skills

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Bread Is Not Just Something That Arrives At The Table

I guess you can call me the breadman now. I’ve started making bread at home.

bread is not just something that arrives at the table

I’ve never really done any baking before and it was never something my mother taught me growing up.

I was always better at eating what she made than I was at helping in the preparations. In fact, I was such a good consumer of baking that my mom would bake cookies and then hide them. If she didn’t there wasn’t any cookies for dessert at dinner time. 

My brother and I would come home from school and scarf down a handful of cookies each. I think my mom got a little discouraged seeing all her hard work gone in a matter of minutes. But she should have been pleased that we liked what she baked. 

I still love those oatmeal cookies with gum drops in them … and her gingerbread cookies were indeed fine.

In our marriage, I’ve carried on that tradition of being a better eater than a baker. Lil has complained a few times how the cookies seem to disappear rather rapidly after she bakes them.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she doesn’t make cookies all that often anymore. 

So I have experience in baking – it’s just more on the front end than on the back end.

And one thing I do eat regularly is bread. Two days a week I have toast for breakfast, so we need to have bread in the house for that. 

Years ago Lily took to making bread and so that has been my main source for one piece with a little butter on it and the other with a whack of peanut butter slathered over the surface.

But recently Lily was away. The weekend was approaching and we were out of bread for my traditional Saturday morning grapefruit and toast.

So I took to the phone and got some instructions on how to use the bread machine, including the precise ingredients and the correct order to add them.

Then I got the machine all set and let it rip. I set the time to come on early in the morning so I would have piping hot, fresh bread by breakfast time.

I have to tell you, it was some of the finest toast I have ever had! The loaf itself was perfect in colour and shape. Really, for my first effort, I don’t think I could have done a better job. I mean I must be a natural. 

This may be one of my special talents in life. I wouldn’t call it a spiritual gift, but I think just maybe I’ve been blessed with the ability to make bread.

For sure I impressed myself and figure I’m a baker now. I may start listing my new talent in my LinkedIn profile and with my email handle.

There is a hockey player whose last name is Panarin and they call him the breadman. I don’t think there’s any reason not to refer to me as the breadman now too.

Here’s the thing: When we take a look at what we do well, we can give thanks to God since He has made us with the gifts and skills we possess. And those talents are not just for our own benefit, but also to benefit others. For those who have placed their faith in God, He also gives us spiritual gifts to use to benefit God’s people and His kingdom. Use your talents and gifts well to serve others.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are your top talents and what is your spiritual gift? Leave your comments and questions below.

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My Guitar Is Not Making Me Want To Play

Though I don’t want to buy a guitar, after playing my son’s, I think I do need a new one. 

my guitar is not making me want to play
Handsome man playing guitar. Close-up of young man playing acoustic guitar while sitting in front of the window

In my last post (read it here) I wrote about how things like an inexpensive guitar can be harder to play than a more expensive one.

It’s not right if you ask me. I should learn the skills on a guitar that is easy to play and then graduate to something that is more difficult. 

Well, just recently my son got a new “axe” and he paid a good chunk of change for it. When I got to try it, I couldn’t believe how easy on the fingers it was to play. 

The space between the strings and the fret board of a guitar makes a big difference in how easy it is to press the strings down. The closer the strings are to the frets the less force you have to exert to form those chords. 

Basically, on my cheap guitar I’m breaking my fingers trying to play, while on my son’s it’s easy.

Why wouldn’t guitar makers encourage guitar students to keep playing rather than giving up in frustration? 

My son’s guitar is really nice; it’s also electric. He has an acoustic but he wanted to work on other aspects of playing. 

Recently, he brought his new guitar to our house so he could wail on it … and it can be deafening when the volume is turned it up and you are close by. 

My son lives in an apartment so I’m just waiting to get a call from him that he’s getting the boot. I’m sure his neighbours in the units around him aren’t thrilled with his new purchase. Fortunately, his apartment is all concrete and he keeps the volume down. 

He can play all day long. I can’t play much more than a half hour without my fingers hurting … and that’s with calluses. 

On the guitar I have now, the strings are closer to the frets than on my first guitar but they are not near as close as on my son’s guitar. 

If I had a guitar like his, I would want to play more. But I don’t want to spend all that money on a guitar when I’m not that good. 

Why couldn’t they make a cheap guitar that would be easy on the fingers? I think the issue is that they don’t care if you get good or not. They want you to get so frustrated with your instrument that you will spend any amount of money to get one that is easier to play. 

Playing my son’s guitar has inspired me to pick mine up a little more now that his is not around. I fiddle a bit with mine but still get to the place where my fingers need a break.

It’s like playing outside as a kid when it’s really cold. You play way too long and want to keep playing, but your toes and fingers are so frozen that you just can’t stay outside any longer. 

Here’s the thing: Putting your faith in Christ costs a lot. Jesus said you have to take up your cross and follow Him. Anything else you put your faith in will cost less, but in the end it will not last as long. Faith in Christ takes you to eternity. Faith in anything else leaves you suffering at some point. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you willing to pay for long-term ease? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I Just Developed A New Skill

I’m adding a new skill set to my resume: trail builder.

With the wet spring – and now summer – we’re having, I’ve had to get a little creative with my mountain biking.

There is a place that I go biking in the summer that normally has a few wet spots. But this year there is so much more water, it has created the need to carve out some new trails to bypass the wet zones.

What got me inspired was finding that someone had built a new section that continues on from a trail I normally ride. It’s a great addition so I thought I should do some building of my own in another area of the system.

I normally carry a folding saw with me, the kind that is used in gardening. The saw folds up like an extremely large pocket knife so I can keep it safely in my backpack when I ride.

I use it mainly when small trees or limbs fall across the path. But this year I’m using it to build some detour trails around the bog areas.

There is a section of trail at the farthest point of my ride that is blocked by soft, wet, boggy muck and this year there is no getting around it.

Up until now I have been getting to that point in my ride, then turning around and riding back again. But what I would really like to do is complete the loop.

So where the bog begins I’ve turned off the trail and have been cutting a new path.

I’m not cutting down trees or anything, mostly picking my way around trees or between them. I cut off the little dead branches that stick out and clear trees and limbs that have fallen or are already dead.

It’s been fun, like trying to put together a puzzle. I have to figure out which is the best way to go and sometimes I have to look at it from more than one angle to discover the best route.

Trying to get to the end in a straight line is out of the question.

The bugs – especially mosquitoes – have been pretty bad, but I’ve been loading up on bug spray and found that, though they are flying around me, they aren’t landing on me very much.

I’ve also been checking for ticks every time I get back, just in case one of those little beggars has attached himself to me.

I just have to build one more small section to connect the loop, and then I’ll rake the path to give me a harder surface to ride on and create some definition to the trail.

I’ll write about my rake in my next post; I had to use a little ingenuity on that one.

I’m feeling pretty good about my new found skill. Though it’s just a small section – it’s not like I’m creating a kilometre or more of trail – I’m creating something out of nothing.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes in life we hit a wall and have to go in another direction to get around it. Where do you find the inspiration for that? Don’t stall out; don’t turn around and go back the way you came. Seek God for the path He wants you to take to get past that wall. He may tell you through the Bible, through a pastor, a friend or even something you read … Be listening.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What wall have you come up against recently? How are you getting around it?  Leave your comments below.

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Confessions of a Culinary Master

I’m not much of a cook; in fact I would say I don’t really cook at all.  Those who have the same kitchen skills as me might be able to say, “I make a mean Mac’n Cheese”.  But I don’t like Macaroni & Cheese, so I can’t even say that.

I do make my breakfast each morning that consists of cutting up half a grapefruit with a special knife that reduces the preparation time in half.  Along with that, I make a small bowl of Oat Bran Cereal that involves boiling water, 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 cup of oat bran.  You know, just writing that, I feel, makes me sound like I can cook.

Then recently when I was alone at our cottage, and had to cook for myself, I made a meal that looked so good, I took a picture of it.

I know what you’re thinking looking at that picture, it’s got “Chef Silcock” written all over it!  When I put together this meal, how it looked on the plate impressed me so much I was compelled to record it so I could share it with others … at the very least, brag to my wife and daughter who probably wouldn’t even give me a passing grade at cleaning up the kitchen after a meal!

When I ate the meal, it was even better than it looked.  I savoured every morsel of it and when I was done, I sat back and marveled at how it had all turned out.  I didn’t get a passing grade on the clean up though.  I tossed everything in the sink to wash up sometime later.

Now for the confession:  Although I made the salad and cooked the beans, the meat had been pre-cooked by Lily about a week earlier.  She knew I was going to be alone the next week so she prepared it and put it in the freezer.  All I had to do was nuke it (however, I did that to perfection).

For the salad, the lettuce came in a large container.  I just reached in, grabbed a handful, plopped it on the plate, and added some croutons from a box and dressing.  The beans, well, that’s where my experience making Oat Bran came in.  I’ve been heating water on the stove for years!  A little water in a pan, tossed the beans in after cutting off the tips, finished with a little butter on top … de-lish.

Here’s the thing:  I can’t cook, but by all appearances from the picture it looked like I could.  By withholding information on how the meal came together, and by using words that suggested I had cooked it all myself, maybe you had an opinion of me that wasn’t true.  So, how often do we present ourselves or use words to give an impression of our spiritual state that isn’t quite accurate?

We shouldn’t give the impression that we are doing well spiritually when we are not.  On the other hand, we shouldn’t downplay the condition of our relationship with God to others either.  God desires us to live a life of integrity.  If spiritually you are struggling, don’t cover that up.  Get busy and work on it.  If you’re doing well spiritually, let others see and be influenced.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: How do you struggle with integrity before God?  Leave your comment below.