Homemade Pizza Crust

Pepperoni, Onion, Bell Pepper, Olives, & Cheese
Yum!

I asked my friends what they would like to see on here and the most popular answer was food!  So here is my favorite homemade pizza crust recipe.

1 1/3 cups warm water
2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar or honey
2 T. oil
3 cups flour (wheat or white or a combo of both)

Put the yeast and honey into a bowl with the warm water. When frothy (about 5 minutes) stir in the oil.  Add the wet to the flour and knead for a few minutes until combined.  --I typically do this in my stand mixer but by hand is fine.

Allow to set and rise, covered with a towel for about an hour.

Shape into whatever size crust you like. Put onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.  I find this makes 2 regular pizzas or 4 individual ones, which is the way we typically do it.

Add whatever toppings you like and bake at 400 until done!

8 Little Ducklings

I shared last week about the severe storms we had here and the damages. Well, something really neat happened just a few days later.

We have a mallard hen who had been sitting on a nest of eggs. When the heavy metal blew into their enclosure we thought for sure they would have been hurt or possibly flown away.  They did not though. There were three huge pieces of heavy metal thrown but they balanced on one side of the fence. Her original shelter was blown off but this piece of metal sort of made a new roof.  The ground was flooded but she had built her next up so it was dry. There she sat sitting on her nest and hissing, as all good mother ducks do,  as we went out to see.

We had other more pressing things to handle so we left that the way it was for a couple of days. 

Well, two days ago, on Easter Sunday we came home from church to find her and 8 little ducklings there! 

We've had the privilege of witness much new life here on the farm. However, each time it is witnessing a miracle. 

What a strong, protective, and patient mother she was.
These little 8 will follow her around and learn how to do everything from eating, swimming, and the fear of predators from their mother.  Similar to how our babies learn from us.

We live in a fallen world and at this moment almost everything you see in the news shows how depraved and far from God many people are. You must take your role as a parent very seriously.  Look around at children and adults who have so few values. We must teach our children to be responsible, good, God fearing people. Be an example, don't just SAY  it, DO it.  Even if your children fall away keep praying! Keep being an example. Don't wait on friends, teachers, or even preachers to do it for you. As you see this does not work.

Having a relationship with the Lord and being saved is not the same as just saying you believe in Him. In James 2 it states that "Even the demons believe."  What will you say on judgement day?

In the Eye of the Storm

The pictures throughout are from our farm in Louisiana.

The song goes: 

"In the eye of the storm

You remain in control

And in the middle of the war

You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor

When my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me 

In the eye of the storm"

This past Saturday around 5:00 am. we went through a very rough storm, literally.  We had four large trees come down, two on fences. Some metal siding and other building materials get thrown around the yard and a pen we housed our mallard ducks in was destroyed. All around us there were downed trees, power lines, and cars and homes destroyed. We were without power and water for about 36 hours and no internet for 3 days. -Those were the bad things.

The good things, for us, were our main outbuildings and home were spared!  All of our family, livestock and pets were spared!  No loss of life I'm aware of nearby either!

So the question is, why?

I do not know. Why do bad things happen to anyone? Most wouldn't say they "deserve it" or "had it coming."  It just is what it is. 

My devotion this morning in part says this:

"Danger is an inevitable part of living, and God's provision doesn't always come with the removal of dangers.  However, the presence of the Shepherd should help banish our fears.  Life's most strengthening experience is the awareness of God's presence in our lives, no matter what difficulties come our way." ~W.A.B.

Could there be a blessing in this some way? Could lessons be learned? For me the answer is yes.

Back in the day, 😉 when we first moved here, we lost electricity all of the time. It seemed as though the wind blew the opposite direction and we were out for several hours. We also have survived here in the winter with no power for 4 days and one baby.  Things have changed in the past several years though. There are more houses and businesses nearby so lines have been improved and replaced and we haven't dealt with that nearly as much.

So I did have some things that we needed here.  I'm going to post a list of a few things that we find helpful during power outages.

These are just a few easy ones anyone should be able to have on any budget. -Dollar Tree-

1. Jugs of water for washing hands, brushing teeth. You can use old juice containers, milk jugs, etc. I keep a few of these in my laundry room.

2. More jugs or containers of water for drinking. This can include small water bottles but keep them out of extreme heat as plastic can leach out in them. --We also had a few jugs for pouring into our Berkey water filter.

3. A non-electric can opener and a few canned foods that could be eaten at room temp or heated up quickly in a pan.

4.  Throw away items so you do not have to wash dishes.- Paper plates, napkins, plastic forks, trash bags

5. Basic first aid kit.- band aids, peroxide, hand gel sanitize, perhaps some pain reliever 

6.  A light source- flash lights (batteries), candles, oil lamp (lighter or matches)

7. Pet food

Larger items that come in handy:

1.  A non-electric water filter - We have a Berkey and use it everyday for drinking water but it can filter even very dirty water if you needed to.

2.  A gas stove or outdoor burner. - we have both

3. A generator - we raise our own meat so usually have a full freezer and would hate to lose all of that

4.  Another water source- we have a pond and a swimming pool so we have water to use for flushing toilets

I'm sure there are more but these are just a few we used the past couple of days. Feel free to comment and add to this list.

Being prepared is good for everyone. If possible do a little extra for a neighbor or church member. I know from first hand experience many are not prepared for even a few hours let alone a couple of days.

We have several days of work ahead of us but we are thankful we have the health, strength and ability to do it. 

Remember to thank God every day for his faithfulness and the wisdom to know how to be prepared.