Peace is in our hands

We live in a world that desires peace yet appears to have gone made with violence and war.

Everywhere we look from the world leaders, to the play ground bully violence, threats of violence and personal bias is everywhere.

Worst of all many people have become hopeless in the tidal wave of violence.

Peace is not something that others can create for us.

Peace begins within us and then flows outward into the world.

“The basis of inner peace is love and compassion” Dalai Lama

In the presence of love and compassion, bias and violence has no place.

Be mindful of your inner thoughts, be empowered to change the world by changing yourself and how you interact with those around.

The hope for world peace begins with you.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

A house of prayer for all peoples

Motivated by a serious health issue I steadfastly observed the rules of a highly restricted diet and six weeks later as a result, the health crisis had resolved itself.  In the months that followed slowly I stopped following the rules I did not like knowing that if I needed to I could just become observant again.

I mention this piece of personal history because as I pondered the scriptures for this week it kept coming to mind.

How many Christians place greater importance on observing the rules and regulation of their religion rather then in God’s gift of unconditional love for us.

I observed the rules as long as it suited me and I failed to have faith in the healthy lifestyle that the restrictive diet offered because I knew that should I get sick again well all I had to do was get back on board - not so with our spiritual health.

How many Christians believe that all they have to do is start following the rules again and salvation is theirs.

God is very clear on this point that following rules and observing the regulations of any religion is not what will save you in the end.

Salvation is a gift offered to those with the faith to accept it as the free will offering that it is.  

Faith that accepts that there is nothing any human being can do on their own to deserve it – it is what it is unconditional love offered freely to all humanity equally.

Faith is not about what we do or don’t do it is about what we think, feel, and then offer out into our world.

Matthew 15 speaks about how following the rules does not make or break your faith it is what happen in that very private place, your mind, your heart your soul.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

Lectionary readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Psalm 67; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28; Luke 13:10:17

German Rye

Never underestimate what a treasure trove an old wooden box stuffed full of handwritten recipes can be.  Today's recipe comes from that wooden box and we reproduced the recipe exactly.  

The recipe is a little too sweet for our tastes and the loaves too small.  Next time we make this recipe we will eliminate  1 tablespoon of sugar and reduce the molasses to ¼ cup and we will also make one larger loaf.

We would encourage you make the bread as the recipe states and then alter to your tastes.

German Rye

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rye flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 2 cakes yeast
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ cups warm water
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

1. Combine rye flour, cocoa and 1 tablespoon sugar
2. Dissolve yeast, ½ teaspoon of sugar in ½ cup warm water.  Let stand 10 minutes.
3. Combine molasses, 1 cup war water, 2 tablespoons margarine, salt, caraway seeds in a large bowl.
4. Add rye flour and cocoa mixture to yeast.  Stir in one cup of whole wheat flour
5. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
6. Add remaining flour, kneed dough for six to eight minutes.
7. Place in a well greased bowl and lightly butter the top and sides of the dough.
8. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place and let rise for 40 minutes.
9. Punch down dough to remove air bubbles.
10. Turn out on a lightly floured board and form two round loaves.
11. Place on a greased cookie sheet, sprinkle with corn meal and allow to rise for a further 40 minutes.
12. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

From Our Table to Yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

Bridge Is Closed

Three images from the now closed Peel Street Bridge over the Grand River

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

Beautiful Fungi of Southern Ontario

Four images of fungi on the forest floor 

Southern Ontario CA

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

Give Them Something To Eat.

Today Christine Mussar-Rehkopf asked us to consider the mother who loving packed a lunch of loaves and fish for her son, and how Christ received her gift of love through her son and fed the multitude that followed him.

All of our acts of love grow ever larger through God’s unconditional love for all humanity. 

When we smile at a stranger, cook a casserole for a family in need, hug a child that is crying we are putting into the world love just as that mother did so many years ago.

And like her we will never know the miracles that God has worked from our offerings.

Grandma Snyder

©2013 – 2017 twosnydergirls

Lectionary readings Isaiah 55:1-5; Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21.  

30 minute Cinnamon Buns

We have a microwave, convection oven in our new travel trailer and it has expanded our menu options 100 fold.  As many of you know we have been tenting for the past number of years and while we enjoy tent camping we did not enjoy those late night, early morning walks to the bathrooms, so in search of a small trailer we went and the Rpod 171 is where landed. 

In Grandpa’s travels he happened upon a couple our age with an Rpod, they told him about a great Rpod group on Facebook and this is where we came upon the Cinnamon Bun challenge.  It is really simple make cinnamon buns in your trailer and post a picture and today’s recipe was our contribution.

Everything ready to go

For years we have made cheater cinnamon buns using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and for camping we changed up our recipe to include vanilla Greek yogurt for the glaze, thus there is no need to carry vanilla with you.

Butter and brown sugar ready to melt

We pre-measured all of our dry ingredients placed them in bags and the bags inside the dish we would make the cinnamon buns in wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it all together.  In the refrigerator we kept the crescent rolls, butter and yogurt.

Crescent rolls ready for brown sugar and cinnamon

Here is a tip from our tent camping roll everything out on two long pieces of plastic wrap, roll up the buns and the final clean up is easy – we timed it at 30 minutes from the moment we started to sitting with hot cinnamon buns to eat. 

Ingredients

• 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• 2/3 cup soften butter divided
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup flour

Glaze

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In the bottom of a glass pie plate melt half the butter and add 1/2 the brown sugar.
3. Unroll the crescent rolls onto a lightly floured surface and pat all open seams closed
4. spread 1/2 brown sugar and cinnamon on the surface of the dough
5. roll the dough into a tight log from the short end
6. cut the log into 6 to 8 cinnamon rolls 
7. Place in the glass pie plate 
8. Bake for 20 minutes 
9. While the dough is baking make the glaze
10. mix together the sugar, yogurt and melted butter
11. Once the cinnamon buns are baked glaze and serve warm

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls