Flour, Water, and Salt

Have you ever made something that only used a few ingredients and been amazed at what can be created with them? I embarked on a journey last year to learn how to make Sourdough bread and while I wouldn’t consider myself a master by any means, I can definitely make a yummy loaf of bread now! The thing that blows my mind every time that I make a traditional loaf is that it only contains three ingredients — flour, water, and salt. A Sourdough starter is created using only flour and water and then when you make the bread you use that starter and add flour, water, and salt. It blows my mind every time that these simple ingredients can produce such a beautiful, delicious loaf of bread! I’ve been thinking about how such beauty can come from a few simple ingredients and how that’s true of my life too. When I think of a few things that — when combined — create beauty in my life, I can think of quite a few, but there are three that stand out above the rest.

First, spending time with God. When I take the time to pray, read the Bible, and focus my attention on Him, my attitude always improves. It doesn’t mean that it makes my day “easy” or “simple” because my attitude is improved, but it does mean that my approach to the day and whatever it holds is better. I don’t like it when I feel like I have to read my Bible, but there are many days when I allow the busyness of my day take priority over connecting with my Father and those are always the days that I feel the most frustrated, disorganized, and unmotivated. I’m learning that what my time with God each day looks like varies because of the season of life I’m in with little ones — and that’s okay. My time with Him doesn’t need to be an hour of quiet in the morning with a hot cup of coffee in order to be beneficial. Maybe it will look like that again someday, but not right now. I need to remember that He is in each part of my day and I can spend time with Him at any time of the day — and if I get interrupted that’s okay too.

Secondly, eating well. I can tell such a difference in my mood depending on the type of food I eat. The days when I make sure to make food choices based on nutritional value instead of only based on satisfying my tongue, it makes a difference. When I don’t use self-control in the area of food, my body and emotions suffer which greatly impact my day. I certainly have more to learn in this area, so I will — I’ll keep learning and implementing different strategies to help make nutritious foods a bigger part of my daily life.

Finally, taking my thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5). I don’t know about you, but my thoughts can run super wild sometimes. If I don’t rein them in and take control of them, my day and attitude can spiral downward in record speed! The days when I’m able to remember that I can choose to change my thought pattern when it’s headed down a bad path, I’m able to have such a better attitude (Phil. 4:8). It’s amazing to me how much my thoughts impact my mood and my willingness to do things, but they do.

So, on a day when I spend time with God, eat well, and take my thoughts captive, I have the best days. Those are my three simple ingredients that create a beautiful “loaf of bread” in my daily life. Sourdough takes time, care, planning, and attention in order to come together properly into the beautiful, delicious loaf of bread in the end — the same goes for me. I have to take time, care, planning, and attention in order to be the best version of myself — the woman that God created me to be.

One last thought I have is about the fact that a Sourdough starter is quite resilient. When you neglect it for too long, it requires a little extra love and attention to return to it’s previous strength and I find that to be true of myself as well. If I neglect myself spiritually, physically, or emotionally for too long, it takes extra love and attention to get back to my former strength. So, as 2023 begins, I’m giving myself a little extra love and attention and focusing on the simple ingredients that I know I need in order to be the best version of myself and to continue becoming the wife and mama that God has created me to be.

What are your three ingredients that create your best day?

Song of the Week: This week I chose “Heart of God” by Zach Williams simply because I like it. Enjoy!