Saturday, yeasty, JOY

It only takes a couple of teaspoons of yeast to make a whole loaf of bread rise. . .I think that this is an excellent metaphor to explain our Christian life. . .maybe better for me since I use too much salt?? :) In God's Word, we are commanded to be both salt and light to the world. A small amount of salt goes a LONGGGGGG way. . .and from my baker-lady standpoint, a teaspoon of yeast goes a LONGGGGGGGGGG way!

I love watching bread rise.

Another point to ponder. . .does the bread rise in ONE MINUTE, or does it take some time? Just as the seeds we plant, God's Word isn't AUTOMATICALLY going to spring up into someone's heart. It often takes time for God's Word to start an "UPRISING."

In other words, we have to be PATIENT once we've planted seeds. We must care for the seeds. We must give them time to grow up, grow in strength, and set down roots.

We don't just leave the "yeast bread" though. The bread must be provided with HEAT to rise. In order for overall delicious bread growth, we need both YEAST and WARMTH.

In my long and drawn out metaphor, the WARMTH required is the WARMTH of an already-sanctified Christian heart. People need love; I don't care who you are. Deep down, everyone desires love, acceptance, huggy-snuggli-ness, and that, my friends, is where we, who are already JESUS FOLLOWERS, must come in.

Don't leave your YEAST out in the cold, invite them into the incubator of a nice, warm oven. . .or perhaps a bread maker!

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It's Saturday, a hallowed day of baking, hence I think up these metaphors. Today is chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, Portuguese sweet bread, and cheesecake pumpkin bars. Delish.

We just got a "Halloween package" from my hubble's parents. . .and yes, I now have a PARROT to go on my shoulder to go along with my eye patch. This is going to come in handy whilst reading TREASURE ISLAND and teaching my kids about pirates. How ironic and perfectly set up.

We are ONE MORE BILL away from being debt free. . .thank you, Lord. God has been blessing us immensely, and now we are finally able to start taking care of people again and being able to serve others by meeting their needs.

That is so exciting. I can't believe how quickly the Lord has brought this time around. What a huge blessing to have been taken through such great times of GROWTH out here. :)