Lessons Learned~A Voice of Protection

 When I was about eight years old, I went on an errand with my mom to the store.  I was in the backseat of our four door sedan and we didn't have seatbelts or child door locks in the car which was typical for those days. As an eager child that I was, whenever we would go somewhere in the car, I would jump out as soon as it stopped at our destination. This would upset my mom. It was very unsafe and my mother use to always tell me to wait for her to turn off the engine of the car and listen for her instructions on what to do next but I hardly ever waited. It was way too tempting to just get out quickly. 

This errand of my mom's on this particular day was at a store on a highway. So my mother had to park on the open road which was where the traffic would drive by the vehicles that were parked on the side of the road.  As my mom maneuvered the car to parallel park, it seemed like I was having to wait forever before I could get out of the car. As she finally stopped the car (engine still running) I grabbed the door handle and turned it to get out. Then for a split second, before my mom could say anything, I had a distinct impression to stop what I was doing. Almost as if it was a "still small voice" telling me not to open the door. As soon as I felt that impression and stopped moving the door handle, a tractor trailer truck came speeding close besides us. I could feel the rushing air of the truck as it went by. It was scary. I was so relieved I hadn't opened the car door. It was obvious that I escaped a terrible accident. 

After the truck had cleared by us,  my mother was aware that I had suddenly stopped opening the car door and she asked me what made me decide not to get out of the car. I told her about my impressions and feelings.   In some peculiar way, something had warned me. She knew what it was instantly. She explained to me about the Holy Ghost. She said that the Holy Ghost is always with us and that it is a gift from Heavenly Father that will warn us when danger is near.  She told me to alway listen and be aware of the Holy Ghost and it would protect me from harm.  I know what she said was true. I knew that those impressions were real and divine in nature. I knew from that experience that God was real and that he knows me and is near me.

Through a still small voice, The Spirit speaks to me

To guide me, to save me, from the evil I may see.

If I try to do what's right, He will lead me thru the night,

Direct me, protect me, and give my soul His light.

Listen, listen, the Holy Ghost will whisper.

Listen, listen to the still small voice. ~Merrill Bradshaw

Lessons Learned ~ A Voice of Truth

 

I grew up with goodly parents, brothers and a sister. We were  active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I always loved the church, especially when I was young and I attended Primary. The music from the primary songs really spoke to me and I think I always knew the church was true and good because of those beautiful feelings of the Spirit in Primary. 

I knew that being a member of my church was different than churches of my classmates at school. I grew up knowing that the way we worshipped Jesus Christ was different than most Christians. So, I was always a little shy about sharing my beliefs  with others because I didn’t want anyone making fun of something that was so pure and sweet to me. I was able to stay in the shadows spiritually most of my life, enjoying church on Sunday and basically living the gospel in secret and not sharing too much with my peers about my way of life and beliefs.  

That all changed when I attended my first year in junior college. Originally, I wanted to go to Brigham Young University after high school but my GPA was low and my tests scores weren’t very high. So I went to our local junior college so that I could eventually transfer to BYU. My goal was to take classes that I thought I’d do well in and have a good GPA. One class I enrolled in was Bible Literature. I thought that this class would be somewhat easy for myself having grown up in the Church, reading scriptures and I had taken LDS early morning seminary classes in high school for the last four years. I soon found out that this class wasn’t a bible literature class at all but more of what I would call a “bible bashing” class. The first day of class everyone was telling which religion they were associated and already taking sides on what was their interpretation of the scriptures. I felt very uncomfortable the whole time I was there. At the end of class, the teacher asked “Where are my mormons?” I instantly felt a target on my back. The teacher’s first assignment was for the Mormons in the class to explain their “plan of salvation.” I couldn’t believe it. Here I’d been avoiding such situations for years and now I was confronted with something that I felt totally unprepared for. I’m embarrassed to say that I immediately dropped the class. I couldn’t face the scrutiny… the possible humiliation. Anyway, after dropping the class, I agonized over the way I was acting. I was so weak and I knew it. What was causing so much anxiety? I needed something to happen in my life to get me over this terrible fear that I had built up in myself which prevented me to converse about the Church to anyone.  Truly, the Church was the one thing that I held so sacred in my life… why was I acting so childish?  As I pondered this experience in prayer,  I had kept thinking about how I had never truly read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. I had read parts of it throughout my life and always felt good about it but I wasn’t a very good reader. I struggled with comprehension issues and so I would get bored if I had to read anything for a long time but when this whole experience happened I convinced myself that if I read the Book of Mormon and received an honest witness of its truthfulness that I would get over my insecurities of sharing my views about the Church. So, I did it, I made a promise to myself that I would read the Book of Mormon, cover to cover, and ask Heavenly Father in prayer for a spiritual witness. So every night from that day, I read the book and I prayed every night before reading that I would get a spiritual witness. Night after night I prayed and read, night after night, no witness but I had so much more determination than I ever had and even though I wasn’t receiving the spiritual experience I was hoping to get, I was actually enjoying the reading. I was feeling a sense of great satisfaction in following through with this commitment. 

As I was nearing the end of finishing the book, I can remember being in the middle of reading the seventh chapter of Moroni. I had just said a quick prayer and jumped into bed because it was a rather cold night, as I started reading more verses, an unexplainable warmth came over me. I then felt a distinct burning in my bosom that I had never felt before in my life. I knew instantly that this was my witness. I then proceeded to crawl out of my bed and thank Heavenly Father for such a wonderful, spiritual feeling. I knew for a surety that the Book of Mormon was true. I knew it and I knew God knew I knew it. First thing I remember after thanking God for such a wonderful feeling was that I needed to share this book with others and my experience with others.  

Those sacred feeling that I received on that night in my bedroom will always mean so much to me. It was one of those few miraculous moments of my life that I can always turn to when I’m confronted with negative thoughts, confusion, or dealing with trials and tribulations.   I can turn my thoughts directly to that divine moment and  all those wonderful feelings come back vividly to my mind and I say  to myself “Yah, maybe life isn’t perfect right now but that thing that happened in my bedroom was real” God is real and miraculous. He loves me and  He answered my prayer and I’ll never forget it. 

"And when ye shall receive these things, 

I would exhort you that ye would ask God,

 the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, 

if these things are not true; 

and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, 

with real intent, having faith in Christ, 

he will manifest the truth of it unto you, 

by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 And by the power of the Holy Ghost 

ye may know the truth of all things" ~Moroni 10:4-5

Lessons Learned ~ Repentence

 Happy Birthday Mom, love you...

When I was about 5 years old, I went to the grocery store with my mother. At that time, in this store there was penny candy on display in baskets at the end of one of the aisles for customers to gather and buy to take home... For a little girl of my size it was very tempting to see all these sweets directly in my face.  I asked my mother if I could have some and she politely told me "no." I wanted some really bad so when she wasn’t looking I took a piece and hid it in my pocket. While in the check out line and while my mom was paying for our groceries, I asked her if I could go out to the car and wait for her there. She agreed (it wasn’t unusual for us to wait in the car in those days in a small town like ours) As I was in the car waiting, I took out the piece of candy from my pocket that I had stolen from the store and started to eat it As I put the candy in my mouth and started chewing it, I immediately had a sick feeling inside, so much so that the candy didn’t even taste good I knew that it was wrong to take something that wasn’t mine. Those feelings of guilt were so strong that I knew I had to own up to what I had done. So when my mom came to the car, I tried to tell her that I had taken a piece of candy from the store but instead of telling her I just started crying.  She knew by the way I was crying that I had to have done something that I was feeling guilty about so she persisted in asking me what I had done and to tell me that I would feel better if I just told her. So, when I told her, she didn’t get mad, she just told me that we needed to pay back the store. So she gave me a penny and we went back and I told the store clerk what I had done and that I was sorry. The clerk took the money I can’t remember what was said after that. I do remember how relieved I felt and how I knew I never wanted to have that feeling again. I’m grateful to my mother for giving me the opportunity to pay back the store clerk. What I learned was that wrong is wrong and repenting of wrong doings feels a lot better than knowing and feeling the guilt. I also feel that if you learn not to push away those feelings of guilt, and own your misdoings early, that it’s easier to respond positively and recognize sin before it happens. I’ve done other things in my life that I’ve felt bad about. I know that it’s better to deal with the consequences and own the wrong than to pretend it was okay or to blame others for things. It just feels better to own the guilt. “The truth shall set you free.” 

"We can help our children 

feel the joy of repentence... 

by helping them understand 

that it is a beautiful, 

ongoing process 

of change and growth." 

~Joy D Jones

Easter 2026

Robin and our sourdough bunny

This year General Conference was on Easter Sunday. My favorite talk was by our newest apostle Elder Gilbert who spoke Saturday morning. His soft voice and message of Jesus Christ spoke to me. It was a wonderful, spiritual day.

We also had some of our grandchildren visit. We had an Easter Golf Ball Hunt. The kids hunted for golf balls and they got different amounts of  candy according to the number stamped on the ball. I also made some sourdough bread and shaped it like a bunny. Also, to celebrate Easter, I made a "Resurrection Garden" with the help of Locke. A very blessed day.

Sourdough Tomb

Resurrection Garden

Rocket, Locke, Robin, Ben, Ed & Suzie

Happy St Patrick's Day

 SHAMROCK SOURDOUGH SCORE

My Sourdough Bread

 My Recipe:

320 - 335 grams Water

100 grams Active Sourdough Starter

500 grams Strong Bread Flour (protein content 12% or above)

10 grams Salt

Instructions: 

Mix Water, Starter and flour 

Cover Bowl and Rest 1/2 hr

Mix in Salt, Cover Bowl and Rest 1/2 hr

Perform 2 sets of four stretch & folds

Cover and Rest 1/2 hr after each set

Perform 2 sets of four coil folds

Cover and rest after each set

Let Dough set and finish bulk fermentation (usually 2 - 3 more hours)

Pre-shape dough. Let rest on counter 1/2 hr

Final shape dough and put in banneton basket

Cover Dough with shower cap, Rest 1/2 hr 

Put dough in banneton in refrigerator overnight

Next Day: heat dutch oven in oven for 1 hour @ 500 degrees

Empty dough on parchment paper, score and place in dutch oven

Bake in covered dutch oven 30 minutes @ 450 degrees. 

Remove lid and bake uncovered 5 - 10 minutes @ 425 degrees 

Cool for 2 hrs before cutting

Detailed Comments & Instructions: 

I live in a humid climate. The recommendation for hot/humid climates is to use cold water and use a low hydration recipe. I generally don't use cold water unless its with my starter overnight.  I take the temperature a lot during the process of forming my dough and try to keep the temperature 76 to 80 degrees. I'll let my dough rest in the oven with the light on when the temp is too low for me. If I see its getting too high in temperature, I'll let it rest on the counter. 

Sourdough tip: Get an established starter...I got my starter from my daughter and have just kept it going. I recommend getting an established starter from someone or purchasing one. 

I keep my sourdough starter in the refrigerator and use it twice a week without any problem. Here's my routine:

 Using a clean jar, I take out my starter from the refrigerator and I put 1 part starter, 1 part all purpose flour and 1 part water. I use either spring water or filtered water from the refrigerator. I never use tap water.

 I like to mix my starter the night before and let it set on the counter at room temperature with a ratio of 1x3x3 but with this batch, I started in the morning so I did a ratio of 1x2x2 and let it warm up in my oven with the light on so that it would be ready faster. I've also used a 1x1x1 ratio in the morning and it is ready a lot faster. It only took about 6 hours to double and peak. This first photo shows my starter at a point of still growing. Even though it is double in size and bubbly, I like to wait until the starter is peak and starting to fall.

This picture shows what my starter looks like when it's starting to fall. It is still really bubbly.

I use filtered water and put the water in the microwave just to get the chill off. This picture shows the "float test", my starter is at the point of "ready to mix' because it is floating on the water.

I mix the water and starter until it looks milky.

I add the flour.  Sometimes I put about 50 grams of whole wheat with 450 grams of bread flour. I used King Arthur bread flour here.

After mixing the flour and water, I like to clean the bowl with a scraper. The mixture is a somewhat flakey consistency. I then cover the bowl and let it rest anywhere between 1/2 hour to an hour.

 While the dough is resting, I take the time to feed what's left of my starter. I usually feed a 1x1x1 ratio but I use a flour mixture of 1 part all purpose flour, 1 part whole wheat flour and 1 part rye flour. I find that if I use some whole wheat and rye flour at this point, I don't have any problems of my starter being weak.

 So I have 1 part starter, 1 part water and 1 part flour mixture. I use spring water just when mixing my starter but I don't know if its necessary. For my sourdough loaf, I use filtered water.

 I first mix the starter and water. This is all at room tempature.

 Then I add the flour mixture. I like using a chopstick to mix it. The consistency is thick because of the rye and whole wheat in the flour mixture. I then will keep this jar on the counter and put it in the refrigerator tonight and use it for my next loaf at the end of the week. Here, I keep my starter in the jar that I started with but when I use the starter for a loaf of bread, I mix it in a clean jar.  I use regular canning jars with plastic lids that I screw on only part way to let a little air in. When I'm ready to put this jar in the refrigerator, I screw the lid on tighter than when just sitting to let rise for a loaf of bread.

 Back to the dough. I like adding my salt after the flour and water have rested together. Some bakers just add the salt with the flour and water and skip this step but I think my loaves turn out better this way. So,  I poke the dough with wet fingers and then add the salt. I then spray the salt with my water spray bottle, so that it will start disolving.

 I then mix the salt in with a wet hand and at this time I'm pretty rough with the dough and I take about 5 minutes or more to make sure the salt is thoroughly mixed in with the dough. 

 I also "slap and fold" the dough about four or five times at this time. 

 This is how the dough looks at this point. I try to get into a ball as much as possible. 

 I let the dough rest with a plate over the bowl or wet towel or lid, plastic wrap...some kind of cover.

 This is  dough after a 1/2 hour. 

 I start to do my "stretch and folds" with wet hands, I pull the dough over onto itself and do this on all four sides of the dough.

 I then scrape the bowl and turn the dough over onto itself so that the smooth side is up.

 I take the temperature of the dough. I want it to be between 76 - 80. Not too worried if its a little warm. But like I said, I live in a humid climate and I don't want the dough too warm. It could make the loaf gummy. I then wait a 1/2 hour and do another set of "stretch and folds.

When I do "stretch and folds" I always turn the dough over onto itself and tuck the edges under to form a ball and to start tightening the dough. Its important to have tension on the dough. All together I do 2 sets of stretch and folds and 2 sets of coil folds. So in other words, 4 sets of folds, 1/2 hour within each other.

Here are some bubbles forming near then end of the coil folds.

After I'm done with folds, I put my dough in a clear container so that I can see it rise for the rest of the bulk fermentation. I let it rise at this time in the oven with the light on. Again, I'll take it out and put it on the counter if the temp is too high. Bulk fermentation time starts as soon as the starter, water and flour are mixed. For me, it usually takes any where between 5 1/2 - 7  hours in total.  I'm waiting for the dough to almost double in size and show signs of finishing with being jiggly, bubbly, coming away from side of the bowl. 

This is my dough bowl dump. The dough pulls away easily. The dough is ready to be shaped.

I flatten the dough out and pop any bubbles. Then I fold it up, turn it over  and shape it in a ball.

I push and pull the ball to create tension. Then let it rest for 20 - 30 minutes.

I then sprinkle rice flour on top of the ball.

I turn the flour part onto my hands and close the dough like closing a book. They call this the "caddy clasp" method of shaping the dough. I then place it in my banneton basket.

After placing the dough in the basket, I stitch the top and seal the dough. I let it rest on the counter for a half hour then put a shower cap on the basket and place it in the refrigerator over night.

This is my dough the next morning. I put it on parchment paper. I score the dough with a razor blade on the side and then put it in a hot dutch oven that has been heating in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour at 500 degrees. I spray my loaf with water and bake it covered for 25 minutes at 450 degrees then take the lid off for 5-10 minutes at 425.  Timing for cooking depends on individual ovens but this is what works for me.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool for at least 2 hours.

Valentine Scores

 

January ~ Sourdough Journey

TIP #1 "GO FOR IT"

"Let it snow" Sourdough Loaf

My first try at a snowflake score

      A little over a year ago I started making sourdough bread. I was a little apprehensive in the beginning because I couldn't comprehend making a loaf of bread from just water, flour and salt. Thank goodness for youtube because I'm a visual learner and I soon found out there were all kinds of videos out there to watch on the subject. Needless to say I'm obsessed with this new hobby. I just love it! So, if you're wanting to get into it, my first words of advice is to just "go for it." Don't be intimidated by it. You can do it. Some home bakers do very simple methods and others, I dare say, require a more complex approach. What's great is the process of it all. It is fun developing a method that works for you. Don't worry if you have some failed loaves. Its okay. That's how we learn. I'm still a work in progress because I like to jump around a lot from recipe to recipe and try to see if I can advance myself a little bit on different things. So, again, just "Go for it." The first youtube video I watched about sourdough was a baker named "Ron Tressler". He's a baker from Utah. Also, "Bake with Jack", he's from the UK and "Sourdough Enzo" is from Canada. There are lots more. I like them all.  I'll have more tips in future posts, until then... Happy baking:)