Singing, not always with your voice...(Whole Wheat Beer Bread Recipe)

"Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! 
 Then the trees of the forest will sing,
    they will sing for joy before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.

 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever."

-1 Chronicles 16:32-34

"I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my King..."

-lovee that song :)

I am in awe of God.

His answering of prayers.

His faithfulness.

This past weekend was phenomenal..
the first home football game.
And not only did our boys have an outstanding performance
But God displayed a nice background too.

My parents came and put on a tailgate for my friends and me.

Paul made some baller ribs.

:)

I am overwhelmed with eyes open to the blessing of true friends in my life.

I am thankful for the opportunity to share in memories with some of them this weekend.

To hit the ball out of the park, God used Hillsdale Free Methodist Church to send my hearing senses soaring with a service focused on musical worship referring back to Chronicles 5 and the dedication of the temple.  

 

God commands us to sing, and this weekend He surely helped me sing with all my heart.

Pastor Keith made us aware that the Bible has more commands for us to sing than to pray.

Think about that...
 What does that say?  
When we desire to sing, often times our hearts and minds are dwelling on some sort of strong emotion.  

Singing is my favorite form of worship..

 and I do not believe I use just my voice to sing.

When I cook, I want my food to sing.. 
every bite you take, I want you to taste the love I poured into my food as I prepared it.  

I want you to feel the of time, thought, and devotion in every bite.

 God has given me the ability to display love through cooking for others, and any task my Father gives me is one I do not want to take lightly.  

The Bible says the world judges us by our actions.  As a reflector of God, if I only put part of my effort into something I do then I am not fully honoring God.  When we do something with love and care often times you can see, or in this case taste, the difference.

What talent or calling has God placed before you?  Sometimes it is easy to just do the minimum and dismiss the small details when we are feeling overwhelmed.  Are you allowing routine to get in the way of truly pouring yourself into your work?  Could you be missing the opportunity to share Christ's love through your the talents you are overlooking?  I know I often times allow the deadlines and requirements to overshadow my passions resulting in a loss motivation.  Since I forget why I was doing the task in the first place.  I miss out on the glory of being a part of something bigger than I am.  

I do not want to walk out of any moment thinking:

 I could have done better.

I do not want to look back and say:

"I should have slowed down, worked harder, looked closer, loved more."

 

We are each blessed to be a blessing.

Forgive me when I let my own agenda and will get in the way of loving you,

loving God.

When we allow all we do to be praise sung to God, every task we partake in will shine for Him.

My friends asked me for this recipe, so I decided to blog about it. :)

I got the recipe from here, but in typical Liv fashion changed it up a little bit.

Honey Whole Wheat Beer Bread

 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour (I suggest King Arthur Flour, which brand you get does make a difference and King Arthur usually is light enough that the bread does not get to dry or have a corn crunch texture)
  
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounces (I tend to use stronger beers for more flavor)
• ¼ cups Unsalted Butter, melted
•  ¼ cups Salted Butter, melted (for topping)

Extras for Cheesy Garlic Beer Bread

• 1 cup cheddar cheese 
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic powder, plus more for topping

Recipe:

Step One:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray 9-x5-loaf pan with cooking spray.

Step Two:

Sift flours, Sugar, Baking Powder, and Salt together in a medium bowl (also add 1 Tbsp. of Garlic powder for Cheesy Garlic version).  Form a bowl with the flour by moving the flour to the sides of a bowl.

Step Three:

 Into the "flour bowl" pour the Beer and then add the Honey.  Combine ingredients, the dough will be sticky and slightly dry.  If making the Cheesy Garlic version, add the Cheese to the dough and mix it.

Step Four:

Add the Unsalted Butter to the dough and combine.  Place into loaf pan and top the dough with the Salted Butter.  You can sprinkle the bread with any type of grain or cheese if you want too.  

 

I topped mine with oatmeal :)

Step Five:

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 375.  

Check doneness by using a toothpick and inserting it into the center, if it comes out clean the bread is done.  Place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.  Use a knife to separate edges of bread from the pan.  Serve immediately or let cool completely then store in a paper bag in order to maintain moistness.  :)

"For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;

    I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 

 How great are your works, O Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!"

Psalms 92:4-5