the list

Tripped across this in my email today. A list of goals/dreams I had put together a little over a year ago at the urging of a friend. Not really any closer to any of them than I was then, which makes me feel kinda lame, but I think they are all still on 'the list'.

- have a gallery show my photography

- leave the insurance world behind because my photography and writing have become so lucrative

- find Mr. Right

- have a family of my own (this one is starting to smolder a bit - not sure I want to be raising kids into my 60s)

- write a book of essays and have them published

- lose 40 pounds

- f*ck fear

- paint the bathroom

- work less

- write more

- waste less time

- road trip around the country

- dream bigger

- live more authentically

faith shift

I've experienced somewhat of a shift in my faith the past several months. Again. And likely (hopefully) not the last. Difficult to articulate, it has something to do with a desire to 'be' or 'do' the gospel, as opposed to hearing a different spin on the gospel. There's more to it than that, but that's what I know today.

This has been most evident in my lack of engagement at so-called evangelical gatherings, where the message was presented by a speaker to a captive audience. On two separate occasions lately, I was hugely under-whelmed, when in times past I would have been totally engaged and on track with the presenter. It has been a bit disappointing. The times that I have been engaged, particularly when I look at what resonated with me the most at Greenbelt, speak to this as well.

No, I'm not losing faith. And you need not worry that I am not reading the latest Christian book. I'm not. And I likely won't be any time soon. But I am leaving a little more room for Jesus.

Communion Bread

Posting our HFASS communion bread recipe here for future reference.

Bread Recipe

Sift dry ingredients together three times:

2 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour
1 & 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 & 1/4 tsp salt

Stir in 4 tsp oil. Set aside.

Mix wet ingredients together until dissolved:

3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp very hot water
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp molasses

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Dough should be slightly sticky. Do not knead.

Divide into four balls and flatten each into a 1/4 inch thick disk.

With a knife, score the top of each loaf into eight pie-shaped sections, so that the sections can be more easily broken off while serving. Alternatively, you could score a cross onto the loaf.

Lay the loaves on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush the tops of the loaves with oil. Bake an additional 5-8 minutes. Let cool.