Perfection

There is something to be said for doing things well.  I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist, a trait which I acquired from my father.  With a background in psychology, I of course spend a lot of time debating whether the acquisition of this trait was based upon the nature of my genetics or the method of nurturing I experienced.  That, however, is a discussion (not a debate), for another day.

All through school, home, and the general human society, we are taught to put forth our best effort, doing all things the best that we can.  The Bible even tell us, "whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord..." (Colossians 3:23).  This, of course, is a virtue that I agree with and that I strive to achieve.  But, I can't help but think that we put too much emphasis on perfection itself.  It drives fathers to be workaholics, mothers to be plastic, children to be deceptive, youth to be anorexic and addicted, and many to be suicidal.  

I myself have experienced the feeling of utter failure, particularly this week.  Sometimes it's the little things in life that I expect to do perfectly that drive me to destruction.  For example, let's take Spike.  If you've been reading my previous posts, you know I raised a sourdough starter... we named him Spike.  Well, Spike failed.  On two different attempts this week, I tried to make some sourdough bread with Spike (two different recipes), both to no avail.  As I've been spending a lot of my time reading various homemaking and cooking blogs, as well as researching natural living and attempting to put all these methods in practice,  I figured that success should follow in-turn.  Unfortunately, that's not how it worked out.  I ended with three dense loaves of rock, a dinner which my husband disliked, and a whole bunch of dirty dishes, that ended up being washed twice.  Let's just say, I was a wreck, made myself sick, and missed a day of work.  I don't know that all this week's home failures are what led me to illness, but I wouldn't put it past God to force me to my end's wit to trust him. :)

This is just something small.  I realized this week that perfection is not everything.  David, who I have been reading about in 2 Samuel for quite some time, was far from perfect.  But do you know what?  The Lord himself called him "a man after God's own heart".  Wow.  With that, nothing else matters.  My goal in life should not be perfectionism, but should instead be complete unity with My Lord and Savior.  

I'm not saying that I get to throw perfection out the door right away, because I know that's not possible for me... Perfect is part of who I am.  But, I can leave some room for mistakes (which are the best teaching manipulative!), and know that God desires nothing more than for me to run into His presence and seek His heart.  

Something to Nurture!!

Mac and I finally found something we agree that I can nurture!  

Our new addition to the family is:

1.)  not alive... well, not really.

2.) needs to be fed every 24 hours.

3.) doesn't smell very good until later in its life.

4.) is a bit touchy on the environmental temperature.

5.) benefits us both greatly!

Any guesses?

I wish it were a puppy or a baby, but obviously those would both be most definitely alive and need to be fed more than every 24 hours... the other 3 qualifications fit just fine.  Anyway, we're adding a sourdough starter to our family, and it's going to be my pet.  Mainly, because I have to take care of it and "feed" it every 24 hours and keep it "alive" so that it will continue to make wonderfully yummy bread for us.  I'm not quite sure what recipe I'm going to use for the actual bread yet, but I do know I will use whole wheat flour, olive oil, and honey - if needed.  For the starter, I'm going with this:  http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

Not only can we make bread, but we will be able to make pancakes, rolls, bagels, and many other things (as soon as I find recipes for them!).  Also, making my own bread is going to save on money and be better for us.  Homemade bread generally takes about 5 ingredients (flour, water, salt, and a little oil and sugar sometimes), whereas store-bought bread has approximately 15 ingredients, many of which cannot be pronounced.  Mac really like sourdough bread, and I like the idea of making bread without store-bought yeast, since flour contains yeast already, and just needs time in the fermentation process to mix with the bacteria for leavening.  

That said, I've given up on asking for a puppy, realized I can't keep a plant alive without sunlight, and settled for a pet sourdough starter.  How sad but wonderfully simple my life has become! :)

Dairy-Free

For those of you who don't know, I have an intolerance to lactose.  (I don't like to title people, and therefore try not to say "lactose intolerant").  Yes, I'm weird. I know. I'm also tired, and under the weather.  Therefore, should not be writing a post right now.  But, I can't help it because I'm excited.  I just found a website that has lots and lots and lots of dairy-free (and in turn, lactose-free) recipes, cookbooks, and links.  www.godairyfree.org 

I like cheese and ice cream too much to give it up completely, although I've been trying for a long time, because I feel much better when I don't consume dairy products.  But, I think websites like this one will help me finally omit dairy from my diet completely, as I can now count on actually good-tasting recipes that don't have any milk products.  Woohoo! 

Wish me luck as I attempt to get rid of the amazing tillamook cheese, butter, and yogurt in my fridge.  Milk is not something that gets me, as I don't like it anyway, although I do use it to bake with... And yogurt, actually, contains lactase in its live cultures (which is what my body doesn't have enough of) to break down the lactose for me, so I can eat yogurt.  And we're too frugal to buy ice cream... so really, it's just the butter and cheese (and occasional sour cream/buttermilk in recipes) that I have to cut out.  Also, wish my husband luck as he shares dairy-free dinners and baked goods with me.

This was a random post. sorry. but i'm excited.