Redeemer of the Bread

Abigail and Dolley readers bakers will tell you, that once you learn the science of bread baking, it becomes an art.  The nuisance of flour, water, yeast, humidity, and temperature insure that no loaf of bread is identical.   Much like the daily walk of faith, we experience the richness of our lives in the variety of the bread.   We bake a lot of bread around here; the theme of bread is spread through the Scripture.   Bible believing Christians should reject the evolutionary theory diets and consider the wholesome and heady art of homemade bread; we've never looked back.

From a Biblical perspective, the rule of first mention finds the term to be one of struggle to feed.  Genesis 3:19 is where God is passing sentence on mankind and the earth for the fall.  The context of bread is that it will cause man to sweat to eat it, toil and hardship from the ground.  The world suffers from hunger and toil; the soil is cursed because of the fall.  The Hebrew word is Lechem and means bread, food, grain but the root word of Lacham means to fight and to do battle.  We also have Unleavened Bread with first mention in Genesis 19:3 of the word Matshsah, in context, Lot is hosting the two angels who have come to destroy Sodom and he feds them unleavened bread.  We also see Chametz in Exodus 12:15 used to describe unleavened bread and used in the same sentence as Matshsah.  Chametz has as it's root word Chamets which means to be cruel, sour, or red.  Manna in Exodus 16:15 from the Hebrew word Man which literally means, "What is it?" it's root word being Mah and is used the first time, when God says to Cain, "What have you done?" Genesis 4:10. Expanding further, we have Challah and Raquiyq as cakes and wafers introduced in Exodus 29:2 which was the consecrated bread of the priests.  For centuries, the Jews have celebrated the Passover Seder never realizing the Messianic significance of the breaking of the bread, the hidden bread broken and hidden away.  The matzah bread eaten on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a symbol of the pierced, stripped, and broken body of Christ.  The process that Jewish bakers employ to insure there is absolutely no yeast or rising of the bread is heroic in its adherence to the law but yeast exists in the air, it grows on our bodies; it symbolizes sin.

Conversely, in the New Testament, the word is Artos which means bread or to eat – Matthew 4:4 the first mention being made by Satan, when he tempts the Lord to turn rocks into bread.  Christ quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 where the Hebrew word Lechem is used.  Jesus tells us he the bread of life, (John 6:35) that those who would partake of his sacrifice will live and reign with Him forever.   At the Last Supper, he took the bread and broke it, the giving it to his disciples and commanding them to partake in his body, broken for them.  After His resurrection, it was the breaking of the bread that revealed his identity to the two disciples that had walked with him on the road to Emmaus.  (Luke 24:30-31).

Where man has had to struggle since the fall under the weight of sin and death, Jesus Messiah's sacrifice did what no mere man could have ever done, He redeemed the bread.

To learn more about how Jews and Christians share in this celebration, I'd ask you to watch this video:

The Perfect Boiled Egg

Abigail and Dolley readers it is Easter!  I love the Holiday for it is indeed the highest of Christian Holidays.  We have a tradition in my family of making pickled eggs and beets and we have a couple of favorite tales that go along with them that we tell every year.  While pickled eggs might not be your thing, almost everyone loves a wonderful, perfect, hard boiled egg.

There is actually a bit of a trick to achieving the perfect egg.

Dozen Organic Cage Free Eggs (yes, readers I am going all Granola on you here...)
Pot of Water

Put the eggs in cool water, just enough to cover the tops.  Bring water to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.  Drain hot water and fill the pot with cold.  Crack the eggs and peel under the water. 

Fabulous - every time!

Politics Free Week

Abigail and Dolley readers, it started as a notion on Saturday afternoon - no news or politics through the Easter holiday. There truly is on so much angst a person can stand before they step away. You see I am blessed with the gift of empathy, which is a double edged sword in many cases. I feel things.  Thus, on Monday morning when I looked at the news and started following the links my friends posted I found I was not ready to go back. I am therefore, extending my "news free zone" for the remainder of the week.

I sit now with my laptop on a pillow lounging in a king sized bed with the light of my eyes reading a book about a Cyclops and a Lightening Thief beside me. Out the sliding glass door, I see the ocean and hear the waves crash into the shore. The sea gulls are screeching and there is a child laughing and running toward the water with his harried mother chasing after him. The sky is a slate gray, but I can see patches of sunlight breaking through the clouds and reflecting off the calm water.  The wind has slackened and the palm trees are no longer thrashing.  The air holds the promise of a beautiful day and there is a patch of unmarred sand down there that will hold the footprints of the run I am about to undertake.

Chapter 8 of my novel is minimized at the bottom of the screen.  The characters are coming to life and I am intrigued by them; peeling back the layers and getting to know them.  I hope I will be able to share this with others one day, but for now, like a new love it is private, secret, and wonderful.  Today, I am going to simply take pleasure in the creation of it.

I will not let the nastiness of the world in today. Today I will savor my life, my family, and my favorite place on Earth, the beach. Thank you all for visiting, reading, and commenting on this blog. May the Peace of God settle upon you today and may He bless you as fully as He has me today.