“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” I’ve heard this proverb since I was a child. My grandma used to say this to me when I was bored and complaining there was nothing to do. If I didn’t have something to do, she’d make sure to find me something so I quickly learned to at least LOOK busy. If not, I’d be oiling all the wood in the house or scrubbing something.

I love having my hands busy doing something. In the summer it’s usually doing something in the garden. I knit and crochet and write because it soothes my soul. Now I’ve thrown myself into baking bread. Creating something beautiful from such simple ingredients is deeply satisfying. Baking bread stimulated all our our senses. From mixing and kneading the dough to the heady aroma wafting from the oven…from eyeing that crusty loaf to cradling that perfect slice in my hand and spreading butter and jam over it. And the taste….oh, the taste is divine. There is nothing as good as hot bread fresh from the oven in my opinion.

Mr. FixIt made a trip to town yesterday. He always calls before he heads home to see if I need anything. I asked him to stop and get some ham from Aldi for sandwiches. He said, “Speaking of sandwiches, do we need any bread?” Nope, I told him. I have two loaves and a pan of cinnamon rolls rising, plus some dough in the fridge for making a pizza. That man knows how good he has it here. He may have to put up with my sassy demeanor and my intrepid independence, but he knows he’ll be rewarded with yummy things from the kitchen. I think that’s a fair trade!

OMGosh! It is so cold here! Our high temp has been in the mid 20’s with lows barely out of the teens. The has been a hard winter on several fronts. When I put the camper out behind the house facing the “far field,” I could clearly see where the pollinator gardens are…lying dormant, waiting for the warmth of spring to bless us with bees and butterflies. I can’t wait to hear the songbirds return…and the owls and whippoorwills and nightjar in the hedgerow. I want to ground myself in the grass with my bare feet and feel the sun on my face….wear tank tops and short and flip flops…sip cool drinks in the shade of the maple tree out back. It’s coming, dear friends. The sun is coming up earlier and setting behind the far ridge later and later. Soon, we’ll hear the high pitched call of spring peepers followed by thousands of green tree frogs with their intermittent calls back and forth. After that, the occasional deep throated bullfrog will charm us. The night sounds of crickets and katydids and cicadas. 

Just hang on. The world may be a dumpster fire, but spring will come to remind us there is still beauty in God’s World!

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“We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.” ‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

***Gratitude Journal***   
Today I am grateful for the smell of freshly baked bread in my kitchen and the ability to give my family good food to eat.

#baking, #bread, #springiscoming