we can be magnified with faith in Jesus Christ.

   

A Magic Moment

   As I was teaching my music and movement class yesterday I was fortunate to experience a magic moment. Mothers, caregivers, and children were settling back on the floor after some fun movement around the room. I was teaching alone, my partner was off on a short vacation, and I needed to settle this group of 22 down. We are doing a cooking theme and so we use a food song at this point in the class.

   Thank-you for the food, the food, the glorious, glorious food!

   For the animals, for the vegetable, for the minerals that make it possible.

     We sign as we sing. At that moment inspiration struck. I started signing without sound.

    In silence all the children and adults signed together. Then very softly I started singing and heard, to my delight, little voices joining together. To be unified, as a group is powerful and doing it with 2-3 year -olds is memorizing. I will always remember it.

A Birthday Memory

  Today is my birthday and I have been remembering. I have one more year until I reach the sixties. That opens a brand new decade with a hope for a happy, working life. I have been remembering 25 years ago when I first moved to this town. We came because our friends paved the way by moving here first and enticing us to follow. Here is the story………..

    This first  house had some beautiful amenities which I may not have totally appreciated. I remember my birthday and my daughter's third, they are 4 days apart, in this house. We were very happy.

                            I think back on the blessings we received while living under this roof.

    It is a house that has aged well and right now we have friends who happen to be renting there. On a recent visit, I took a few pictures to remind me of a few things.

•      The lovely fall foliage 
•      The front view which looks down on the house
•      The wrap around porch
•      The lovely wood front door
•      The back porch swing

                                                 These memories are well preserved by loving hands.

             
    Did I mention the water view? You can see it in the reflection of the window.  I am happy for all the homes where we lived our messy, imperfect, but joy filled lives.

The Easiest Ever Artisan Bread

   I have tried recipes from magazines and Pinterest to make crusty Artisan bread before, but now I am perfecting the easiest ever! I heard about this book from a blogger friend and waited some weeks for it to come from the library.

   
Written by Jim Lahey, founder of Sullivan Street Bakery, this book made me want to be a bread baker. You need one utensil for sure, the Dutch Oven with Lid. It must be able to withstand 475 degrees in the oven.

   I pay $4-5 a loaf for this bread at the grocery store. It has only four ingredients. I could buy a lot of flour for the $40 I will save per month.
                                                                No Knead Bread In A Pot

                                                               3 cups flour-500 grams
                                                                1 1/4 teaspoon salt- 11 grams
                                                               instant or active dry yeast 1/4 teaspoon- 1 gram
                                                               cool water 1 13/4 cups- 390 grams
   To the dry ingredients add the water and mix until flour is incorporated. The dough may be sticky. Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warmish place for 12-18 hours. The longer the better.

                                       (That's my cranberry walnut dough starting it's long rise.)

    It is ready for a second rise when the dough is darkening with bubbles and thread-like strands cling to the bowl.  With a spatula or bowl scraper scrape dough onto a floured surface. Fold the dough over itself and shape into a second ball. It can be pretty sticky, use flour on your hands. Put it to rest on a floured tea towel or surface and let rise 2 hours.

   At the 1 1/2 hour mark put the dutch oven in the oven with lid and preheat to 475 degrees. Be sure to have oven mitts ready to handle the hot pot. Gently let the dough spill into the hot pot. There will be flour loosely on the top and bottom that fall into the pot. Not to worry.

                                   Put the lid on and bake at 475 degrees for 30 minutes.

                             
For the last 15 minutes remove the lid and allow the top to brown. Total baking time-45 minutes.

Viola! Fragrant, crusty bread with a chewy, soft center. I have made 6 loaves this week. Mix it up in the evening and bake it the next day. I have tried mixing in rosemary and sea salt, rye flour in place of 1/2 cup flour, adding dried cranberries and walnuts, and tomorrow I will replace 1/2 cup flour with coconut flour and add chocolate pieces, Can't wait. With the amount of bread available I feel generous sharing with my early morning guests and friends dropping by.

While I Was Reading Sunday- Matthew 16

      In Matthew 16 there is a multifaceted discussion between Jesus and his apostles. This is the chapter where Jesus verifies to Peter that his testimony of the divinity of his Lord came from a heavenly source not man made reason. We call this divine revelation and every man, woman, and child is invited to seek out this source of information. Peter could have come to the conclusion that Jesus was divine, he had evidence that what he did and the effects he had on others were super-normal, but to have revealed to him through the Holy Ghost that Jesus was the Son Of The Living God was as powerful as it could possibly get. This kind of revelation goes through to your very soul. 

   Then comes disclosure that Jesus warns his disciples not to share. 

    Mark 8:30 "And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."

  This information outrages Peter who has just been glorying in his testimony. This is a man who should not be killed. This brings to mind the plot of a movie called "Stranger Than Fiction". Briefly, a writer is telling the story of a common man who in an effort to redeem himself changes so drastically that he by the end of the story, allows his own life to be taken to save the life of a young boy. The twist is that the character is actually alive. When the writer meets him she cannot bring herself to kill him off in her book, as everything she writes, happens to him. She says that he is a good man who should not be killed but be allowed to live. Certainly her view is focused on this mortal life and  the movie is trying to moralize about the value of our lives.

  Movie aside, Peter sees in the moment only the mortal view. Jesus does not deserve to die, he being perfect is the last man to deserve that fate. Yet, at that moment Peter is an anti-Christ. He mistakenly, denies the most important mission He has in mortality. One can understand the words of Jesus.

   Matthew 16: 23 "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
   Those words seem harsh but the atonement and resurrection affects every child of God in this world and in others. To create and save is more important than justifying his mortal life. For Peter these lessons in discipleship will long have an impact on his own mission.

   

Modern Parables

     This week we studied the parables in Matthew 13 and took time to understand and outline them.

                                                We wrote a few of our own during the process.

• Mormons on earth are likened unto a bowl into which the Master Chef has added eggs to be mixed with many other ingredients. The eggs hold together the whole mixture.
• Being a Mormon in high school is like being a daisy in a garden of roses.
• Being a Mormon is like being a airplane with infinite ways of reaching a destination, but only one right way.
• Being a Mormon in high school is likened unto a candle in a propane factory. You light the candle and the party begins.
• Being a Mormon in high school is likened to being a needle in a needle stack. No one notices the single needle until it pricks them and grabs their attention.
• This is the parable of the high school LDS student who is likened unto a pearl of great price who is put in a bag of many pearls and makes them hard to find.  
•        The Anatomy of a Seminary Lesson- A Steward(dess) lays a fire every weekday morning. He gathers twigs for kindling, larger logs for fuel, and of course the fire-starter with a match. The fire-starter is made of pressed sawdust and lights quick but cannot sustain a fire for the whole hour. So, kindling must follow and catch the blaze until it reaches the large log which warms the room with nice steady heat.