Satisfied with Bread

One thing that my family loves and that I love to do for them is to bake homemade bread. I love the smell of bread in the oven. Josh loves to slather it with lots of butter. I love how homemade bread brings us together around the table and we can eat and enjoy together. I tried a new recipe the other morning and we loved it! It's called Egg Braid Bread. This loaf turned out so beautiful. I made one for us to enjoy and one for my French Professor. For family devotions the next day our verse happened to be Proverbs 12:11. With homemade bread fresh on our mind, it fit very well!
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread... Proverbs 12:11

Enjoying the benefits of bread comes pretty easy to us. We are a family that is satisfied with bread. The smell, the taste, the contentment. But, have you ever thought of the work it takes to make bread? Not just on my part. Someone had to plant the seed, harvest the crop, grind the wheat into flour. Then, I had to activate the yeast, measure the ingredients, mix, knead, knead, knead, let rise, punch down.....anyway! It does take some work to have bread. It takes a sacrifice of time, it takes patience, it takes putting other things aside. This is not hard to do when you know you will be satisfied with bread in the end.

The Lord really let me ponder this in my heart about the work involved (tilling) of baking bread, and then the satisfaction. I thought about how I can "till my land" more effectively and willingly. The Lord began revealing areas in my life where I can improve and work on. I thought I would share a few:

~Beginning my day with the Lord. Sometimes it's easy for me to let Silas be my alarm clock (Sometimes he sounds way to early!) and let my day get started and going full swing before I have a chance to start with the Lord. Yes, I'm giving the Lord my time during my prayer and devotion time, but am I giving Him my best time? When I start my day with Him, I accomplish so much more, have a more patient heart, and my lips seem sweeter.

~Giving my family my most valuable gift-my time. It's easy to think of all the things I want to accomplish throughout the day. But, time spent can never be redone. I want to stop and give an extra hug, play an extra game of make believe, read one more book, make one more memory...

~Making my home my husband's castle. I've heard it said that if I treat my husband like a King, then he'll treat me like a queen. It sometimes takes effort taking care of a King, but being a queen is a wonderful feeling! I know it's the exact opposite of what our flesh tells us, but when I serve my husband (as unto the Lord!) and put him first, he gives me more of his love, attention, help....our marriage is a wonderful thing! But, when I'm selfish with my time and desires and everything I do, then I am miserable. One thing my Mom picked up on is that my Dad likes having dinner ready when he comes home at night. My Dad is a hard woker and I would love all of us sitting around the table together after our day and eat dinner together. I remember Mom always trying to have dinner almost ready when he would walk through the door after a long days work. Even if it was still not quite ready, she would have us set the table, so there would be an appearance of "almost done!" My Mom was putting Dad's preferences first. She was treating him as a King and saying, "I know you like it this way, and I'm doing this for you!" What a good example she is to me!

~I can help our family stay in our budget better. I have a food budget each week that I need to not go over in buying groceries. We've noticed in Quebec that the food prices have really risen this time of year. We've heard others say that in winter time, food is more expensive here. I'm finding that to be very true. It takes work to find cheaper, yet still healthy meals, stick to my list and try to find things on sale. But, by being prepared I can be a blessing and stay in budget. I don't want to put an unnecessary strain on our budget.

Oh, there are so many ways I can "till my land!" It does take work being a wife and mother, but I'm so thankful that is what God has called me to do. My husband and my family are my first priority and the benefits that come after all the work, make all that "tilling" worth it. That feeling of enjoyment and contentment, truly comes after the work, not before. There's no easy way around it, but the benefits are irreplacable!