Herbs, Honey, Bread & Butter

I look forward to our Wednesday evening home group. This week it is our turn to bring snacks. I don't know why I ponder over what to bring. I'm sure whatever I bring, the people are so sweet that they will eat it anyway.

Last week during our Home Economics class, Sarah and I baked some homemade bread. This bread was by far the best we have ever baked. The recipe is a keeper for sure. We got the recipe while watching the video "Homestead Blessings: The Art of Bread Making".

So I decided to bake bread for our home group. Here's an excerpt of the video.

Here's how our bread turned out. Of course we melted butter on our :)

Also, I managed to find fresh herbs really cheap in my area. I decided to make herb butter to go with it. Since my husband has a little sweet tooth (which I always cater too), I decided to make some honey butter as well.

Herb Butter

Herb Butter is fairly simple to make. You use 1 stick of butter. 3 teaspoons of your favorite fresh herbs. I like to use 3 different herbs. I also add a tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese; it's optional. Mix it on high with a hand blender until well blended.

Honey Butter

Honey Butter is just 2 ingredients: 1 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of honey. We like the taste of clover honey, so that's what I use.

I love to put my butters in small canning jars.

As the weather starts to warm up, I'm reminded that nothing compares to bread baking in the oven. Soon, I won't be able to crank that oven on. I'm enjoying it now while there's still a cool breeze today. Someday, I look forward to my grandchildren enjoying my fresh baked breads that I made for their mother and father when they were younger.

Home-Baked Bread

by Sally Croft

"Nothing gives a household a greater sense of stability and common comfort than the aroma of cooking bread. Begin, if you like, with a loaf of whole wheat, which requires neither sifting nor kneading, and go on from there to more cunning triumphs."
-The Joy of Cooking

What is it she is not saying?
"Cunning triumphs". It rings
Of insinuation. Step into my kitchen,
I have prepared a cunning triumph
for you. 

Spices and herbs
sealed in this porcelain jar,

a treasure of my great-aunt
who sat up past midnight
in her Massachusetts bedroom
when the moon was dark. Come,
rest your feet. 

I'll make
you tea with honey and slices

of warm bread spread with peach butter,

still fresh with dew. The fragrance
is seductive? I hoped you would say that.
See how the heat rises
when the bread opens. 

Come, we'll eat together, the small flakes

have scarcely any flavor. What cunning
triumphs we can discover in my upstairs room
where peach trees breathe their sweetness
beside the open window and
sun lies like honey on the floor.

Are You Too Busy For Timothy?

I've been thinking about all the women in the Bible who had a Godly influence on their children. I want to be one of those mothers who's influence on her children would be carried out for generations to come. I want my children to tell my grandchildren and great grandchildren stories about me. Most of all, I want the generations that follow me, follow the same faith I have in God.

The only way I know to make sure that it happens is by spending time with my children. 

Next year, we will have two more children leaving the nest. Our sons, Trae and Benjamin, will be joining the military. I keep having these episodes that I've named "mommy moments." It's when something strikes that sensitive string that reminds me that my sons are leaving home within 6 months apart.

Am I ready for them to leave?

The real question is are they ready?

The answer to both questions are yes and yes.....Well, kinda yes and no to the first one.

I was reading about Timothy this morning. That's when that string was struck and I started to have a "mommy moment." Mommy moments are when I cry and blubber words that need an interpreter. I laugh too during those moments because I'm so proud of my sons.

I Timothy 1:5 says, "When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."

Here's Timothy, a young man whom the Apostle Paul had great confidence in, who's faith was passed down through his grandmother and mother. Paul didn't get through the first chapter of the first book of Timothy without acknowledging the faith that was passed on to Timothy.

How did Lois and Eunice pass faith on to Timothy? I think it's spelled t-i-m-e, time. It takes time to impart faith into our children. This precious time that I have with my sons before they leave the nest is time that I will use wisely.

Mothers should never had to apologize to anyone when they say no to others so that their time can be spent on their Timothy. Your Timothy is more important than the women's meeting at church. Your Timothy is more important then the to-do list from your pastor. Your Timothy is more important than the job, your friends, your neighbors, etc.

Let us not be to busy for our Timothy. He may be the next person we read about in the history books. Your name will be there also, just like Lois and Eunice's were.