Proverbs for a Recession

Wise words ring true in troubled times;
They bring contentment to those who listen.

All the days of the afflicted are bad,
But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.
Better is a little with the fear of the LORD
Than great treasure and turmoil with it.
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
(Proverbs 15:15-17)


~lg

bread recipe

"Knead dough until smooth and resilient, about 8-10 minutes."

I made bread last night. Well, I set it to rise last night and baked it today for Sunday lunch. It was good. There's nothing like homemade bread. I don't often make it, but when I do, I like it. Aside from feeling like a superior homemaker, I just like to get my hands in the flour and play around. I always cross my fingers when the yeast is rising, and try not to peek till it's doubled, which proves that it is indeed "active." The arms get a workout too, stirring in all that flour till the mixture forms "a soft and shaggy dough." But my favourite part is kneading. All 8-10 minutes of it. There's something about the rhythm which puts my mind at ease. I feel like I am really and truly making something, something wholesome and worthwhile. I am coaxing the goodness out. There is an immense satisfaction when I have turned it into a smooth ball of anticipation. Smooth and resilient. Hmnn. Those words stick in my head. That's what dough has to be before it can become good bread. It has to make you smile. I think I will need more than 8-10 minutes before I become soft and resilient. Fortunately God's arms do not get tired. I wonder if he likes kneading too.

~lg

more imagination

Here are some articles from John Piper's website on imagination:

God Is Not Boring

Jesus Is Precious Because We Yearn For Beauty

This idea of Christian imagination is something that has been simmering in the back of my mind for quite some time. I think it's often a neglected aspect of Christian life. We crave imaginative descriptions and depictions of the truth and beauty of God without even knowing it, and when we come across them they permeate both the mind and heart.

~lg

imagination

I came across this quote on one of the blogs I read and thought it was a good one:

The imagination calls up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of his beauty beautiful.
–John Piper

(and this is the blog article)


~lg

Spirit poem

Spirit.
I know you breathe even now, all around me, in me, and through this thing we scientifically call aerobic respiration. You are the Lord and Giver of Life, my life, our life on this green and blue globe. I breathe, and I know you are here.

Spirit of God.
You are God’s own breath, the Lion’s warmth on my cheek. You give new life, breathing into existence a realm where I live in Christ, breathing a space where Christ lives in me. Are you in my veins and arteries? You cannot be limited there, but you must be there too if you are here at all. I have a new pulse, and I know you are here.

Creator Spirit.
Your invisible colours are weaving a tapestry outside the window. You prick me with your needle so I may be a thread in your fluid hands. You are making all things beautiful, even bloodstains. You whisper in my imagination, in my garden, in my bread as it rises. I am woven through your imagination till I see the colours you create. I think, and I know you are here.

Holy Spirit.
You sanctify the ordinary. I live and move and have my being, I love and laugh and cry, I work and eat and sleep, and it all matters. You are the bond that ties it all up into God’s life, into God’s love. I am woven into a divine mystery. You breathe, and I know you are here.

~lg