Daily Devotion - April 28
I will send a brief message each day (except Mondays)
while we are pausing gathering in person.
- Kara
This hangs in my porch, outside my front door.
while we are pausing gathering in person.
- Kara
It's a drippy, thundery, gray and quiet kind of day today.
We gathered online for Church Coffee Hour this morning. Laughing together, catching up, touching base. Amidst all of the hard news and the suffering of so many right now, these little things are a gift. The brazenly joyful tulips, and bright, blossoming fruit trees are a gift. They preach to us: that God is still moving, that life is still going, that there is a deeper wisdom and order.
This hangs in my porch, outside my front door.
I walk past it to come into my house. I walked past it this morning after my damp jog, and stopped to read it. It's a good reminder. It's helping me ask, "Who is God, and what is God up to right now?" It's reminding me to wonder.
Today I feel invited to live in a state of wondering, to look around with that question guiding me.
What is God up to?
And, finally, today these two things are speaking to me:
1- This song: "It's Going to Be Alright," by Sara Groves.
2- And this recipe: taught to us by Kari Olsen, from Shobi's Table (recipe originally from Holden Village). We made this together at our church Staycation in February. A lifetime ago.
1- This song: "It's Going to Be Alright," by Sara Groves.
2- And this recipe: taught to us by Kari Olsen, from Shobi's Table (recipe originally from Holden Village). We made this together at our church Staycation in February. A lifetime ago.
But not so long either.
(Staycation) Bread
For two small loaves, or one large loaf:
For two small loaves, or one large loaf:
- 2 cups warm water (Around 100 deg.)
- 1 T dry active yeast
- 3 T oil (olive, canola, etc.)
- 3 T honey (or other sweetener)
- 2 t salt
- about 5 cups flour (about 1/3 whole wheat and 2/3 white)
1. Pour water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast on warm water to dissolve, add a bit of flour... wait for it to bloom.
2. Stir in more flour, then oil and honey, then more flour, a bit at a time.
3. Add salt. Add a bit more flour.
4. Once it becomes a shaggy dough with enough body to start stickign together, turn out onto the counter (or keep in bowl) and knead by hand. (*At this point, you may also consider leaving the dough alone for 15-20 minutes for *autolyze*... so the flour can absorb the water fully and the gluten strands can relax.)
5. Add in flour little by little to keep it from getting too sticky, but not too much! Let the flour absorb the water fully each time you add some.
6. Knead until the dough becomes smooth (I use a bench knife/scraper to help me knead and keep the dough from coating my hands).
7. Let rise for about 1 hour, or until double in bulk.
8. Carefully let air out of risen dough, let rest for 10-20 minutes.
9. Shape dough into loaves (or put into loaf pans).
10. Rise again (30-40 minutes)
11. Slash diagonally or crosswise a few times on tops of dough once risen, to allow for enough space for the initial oven rise.
12. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
13. Enjoy!!
My Tuesdays are filled with lots of of online meetings. But between them, I am baking Staycation Bread.
These meetings include conversations about moving into an undefined future, preparing to be ready for what might come, mix the dough and let rise. A special celebration for Pentecost, punch it down and rest. Wondering together how to expand our connection with each other, shape into loaves and cover. Plans for finding new ways to live out our belonging to God and each other, bake and let the fragrance fill the house.
Today I feel slowed down and stretched out.
Today I feel subdued, and also hopeful.
Today I feel sadness co-mingled with contentment and trust.
Bidden or not bidden, God is present.
God has got us. The Spirit is leading.
It's going to be alright.
CONNECTING RITUAL:
At this point, maybe we are beginning to really know this evening prayer?
Why not print it and try learning it by heart?
Perhaps, today at bedtime, whatever time that is in each of our homes, we might pray again the Evening Prayer, and so join our hearts:
Lord it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done.
Let it be.
The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness
of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us, and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys, new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
(New Zealand Prayerbook)
At this point, maybe we are beginning to really know this evening prayer?
Why not print it and try learning it by heart?
Perhaps, today at bedtime, whatever time that is in each of our homes, we might pray again the Evening Prayer, and so join our hearts:
Lord it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done.
Let it be.
The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness
of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us, and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys, new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
(New Zealand Prayerbook)
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